Shinji: Shirou, You're Getting the Raw Deal Here

"Compared to regular 3D screens, IMAX's rollout has been much slower," Chloe complained. "The construction and maintenance costs of those special screen theaters are enough to open a small movie theater."

Shinji cold laugh, "It's alright. Once my movie is promoted, those theaters will know what to do."

Chloe waved her hand dismissively. "Yes, yes, I know you're the best at making movies. But what does that have to do with theaters wanting to increase their share of the profits?"

Shinji raised his eyebrows. "Have you forgotten? I have a patent for Naked-eye 3D technology. From now on, every time these theaters show a 3D movie, they'll have to pay me a royalty fee."

Faced with these Americans who thought they could take advantage of him, Second Master bluntly stated, "You'll have to spit out whatever amount you've taken from me."

Second Master doesn't intend to go head-to-head with the world's most powerful money-collecting department, but he also doesn't intend to use his own money to support this group of American bastards, so he only plans to pay taxes according to the standards for foreign works.

Compared to the IRS, which can physically collect money from theaters with tanks, those movie theaters are much easier to bully.

Not to mention, Shinji also holds their lifeline in his hands.

"How dare they take advantage of our misfortune! They'll have to pay all that extra box office revenue to the patent fees!" Shinji said viciously. "If they dare to take my money, I'll make sure they never make any money in their lives."

"Hey... cough cough... you... cough cough... guy... cough cough..."

Chloe coughed repeatedly, pointing at Shinji unable to speak.

Shinji patted her back kindly. "Lizzie, are you alright? Don't let your brother upset you and make you sick."

"It's nothing. I just got a bit irritated by the wasabi."

Chloe's cheeks flushed slightly as she said this.

Eating Japanese food has its advantages; at least getting choked by wasabi is a convenient excuse.

Chloe thought guiltily.

It's a pity that this excuse can only be used once. If she gets choked by wasabi every time, wouldn't that make her seem incompetent?

So during the rest of the meal, Chloe became very careful, afraid that she might accidentally choke on the wasabi.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

Matou Sakura was feeling a little down.

She came along with Shinji to freeload because she was interested in the fact that Shinji was treating Chloe to dinner.

Sakura wasn't entirely clear about the complicated relationship between her older brother and her sister Chloe, but she knew that Shinji had been avoiding Chloe.

This time, Shinji unusually took the initiative to treat everyone, and Sakura thought there was going to be some exciting development in their relationship.

With the mindset that "the bigger the melon, the better"—or rather, to safeguard her brother's future happiness—Sakura shamelessly followed along.

She knew perfectly well that with her around, Shinji and Chloe would definitely restrain themselves, but Matou Sakura was confident that with her sharp eyes, even if they wanted to hide something, she could observe it from the details.

This can be seen from the fact that the girl kept secretly glancing up at Shinji and Chloe during the meal.

Compared to Shinji and Chloe, Matou Sakura's dipping sauce for sushi and tempura this time included not only soy sauce and wasabi, but also a condiment called "gossip".

Miss Sakura originally thought this meal would be very delicious, after all, she would be able to secretly learn about her brother's unknown side.

The thrill of knowing secrets combined with the excitement of voyeurism...

Tsk tsk, Miss Sakura finally understands why those gossip paparazzi are so persistent in their pursuit of her brother's scandals.

Unfortunately, you reporters are no match for my brother, the Magecraft. In the end, only I, Matou Sakura, will be able to uncover Shinji Matou's secret!

And that was it. Matou Sakura never expected that her brother would talk to Chloe about dinner for the entire night.

There were only two slightly personal topics during that time: one was that her older brother was out of money again, and the other was that her sister Chloe choked on wasabi.

What the hell is this?!

Brother, unleash your Neptune-like charisma that swept through the Clock Tower! Try flirting with that silver-haired, red-eyed beauty, Chloe! Your gentlemanly behavior is putting me in a difficult position!

[Tsk, what a waste of my time looking forward to tonight's gossip.]

Sakura forcefully poked her tempura mackerel with her chopsticks, not even caring that she had mashed the fish meat.

Don't waste food.

Shinji gave Sakura a playful slap.

"Snort!"

The Second Master was completely baffled by his sister's glare.

But she's his precious little sister after all, so what could Shinji do but coax her?

"If you're getting bored, just wait a little longer; it'll be over soon."

Chloe retorted with displeasure, "Hey! Shinji, are you saying I'm a boring woman?"

"Lizzie, you're definitely not boring; on the contrary, you're quite fun."

Shinji teased with a wicked smile.

"Shinji, you really are a bastard."

Although her pretty face was slightly flushed, Chloe's eyes were darting around, as if she were weighing something.

She stole another glance at Sakura, who was standing next to Shinji, wondering if she could understand what Shinji just said.

Her actions immediately piqued Sakura's interest.

"I'm not bored at all, brother," Sakura said with a smile. "You two can continue talking, I'll just watch (and enjoy the show) from the sidelines."

[This girl... actually wants to see her older brother make a fool of himself...]

Seeing Sakura's expression, how could Shinji not understand what she was trying to do?

"Alright, then Sakura, sit for a while longer."

Shinji, then continued speaking to Chloe, "Then let's continue our discussion about screen promotion. I think North American theater chains should..."

[Brother, are you going to continue discussing work?!]

Seeing that the conversation was still about work, Sakura looked utterly hopeless.

[Silly girl, why are you gossiping about your brother?]

Noticing Sakura's devastated expression, Shinji suppressed the urge to laugh while talking to Chloe.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

The rest of the time, Shinji and Chloe leisurely enjoyed their Japanese food while discussing their future development plans in North America.

During this time, Shinji also ordered a serving of oden to warm his stomach after eating cold sushi.

As a Transmigrator, Shinji doesn't have a particular fondness for Japanese food, but he doesn't dislike it either.

Chloe, on the other hand, thoroughly enjoyed the meal. Having eaten steak every day in North America, she had a good impression of Japanese food (except for the fact that she used chopsticks to pick up sushi), at least it seemed quite fresh.

Moreover, Shinji didn't hide from him this time, which was a huge step forward.

On the other hand, after confirming that all their subsequent conversations were about business, Sakura could only channel her gossipy desires into her appetite, devouring food voraciously.

However, seeing her lack of appetite, Shinji truly felt sorry for the restaurant's chef.

Chloe didn't stay in Fuyuki City for long, only two days before heading to Tokyo to negotiate with Bandai regarding business collaborations for next Bandai.

Actually, this was the real reason Chloe came to Japan; visiting Shinji was just a side trip.

Well, that's at least how Chloe herself explained it.

Although Chloe's stay in Fuyuki City was short, the news she brought was still very important to Shinji.

The resistance from North American leeks alerted Shinji.

They're envious because I, an outsider, am making so much money.

While Second Master could somewhat understand these people's thoughts if one puts oneself in their shoes, understanding and acceptance are two different things. Shinji would not allow these ruthless bastards to slaughter him.

Sitting idly by and waiting to be killed is definitely not Shinji's style; he will definitely retaliate.

Using Naked-eye 3D technology to shift funds between his own hands is just the first step in Shinji's counterattack. Next, Second Master plans to accelerate the development of the Chinese film market and expand his base.

At the same time, Shinji plans to expand the influence of the Type-Moon group in various aspects of film, instead of being as "single-minded" as it is now.

Therefore, some less commercially viable stories can now be initiated.

"Hmm... it's about time."

During a break, Shinji sat in the Director's chair, deep in thought.

"Master..."

Perhaps seeing that Shinji was alright, Cú Chulainn poked him with his finger.

"Um... Master," Cú Chulainn asked in a humble voice, "Have I been behaving well lately?"

Shinji rolled his eyes at him. "Are you right? You mean being hung up for damaging the company?"

"I was implicated by that bastard Gilgamesh! How could I possibly do anything wrong!" Cú Chulainn quickly retorted. "On the contrary, shouldn't you, Master, be making amends to my wounded heart?"

"Indeed."

Shinji nodded slowly, seemingly thinking of something. "Your Acting Skills has improved recently; it's time to give you more responsibility."

"Right? I just felt... Wait! Master, what did you say?"

Cú Chulainn, who only realized what he was saying halfway through, stared at Shinji in astonishment.

Shinji stroked his chin and said, "Haven't you always wanted to be a Lead Actor? This time, I'll grant your wish. There's a new project out there; you can be the Lead Actor."

"Really?!"

Cú Chulainn confirmed this with great enthusiasm.

"Of course, it's a very good new project, and it's perfect for you."

Cú Chulainn still couldn't believe that happiness had come so suddenly, and continued to ask, "Is he really the main character? Or is he some kind of weird character?"

"A true protagonist; your character's name is the title of the new movie project."

"Fantastic!" Cú Chulainn cheered, raising his hands. "Master, you've finally figured it out! We should have done this a long time ago!!"

Cú Chulainn patted Shinji, his grin almost reaching his ears.

"Master, what's the name of the new movie?"

"<Ultraseven X>."

"Hahaha, so it's <Ultraseven X>... Hey! Master, are you asking me to be a suit actor?!"

Chapter 133 Shinji: Shirou, you've really lost out!

Things weren't as bad as Cú Chulainn thought.

Although Cú Chulainn will indeed be the suit actor for Seven in Ultraseven X, he will also play the main character J in the story.

The only thing that worried Shinji was whether Cú Chulainn, this guy with a brain like a three-year-old, could portray J's deep-seated bitterness and resentment well.

"Let Cú Chulainn audition then; if that doesn't work, try Diarmuid or Lancelot instead."

Shinji glanced at the other two Western knights on set and made a decision in his heart.

The reason why the Second Master chose European knights to participate in "Ultraseven X" is because he had high expectations for "Ultraseven X".

Shinji aimed this film at one of the three major European film festivals.

As mentioned before, Shinji intends to set several examples of artistic works for the industry. Kurosawa Akira is an example of Director, while Ultraseven X is an example of a work of art.

Shinji believes that Ultraseven X has the potential to become such a work because it has profound themes and a way of expressing itself that touches people's hearts.

<Ultraseven X> is a very special work in the Ultraman series. It is not only the only Ultraman work with a cyberpunk worldview, but also the only work that completely dethroned Ultraman.

Although other Ultraman works have mentioned the idea that Ultraman is not a god countless times, it cannot be denied that, regardless of which other Ultraman works Ultraman are in, they all play the role of deus ex machina.

In these Ultraman works, once Ultraman defeats the monster with a beam of light, the problems and conflicts of the episode are basically resolved, and it inevitably ends with a happy ending.

Even if it's not a perfect happy ending, it's at least an ending full of hope. Ultraman may not be able to eradicate all the problems, but at least he can bring a relatively happy ending to the story.

But Ultraseven X is completely different; this work takes the sense of powerlessness of Ultraman to the extreme.

Very few stories in the entire TV series have a perfect ending; most of them end in tragedy.

As the protagonist of the story, J transforms into the red giant time and time again to fight, but he still cannot change anything and can only be regarded as a scavenger-like character who kills monsters.

This intense dramatic conflict makes it a natural fit for award-winning works.

More importantly, this world only has a very general cyberpunk setting, and there are no highly mature cyberpunk films like Blade Runner and the Matrix.