Amateur talent show? Top mentors are my students.

The three-day holiday ended much faster than He Xu had anticipated.

He thought he could sleep in again, but his phone alarm went off before six in the morning.

He closed his eyes, turned off the alarm, lay in the dark for about ten seconds, then sighed, sat up, threw off the covers, and got out of bed.

While washing up, he looked at himself in the mirror—

The bruises on his shoulders had faded from dark purple to light yellowish-green, and the longest ligature mark on his waist had also faded considerably, almost unnoticeable unless you looked closely.

He moved his shoulder and felt no pain, only a slight soreness, which was nothing to worry about.

When he changed his clothes and came downstairs, Jiang Yanbai was already sitting at the dining table with a cup of coffee and a laptop in front of him.

Seeing He Xu come down, he took a sip of his coffee and said, "You're here so early? I thought you'd be the last one to leave."

"We have a major scene today." He Xu went to the kitchen, poured himself a glass of water, leaned against the edge of the counter, and took a sip. "Carter said that today's scene is the most complicated action scene of the whole shoot, requiring the use of guns and knives. He told me to come early so I could go over the blocking with Mike first."

Jiang Yanbai put down her coffee cup and glanced at him: "You're fully healed?"

"That's about it." He Xu put the water glass into the sink. "The bruising has almost faded, so it won't affect your power."

Jiang Yanbai didn't reply, but He Xu felt his gaze linger on his shoulder for a moment.

He pretended not to notice, picked up his coat draped over the back of the chair, and went to the entryway to change his shoes: "I'm leaving. I'm staying at the film set tonight and won't be coming back for a while."

"Okay, call me if you need anything."

He Xu didn't reply, opened the door and went out.

The door made a very soft sound when it closed.

He stood on the porch and waited for a while, and Marco's car appeared at the end of the driveway right on time.

He opened the back door and got in, put his backpack on the seat next to him, leaned back, and looked out the window at the house gradually shrinking in the morning light.

The feeling of "having to go back again" slowly surfaced—not exactly a resistance, but I really didn't want to move.

The urban atmosphere is fading, and the sense of emptiness that once filled the industrial area is returning.

The iron gate of the film set gradually loomed larger in front of us.

The security guard checked the list and let us through. The car drove in along the gravel road and parked in the parking area on the side of the gray-white building.

As He Xu got out of the car, the props crew was pushing a cart full of equipment past the corridor.

The young man leading the group paused for a moment when he saw He Xu, then grinned and said, "Hey, He! Back from your break?"

He Xu nodded: "Yes, I'm back."

As soon as He Xu entered the film set, Mike intercepted him halfway from the parking lot.

The man was wearing a black overall vest, holding a prop knife and a training gun in his hand, with an expression that said, "You've finally arrived."

"Hurry, hurry, while the lighting crew is still setting up the lights, you come with me for a walk." Mike shoved the prop knife into He Xu's hand, while the training gun was tucked into the holster on his waist.

He Xu glanced down at his casual black T-shirt, then at Mike: "...I haven't changed out of my costume yet."

"No change. Let's get through the movement framework first. Your tactical uniform has three layers, which restricts your movement. You need to practice some things naked first before you can practice in costume."

Mike had already turned and was walking towards the warehouse set, his steps long and fast: "Besides, your body has already memorized the muscle responses from that last scene, you can finish the run without a costume."

He Xu followed behind, pinching the prop knife between his fingers and weighing it in his hand—it was a bit heavier than the one used in the training camp, the handle was thicker, and the feel was a little different.

He flexed his wrist and silently memorized the new sensation.

The warehouse set has been set up—more than twice the size of the simulation they used during their special training.

The building is two stories high, with crisscrossing iron frames. Props, cargo boxes, and oil drums are scattered on the ground, and some areas have been weathered, giving them a dusty, grayish texture.

The lighting wasn't fully set up yet; only a few basic lights hung down from above, casting long shadows on the iron frame.

The entire space looked dark and rough, truly resembling an abandoned industrial area.

Mike walked to the center of the set, turned around and looked at He Xu: "In that scene, your starting position is on the iron rack on the second floor. Jonathan enters from the first-floor entrance, and you will have a face-to-face encounter near the middle set of shelves."

"You need to complete three sets of actions—gunfight, close combat, then switch to a knife to knock the opponent's gun out of their hand, and finally jump over the second-floor railing to retreat."

As he spoke, he first demonstrated his movement, moving slowly and stepping precisely into the designated spot with each step.

He Xu stood to the side watching, mentally going through the process as well.

"That gun you're carrying—it's a blank, but the trigger travel is about the same as a real gun. The next part, the knife-switching maneuver, requires you to pull the gun back while parrying, then draw the knife." Mike demonstrated it once, then turned to look at him. "Could you demonstrate it once?"

He Xu nodded without answering and walked directly to the starting position.

He stood on the edge of the second-floor iron frame, glanced down at the ground level, then tucked the prop knife into his waistband and drew his training gun into his hand.

"Don't go all out, just follow the logic first." Mike stepped aside, his voice neither loud nor soft.

He Xu took a deep breath and moved.

He descended the inclined ladder from the edge of the iron frame to the first floor, his knees slightly bent as he landed to absorb the impact—the entire movement took less than two beats.

He then raised the gun to the target, but the next second he took a half step back, seemingly to avoid a bullet that was supposed to be fired.

He sidestepped, took a step, and blocked, while simultaneously putting his gun back into the holster at his waist.

The knife-changing action was faster than expected.

His right hand slid off the holster and gripped the hilt of the knife directly. The moment it was drawn, the tip of the knife drew an arc outwards.

Mike stood a few steps away without moving, but He Xu noticed that his brow twitched, as if he was surprised by the speed of the knife strike.

He Xu did not stop.

He executed a hypothetical close-range block and counterattack—

The blade slices in from below, bypassing the opponent's forearm defense, and then flicks upwards—

He then rolled to his right, pulling the knife back to his waist as he did so, and drew his training pistol again, raising it towards another target.

The whole process took less than twenty seconds.

He stood there, his chest rising and falling slightly, his fingers gripping the gun feeling warm.

"..." Mike paused for a moment, "You switched knives much faster than before."

He Xu put down the gun and stretched the hand that was holding the knife: "The grip feels different. It's a bit heavier than the one in the training camp, and the center of gravity is forward, making it easier to draw the knife."

Mike looked at him, wanting to complain, but in the end just nodded: "Then let's go at this speed. I'll go tell Carter to adjust the camera position to match your movements."

After Mike finished speaking, he turned and took a few steps toward the edge of the set, but quickly turned his head back and lowered his voice:

"By the way, today's scene will feature live guns and blanks. The guns will be kept by the props team during filming and will be handed to you before shooting begins—when using them, do not point the muzzle at anyone other than the target."

He Xu tucked the gun back into his waistband: "Understood."