After Fang Rui finished his roar, the only sound left on the rooftop was his heavy, uncontrollable panting.
The wind swept across the heights, rustling the hems of their clothes.
Only then did Shen Xu slowly raise his hand.
He extended his index finger, lightly tapping the cold gun barrel, and gently nudged it aside.
The movement wasn't fast, but this single gesture was arrogant to the extreme.
“Anger, sadness, love.”
Shen Xu’s voice was very low, as if he were casually evaluating a pile of trivial things.
“These emotions are merely patches evolved by lower organisms to make up for their intellectual deficiencies.”
“Officer Fang, everything you cherish is, in my eyes, nothing more than parameters that can be quantified, modified, or even deleted.”
“Don't you think it's ridiculous that you're using a set of bugs to judge the laws I've established?”
As he spoke, he withdrew his hand and unhurriedly straightened his tie, which had been ruffled by the wind.
That calm composure made it seem as though the object pointed at him wasn't a gun at all, but a dead laser pointer.
Then, Shen Xu turned around and walked toward the other side of the rooftop, his back perfectly straight, without even a momentary pause.
“I'm giving you a chance to shoot me.”
He threw those words over his shoulder without looking back.
His tone carried an absolute certainty that Fang Rui wouldn't dare to do it, nor could he.
The hand Fang Rui used to hold the gun trembled more and more violently, his breathing completely in disarray.
“Cut!”
Director Li’s voice came through the walkie-talkie, slightly deeper than usual, but anyone could hear the uncontrollable excitement behind it.
He didn't rush to stand up. Instead, he stared at the playback on the monitor for a full dozen seconds.
The set remained dead silent along with him for those dozen seconds.
Only then did Director Li suddenly look up and grab the walkie-talkie.
“That's a take!”
“Cameras A and B, make sure you save all the footage!”
“This take was absolutely perfect!”
As soon as those words fell, the cold aura around Jiang Yue instantly dissipated.
He turned around, returning to his usual easygoing self, and even gave Lin Ze a slightly sheepish smile.
Lin Ze was still panting, his chest heaving several times before he finally managed to catch his breath.
He looked at Jiang Yue. There was no trace of resentment on his face from being outperformed; instead, he grew increasingly excited.
The next second, he stepped forward and gave Jiang Yue a heavy pat on the shoulder.
“Brother, that was awesome!”
Lin Ze was truly impressed.
“I've been in this industry for a few years, and you're the first person who made my spine go cold just with your line delivery. Just now, I really believed it—I believed you were an emotionless monster.”
When he said this, several crew members nearby almost lost their composure.
Whispered discussions quickly broke out across the set.
“Holy crap, I didn't even dare to breathe during that scene.”
“Lin Ze's explosive power was intense enough, but Jiang Yue's calm madness was even more terrifying.”
“Is he really a newcomer? With this kind of vocal delivery, many drama school graduates would be put to shame.”
“Tell me about it. I still have goosebumps.”
As Jiang Yue listened to their chatter, the pale blue light screen in front of his eyes began to flash.
【Ding! Strong emotional fluctuations detected...】
【Lin Ze's approval: Prestige points +40】
【Li Cheng's ecstasy: Prestige points +30】
【Awe from the entire crew: Prestige points +60】
【Current Prestige points: 305】
Jiang Yue swept a glance over it, his mood quite pleasant.
He had only just joined the crew, and his Prestige points were already steadily recovering.
Director Li strode over, his face filled with the excitement of someone who had just discovered a hidden treasure.
“Jiang Yue.”
“You and Lin Ze just performed this scene in a way that brought out things beyond the script.”
“You've completely excavated the depth of Ghost's character.”
As he spoke, the more he thought about it, the more he felt something was off.
For such an excellent villain, the original script actually had him killed off with a single gunshot?
That was completely unnecessary.
Absolutely unnecessary.
Director Li turned around on the spot and looked at Assistant Director Old Wu.
“This won't do.”
“Old Wu, notify the screenwriter.”
“Change the original ending where Ghost is shot dead!”
“How can such an awesome villain die such a careless death!”
...
In a corner of the set.
“Change the ending!”
Director Li’s voice was firm, leaving absolutely no room for negotiation.
“The original ending where Ghost gets shot is too careless!”
The on-set screenwriter, Tang Feng, came jogging over clutching his laptop, his face filled with embarrassment.
“Director Li, this... the outline for this story arc is already set in stone.”
“Ghost's character must have a clear conclusion to lead into the next case.”
“He's the first hard bone the male lead has to gnaw on after his transfer. We have to resolve his plotline.”
“Otherwise, Fang Rui's character development won't hold up.”
“I didn't say we shouldn't resolve it!”
Director Li frowned and pointed toward the playback on the monitor.
“I'm saying we can't let him die so easily.”
“For such a high-IQ villain to end up shot to death in a hail of bullets—that doesn't just make him look stupid.”
“It makes our protagonist and the entire police force look stupid!”
Tang Feng’s mouth twitched.
The words were blunt.
But they actually made sense.
Director Li paced back and forth on the set a couple of times before finally stopping to make the final call.
“Capture him alive.”
“I want an open ending.”
“The man gets caught, but we must make the audience feel that this is far from over.”
“Twenty minutes. Give me a new conclusion!”
Tang Feng let out a sigh of relief.
But the moment he realized he only had twenty minutes, his head began to ache again.
This request was truly a bit outrageous.
Director Li ignored him, grabbing the walkie-talkie.
“Everyone, take a twenty-minute break on the spot!”
“Jiang Yue, Lin Ze, get ready!”
In the resting area off-set.
Jiang Yue took a bottle of water and sat down quietly.
He still looked perfectly clean and harmless.
Lin Ze also sat down beside him, glancing at him sideways.
“Brother, is this really your first time acting?”
Jiang Yue nodded.
“Yeah, first time.”
Lin Ze let out a bitter laugh.
“Drama school graduates fear natural talents like you the most.”
“During that confrontation just now, my spine really went cold.”
“The pressure you gave me was stronger than many veteran actors I've worked with.”
Jiang Yue smiled and didn't reply.
He couldn't exactly tell him that he wasn't a natural talent, but a cheat-code user.
Soon, Assistant Director Old Wu came running over holding a freshly printed sheet of A4 paper.
The paper was still warm.
“Teachers, here are the revised pages.”
“This is the final version the screenwriter and the director just agreed on.”
Jiang Yue and Lin Ze took them at the same time.
The content on the paper was ridiculously simple.
There was only a single line of action description, plus one line of dialogue.
【Fang Rui steps forward and handcuffs Shen Xu. Shen Xu does not resist.】
【Fang Rui: It's over.】
That was it.
The space below was completely empty.
There wasn't even a description of how Shen Xu should react.
Lin Ze's brows furrowed instantly. This was even harder than letting actors completely improvise.
Because the entire weight of the scene was now resting on Jiang Yue.
If it wasn't handled well, the highlight of Shen Xu's character built up earlier would completely collapse.
He subconsciously looked at Jiang Yue, wanting to see if there would be any hint of stage fright on his face.
As it turned out, Jiang Yue merely folded the paper in half calmly and slipped it into his pocket.
“I'm ready.”
He looked up and said to Old Wu.
His tone was as steady as if he were saying, "The process is complete."
Lin Ze watched him, utterly dazed.
My goodness, this guy really has nerves of steel.
The rooftop set, lighting, and camera angles were all ready once more.
Li Cheng sat behind the monitor, his expression even more serious than before.
He knew very well.
This single take would determine the final quality of the entire story arc.
They had already established Shen Xu as a compelling villain.
If this final stroke wasn't executed perfectly, all the brilliance from before would go to waste.
“Action!”
The clapperboard snapped shut with a crisp sound.
Rate on N.U.
