107: Chapter 107 Moving Movie Projector

The families receiving these condolences included both Chinese and white people.

Since Lin Tian's businesses rarely hired Black people, this warmth naturally did not extend to them.

These low-level employees, who were struggling to make ends meet, were moved to tears after receiving such an unexpected surprise from their boss.

Some families even hugged each other and wept.

For an entire day, Lin Tian gave away three carriage-loads of roasted turkeys and several thousand dollars in hard cash.

This extravagant behavior left Li Shuwen, who had not been in the USA for long, completely confused.

He really couldn't understand why his boss wanted to act like a philanthropist spreading wealth.

Lin Tian looked at him and said earnestly.

"People, you know, if you give someone a hand when they are in their greatest time of need, one day in the future, you might receive a hundredfold return!"

After hearing this, Li Shuwen, who was wearing a flashy red suit and had his hair slicked back, stroked his chin and pondered for a long time. He seemed to have a realization and nodded solemnly.

"In that case, Mr. Lin Tian. Since it's the holidays, could you spare me a few more free meal vouchers for the CFC Fast Food Restaurant?"

Lin Tian, who was walking in front, stumbled and nearly face-planted into a snowdrift.

...

That evening, Lin Tian trekked through the snow back to Lin Manor, where a colorful fairy-tale world greeted his eyes.

Even the centuries-old trees in the courtyard were draped with twinkling fairy lights.

"Bruce, Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas!"

As soon as he entered the gate, two young girls dressed in knee-length skirts and sexy Christmas outfits ran up to him with beaming smiles.

Seeing the beautiful sight before him, Lin Tian was in a great mood and replied with a smile, "Anna, Elizabeth, I wish you both a Merry Christmas!"

Then, he casually snapped his fingers.

Two maids immediately walked over, laboriously carrying a machine with a peculiar design.

Anna, dressed in her Christmas outfit, recognized the thing at a glance.

"A motion picture projector!"

"That's right. This is the thing your father invented. I had Tesla modify it, and I specifically had it brought over from the Umbrella Laboratory today to entertain you all." Lin Tian smiled proudly.

"A motion picture projector? What is that?"

Elizabeth, wearing a red pointed hat, leaned in with curiosity written all over her face.

Lin Tian didn't offer much explanation, instead skillfully fiddling with the machine.

He directed the maids to hang a huge white screen on the white wall of the hall.

"Turn off all the lights in the hall!" Lin Tian turned his head and ordered Helen.

"As you wish, Master!"

With a soft "click," the entire hall instantly plunged into darkness.

Even the luxurious, massive crystal chandelier on the ceiling became completely dark.

Only the machine in Lin Tian's hands emitted a blinding white light.

He gripped the crank and began to turn it at a steady speed.

Soon, vivid black-and-white images began to dance on the white screen opposite them.

This reel of film was a trump card Lin Tian had specially prepared for tonight.

The opening scene: New York Train Station, where a steel beast spewing thick smoke was barreling straight toward the camera.

Elizabeth, Jiang Meier, and the maids like Helen, who had never seen a movie before, screamed on the spot.

"Oh my god! It's going to crash into us!"

Elizabeth was so frightened that her face turned pale. She covered her head with her hands, instinctively trying to hide in the corner of the hall.

This was a natural reaction caused by the limitations of the era.

They were completely stunned by these realistic, moving images.

Even though the projector before them couldn't produce any sound, the sense of oppression brought by the speeding steam train was still heart-shaking.

Watching Elizabeth's pathetic, scurrying appearance, Anna held her stomach and laughed until she shook.

After a while, Elizabeth peeked through her fingers and realized the train hadn't crashed out of the wall. Only then did she lower her arms, still shaken, and asked in disbelief, "Lin Tian, this... what on earth is going on?"

"This is a motion picture projector. Simply put, it can freeze the passing of time!" Lin Tian explained mysteriously.

"Freeze time?" Elizabeth was bewildered.

"You know what a camera is, right? The principle of a camera is to let photosensitive material leave an image on film."

Anna pointed to the crank in Lin Tian's hand, "The principle of this machine is to play countless continuous photos at high speed, which visually becomes a moving picture!"

Although Elizabeth still only half-understood, it didn't stop her from being deeply captivated by the images on the screen.

After the train, the scene cut to the bustling Times Square.

Carriages flowed in an endless stream, and gentlemen in black trench coats hurried along the winter streets.

Elizabeth's eyes lit up as she watched, and she exclaimed in excitement again and again.

The final segment of the footage cut back to Lin Manor. Lin Tian was standing in the courtyard, performing a set of martial arts with great vigor.

Seeing her beloved show off his skills on the screen, Elizabeth couldn't have been happier.

The entire film was just over ten minutes long and finished quickly.

The hall lights came back on, but everyone was still staring straight at the screen, looking obsessed and wanting more.

"Bruce, Bruce! Teach me how to play with this thing!"

Elizabeth ran up and excitedly tugged on Lin Tian's arm.

"There's nothing difficult about it. Come, I'll teach you step by step!"

Lin Tian patiently guided Elizabeth on how to operate this powerful device.

Before long, even Jiang Meier and maids like Helen couldn't resist their curiosity, surrounding Lin Tian and scrambling to get a touch.

...

After eating a sumptuous Christmas dinner.

Elizabeth clung to Lin Tian's arm and acted coquettishly, insisting on taking the projector back home to show off.

Seeing her sexy, short-skirted outfit tonight, Lin Tian readily agreed.

Elizabeth was overjoyed and planted a kiss on Lin Tian's face, leaving a red lipstick mark.

"Lin Tian, I won't go back tonight, okay?"

The night was deep. Anna, having changed into a beige trench coat, leaned lazily against the fireplace, tilting her head to look at Bruce.

Bruce looked up at the enamel clock in the corner of the hall; the hour hand had already pointed to nine. He nodded slightly, tacitly agreeing.

Anyway, there were plenty of empty rooms in the manor, and it wasn't the first time Anna had stayed over.

Everyone was long used to it, and even Elizabeth couldn't be bothered to ask.

Lin Tian casually arranged for his exclusive driver, Paul, to drive Elizabeth safely back to the Rockefeller Estate.

...

As soon as the car stopped, Elizabeth jumped out impatiently and shouted toward the main mansion.

"Ingram! Come here and help move some things!"

The Old Butler, Ingram, heard the commotion and hurriedly jogged over to meet her.

"Ingram, and Emma, hurry and help me carry this big treasure inside!" Elizabeth ordered the personal Black maid who had come running at the sound.

With the three of them working together, the heavy projector was finally carried into the first-floor hall of the Rockefeller Estate.

Rockefeller and his wife Laura, who were wearing silk pajamas and preparing to rest, were stunned to see their daughter dragging such a piece of junk back in the middle of the night.

Elizabeth nimbly assembled the machine and turned to give an order to The Old Butler.

"Ingram, go pull the power switch for me!"

"My heavens, are you trying to tear the house down, Sean?" Her mother, Laura, asked, full of confusion.

"Mom, Dad, just get ready to scream!" Elizabeth said excitedly, keeping them in suspense.

Rockefeller, who was well-informed, scanned the machine with a sharp gaze and nodded slightly to the butler.

The Old Butler dared not delay and jogged away to cut the power.

"This is another new gadget cooked up by the Umbrella Laboratory, right?" Rockefeller asked with a chuckle during the power outage.

Although he was a major shareholder of Umbrella, he had no spare time to monitor specific R&D projects; he only knew that Lin Tian had a bunch of mad scientists under him who could always come up with bizarre black technologies.

Elizabeth nodded proudly.

The commotion downstairs had also woken up little John, who had already gone to bed.

He rubbed his sleepy eyes and had just reached the top of the stairs.

With a soft "click," the entire hall plunged into pitch-black darkness.

Only the lens of the projector emitted a blinding white light, hitting the wall.

Elizabeth paid no attention to her brother, excitedly turning the crank and acting as the projectionist, just like Lin Tian.

"My God! Move out of the way, it's going to crash into us!"

Just like her daughter's reaction at Lin Manor, her mother, Laura, was frightened out of her wits and let out a shrill scream.

Even Rockefeller, who had experienced countless storms, felt his heart twitch violently when he saw this kind of moving image for the first time, and he instinctively reached out to shield his wife behind him.

But the imposing train ultimately did not rush out of the screen; instead, it traveled along the tracks into the depths of the image.

Immediately after, the street scenes of Times Square and footage of Lin Tian practicing martial arts flashed by one after another.

Little John, standing at the stairs, had his eyes almost popping out, and all his sleepiness vanished instantly.

By the time the hall lights came back on, he was still standing there with his mouth wide open, unable to snap out of it for a long time.

"This thing is truly divine; it can actually record the movements of living people?" Rockefeller marveled, unable to resist stepping forward to touch the machine's casing.

"That's right, I heard it was created using the same principle as a camera." Elizabeth said, full of pride.

"Sister... good sister, can you play it for me one more time?" Little John swallowed his saliva and pleaded longingly.

"Get back to your room and sleep! You have to accompany your mother to church for service early tomorrow morning!" Rockefeller instantly changed his expression, putting on the stern dignity of a father as he scolded him.

Little John immediately wilted like a frosted eggplant.

He stared at the projector, looking back every few steps, wishing he could carry it straight to his bedroom and watch it all night.

...

After Christmas, New Year's Day arrived in a flash.

Lin Tian had originally planned to bring his father, Lin Shi, to New York to enjoy a comfortable life. But there were too many affairs at Hongmen, and Lin Shi simply couldn't get away.

The old man said over the phone that he wouldn't be free to come over until at least after the New Year.

In fact, Lin Tian was anxious to have his father come over, and celebrating New Year's Eve was just an excuse.

His true intention was to use the heaven-defying Medpod 3000 medical pod to properly treat his father's health.

Of course, he intended to bury the truth about the origin of this divine artifact deep in his stomach.

The official story for the public: This was top-secret equipment just developed by the Umbrella Laboratory.