Entering The Crew

"Third phase simulation concluded. Score 99. Excellent. Course completed."

Lu Ze opened his eyes and saw the putty of his room, riddled with cracks and peeled off layers. He flipped around on the bed and stood up in somewhat of a daze. His fingers accidentally grazed the pillow cloth and discovered that it was thoroughly drenched.

He habitually stroked his chin but then realized that there was... no beard?

Where was he? He couldn't remember. He only remembered leaving on a plane to the US. Could his plane have met with an accident? Could he have just escaped a calamity and been brought back home?

The hell? This seems like the ending of a novel.

Hold on! Crew Cut?

When he saw himself in the mirror, his brain seemed to have been struck by lightning. What college? What academics? What going abroad for studies? He was a twenty-four-year-old, high-school graduate, extra in Hengdian.

This was the real him. He was far from the success he'd had in the system space. For the real him, even getting by was a challenge. The him, who had stood out from the majority of youths of the country, was merely a dream.

When he recalled the knowledge he'd studied in the dream, his memories were indistinct. He forgot what he'd studied and only recalled his life experiences and those painful emotions.

Perhaps the concern in his heart ran too deep, but Lu Ze urgently needed to know the his-and-her conclusion. Was it a perfect ending, or did they part ways? It was the biggest knot in his heart.

However, he had completed the course, and this goddamn system would not let him continue his study. What happened to the two of them? Who on earth would tell him?

Although only a night had passed in reality, every detail of this four-year-long dream was crystal-clear in his memory.

He wished to dig deep into his memories and relive that sweetness of love, but when he glanced at his phone, the time cruelly reminded him that he had an important job today.

He hurriedly took a bath and changed his clothes. After getting ready, he saw that he had barely grown a stubble and gave up on shaving.

Paddling the mobike so fiercely that its chains seemed on the verge of letting out sparks, he arrived at his destination before six and a half o'clock. Signing his name in the register, he entered Film City on his own for the first time.

Although the city was quite big, he was long familiar with it. Seeing the bunch of busy extras who had come even earlier than him, he prepared himself to enter the battlefield of lifting stuff as well.

"You, the selected special! Yes, you! Come over here for a moment."

The manager waved at him from the side, and Lu Ze pointed to himself. Upon receiving the confirmation, he walked over and said with a smile, "What's the matter, brother? Have you got something else for me?"

The manager spoke with somewhat of a strange face, "Were you an extra before?"

"Yeah."

"You're special. There's no need to work. Just have some rest over there. Let the others handle the work."

Lu Ze was somewhat unable to take the enormous transformation in his status overnight. His face turned somewhat blank, but he held his tongue. With a nod, he walked to a corner, sat on the bench, and turned on his phone.

Since he did not have to work, he did not have to pretend to be a goody-two-shoes either. After all, who would recognize other extras amongst the ones who worked and left after getting their pay? Today, he would not be a goody-two-shoes but instead, the arrogant boss!

Although his thoughts were such, when he saw his 'brothers of yesterday' drenched in sweat, he felt a bit uneasy. He even had a slight urge to go and lend a hand, causing him to then scold himself for being a good-for-nothing.

However, he couldn't help himself in the end. Helping them arranging boxes was not that tiring. When the manager saw him still working, he stopped reminding him.

"Thanks, big brother."

After helping place the last camera case on the ground, one of the extras wiped the sweat off his brow and nodded gently at Lu Ze in gratitude. He seemed several years older than Lu Ze.

"Can I also pass as a big brother now?"

Lu Ze did not feel too good but felt a bit uncomfortable instead. One would not become the crown prince just by donning royal garments. It was something he used to say.

After seven, the director and the lead roles had all arrived. The lead artists of this drama were a lot more sincere than those from that soldier drama. Not one of them came considerably later compared to the director.

On the one hand, there were no familiar faces amongst the leads, meaning that almost all of them were novices. However, on the other hand, it showed that this director had far stronger connections compared to the previous one.

"Is that special from yesterday here?"

Laying his coat down on the chair, the director spoke in a seemingly indifferent voice, but he was quite anxious inwardly. In this whole drama, the scene he liked the most was the one Lu Ze would act out. Not being able to find a suitable actor for the role agonized him to no end. Today, now that stone was finally lifted off his chest, so he was somewhat impatient to look at the result.

"Yes, director! I'm here!"

Lu Ze hurriedly raised his hand. He was not standing that far from the director, but due to being a bit overly excited he ended up yelling.

"Go and get changed."

The director glanced at Lu Ze, took out a cigarette from his pocket, and followed the manager to inspect the cameras along with the demolition expert's work.

The costume's smell this time around was still bad. Although it was not as bad as that stinking tofu from before, it was not much better either.

Lu Ze swiftly and cleanly changed into his costume. It was the first time he was being taken care of by the make-up artist, although it was just smearing some blood on his forehead and clothes.

Since the demolition expert had made dozens of explosion points, inspecting them took a while. Taking this opportunity, Lu Ze began to do some push-ups with all his might.

Doing push-ups cladded in a cotton jacket in mid-summer, how terrible was that? In any case, after doing twenty-or-so, his face was drenched in sweat. Then, he grabbed some dust from the ground and smeared it on his face, making him look like a monkey.

Then, under everybody's gazes, he rolled on the ground crazily, as if performing some sort of bizarre street dance.

Upon inspecting the work of the demolition artist, the director turned his gaze to the Lu Ze, who was doing his 'street dance' and said to him.

"This is too clean, doesn't give a war-like feeling…"

Lu Ze hesitantly replied since he did not know the director's temperament. He did all this to perform well, but who could say if it ended up making the director angry for some reason.

"Where did you learn acting? Where did you graduate from?"

"I'm a high school drop out who never completed school. The acting skills I have are what I've learned and refined by myself. Do you think it's any good?"

His comment made the director size-up Lu Ze for a moment. He would soon be fifty-seven-year-old. In the twenty years he was a director, this was the first time he had seen the trick of crying at a moment's notice. Moreover, he seemed more dedicated than the bunch of main leads present, so the director could not help but feel a little fondness, causing him to nod, "You're an excellent seedling faintly. Grow well."

Hearing the director's words, Lu Ze smiled in delight. It was the first time a director had affirmed him. Once these words made outside, they would undoubtedly be a huge boon to his acting career.

"What the hell are you doing? Are you guys deadweight extras, what the f*ck are you looking at me have a conversation for?! Production unit, do I keep you here to slack off? Do you guys want me to call in a masseuse? Sound guys, why aren't you raising the stands? Are you waiting for me to tie flags on it?"

After chatting with Lu Ze, the director was ready to begin the shoot. Once he saw his staff watching him have a conversation, his expression turned to one of anger, causing him to lash out. It caused Lu Ze to shrink his head in fear.

Once the 'action!' order was given, the shooting began for the scene and the set was drowned in booming cannonfire. Explosion after explosion rang out as white smoke and soil flew off the ground. The manager then ran over to him and led him to the main lead's position. 

After this scene, it would be his turn!

"..."