Chapter 423: Protagonist Finalized
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
In 1984, when Michael Jackson was shooting a commercial, many parts of his head and face were burned by fireworks that exploded prematurely.
In April 2008, an accident happened while the TV series My Chief and My Regiment was shooting an explosion scene in Tengchong County, Yunnan Province, killing one pyrotechnician and injuring two other pyrotechnicians.
In 2010, an accident took place, hurting entertainers Selina Jen and Yu Haoming while they were shooting a blast scene, causing multiple burns all over their bodies.
On April 28, 2014, in the scenic area of Liaoxi-Shenyang Campaign in Fushun City, Liaoning Province, as the pyrotechnicians prepared the gunpowder explosions for film and television purposes, with magnesium powder and potassium perchlorate, an explosion occurred. Seven people were killed.
…
Feng Xuan had shot a lot of anti-war films, and almost every film had a large number of explosions. Each time he would exhort the crew repeatedly, for fear that similar accidents would happen. Fortunately, God bless, there were no no accidental casualties from fireworks or explosions so far. Otherwise, he really wouldn’t know how to explain it to the families of the victims. Should such a case really happen, he could only quit the film industry and ask himself.
He knew that some directors, in their quest for factuality, would even hide the position of the detonator from the actors so that the actors would not pay much attention to its position. But he would not do that.
Feng Xuan was very mad at Guan Biao. This time, his explosives had almost injured the dogs, and next time, he might wound humans. However, there was nothing Feng Xuan could do about Guan Biao, because it was hard to find a pyrotechnician. If Guan Biao was expelled from the crew, the entire shooting progress would be affected.
Lack of patience in small matters leads to the disruption of great plans.
Thinking of this, Feng Xuan forcibly suppressed his anger and said to Guan Biao word-by-word, “Just this once. Never again.”
Nie Yuan was busy smoothing things over. Since Feng Yuan had compromised, he also pretended to criticize Guan Biao. “Master Guan, did you hear what Director Feng said?! Pyrotechnicians must not be sloppy with their work! You must be extremely careful! If such an incident happens again, I won’t be able to protect you anymore. Come on! Apologize to Director Feng and these people!”
Having people to back him up, Guan Biao had nothing to fear. He grinned cheekily and said, “Heh heh! Director Feng, I understand now. I will be careful next time.” Then he waved at Zhang Zian and others and said, “Guys, I’m sorry, my mistake! But anyway, your dogs are okay, it should be no big deal.”
The two police officers were irritated by his apology. If it was not Sheng Ke who had halted them. They wanted to run towards Guan Biao and beat the s**t out of him. To them, Red Dragon and Prince were more than just dogs. After living, eating, training, playing, and carrying out missions with them for several years, their relationship with Red Dragon and Prince was even closer than that of their real brothers.
Sheng Ke, after all, was more experienced than them. He couldn’t let his subordinates engage in conflict with the crew here. This movie was produced by the Tie Dun Film and Television Center, and was fully supported by the superiors of the police department of Binhai City. If they really fought with the crew, he was afraid that Xiao Liu and Xiao Wang would probably be expelled from the police force because of disobedience.
Zhang Zian was quietly watching Guan Biao. He remembered what Sheng Ke had told him, that some dogs were wounded after returning from the audition. He felt that things were not that simple, and this was not the first time such incidents had occurred. He did not believe Guan Biao’s words and did not accept his apology, but he did not have any evidence.
Famous also did not believe Guan Biao. As the smoke gradually cleared up from the venue, Famous began to observe the pyrotechnician from afar and read his body language. Every little movement of his head indicated that he was lying.
Just then, Famous felt that something was rubbing on its side. It looked back and found that it was Red Dragon and Prince together. Lowering their bodies and bowing their heads, they whimpered as if they were apologizing. They were not ordinary dogs. After performing tasks frequently with police officers, they knew that they had faced tremendous danger moments ago, and it was Famous who had saved them. As gregarious creatures, dogs had the nature to be subordinated to the strong ones. And in their eyes, Famous was far superior.
Zhang Zian ignored Guan Biao and asked Feng Xuan instead, “Director Feng, should the test be continued?”
“No need.” Feng Xuan’s good mood had been completely destroyed by Guan Biao. “All three dogs have passed the test. As to which dog should be the protagonist…”
At this time, Feng Xuan saw that Famous was trotting back towards them, followed by the other two dogs who had no longer intended to compete against it. From time to time, Famous glanced back at them, as if checking on their running postures and whether they had been injured in the blast.
Was this the so-called charisma of a leader?
Feng Xuan finally made up his mind, and he loudly said to the public, “I’m announcing that Famous, the German Shepherd from the Amazing Fate Pet Shop, will become the protagonist of Dog Warrior!”
The two police officers had expected that this would be the result, but they held no longer hostility against Zhang Zian or Famous. After all, it was Famous who had saved their dogs. They came to apologize to Zhang Zian for their rudeness, then sincerely congratulated him.
Yuan Fei and Huang Mingyu couldn’t conceal the disappointment in their eyes.
For Huang Mingyu, he could let it go if he lost to Yuan Fei. After all, Neptune was the most excellent German Shepherd selected from the Star Group. But he couldn’t accept the fact that he had lost to Zhang Zian.
Yuen Fei was even more pissed off. His fists were trembling. His company had held high hopes on him for this audition, plus that his own resume was impeccable. Having served as a trainer in several TV series, he thought he would definitely win the role this time, but as it turned out, he had lost to a nobody. He fiercely stared at Guan Biao. Although Guan Biao dared to talk back to Feng Xuan, in the face of Yuan Fei, Guan Biao could only turn away his face, guilty.
Others did not notice the interaction between Guan Biao and Yuan Fei, but Famous and Sheng Ke had noticed it. While the two police officers were expressing their congratulations to Zhang Zian, Sheng Ke had been paying attention to Guan Biao’s demeanor and actions. Serving on the criminal police team for years, Sheng Ke had instinctively realized that the bombing was not an accident.
Sheng Ke quietly took out his cell phone, dialed the internal telephone of the police station, lowered his voice and said, “It’s me, Sheng Ke. Help me investigate a person, Guan Biao, the pyrotechnician of the Dog Warrior crew. Find out everything about him.” After giving the order, he hung up the phone, feigning carelessness.
Two police officers surrounded Zhang Zian, curiously asking him how he had trained the dog so that it was able to predict danger. Out of courtesy, but without sincerity, Zhang Zian made up some story, showing off and stunning them.
Some of the candidates from other pet shops or kennels came to congratulate Zhang Zian, while others were disheartened and wanted to go home.
The assistant hurriedly stopped them and said loudly, “Don’t leave! In addition to the protagonist, the cast also needs several supporting roles. The supporting roles also have many scenes in the movie. If you are willing to stay, the crew will sign a formal performance contract with you!”
Those who had intended to leave decided to stay. It would be nice to play a supporting role. Though their names might not appear with the title of the movie as the protagonist’s would, at least their name would be shown on the closing credits. It’s better than nothing, right?
Feng Xuan approached Zhang Zian, patted him on the shoulder and said, “Young man, good for you!”
“I just have good luck.” Zhang Zian answered humbly. He actually had not done much.
Feng Xuan squatted down and touched Famous’s head. “Well done, Famous. You are a hero!”
Standing up straight, Famous barked twice, then shut up again.
Only Zhang Zian could understand what Famous said, “I am not a hero—there is no hero on the battlefield. I want to be an angel.”
Feng Xuan chuckled, stood up and said, “Young man, are you running a pet shop?”
“Yes, the Amazing Fate Pet Shop in Dongcheng District,” replied Zhang Zian.
“You are not very busy, are you?” Feng Xuan thoughtfully asked again.
“Well, not very busy. On the weekends we may be busier, but usually there are not too many customers, and my employees take care of the shop for me,” Zhang Zian answered honestly.
“Well, I would like to formally invite you to join the crew of Dog Warrior and become the chief trainer of the crew. What do you think?” Feng Xuan smiled.
“Uh…” Zhang Zian was shocked. This invitation was so sudden that he did not have the time for the slightest preparation. He instinctively asked, “Will I get paid?”
“Yes,” said Feng Xuan affirmatively. “Daily settlement. You’ll get 1,000 yuan a day. The specific price can be discussed. In addition, the crew will take care of your meals and provide transport. During the shooting, you, and your dog of course, will be covered under personal accident injury insurance.”
Damn! 1,000 yuan a day, and meals were included?! Zhang Zian was suddenly excited. This was truly a windfall for him! The movie industry was really lucrative! Not only could he make money from the regular operation of his pet shop, but he could also earn extra money here! What a delight!
“Okay, I’m willing to do it!” Zhang Zian replied without hesitation. “But what does a chief dog trainer usually do?”
Feng Xuan was surprised. “Shouldn’t you be the one telling me?”
Zhang Zian resorted to his wit and covered up for himself, “I mean, I’ve never worked in a film crew before. I don’t know what a trainer on the crew usually does!”
“Oh, in fact, nothing special. You are mainly responsible for communicating with the crew, and providing guidance when shooting. After all, we are moviemakers and we know nothing about dogs,” Feng Xuan explained.
“Ok! Ok! No problem!” Zhang Zian patted his chest and said. He could even earn money while lying down!
At this time, the two police officers ran towards him with their dogs. “Brother Zhang, we would like to request you do us a favor.”
“What’s up?”
Xiao Liu and Xiao Wang seemed embarrassed. “Here is the case. We have just reported the situation to our superiors, and the superiors asked us to return to the police force and leave the dogs here. But we don’t trust anyone to take care of them.”
Zhang Zian knew what they meant. Because of the accident, they were not assured of the safety of their dogs with the crew, but they must obey orders, so they wanted to ask Zhang Zian to take care of Red Dragon and Prince during the filming.
He thought for a moment then promised them, “Leave them to me. I will try my best to take care of them.”
Red Dragon and Prince bowed to Famous solemnly, as if regarding Famous as their leader.
