Chapter 51 - Moving Stardust Movie
"So you are telling me you can't read the common language, even though you were exposed to it for over 6 months?!" Felix rubbed his eyelids at this sick joke he was hearing. After all, if they couldn't even read the language how were they supposed to watch the movie?
Embarrassed, Olivia scratched her cheek with a finger, while looking at her toes. "We were busy with the family tradition revival projects and all the fun things that were happening in the UVR." She coughed, as she looked at her sisters, "So we really did not put too much focus on learning the language, because all the TV streams were subtitled or dubbed."
Sarah extended her finger and added to support Oli, "Also, we did not think we would be able to enter the UVR this early. We believed there is still at least 2 years before we get our hands on an AP bracelet."
The other cousins just kept nodding their heads to whatever they said.
Felix gave them a bitter smile and explained why he was upset, "How are you supposed to watch the movie if you can't even understand what they are saying?" He sighed, "I can add dubbing but that will reduce the immersion inside the movie. You may not understand now, but the moment you enter, you will realize the huge difference between listening to the actor's real voices and hearing AI toneless voice."
"UVR Cinema is in a different league than our Cinema." He spread his hands, "There is just no way to compare them."
The girls weren't even a bit sad from what he just said. They honestly didn't care if the immersion was lowered or even removed since this was their only opportunity to enter the UVR and have fun in it before they get theirs in the far future.
"Don't worry! I promise you that I won't complain about movie quality. I am content with just the dubbed version."
"Me as well."
"I never expected to enter the UVR today."
"Let's just pick a random romance movie! I want to see how other humans' romantic culture is."
"What are you talking about?! We did not get this chance to waste it on a lackluster romance movie." The tall ginger girl highlighted two movies on the list and said, "It is much better if it was an action or fantasy movie, like those. So when we enter the movie, we will feel like we are inside a magical world."
"Yes she is right, I want to watch a fantasy movie, I am sick of romance and drama."
"I believe Sci-Fi is going to be amazing here, why don't we watch that?"
"No fan..."
"You always pi...."
Felix just watched them argue about the genre of the movie for over 5 minutes to no positive outcome. Each two wanted to watch a genre and neither one of them budged from her choice.
Felix sighed and sat back on the couch, planning to continue reading the list. He didn't interject or gave them advice on which movie to watch since if it was up to him, he would definitely recommend a historical movie about the human race.
Ask anyone in the cinema about the best genre, and their first choice would be history. Their choice was quite understandable, as there were tons of good movies and series that were based on real-life events. The majority of those movies either earned trophies and awards or were nominated for them.
The history of the human race was a mine full of gems to be dug by the producers.
'How good would it be if >Human Uprising< was already made?" He sighed, "I would have dragged those girls by their hairs to watch it. Sadly it will be released 1 year from now."
Suddenly an idea inserted itself in his mind, turning it into mush, 'What If I invest in those upcoming blockbuster movies that earned billions of SC?'
He then started to ponder on it deeply with a hint of elation in his eyes. He already had the information and details. The only thing he lacked was the capital to invest. But that wouldn't be too hard to get if he made his second bet.
This was even better for Felix, as the viral games, he remembered that happened in this year was only Wally's and the next one. But for others, he had absolutely no clue.
Felix didn't have that much free time to spectate the games in his previous life, due to his early trashy bloodlines which forced him to focus only on integration to not get left behind. He only remembered Wally's game and this one was due to their unique characteristics.
This meant Felix had no choice but to find another method to earn coins, and investing in successful movies and series was actually the smartest move to make in his condition. It had only positive results.
Besides earning a massive amount of coins, the process itself was clean and had a known origin. Felix knew that someday, his grandfather and the elders would find out that he was a multimillionaire in the UVR. At that point, his excuse for betting couldn't be used against those shrewd fogies. However, if he had an investment company, responsible for investing in his cheating knowledge, they would have nothing to say but beg for him to share a piece of the pie.
Just as he was trying to recall the movies and series which were about to release soon, he felt someone waving his hand near his face.
"Whats up Oli?" He asked.
"Felix we came to a decision." She smiled and handed him the list that had a movie marked with a green light. "We picked the Sci-Fi movie Moving Stardust. It has romance, drama, action and comedy, everything that we wanted."
Felix cringed the moment he heard the movie name. He removed that disgusting list from his face and asked them with a serious expression. "Are you sure about your choice? You can pick another I don't mind waiting."
All the ladies shook their heads in disagreement. "This is what we want, all other movies either lack something or has too much of it."
"Are you 100% positive? I really advise you to reconsider." Felix decided to push one more time if they still declined his goodwill, then he wouldn't bother himself anymore. After all, it was their funeral, not his.
The ladies shared eye contact with doubt clearly on their faces. Nonetheless, they still stood their grounds and decided to go for it. In their minds, they simply wanted to begin asap, since there was a time limit to their stay in the UVR. It wouldn't feel good to get dragged in the middle of the movie, due to wasting time on picking the perfect one.
"Alright as you wish." Felix gave a half shrug and said, "Wait for me here I am going to buy us the tickets."
He stood up and went to one of the tickets booths that had the least number of people queueing up.
Before long his turn arrived and immediately requested, "11 tickets for Moving Stardust please."
The counter employee's polite smile stiffened, at that name getting mentioned in his presence. He moved closer to Felix and advised sincerely, "Brother, I think it is better to pick another one, so you won't pollute yourself and those flowers with you."
Frustrated, Felix shook his head and replied, "It is not my choice, it's theirs." He semi-spread his arms, "I advised them not to pick it. But they were really stubborn about it. So I can only play along."
The employee said nothing more and just handed him the tickets. He sighed in pity as he looked at those girls chatting about the content of the movie with expectation. 'You should have at least watched the trailer. Rest in Peace.'
His attention was brought back to Felix, as he heard him say, "Please add one blocking glasses and ear closing buds."
He gave him the protection gear and wished him good luck on his battle.
Felix returned to his cousins, and gave them each a ticket, then informed them, "The movie won't start until 15 minutes. You are free to do as you please."
He wore those buds on his ears and activated them. He then lay on the couch and closed his eyes, planning to take a quick nap over the duration. In his mind, the silence was a hundred times better than their nonsense chatter.
...
15 minutes...
Felix and the ladies stood all by themself in front of a desolate-looking gate written above it, -Moving Stardust entrance-
When compared to other gates that had hundreds to thousands of people lining up to enter, theirs was truly a bit sad to look at.
"The moment we open this door we will enter the movie world." He faced them with black glasses on and clarified, "At that point, you can interact with everything you see. heck, you can even kiss the female lead or the male lead. But I advise you to not pull that bullshit in any Cinema you visit if you don't want to get beat up."
He pulled a small remote control from his pocket and put it in their line of sight. "This is a control device that you can use to either zoom in, create a seat, fly, and all the other things you wish to do inside."
He put it back in his pocket and explained that to get this device, they just had to call in their minds 'Remote Control' and it shall materialize. The ladies did as he said, and suddenly each of them had a remote control in their hands.
Felix retreated from the gate and extended his hand in a welcoming matter. "Who wants to do the honor and push the door?"
His polite action got him labeled as a gentleman by his cousins. But honestly, he just didn't want anything to do with this movie, as he felt that even stepping into its world was a great sacrifice.
Sarah pushed it open without waiting for her sisters to make a decision. She had no patience for another round of bickering. The moment the gate was wide open, they all got sucked in without leaving a single yelp behind.
Immediately after their feet touched the ground of the movie world, a sudden beam of light projected on them, scaring those beauties out of their wits. Felix hushed them down and clarified that it was just a trying to scan their tickets.
After seeing that his cousins were not paying attention to him anymore, Felix sneaked behind their backs and ordered the AI of the remote control, 'Create a seat at the corner of the world and activate the glasses and earbuds canceling feature. Finally, make an alarm when the movie ends.'
Felix instantly teleported away from his cousins, who were staring and touching everything in awe and fascination. Especially Sarah who was playing on the grass like she never saw it before in her life. Her love for the UVR might even turn shit into gold in her eyes.
Unfortunately for them, this world was their worst nightmare. They only realized so after the plot of the movie began.
...
30 minutes later...
At the extreme left corner of the movie world, Felix sat on a comfy chair with a cup of his favorite orange juice. He forgot about his cousins, as his mind was currently busy contemplating his investment plan.
He recognized that his massive library of movies and series was game-changing in the film industry. He knew which movies would make a splash in the UVR and which movies would turn to be a flop. However, the majority of those successful movies already had a giant production company behind their backs. This meant, they would not let any foreign investor get a piece of their pie, especially Felix who had absolutely no reputation within the industry.
This left him with only a few movies that were not being favored at the start but turned into instant success later. In other words, hidden gems.
He could totally shower them with his coins, and expect massive returns later on. This method would bring him coins, networks, and some reputation as an investor, without the stress of wondering if the movie would turn into a hit or a flop.
After creating an outline for his plan, he decided to check on his cousin's mental health. 'Teleport me to my companions, and remove the canceling feature.'
Few moments later, he arrived next to his cousins who were curled up like balls with tight shut eyes and hands covering their ears. They kept crying out loud to make it stop. Yet, no savior had arrived at their rescue. Until now at least.
"I can't take this anymore."
"It's one thing to watch a cringy movie and another thing to live it."
"Please someone turn off the dubbing, I don't want to understand anymore!"
Felix expected as much, however as soon as his eyes landed on Sarah who was cheering with her fists in the air, he didn't know how to react anymore.
His vision kept switching between her and the main character who was a princess carrying two girls with one arm while fighting 10 bandits with another. Yet, Felix wasn't even bothered by this fucked up scenario, as he saw as much before. What annoyed him to death was the constant love dialogue between the three, like the MC wasn't in a death or life situation.
If just a scene of the movie was like this, god knows how the rest was like.
He kept going back and forth between them with a perplexed expression. He truly couldn't believe that Sara was actually capable of watching this unique masterpiece with enjoyment.
Heck, even the makers couldn't handle their creation and tried to burn its existence for their viewers' mental health. But somehow it got leaked out right before so, leaving this deadly predator roaming free in the UVR Cinemas.
'Now you are telling me that my own cousin is loving this? I don't know if she just doesn't have a taste in movies, or her overwhelming curiosity towards the UVR is blocking all the negative stuff from her vision.'
'Whatever it is, I will never hang out with her anymore.' He covered his eyes, not wanting to see any more of this absurdity, and ordered the AI to kick everyone out except for Sarah. He hoped that the ending would wake her up.
A few seconds later, Felix and his cousins were thrown outside of the gate.