Eunuch, do you really know these martial arts?

The film set was deathly silent.

Everyone was stunned, including director Zhang Yi.

He suddenly stood up behind the monitor, opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

This is not a performance.

This is a real collapse.

Jiang Nian stood still, his expression unchanged, his eyes still calm.

His words were both Lu Chenxi's final judgment on Chen Yang and his last warning to Zhou Yuxuan.

Li Qiang was the first to react, and rushed forward in a panic, trying to grab him.

"Go away!"

Zhou Yuxuan abruptly shook off Li Qiang's hand, turned around, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Jiang Nian, his chest heaving violently, his voice hoarse, "You...you..."

He wanted to say something, but because he was too emotional, he could only make gurgling sounds.

"The play is over, Mr. Zhou."

Jiang Nian's voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears: "Stop."

These words were like the last straw, breaking Zhou Yuxuan's already fragile nerves.

His legs buckled, and he staggered back two steps, only to be hurriedly supported by Li Qiang and another assistant behind him.

"Doctor! Call the doctor quickly!"

Li Qiang shouted shrilly.

The scene was in chaos.

Director Zhang Yi finally snapped out of his daze, took a deep breath, and said in a deep voice into the walkie-talkie, "That's a wrap! No more filming today! Set crew, clear the set! All unrelated personnel, leave!"

He walked over to Jiang Nian, patted him on the shoulder, and said with a complicated expression, "Go back and rest first."

Jiang Nian nodded, not glancing at Zhou Yuxuan who was slumped on the ground again, and turned to walk down the rooftop.

Xiaomin and Ajie immediately followed.

Back in the lounge, after closing the door, Xiaomin finally breathed a long sigh of relief, patting her chest with lingering fear.

"My goodness, Teacher Jiang, are you alright?"

"fine."

Jiang Nian took off her costume jacket and hung it up.

Ah-Jie stood by the window, peering through the blinds at the chaotic film set outside, and whispered, "He's completely finished."

I'm not referring to physical health, but to my future prospects in this film crew and even in this industry.

"It's your own fault."

Xiaomin pouted, then added with some worry, "But the internet is definitely more chaotic now..."

"The chaos won't last long."

Jiang Nian sat down, picked up her thermos, and took a sip of water.

Sure enough, less than half an hour later, Wu Ming called, his voice brimming with suppressed excitement: "Brother Jiang! You're amazing! You're truly amazing!"

"Speak slowly."

"The video of Zhou Yuxuan losing control on the rooftop has been filmed by someone with a mobile phone and has already been leaked online!"

"This is completely contrary to the sunny and dedicated persona he usually cultivates!"

Wu Ming spoke very quickly, “The internet is in an uproar! His fans who supported him before are all stunned, and many are unfollowing him and turning against him!”

"All the dirt we released before has been dug up and is being discussed again! The online trolls Li Qiang hired can't suppress it at all!"

"Also," Wu Ming lowered his voice, a smile playing on his lips, "Director Zhang contacted me privately just now, asking what my stance is. It seems he wants to replace you."

Jiang Nian was not surprised.

Zhang Yi is a director with extremely high standards for his work, and he would never tolerate a ticking time bomb on set.

"What will you say?"

"I told Teacher Jiang that she would follow the crew's arrangements and respect the director's and producer's decisions."

Wu Ming paused for a moment, then added, "However, I also hinted that changing actors might affect the filming schedule, since we'd have to re-coordinate schedules and get the actors back together..."

"Okay," Jiang Nian replied. "Let's wait for the official notification from the production team."

After hanging up the phone, Xiaomin's eyes lit up: "Teacher Jiang, is Zhou Yuxuan really going to be replaced?"

"High probability."

Jiang Nian stood up. "Pack your things, let's go back to the hotel first."

"Aren't we waiting for the production crew to notify us?"

"Someone will come and let you know."

Sure enough, shortly after Jiang Nian and his group returned to the hotel, there was a knock on their room door.

Ah Jie peeked through the peephole, then turned back and whispered, "It's Director Zhang's assistant, alone."

"Open the door."

The door opened, and Zhang Yi's assistant, Xiao Wang, stood in the doorway with a respectful yet cautious smile: "Ms. Jiang, I apologize for disturbing you. Director Zhang asked me to invite you over to the hotel's small conference room. Producer Liu is also there."

"Okay." Jiang Nian stood up.

The atmosphere in the small conference room was heavy.

Director Zhang Yi sat in the main seat, his brows furrowed, a cigarette between his fingers, and several cigarette butts already piled up in the ashtray.

Producer Mr. Liu was a middle-aged man in his forties, dressed in a casual suit, with a serious expression.

Upon seeing Jiang Nian enter, both of them stood up.

"Ms. Jiang, please have a seat," Mr. Liu gestured.

Jiang Nian sat down opposite them, while A-Jie and Xiao-Min stayed outside the door.

"Teacher Jiang, about what happened today..."

Zhang Yi spoke, his voice a little hoarse, "I saw it all."

He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear.

Jiang Nian nodded, but didn't reply, waiting for what would happen next.

Mr. Liu took over the conversation, speaking sincerely: "Ms. Jiang, we invited you here today to discuss the subsequent filming arrangements."

"Mr. Zhou Yuxuan's current condition is clearly no longer suitable for him to participate in filming."

"After an emergency discussion, our production team and directing team unanimously decided to replace the actor."

He spoke very directly, without beating around the bush.

Jiang Nian said calmly, "This is the production team's decision, and I respect it."

Zhang Yi stubbed out his cigarette, looked at Jiang Nian, his eyes filled with apology and a hint of weariness.

"Teacher Jiang, the production team is responsible for this incident. They failed to promptly identify and resolve the conflict between the actors, which caused you to suffer."

"Director, you're exaggerating."

Jiang Nian shook his head. "Work is work."

"That's good if you think so."

Zhang Yi sighed, "The problem now is that the filming schedule will definitely be affected after the actor is replaced. Chen Yang has a lot of scenes, so recasting, coordinating schedules, reshooting... will take at least two weeks."

He paused, looking directly at Jiang Nian: "I'd like to hear your advice. You're the male lead, and you have the most scenes with this character. Who do you think would be suitable to replace him?"

This is a delicate matter. On the surface, it's a solicitation of opinions, but in reality, it's also a test and a show of respect. Jiang Nian pondered for a moment, then instead of directly recommending a specific candidate, said, "The character of Chen Yang is portrayed as a brilliant, overseas-educated doctor—young, ambitious, and genuinely talented. The actor needs sufficient acting skills to support the character's complexity; he can't just be cool. Also,"

He looked at Zhang Yi and said, "It would be best if you could join the crew as soon as possible to reduce the adjustment period."

Zhang Yi and General Manager Liu exchanged a glance and nodded.

Jiang Nian's words hit the nail on the head, setting out both professional requirements and practical considerations.

“That’s what we’re thinking too,” Mr. Liu said. “We’ve already contacted several young actors who are available, and I’ll send you their information later. If you have any suitable candidates, you can also recommend them.”

"Okay," Jiang Nian replied.

After leaving the meeting room and returning to the room, Xiaomin immediately came up to her: "Teacher Jiang, how did it go?"

"Replacement."

Jiang Nian's words were concise and to the point.

"That's great!" Xiaomin couldn't help but pump her fist. "Then what about the follow-up filming..."

"Wait for further notice." Jiang Nian walked to the window and looked at the night view outside. "Work should be suspended for a few days."

As they were talking, his phone vibrated; it was an encrypted message from Bai Yongxu.

Only two words: "Convenient?"

Jiang Nian replied: "Ten minutes later."

He said to Xiaomin and Ajie, "I'm going to rest for a bit, don't disturb me."

Entering the bedroom and locking the door, Jiang Nian opened his specially made laptop and connected to the encrypted network.

A few minutes later, Bai Yongxu's image appeared on the screen.

He looked more tired than when we last contacted each other, but his eyes were still sharp.

"Jiang Nian, I saw the news. You've been making quite a stir on set."

Bai Yongxu got straight to the point, his tone neither praising nor criticizing.

"I dealt with a bit of trouble," Jiang Nian said casually.

"Hmm, handled well." Bai Yongxu actually nodded. "Clean and efficient, leaving no future troubles."

"It's best to handle these kinds of minor matters quickly and not waste too much energy on them."

He changed the subject: "Let's get down to business. We've made a new discovery about Guixu."

Jiang Nian's spirits lifted: "What discovery?"

"Do you remember the blue light data that Ghost 3 transmitted before it lost contact?"

Bai Yongxu pulled up an analysis report: "The technical department spent a lot of time cracking it, and finally made progress. It's not a weapon, at least not a weapon in the conventional sense."

He zoomed in on the waveform on the screen: "How should I put it? It's like a combined effect of biological pheromones and physical fields. It's not aimed at machines, but at living organisms, specifically living organisms with specific genetic characteristics."

Jiang Nian's eyes narrowed: "Targeting me and Zero?"

“Correct.” Bai Yongxu nodded. “Its working principle is to stimulate the disruption of a special harmonic frequency within the target body.”

"This is a preliminary speculation."

Bai Yongxu's expression was grave. "We suspect that there may be a larger device inside Guixu."

He paused, then uttered an even more startling conjecture: "We analyzed the composition of the catalyst transported by the Poseidon, and combined it with the snippets of conversation between Han Dong and Butcher, we now have a bold hypothesis."

"The Sleeper".

Jiang Nian slowly uttered these three words.

“Yes.” Bai Yongxu affirmed, “These fragments, when pieced together, point to a possibility: the Sleeper is deep within the Ruins of Return, in some special state.”

"The organization wants to use a key in conjunction with a catalyst to complete the final awakening or transformation. And that blue light field may be a defense mechanism to prevent outsiders from interfering with this process, or it may be... part of the awakening process."

The room was quiet for a few seconds.

Jiang Nian processed this information and asked, "Is there a solution?"

“The technical department is trying,” Bai Yongxu said. “Since it targets a specific frequency, we can try to simulate a shielding field at the opposite frequency. But it will take time, and the results are unknown.”

He looked at Jiang Nian: "How is your recovery going?"

"Eighty percent," Jiang Nian answered truthfully.

"Speed ​​up the recovery." Bai Yongxu said seriously, "A new reconnaissance plan has been formulated. This time we will not send unmanned equipment, but human personnel."

Jiang Nian raised an eyebrow slightly.

"It's not a direct assault, it's infiltration."

Bai Yongxu explained, "You happen to have some time during this break from work due to the role change. We need your cooperation to conduct a remote data anchoring."

"Specific content?"

"We will launch a set of special deep-water beacons that will silently sink into the target sea area and attach to the possible outer structure of the Ruins. These beacons can continuously collect data such as vibration, acoustics, and thermal radiation to help us to more accurately map the structure and activity patterns of the Ruins."

Bai Yongxu paused for a moment: "But the beacon needs guidance to avoid the enemy's active defense network. Your mission is to arrive at a certain coordinate point in the South China Sea at a specific time, take a submarine to a safe depth, and then release a harmonic signal with the same frequency as zero for a short period of time through our specially made biosignal simulator."

"Use me as bait?"

Jiang Nian immediately understood.

"It's both bait and cover."

Bai Yongxu did not deny it, "Your signal will attract the attention of the other side's defense system. Even if it's only for a few seconds, it's enough for the beacon team to infiltrate the designated location. This process is very short and the risk is controllable. Moreover, we will monitor the entire process, and we will terminate it immediately if there is any abnormality."

Jiang Nian pondered for a moment: "Time?"

"Five days later. By then, the beacon team and submarine will be in place, and the sea conditions in the South China Sea will be most suitable."

“Okay.” Jiang Nian said without hesitation, “I need a detailed plan and safety contingency plan.”

"It's all ready, I'll send it to you encrypted." Bai Yongxu fiddled with the buttons for a few seconds. "Also, for the film crew, you need a reasonable reason for leaving."

"I'll handle it."

After ending the communication, Jiang Nian received the encrypted file and quickly browsed through it.

The plan was meticulous, and the risks were indeed minimized.

His task was to release a simulated signal for 15 seconds at a depth of 800 meters underwater using a handheld device, and then immediately evacuate. The entire process took no more than three minutes.

The key lies in timing and concealment.

He wrote down all the details and then deleted the file.

As expected, the film crew suspended production for the next two days.

The news of Zhou Yuxuan's official contract termination was released through official channels. The wording was tactful but the attitude was firm, emphasizing that "the actor's personal condition could not meet the filming requirements."

Online public opinion completely reversed; the voices attacking Jiang Nian disappeared completely, replaced by widespread ridicule of Zhou Yuxuan's collapsed persona and praise for the production team's decisive handling of the situation.

Director Zhang Yi sent over the information of several potential actors. Jiang Nian reviewed them carefully and ultimately recommended a young actor named Chen Xiao.

She has formal training, solid acting skills, and has played supporting roles in many serious dramas, earning a good reputation. Most importantly, her schedule is suitable.

After watching Chen Xiao's audition footage, Zhang Yi and General Manager Liu quickly made the decision.

On the third day, Chen Xiao joined the crew.

This is a young man who seems a bit shy, but he transforms completely in front of the camera, with a fierce determination in his eyes, which perfectly matches Chen Yang's character traits.

Although his first scene with Jiang Nian was a little awkward, he was serious, had a solid foundation in dialogue, and cooperated very well.

Director Zhang Yi's expression finally softened.

During the break, Chen Xiao approached Jiang Nian and bowed respectfully: "Teacher Jiang, thank you for recommending me. I will definitely work hard and live up to your trust."

"No need to thank me, you're qualified," Jiang Nian said calmly. "Just act well." (End of Chapter)