Zhang Guangmu! "Book of Acting"

Hungry!

Acid welled up in his stomach, as if a blazing fire were burning his stomach lining.

Extreme hunger washed over his heart, like a fierce, continuous tsunami, frantically eroding Zhang Guangmu's nerves and almost completely crushing him.

I must eat as soon as possible! Otherwise, I will last at most one more day before starving to death!

In the entire Survivor Camp, only Boss Zhao and Chu Fan had food...

Such thoughts floated through Zhang Guangmu's mind, yet he did not panic at all in his heart, and even felt somewhat like laughing: Subconscious Films really are terrifying. If I didn't have a "special ability", I'd probably be just like the other actors, treating this place like the Real World.

Right.

What Survivor Camp, what Food Crisis—they were all just script settings!

Even the notion that "Zhang Guangmu is about to starve to death" was a false crisis, a mistaken form of self-awareness.

He dared to affirm that even if he died in this film, it wouldn't cause the slightest impact or harm to himself in the Real World.

Any actor who enters a Subconscious Film has their real memories blocked off, treating themselves as an indigene of the film world, forced to act entirely on their own subconscious.

A coward cannot portray the image of a brave soul.

Having a worldly playboy portray a deeply devoted character is pure fantasy!

Take a guy who is a weather vane in reality and have him play a deeply loyal character—it only takes one film to completely ruin him and leave him disgraced!

Smiles lingered in Zhang Guangmu's eyes: Yet I don't need to be like the other actors.

My special ability gives me the advantage of breaking through the "real memory block"!

When everyone else can only rely on their own subconscious to participate in the film, I can rely on acting skill to show off my moves!

This "Endless Food Bag" is the first film I've participated in after reaching the age requirement! I must perform well, truly put on a show, and leave a deep impression on the audience and director!

Only in this way can I make a name, rise to higher levels, and earn enough money!

After all, whether it's medical treatment or fine food, both require massive expenses.

Zhang Guangmu thought about it with a straight face, but an inexplicable thought suddenly popped into his consciousness.

I must choose one between Boss Zhao and Chu Fan to rely on, and then I might possibly survive!

I want to live, and I absolutely must not starve to death here!

This was not Zhang Guangmu's exclusive privilege—every actor with a role received such "Script Hints" issued by the director and the Set Assistant.

After all...

Once the actors entered this virtual world, their real-world memories were immediately blocked off. Relying purely on character background settings made them very prone to main plot deviation and script collapse, and these "Script Hints" disguised as the actor's own thoughts were the best control-the-field tools for the director and assistants.

Zhang Guangmu, however, did not plan to follow the Script Hints.

As a newcomer in this film, he was merely cast as an Extra responsible for a "betrayal" role. If he truly followed those instructions, there would be no benefit to him whatsoever!

Thinking of this, Zhang Guangmu picked up a small booklet from the table and casually flipped to a page.

Within his field of vision, the text inside the booklet gradually wriggled, rapidly breaking apart and changing forms, the lines intertwining to condense into text of a Black Iron Color, reconstructing a simple data panel.

Zhang Guangmu
Acting Skill 1
Imperial Body Forging Technique 1
Usable Ability Points 0
Remarks: "1" represents the level a Normal Human can reach by focusing on a certain field with sufficient energy and studying intently for ten years; participating in Subconscious Film performances can produce "Usable Ability Points."

This was Zhang Guangmu's "Golden Finger"!

Any book, once it reached his hands, could transform into the "Book of Acting"!

On the very first day Zhang Guangmu transmigrated to the Xuanlong Empire, he knew he possessed such a "Golden Finger".

It was a pity...

The "Usable Ability Points" of the "Book of Acting" could only be obtained by participating in Subconscious Film performances.

And in the Xuanlong Empire, only those who had reached the age of sixteen were considered mature in personality and qualified to participate in Subconscious Film performances.

If not for this restriction, Zhang Guangmu would have long since made a fortune and been full of riches; how could he possibly need to worry about making money?!

However...

It wasn't too late now!

With the book in his hands, Zhang Guangmu's gaze shifted slightly.

A cluster of small, dim white-glowing spheres appeared within his field of vision.

These white orbs represented the "audience"!

The most common leisure and entertainment activity in the Xuanlong Empire was Subconscious Film!

Compared to completed films, Empire citizens often preferred "following ongoing releases," enjoying the various pleasures during the filming process—one of the explanations given by experts was that this was the most authentic and interesting!

Yes...

What is more entertaining than seeing big stars suffer a total collapse of their character settings?

So-called comedy is fundamentally about tearing open other people's tragedies and scars to watch.

For Zhang Guangmu, having the Book of Acting by his side meant that the possibility of his character setting collapsing was virtually zero.

Within his field of vision, white balls representing the audience were chattering and discussing something.

"Huh? Who is this guy? He didn't even appear before! If they're going to arrange his plot, they could at least provide some foreshadowing!"

"This youth is called Zhang Guangmu, and apart from looking handsome, there's nothing special about him. He's totally mediocre... Unfollowing! I'm going to watch Chu Fan!"

"I'm heading back too! In order to fight for the Endless Food Bag, Chu Fan's squad is tearing each other apart like crazy, scheming against one another, engaging in all sorts of infighting and selling out teammates. It's truly exciting!"

"I turned off the immersive experience and checked out Boss Zhao's Script Hint. This youth named Zhang Guangmu holds intelligence on Chu Fan. I reckon he'll either join the protagonist group later or defect to the villain. Still worth a watch."

"Indeed, paying more attention to newcomers is fine too. What if there's a surprise?"

"What the hell kind of surprise! You lot just have a morbid sense of humor, always wanting to watch rookie actors expose their true natures in films all day long. It's simply... Too much like me! Hahahaha! Never mind, I'm going to watch the protagonist group tear each other apart!"

"Master is back again! The production team on Chu Fan's side has already started to control the field! The protagonist group's infighting scene was forcefully suppressed for a wave by the director relying on a Flashback Kill. So boring!"

"Boss Zhao lost the trail. If he wants to continue hunting down Chu Fan, he'll have to 'find' clues in this newcomer's mouth."

"Making a rookie do a scene rehearsal with Boss Zhao, who's known as the Newcomer Crusher? The director is playing dirty."

"Zhang Guangmu, is it? What a pity for this handsome guy, I'll observe a moment of silence for him."

"The plot on the protagonist group's side has already collapsed to hell. Director Qian probably has a stomach full of anger bottled up and wants to find someone to vent his temper on."

"Pity this handsome young man... His luck is simply too bad!"

Zhang Guangmu blinked and put down his book.

Under circumstances where he couldn't add points, Zhang Guangmu had painstakingly practiced for a full ten years, finally grinding out an acting skill evaluation of 1 point. This allowed him to eavesdrop on the audience's remarks while pretending to act nonchalant, preventing him from staring blankly at them like an idiot—that would directly expose his trump card.

Listening to the audience's remarks, Zhang Guangmu swiftly sorted through the outline of the first version of the script he had seen before entering the film world.

Endless Food Bag: The apocalypse arrives, fields can no longer grow crops, and the flesh and blood of livestock are also saturated with toxins. Humanity's existing food supplies are about to run out, yet Chu Fan is astonished to discover that he can pour an endless supply of food from a disposable plastic bag in his home...

As the lead actor, Chu Fan's character setting and subconscious had clearly conflicted. Influenced by him, the main plot of the entire play had already begun to collapse.

This recent wave of audience members was merely schadenfreude; overall, they were still relatively well-behaved.

Zhang Guangmu had previously seen a batch of viewers who used to be Chu Fan's fans, every single one of them cursing the heavens, hurling foul language, and being foul-mouthed.

Chu Fan's popularity had plummeted as a result, yet deep within the play, he remained completely oblivious to it.

Therefore...

Compared to other actors, Zhang Guangmu felt that his advantage was huge!

It all depended on whether he would underperform at a crucial moment.

Zhang Guangmu took a deep breath, feeling somewhat nervous.

According to the normal progression of the script, he was about to welcome his sole scene.

Tick, tick, tick...

Amidst the sounds emitted by the old-fashioned clock hanging on the wall, there seemed to carry even a trace of an elusive sense of oppression. The dense footsteps coming from outside were also enough to make one grip a cold sweat.

Three seconds...

Five seconds...

Ten seconds!

Bang!

The door was kicked open violently.

This book is probably the kind where only I am the law, huh? There are no superpower users in the real world—aside from the protagonist with a cheat.