The setting was not too complicated and background walls could be used for some of the more special backdrops. If the end result was not too good, they could always use a bit of editing at a later stage. Only a couple of props were necessary in order to portray a realistic background.
Fight scenes were present in Drawing Sword on various occasions, so Ye Lingchen made a point to have someone start digging trenches. Many sandbags would also be brought over, along with military uniforms, guns, and other props. That in itself was more than enough.
Ye Lingchen already had a rough idea of things and arranged for some of those aspects to be prepared first. He then moved a deck chair and laid there, setting up a big umbrella beside him. Words could not describe how cozy it felt and it was exactly like a vacation.
Not long after, Hao Yun brought Ye Lingchen a bottle of juice and sunglasses. He put the shades on, sipped the juice, and enjoyed the sea breeze as well as the sound of waves crashing against the rock. At that moment, Ye Linchen felt reinvigorated and refreshed.
“God Ye, are those people really warriors from the Warrior’s Department?” Hao Yun looked curiously at the group of people who were still running.
Although her grandfather knew Qin Baichuan, she never really had much interaction with warriors. It was only when she learned about Hell’s Gate that she felt shocked and somewhat dependent on those warriors.
Ye Lingchen leaned back and nodded almost imperceptibly.
“Hey, can you tell me what Grandpa Qin told you yesterday? Why is Sister Miaomiao’s expression so ugly? Is it because Hell’s Gate is about to erupt?” Hao Yun pressed on.
She pestered Qin Baichuan and asked about it, but he was determined not to tell her anything no matter how much of a tantrum she threw. Dong Miaomiao was the same as well—her face was pale and she simply kept quiet.
“Yes, this world will cease to exist soon, so hurry up and enjoy life,” Ye Lingchen answered casually with a smile.
“Can you at least be a little upfront with me? I really want to know. Tell me,” Hao Yun pestered Ye Lingchen. “What is Hell’s Gate? What’s inside? Are all those unsolved mysteries related to Hell’s Gate?”
Hao Yun fired a barrage of questions.
“It’s not that I don’t want to tell you. I myself would like to know the answers to your questions,” Ye Lingchen said helplessly.
“Are these the warriors who are going to go up against Hell’s Gate?”
“That’s right,” Ye Lingchen answered directly.
“Then I want to train martial arts too!” Hao Yun declared. “God Ye, please teach me martial arts.”
“Sure. Go and run with them. First thing you must do is show perseverance.”
Hao Yun’s expression suddenly turned bitter, and she looked at Ye Lingchen yearningly. “But you’re really powerful, aren’t you, God Ye? You must have some kind of shortcut. Could you please teach me? I think I can become a martial arts master.”
Ye Lingchen looked at her meaty little round face and could not resist reaching out to pinch it. “Go to sleep. It’s all in your dreams.”
…
“Damn! Is his kungfu really that good?” Some of the martial artists who were running could not help whispering.
“That’s what I heard. All four chiefs have acknowledged him. I heard that his strength is so crazy that he’s a match for all four chiefs, but…it’s a bit hard to believe because he looks very young,” someone replied in a low, unsure tone.
“I can vouch for it. I saw him in action the last time I was there, and it was just incredible!”
“Even if he’s that good, he can’t just do this to us. We were given a punishment drill as soon as we arrived!”
“It’s normal. He wants to assert his authority over us, but then again, how could he treat us like that when we were invited over to film a TV series.”
“He’s enjoying himself over there while we’re left to do a run. This is going overboard. His skills are better than everyone else, that’s all. We have to get our revenge once we reach Hell’s Gate and successfully learn martial arts!”
“Yes, he might be formidable now, but when we get to Hell’s Gate and come back, we’ll show him what happens when he discriminates against the younger guys!”
As the group ran, Ye Lingchen’s figure was constantly at the corner of their eyes. The psychological impact of enduring that torturous drill while seeing Ye Lingchen enjoying himself was too hard to bear.
In fact, his comfort was beside the point—there was even a beautiful woman accompanying him! The two of them seemed to be flirting too, which made it even more brutal to watch!
There number of women in the Warrior’s Department were naturally few, and Hao Yun was a beauty that scored over ninety points. Like hungry wolves, the warriors’ eyes were green with envy and resentment!
“Wu Yue, they say you know Chief Ye very well. Is that true?”
Wu Yue was wholly focused on the run. He raised his head when he heard that question but said nothing and simply continued the run.
“Hey, are you serious? You’re so scared of him that you don’t even dare to speak?” someone asked wryly.
Wu Yue pretended not to hear it and continued running.
Deep down, he sneered to himself. ‘These people have never cried before. It won’t be long before they submit to Ye Lingchen.’
Ye Lingchen was never one to receive the short end of the stick and he had endless means to get something done. Recalling their earlier clash that ended up with Wu Yue doubting his purpose in life, he remembered that he and his group looked down on Ye Lingchen before that too. Eventually, Ye Lingchen had managed to convince them all.
Ye Lingchen had already said that talking was not allowed during the run, yet that group of people still dared to talk behind his back. They were going to regret it later!
Wu Yue could not help but sympathize with them. All that talk of ‘discriminating the young guys’ was ironic because Ye Lingchen was younger than everyone else present there.
Laps after laps…
Ye Lingchen did not set them a target at all, and the aimless feeling wore them down.
Many of them were already beginning to pant heavily. Exhausted both physically and mentally, they began shouting and cursing in their hearts.
That moment, another ship docked at the shore.
Xiao Feifei had brought the entire crew over and prepared various props. Li Jing, Ali, and the other actors were also there.
“Lingchen.”
“Chairman Ye.”
Xiao Feifei smiled at Ye Lingchen while the rest greeted him respectfully.
Ye Lingchen nodded to everyone and explained some of the shooting requirements. Soon, the crew proceeded to get down to business.
Based on the script, many of the preparatory work was almost done. The tents were set up, the decorations were done at the filming area, and the settings for various scenes had been set up too. Everything was done efficiently.
Xiao Feifei stood by his side and said with a smile, “Lingchen, the rebroadcast copyright of iPartment has been sold, as well as animation copyrights and other incidental copyrights. The total is fifty million. Aside from that, many companies have already booked advertising slots for iPartment even though filming for the second season has yet to start. The highest bid we received for advertising reached about eight million.”
That eight million was just for a prop that would be used several times throughout the course of the series.
“Eight million isn’t high enough,” Ye Lingchen smiled.
There were very few sponsored advertisers in the first season, and the copyright did not even warrant a mention. No one would have expected the demand to be so high during the second season.
“Of course. I’m still waiting for the major advertisers to increase their prices.” The wind blew against her hair and she had to brush it away from her face. She smiled and said, “All the major TV channels have also started bidding for the second season’s broadcasting rights. The highest right now is Apple TV at five million per episode!”
“Only five million? Let them continue to quote their price.” Ye Lingchen shook his head. “Tell them not to bother if the offer is less than ten million.”
