Chapter 86: Chapter 86: Crowded in a Small Yard to Watch Demon Vision

Since it was the test broadcast for the Magic Vision Device, it was, of course, free.

The first batch of over two hundred 12-inch prototypes was distributed evenly throughout Twin Tower City.

There were 55-inch premium models as well—huge screens with huge backsides. Even if the average person could afford one, they wouldn’t have the space for it at home.

Due to the high cost of the large televisions, they were only set up in stores owned by the Zog Group. Otherwise, it would be a painful loss if one broke out in the open.

These were all "personally forged by a disciple of the Legendary Craftsman Master Bane," and each sold for eighty to a hundred Gold Coins.

Honestly, that wasn’t expensive at all. There wasn’t a single lie in the slogan.

The Magic Vision Devices might have been built on a mechanical assembly line, but there were plenty of goblins tightening the screws.

Bane Furnace had come to provide guidance on the production details. And who’s to say the goblins who listened in couldn’t be counted as his disciples?

All things considered, there was nothing wrong with the slogan. For such a fine piece of equipment to cost a mere hundred Gold Coins, Zog was "just making a little something for his trouble, with no real profit to speak of."

To ensure the safety of the prototypes, all of Zog’s combat subordinates who weren’t tied up with other urgent matters were dispatched.

Zog himself went to the test broadcast site furthest from the main Magic Crystal Stone.

He wanted to see the public’s reaction to the Magic Vision Device with his own eyes and confirm the broadcast quality at its maximum range.

This location was thirty-five kilometers from the main Magic Crystal Stone, almost outside the Twin Tower City limits. The Magic Crystal Stone’s projection had to be generated through six Amplification Arrays to reach it.

According to Doudou, adding another stage of amplification would make it impossible to guarantee the projection’s stability.

To build a larger-scale Magic Vision network in the future, they would need a new technological breakthrough.

Zog arrived at the test broadcast site, holding a newspaper printed with the program schedule.

The programs for the test broadcast had been advertised in the newspaper for a week.

Once the Magic Vision Device’s programming schedule stabilized, the plan was to publish a dedicated newspaper with program listings and descriptions, which would be called the Magic Vision Report.

This particular test site was located at a winery surrounded by vast vineyards. The wine they produced was quite famous in the southern regions.

Zog, however, had no taste for it. He still preferred his cola.

The winery’s owner was a middle-aged man with a keen business sense. As soon as news of the Magic Vision Device spread, he had proactively approached Elsa to book the filming of a wine advertisement.

That very commercial was on the schedule for this test broadcast.

In addition to a few commercials, the program included a comedy from the Shepherd’s Theater Troupe, a trailer for *Firepower Young King*, a nature documentary edited from footage of the Northern Domain called *Forest Sea Snowfield*, a few songs by the Underground Discard, a rebroadcast of *Shadow of Evil*, and a storytelling segment.

The storytelling was performed by minstrels. Besides singing epic legends, they often told stories as well.

However, the stories to be broadcast on the Magic Vision were from the batch of power-fantasy novels that Zog had previously failed to sell.

He firmly believed in the mass appeal of power fantasies. After all, he had once read all of *Breaking the Heavens* on an old MP3 player that could only display three lines of text at a time.

To find the most popular type of power fantasy among the locals, he had even held a company-wide poll within the Zog Group to pick the story everyone most wanted to hear.

The winning pitch was: "A War God defending the border returns home to find his daughter being bullied and forced to live in a dog kennel. Enraged, he summons his army of one hundred thousand soldiers..."

Zog didn’t get it, but he respected the market’s choice.

The small courtyard of the winery was packed with people, each perched on a small stool, staring expectantly at the small Magic Vision Device, its screen filled with static.

The goblin in charge of this prototype was sweating buckets.

’It was working fine just a moment ago. Why did the picture go bad the second the boss showed up?’

All the senior technicians were in the city, so he had no choice but to try and fix it by following the emergency troubleshooting manual.

When in doubt, reboot.

No luck.

Replace the backup Magic Energy Stone.

That didn’t work either.

Theoretically, a single Magic Energy Stone should power a Magic Vision Device continuously for a month, so the odds of it being a power issue were slim.

The entire courtyard watched the flustered goblin frantically flipping through the troubleshooting manual, no one saying a word.

The pressure was on.

Zog decided it was time to show some leadership. He walked over to the Magic Vision Device.

WHACK! WHACK!

He gave it two good smacks with his claws.

The static gradually turned into rolling horizontal bars, and then a slightly flickering picture appeared.

The most nostalgic of repair methods.

Zog opened the back cover of the Magic Vision Device. ’I’ve read through the final design schematics once,’ he thought. ’I don’t know much, but I at least know more than this trembling goblin.’

The Magic Crystal Stone projection inside the machine was twitching erratically from side to side. That had to be the cause of the flickering.

The positioning rune was misaligned.

’If I remember correctly, this rune has three positioning components: direction, distance, and altitude.’

Zog pried off the direction and distance components and handed them to War Axe.

"Hold this. Right above its original spot."

An even more nostalgic repair scene—the younger generation had probably never witnessed anything like it.

As the positioning rune was held aloft, the image on the screen stabilized.

’Just as I thought, not enough amplification. This line really needs seven arrays.’

"Boss, can’t I just use the Floating Disc Technique to hold up the rune? My arm’s getting sore," said War Axe.

"Huh, good point. We could even market a Floating Disc Technique antenna in the future."

The Floating Disc Technique took over for War Axe.

Zog led him to the very back of the courtyard to squat by the wall.

With War Axe’s build, it would have been a dick move to sit in the front row.

The Magic Vision Device was just showing the finale of *Holy Mountain Journey*. According to the program, next up was a commercial break, followed by a series preview.

"Aww..."

A wave of groans swept through the courtyard as the commercials began.

Zog smiled faintly. ’Just you wait,’ he thought. ’This is no ordinary commercial. It’ll leave them speechless.’

He unhurriedly pulled a cola, a milk tea, and some fries from War Axe’s backpack.

’You have to eat snacks while watching the Magic Vision. Otherwise, it’s like you didn’t even watch.’

"Dad, open up. It’s me."

Onscreen, the camera focused on a son’s back as he knocked repeatedly on a door.

Inside, a hunched old man slowly took out a monocle, comparing a portrait in his hand to the person outside.

After a long moment of hesitation, he said, like a child, "I don’t know you."

The audience was a little confused. What kind of commercial was this? It was completely different from the ones just trying to sell things.

At the same time, they were curious about what was wrong with the old man.

Then, the son’s voiceover began. "These past few years, Dad’s memory has been getting worse and worse. Sometimes, he’ll forget what he was doing the moment he turns around..."

Accompanied by a sorrowful violin, the son’s voice, tinged with resignation, rambled on, recounting the details of life with his father’s failing memory.

The small courtyard gradually fell silent. The "son’s" narration stirred up memories in the crowd.

Watching loved ones grow old is a truth everyone must face, making it easy to empathize.

"One time, we were eating at a restaurant. There were two pieces of grilled fish left on the plate, and he just picked them up and stuffed them in his pocket."

"Dad, what are you doing?"

The father’s old voice trembled as he said, "This is... for my son. My son... loves this."

Before he had even finished speaking, the sounds of sobbing could be heard from several corners of the courtyard.

"He may forget many things, but he has never forgotten to love you."

As the final tagline appeared on screen, many in the audience could no longer hold back, and their crying merged into a single sound.

Public service announcements are still ads.

Zog didn’t watch any further. He headed for home.

「Two hours later.」

The Ancient Red Dragon’s designated respawn point: the third floor of Zog’s Toy Store.

Elsa summarized the results of the test broadcast. "As of fifteen minutes ago, after a total of twelve hours of broadcasting, we have received orders for 2,154 Ordinary model Magic Vision devices and 188 premium model devices."

"Furthermore, the teahouse’s ’Memory’ series ’Tea Gift Set for Dad’ sold out twenty minutes ago. The Druids are working to restock and estimate they can replenish the supply in three hours at the earliest."

Zog took a slow, deliberate sip of his tea.

’The fragrance lingers,’ he thought. ’Not bad.’

’He would never make a true public service announcement.’

After all, he was Zog.