Rebirth 09: Starting from taking charge of Running Man on CCTV

11:03 PM.

In the emergency exit of a four-star hotel in Hengdian, Zhang Lei walked along the wall like a thief.

The motion-sensor lights in the corridor turned on one by one, and then turned off one by one.

He clutched the room key in his hand, his forehead covered in sweat.

It's not that it's hot, it's that it's a guilty conscience.

Three minutes earlier, Chen Yang's exact words on the walkie-talkie were, "Avoid everyone and bring Deng Chao to my room first."

Zhang Lei has been in this line of work for seven years; he's seen it all.

But the tone of Chen Yang's voice when he said this sent a chill down his spine.

It's not serious.

It's the kind of smile a cat gives while staring at a fish tank.

Deng Chao's room was on the seventh floor.

Zhang Lei didn't take the elevator; he went up the fire escape stairs.

When he knocked on the door, he made a point of glancing left and right in the hallway.

Who is it?

Deng Chao's voice sounded a little sleepy.

"I am Zhang Lei."

The door opened a crack, and Deng Chao peeked out, his hair sticking up, wearing a white hotel bathrobe.

"Old Zhang? What time is it? What happened?"

Zhang Lei lowered his voice.

"Brother Chao, Director Chen wants to talk to you privately."

"Now?"

"Now."

Deng Chao paused for a second, his eyes darting around.

"Am I all alone?"

"You."

Zhang Lei added a sentence on purpose.

Don't tell anyone.

Deng Chao raised his eyebrows.

He has a natural, excited reaction to the word "secret".

"Walk."

Deng Chao didn't even change his clothes; he just slipped on his slippers and followed along.

The two people took the emergency exit and went up to the top floor.

I didn't encounter a single person the whole way.

Zhang Lei swiped his card to open the door and stepped aside to let Deng Chao go in first.

The room was small, but the lighting was very dim.

Only the desk lamp on the writing desk was on, its orange light shining on the table and illuminating two black envelopes.

Chen Yang sat in a chair behind the table lamp, with his legs crossed.

In the dim light, the expression on his face was not clearly visible.

But as soon as Deng entered the room, he smelled something was off.

It's not perfume.

It smells of conspiracy.

"sit."

Chen Yang pointed to the chair opposite him.

Deng Chao sat down, but his eyes were now fully alert.

"Director Chen, you called me up here in the middle of the night, are you going to give me more scenes?"

Deng Chao smiled, his expression clearly testing the waters.

Chen Yang ignored his joke.

He reached out and pushed a black envelope across the table.

The envelope has a very good texture; it's hard-shelled, and there's a fingerprint seal wax pressed against the opening.

The cover features four large gold-stamped characters.

Top Secret Mission

Deng Chao's smile froze for half a second.

"What is this thing?"

"Open it and take a look."

Deng Chao glanced at Chen Yang, then at Zhang Lei standing at the door.

Zhang Lei turned his head toward the wall expressionlessly, as if to say, "I didn't see anything."

Deng broke open the wax seal and took out the card inside.

On the matte black card surface, there is only one line of handwritten text.

He leaned closer to the lamp and saw it clearly.

Then I froze.

"...Are you serious?"

Deng Chao looked up, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Chen Yang leaned back in his chair, his hands crossed and resting on his chin.

Do you think I'm joking?

Deng Chao looked down at the contents of the card again.

It says:

"You're the mole. Your true identity is an undercover agent planted in the Running Man team by the Legend of Sword and Fairy faction. In tomorrow's 'Finding the Spirit Orb' mission, your ultimate goal is to help the Legend of Sword and Fairy team complete their final mission without revealing your identity."

Deng Chao flipped the card over.

The back is blank.

He flipped it back to the front.

Then he looked up at Chen Yang for the third time.

"Director Chen...you want me to be a spy?"

"right."

"You're betraying my own brother?"

"right."

"Li Chen, Shen Teng, He He... they don't know?"

"I don't know a single one."

Deng Chao placed the card on the table and rubbed his face with both hands.

"no……"

His tone changed, carrying a hint of genuine embarrassment.

"Director Chen, if I do this, what will they think when they find out? They'll probably beat me with slippers!"

"They won't know."

"What if we get caught?"

"That's a problem with your acting skills."

Chen Yang shut him down completely.

Deng Chao stared at the card and remained silent for about five seconds.

then.

The corners of his mouth started to curl upwards uncontrollably.

Standing at the door, Zhang Lei clearly saw the change in Deng Chao's eyes.

I was still hesitating three seconds ago.

It has now turned into excitement.

That kind of creative impulse that actors have deep in their bones and can't suppress.

Chen Yang saw it too.

He knew he had made the right bet.

Deng Chao is a man who, if you give him a script, he feels constrained; if you give him freedom, he feels there's no challenge.

But you give him the identity of an "undercover agent".

He could make himself look like an Oscar-winning actor.

"Director Chen."

Deng Chao's voice calmed down, but his eyes were frighteningly bright.

"You mean, tomorrow, I have to pretend to help the Running Man cast with their tasks while secretly helping the Sword Immortal team at the same time??"

"right."

"And we can't let anyone find out?"

"right."

Deng Chao grinned.

It's not the kind of silly laughter you see in variety shows.

It's the kind of confident smile that comes from a professional actor trained at the Central Academy of Drama who has finally found a stage to showcase their acting skills.

"Director Chen, don't worry."

He stood up and patted his chest.

"Old Deng, I may not have any other skills, but when it comes to acting, I'm in the top three in the whole school."

Who made the evaluation?

"I made my own assessment."

Chen Yang couldn't help but twitch his lips.

"Alright, go back now. Leave the card here; don't take it with you. Tomorrow during the day, behave normally. When to make your move and how to pass on clues are entirely up to you on the spot."

"No notification?"

"no."

"No code?"

"no."

"They won't even arrange a contact person for me?"

"You're an undercover agent, not a spy."

Chen Yang waved his hand.

"Go out through the emergency exit and don't bump into anyone."

Deng Chao took a deep breath and tightened the belt of his bathrobe.

He walked to the door and suddenly turned back.

"Director Chen, one last question."

"explain."

"If I act too well, so well that your production team doesn't even notice... is there any extra reward?"

Chen Yang looked at him.

"have."

"What?"

"I'll give you a round of applause myself."

"..."

Deng was speechless for two seconds, but he still couldn't suppress the smile on his face.

He waved his hand, pushed open the door, and left.

Zhang Lei closed the door, and after confirming that there was no movement in the corridor, he turned around to look at Chen Yang.

Chen Yang glanced at his watch.

11 points.

"Wait ten minutes. Make sure Deng has returned to his room before going to pick up Brother Hu."

Zhang Lei nodded.

He hesitated for a moment, but still asked the question.

"Director Chen, I understand Deng Chao's situation. He's the captain of Running Man, a natural-born actor. Give him an undercover identity and he'll go wild."

"But Brother Hu..."

Zhang Lei's concerns were written all over his face.

"Brother Hu is an idol, and he's extremely strict about managing his image. Cai Yinong is also known for protecting him in the industry. Asking him to go undercover... can he handle it?"

Chen Yang did not answer directly.

He stood up and straightened the second envelope on the table.

"Zhang Lei, do you think Brother Hu has been held back by his idol image in recent years?"

Zhang Lei thought about it.

"Definitely. He only plays young swordsmen in period dramas, gentle and refined, flawless. That's how his fans define him too."

"right."

Chen Yang turned the chair around.

"Therefore, he is the person in the whole group who most needs the identity of an undercover agent."

"He's been trapped for too long. He needs an excuse to let go."

Zhang Lei was taken aback.

11 minute later.

When Zhang Lei came up the fire escape, there was another person with him.

Hu was wearing a simple gray T-shirt and sweatpants, and his hair was half-dry, obviously he had just taken a shower.

Unlike Deng Xiaoping, Hu Jintao entered the room tense.

He instinctively glanced at the layout of the room, then sat down in the chair with his back ramrod straight.

A standard good student's sitting posture.

"Director Chen, is there a change in tomorrow's schedule because you're calling me so late?"

Polite, proper, and courteous.

Every word is in the safe zone.

Chen Yang didn't rush to speak.

......

P.S.: Let's continue the discussion: What celebrity, song, or movie/TV show left the deepest impression on you in 2009? Which guest would you like to invite to Running Man? And what games would you like to see?