Chapter 540 Who do you look down on?
Alicia looked at the analysis report handed over by Merlin, her eyes lingering on the column about the required cost for a long time, her brows slightly furrowed.
Ten million gold coins, this number is really too big. Merlin thought that even for the wealthy elves, such a huge expenditure would make her worried.
Alice and Lianna, who were standing behind Alicia, had gloomy faces and stared straight at Merlin, as if they could see through him.
Merlin's heart skipped a beat when he saw Alicia like this.
Could it be that this seemingly stupid elf saw something? I was indeed a bit too cruel this time. The profit from this business deal was as much as five hundred times.
But in his impression, the elves have always been generous and they don't mind this little money.
In fact, the seemingly complex Azer Arcane Report decision-making system is nothing but an illusion created by Merlin.
The so-called representatives of the six empires and the Aize Federation were just those he carefully selected from all the students of the Arcane Academy.
Although these people were born in the six empires or the Aize Federation, they had no background or foundation and were completely pawns in Merlin's hands.
Most of the front-page news on weekdays are proactively provided by the six empires and the Aize Federation in order to enhance their own influence. The newspapers only need to arrange special reporters to conduct interviews.
In other words, the Arcane Gazette of Azer is actually a one-man show of Merlin, and there is no need for so-called "managing things from top to bottom". This is the absolute power under the control of capital.
But at this moment, Merlin felt that his plan seemed to have encountered a setback. Could it be that these elves really found some flaws in the plan?
Just as Merlin was thinking about how to remedy the situation, the two followers behind Alicia took an angry step forward.
"It's over!" Merlin thought to himself, did he really underestimate the intelligence of these elves? Could they really understand his plan?
Just as Merlin was racking his brains to think of a countermeasure, Alice and Lianna spoke at the same time.
Alice's eyes widened as she pointed at Merlin and shouted, "Merlin, since you have decided to help His Highness improve the reputation of the movie, you shouldn't be so petty! Tens of millions of gold coins for publicity, who are you looking down on? This must be the cheapest and worst offer you've made, right?"
Lianna also echoed, "That's right, our Highness sincerely sought help, but you were so perfunctory. Are you worthy of your status as the High Priestess of the Moon?"
Merlin was stunned. He never expected them to say such a thing.
Alicia sighed at this time and slowly said, "Arch Priest Merlin, this is too cheap. Is 10 million gold coins really enough? I've seen your plan, it's really very good, but I think this amount of money is not enough to achieve the effect we want. Archpriest Merlin, I know you are only thinking about the elves and want to save us money. But you don't know how deep our elves' heritage is and how rich we are! 30 million gold coins! I'll add 20 million gold coins to make sure we reverse the public opinion of "Caged Bird". Money is not a problem. If it's not enough, we can continue to add more."
"Thirty million gold coins?" Merlin's eyes widened instantly, and he could hardly believe his ears.
The elves are indeed the best "money-giving boys" in his eyes. At this moment, in Merlin's eyes, Alicia is just like the wealthy and lavish boss in the plot of "Caged Bird", a real sponsor.
Merlin was filled with emotion. He thought he had done enough to deceive the elves, but he never expected that the person in front of him was the real "master".
Merlin calmed himself down, showing a helpless and sincere expression, and said, "I didn't expect that my little trick was still seen by His Highness. As the high priest of the Moon God Cult, I am dedicated to the elves. I think that any cost savings for the elves is a plus, and the plans for the elves are naturally the best, but we also try to take the cost into consideration. After all, every gold coin is hard-earned, so we should save as much as possible."
Merlin squeezed out a few tears and continued, "I really tried my best to help His Highness achieve his goal at the lowest cost. But I didn't expect His Highness to be so understanding and trust me so much that he was willing to increase the budget. How can I not be moved?"
These words directly moved Alicia, Alice and Lianna.
Alicia's eyes were slightly red, and she said, "High Priest Merlin, you really care too much about us elves. We elves have always valued friendship and loyalty, and we understand your intentions. But you don't have to worry about the money, just do as I say."
Alice and Lianna also nodded and praised Merlin: "High Priest Merlin, you are truly dedicated to the public, and you are worthy of being the high priest recognized by the Moon God."
Merlin wiped away the tears that he had finally squeezed out from the corners of his eyes, and quickly signed a large contract worth 30 million gold coins with Alicia.
Alicia took the signed contract and added, "High Priest Merlin, please don't save money for me. This amount of money is really just a small amount for us elves. As long as we can reverse the reputation of "Caged Bird", everything will be worth it."
Merlin's face was filled with smiles, and he was so happy that he almost blurted out, "I really love the elves."
But he still suppressed his excitement and said with gratitude: "Don't worry, Your Highness. I will do my best and will not let Your Highness down."
After signing the contract, Merlin was secretly delighted. He had made a lot of money on this trip.
Alicia and the others were still immersed in the touching feeling of Merlin's "consideration for the elves", and had no idea that they had fallen into the "business trap" carefully woven by Merlin.
Merlin quickly mobilized the resources of the Aize Arcane News and began to whitewash the movie "Caged Bird".
Soon, the next issue of Azer Arcane News was launched, and the eye-catching headline instantly attracted the public's attention: "Shocking! Do you really understand "Caged Bird"? "
In a newspaper, a well-known writer conducted an in-depth analysis of Caged Bird: "Caged Bird is by no means as simple and easy to understand as it appears on the surface. It is an artistic treasure carefully crafted by the master of the spirit. From the beginning of the film, the setting of the heroine who seems to be luxurious but calls herself "poor" is actually a bold challenge to the perception of wealth and class in reality. The master of the spirit uses this contrast to guide us to think about how true poverty and wealth should be defined. Behind the seemingly absurd plot, there is a deep insight into social reality."
Immediately afterwards, several "well-known" masters and professors spoke out.
An "authoritative master" in the field of literature said: "The plot structure of "The Caged Bird" is ingenious, and it uses a unique narrative method to show the various aspects of the elf society. The heroine's experience of so-called "workplace bullying" is exaggerated in the form of throwing gold coins, which actually satirizes the distorted values of the aristocracy that measure everything by wealth. This is a sharp criticism of reality by the elf master."
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