24 "Wolf Fortress"

After spending a month fooling around in the Endless Food Bucket Group, Li Xiaoxiao naturally knew what Zhang Guangmu had been up to.

He had only reached the minimum age requirement for a Subconscious Actor in February, and over the past year, he had spent more than half his time traveling all over the world.

It could be said that Zhang Guangmu had already wasted a great deal of time just to land his first Extra role.

From a pessimist's perspective, he had unquestionably "lost at the starting line."

In Li Xiaoxiao's view, while Zhang Guangmu was still a complete amateur, the outstanding New Generation Subconscious Actors of this generation had already completed at least five films.

The scariest part was that the most hardworking among the new generation had basically already churned out ten productions.

Other people's hard work wasn't frightening. What was truly terrifying was that those hard workers also had explosively good talent!

Li Xiaoxiao had always thought highly of himself. He believed there was nothing wrong with his subconsciousness and that his own abilities were strong enough that, at least for quite some time, nothing would go wrong.

Even so, he ranked only sixth among the Seven Stars.

Now that he took a glance at the time...

The Xuanlong Empire celebrated the New Year according to the Lunar Calendar, and it was already nearing the end of the year.

In other words, it wouldn't be long before the final annual Seven Stars list was settled.

Zhang Guangmu had just finished acting in one film, yet he wanted to cram at the last minute, force his way onto the Seven Stars list, and become this year's supernova...

If anyone else had said that, Li Xiaoxiao would have thought they were looking down on everyone in the world, excessively arrogant, and nothing more than a clown.

But the person saying it was Zhang Guangmu...

Since this guy often made all sorts of strange jokes, and Li Xiaoxiao spent every day chatting with him in the group, he had gradually grown accustomed to Zhang Guangmu's speech patterns and habits over the course of a month. So at first, he hadn't taken Zhang Guangmu seriously, merely watching the atmosphere and laughing along twice.

But...

The more he laughed, the less he could keep laughing.

The Battle Youth wearing Zhang Shaonü Lian's face stared intently at Zhang Guangmu and said hoarsely, "You wouldn't happen to be serious, would you?"

Zhang Guangmu raised an eyebrow and said breezily, "Before the dust settles, the supernova list can change at any time."

He even had the mood to make a terrible joke: "The outcome's still undecided. You and I are both dark horses!"

"If I can squeeze onto that list... I'll be able to seize the initiative and speed up my leveling!"

Although Zhang Guangmu had set his life goal as becoming a Subconscious Film Emperor, he also knew the importance of keeping his feet on the ground.

The most important task at present was to save up the fifty thousand Dragon Shields needed for surgery and cure the genetic disease that was holding him back.

Otherwise, he would drop dead at twenty-five...

Who could accept that?

"Whether it's a supernova or one of the Seven Stars, it's just a harmless title. I don't care about it."

As Li Xiaoxiao spoke, his expression suddenly turned serious. Lowering his voice, he said, "But you need to understand that the supernova list for the turn of the year isn't just an empty title."

"Many outstanding Subconscious Actors would fight tooth and nail for a spot, even if they had to risk everything. You should know that, right?"

Zhang Guangmu gave a slight nod, his expression calm.

Of course he knew that.

If he knew nothing at all, saw something that looked good, and instinctively reached out to snatch it, that would be incredibly foolish.

In all the years since he had transmigrated, Zhang Guangmu's most practical pastime had been putting on a helmet to watch Subconscious Films.

He never missed the annual blockbuster, The Path of the Great Emperor. By now, he had watched more than a dozen of them.

With so much viewing experience under his belt, Zhang Guangmu could still make some guesses about the industry's hidden rules and the differences in treatment between various ranks.

"Every supernova can be assigned a special role when The Path of the Great Emperor begins filming."

Zhang Guangmu quickly organized his thoughts and stated his guess simply: "Those special roles all possess the ability to influence the Main Plot."

Those abilities could be fame, power, money, or even supernatural forces that did not exist in reality.

In other words, every supernova could win at the starting line in The Path of the Great Emperor filmed the following year.

The Xuanlong Empire had been established atop the ruins for over a thousand years. Who knew how many supernovas had used this opportunity to rise above the masses and complete their Class Promotion?

"Your understanding is mostly correct."

Li Xiaoxiao did not refute Zhang Guangmu's interpretation. He merely said seriously, "The blockbuster released every May is said to involve the entire population, but the minimum invitation standard is actually a nationally certified one-star Subconscious Actor."

"That makes it equivalent to the ancient Imperial Examination. It could directly change a person's fate."

"A supernova is like a candidate who is already famous and favored by the examiners and graders. Their starting point is completely different from everyone else's."

"The competitive pressure is enormous. You'd better not set your hopes too high. Otherwise, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment."

Li Xiaoxiao was being sincere. He did not want an optimistic and interesting guy like Zhang Guangmu to become depressed and dispirited, or even collapse completely.

At this point, Li Xiaoxiao lowered his voice and whispered into Zhang Guangmu's ear, "Director Sun agreed to arrange a role for you because he took a liking to my supernova title and wanted the cast to look a little more impressive."

"Both of us are roles that were squeezed in at the last minute. We're minor supporting characters with no important scenes."

"Wolf Fortress is a commercial production in the most standard sense. Its formula is mature, its ceiling is fixed, and nonessential characters have practically no chance to turn things around."

"So don't think too much about it."

"Too many daydreams are bad for your health."

Despite what he said, Li Xiaoxiao was actually somewhat conflicted.

If Li Xiaoxiao truly wanted to persuade Zhang Guangmu to give up struggling, he had a hundred reasons to speak ill of his chances. He would not have said all this.

By saying it, he was actually encouraging Zhang Guangmu in his own way.

The truth was that although Li Xiaoxiao did not think highly of Zhang Guangmu, believing that he had started too late and would not catch this opportunity, making it impossible for him to become a supernova, he had still tried to stimulate Zhang Guangmu's subconsciousness before filming, hoping to kindle a faint obsession in him—something like, "You say I can't do it? Then I'll prove you wrong."

Zhang Guangmu blinked and chuckled. "Good brother, are you always this roundabout when encouraging people? It's a little stiff..."

"As someone who's been there, let me give you a piece of advice: you'd better not be so tsundere. No matter how handsome a tsundere man is, it's still hard for him to find a partner."

Li Xiaoxiao froze for a moment, then immediately turned around, too lazy to look at him. "Classic self-indulgence. I can't even be bothered to say anything about you."

Everyone around him had never needed his encouragement or help.

No one had ever placed any expectations on him.

From childhood to adulthood, all he needed to do was carefully read people's expressions and try not to cause trouble for his mother and older sister. That was enough.

So...

That had actually been the first time in Li Xiaoxiao's life that he had encouraged someone.

He simply hadn't expected the other person to see through his little scheme on the spot. It was rather embarrassing.

Thinking of this, Li Xiaoxiao added, "Mu Zai, listen to your big brother. This Wolf Fortress isn't quite the same as Endless Food Bag. From the Director to the actors, none of them are like the people in our group. They're a little difficult to deal with. Watch what you say and do, and don't offend anyone."

"Come on, come on! Forget about all that! We were dropped in from above to begin with. Being late on top of that would be bad!"

Zhang Guangmu slapped Li Xiaoxiao on the back and entered the skyscraper ahead of him.

Inside the building, silver-white Infiltration Pods stood in neat rows. The metal surfaces reflected the artificial light, giving off a faintly chilly feeling.

"It looks a little like a coffin..."

As Zhang Guangmu muttered under his breath, a hearty, almost formulaic laugh came from nearby.

"Handsome young man, you must be Changhe Guangmu, the one who's been so popular lately, right? I've come across your videos several times! Truly a heroic young man!"

Zhang Guangmu looked toward the voice and saw an ordinary-looking middle-aged man with a polite smile walking toward him.

"Hello, Director Sun. My name is Zhang Guangmu. I'm a man destined to become a Subconscious Film Emperor. It's a pleasure to meet you. I hope you won't be so lacking in sense..."

"Ahem!"

Li Xiaoxiao, who had still been rubbing his back, interrupted Zhang Guangmu with a dry cough and stepped forward to smooth things over. "Director Sun, what Zhang Guangmu means is that he hopes you'll guide him generously and give him a few more Script Hints during the film so he doesn't ruin his Character Setting and make his fans revolt. If this collaboration goes well, everyone can keep in touch in the future!"

The smile on Director Sun's face stiffened slightly, and his voice carried a hint of displeasure. "Ah... Very good."

"Everyone should have read the script. Time is tight, and filming is about to begin, so... please enter the Infiltration Pods!"

Thus, with the staff's assistance, Zhang Guangmu and Li Xiaoxiao entered the adjacent Infiltration Pods separately.

Seeing this, the smile on Director Sun's face gradually faded. Expressionless, he muttered, "Li Xiaoxiao is difficult for me to evaluate. He was taught by famous masters, and those skills of his have been honed since childhood, completely integrated into his subconsciousness. His floor is very high. Even if he's given a minor supporting role, he might still have a chance to shine."

"Zhang Guangmu came from an unorthodox background. He didn't receive much educational support to train his professional skills, so he can only blunder his way forward through his subconsciousness."

"Those scenes of his in Endless Food Bag..."

"Although luck played a part—he happened to meet Senior Zhao Zhengrong, who believed in him, and he perfectly matched Qian Yiyuan's practically criminal world-building, making it a case of favorable timing, terrain, and people—his performance was indeed dazzling."

Online, many people called Zhang Guangmu a "Momentary Sage," a sage for that one second, saying that there was a hint of divine nature in his subconsciousness, untouched by worldly concerns.

But Director Sun did not think so.

From the perspective of a professional Subconscious Director, he felt that Zhang Guangmu had a severe self-destructive tendency and should see a psychiatrist immediately.