Chapter 132: Movie
Brett had already risen before dawn. After a quick wash, he headed downstairs for breakfast.
"Morning, Boss Brett!"
Fishmen greeted him with warm smiles throughout his walk.
Brett returned their greetings cheerfully.
As he settled into his usual breakfast spot, crowds of people streamed past on the street, heading toward the waterway on the far side of the district.
The workers were heading to their jobs.
"Oh! Brett! Eating breakfast alone again?"
A familiar voice called out from the crowd, and someone waved at him with a grin.
"Mark, you idiot," Brett rolled his eyes. "You're going to be late and lose pay."
"Hahahaha, forget about that," his old friend laughed, living his contented life. "Spare me, Brother Brett. Unlike you, I'm not flying solo—I've got a wife and kid to feed."
"Then get your ass moving!"
Brett said with mock irritation.
"I'm going, I'm going! But Brother Brett, when you finally get married, make sure you invite me to the wedding!"
Mark was already married—Brett had been his best man. Now the guy even had a son and lived quite happily. Whenever they met, he always wore that same cheerful smile.
'But I can't do that.' Brett's thoughts turned serious. Former Admiral Zephyr's tragic experience served as a constant reminder of the risks.
Still, there was no need to rush. Even nine years from now, he'd only be twenty-eight, and Shyarly would be twenty-nine. According to this world's tradition of strong people marrying and having children later in life, they were still very young.
His main focus remained developing Fishman Island and accumulating strength while waiting for the right opportunity.
Over the past year, Fishman Street had grown increasingly lively. With Fishman Island's economy expanding continuously, more wealth and resources flowed in, dramatically raising citizens' living standards.
'That's the advantage of a small nation with a limited population.' A single economic pillar could greatly improve living conditions. Add a few more, and per capita income could reach jaw-dropping levels.
Brett wouldn't claim Fishman Island's residents lived the most affluent lives in the world, but at least ninety-nine percent of countries on the seas couldn't compare to this place.
On Fishman Island now, even mining was no longer the primary economic pillar—manufacturing had gradually taken the lead.
Thanks to government technical assistance from a year ago and raw material supplies from the Charlotte family, Fishman Island's manufacturing industry had even begun surpassing mainstream surface standards.
In the past, merchants came to Fishman Island to buy raw materials and sell finished goods. Now it had reversed—Fishman Island bought raw materials and manufactured goods to sell to those same merchants.
However, Brett estimated that Fishman Island's industrial scale had reached its current limits. The seafloor terrain offered infinite space, and bubble technology allowed unlimited industrial expansion, but Fishman Island's population remained small.
'Future industrial development should focus on being broad yet specialized—cutting-edge and sophisticated.'
They should pursue high-end manufacturing, eventually outsourcing lower value-added industries to other countries.
Brett pondered these thoughts while eating breakfast.
"How long are you planning to take with that meal?"
A certain someone burst in hurriedly. "Filming's about to start!"
"What does your movie have to do with me?" Brett didn't even look up. "I already told you guys to film whatever you want."
"Stop playing dumb, Brett. You promised to help with the filming, remember?" Tesoro stood there in a floral shirt and oversized pants, looking like he was on vacation, speaking with obvious annoyance.
"But I never said I'd appear on camera myself."
Brett rolled his eyes.
Despite his business now being massive with connections to New World giants, Tesoro still hadn't abandoned his dream of stardom.
He'd opened an entertainment company in Dressrosa and started a record distribution business. Thanks to the logistics company he'd seized from the Shipping King, he could easily transport goods to every corner of the world.
In this world where entertainment was seriously lacking—reading comic strips in newspapers counted as high-level enjoyment—his business was surprisingly successful.
And now, this guy had come to Fishman Island to make a movie.
Movies did exist in this world, of course. Video transponder snails had nearly every conceivable application.
Even proper cameras weren't unheard of—the technology wasn't particularly advanced. All the pre-production technology for movies already existed.
But due to this world's isolated nature, few people had tried this approach before, never expecting to recoup their investments.
Naturally, Tesoro wouldn't worry about such problems.
"My movie could change how humans across the seas view Fishman Island!" Tesoro declared with great righteousness. "Let people living in distant waters know about Fishman Island's prosperity and wealth! Let humanity realize such a paradise exists in the ocean depths!"
Brett rolled his eyes. 'Where did this cultural invasion of the human world come from?'
"I can't say whether showing prosperity and wealth will attract ordinary people's attention, but it'll definitely attract pirates."
"That's exactly why the great Mr. Brett—director of Fishman Island's Immigration Bureau, guardian of Fishman Island, and the powerful, invincible Deep Sea Disaster—needs to appear personally!"
Tesoroo's attitude shifted, transforming from impassioned to beaming with smiles. "Show Fishman Island's strength! Let the scum of the seas know that Fishman Island is powerful and inviolable! Isn't this a good thing? This approach would also reduce your stress, wouldn't it?"
'This bastard just wants a gimmick.'
A movie filmed on location at Fishman Island, starring Deep Sea Disaster Brett leading his invincible army, with even Warlord Jinbe making an appearance!
Just thinking about that kind of movie was exciting.
Brett couldn't withstand Tesoro's persistence and finally agreed to his request. As the guy said, showing Fishman Island to the world might not be such a bad thing.
Although Tesoro had mentioned that Brett, the army, and even the Sun Pirates would participate in filming, Brett had assumed they'd be shooting big battle scenes with the Fighting Fish. In reality, Tesoro was making a romance film.
The general plot involved a human who fell into the sea during an accident and was rescued by a mermaid girl who brought him to Fishman Island. The two eventually fell in love and defeated invading pirates together, overcoming racial prejudices before finally joining hands—completely cliché material.
Brett played himself, acting as himself. His main role involved blocking the relationship between the male and female protagonists on illegal immigration charges early on, then serving as the main force on the frontal battlefield during the climactic pirate invasion—essentially becoming background scenery while the protagonists were active.
As for what kind of pirates would have the courage to attack Fishman Island head-on, Tesoro had created legal pirates hired by a certain government. They had colluded with all New World forces, possessed huge power, had cruel personalities, were tyrannical, had always conflicted with the male protagonist (an honest businessman), and coveted Fishman Island, finally gathering troops to attack.
The actor had dyed yellow hair and wore sunglasses.
This wasn't even subtle anymore.
Regardless, Tesoro's movie—with its cheesy title "Ten Thousand Meters Beneath the Sea"—had been filming on Fishman Island for some time, and now Brett was scheduled to make his appearance.
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