The trailer for 'Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion' was simple—and brutally direct.
It was impossible to explain the full worldbuilding in just one minute.
But the audience in the Xia Nation could still grasp the general structure of the setting.
First of all—
An alternate world setting was nothing new to Su Yan's fans.
'Fate/Stay Night' had already done something similar.
So even though Su Yan hadn't drastically modified the worldbuilding,
His audience had no trouble accepting it.
What truly stunned them—
Was the war.
Endless waves of giant humanoid machines—
Flying in the sky, running across land, and moving through water.
Pilots inside cockpits are controlling these steel monsters in battle.
Zhuang Yuxin, now with green hair, portrays the mysterious and playful yet captivating C.C.
Gu Qingyuan as Euphemia.
Shen Liqian as Kallen.
Su Yan himself as Lelouch.
And the actor who had just skyrocketed to fame playing Shirou in 'Fate/Stay Night'—
Now playing Suzaku.
As for the rest—
The Black Knights' core members.
The princes and princesses of the Britannian Empire.
All played by top-tier actors.
Second-tier actors filled supporting roles.
Third-tier actors could only appear briefly.
Even fourth- and fifth-tier actors competed just to cameo as silent extras.
Fans already knew 'Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion' was Su Yan's most expensive drama to date.
But after seeing the trailer—
They were collectively stunned.
[What the hell is this? This feels like a movie-level production!]
[My blood is boiling just watching this!]
[So THAT'S why it's called 'Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion'—the protagonist's name is Lelouch!]
[What are those things in the trailer? Giant robots?!]
[I think one of them was called Lancelot? Isn't that one of King Arthur's knights from 'Fate/Stay Night'?]
[Wait—are 'Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion' and 'Fate/Stay Night' connected?]
[No way. 'Fate/Stay Night' is magic-based.]
[But… maybe?]
[Su Yan is insane. He turned Arthurian legends into THIS?]
[Out of all his works, this is the most shocking trailer yet.]
[Where does he even get ideas like giant combat robots?!]
[Actually, this kind of concept isn't completely new in the Xia Nation—there have been "mad scientist robot" stories before.]
[But no one has ever weaponized them for full-scale war like this.]
[More importantly—who else could afford this?]
[Over 600 million for two seasons… even if it explodes in popularity, breaking even is risky.]
[To profit, it HAS to succeed overseas.]
[In the entire Xia Nation, only Su Yan would dare do this.]
[I'm sold. Watching this no matter what.]
[I don't even watch dramas—I'm a gamer. But after playing 'Fate/Stay Night', I got hooked. Now THIS? I'm in.]
[July, hurry up already!]
[Honestly, this season's current dramas aren't bad…]
[But compared to this? Trash.]
[Top-tier script + top-tier cast + insane budget.]
[This is Dimensional Pictures' formula now—and no one else can replicate it.]
[The advertising industry is about to go to war.]
[Every major company will want sponsorship rights.]
[Other studios worry about recouping costs—but Su Yan?]
[He'll probably recover everything before the show even airs.]
And that prediction—
Was absolutely correct.
Industry Shockwave
The moment the trailer dropped—
The entire television industry exploded.
Anyone with insight could tell:
If this kind of show succeeded—
It would trigger a massive wave across the industry.
'Fate/Stay Night' still leaned toward a youth-oriented audience.
You needed a certain level of maturity to fully appreciate it.
But 'Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion'?
A war story.
Much broader appeal.
Even children who didn't understand the plot could enjoy the mecha battles.
And after witnessing the commercial success of 'Fate/Stay Night'—
Everyone understood one thing:
Su Yan's works didn't fade after ending.
If 'Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion' replicated that success—
It would become Dimensional Pictures' third major IP, alongside:
'Fate/Stay Night'
'Rurouni Kenshin'
Within days of the trailer release—
Major tech companies—phones, computers, automobiles—
All sent representatives to Tokyo.
They wanted in.
Product placement.
Sponsorship deals.
Brand exposure.
At the same time—
The three major television networks all dispatched teams to negotiate with Su Yan.
By now, his works had aired on all three.
And he maintained good relationships with each of them.
Among them—
His relationship with Sakura TV's production director, Ogata Aya, was the closest.
But past favors had already been settled.
This time—
There would be no exceptions.
Su Yan's approach was simple:
He refused to play bidding games.
No back-and-forth manipulation.
No last-minute price jumps.
No turning his back on one party for a higher offer.
Instead—
He set a base price:
100 million Xia Nation currency.
Anything above that—
The networks could negotiate among themselves.
This decision—
Left all three parties in a difficult position.
They knew each other well.
They were colleagues—
And now rivals.
At the negotiation table—
There was no mercy.
In the end—
Zhongxia TV emerged victorious.
With the largest quarterly budget—
And the strongest determination—
They offered:
113 million.
The other two networks withdrew.
And just like that—
Zhongxia TV secured the broadcasting rights for 'Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion'.
When the news broke—
The entire Xia Nation television industry was shaken.
113 million—just for broadcasting rights.
A new ceiling had been set.