Playing the Eighth Route Army, the system is forcing this on me?

Meanwhile, at Hengdian World Studios, in Area A of the film set.

The massive earthen mound had been transformed into trenches.

Sandbags, barbed wire, explosive charges.

The extras crouched in the back, waiting for filming to begin.

Kong Sheng stood behind the monitor, clutching a walkie-talkie, his voice already a little hoarse.

"Demolition team! One last check! The bomb sites at points B and C had a problem with the coordination just now!"

A response came from the walkie-talkie.

"Director Kong, it's fine. I just tried it, there's just a delay."

"Delay?!" Kong Sheng raised his voice.

"Damn it, this is an explosion! Even a 0.5-second delay could kill someone! Reset it!"

He put down the walkie-talkie and rubbed his temples.

This day has been so unlucky.

Yang Xinming was allowed into the lounge, and even Xiao Zhan was taken in by Yi Zheng.

Right now, all we can do is rush through the group scenes and bring forward the big scenes that are scheduled to be filmed tomorrow.

The assistant director came over, holding a bottle of mineral water.

"Director Kong, have some water. You've been working non-stop all day."

Kong Sheng took the water and gulped down a large mouthful.

"How are Grandpa Yang and Xiao Zhan doing?"

The assistant director lowered his voice.

"Grandpa Yang has recovered and said we can reshoot a few scenes tonight. As for Xiao Zhan... his agent called to ask if we can schedule fewer scenes with Yi Zheng tomorrow."

what?

Kong Sheng frowned even more deeply.

"Less arrangements? Their scenes together are the core of this drama!"

"That's what I said too," Xiao Liu said, looking troubled.

"But his agent said that Xiao Zhan is not in good condition and is afraid it will affect the quality of filming."

Kong Sheng waved his hand impatiently.

"Let's talk about it later! Let's film what's in front of us first!"

Just as he was about to raise his walkie-talkie and shout "Ready!", his personal cell phone vibrated in his pocket.

I took it out and saw the caller ID: Mr. Wang.

Kong Sheng's heart skipped a beat.

Mr. Wang is one of the biggest investors in this film.

They are usually elusive, rarely contacting each other except for script meetings and opening ceremonies.

We just spoke on the phone yesterday, why are you calling again today?

He didn't dare hesitate and answered the call.

"Mr. Wang," Kong Sheng said, trying to keep his voice steady.

On the other end of the phone, Mr. Wang's voice was not as polite as usual, but rather carried a clear questioning tone.

"Director Kong, what's going on?"

Kong Sheng was taken aback.

"Mr. Wang, what do you mean...?"

"What the hell are you referring to? Go online and see!" Mr. Wang's voice rose.

"The internet is going crazy over the Japanese second male lead they cast!"

Kong Sheng's heart sank.

Is it Yi Zheng again?

"It's a good thing he acted so well," said General Manager Wang, speaking very quickly.

"But the wind has shifted today! The whole internet is saying this doesn't seem like an act, asking if he's actually killed someone!"

what?

Kong Sheng was speechless.

This generation of netizens is really good at creating funny content.

You can't just say things like that.

On the phone, Mr. Wang paused, seemingly trying to suppress his anger.

"You know that film critic from Japan, right... Kameji Masashige?"

Kong Sheng certainly knew.

In the domestic film industry, who doesn't know that guy?

His film reviews are sharp and insightful, and he wields considerable influence.

"He posted things on Chinese social media platforms," ​​Mr. Wang continued.

"They took our live-stream clips and historical materials, and analyzed them frame by frame! They said this kid wasn't acting, and even suggested our crew take it seriously!"

"Director Kong, we're filming an anti-Japanese war movie, isn't it a bit much to make the Japanese soldiers take it so seriously?"

"I don't care if this actor is a genius or a real psychopath, you have to handle this well."

"Understood, Mr. Wang."

"Good, now go and take a look."

The phone hangs up.

Kong Sheng, holding his phone, stood in the noisy environment of the film set, but was being scolded so much that his ears were ringing.

The assistant director, noticing his pale face, asked in a low voice, "Director Kong, what's wrong?"

Kong Sheng sighed.

"Find that... what's it called again, Turtle Dice Jung-shik's Weibo account, and the recent trending topics about Yi Jung-shik."

The assistant, not daring to be negligent, quickly took out his own phone and started operating it.

On set, the extras were already in their positions.

The martial arts instructor is explaining the moves to several extras playing Eighth Route Army soldiers.

Kong Sheng, however, did not look in that direction.

He stared intently at his assistant's phone screen.

"Director Kong, look. The third trending topic is, 'Did Yi Zheng really kill someone?' The second trending topic is, 'Japanese film critics analyze Yi Zheng's acting skills.'"

"And the first one?"

"The first one..." Xiao Liu clicked on it, "It's that video of Turtle Dice Zheng Zhi, which has already been shared over 100,000 times. The title is 'Frame-by-Frame Analysis: The Overlooked Details of War'."

Kong Sheng took a deep breath.

"Click to open."

The assistant clicked on the video.

The video first showed clips from a live broadcast from the film set.

Yi Zheng's lines under the flagpole begin when he starts speaking the island language.

Then the scene changed, transforming into a black-and-white, grainy old video.

It appears to be a documentary about the period when an island nation invaded China.

A man also dressed in an officer's uniform stood in front of a group of soldiers and gave them a speech.

"Please listen carefully to the pronunciation."

"The young actor pronounced 'Shina-jin' as 'Sina-jin,' emphasizing the first syllable and ending with a short, abrupt sound, carrying a clear sense of contempt. This was a very typical pronunciation within the Japanese army during the S2 era, especially common among highly educated middle and upper-ranking officers."

In the video, the officer in the black-and-white footage also said something similar.

The pronunciation was marked out, and it was indeed almost exactly the same as Yi Zheng's.

"In modern standard island language, the pronunciation of 'Shina-jin' is 'Shina-jin,' with the stress on the second syllable and a much gentler intonation."

"More importantly, his posture and eyes."

The scene cuts back to Yi Zheng.

He circled Yi Zheng's squinting eyes in red.

"This posture can be found in a large amount of footage from the S2 era. It conveys a deep-seated, heartfelt sense of superiority and cruelty. This is not acting; it is a habit."

At the end of the video, the image freezes on Izheng's cold eyes, with a black-and-white photograph of the eyes of a real island nation officer superimposed next to them.

Almost exactly the same.

The narrator concludes: "My conclusion is that this actor's performance transcends the realm of 'acting skills.' He showed me something more authentic. I suggest that your country's relevant departments conduct a thorough investigation into this actor's background."

This concludes the video.

Kong Sheng stood there, speechless for a long time.

The wind blew from the earthen slope, carrying the smell of dust.

The faint sound of bugles being prepared on set could be heard.

The assistant looked at him somewhat nervously.

"Director Kong... this..."

Kong Sheng returned the phone to him, his face so gloomy it could drip water.

He turned his head and looked back at the monitor. The screen was still showing the extras getting ready to take their positions.

But his mind was completely in turmoil.

An extra.

An extra who was sleeping in a partitioned room in an urban village yesterday.

Now, the island nation's top film critics are releasing video analyses, the official Weibo account of the history museum is being besieged, and investors are personally calling to question them.

Just who is this kid?

Is it...

An absurd idea popped into my head once again.

He shook his head violently, trying to shake the thought off.

Impossible, absolutely impossible.

But those eyes... that energy...

Kong Sheng stared at the monitor screen, his fingers unconsciously tapping the table.

From not far away came the assistant director's shout: "On your marks! Ready to shoot!"

Kong Sheng suddenly came to his senses.

Damn it, I don't care anymore.

Haters are fans too!