Huayu: This director is pretty strong.

Chapter 190 The Blade Returns to Its Sheath, A Dimensional Strike in the Audition Studio

Downstairs at the headquarters of Yanying Culture, the asphalt road was blocked by eight black GMC vans parked sideways, their front and rear ends forming a rigid blockade.

The car doors were fully open, and bodyguards in black suits stood in two rows, their backs straight, completely blocking the passage in front of the main entrance.

Seven or eight assistants held black umbrellas with the brim hanging low. Several women wearing sunglasses were clustered in the middle, their skirts and perfumes filling the air on the steps.

Reporters were all kept outside the security cordon by the security guards, their cameras stacked one on top of the other, the shutters clicking so loudly it made your eardrums tingle.

The daytime sun shone on the glass curtain wall, and the flashlights kept adding light, with bright spots jumping wildly between the steps and the car windows.

The casting assistant director stood at the door, his walkie-talkie slippery with sweat, a bead of sweat trickling down his face and into his collar, but he couldn't spare a hand to wipe it away.

The signs for the five major cinema chains weren't displayed, but their imposing presence already weighed heavily on the shoulders of every security guard.

In the second-floor lounge, the air conditioning was set to 16 degrees Celsius, and gusts of cold air blew down from the vents.

Zhou Ya sat in the middle of the sofa, her high heels already kicked to the side of the coffee table. Her assistant knelt on the carpet and helped her change into a pair of soft-soled slippers.

Another assistant unscrewed the Evian mineral water bottle, inserted the straw, bent down, and held it to her lips.

The agent stood by the window, first glancing at the reporters downstairs, then turning back to Zhou Ya and nodding at her.

"President Li has already given instructions, so today we just need to go through the motions."

Zhou Ya, with a straw in her mouth, didn't look up, but kept looking at her newly done French manicure from all angles.

The agent patted the contract folder in his hand, his tone confident and familiar.

"The contract for the female lead has been drafted. She'll go in later and read a couple of lines. Don't waste time with them."

"A science fiction film?"

Zhou Ya gave a soft hum and pushed the water bottle away.

"How many people in China watch this kind of stuff?"

She twirled the hem of her skirt, her fingertips avoiding any dust that wasn't actually on the fabric.

"If it weren't for the need to leverage the resources of the five major cinema chains, I wouldn't bother taking on such a demanding role. I heard it involves filming in a heavy industrial factory, which sounds disgusting."

In the audition room on the third floor, Chen Yan sat on a folding chair behind the monitor.

A stack of blank rating sheets lay on the table, their edges curling slightly from the air conditioning.

Su Wan stood to his left, holding a list of people in her hand, her pen tracing down the names to check the entry time of each person.

Li Jianguo sat on a genuine leather sofa three meters to his right. The sofa was moved from another office by Zhou Ming and looked quite out of place on the rough cement floor of the audition studio.

He held a Cuban cigar between his fingers, the smoke spreading in the air conditioning and then being drawn away little by little by the vents.

Zhou Mingli stood behind the sofa, carrying a black briefcase, his shoulders never relaxed.

"Director Chen."

Li Jianguo flicked his cigarette ash, and the ash particles landed on the edge of the carpet, leaving a small stain.

"You really know how to find people at Shougang; you even managed to bring out General Manager Han from China Film Group to put me in a better position."

Chen Yan stared at the black screen of the monitor, the red marker in his hand remaining motionless.

Li Jianguo didn't wait for a response, and twirled the cigar between his fingers halfway.

"But the film industry isn't about building machines."

"Without stars and box office appeal, even if you build a space shuttle, audiences may not buy tickets."

Chen Yan raised his left wrist and glanced at the watch face.

9:40 a.m.

"Let Number One in."

He said to Su Wan.

Su Wan pressed the call button on the table, and the list of names made a soft sound between her fingers.

Two minutes later, the heavy soundproof door of the audition studio was pushed open.

Zhou Ya walked in accompanied by four assistants, her haute couture gown trailing across the threshold, the hem sweeping the ground.

There was no carpet inside the studio, and the oil stains left from yesterday's set-up were still on the cement floor, shiny black.

Zhou Ya stopped after taking two steps, frowned, lifted her skirt and turned to Chen Yan.

"Director Chen, there isn't even a place to settle down here."

She dragged out the last syllable, with the affected air she usually cultivated in front of the camera.

"How about we talk in the conference room upstairs?"

Chen Yan picked up the red marker on the table and twirled the cap between his fingers.

"go out."

As soon as the two words were spoken, the sound of the cold wind in the shed became even clearer.

Zhou Ya stood still, first looking at her agent, then at Li Jianguo on the sofa.

The agent immediately stepped forward, the contract clip tucked into his arm.

"Director Chen, what do you mean by that?"

His smile was forced, and the lines around his eyes were taut.

"Our Zhou Ya canceled two engagements to come here, and President Li is also sitting here, so you should at least give her some face."

I'll say it again.

Chen Yan looked up and glanced over Zhou Ya's face, which was usually heavily edited, through his agent's shoulder.

"go out."

Li Jianguo pressed the cigar into the ashtray, extinguishing the flame, while the remaining smoke climbed up the rim of the ashtray.

"Chen Yan, don't push your luck."

Chen Yan didn't respond to his words, but simply pressed the call button.

"Security, clear the area."

The door was pushed open again.

But it wasn't a security guard who came in.

A woman in a black windbreaker stepped into the audition studio. Her short, ear-length hair was plastered to the side of her face. She had no makeup on and the pallor from her long flight had not yet faded.

She carried an old canvas bag in her left hand, and her military boots were covered in dry mud, the soles of which had left shallow marks on the cement floor.

Lin Qingqiu.

She ignored Zhou Ya and did not bypass the assistants, but walked straight through the crowd to the center of the venue.

The canvas bag was placed at her feet. She unzipped her windbreaker, revealing a black tactical vest underneath. The muscles in her shoulders, back, and arms were taut and defined under the light.

Lin Qingqiu looked at Chen Yan.

Chen Yan got up, walked to the edge of the venue, and pulled open a gray dust cover.

Beneath the screen was a discarded hydraulic valve, which Wang Yuanchao had welded overnight. The half-meter diameter rotating wheel was rusted and had barbs left on its edges from cutting.

Chen Yan pointed to the valve.

"Scenario: hatch jammed, power system overload."

He paused for a moment to make sure Lin Qingqiu had taken it all in.

"Manually cut off the power within three minutes, or all personnel will be killed in an explosion."

There are no lines.

"start."

Chen Yan returned to the monitor.

Lin Qingqiu didn't ask a single question.

She turned around, took two running steps, and lunged at the hydraulic valve.

The valve was positioned too low, and her knees slammed onto the rough cement floor with a dull thud. One of Zhou Ya's assistants next to her hunched over.

Lin Qingqiu reached out and directly grasped the rusted and barbed wheel.

No test was conducted.

She shifted all her strength to the right side.

The valve was welded shut and remained untouched.

Lin Qingqiu's facial muscles tensed, the veins on his neck bulged, and his hands began to tremble slightly from the excessive force.

The barb sliced ​​open his palm, and blood trickled down the rust marks, dripping onto the cement floor.

She didn't call out.

The next second, she changed her posture.

Press your right shoulder against the edge of the valve, find a new fulcrum with your knees, lower your back and use your whole body to pry open the wheel.

The soft clicking of teeth against each other could be clearly heard through the intermittent bursts of cold air in the shed.

Two minutes passed.

Her hands were covered in blood, her tactical vest was soaked with sweat, and her hair was stuck to the side of her neck.

But she's still putting in the effort.

There was no pleading on his face, nor any feigned pain; only an unyielding stubbornness that sent chills down the spines of onlookers.

That inhuman composure honed through training in the Strasberg Method in Hollywood was displayed before everyone by her bleeding palms.

Zhou Ya and her assistant team were speechless.

Zhou Ya took a step back, her heel hitting the engine oil, and her body swayed to the side. Fortunately, her assistant reached out to support her, preventing her from falling on the spot.

The agent's mouth was open, his Adam's apple bobbed twice, but he couldn't utter a single word.

Li Jianguo sat on the sofa, his hand holding a cigar suspended in mid-air, the long ash hanging there before finally breaking off beside his trouser seam.

"stop."

Chen Yan spoke.

Lin Qingqiu released the wheel and collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath, blood dripping from her fingertips.

She looked up, waiting for Chen Yan to give her the result.

Chen Yan uncapped the red marker and drew a thick red circle after Han Duoduo's name at the top of the score sheet.

The pen tip scratched the paper, leaving rough edges.

"Take her to get her wound treated."

He said to Su Wan.

Su Wan immediately stepped forward and supported Lin Qingqiu's arm.

Chen Yan turned around and faced Li Jianguo.

"Mr. Li, movies are made."

He turned the red pen back onto the table.

"Money can buy screen time, trending topics, and nanny vans, but it can't buy someone bleeding on camera without flinching."

Li Jianguo's face twitched.

Chen Yan looked at Zhou Ya and her group, her tone leaving no room for leniency.

"These pets you raise wouldn't even qualify for a single shot in my heavy industry system."

He then turned to Zhou Ming.

"Take your people and get out of my building."

Security guards had already rushed in from outside, forming a line to block Zhou Ya's assistants from getting in.

Li Jianguo stood up, first straightening the hem of his suit jacket, then smoothing out the cuffs.

There were no polite words.

He turned and walked out.

Zhou Ming picked up his briefcase, and Zhou Ya and her agent followed behind, their skirts trailing behind oil stains, leaving a dirty mark.

At the end of the corridor, Li Jianguo stopped and took out his phone to dial a number.

After the call connected, he turned to the side, avoiding the reporters and assistants who followed him.

"President Lu."

The words were squeezed out from between his teeth, carrying the lingering smell of smoke.

"Chen Yan is impenetrable."

"He brought Lin Qingqiu back."

"That woman is terribly crazy; our men can't control her."

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone, followed by Lu Haiming's usual calm voice.

"understood."

"As originally planned, we prepared that grand gift for the opening ceremony."