Inside the conference room of Marvel's Asia-Pacific branch in Hong Kong, Kevin's excited shout instantly drew everyone's attention.
Even the employees working outside could faintly hear the commotion through the glass walls.
Luo Zheng, however, remained calm. Sitting at the head of the table, he simply raised his eyes and asked in an even tone,
"How much was the opening day box office?"
Kevin's face was flushed red with excitement, his voice almost trembling.
"Three point five million US dollars!"
For a moment, the room fell silent.
Then he added almost immediately, unable to contain himself,
"Lionsgate has already run the numbers several times. Based on the trend, the opening weekend box office is expected to exceed ten million dollars!"
The words hit the room like a thunderclap.
Chan Fai Wang shot to his feet at once, his face filled with disbelief and admiration.
"If the opening weekend crosses ten million, then the final box office should easily reach at least twenty million."
He looked at Luo Zheng as if he were staring at something unbelievable.
"With a production budget of only fourteen thousand dollars, this return rate is simply horrifying. Boss… you've made history."
Kevin and Chan Fai Wang practically echoed each other, their excitement rising higher with every sentence.
Luo Zheng lifted his hand slightly, signaling them to calm down.
"Sit first. Let's talk properly."
Only then did the two men force themselves back into their seats, though the excitement on their faces remained impossible to hide.
Beside them, Liu Xiaoli quietly listened to everything.
Her beautiful eyes shone with complicated emotions.
This was Luo Zheng's very first film, and yet it had already produced such astonishing results.
More importantly, what truly moved her was not the numbers themselves, but Luo Zheng's composure.
He was so calm.
So steady.
As if all of this had long been within his expectations.
At that moment, she suddenly felt that this once reckless young man had truly grown up.
Then her gaze shifted to the person beside her.
Liu Xixi was still puffing her cheeks, happily eating snacks like a little hamster, completely unconcerned with the serious atmosphere in the room.
Liu Xiaoli instantly frowned.
"Stop eating and listen carefully to your cousin."
Xixi rolled her eyes in protest.
"Mom, didn't you always say I shouldn't worry about things that don't concern me?"
Liu Xiaoli nearly choked on her own words.
"How is your cousin's business unrelated to you? In the future, you two will—"
She abruptly stopped.
Her face flushed red as she hurriedly covered her lips.
For a brief second, she had almost blurted out what had been lingering in her heart these past few days.
Marriage.
The thought startled even herself.
She quickly glanced at Luo Zheng, relieved to see that he seemed focused on the meeting and hadn't noticed.
Taking a quiet breath, she regained her composure.
"From now on, your cousin's matters are your matters too. Listen carefully."
Xixi pouted, then obediently nodded.
"Okay…"
But inwardly, her heart felt strangely warm.
The meeting soon continued.
Luo Zheng began laying out the strategic plans for Marvel's Asia-Pacific branch.
The first priority was clear:
expand Marvel's influence in Hong Kong and mainland China.
Marvel had begun as a comic company, and that foundation could never be ignored.
He instructed Chan Fai Wang to immediately begin recruiting comic artists from Hong Kong and the mainland.
Their goal was twofold.
First, select some of Marvel's strongest superhero titles and adapt them to better suit local tastes.
Second, begin developing entirely new content more aligned with the preferences of Chinese readers.
As the first wave of localization projects, Luo Zheng personally selected:
Spider-Man, Black Widow, and Iron Man.
When Chan Fai Wang cautiously brought up concerns about profitability, Luo Zheng's response was direct.
"Don't think about profit for the next five years."
Everyone in the room froze.
Luo Zheng continued calmly,
"Our goal isn't short-term earnings. What we need is market occupation, fan accumulation, and brand recognition."
"We need Marvel heroes to become familiar names in China before the film market fully explodes."
The moment those words left his mouth, Chan Fai Wang's heart trembled.
Only now did he fully realize how ambitious Luo Zheng truly was.
This wasn't a simple branch office expansion.
This was a strategic occupation of the future Chinese entertainment market.
Especially the mainland.
The importance Luo Zheng placed on it was even greater than Hong Kong itself.
For a moment, Chan Fai Wang found himself wondering again—
Is this man really only twenty-one years old?
His foresight was almost terrifying.
After the meeting ended, Luo Zheng took Xixi out to explore Hong Kong.
With the bodyguards following behind, the two spent the day eating and wandering through the city's famous food streets.
Egg tarts, curry fish balls, pineapple buns, roast goose rice—
Xixi practically transformed into a full-time food critic.
Luo Zheng even took out his camera from time to time, snapping photos of her while she ate with puffed cheeks and sparkling eyes.
These photos, in his opinion, would become excellent "evidence" of her foodie persona in the future.
They absolutely had to be preserved.
Three days later, The Man from Earth was still causing a storm in North America.
The initial popularity created through marketing and controversy had not only failed to fade, but had been completely stabilized by the film's excellent word-of-mouth.
More and more ordinary moviegoers were entering theaters out of curiosity.
And once they walked out, many of them recommended it to friends.
The snowball effect had fully begun.
Even better, February and March happened to be Hollywood's traditional off-season.
There were no major blockbuster releases.
This gave The Man from Earth an almost perfect window to maximize audience attention.
As predicted, the opening weekend easily surpassed ten million dollars.
Professional Hollywood analysts soon released projections:
final box office: 28 to 30 million dollars.
For an ordinary film, this number might not seem extraordinary.
But for a movie made with only $14,000, it was nothing short of miraculous.
Soon, major media outlets began going crazy.
The headlines exploded across Hollywood.
"Sci-Fi Film Critic Score: 8.9 — Higher Than 98% of the Genre."
"Marvel Chairman's Debut Feature Creates a 2000x Return."
Naturally, many outlets intentionally ignored the marketing and distribution costs.
But that only made the topic even more sensational.
A film with such a terrifying return ratio instantly became one of Hollywood's hottest talking points.
Even major studio presidents privately expressed regret.
A talent like Luo Zheng, yet completely outside their control.
Soon, Luo Zheng himself became even more famous than the film.
During a media interview, Angelina Jolie even voluntarily brought up her encounter with him and publicly praised him as one of the most remarkable men she had ever met.
That statement alone pushed Luo Zheng's name to an even higher level.
The storm soon crossed the ocean and reached Hong Kong.
Late that night, at an Emperor Entertainment cinema, Luo Zheng walked out with Liu Xiaoli and Xixi after finishing a screening.
Because Focus Films had weak distribution channels in Asia, the movie's screening rate in Hong Kong was still low.
Most of the showtimes were scheduled for midnight.
Yet tonight's theater had been almost full.
Clearly, Hong Kong audiences had also recognized the film's quality.
Art truly had no borders.
As they walked back toward the hotel, Xixi suddenly looked up at Luo Zheng.
"Cousin… is John really immortal?"
Luo Zheng smiled.
"Yes."
Her eyes immediately sparkled.
"That's amazing. I wish we had that ability too."
"Oh? Why?"
Xixi looked at him with complete sincerity.
"Because then I could stay with cousin forever."
Luo Zheng paused for a moment.
Then he gently rubbed her head, saying nothing.
Behind them, Liu Xiaoli watched the scene with helplessness written all over her face.
What an obedient daughter.
The moment something good happened, she had already forgotten her own mother existed.
The next morning, Hong Kong's entertainment papers were dominated by two explosive headlines.
The first naturally focused on The Man from Earth's success.
The second, however, was entirely about Luo Zheng.
The article painted him almost like the protagonist of a gangster dynasty drama.
A twenty-one-year-old handsome heir.
A tragic background.
A bloody battle for inheritance.
Wrongfully expelled from the University of Southern California.
And finally, rising to fame with a masterpiece created under impossible conditions.
Half true.
Half fabricated.
Completely dramatic.
And Hong Kong readers absolutely loved it.
For a time, public interest in Luo Zheng himself even surpassed the movie.
At Marvel's branch office, Chan Fai Wang quickly reported the latest news.
"Boss, major cinema chains have increased our screening schedule today."
He paused, unable to hide his smile.
"The box office is expected to double."
Beside him, Kevin was already dressed for travel.
He was preparing to return to New York.
Taking advantage of the film's explosive momentum, Luo Zheng had already ordered Marvel headquarters to officially announce its next project:
Saw.
The moment the news was released, President Bill's office phone practically exploded.
Partnership offers poured in like snow.
Lionsgate.
Focus.
Second-tier production houses.
Even Warner Bros. Discovery had shown interest.
Of course, their attitude remained arrogant.
That was exactly why Kevin needed to return personally.
But unlike before, this time he wasn't nervous.
Because Marvel was no longer the small company begging for opportunities.
As Luo Zheng had told him:
"If their attitude is bad, don't bother negotiating."
"Tell them to get lost."
Marvel was no longer weak.
And under Luo Zheng's leadership—
it was only just beginning to rise.