Righteous and Evil, Stepping Stone!

No one could understand Zhang Guangmu's actions.

Whether it was Li Xiaoxiao, the Plot Protagonist Lin Xuan who received the tip-off, or the Audience, they were all utterly confused.

Even the Production Team, overlooking the entire situation from a God's perspective, was currently in a state of stunned observation, highlighting their utter bewilderment.

"Win, Yang Chi!"

Director Sun Yanwu, who had transformed into a Golden Small Light Group, his voice trembling with nervousness, said, "At this point, I've done all I can. Whether you win or lose now depends entirely on you!"

Could Lin Xuan, played by Yang Chi, achieve ultimate Victory?

Before Zhang Guangmu started his show of skill, Director Sun would have answered with absolute certainty.

After all, Yang Chi was a New generation actor he had always favored, believing the young man carried a shadow of his former self, and was even more outstanding in certain aspects.

Such an excellent Subconscious Actor, coupled with a tailor-made script and a director who favored him, it was no exaggeration to say that losing would be incredibly difficult!

But the problem was...

Zhang Guangmu was someone who never played by the rules!

He had twisted a perfectly good Fantasy movie into something that belonged on a Sci-Fi channel.

Director Sun even tried to find humor in the grim situation, imagining the future.

He thought that if he had reported "Wolf Fortress" to the Relevant department and requested the highest level of classification, extending the filming time to three or even ten years...

Perhaps Zhang Guangmu, in his capacity as a scholar, could have truly propelled Wolf Fortress into a scientific era!

Even...

He might have established a science department, begun researching astronomy, space travel, and similar topics, ultimately discovering that besides the sun and moon, there was nothing else in the world, and that the stars were merely textures, thus beginning to question the reality of their world.

Of course, such a scenario was impossible and could only exist in an illusion.

After all, if nothing else, the resources and population in the world of "Wolf Fortress" were insufficient to support Zhang Guangmu's continued pursuit of science!

Moreover, if he were to do so, it would easily lead to a situation where the director was thrown into prison halfway through filming.

When filming movies with long timelines, every director walked on thin ice, extremely cautious, fearing that a single misstep could violate some Imperial Iron Law.

Not every director had the audacity of Qian Yiyuan, who dared to secretly embed supernatural elements.

As Sun Yanwu was lost in thought, a Little Black Ball beside him suddenly spoke, "Director Sun, why don't we use a Script Hint to induce Zhang Guangmu into making a foolish decision, forcing him to change his tactics and thus lose to the Plot Protagonist Lin Xuan?"

Sun Yanwu had no desire to comment on such a moronic suggestion.

As it turned out, he didn't need to speak. The staff member was immediately lambasted by his colleagues, profusely apologizing.

"Get lost! If you want to do it, do it yourself! Write a disclaimer beforehand, and don't drag everyone down with you!"

"Why the sudden change of heart? Don't you want to work in this industry anymore?"

"Holy crap! Such a brainless suggestion, and you're the one to come up with it!"

"I suggest you spend a week's salary after logging off to buy some roasted pig brains. Like cures like; your brain really needs some nourishment."

Director Sun turned around with satisfaction.

It seemed there were very few idiots in the production team he had personally cultivated.

After all, even he, who wished he could personally intervene and rig the game, wouldn't do so during a decisive battle.

Everyone had to make a living, after all.

No matter how unwilling Director Sun was to admit it, he had to acknowledge that the plot development of "Wolf Fortress" had completely collapsed by now.

Even a newcomer assistant with a little common sense about film sets could see that the upcoming conflict between the two factions, regardless of who won or lost, would be the final act of "Wolf Fortress."

If, at this point, the leader of one of the factions in the decisive battle made a brain-dead decision due to the production team rigging the game, leading to a unilateral collapse...

The Imperial Iron Law was not the Tao Te Ching; it couldn't cover everything, and even with the longest reach, it couldn't regulate this.

As long as they avoided inducing actors to self-destruct, it was enough.

But...

The law was the lowest standard for human conduct.

In the pre-nuclear era, over a thousand years ago, a renowned legal professional once said something that Sun Yanwu found very insightful.

--A person who claims to abide by the law could very well be a complete scumbag!

Rigging the game in the finale, forcibly causing one faction to fail and suffer a crushing defeat, was common in the early years of the subconscious film industry. No one thought anything was wrong with it.

After all, everyone thought it was reasonable for good to triumph over evil.

As time passed and the industry matured, certain moral standards became unwritten rules within the industry.

After all, if they strictly followed the Imperial Iron Law, even if the production team subtly manipulated the script to induce an actor to do something that could lead to their disgrace, the production team wouldn't be held responsible.

This much was certain.

But the problem was, by then, the audience following the story might curse the production company's ancestors for eighteen generations!

The entire subconscious film circle might also start spreading rumors about certain directors and production teams having low morals and not being recommended for collaboration.

"Might" and "perhaps" represented uncertainty and might not happen, but Director Sun was unwilling to take that risk.

He's a commercial film director, not some stubborn person.

If one film's reputation is ruined, he can always try to salvage it with the next one.

If the entire production team's reputation is damaged, not only will the audience not buy into it, but he might even struggle to find excellent subconscious actors to collaborate with in the future.

No one wants to be dragged down by a third party at the last minute.

Director Sun Yanwu felt he couldn't shoulder such a massive burden.

He could only follow Director Qian Yiyuan of "Endless Food Bag" and choose to completely give up before the final plot of "Wolf Fortress" concluded.

"Alright, save your energy."

Director Sun said, "Until the grand finale, no one knows what the plot will turn into."

To become a qualified commercial director, he had watched an enormous number of films, including many pre-disaster screen works.

Films with finale twists were as common as carp in a river, countless!

"What if Yang Chi wins?"

Sun Yanwu felt his words lacked conviction and sounded indecisive, so he changed the subject, "Let's just watch!"

The production team members looked down, their gazes focused on Wolf Fortress.

At this very moment, in the special mess hall for Wolf Riders, everyone surrounded Zhang Guangmu, their faces etched with anger and resentment.

After all, they had no grudge against each other, yet they were inexplicably poisoned. If there was no antidote, they would die in ten days...

Who could accept such a thing?

Even a Saint would probably not be able to accept it!

They found it somewhat unbelievable.

Vice Fortress Lord "Tian Guang" and his supporters were currently the strongest visible force in Wolf Fortress. Doing this offered him no benefit whatsoever; instead, it would ruin all his public favor!

It was a classic case of working hard for no reward!

What was he thinking?

Sensing everyone's confusion, Zhang Guangmu smiled enigmatically, adopting an air of "my thoughts are beyond your comprehension."

While this demeanor was a bit chuunibyo, when combined with his appearance, temperament, and authority, it created a mysterious allure.

Most audiences disliked bad guys and criminals in the real world, but they were quite accepting of characters who were ambiguously good and evil, possessing grand goals and ideals, even if they seemed like villains.

In fact, the character development route for Zhang Guangmu in "Wolf Fortress" had gradually become clear after he killed Hou Zhengbeng in the Water Prison Trial.

What's needed is to be both righteous and evil!

What's needed is controversy!

If he wanted to appear as a pure saint, he could do that too.

But doing so would only deepen Zhang Guangmu's impression in the minds of the audience.

However...

Zhang Guangmu is a man with clear goals!

Putting aside his ultimate goal of becoming the Subconscious Film Emperor and his advanced goal of earning fifty thousand Dragon Shields for medical treatment, his recent small goal is to become one of the Seven Supernovas of the year!

If he could debut as a member of the Seven Stars Club, it wouldn't just give him a head start in next year's The Path of the Great Emperor.

It would also allow him to get ahead, stay ahead, and quickly pass the initial accumulation stage!

It's important to know that under the strict control of the Empire, the advancement of subconscious actors relies on their work.

The phenomenon of the 21st century, where an actor becomes an overnight sensation after one role, or even gains popularity comparable to a superstar without any works, is impossible!

In Zhang Guangmu's opinion, the Seven Supernovas of previous years, unless their subconscious changed drastically, their character setting collapsed, their acting path encountered problems, and they fell into decline, their promotion speed was significantly faster than other actors who didn't have this honor!

This couldn't be explained solely by excellent works and powerful, characteristic subconsciousness.

Normal humans might not bother to collect and compare relevant data, but Zhang Guangmu was bored enough to spend a lot of time doing just that!

The upgrade speed of members of the Seven Stars Club was faster than others, even with the same number of excellent films and being subconscious actors.

This was beyond doubt; Zhang Guangmu could prove it with data!

With a large amount of historical evidence, Zhang Guangmu believed that subconscious actors who had been part of the Seven Stars Club might have been assigned a tag similar to [1.5 times experience point acquisition speed] in the Empire's AI judgment system.

The importance of getting into the Seven Stars Club was now very clear.

And the annual list of the Seven Supernovas would be finalized on Spring Festival.

This meant that the only thing Zhang Guangmu could use to improve his competitiveness was likely the film "Wolf Fortress."

It was almost too late to rush to take on a third role!

That's why Zhang Guangmu had been patiently enduring and developing for half the film.

He wanted to enrich his character image.

Whether it was righteous and evil, or a hegemon in a chaotic world, it didn't matter how people evaluated his portrayal of the Vice Fortress Lord "Tian Guang" for now.

As long as the discussion heat was high enough.

Although he hadn't delved deeply into the field of Strong Artificial Intelligence, Zhang Guangmu had come across over a hundred highly professional papers on the topic of "the richness and extensibility of subconscious traits" while browsing forums.

Hmm?

Even though he couldn't understand most of it, Zhang Guangmu noticed that many experts used the list of Seven Stars as an example.

The number of excellent works and quality characters created was merely the Seven Stars' stepping stone.

The potential assessment of the subconscious itself also carried significant weight!

The Empire's Super AIs would judge the growth potential of new Subconscious Actors based on their performance in films throughout the year!

"Do you think threatening me with poison will make me let you do whatever you want?"

As Zhang Guangmu was pondering, a Wolf Rider approached him and said righteously, "You are mistaken!"

With that, the Wolf Rider knelt with a thud before Zhang Guangmu: "Vice Fortress Lord, you are a Sage Lord Mingjun, wise and heroic, broad-minded, with Keen Observation, and wisdom that surpasses all ages!"

"Even if you do nothing, I am willing to serve you wholeheartedly!"

Two chapters today, over 7400 words!

I have a feeling that with more updates, this book will exceed 200,000 words and fall off the new book list...

Ah, a small dilemma.

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