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

[Ding, host is detected acting as a Japanese soldier.]

[Currently at 79 views; reaching 80 unlocks the next Japanese soldier skill!]

The system voice in his mind made Yi Zheng sway on the spot.

what?

what what?

Yi Zheng was struck dumb.

Is it alright that they're playing Japanese soldiers?

I'm a member of the Eighth Route Army!

What's with the plane?!

He stood frozen in place, staring at his reflection in the full-length mirror, which showed him wearing a gray, coarse military uniform.

Yi Zheng reached out and took off his hat to look at the two buttons that were used by the Eighth Route Army, then buttoned it back on his head.

He held the brim of his hat with both hands and straightened it from side to side.

I have thick eyebrows and big eyes.

How the hell do they look like Japanese soldiers?

No, system, are you blind?

Yi Zheng felt incredibly frustrated.

It's like writing a 800-word essay for the college entrance exam, only to have the examiner tell you that you went off-topic.

That kind of despair is roughly like this.

He took a deep breath, and his first thought was to go find Director Ning and ask him for clarification.

This is not as simple as just playing a Japanese soldier.

It's not a matter of 100,000 yuan!

The key is that my strongest actor system can't be activated unless I play a righteous character!

No, I have to ask the director.

Thinking of this, Yi Zheng took off his hat and walked towards the door.

I pushed open the door to the dressing room and just stepped into the hallway.

A middle-aged man with a bulky build bumped into me.

The other party glanced at Yi Zheng.

There was an undisguised contempt in his eyes.

"Hey, isn't this the big star who makes stewed chicken?"

The other person curled their lip, their tone full of sarcasm.

Yi Zheng was taken aback: "Who are you?"

"The director hired me to film close-ups of you." The cook snorted and wiped his hands with a towel.

"I finished processing the chicken this morning, so I'll take care of your job. All you have to do is bring a plate up."

Yi Zheng's mind raced for a moment.

substitute?

Shoot a close-up?

In other words, the first scene involving the chicken was already filmed by the chef when I wasn't there in the morning?

Now all he needs to do is perform the second act—serving the stewed chicken to the table.

Yi Zheng frowned, somewhat speechless.

To be honest, I'm a little flattered.

He was a nobody who had just started out, yet the production crew actually spent money to hire a body double to help him film close-up shots.

This kind of treatment was something I wouldn't have dared to dream of when I was just an extra.

But then I thought about it again and felt a little uneasy.

Last night, I personally dissected a chicken into pieces, just like a butcher dissecting an ox.

When he arrived on set, the director didn't believe he could do it at all and directly found a professional chef to replace him.

That's true, who could believe that?

How good can an actor's cooking skills be?

The cook wasn't interested in talking to him any longer, so he snorted and left.

However, this conversation between the two was interpreted very differently by the surrounding staff.

Several stagehands who were moving props huddled together and whispered among themselves.

"There were only two scenes in total, and one of them was performed by a stunt double?"

"That's it? 100,000 yuan in hand?"

"What's so hard about being a prostitute? The production crew has to pay extra to hire someone."

"Young actors these days really don't know how to endure hardship."

Gossip buzzes like mosquitoes.

Yi Zheng heard it but didn't bother to explain.

It's not worth getting angry with these people.

His mind is now filled with that system notification.

Why were they identified as Japanese?

He was clearly a member of the Eighth Route Army!

I was just thinking of going to ask Director Ning about the system's judgment.

The assistant director jogged over, clutching a thin script in his hand.

"Teacher Yi, this is your scene for this afternoon. We'll start filming in ten minutes."

"I didn't have time to show you the script before. There aren't many scenes, so you can just go through it once."

Yi Zheng took the script and turned to the first page.

The instant my gaze swept over the character's biography.

He frowned slightly, then froze on the spot.

Double agent?

An intelligence officer directly under the island nation's military?

He infiltrated the Eighth Route Army as a cook, codenamed "Pangolin".

As Yi stared at the few lines of text on the script, he felt a sudden throbbing in his temples.

pangolin?

He thought the pangolin was an affectionate nickname given to the cooks by the Eighth Route Army.

It turned out that this pangolin was an island nation spy who had infiltrated our army.

Good guy.

He's truly become a traitor!

No wonder the system identified them as Japanese.

They weren't Eighth Route Army soldiers at all; they were Japanese spies disguised as Eighth Route Army soldiers!

Yi Zheng slammed the script shut.

He strode quickly toward Director Ning, who was directing the lighting.

"Director Ning, could this role... be changed?"

Yi Zheng tried his best to make his tone sound as calm as possible.

"I've always played villains before, and I want to try a different approach."

Director Ning turned around, a smile spreading across his round face, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

"Oh dear, Ms. Yi, isn't this the notebook that's already been finalized?"

He patted Yi Zheng on the shoulder.

"Next time, I'll definitely give you a positive role!"

Next time for sure?

Yi Zheng let out a sigh of relief.

I feel a bit helpless.

After all, we've been looking forward to this for so long.

I never expected it to be another Japanese soldier.

However, we're all in the same industry, and the contract is in black and white. If we quit now, our reputations will be ruined.

Besides, this is the only scene left.

Surely we can finish shooting in an afternoon?

After filming, just ask Director Ning to introduce you to a decent job, wouldn't that solve the problem?

Moreover, at least this time he has quite a few lines, unlike his previous roles as a Japanese officer where he relied entirely on his face to carry the show.

Thinking about this, Yi Zheng accepted it.

After all, connections are everything in the entertainment industry; knowing more directors opens up more opportunities.

But if you offend a director, there are many other options available.

Moreover, you can earn 100,000 yuan in just one afternoon.

This amount would have been enough for him to earn as an extra for two or three years in the past.

Forget it, let's memorize the lines first.

Yi was leaning against the wall, head down, silently reciting his lines.

I was halfway through reciting it.

A quarrel suddenly broke out on the set.

"You're paid two hundred yuan a day, and you just chop up a chicken and leave?"

Director Ning's loud voice made the lights on the studio ceiling shake.

"You'd better cook this chicken before you leave!"

The fat cook stood with his arms crossed, looking disdainful.

"You only give me two hundred to appear on camera, and you expect me to cook you chicken?"

"Besides, didn't I already stew it for you? It's right there in the pot."

Director Ning angrily crushed his cigarette butt: "You just threw it in water, the chicken skin wasn't even cooked through, how am I supposed to use it? The footage would look like dishwater, how can the audience believe this is delicious chicken soup?"

The cook stepped forward: "To stew it properly, you'll have to pay extra."

"How much?"

"five hundred."

Director Ning's face turned green.

The two remained frozen in place, neither willing to give in.

Yi Zheng's ears perked up.

Chicken stewed in plain water?

The system notification from this morning suddenly echoed in his mind.

[Your delicious chicken soup has been upgraded to LV2. Now, your chicken soup needs no additional seasoning.]

No seasonings needed.

You can stew it with just water.

Yi Zheng closed the script and walked over to Director Ning.

"director."

"Stewed chicken? I'm good at that!"