Chapter 667. Adjusting (2)
Mahjong tiles rattled noisily as they got sucked into the table's automated mouth.
'F*cking hell... I can't catch a damn break with all these sh*tty hands...'
Wang Chen was feeling rather crappy at the moment.
He narrowed his eyes and suspiciously glared at the sight of the tiles getting jumbled and mixed under the table's surface. Then, he slowly raised his head to shoot a glare at the dealer. “Oii. Ya haven't done anything funny to this machine, now have ya?”
The dealer casually shrugged his shoulders. “Big brother, if I knew how to do that, I wouldn't be here wasting my life as a dealer. I'd be setting up my own factory somewhere.”
“Darn it...!” Wang Chen grunted while leaning against his chair, then threw his head back. 'Nothing is working out for me lately!'
He seemed to be on a string of rotten luck lately, and sure enough, even games of mahjong were taking him to the cleaners. He lost count of how many rounds he had lost by now. And the sight of his new tiles only made him scowl deeply again.
Although the tiles didn't look so bad, his gut feeling said otherwise. Just as he began thinking this game was also a lost cause, the private gambling den's door suddenly opened, and a man stepped inside.
He looked at Wang Chen and respectfully spoke. “Big brother.”
Wang Chen furrowed his brow and dismissively waved his hand. “If it's nothing serious, let's talk later. Later.”
“...Big brother, my apologies. This matter might not be that serious, but I thought telling you later could be a mistake.”
“What the... Argh, this brat...!” Wang Chen grunted in irritation and looked back at the unwelcome guest. “What now?”
“We, uh, need to step outside for a minute.”
“Ya brat! Can't ya see I'm in the middle of a game?”
“...Big brother, please.”
Wang Chen got up, his expression distorted in annoyance. “Sorry about this. I'll be right back. Let's call it a break for now.”
The dealer politely bowed. “No problem, big brother. Take your time.”
Wang Chen stomped his way out of the room and headed to a deserted location just around the corner. Then, he glared at the young man and sharply asked. “What happened!”
His sharp voice contained a subtle threat of, 'I'm not going to spare ya if this sh*t isn't as urgent as ya make it out to be!'
The young man grimaced. “Big brother, we lost contact with Guo Liqin.”
"So what? Ya dare bother me with something so insigni... Hang on. Repeat what ya said."
“Big brother. We can't contact Guo Liqin.”
“...” Wang Chen grimaced while rubbing his chin. 'It's Guo Liqin...?'
In that case, they weren't dealing with something insignificant, then. Guo Liqin was assigned to 'look after' the actor, Liu Wei, after all. Considering the amount of money Liu Wei was 'donating' to the organization, Guo Liqin's apparent disappearance could be something serious.
What if something happened to negatively affect Liu Wei's health? And that impacted the revenue collection? The geezers higher up the food chain would want to rip Wang Chen apart limb from limb!
Wang Chen glanced at his subordinate. “Did ya try to call Liu Wei?”
“He's not answering his phone, big brother.”
“I see. Meaning, his phone is still switched on... Got it. How long has it been?”
"I'm not sure. I only learned of this situation after not receiving yesterday's scheduled report from Guo Liqin."
“Mm, I see. I see. Wu Xun?”
“Yes, big brother?”
Smaaack!
Wang Chen's fist cleanly smashed into the young man, Wu Xun's chin. The latter's lips burst open, causing the blood to spray all over the wall.
Wang Chen grunted in dissatisfaction. “Ya sure found out quickly, didn't ya?”
“...My apologies, big brother,” Wu Xun bowed his head without wiping the streaming blood from his mouth.
“I don't give a rat's ass about Guo Liqin. It sucks to lose a good knife, but I can always get another one. However, Liu Wei is a different story. A brat like that is hard to come by. Ya get me?”
“Yes, big brother.”
“Geezers would definitely value Liu Wei far more than the likes of us. So, ya tell me what might happen if we lose someone like that under our watch. Selling off every organ ya have still won't be enough to cover the losses. Get my drift?”
“Yes, big brother.”
“Go and find out what happened. Do whatever it takes! We need to know what's what and who's who! An expert on the level of Guo Liqin wouldn't get done in easily, so the other side might have made a move against us! So, consider all possibilities and...” Wang Chen suddenly stopped talking there. While furrowing his brow in deep thought, he clenched his fists before slowly unfolding them. “No, wait. It'll take too long trying to figure out what happened. Mobilize everyone available, and... What was Liu Wei's last known location?”
“It's in Sichuan, big brother.”
“I see. Dispatch every man available over there. It won't be too late to investigate while ya do all that. Even if it turns out to be nothing more than a waste of time, it's still better to be safe than sorry.”
“Understood, big brother!”
“Who else knows about this besides us?”
“We're the only ones, big brother.”
“Good. Very good! Now, get a move on! Before I kill ya myself!”
“Yes, big brother!”
Wang Chen watched Wu Xun hurriedly rush somewhere, then spat on the floor with some disgust.
'F*ck!'
It'd be impossible to hide this matter from the geezers forever. Even if Wang Chen successfully stopped the news from reaching their ears for now... If the geezers learn about this mishap at a future date, they would surely hold Wang Chen accountable.
If Wang Chen wanted to lessen the severity of punishment, he needed to voluntarily cough up some tribute and hope for the best. Those geezers might be such frustratingly uptight bastards, but Wang Chen still would never dare go against any of them.
'And this is precisely why the martial world has become a stagnant pool of puss...'
Unlike the surface world, where generational changes occurred at regular intervals, the old timers of the martial world had this nasty tendency to hold onto their positions for a bit too long. Regular humans gradually lost their stamina and vitality as they grew older, but that story didn't apply to martial artists. Getting older meant they would accumulate even more internal energy.
Things like their worsening ability to apply their knowledge? Stuff like that could be covered by their huge reserve of qi. In short, getting older meant those geezers would only get stronger, and in turn, they would never relinquish the power in their grasp if they could help it!
Forget old folks, the term 'old monsters' better suited the lot of them. And there were a loooot of them, too. Wang Chen's issue with this situation was that martial artists lived longer than regular humans. Most of the old monsters ruling over China's underworld had been plying their trade even before the founding of this nation.
“Urgh. Looks like I'll have to listen to their nagging for a while...” Wang Chen dug his ear, then groaned loudly. So, what should he do now?
“Big Brother Wang? Should I end this game?”
The dealer's voice came from inside the room, but Wang Chen smirked back at that.
“Nah. I'm coming in. Hold ya horses, will ya!”
Regardless of what, he should at least finish the game he started. Besides, he got hit in the face of some unlucky crap just now, so his fortune should turn around soon!
Before entering the room, Wang Chen glanced in the direction Wu Xun had run off to and frowned a little. “Dunno who was stupid enough to do this to us, but... I guess it won't be boring for a while.”
Of course, Wang Chen had no idea. No idea what this insignificant little incident would balloon into.
However, even if he knew, he didn't have the necessary wherewithal to do anything about it, anyway!
***
“...You sure outdid yourself this time, didn't you?” Zhang Xiang held his head in despair. “The f*cker... He surely didn't stuff himself with drugs or something, right?”
That better not be it, though!
Using drugs in China was roughly the same as committing suicide, after all! The Opium Wars were considered never-to-be-repeated dark chapters of Chinese history, so anyone caught abusing or dealing drugs was summarily executed. No questions asked.
Liu Wei being a top star wouldn't change anything. As a matter of fact, he'd receive much heavier punishment precisely because he was a famous star. Someone like him would serve as an excellent example, after all!
As such, even China's upper class, infamous for committing various misdeeds, mostly shied away from abusing narcotics. That was because not even their wealth and influence could save their hides if the authorities caught them in the act.
Even though Liu Wei was an idiot, he should still know that much. As long as he had some functioning brain cells left, he'd never dare use drugs on Chinese soil.
'But... Without resorting to drugs, is it even possible to look like that in three days?'
Liu Wei seemed completely lifeless. Unless a Succubus had been sucking out his vitality during the past three days, was it even possible for a person's complexion to become so wane and sickly?
Forget method acting, that complexion belonged to a critical-care patient instead!
Zhang Xiang roared out, “Makeup team!”
“Yes, director!”
“Do something about that bastard's face! Hurry!”
“Understood, director!”
A team of makeup artists rushed toward Liu Wei and began analyzing his current state. Then, they ushered him toward the makeup tent while making stoic expressions. As for Liu Wei... He didn't offer any resistance and obediently went along when the makeup artists tugged at his arm.
Zhang Xiang spat out a loud groan at this sight. Although it was great to have the male lead back in the fold, how useful would he be in that state?
“That stupid son of a b*tch...”
Just as one problem finally got sorted out, another one reared its ugly head. At least Liu Wei's state might come in handy since his scenes required him to look depressed and in sorrow. The whole production might have been in trouble if his scenes needed to be happy and full of life, but thankfully, the female lead character was slowly dying in this part of the story. Liu Wei's current state might be better when trying to convey the emotional state of the male protagonist.
Although Liu Wei's sickly complexion might be seen as a bit over the top, it could make up for his rubbish acting talent.
'Yes. Think positively, Zhang Xiang! Happy thoughts!'
Regardless of what, Zhang Xiang was still relieved to know that this production could resume now. Even if the end product turned into a sh*tshow, it was still better than a no-show, wasn't it?
“You really found him, Mister Jin-Ho.” Choi Yeon-Ha sidled up to the driver wearing the baseball cap and beamed brightly.
The baseball cap-wearing man casually responded, “It wasn't difficult, after all.”
“...I guess you really are a Superman.”
Zhang Xiang tried to eavesdrop, but Choi Yeon-Ha and the mystery man were conversing in Korean. He couldn't understand anything but still realized something. 'Hey, that baseball hat guy... Isn't he that man?'
Was his name Kang Jin-Ho? Indeed, it was him, the man who was simply born for the silver screen. Probably.
However, why did he show up here with Liu Wei in tow? The more Zhang Xiang thought about it, the more mysterious that Korean man seemed to become.
'I better set up a private meeting with him soon...'
Zhang Xiang had already called dibs on Kang Jin-Ho, but events like this only stoked his interest even further. Kang Jin-Ho might be Korean, but his Chinese was fluent, so only the two of them having a meeting shouldn't be an issue.
Zhang Xiang watched Choi Yeon-Ha accompany Kang Jin-Ho somewhere and grinned deeply. Unfortunately for the director, though...
His grin couldn't last for long.
***
“Cut! Cuuuut! Goddamn it! I said, cuuuuut!” Zhang Xiang shot up to his feet and performed his by-now trademark action, throwing the script on the ground. “You bastard! What the hell is this sh*t! Is that your idea of acting?! Is that it?!”
Liu Wei apologized meekly. “...I'm sorry.”
“Dammit! Even a bloody elementary school kid can act better than you! Who the hell thought it was a good idea to pick up a piece of trash like him?!”
“I'm sorry...”
“Dammit! Five minutes! We'll take a break for five minutes! And you... You better read the script again and get into character! You hear me?!”
“...Yes, sir.”
Zhang Xiang clutched at his hair. “Uwaaaaah! Dammit all to hell!”
Liu Wei's acting! His totally unconvincing crappy acting was the problem!
Despite having above-average looks, Liu Wei's acting chops used to be worse than a kindergarten talent show-level. But now, it's completely broken! At least Liu Wei seemed like a person until now, but today, he... It was as if Zhang Xiang was filming a creaky wooden doll!
Calling it 'sh*tty acting' was actually a praise at this point. After all, that had the word 'acting' in it, didn't it? As far as Zhang Xiang could tell, Liu Wei's performance could not and should not be labeled as acting in any shape or form!
The evaluation of Liu Wei being the absolute worst actor Zhang Xiang had encountered in his entire career didn't change with this... 'performance', but this idiot was still fighting a lonely battle to transcend his own limitations! In a very negative sense, of course!
“Bloody hell! At least we should've gotten one! One! Just one usable take by now!”
There was a limit to how much Zhang Xiang could cover this nonsense with his superior directing ability!
“Director! Here's a bottle of cold water.”
“Give it to me!” Zhang Xiang snatched the bottle and gulped the cold water down nonstop. After calming down a little, he groaned loudly and shook his head. “...How many times have we been filming this scene already?”
“Director, could it be because we've been filming Miss Choi's scenes before Liu Wei's?”
“...Well, that could be a reason, sure.”
Maybe Zhang Xiang's eyes had been spoiled by watching Choi Yeon-Ha put on the performance of a lifetime. Unfortunately, that couldn't be the full story.
Liu Wei's performance wasn't comparatively despair-inducing, but absolutely, unequivocally trash-tier! It sucked so much that a random amateur off the street with no ability to tell a good acting apart from a bad one would laugh their ass off in derision!
'What the hell is wrong with that bastard? Why is he so tense, anyway?'
Zhang Xiang felt similar vibes as the one coming off Liu Wei on many past occasions. Many newbie actors showing up to high-pressure auditions would suffer from excessive nervousness and start creaking like wooden dolls. With cold sweat pouring down their faces, too. Just like Liu Wei.
Everyone knew that such nervousness would destroy their chances of getting the role, but it was easier said than done. To be good at acting, one must overcome their nervousness somehow. If an actor couldn't deal with the pressure of an audition, they would never survive the baptism of fire that was the actual film shoot. Obviously, those actors always got the boot.
To think Zhang Xiang would see that sort of nervousness in an actual film set, though!
He yanked out a cigarette and mouthed it. One of his ironclad rules was to never smoke during filming, but there were always exceptions. If he didn't get some of this unhealthy smoke in his lungs, he might black out from the sheer stress of this situation!
“...Dammit. Hey, are we ready to go?” Zhang Xiang asked while glancing at his assistant.
“Yes, director.”
“Fine! Everyone, to your spots! Ready, and...!”
Maybe, just maybe... It was Zhang Xiang who was even more nervous than Liu Wei right now.
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