The sea breeze blew in gusts along the shore at night.
Two figures in military coats ran along the coastline, shouting a cadence loud enough to shake the sky.
"One, two, one! One, two, one! Speed up! Stride! Bigger strides! Now another jump!"
Because they were running with a tether connecting their wrists, the two had to stay side by side and in step.
Under Xie Mi's shouted cadence, they looked like copies of each other, identical in both speed and running movements. Anyone who didn't know better might have thought they had stumbled into some two-player obstacle-course game.
They ran two kilometers along the coastline in one go before gradually coming to a stop.
"Oh my... good heavens..."
Director Niu arrived late behind them, nearly running himself breathless. With his hands braced on his knees, he staggered up to the pair, just short of dropping to his knees.
"I must have... lost my mind to come film your group..."
As he spoke between gasps, he turned to look at the two camera operators beside him.
He had carefully selected the two strongest and fittest people on the team, but even they were drenched in sweat now.
Well, of course.
Following this group around to film them was a hell-level assignment.
Equally breathless, PD Ma saw what he was thinking and patted his shoulder consolingly. "It's okay, Director Niu. Don't feel guilty. If it comes to it, just raise their pay a little. They won't mind the hard work..."
Director Niu started playing dumb. "Raise their height? Who's getting taller?"
PD Ma: "..."
You're just exploiting them, you little punk.
Every tormentor met their match. No sooner had Director Niu rejected the request for a pay raise than he heard devastating news from Xie Mi.
"Still not at 130? Then