In the afternoon…
Lu Zhiyao and Zhu Xiaoce arrived at the film studio.
It was the same film studio where they filmed the local scenes in Tomorrow is Beautiful. Lu Zhiyao and everyone else in the production crew were already quite familiar with this place.
The employees anxiously began setting up the backdrop and producing the props.
A portion of the backdrop and props had been used in Tomorrow is Beautiful. Since both films were of the sci-fi genre, they only had to make slight changes before they could use them again.
Still, compared to Tomorrow is Beautiful, this film needed far more backdrops and realistic props. Thus, there had been far more preparation work involved.
“Director Zhu, are you sure that we can start filming now?” Lu Zhiyao looked around at the busy employees, working hard at their own tasks all over the studio. At once, he felt confused.
Zhu Xiaoce nodded. “Of course, we can start filming today. Let’s shoot some testing scenes first.”
Lu Zhiyao remained confused. “But… neither the backdrops nor the scenes are ready.
“Where are the other actors? Until now, I haven’t met a single one of them.
“I can’t possibly be acting awkwardly on my own, can I?”
Zhu Xiaoce smiled subtly. “Don’t worry. You have many more scenes, and I’ve already done the necessary arrangements for you. Both of us can prepare to shoot your scenes first. After that, we’ll shoot with the background and props as the others get them ready.”
Lu Zhiyao fell silent.
For some reason, he felt like he had been scammed.
They walked further into the studio. Zhu Xiaoce led Lu Zhiyao to a room that was surrounded by green screens. “Most of the filming time would be spent here.
“As for what exactly the scenes would be about… look at this diagram. It’s very clearly written on it.”
Zhu Xiaoce pulled up a diagram in his cell phone and then handed it to Lu Zhiyao.
Lu Zhiyao reached out to receive it.
The diagram looked like the inside of a spaceship in a sci-fi environment. The set-up was very simple. There was only a single cabin for sleeping and a huge console.
There was one huge screen and several small screens on the console. There was also a single seat, which seemed to be the driver seat of the spaceship. In front of the driver seat were a huge touch screen, a hemispherical instrument, and buttons of multiple colors.
Lu Zhiyao looked around at the filming location and quickly discovered that there was only one ready-made console, one seat, and one cabin for sleeping. All of those must have been the props that had been rushed out over the past few days. The rest of the scene was to be supplemented with the green screens.
“Director Zhu, this…”
Lu Zhiyao looked incredibly confused.
At least this room had been set up with real props when they were filming Tomorrow is Beautiful before.
Now, the scene for the new movie was filled with green screens.
All problems could be solved with special effects—the more money they spent, the better the effects would look. Still, real props and a real background would look more realistic no matter what.
Could it be that… Director Zhu was using this many green screens to cheat Boss Pei of his money?
Of course, Lu Zhiyao could not ask such a direct question. He cleared his throat and said, “Director Zhu, can’t we just use the props from Tomorrow is Beautiful? They’re both sci-fi films anyway. I’m sure we can make use of those props after making some simple alterations.”
Zhu Xiaoce grinned. “We can. Look at that cabin and console. All of those were made from the props leftover from Tomorrow is Beautiful. Why else do you think we could finish them so quickly?
“As for why we’re using green screens for everything else. Obviously, we’ll need to make use of a lot of special effects to achieve a special result.
“The effects we’ll be using exactly… well, you don’t have to worry. You’ll find out soon enough.
“Look at the first part of the script first.”
As Zhu Xiaoce spoke, he retrieved a couple of pages of paper from his bag and handed them to Lu Zhiyao.
Lu Zhiyao took them and quickly scanned them from beginning to end.
“That’s it?” Lu Zhiyao could not figure out what was going on. The scenes looked like they lacked a proper start and finish and were utterly confusing.
Zhu Xiaoce smiled again. “I told you before, didn’t I? We’ll film scene by scene, and I won’t hand the entire script to you. Only then would you be able to experience what the protagonist in the movie should be feeling.
“Alright, look for a place to sit down, put on your make-up, and change. Memorize this part of the script while I go out and organize their tasks.”
Lu Zhiyao nodded. “Alright, Director Zhu. Must I wear a spacesuit or an exoskeleton suit?”
Lu Zhiyao had heard that the movie would be about a war taking place in outer space. That meant he would have to be dressed in a cool combat suit, right?
For some reason, he was really looking forward to it.
Although an exoskeleton suit would be extremely heavy and he would be extremely tired after a while, it would look very cool!
“No, you don’t. You just have to wear this.” Zhu Xiaoce gestured the costume designer and make-up artist over, and the former was holding a set of ordinary-looking, figure-hugging, gray T-shirt and pants.
Lu Zhiyao was speechless.
“Director Zhu, are you sure that I’ll be wearing this? Has there been some sort of mistake?”
Zhu Xiaoce smiled. “No problem, just wear this. If you’re unsure, just read the script again.”
Lu Zhiyao felt helpless, but he had no choice but to read the script once through in silence.
…
The first scene was a close-up of the cabin for sleeping.
Qin Yi’s eyelids were shut, but his eyeballs were moving around quickly. He frowned as beads of perspiration appeared on his forehead. It was almost as if he was experiencing a terrifying nightmare.
All of a sudden, his eyes shot wide open!
His eyeballs were bloodshot, and there was pure terror in his eyes.
The camera slowly panned upwards as the cabin opened on its own. Qin Yi sat up with his chest heaving and brought his right hand up to his forehead. A long time passed before he finally regained his composure.
Countless hideous memories flooded in his mind. Instinctively, Qin Yi looked at his right forearm, which was covered with a ferocious-looking scar. It had once been a penetrating wound that had almost torn his arm into half, but scabs had already formed by now.
He vaguely remembered how he got wounded. He had been deep in the Zergs’ lair, and he had intended to destroy the micro-reactor through the little opening in the chest of his combat uniform using his pistol. However, he had failed and ended up being injured by the razor-sharp claws of the Zergs.
“I’m still alive?”
Qin Yi felt confused. He had originally thought that he had died in the Zergs’ lair.
However, soon after, pre-death flashbacks filled his mind.
Xu Kaile, Meng Yu, Zhao Yongxiu, Wu Shaojun… apart from Qin Yi, the other members of Team AS-371-45 had died in the Zergs’ lair.
Qin Yi remembered every one of those people’s looks and smiles, but in the blink of an eye, they were now separated by life and death.
Still, Qin Yi quickly snapped out of his misery and regained his composure once more. Finally, he got out of the cabin.
He saw the big screen, seat, and console not far from where he was. However, he did not walk over. Instead, he walked to the corner of the room and tried to leave.
There was no fixed exit within the spaceship. With the required permission, any part of the surrounding walls could turn into doors.
Qin Yi tried pushing on the wall, but to no avail. That meant that he did not have permission to leave the room yet.
“Captain Qin, I’m sorry. You haven’t obtained permission to leave this room,” said an extremely gentle and melodic female voice.
Qin Yi turned around and scanned the room, only to find a holographic projection of a female astronaut, standing in the middle of the room. She looked like a typical oriental female, with a gentle smile and a feminine beauty. Yet, she looked dashing and heroic like a soldier.
Qin Yi remained silent for a second and said, “The battle isn’t over, is it?”
The holographic image of the female soldier nodded. “That’s right.”
Qin Yi sat down on his cabin, covered his face with both of his hands, and then heaved a long sigh.
The female soldier’s holographic image tried to walk towards Qin Yi. However, Qin Yi’s expression quickly turned icy as he said in a deep voice, “AEEIS, revert to the original image.”
The female soldier halted, slowly became increasingly translucent, and finally disappeared.
After that, a light blue stream of data appeared in mid-air and gathered into an audio image, with waves that fluctuated with the sound.
AEEIS’s electronic voice turned cold and emotionless. “Captain Qin Yi, you might be feeling infuriated now, but mankind needs you to continue fulfilling your mission as a soldier.”
Qin Yi’s voice was low with suppressed anger. “The Zerg Queen is already dead, but the battle is not yet over. Why? I want to know the truth.”
AEEIS: “It’s because of the reserves and the Zergs’ consciousness.
“The Zerg Queen was a high-level life-form with advanced wisdom. She could take preventive measures to protect her entire race from being wiped out after her own death. The Zerg Queen could give birth to sub-queens and hide them in various Zerg lairs. Once she died, any one of those sub-queens could become the new Queen.
“The Zerg Queen can only control all the Zergs because it’s programmed in their consciousness. Simply put, they have telepathy and can upload data from their consciousness. The Zerg Queen can control the entire race, precisely because of the existence of the Zergs’ consciousness.
“At the moment that the Zerg Queen dies, she can upload all the data in her consciousness into the network of Zerg consciousness. After that, any sub-queen hidden among the Zergs can acquire all of that data and function as the new command center.”
Qin Yi’s expression hardened. “Was this information known before the Decapitation Operation or after it?
“I want to know the truth.”
AEEIS remained silent for two seconds before answering, “Before.”
Qin Yi sucked in a deep breath. “So we saw fragments of the Skylark II combat uniform as we journeyed deeper and deeper into the Zerg’s nest.
“You lied to everyone. You knew that we were unlikely to succeed this time, and that even if we did, it would probably not mean anything. Yet, you allowed more than a hundred teams to send themselves to die?
“Is this your decision, the Supreme Executive Committee’s decision, or the Commander’s decision?”
AEEIS did not answer the question directly. “Of course, the mission was meaningful.
“The Zergs’ consciousness has a wide scope, but it is not infinite. The sub-queens need time to download the data and become the new Queen. During this period, we can reap the best rewards on the battlefield.
“Everyone’s sacrifice goes towards the ultimate victory.”
Qin Yi coldly replied, “As a soldier, I can sacrifice my life. However, I cannot accept being lied to!”
Out of anger, his right hand clenched into a fist, but he soon relaxed. Once again, his teammates’ faces flashed across his mind. However, there was nothing that he could do about it.
“I want to apply for three months off to return to the Blue Planet. Three months later, I will return to the fleet.
“Then, I will sacrifice my life as you wish.”
AEEIS: “I’m sorry, Captain Qin, I cannot approve your request.
“The Supreme Executive Committee of the Blue Planet Alliance Fleet has appointed you as the new commander. You’re to lead the battle against the Zergs.
“You need to save the Blue Planet.”
