Chapter 320: Grand Opening

Chapter 320: Grand Opening

A single sentence sparked numerous ideas for lucrative ventures, and the demons seated were all alight with anticipation.

Hostile to humans? The Mirror Demons were low-ranking demons who had already sent numerous batches of magic cards to the human realm. As for the cultural street that Wen Ying planned to build in Mirror Lake City, it was not that demons were forbidden from entering; it was simply a commercial trading district.

Knowing that demons would not be denied entry and could come and go as they pleased, the nature of this endeavor became one of trade.

Wen Ying's vision was similar. Besides a multitude of shops lining the street, there would also be residential areas constructed. The special foreign affairs department from the human side would be situated within these accommodations.

Starting from both cultural streets, Wen Ying aimed to gradually introduce contact between humans and demons, turning Mu City and Mirror Lake City into interconnected hubs for cross-dimensional commerce. This would involve not just trade but also mixed residency, eventually expanding to other regions of both realms.

It was a monumental task.

Mirror Lake City had already become the headquarters of the Mirror Demons. With their home turf advantage, the Mirror Demons were in agreement, and the higher-ranking demons, including the Demon King, did not object. The construction of the human realm's cultural street began promptly.

Both cultural streets were bustling with activity. In Mu City, to ensure the demonic cultural street was impressive, Wen Ying specially invited historical experts and architectural teams from the demon realm. On the human side, renowned human teams were summoned to construct the counterpart.

Wen Ying rejected foreign designs featuring solely Western styles, planning instead to immerse the demons in the grand pavilions and towers of ancient, prosperous Huaxia Kingdom.

Both sides were eager to showcase the prowess of their respective cultures, and the construction was done with great dedication.

Wen Ying privately requested that the human architectural team reserve a residence for him.

Compared to Mu City, Mirror Lake City had a much larger area, mainly due to the vastness of the demon realm and its sparse population, resulting in larger cities. Thus, the human culture street being built in Mirror Lake City was significantly bigger than that in Mu City.

Wen Ying's family had owned houses with garden styles before, but they all incorporated modern elements, and there were no accompanying ancient streets or shops nearby. The street currently under construction in Mirror Lake City, however, was an authentic reproduction of an ancient style, akin to those seen in television dramas. The residences were also in this style, featuring pavilions, towers, ornate beams, and exquisite gardens.

The Flower Nation's government invited numerous inheritors of intangible cultural heritage to participate in the construction of the culture street.

Both sides had grand ambitions, and the Disaster Department's official account would release progress photos every few days, attracting a large number of comments. Some jokingly referred to the street as one they watched being built.

Many citizens of the Flower Nation were eagerly anticipating the opening of the ancient-style street. It would also provide an opportunity to experience the demon realm's landscapes. As a result, many inquired with the Tourism Bureau about when the tourism route would be available.

Ordinary people couldn't secure spots on the trade route, but surely they'd have a chance at the tourism one, right?

The Tourism Bureau staff, of course, had no idea. The street wasn't even completed yet.

Upon seeing the topic trending, Wen Ying, using the Demon Realm's Judiciary Bureau's account, added the hashtag and posted that there would be an opportunity. In a short while, his message was widely shared, and people expressed their excitement in various forms of celebration.

What's the fuss about international travel? It's venturing into the Demon Realm that truly sets hearts ablaze with envy now!

Days passed swiftly, and soon it was time for the Lucifer Demon Academy to commence its new academic year. Both cultural streets were nearly completed, with the basic structures in place, though some intricate details still awaited refinement.

In theory, everything should have been completed before operation began, but both sides were impatient. Humans couldn't wait, and the demons, lured by the rewards, were even more restless. Thus, both parties started moving in.

In the demonic realm, the selection was organized by race, whereas in the human world, it was based on factions and corporations. Wen Ying didn't personally participate in the human selection process; he only needed to review the lists when they were submitted.

The Wen family and Wen Ying's several uncles have been receiving non-stop calls on their phones lately, with many people inviting them over.

There were more indirect connections, like friends of friends of relatives, all from companies with competitive strength, vying to establish ties with Wen Ying's circle.

Lin Tianbao had complained to Wen Ying over the phone, albeit with a tone of vexed annoyance. Lately, although they were being bothered, they had also received numerous collaboration invitations from prominent multinational corporations. The year-end profits and scale of the Wen Corporation were beyond what he had ever dared to imagine before.

Wen Qinxue had also received emails and calls from renowned domestic and international directors, who either subtly or directly expressed their desire to collaborate with her.

Some directors were eager to leverage the connection between Wen Qinxue and Wen Ying to incorporate demonic elements into their films – a prospect that thrilled them immensely. They already had a plethora of scripts in mind! With the addition of magic, they couldn't help but envision how fantastic the movies would be, even if the plot was subpar or conventional. The mere presence of demons as a selling point would attract many viewers.

People always had a fascination for novelty.

Some directors were indirectly approached to establish connections with Wen Qinxue through various means.

During the day, Wen Ying attended classes, while at night he managed the cultural streets in both cities. Despite his formidable magical power, there were still many spells he needed to learn.

His schedule was well-managed, but he had little time for Beros, who had been in a persistent low mood lately.

Each night when it was quiet, Beros would often engage in introspection about his demonic life. At times, he would deviate from his usual standards and find the submissive Wen Ying he had met in the demon world appealing.

The merchants on both cultural streets hurriedly renovated their newly acquired shops, and soon, establishments began to open.

In the human realm, demons went all out to attract humans, motivated by the long-term benefits to their race.

Everyone thought that the incubi were the sneakiest. Since they couldn't come in person, they sent mixed-blood lower-class demons with incubus heritage.

These demons chose a few shops to turn into dining establishments, not entirely legitimate restaurants due to the inclusion of conversation companionship, toeing the line of Huaxia's laws. It was a gray area: technically, they only provided conversation, but the atmosphere felt somewhat unwholesome, akin to host clubs in R Country, except with both male and female staff.

Emotional companionship services naturally garnered high favorability ratings from those who visited. Given the uniqueness of the shops, even minimal promotion could spark curiosity among the public.

The management team had some reservations about the incubi's businesses, which eventually reached Yan Liwen. He found the situation troublesome and personally led a team to secretly observe them for a few days. Upon discovering that the incubi weren't engaging in any illegal activities, he allowed them to continue operating.

The Incubus Chat and Dining, highly praised by all who visited.

Other demons secretly cursed the shameless Incubi of the lower races. The three-tailed fox, under the jurisdiction of the Nine-Tailed Fox, turned to online streaming and gained fans swiftly.

The Nine-Tailed Fox clan was an upper race themselves. As only lower-class demons could currently visit the human world, they sent their own subordinates from the same lower class.

Some other demons followed suit, while others not only imitated but also innovated. With more people came more thieves, so several demons took it upon themselves to act as vigilantes against street theft.

Despite Wen Ying's rule that the favorability rankings had to come from managing shops within Culture Street, demons were no fools; they had long learned to exploit loopholes.

The demons under the Evil Bird took it to the extreme. They transformed their shop into a TV drama casting studio, posting pictures of available demon extras online with the condition that payment was daily and had to be picked up in person at the shop by the production team.

Upon learning of this tactic from the Evil Bird, Wen Ying fell silent for a long while.

This move was outrageous, yet if connected to the Evil Bird, it was outrageously logical.