Who said this top flow is crazy! This top flow is awesome!

Chapter 273 "The Flu" - First Explosion

"Wow!"

"Aaaaaah!! Holy crap!"

"My god, these zombies are so realistic... They scared me to death!"

back row.

As the film transitioned from the very first scene, the rich woman's best friend screamed in terror—not because she was timid, but because "Flu" had indeed invested heavily in special effects zombies.

Before "My Love from the Star" aired, the post-production of "The Flu" was being polished, to the point that several investors ran away without money, which shows how "dedicated" (and exploitative) the team was.

If it weren't for this incident, Ikeno wouldn't have gotten involved in this project.

Later, Ikeno and Kensuke invested a fortune, and even required every extra in "Flu" to train for about six months on "zombie dance". Therefore, the sincerity and effect of "Flu" were explosive.

Add to that the fact that it was shown in a top-tier theater at the Cannes Midnight Screenings, where genre films were screened, the visuals, marketing, and the overall impact were terrifying—it felt like being right there in the action.

As the film progressed, the audience gradually went from being listless at the beginning to being fully engaged, and then to occasionally exclaiming in surprise.

— Due to his busy work schedule, Zhang Lin (played by Chi Ye) once again neglected to celebrate his daughter's birthday. Feeling guilty, he took his daughter on the high-speed rail train from Taipei to Kaohsiung.

He went to reunite with his ex-wife.

The camera pans down over Taipei Main Station from a hazy sky, showing the platform crowded with passengers hurrying to their destinations.

Zhang Lin, dressed in a dark gray suit and carrying a briefcase, strode quickly through the crowd with a furrowed brow, his wristwatch reflecting the morning light.

Behind him followed his youngest daughter, An'an—a little girl with a ponytail and a pink backpack, who was looking down at a Huawei children's smart bracelet with a disappointed expression.

The father and daughter boarded the high-speed train. Zhang Lin went straight to the window seat, placed his briefcase on his lap, and quickly took out his phone to check the stock market.

An'an, clutching her backpack, huddled in the corner of her seat, glancing at the scenery rushing past the window. Suddenly, she whispered, "Daddy, will we really see Mommy?"

Zhang Lin swiped his finger across the screen, not even looking up, and replied perfunctorily, "Yeah, I'll see you when I get to Kaohsiung."

"Excuse me, excuse me..."

Suddenly, a flight attendant's voice came from ahead. An elderly woman with a cane walked by shakily. When An'an saw this, she blinked her big, dark eyes and stood up to offer her seat.

Zhang Lin glanced at her, gently pressed his hand on his daughter's shoulder, and whispered a reminder: "There's no need to offer your seat at a time like this."

An'an stubbornly broke free from her father's hand and retorted softly, "Grandma's knees hurt too..."

"..." Zhang Lin awkwardly withdrew his hand, about to speak, when the phone rang. He immediately answered it and continued with a work call, during which the terms "fund sell-off" and "information blackout" were repeatedly mentioned.

"...Ikeno always likes to play these unlikable characters."

When Ling Bingbing saw this scene, she subconsciously pursed her lips, but the next moment, she was stunned—she actually "hated" Chi Ye the moment he appeared.

Because of these few simple shots, lines, and expressions...

Such natural acting skills.

He has improved so much since the "Big Boss" era.

—Zhang Lin's character in the film is much older than the characters Chi Ye has played before.

Surprisingly, it didn't look out of place at all.

Ling Bingbing was surprised.

The film distributors in the front row were also a bit surprised—not by the plot, but by the pacing and filming techniques of "Flu"... It was very mature, with a steady pace that was both fast and steady.

How fast exactly?
The camera pans across the train carriage, showing student couples laughing and joking, pregnant woman Li Ya (played by Sheng Ning) gently touching her pregnant belly, and a homeless man from Taiwan huddled in a corner of the restroom, shivering.

Zhang Lin pulled out a folder from his briefcase to review documents, but accidentally found a birthday card on it—the card had a picture of the whole family holding hands, and in the corner it said, "I want to celebrate my birthday with my mom and dad."

The train's announcements mingled with the rhythmic clanging of the rails, and sunlight streamed through the window, casting a shadow on Zhang Lin's profile...

Suddenly, a gentle Taiwanese female voice came over the high-speed rail announcement: "Next stop, Hsinchu."

"Hey, shouldn't the next stop be Taoyuan Station? Why is the announcement saying Hsinchu?"

"What's going on? Another error message. This is so annoying."

"Hey, let's play cards! I heard there's a super popular seafood restaurant that just opened in Kaohsiung. When we get to Zuoying Station, let's head straight there and have a blast, then head to Pier-2 Art Center to stroll through the night market and see the night view. This trip is going to be absolutely amazing..."

Various noises came from inside the carriage. Zhang Lin listened to the words around him, shook his head with disdain, and said, "Taipei's high-speed rail is so unprofessional."

The camera gradually zooms out, and against the backdrop of a train carrying passengers of different genders, personalities, and backgrounds, a line of subtitles appears, almost blending into the background, before gradually disappearing completely.

April 6th, 6:00 AM, [Virus outbreak, train departure].

Inside the theater, everyone instinctively sat up straight—after just a few minutes of build-up, everyone already knew that this journey was destined to be "wonderful".

"I never expected that Asia could produce films of this quality."

In the front row, a representative of one of the oligarchs said softly, "It seems very attractive."

"It makes us look forward to what will happen next."

"...Take another look, their special effects are better than I imagined."

At first, everyone was discussing it, but as the train started moving, everyone's attention and exclamations rose and fell almost continuously, without any sign of stopping.

From the initial "Virus Outbreak, Train Departure," to "Bloody Hunt in a Confined Space," "Midway Stop - Desperate Platform," then to "Traveling Through Hellish Carriages," and finally "Kaohsiung - Hope or Trap?"

There are five "units" in total, five smaller climaxes, which converge into the final grand climax.

The train was like a countdown bomb, approaching Kaohsiung at each stop, with fewer and fewer survivors.

During this period, Zhang Lin went from "only caring about his family" to protecting Li Ya from zombies.

Li Ya went from "recording the truth" to personally ending her husband's life.

And the zombies are so realistic they almost seem to jump out of the big screen, the train carriages are covered in blood, and there are even various metaphors between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.

The male protagonist, Zhang Lin, initially harbored a great prejudice against Taiwan. He married a Taiwanese woman, but they eventually divorced due to various trivial matters and differences in habits. Before the train departed, he still felt that Taiwan's high-speed rail was inferior to that of the mainland.

This is a sense of superiority that fits his cold-blooded and selfish character in the movie.

But along the way, he experienced many details and things that he had previously overlooked.

A Taiwanese student named Ah-hao insisted on saving the elderly first: "Children and the elderly should be given priority!"

Before he died, he took out a pineapple cake and stuffed it into his female classmate's hand: "Little sister, you have to live..."

There was a tour leader from the mainland, Lao Wang, who led a group of mainland middle-aged women on a "five-day tour around the island".

He often complained about the high prices in Taiwan, telling the group members, "Buy your own bottled water! It costs 5 yuan a bottle here."

When the zombie outbreak occurred, he suggested "kicking suspicious people off the bus".

Zhang Lin angrily denounced him as inhuman, while another Taiwanese woman who supported Lao Wang smiled bitterly and said, "This has nothing to do with where people are from; it's just that human nature can't withstand the test."

To be fair, "Flu" truly captures the essence of "integration" between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. The film is filled with subtle details, from initial hostility to seamless cooperation...

Therefore, many film fans from Asia at the scene were already deeply moved by the story without any prior explanation.

"That's how it is... I didn't expect a collaboration to look so good."

"I have never looked down on anyone. I didn't like the mainland much before, but because of Ikeno, I have really learned a lot."

"I saw the MRT, a night market, and betel nut stands amidst the zombie horde... a temple fair with eight famous generals, wow, they're so tiny..."

As several Taiwanese students were whispering among themselves, the voice, like a portal to hell, rang out again on the big screen—a voice they were already very familiar with: "Next stop, Hsinchu."

Hsinchu, it's Hsinchu again!
From the very beginning of the film, at each stop the train makes an announcement, "Next stop, Hsinchu." At first, everyone thinks the announcement system is malfunctioning, but they later realize that each announcement is accompanied by an increasingly dangerous attack and death. And this time, at the very end of the film, the train is about to arrive at its final destination—Kaohsiung.

Of the passengers who were excited before the train departed, only Zhang Lin, his daughter An'an, and the pregnant woman Li Ya survived.

The train lost control and crashed onto the platform. The Taiwanese military used searchlights to target them: "Hands up, get out, or we'll shoot!"

—It turns out that people who are bitten can also be shot.

Everyone shuddered, the oppressive and desperate feeling that had filled them with adrenaline all night reaching its peak.

Everyone died. Finally, at the final stop, they thought they would be saved, but instead, even being bitten meant being shot…

Having survived countless life-or-death experiences, Zhang Lin was disheveled and no longer had his former glory. When he heard the military's call, he was stunned for a moment before noticing a very obvious scratch on An An's arm.

"..."

Li Ya suddenly tore off her sleeve to wrap her wound and shouted to the soldiers, "She's not infected!"

"*#%#..."

No sooner had the words been spoken than a strange noise suddenly broke out. Then, Zhang Lin and Li Ya looked down almost simultaneously and saw that An An's pretty and cute little face was covered with blue veins as she bit her father's hand.

The two were stunned.

"..."

Everyone in the theater gasped in surprise.

On the big screen, Zhang Lin reacted quickly, hurriedly carrying his daughter back to the carriage to avoid the soldiers' gunfire.

The soldiers...the soldiers didn't fire, because just as they were about to shout, five or six zombie companions crawled out from behind and bit their necks from behind.

—Has even the final "safe point" fallen?

Zhang Lin and Li Ya were plunged into despair.

Just then, an announcement came from afar: "Survivors, please evacuate to Zuoying Naval Port..."

“There’s still hope!”

Zhang Lin's eyes lit up. Holding his daughter in one arm and pulling Li Ya with the other, he ran in the direction the broadcast indicated.

Subsequently, they encountered an even more terrifying horde of zombies, and Zhang Lin ultimately chose to sacrifice himself, plunging the atmosphere in the theater into complete despair.

Li Ya became the last "survivor." She staggered to another, and only, escape route. This route had not been "breached" by zombies and was heavily guarded by the government and the army. It was the only "safe point."

She was heavily pregnant and waved in this direction.

"At least I survived... It's good that I'm alive..."

Having already used half a pack of tissues, the wealthy woman was no longer afraid. Seeing this scene calmed her down a bit.

"What's this?!"

Suddenly, her best friend, whose eyes were also swollen from crying because of Ikeno's sacrifice, exclaimed.

However, on the big screen, just as Li Ya walked out, the camera showed a sniper scope aiming at her.

"She doesn't seem to be infected..."

"You're covered in blood, what if you have scratches?"

"Report to the higher-ups, we can't make that decision..."

The two soldiers spoke, and then both the theater and the big screen fell into a deathly silence.

The big screen went dark for a moment, then lit up again.

"boom!!!"

A muffled sniper shot rang out, Li Ya opened her mouth, her pupils gradually dilated, and she fell into the ruins.

One shot ended the lives of the last two people.

The theater erupted in an uproar.

But before anyone could react, the camera zoomed out, revealing thick smoke billowing from a Kaohsiung landmark building, as a horde of zombies swept across the ruins, engulfing the entire island...

The big screen went completely dark, the film ended, and the scene remained deathly silent.

"...Why isn't there any response?"

Ikeno, also in the front row, turned around and observed the crowd. He was quite satisfied with the various exclamations and visual impacts he experienced during the screening of "Flu".

In fact, the pacing of "Flu" was indeed perfect, achieving all the effects he wanted, but now... this reaction seems a bit off.

"You really have no heart."

Sheng Ning, who was sitting next to her, reached out and wiped her eyes almost imperceptibly before saying calmly, "There will be a reaction."

Ikeno turned around, just about to strike up a conversation with her.

clap clap.

Suddenly, someone started clapping.

The applause was like a switch that turned on in the movie theater; instantly, the applause grew louder and louder.

Snap snap snap... Snap snap snap...

Many overseas film distributors, dealers, and oligarchs in the front row stood up, as did various media outlets, writers, and reporters in the middle row.

The guests and ordinary audience members in the back row, including the Western audience members who "stumbled in" today and had no prior knowledge of Ikeno or "Flu", stood up.

The applause was thunderous and continued.

Ikeno was stunned for a second, then subconsciously wanted to stand up and thank him.

"do not move."

Sheng Ning tugged at him.

He glanced sideways at his "older sister".

"The Cannes 'custom'... the longer the applause lasts, the better the response to your film."

Ikeno was taken aback; he had never heard of this "custom" before.

Is there such a saying?

"Do all the movies shown in theaters do this?"

Sheng Ning gave him a strange look: "Of course not."

"Many bad movies are even kicked out on the spot."

She turned her head to look behind her, a smile playing on her lips: "The applause proves the film is very good."

"If it rings for a minute or two, it means you're going to have a big sale."

"And... now?"

Ikeno listened to the applause that was still going on in his ears. It seemed to have lasted for more than three minutes and was heading towards four minutes.

In the darkness, Sheng Ning stared at Chi Ye, her phoenix eyes unfocused: "Three or four minutes...that means this film is going to be a hit...a huge hit."

(End of this chapter)