Shadow of Chinese Entertainment

Chapter 299 The Return Journey

In this era, films featuring strong female leads are still extremely rare.

Because very few actresses can single-handedly carry a film's box office, and the few or two films that are primarily from a female perspective are mostly art films.

Commercial films featuring strong female leads are even rarer.

Take "Lucy" for example. It's a typical female-centric movie, but this kind of work is a classic example of a film that makes its stars shine.

Similar films include the Kill Bill series and the Resident Evil series.

The female leads of these two film series are also deeply bound to these two film series, unable to extricate themselves.

China also has similar blockbuster movies featuring strong female leads, such as "Li Moumou" and "Spicy Fat Diet".

Okay, there's really not much to say about these two!

So, it's obvious.

In this era, it is difficult to make a blockbuster, globally popular commercial film featuring a leading lady.

It must possess at least one of the three core elements: action, science fiction, or superpowers, and be combined with other eye-catching elements.

For example, "Lucy" combines elements of science fiction and superpowers to create a narrative system with a strong visual impact.

Kill Bill, with its sharp action and extreme violent aesthetics, created a classic female revenge story in film history.

The Resident Evil series, adapted from video games, combines action scenes, a sci-fi worldview, and superhuman abilities, creating a global movie-going frenzy that has endured for a long time.

In light of this, Hu Xiaobei has already made progress on his new film project.

It's quite a clever move, really. While this new film project hasn't even started yet, a similar new TV series project can be launched.

The new TV series project could increase An Xiaoxi's popularity and attract more European and American audiences to the movie "Mulan".

Even before that, he had decided to publish it as a novel first, and then adapt it into a film or television series.

You can also use this time to brainstorm ideas for the next part of the novel while taking a good rest.

Out of professional habit, his first consideration when writing a novel is how to adapt it into a film or television series.

Therefore, in the process of conceiving and writing, I tend to prefer designs that are easy to adapt.

Given his typing speed, it wouldn't take him long to write a novel after he had conceived the plot.

However, because An Xiaoqian often clung to his side, the writing mode was not fully completed.

It wasn't until the end of the month that Hu Xiaobei completed the remaining Chinese and English versions of the novel and screenplay.

Actually, there is also a French version of the novel, but Hu Xiaobei didn't work on it himself and handed it over to Professor An as before.

In this way, not only can the connection between them be strengthened, but Professor An's income can also be increased in a reasonable manner.

Professor An's French is extremely good; he can easily translate famous works and medical books, let alone a mere novel.

The novel also includes many illustrations, all drawn by Hu Xiaobei himself.

Whenever his paintbrush moves across the paper, he always unconsciously depicts those beautiful eyes, as clear and ethereal as the moon reflected in a cold pool.

The slightly raised hump on her nose was outlined with a touch of stubborn heroism, and then a faint dimple was added.

Well, anyone with eyes can see that the female lead was drawn based on An Xiaoqian.

As the brushstrokes swept across the paper, that angelic face leaped from imagination onto the page, as if it were about to step out of the ink painting at any moment.

These meticulously drawn lines, each stroke seemingly accentuating the natural charm in her eyes and brows, revealing the liveliness and purity hidden within her bone structure, just like the stunning and breathtaking first glimpse of her when the two met.

In addition, there are the meticulously drawn costumes of the female protagonist, her special weapons, and battle scenes. The crimson and shadows that leap off the page seem to foreshadow the direction of the story.

The novel is called "The Return Journey," and the protagonist, Cici, is a Chinese student studying in the United States. In the late August evening breeze, a wave of heat washed over Cici as she leaned against the wrought-iron railing of her apartment balcony, sweat trickling down her back.

The cold light from her phone screen reflected the anticipation in her eyes—only three minutes remained until the meteor shower forecast.

She clutched the cold soda can, the water droplets condensing on the aluminum surface sliding down her fingers and spreading dark marks on the tiled floor.

"coming!"

The moment the first shooting star streaked across the night sky, Cici was so excited she almost jumped for joy.

However, as the dazzling constellations cascaded down like a silver waterfall, a meteor, trailing a long, fiery white tail, hurtled straight toward her location.

Cici's heart leaped into her throat, her body froze on the spot, and she watched helplessly as the meteor drew closer and closer, its whistling sound seeming to carry a scorching heat towards her, as if the whole world was trembling.

However, just as the meteor was about to break through the atmosphere, a blinding burst of light suddenly exploded in the sky.

The invisible atmospheric barrier acts like a furnace, firmly blocking meteors from entering.

Its light twisted and deformed under intense friction, eventually turning into countless tiny sparks that fell in the distant sky and vanished into nothingness before even reaching the ground.

Cici's tense nerves suddenly relaxed, her legs went weak, and she slumped onto the wicker chair on the balcony, panting heavily and trying to calm her racing heart.

The night breeze, carrying a burnt smell, brushed past her hair, bringing a strange aroma.

She raised her hand and rubbed her suddenly swollen brow, a metallic, rusty sweetness filling her nostrils.

Cici felt as if something had struck her between the eyebrows, and she suddenly felt unwell.

After checking herself and finding no injuries, Cici assumed it was due to excessive tension and staggered back to her room to sleep.

But they didn't notice the cold sweat remaining on their fingertips, which was now gleaming with a strange light.

After an unknown amount of time, Cici woke up to a pungent, unpleasant odor.

The digital clock by the bed showed the date three days ago, but the light coming through the gap in the curtains was dim, as if shrouded in a layer of blood mist.

She sat up, rubbing her throbbing temples, only to find herself covered in an unpleasant odor, and the bed covered in unidentified grime.

Cici quickly got up and rushed into the bathroom, giving herself a thorough wash from head to toe.

Intermittent screams and roars came from outside the window, but Cici, whose stomach was growling with hunger, ignored these details and took out her food to eat.

At this moment, the unusual noise coming from outside the window caught her attention again—it sounded like gunshots!

Immediately afterwards, intermittent cracking sounds came from outside the window. Cici had a bad feeling, and her fingertips trembled slightly as she lifted the curtain.

Not far downstairs, a man covered in blood was seen swinging a baseball bat at a twisted figure.

The thing should have been a human, but now it was hunched over at an angle that defied physiological structure, and maggots could be vaguely seen wriggling under its rotting skin, making it look more like a zombie from a movie.

The dull thud of the baseball bat hitting her skull was mixed with the sickening cracking of bone, and Cici had to cover her mouth to stop herself from screaming.

At the same time, intermittent gunshots could be heard from afar, seemingly foreshadowing something.

"Boom-"

"Boom-"

"Boom-"

Just then, an unusual noise came from outside the door.

Thinking it was the landlady, she opened the door to ask her some questions.

To everyone's surprise, the landlady looked like a zombie and was crawling strangely up the stairs like a corpse.

"Landlady?" Cici felt her voice had become much hoarse. (PS: I'm too lazy to come up with a name)
The old woman, who should have been kind, was now folded up against the stair railing, her cloudy eyes almost popping out of their sockets, and blood dripping from the corner of her mouth onto the stairs—a truly horrifying sight!
(End of this chapter)