This director only directs blockbusters.

Four days after Nicholas Tse's diary was published, the crew filmed the most important scene since filming began.

Chapman's Peak Road in Cape Town, 6 a.m.

Before dawn, the sea was a hazy gray, and waves crashed against the cliffs, breaking into white foam. The highway snaked along the mountainside like a thin serpent, with a vertical rock face on one side and a sheer drop of hundreds of meters on the other.

More than forty people had been waiting on the mountaintop for two hours. The lighting crew had set up the lights, the photography crew had laid out the tracks, and the props crew was checking the specially made steel cable—16 millimeters thick, capable of bearing three tons, with one end connected to the modified off-road vehicle and the other end ready to be fired at the helicopter.

Yang Ning stood on the edge of the cliff, holding a walkie-talkie, his face expressionless.

Old Xu walked over and handed me a cup of coffee, his hands trembling.

"Yang Zi, is this scene... really going to be filmed?"

"Otherwise what?"

"But this is too dangerous," Old Xu said in a low voice. "Hu Jun is going to stand on the roof of the car and use that grappling hook to shoot at the helicopter. What if he misses? What if the cable breaks? What if—"

"There are no 'what ifs'," Yang Ning interrupted him. "Chen Wei led his team in two months of training, the props team tested it fifty times, and the helicopter pilot is a retired South African Air Force pilot. Every 'what if' that can be thought of has been taken into account."

Old Xu opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything.

Hu Jun walked over from behind, wearing the tactical vest from the movie, and holding the magnetic grappling hook in his hand—made by the props team according to Gao Yuanyuan's design, weighing eight pounds and with a range of thirty meters.

"Director Yang, you're ready."

Yang Ning looked at him.

Hu Jun's face was calm, but there was something in his eyes—not fear, but the focus of a soldier before going into battle.

"Brother Jun," Yang Ning said, "you can use a stunt double for this scene."

"No need," Hu Jun shook his head. "I'm playing a special forces soldier. If I can't even handle something this simple, is that acceptable?"

He paused, then smiled.

"Besides, stand-ins are people too. If they can do it, why can't I?"

Yang Ning nodded and didn't try to persuade him further.

Nicholas Tse came over from the other side, holding his car keys. He was unusually quiet today; he just walked over and stood there, watching the sky gradually brighten in the distance.

The sound of a helicopter came from afar.

Everyone looked up. A black dot appeared on the horizon, growing larger and closer. The sound of the propellers grew louder and louder, until finally everyone's ears were ringing.

It was a Lark III helicopter, retired from the South African Air Force, which the film crew rented to shoot this scene. The pilot's name was John, in his fifties, with gray hair, and he had been flying for thirty years without ever having an accident.

The helicopter hovered twenty meters above the road, its powerful gusts of air sending gravel flying from the ground. Hu Jun squinted, his grip on the grappling hook tightening.

"Director Yang," Chen Qiming peeked out from behind the camera, "the lighting is almost right."

Yang Ning glanced at the sky. The sun was just rising from the sea, its golden light slanting across the road and bathing everything in a warm hue.

"All departments, prepare." He picked up the walkie-talkie.

The sound was transmitted to everyone's ears through headphones.

The photography team, lighting team, props team, and special effects team—everyone reported normal results.

Nicholas Tse got into the car and started the engine. Hu Jun stood on the roof, one foot on the windshield frame and the other dangling in the air, holding onto the roof rack for balance.

Li Binbin, Gao Yuanyuan, Deng Chao, and Xue Kaiqi stood outside the cordon, their eyes fixed on this side.

Yang Ning took a deep breath.

"Action!"

Nicholas Tse's car sped off.

The road was narrow, and the car was going very fast. The camera followed from behind, capturing the details of the wheels rolling over the road, the moment the rear of the car swerved around the bend, and every second that Hu Jun was on the roof of the car trying to keep his balance.

The helicopter followed behind, getting closer and closer.

Twenty meters. Fifteen meters. Ten meters.

"Ready—" Yang Ning stared at the monitor.

Hu Jun raised the grappling hook and aimed it at the helicopter landing gear.

The car jolted violently at high speed, and Hu Jun's body swayed, but he steadied himself.

Eight meters. Seven meters. Six meters.

"emission!"

Hu Jun pulled the trigger.

The grappling hook, carrying the steel cable, shot out, tracing an arc in the air—

Everyone held their breath.

The steel cable got tangled in the helicopter's landing gear.

"We got it!" someone shouted.

But the next second, an accident happened.

The helicopter suddenly jerked upwards, the immense force tauting the steel cables. Nicholas Tse's car was pulled forward, nearly losing control. Hu Jun was violently thrown from the roof of the car, his entire body thrown backwards—

"Brother Jun!"

Nicholas Tse jerked the steering wheel, trying to stabilize the car. But the speed was too fast and the curve was too sharp, causing the rear of the car to begin swinging towards the cliff.

Hu Jun's foot was already dangling in the air.

Just then, he pushed off with his other foot, lunging forward and grabbing the roof rack. His body was hanging outside the car, with a cliff hundreds of meters below.

"Stop! Stop!" Yang Ning shouted into the walkie-talkie.

The helicopter pilot reacted quickly, descending the altitude and releasing the brakes. Nicholas Tse slammed on the brakes, white smoke billowing from the tires, and the car finally stopped less than a meter from the edge of the cliff.

Hu Jun slid off the roof of the car and sat on the ground, panting heavily.

Everyone rushed over.

"Brother Jun! Brother Jun, are you alright?" Deng Chao ran the fastest, his face was pale.

Hu Jun waved his hand and stood up. His legs were a little weak, but he was fine.

He glanced at the cliff behind him, then at Yang Ning.

"Director Yang," he said, his voice trembling slightly, but a smile on his face, "is this scene usable?"

Yang Ning stared at the monitor replay.

In the scene, the car loses control on a curve, Hu Jun's body is suspended in mid-air, and below is a bottomless abyss—all of this is real.

"It works," he said.

Hu Jun grinned.

---

During his lunch break, Nicholas Tse sat alone on the edge of the cliff.

Yang Ning walked over and sat down next to him.

Neither of them spoke; they just stared at the sea.

After a long while, Nicholas Tse finally spoke.

"Director Yang."

"Um?"

"Just now," he said, "I thought something bad was going to happen."

Yang Ning did not respond.

"When the car veered off course, a thought flashed through my mind—" He paused, "If it just fell like that, I wouldn't have finished saying what I was saying."

"What did you say?"

Nicholas Tse remained silent for a while.

"It's in that diary entry," he said. "There's a lot more I didn't write down. Like how I felt when I saw that national flag planted there on set that day."

He looked at the distant sea.

"I used to think that living was just living, and acting was just acting. But that day I realized that some things are more important than living."

Yang Ning lit a cigarette and handed it to him.

Nicholas Tse took it, took a puff, and choked, coughing.

"If you don't smoke, then don't smoke."

"Learn from it." Nicholas Tse took another puff, this time without coughing. "It might come in handy later."

The two of them just sat there, smoking and watching the sea.

---

We filmed some additional shots in the afternoon.

After resting for two hours, Hu Jun was back to his energetic self. He stood in front of the camera as if nothing had happened, laughing and running as usual.

As we finished work, the sun began to set again.

Yang Ning stood behind the monitor, watching the playback one last time.

In the footage, a car speeds along a bend, Hu Jun stands on the roof, a grappling hook shoots out, the steel cable taut, and a helicopter pulls it up—every shot was filmed with their lives on the line.

Old Xu came over and handed him a bottle of water.

"Yang Zi, this play is a success."

Yang Ning nodded.

"Are we filming again tomorrow?"

"Let's film," Yang Ning said. "The day after tomorrow too. We'll keep filming until we're done."

Old Xu smiled.

In the distance, Nicholas Tse and Hu Jun stood together, seemingly talking. Deng Chao leaned over to listen, but Hu Jun slapped him away. Li Binbin and Gao Yuanyuan were taking pictures of the sunset on the other side. Xue Kaiqi was squatting on the ground, seemingly drawing something.

Yang Ning looked at them and suddenly remembered a line from Nicholas Tse's diary—

There's a mountain behind you. It's always been there.

What is a mountain?

It is the motherland, the team, and those who are willing to risk their lives for you.

He turned and walked towards the crowd.

"That's a wrap! We'll meet again at 5 a.m. tomorrow!"

A wail erupted.

But nobody really complained.

Because they know—

This movie is worth their desperate efforts.