15 Riddler and Manifestation Saint

Floating high in the sky, Director Qian, transformed into a Golden Little Lightball, silently looked down below.

Plot Protagonist Chu Fan was being frantically hunted by the Changhe Survivors led by Zhang Guangmu. It seemed that becoming a prisoner was only a matter of time.

A counterattack?

Director Qian was an adult, after all. He could at least "be honest with himself."

In Director Qian's view, Chu Fan had no chance of turning things around!

He had already lost for good!

Zhang Guangmu would become the final and greatest winner of this film!

This definitely wasn't a jinx!

Director Qian dared to state it outright!

He was a professional Director. After all these years in the business, with his sharp eye and rich experience, could he really fail to see such an obvious situation?

Seeing Director Qian fall silent, the Production Team members immediately gave a firsthand demonstration of what it meant for the eunuchs to be more anxious than the emperor.

"Ah! The Control Group is preparing to save him! Hurry up and do something! Chu Fan is so useless, impossible to prop up, sigh..."

"Stop standing around like idiots! Are you really waiting for the film to collapse?"

"You really are stupid. No wonder such a great script and Director as 'Endless Food Bag' ended up like this!"

"Zhang Guangmu is still too immature. Squandering the foundation Boss Zhao built up for him like this and offering huge rewards—Changhe Camp won't last more than a few days before internal strife breaks out."

The golden ball representing Director Qian trembled. "Enough. Stop kissing my ass. It's boring."

"We've Done Everything Possible for Chu Fan. He can't be saved. He really can't be saved."

"Although Zhang Guangmu is young, his performance in this film can already be called 'excellent.' We can't demand more from him."

"It's good enough that Li Xiaoxiao isn't dead."

Director Qian wasn't an idiot. Why did he have to hang himself from one tree?

Chu Fan had Underperformed, but wasn't Zhang Guangmu still holding strong?

Besides, Li Xiaoxiao's final display of backbone had truly exceeded Director Qian's expectations—although the scene of Li Xiaoxiao breaking into tears after being taken down by a bullet would definitely become part of the royal family's Black History compilation, making his heart pound in fear, the Xuanlong Empire had always been tolerant and magnanimous toward the Subconscious Film Industry. The higher-ups probably... definitely wouldn't fuss over such a small matter!

"At this point, this film can actually be considered passable."

Thinking of this, Director Qian suddenly chuckled, brimming with artistic flair. "But passing is nothing worth mentioning. I have to get a high score!"

Uh...

No one knew how to respond to that.

Didn't this Director have any clue what kind of mess "Endless Food Bag" had become by now?

A high score...

He was dreaming the impossible dream!

Director Qian had roamed the industry for many years, and his skin was still plenty thick. He wasn't embarrassed by the Awkward Silence. Instead, he smiled confidently. "Have you forgotten my nickname?"

The Production Team staff immediately perked up.

"Protagonist Killer?"

"Wild Director?"

"Bitch Director... sob..."

In the end, someone gave the correct answer.

"Riddler Director!"

Director Qian smiled. "That's right!"

Although Qian Yiyuan's subconscious was Underperform, lacking any distinctive traits and preventing him from becoming a Subconscious Actor, he had spent so many years as a Director. What storms hadn't he weathered?

He was a different kind of spark, and he loved adding strange, bizarre elements to Film World settings!

Those little details were sometimes useless, but at other times, they could unexpectedly work wonders!

"By now, the script has been torn to pieces, but as the saying goes, what is lost in the east is gained in the west. Actually, I'm very satisfied with the overall performances of the Actors, Chu Fan included!"

Director Qian, transformed into a little golden ball, said seriously, "The Extras have merely risen to prominence. The righteous side and the Villain have switched places, while the Beautiful Character and the Ugly Character have reversed directions. That's all."

"As expected of the script I wrote myself! No matter how it's filmed, it's exciting!"

"What is talent? Writing and directing it yourself—this is fucking talent!"

After praising himself to this point, Director Qian smacked his lips and said in a tone that was practically a jinx, "What a pity. I set up one final hurdle in 'Endless Food Bag,' and Zhang Guangmu definitely won't get past it."

The way he said it was like a poor student cramming at the feet of Buddha before checking his Gaokao results—both hopeful and terrified of seeing the outcome.

When Chu Fan was escorted before Zhang Guangmu, he chose to surrender at light speed.

"Don't kill me! I surrender!"

He lowered his head, not daring to meet Zhang Guangmu's eyes. His entire body radiated the air of a full-blown traitor as he bowed and scraped. "Boss Zhang, I'm useful! I'm extremely useful to you! The Endless Food Bag is real! As long as I'm alive, I can guarantee that everyone in Changhe Camp will have enough to eat!"

To stay alive, Chu Fan blurted out anything that came to mind. No one knew whether he was telling the truth or lying to deliberately inflate his own value.

A trace of contempt appeared on Li Xiaoxiao's face as he sat on the sofa. He simply closed his eyes, seeming too disdainful to associate with Chu Fan, as though even looking at him a few more times would irritate him.

Zhang Guangmu got straight to the point. "Cut the bullshit! Hand over the Endless Food Bag first!"

Chu Fan froze for a moment. Raising his head, he looked at Zhang Guangmu's pale, youthful face and suddenly didn't feel so afraid anymore.

"The Endless Food Bag is bound to me. It recognizes me through blood, bound to my soul. There's no way to give it to anyone else." As he said this, Chu Fan's eyes darted around, clearly betraying his guilt.

Zhang Guangmu waved a hand. "Got it."

"Someone, torture him."

Hearing that, panic immediately gripped Chu Fan's heart.

Perhaps this was what it meant to be ruthless and sparing with words?

Still, Zhang Guangmu was just a Youth, yet he had endured Changhe Camp's interrogation and torture. Only a few days had passed, so the people responsible for extracting confessions through torture couldn't have improved their skills by much.

If Zhang Guangmu could endure those tortures, then he, Chu Fan, had nothing to fear!

A kind of Mysterious confidence gave Chu Fan a little courage. He spouted nonsense like "I'm innocent," "Everything I said is true," and "May heaven strike me dead if I'm lying," but he didn't struggle desperately. He obediently allowed himself to be dragged away for torture and interrogation.

While waiting for the results, Zhang Guangmu looked at Li Xiaoxiao beside him.

This guy really was gorgeous! Black hair, black eyes, and features so exquisite they looked Photoshopped—beautiful to the point of seeming unreal, as if he had undergone some face-swapping black magic.

Most girls would probably feel inferior upon seeing Li Xiaoxiao's face and wouldn't dare get close to him.

Zhang Guangmu felt that this fellow would definitely struggle to find a partner in the future and would most likely become an old bachelor.

So, feeling sympathetic, Zhang Guangmu took the initiative to start a conversation and casually babbled, "Li Xiaoxiao, you don't look very old, but your shooting is incredibly accurate. How did you train? You're way better than me in that regard!"

Li Xiaoxiao couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes. "Your shooting isn't any worse than mine."

"However, what I'm truly good at is Hand-to-hand combat and Cold Weapon fighting. You definitely can't compare to me in those two areas!"

Just then, Chu Fan's screams rang out from beyond the door.

Li Xiaoxiao's heart lurched. His palm was slick with Cold Sweat, and he instinctively avoided meeting Zhang Guangmu's gaze. He wanted to change the subject and give the other party a way out, but his nature was hard to change. Stubbornly refusing to admit defeat, he said, "Is praising a weak person you defeated your way of showing off your own strength?"

Zhang Guangmu chuckled. "No, we're just flattering each other."

At this point, Zhang Guangmu's expression turned solemn, and he said gravely, "When others become Manifestation Saints, I turn a blind eye and watch coldly. When I become a Manifestation Saint, no one will cheer for me."

Li Xiaoxiao's mind buzzed from those words.

He had actually lost to a guy like this?

Thanks to Hongyan Ruoshui for the donation of 1,500 Points!

Thanks to Sprite Chicken for the donation of 288!

Thanks to Where is my dried fish for donating a Chicken drumstick to Zhang Guangmu (100 Points)!

Thanks to yyiqp for donating a Chicken drumstick to Zhang Guangmu (100 Points)!

Thanks to The Way of the Dragon for the donation of 100 Points!

Thanks to Jibril for the donation of 100 Points!

Hehe (▽)~

Little friends, see you tomorrow!