Directing in Arknights, Success if Not Banned

I am a director in Arknights, and success is not being banned. Author: Xu Shi Zi Qian

Synopsis:

"Texas, the second generation Godfather is the type of person who kills without blinking. Can you stop being so awkward when you call Madam Sicily 'Dad'!"

"Theresis, you're playing a prime minister who was propped up. Do you understand? The person you're playing doesn't have your iron-fisted methods, he's not that strong, you should be more weak."

"Wei Yanyu, the Jiajing Emperor was an expert in the art of checks and balances! He wasn't a wise ruler, he was foolish, can you be a bit foolish? Also, that line 'My money' wasn't delivered properly, do it again!"

Chen Qi arrived in the world of Arknights. With his reputation system, he ultimately chose a path that wouldn't offend the big figures but could still attract their attention – becoming a director and making movies!

Thus, Chen Qi filmed "The Godfather" in Syracuse, exposing the endless abyss of the mafia; in Victoria, he filmed "Yes, Prime Minister," satirizing politics and civil servants; in Great Yan, he filmed "The Ming Dynasty 1587," subtly criticizing imperial struggles...

Not only that, but he also had Texas play the second-generation Godfather; invited Theresis to personally portray Prime Minister Hak; and had Wei Lao Er play the Jiajing Emperor...

"Our principle for filming is that whether it's a movie, TV series, or even an anime, we can film it."

"Being able to be released is victory, and not being banned is success."

Chapter 1: The Integrated Cultural Troupe Filming "The Godfather" in Syracuse

[Congratulations to the host for completing the mission "First Pot of Gold": Filmed a movie in Lungmen and achieved significant acclaim.]

[Based on the movie "Young and Dangerous: The Young Ones in the Jianghu" filmed by the host, it has gained significant influence. Based on the audience attracted by the host's movie and the attention of important figures, the mission rewards will be settled.]

[Rewards are as follows: High-concentration Oripathy Inhibitor X1 (can be diluted into ten doses to inhibit Oripathy infection), Any Song Redemption Voucher X1, Any TV Series Script Redemption Voucher X1.]

[Settling reputation rewards. The host's movie achieved significant acclaim in Lungmen. Key organizations such as Penguin Logistics and the Lungmen Guard Department have all responded. The total settlement of reputation points is: 22451 points. After deducting the host's previous reputation loan, the remaining reputation is 11451.]

[Below are the film reviews identified by the system as important figures. Do you wish to view them?]

"Yes," a clear male voice said. In the tent, Chen Qi quickly saw virtual screens appearing before him, visible only to him. The film reviews scrolled down at a suitable pace.

Exusiai: "I watched it with my friends! When the crew was filming, they came to deliver supplies. I thought they were always filming fight scenes, which looked so cool! So I immediately went to watch the premiere! It was indeed good! (Five-star rating)"

Sora: "At first, I was a bit hesitant hearing it was a violent film, but I found it surprisingly good. This is also the first time I've seen a movie where infected people make up almost ninety percent of the cast. The sense of swift revenge the director wanted to convey was also exhilarating. Overall, it's a very thoughtful film. I hope to have the opportunity to collaborate with Director Chen Qi in the future. (Five-star rating)"

Texas: "The actors' performances were commendable. Both the street fights and the brotherhood were very dramatic. I particularly liked how the director depicted the cruel side of the mafia without regard for the audience's good intentions, without any praise or embellishment. This is not a story that deserves embellishment. (Four-star rating)"

Croissant: "Made a lot of money selling scalped tickets. Good movie thumbs up for you. (Five-star rating)"

Lappland: "Good movie. That's all. (One-star rating)"

...Something strange seems to have slipped in. Chen Qi's expression darkened upon seeing this, but he quickly put these issues aside. Before him, the film reviews from the Lungmen Guard Department also appeared.

Chen: "As a senior inspector of the Guard Department, I should resist such violent films, but in the end, I agreed. The characters in this film unreservedly portray their desire for wealth and the bloodiness of the underworld. Lungmen was like this in the past. The diligent work of everyone in the Guard Department is to ensure that such a past does not happen again. (Five-star rating)"

Hoshiguma: "I had the fortune to cameo in the film. As a member of the Lungmen Inspectorate, I shouldn't recall such a past, but Director Chen Qi's script truly portrayed gang life vividly. And such a past should end. (Five-star rating)"

Swire: "It was filmed quite well! As expected, my taste as Swire is excellent. Any movie I sponsor will be successful. I look forward to our next collaboration. (Five-star rating)"

Lin Yuxia: "I watched it with Dad. Dad said it was filmed well, but he wanted to ask the director why it was so realistic? Did the director hire professionals? (Four-star rating)"

Wei Yanyu: "Wenyue liked it very much, but as a Lungmen executive, I shouldn't advocate for such a film to be released in Lungmen. The harm to young people is immeasurable. However, the film itself was filmed acceptably. Keep up the good work. (Original rating three stars, user canceled original rating, rated five stars)"

All the film reviews from the Lungmen Guard Department are here. It can be said that Chen Qi's first film was a great success in Lungmen, both from the reactions of these characters considered important by the system and from the reputation he gained. This time, Chen Qi's goal has been achieved.

"This way, I can redeem more high-concentration inhibitors for everyone in the crew. There are so many people in the crew, almost all of them are infected. This can extend their lives a bit longer."

As for the box office... For Chen Qi, none of it was as meaningful as the reputation points he gained. As long as he could help the crew members continue to extend their lives, his promise back then would be fulfilled.

"—Chen Qi? I've called everyone over. You said you wanted to have a meeting, right?"

Outside the tent, a clear and cold female voice gradually sounded. Upon hearing this, Chen Qi immediately canceled all his system functions and replied with a smile:

"Everyone's here? Then everyone come in. FrostNova, you too."

As Chen Qi's words fell, FrostNova outside the tent pulled open the tent curtain. Soon, members who held significant positions within the crew appeared before Chen Qi.

Assistant Director Talulah, Executive Director Alina, Prop Manager and concurrent Secretary FrostNova, Photography Team Leader Mephisto, Art Director Mephisto, Sound Recording Team Leader Ethan, ... All the members responsible for critical tasks in the crew joined this meeting.

Of course, outside the door was Mr. Patriot, the Head of Security and concurrent Head of Public Relations. However, he was too large, and generally, the crew didn't need to handle "public relations," so Patriot did not join the discussion.

This was Chen Qi's crew. The Reunion Movement—no, that was a name from nearly half a year ago. With Chen Qi's joining and guidance, the Reunion Movement had now changed its name to the "Integrated Cultural Troupe."

As everyone settled into their seats inside the tent, Chen Qi, who held the significant responsibilities of director and screenwriter for the cultural troupe, was undoubtedly the backbone of the entire team. He looked at everyone present and, after a dry cough, began:

"Everyone is here. We've just arrived in Syracuse and established ourselves. I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"

"It feels like it's been a long time since I heard bad news after leaving Lungmen," Talulah, sitting closest to Chen Qi, subtly shifted her position closer to him, speaking for everyone. "Let's hear the bad news first."

"The bad news is, I received a call from Mr. Wei Yanyu, the Lungmen executive, earlier." Chen Qi looked at everyone, his expression filled with a hint of helplessness. "Mr. Wei Yanyu said that our 'Young and Dangerous' was filmed well, but because of the extensive violent and bloody scenes, its widespread fame is not good for Lungmen's public order. Therefore, they plan to ban its broadcast and remove it from Lungmen within a month."

"He dares?! That Wei Lao Er! We just left, and he dares to take down our movie?!"

However, as Chen Qi spoke, Talulah suddenly stood up from her seat, slamming the table and shouting. She bore quite a resemblance to her sister, Chen Huijie, in the Guard Department.

Clearly, the reunion and time spent together in Lungmen during this period had rubbed off on Talulah, giving her a bit of the Lungmen senior inspector's temper. After all, the two women had highly overlapping attitudes on one issue: they didn't take Wei Yanyu seriously.

During their time in Lungmen, Wei Yanyu's attitude towards their crew had been quite good. Furthermore, she and Chen had only recently reunited, so Talulah hadn't rushed to settle accounts with Wei Yanyu. But now that they had left Lungmen, Wei Yanyu was causing this trouble, which made Talulah immediately unhappy.

"I'm going to Lungmen to find Wei Lao Er right now!"

"Calm down, Sister Ta. He's a Lungmen executive. If we're being honest, judging by the current standards of Yan Country, our movie would have been hard-pressed to even be released. It's already quite difficult that Old Wei was willing to take such a risk to let us release it."

Chen Qi held Talulah's wrist, signaling her to quiet down. The originally furious Talulah's anger subsided significantly after Chen Qi's appeasement. She pouted and sat down, muttering:

"I'm just upset that the script you worked so hard to write, the movie that was so successful... is just going to be wasted like this..."

"We didn't spend that much money, did we? Most of the prop costs were sponsored by Swire, and we only filmed this movie for twenty days."

Chen Qi comforted Talulah beside him, helping to dissipate some of her anger. The others present saw this and looked away, pretending not to notice...

Mephisto, who was confused, had his eyes covered by Faust, while Faust himself looked around the tent, checking for any holes.

"So, what's the good news, Chen Qi?" FrostNova, the only one who didn't look away, broke the interaction between Chen Qi and Talulah, asking calmly.

"The good news is that we've traveled all this way to Syracuse to film our next movie, and I have very high hopes for this one." Chen Qi immediately released Talulah's hand and announced the news to everyone. Alina, standing nearby, immediately asked:

"The next movie we're filming? I remember you announced it to all of us, Chen Qi?"

"The Godfather," FrostNova took over the conversation, calmly stating the name of the next movie. "I recall it's a mafia-themed film, one of the most popular themes in Syracuse right now."

"It's a theme that's almost guaranteed to make money here. However, someone came to the set to cause trouble, saying they don't support mafia movies filmed by outsiders."

"Is it those families? My mentor mentioned them," said Executioner, who was more familiar with Syracuse, joining the conversation and speaking to Chen Qi. "The locals are very resistant to outsiders."

"They said our movie slandered and smeared their family's image. Patriot chased them all away just yesterday..."

"In that case, can we really still film a movie?" Mephisto, the youngest in the crew, timidly voiced his opinion.

"Won't those families cause trouble for us? Will they stop us from filming? Or even ban our movie?"

"What's more frightening is the possibility that they might use local forces to threaten our crew, or even Director Chen Qi," Faust pointed out the most concerning issue.

"It might not just be a ban, it could escalate to being hunted..."

"It must be because of the Lungmen incident. They must have found out about our movie 'Young and Dangerous' being banned, which puts everyone's lives at risk."

Hearing this, everyone in the crew felt a sense of lingering fear. However, they seemed to have subconsciously forgotten that before becoming members of the Cultural Troupe, they were all members of a ruthless Infected violent organization. Their time in Lungmen had made them subconsciously forget their identities; they were not weaklings.

Even if the families wanted to move against them, they would have to weigh their strength. There were several formidable individuals in the crew who were comparable to natural disasters...

"Everyone, don't worry. Actually, I've already given copies of the script to people from the families."

Chen Qi's words at this moment drew everyone's attention. Before anyone could question why Chen Qi would do such a thing, he confidently replied:

"I had Patriot make several trips to deliver the script to the heads of several major families and asked them for their valuable opinions."

"Additionally, I also stated that they are welcome to send people to supervise the filming process, and if anything is filmed poorly, they can have their professional personnel provide on-site guidance."

"...Are you saying we're letting the mafia participate in the movie?" Upon hearing Chen Qi's words, Talulah immediately understood his intention. Chen Qi nodded and replied:

"I believe that after reading the script, the families' attitude towards us will change. They will understand whether it is slander or defamation after reading it."

"And if they agree, we can not only invite some professionals to play supporting roles and refine the movie's details, but this will also lead to a better outcome."

"So, all we need to do now is prepare for filming, right?" Talulah picked up the conversation, and immediately, everyone who had been a bit downcast by the news of 'Young and Dangerous' being banned began to smile. They knew that Chen Qi's confidence meant he had a solid plan for this.

Especially Talulah and Alina, who had seen the script before, were not worried at all about the families agreeing to their filming. If it came down to it, they could fight until the families were forced to agree, though such methods would be avoided unless absolutely necessary.

"So, now we only need to worry about the lead actors?" Talulah immediately grasped the key point and asked Chen Qi, "Do you have any good ideas?"

"Of course, we even have actors we can invite without spending a single Lungmen coin, and she is definitely capable of the role."

As he said this, Chen Qi took out his plan. Soon, everyone's eyes focused on the first line of the plan.

"Second Lead Actor, Role: Michael Corleone, Identity: Second-generation Godfather."

"Lead Actor Confirmed, Best Casting: Celina de Texas."

Chapter 2: Madam Sicily's Invitation and Participation?

"Jun Jun, please deliver this package. Make sure to hand it to The Emperor and Texas personally. This contains our sincerity."

"I will, Chen Qi, you can trust me with this."

After the meeting, Chen Qi kept Executioner behind alone. After a while, Chen Qi handed the prepared package to Executioner. After taking it, Executioner weighed it slightly and couldn't help but ask curiously:

"But what's inside this box? It doesn't seem very heavy."

"This contains a song and a letter I plan to give to The Emperor, hoping he'll like it and agree to let Texas play the male supporting role in our crew."

"Texas is an employee of Penguin Logistics, after all. Whether she can participate depends on the boss, The Emperor, so I can only try to please him."

Chen Qi had put in a great deal of effort to invite Texas. In the letter, he had done his utmost to guarantee Texas's safety while filming in Syracuse, even stating that if they were still concerned, they could have the entire Penguin Logistics crew come to supervise.

Chen Qi even hoped for such a situation to occur, allowing the Penguin Logistics members to play cameo roles. Especially Sora, an idol-level figure; if she could appear in his movie without him having to pay any salary, it would be a huge gain.

For this, Chen Qi had gone to great lengths, using his newly acquired song redemption voucher, hoping that the song he redeemed would show The Emperor his sincerity.

"Well, go and come back quickly, Jun Jun. You are our crew's chief photographer, so don't make any mistakes."

"I won't disappoint you, Chen Qi." A light flickered in Executioner's eyes that hadn't been there half a year ago. The past six months had brought about a drastic change in Executioner's previously dim life. As an Infected, she had never imagined her life could be connected to anything good.

And all of this was brought by the man in front of her... He had led the Reunion Movement onto a new path, a path where they could gain everyone's recognition without relying on violence, bloodshed, and sacrifice.

Since arriving in Lungmen, Executioner had regained all the respect and dignity she had lost. From the day no one could bully her for being Infected, Executioner had vowed to dedicate her life to this man.

And those who felt the same way as Executioner were not few in the current Integrated Cultural Troupe...

It was just a pity that she had come too late, perhaps not quite qualified enough.

Just then, before Executioner could dwell on her thoughts, she suddenly felt a chill down her spine, causing her to tense up instantly. Her slightly rosy cheeks turned cold in a flash, and she immediately stopped all movement.

"In short, don't worry about me. I'll bring the lead actor you're looking for from Lungmen at full speed. I'm leaving now!"

"...She left in such a hurry. I wonder if the supplies Jun Jun brought will be enough to reach Lungmen." Chen Qi watched as Executioner, who had bolted away, didn't notice that her tail, exposed at that moment, was stiff with frost.

However, soon, with FrostNova's arrival, Chen Qi's attention was quickly drawn to her. Seeing FrostNova's still somewhat pale face, he immediately stepped forward and asked with concern:

"FrostNova? I saw you were much better and could leave during the meeting. How are you feeling now?"

"...I'm much better, thank you for the medicine you gave me. I feel like my Oripathy has been suppressed."

FrostNova subconsciously clutched her wrist with one hand, the spot where she had injected the inhibitor. It still felt a bit weak, but compared to how she felt when her Oripathy first flared up, FrostNova was already much better.

"Thank you, Chen Qi. I thought I was going to die back then. Luckily, you bought the medicine and saved my life..."

"That medicine must have been very expensive, right? And our crew has just started filming our first movie, we don't have much money yet... How did you get that medicine, Chen Qi?"

"Idiot, I'm the director. If I can't skim some money from the sponsors, am I still a good director?" Chen Qi spread his hands, saying it as if he were used to it:

"Luckily, I managed to skim some money from Swire, that rich woman's sponsorship. It came in handy, enough to buy medicine for you, FrostNova. It also means my little savings as a frugal director came to use."

Chen Qi's answer to FrostNova's question was very brazen, and the reason was impeccable. Even FrostNova knew that it was very normal for film crews to skim money from sponsors.

But Chen Qi knew himself that he hadn't skimmed Swire's sponsorship fees. Although Swire was a Senior Superintendent and had a good relationship with Talulah, which led her to sponsor Chen Qi's film.

Swire was actually a stingy rich woman. She spent money when she should, but was very calculating about money she shouldn't spend. She calculated the budget for Chen Qi's film through the script, and the sponsorship fee was exactly enough, with nothing extra.

It was too difficult to skim money from Swire... Although if Chen Qi had told Swire when FrostNova fell ill, Swire would definitely have given Chen Qi money. But the situation was urgent at the time. Luckily, Chen Qi's system allowed for loans, which saved FrostNova in time.

Now, Chen Qi's loan had been repaid thanks to the success of "Young and Dangerous: The Young Ones in the Jianghu," so there was no need for FrostNova to feel any psychological burden about this matter.

In the future, he couldn't help but want to redeem more Oripathy inhibitor medicine from the system. When his reputation was sufficient, he definitely wanted to redeem the most expensive medicine in the system that could cure Oripathy.

Oh, right, in the future, he also had to find a way to get involved with a certain black-hearted island that hired child labor. He wondered if they could research mass production methods for the medicine redeemed from his system... If so, everyone in the Cultural Troupe would be saved in the future.