I'm not a drama freak, I can really see through the script

Chapter 390, The Chinese Military Spirit of Saving Lives Even at the Cost of Death
"I could sense your previous skepticism about the path of resource integration. How did you react after watching Avatar?"

Wang Su looked at Wang Lei beside him.
The slow progress of the IPO is actually partly due to Chairman Wang; he hasn't been as proactive in pushing forward the IPO process as before.

Wang Lei fell silent.

"Well, maybe even I'm starting to feel a little confused."

Looking back, Wang Lei recalled his ambitions: to develop and expand Huayi Brothers through resource integration, from being the "first capital in China" to developing overseas and even in Hollywood. That was his ambition, and the reason for pushing for an IPO was also for this purpose—to integrate capital resources.

We want to grow, we want to go global, we want to accomplish what China Film Group couldn't, and become the undisputed number one enterprise in China's entertainment industry.

However, after meeting Li Xuan, his heart wavered a little.

After watching Avatar, which depicts the ultimate integration of industrialization, it seems to confirm that this is indeed a smooth and prosperous path.
A fucking, incomparable broad road.
When the visual anchor point reaches a certain limit, no amount of micro-management will make you look like a clown.

Visuals are the first sense, so why do commercial films use handsome men and beautiful women?

Why is it that only those with outstanding looks can become 'celebrities'?

No matter how good your acting skills are, if your looks, temperament, and audience appeal are not up to par, then you can only be an 'actor'.

Li Xuan had wavered in his resolve, but now Avatar seems to be a reminder that he shouldn't waver.
but.
Wang Lei took a deep breath and said.

"I'm going to see 'Source Code,' anyone want to come along?"

“Source Code? That’s Li Xuan’s work?” Liu Meizhen, who was standing next to her, also said.

"Yes, it's Li Xuan's work."

"That's a bit absurd," Wang Shu said, looking at Liu Meizhen and Wang Lei with a strange expression.

These three are all influential figures in the entertainment industry, yet after watching "Avatar," they were still captivated by this young man, Li Xuan.
Even Liu Meizhen couldn't forget Li Xuan.
This envoy from Lionsgate in Hollywood had the same attitude.
"Indeed, I also find it hard to forget this talented young man. If I had to say, I'm really curious about him."

Liu Meizhen's strongest feeling towards Li Xuan was curiosity.

From the last time in Nanjing.

And then there's this science fiction film.

Moreover, it's a fairly low-budget sci-fi film.

They still chose such a hellish release date.

This makes Liu Meizhen curious about Li Xuan, wondering what kind of science fiction work he will come up with.

That's really intriguing.

"We've gathered some information from the public, and we've heard that it's going to rely on special effects. We're a bit curious about what kind of effects low-cost special effects can produce."

Wang Lei and Wang Su exchanged a glance and both noticed the strange look in each other's eyes.

It seems this foreign friend is unaware of this.

This time, the public opinion was almost entirely created by them.

Given that their special effects technology is already inferior to that of the outside world, how could they possibly produce corresponding works?

you get what you pay for.

In terms of special effects.

They are doomed to defeat.

And it will be a very ugly defeat.

It looks particularly bad.

The premiere of "Source Code" was not quiet; in fact, it was quite lively.

"This publicity campaign has been quite effective."

Li Xuan looked around and clicked his tongue in amazement.

The Beijing elites put in a lot of effort, and the effect of praising someone to death was still there; at least they boosted the buzz.

Many media outlets and film critics were present, as well as many ordinary viewers who were drawn in by slogans such as "hope for domestic science fiction" and "challenging Hollywood".

They all wore similar expressions, a mixture of curiosity and scrutiny, typical of domestic science fiction with special effects.
Li Xuan sat in an inconspicuous corner of the theater, watching all of this without any particular reaction.

Not long after, Han Ping came over and sat down next to him.

"President Han, you've arrived."

"Um"

Li Xuan looked at Han Ping in front of him.

The head of China Film Group had a lingering weariness on his face, and the bloodshot eyes were impossible to hide.

Indeed.

Han Ping has also been having a headache lately.

He hasn't had a good night's sleep since watching Avatar in the private screening room.

That's not a movie; it's a monster built with billions of dollars and cutting-edge technology, the ultimate form of resource integration taken to its extreme.

In the face of that monster, any talent or story seems so pale and powerless.

He tried to persuade Li Xuan, even through Wei Ming, but received only one reply.

"The schedule remains unchanged."

Now, sitting here, he has given up all hope.

It's less about attending the premiere and more about making a brief appearance—because compared to Avatar, any other sci-fi blockbuster seems far too weak.

"Here you are." Li Xuan turned his head and glanced at him.

"Well, I've invested my money, so I have to come and see Xiang'er." Han Ping said somewhat helplessly, "Actually, rescheduling is a good option, why don't you want to?"

Teacher Jiang must have told you the reason.

"Indeed."

“That’s the reason Teacher Jiang mentioned,” Li Xuan said with a bright smile.

Han Ping was stunned for a moment. Indeed, when he decided to make the call, Jiang Wen had told him that it was absolutely impossible—Li Xuan would not agree to change the schedule. For a true artist, his work is like a child, and a parent who doesn't even have confidence in their own child is a failure.

Indeed, the 'similarity' they spoke of is quite remarkable.

Without any communication, they could know what the other person was thinking.

"alright."

He didn't say anything more, just leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

There is no use in talking more.

Now that things have come to this, all he wants to do is quietly watch this inevitable defeat unfold, and then think about how to deal with the mess that follows and how to pull Li Xuan out of the ruins of public opinion.

The lights in the theater dimmed.

The big screen lights up.

The surrounding audience unconsciously sat up straight, and some even took out their 3D glasses, ready to welcome a visual feast.

Han Ping could only sigh in his heart.

The movie opens.

There is no grand universe, no dazzling special effects.

It's just the interior of a high-speed train carriage.

The camera smoothly pans across the passengers in the carriage, finally landing on the face of a man resting with his eyes closed.

It's Li Xuan.

A barely audible commotion arose in the theater, and the anticipation on some audience members' faces had turned into barely concealed disappointment.

That's it?

Where's the sci-fi blockbuster we were promised?

Han Ping's heart sank to the bottom.

That's it, the audience's patience is about to run out in just three minutes. The special effects are way too far behind those of Avatar.

Just then, Li Xuan on the screen suddenly opened his eyes.

That wasn't an actor performing according to a script.

That was the moment a person was forcibly dragged from a deep coma back to reality, their eyes filled with pure, utter bewilderment and terror.

The camera zoomed in, right up to his face.

There wasn't a single line of dialogue.

But every subtle twitch of his facial muscles was conveying a wealth of information to the audience: Where am I? Who am I? What happened?
The chaos and urgency were so real they sent chills down my spine.

Gao Yuanyuan, who was sitting opposite him, spoke up.

Li Xuan, no, it was Ke Yang, turned his head and looked at this unfamiliar woman. A sense of astonishment that came from the depths of his bones washed over him.

Han Ping suddenly sat up straight.

He's spent his whole life working with movies; what kind of actors hasn't he seen?

But what he saw still shocked him.

This is a performance that completely ignores the camera.

Li Xuan seemed completely unaware that a camera was pointed directly at his face; he had completely transformed himself into Ke Yang, who was trapped in an unfamiliar environment.

All his reactions came from instinct.

The commotion among the surrounding crowd subsided.

Everyone was drawn to the face on the screen, a face brimming with stories.

They forgot they came to see the special effects, and forgot all the hype and hype beforehand.

They were just looking at a person, a person who was in huge trouble.

The next few minutes were just an ordinary conversation.

But Han Ping felt a cold sweat break out on his back as he watched.

He understood.

Li Xuan is filming in an extremely extravagant way.

One shot throughout.

From the moment Ke Yang wakes up, through his conversation with the woman, to his search for clues in the train carriage, the camera remains on the same. This demands an almost obsessive level of skill from the actor.

There can be no mistakes in between; the emotions must be consistent; every action and every expression must be precise and flawless.

And Li Xuan did it.

He was like a stage actor, captivating everyone's attention with his coherent and compelling performance.

The theater was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Han Ping could even hear his own heart pounding.

A buzzing sound went through his mind, and an utterly absurd idea popped into his head.

Special effects?

Li Xuan never intended to compete head-to-head with Avatar in terms of special effects.

He staked everything on his performance.

He used his acting skills to become the most hardcore "special effect" in this movie!
This is fucking...only a madman would do something like this!

Before Han Ping could recover from the shock, on the screen, Ke Yang's gaze swept across the rapidly receding scenery outside the car window. His expression gradually shifted from confusion to a kind of panic as if he were about to drown.

Then came a huge explosion and a burst of flames.

The screen suddenly went black.

The first round lasted eight minutes and then it was over.

The entire theater was deathly silent.

A good ten seconds passed before someone let out a suppressed gasp, as if they had just caught their breath.

Han Ping remained frozen in his seat, motionless.

I was a little stunned. Is this what 'science fiction' is?
The special effects currently available are all extremely cheap.

If the special effects aren't good enough, the acting skills will make up for it.

Li Xuan, who performs a one-man show entirely by himself, has incredibly strong acting skills.

Although I already knew that Li Xuan was an actor, his acting skills in "Source Code" were even better than before.

A great many one-shot sequences.
"What terrifying potential!"

Han Ping was somewhat shocked by Li Xuan's acting skills.
Meanwhile, the plot is also quite compelling—wounded soldiers come to participate in an experiment.

At least for now, Li Xuan's acting skills and the current storyline are...

This allowed Han Ping to see flesh and blood, unlike the flesh and blood created using special effects in "Avatar".

The plot continues.

Han Ping originally thought that after being spoiled by "Avatar", he would lose some of his sense of immersion in the work.

But now it seems.

wrong
Han Ping then found himself becoming immersed in it as well.

The camera remained in that long take, relentlessly following him, the oppressive and tense atmosphere palpable even through the screen to every viewer.

There are no fancy special effects, and no grand scenes.

But Han Ping felt his palms sweating profusely.

He saw through Li Xuan's tactics.

This kid used eight repetitive minutes to create an ever-evolving puzzle game.

Each cycle is a new attempt, and it can uncover something new.

The audience, along with the protagonist, is trapped in this dead end, experiencing the despair of time flowing backward and the urgency of desperately finding a way out.

clever!

That's absolutely brilliant.
"As a director, Li Xuan's filming techniques are also excessively strong. Apart from the special effects, everything else is very impressive."

of course.

What intrigued Han Ping the most was the so-called 'source code,' as well as the protagonist's mission, identity, and all the signs that indicated it.
The main character seems to be more than just someone participating in an experiment.
After a failed cycle, Ke Yang was on the verge of collapse when the scene cut to a cold, impersonal control room.

Liu Yifei, who plays the military officer Guo Rong, appears on screen and calmly talks to Ke Yang.

Then, she revealed the truth—the truth that could overturn everything—in a tone of unbearable pain.
The repeated deaths eventually made Guo Rong feel somewhat reluctant to accept them.

"Captain Ke Yang, you sacrificed your life two months ago in the earthquake relief mission in Wenchuan."

"Everything you are experiencing now is just a collection of fragments of memory that are left in your brain."

"You are a piece of source code."

Han Ping's mind went blank for a moment, as if he had been hit with a sledgehammer.

He froze in his seat, his mouth agape, unable to utter a single word.

died?

The protagonist died long ago?

He wasn't some soldier participating in secret experiments; he was a...

dead?

Deadly quiet.

On the screen, Li Xuan's face was magnified in a close-up shot.

On that face, a series of emotions surged from utter astonishment to absurdity to disbelief, and finally, an overwhelming sadness of being abandoned by the whole world.
So I was already dead.

It turns out that beneath each death lies the 'truth' that was already dead.

But in the end, just when everyone thought he was going to break down, he only opened his mouth.
He didn't yell, nor did he cry.

But his trembling lips, his twitching eyes—everything about him tells you of the indescribable pain a dead person feels upon learning of their death.

Even if I have to say it again, all I can say is that Li Xuan's acting skills and micro-expression are truly phenomenal.

He simply expressed one thing.

The pain is real; the pain from so many reincarnations is a genuine and tangible reflection.

Even an iron man would break down.

Next.

In terms of plot.

The plot here might be a sublimation, or it might be an 'awakening' after Guo Rong's persuasion.

He even felt that it would be fine to end it like this, as it would be too cruel to torment a hero like this.

But just then, the silence was broken by a child's cry in the carriage.

Indeed, the protagonist's expression was somewhat unbearable when he learned of his own death.

But the expression on his face
From numbness, to a slight fluctuation, and then to a... familiar sense of responsibility etched into my bones.

He remembered something.
It might be those little hands he dug out from under the collapsed ruins.

It might be those people in the disaster area who have lost loved ones but are still holding on.

But he also remembered his identity; he was a soldier.

He swore an oath before the national flag to be a soldier of the Chinese people.

It is true in life and in death.

On the screen, Li Xuan, who plays Ke Yang, slowly, slowly straightened his back.

The pain on his face disappeared.

What followed was a tranquility I had never experienced before.

He turned his head, as if looking at Guo Rong in the control room, or as if looking at every audience member in the theater.

He uttered a few words in a calm tone that was almost heartbreaking.

"I understand."

"Saving people is my mission. When I know what I should do, the mental anguish is nothing."

"Thank you, Commander Guo."

It's turned around again.

Han Ping was somewhat shocked
The plot was supposed to be 'guided' by the superior officer to 'awaken'.

But the protagonist, Ke Yang, 'realized' it himself.

"This"

It was completely different from the science fiction films Han Ping had seen before.

It's completely fucking different!

Even the plot structure is different, but it is surprisingly reasonable.

Because he is a soldier of China.

Even if all that's left is a piece of code and a ghost, the belief etched into his bones is still that of a soldier protecting the people!
Han Ping looked up and returned to the screen.

A new round of eight minutes has begun.

This time, Ke Yang is a completely different person.

He was calm, decisive, and had a clear goal.

Every action he takes is driven by a "do it or die" mentality.

Han Ping looked around and realized that he wasn't the only one secretly wiping away tears in the darkness.

A burly man in the front row was wiping his face haphazardly with his sleeve.

Several young women nearby were crying uncontrollably.

Those viewers who were lured in by the "special effects blockbuster" have long forgotten about the special effects and Avatar.

I only remember one.

Even knowing they are already dead, they still want to save people—the soldiers of China.

(End of this chapter)