The next day, Liu Rulan came to find Xiao He in high spirits.
"You're in luck, kid. The script we're looking for has actually come to us on its own!"
Upon seeing Xiao He, Liu Rulan went straight to the point.
Xiao He, who was on the treadmill, was quite surprised: "Eh? Is this the director you were talking about, Sister Liu?"
Speaking of this, Liu Rulan couldn't stop smiling: "Yes! And he's the second male lead."
"The male lead?"
This time, Xiao He was really surprised. Could he now also get to enjoy the male lead's story?
Who exactly is that director?
"Ren Changwen, Director Ren."
"Ren Changwen..."
Xiao He was unfamiliar with the name, but after thinking carefully, he remembered the other person's work: "Is he the director of 'The Labyrinth of Shadows'?"
"Yes, that's him."
Seeing that Xiao He wasn't too familiar with the name, Liu Rulan took the initiative to introduce him, saying, "He is one of the few directors in China who has a wildly imaginative mind and consistently high box office returns. People in the industry used to say that he might be better suited to Hollywood than to develop his career in mainland China."
Many film directors today seem to have entered a vicious cycle, obsessed with adapting big IPs, patriotic themes, or directly importing foreign films—whatever is popular, they copy and remake it in China—pursue stable box office returns and make sure-fire profits.
Ren Changwen is different. His scripts are always very novel and he insists on originality. There are very few other similar works in China that can be used as substitutes.
For example, there are time loop themes that were very popular abroad but rarely produced in China, as well as themes of virtual dreams traveling through reality, and Xiao He's previous work "Maze Shadows," which is similar to a battle royale.
This director has his own unique style. Although the subjects he films are relatively "niche," most of his domestic films of the same genre that are wildly popular abroad but flopped in China have failed. However, his films always have amazing box office results. He has a lot of die-hard fans in China and a large number of followers abroad. He is the kind of magical director that others can't imitate.
"To be honest, based on this director's style, I thought he would be the first big director in China to make a zombie film," Liu Rulan said with emotion. "But I didn't expect Director Feng to come and interfere, boldly trying out a zombie film, and Director Ren's new script is not a zombie film, but a battle royale."
"Another battle royale game?"
This time, Xiao He was genuinely interested. With "The Labyrinth of Shadows" as a precedent, he trusted the director's ability to direct battle royale films, so he spread his hands and asked, "Do you have a script?"
Liu Rulan nodded and took out her tablet: "I'll forward it to you now."
Filled with curiosity and anticipation, Xiao He opened the script titled "Law of the Jungle".
Like many battle royale games abroad, the protagonist, Lin Yu'an, grew up in an orphanage. The orphanage director was his only family. However, one day, a sudden change occurred: the orphanage faced financial problems, and the director fell seriously ill, urgently needing money.
However, the scholarship money the male protagonist had saved was simply not enough to cover this expense.
Just then, another protagonist, Xu Ning, made his appearance.
He brought an invitation to a death game created by a wealthy man, called "Jungle Game." It was said that anyone who participated in the game and survived would receive a substantial prize.
Xu Ning knew that Lin Yu'an needed money, so he invited Lin Yu'an to come to the island with him to participate in this deadly game.
In order to treat his mother, the hospital director, Lin Yu'an and Xu Ning eventually embarked on a dangerous adventure.
This film features two main storylines, one overt and one covert. Lin Yu'an and Xu Ning, as the top partners in the game, have almost equal screen time throughout the film, each with their # Nоvеlight # own responsibilities.
Lin Yu'an, a top student in the mathematics department of a prestigious university, had already made a name for himself in the mathematics world. However, his reputation was damaged when his published paper was plagiarized by his supervisor, putting him on the verge of being expelled. In the jungle game, he possesses a sharp and clear mind, serving as the intellectual backbone of the entire series, responsible for analyzing the game rules and devising escape strategies.
Xu Ning, whose identity is shrouded in mystery, possesses extremely high combat skills and is the strongest fighter in the entire series. Although he actively invites Lin Yu'an to participate in the game, he always seems indifferent to it. He will save Lin Yu'an's life when he is in danger, but he will choose to stand by and do nothing in most other matters. He is a rather strange guy.
This "jungle game" is based on a food chain and is derived from a set of one-way food chain rules. Initially, players are given twelve cards: four "wolves", four "foxes", and four "rabbits". According to the food chain logic, "wolves" can eat "foxes" or "rabbits", while "foxes" can only eat "rabbits". "Rabbits" are naturally at the bottom of the food chain.
Of course, there is also competition at the top of the food chain. If a wolf and a fox of the same kind meet, they will not only consume cards but also lose 1 point. Conversely, if two rabbits meet, they will only consume cards and will not lose points.
All participating players will be placed on a small island heavily monitored by surveillance cameras. Everyone starts with 3 points. The condition for survival is to use up all the cards in their hand without running out of points. If a player does not run out of points, they can exchange all the remaining points for money when leaving the island and then leave smoothly.
In other words, participating players not only have to use up all the cards in their hand within the specified time, but also have to try their best to steal cards from other players to compete in order to earn more money and achieve their goal of participating in the "Jungle Game".
Conversely, if they don't use up all their cards within the allotted time, or if their points are depleted, they will never have another chance to leave the island and will disappear from this world forever.
At the same time, hidden beneath these rules is another rule: the true law of the jungle—survival of the fittest!
Once on the island, the organizers do not prohibit players from forming groups to do other things, including not prohibiting other behaviors such as looting and stealing cards, forcibly checking other people's cards, forcing hand battles, and even allowing players to cooperate with each other to use the method of exchanging points to cancel out all the cards in their hands, and finally leave the island with only the initial 3 points. As long as players do not damage or hide cards, they will not stop the players' behavior.
Since points cannot be stolen but can be continuously acquired in hand-based battles, when players arrive on the island, the first thing they face is not the rules of the hand-based game, but a group of people who are after money, and the dangers and criminals they encounter after leaving the environment of a society governed by the rule of law!
In other words, rules are just rules. Those wealthy people with perverse tastes are not watching players playing house, but rather witnessing a real jungle game between people, a survival of the fittest!
Against this backdrop, players not only need to think about card battle strategies, but also how to survive before leaving the island.
Lin Yu'an and Xu Ning need to fight their way out in such an environment.
Unlike the "saintly characters" popular in the market now, neither of these two are absolutely positive characters. For points and survival, one schemes against people's hearts, and the other slaughters lives. Although both are relatively calm types, there are still many differences when you look closely. Lin Yu'an is the quiet type. When she is quiet, she is thinking and observing. She is a very calm conductor. Xu Ning, on the other hand, is the ruthless type who doesn't talk much. When she takes action, she doesn't hold back at all. Her attitude towards death and the game is more of an enjoyment than a fear.
Aside from the excellent character design, the plot is even more outstanding—the competition between players, the players' testing of the game rules, the exploration of human nature and humanity, the progressively unfolding plot, and the exhilarating final twist... Xiao He was completely immersed in it, watching the entire plot without taking a breath.
