I was called away by the director to take my costume fitting photos right after I finished my makeup.
He acted as weak and pitiful as possible, clutching the strap of his canvas tool bag tightly with his fingers, his eyes innocent and bewildered, looking completely harmless. Standing against the backdrop of ruins, the surrounding broken walls and rubble made him appear even smaller.
The photographer snapped away.
After filming this scene, the director asked him to take out a scalpel. He had the same makeup and the same position, but his expression changed.
The scalpel was held horizontally in front of his arm, the blade still bearing the dark red rust left by the props team. He slightly raised his chin, his eyes looking at the camera through the top of his arm.
The innocent homeless boy vanished in an instant, replaced by a condescending disdain, as if looking down on a group of ants trapped in a maze.
The contrast was so great that the photographer's shutter clicked for a moment.
The director nodded repeatedly as he looked at the photos on the computer; he had seen the contrasting photos of snow turtles at the Altay ski resort.
A cool and stylish skier in professional ski suit had a green turtle-shaped pouch strapped to his waist. The cool yet adorable, relaxed demeanor, completely unconcerned about what others thought, made him feel that there was something special about this young man.
Looking at these promotional photos now, it's clear they made the right choice in casting.
After filming, Wen Qing met up with the lead actors who were also working on post-production. Upon seeing Song Shi'an, Wen Qing's eyes widened immediately. "You really do look like that! The director said a handsome young man was coming to be our partner, and he wasn't lying this time!"
Wow, finally someone good-looking has arrived, and he's even an adorable little boy.
She rubbed her hands together excitedly and circled around Song Shi'an, saying with a smile, "If you ever have any questions, remember to ask your older sister!"
He Minglou knew from Wen Qing's expression that she was up to something, so he stepped forward, extended his hand, and gently smoothed things over. "Hello, welcome to the team. It's been a long time since we got this role. The earlier scenes were filmed a long time ago, and now we're only just starting to reshoot the later ones. We look forward to your performance."
Seeing the great atmosphere on set, Song Shi'an felt much more at ease.
He smiled and shook He Minglou's hand, "Hello, please guide me, seniors!"
The director glanced at his watch, clapped his hands to signal everyone to be quiet. "Alright, alright, everyone's done with makeup. Let's get started. Post-production will take a long time after that, and time waits for no one. There's no time for rehearsals and practice. Let's try to avoid NGs and aim for a one-take shot."
Upon hearing this, Song Shi'an exclaimed, "No way! So urgent?" But after counting the days on his fingers, he realized that there were still just over three months until the New Year, so it was indeed quite urgent.
Before he could even go over his lines with the two lead actors, he was led to his designated standing position by the production assistant.
The extras were already in position on the clinic set, Song Shi'an was startled when he walked over.
The special effects makeup on these extras was so realistic—rotting skin, everted muscle tissue, dried blood at the corners of their mouths—just standing there quietly waiting for filming to begin, it was almost nauseating.
Thank goodness I didn't eat much for lunch, otherwise I would have thrown up by now.
He crouched down in the innermost corner of the medicine cabinet, gripped the scalpel in his hand, curled up his legs, and buried his head between his knees.
The props team sprinkled a thin layer of dust on the ground, which smelled of disinfectant and rust mixed together.
The clapperboard snapped shut.
The nights in the Plague Town are always filled with the smell of decay, with the hoarse howls of hordes of zombies echoing in the distance and the whistling of the wind blowing through the dilapidated eaves nearby.
The clinic's metal door was slammed shut with a loud bang, screws popping out one by one, and grayish-green fingers kept sticking in through the cracks in the door, their nails cracked and oozing black blood.
Qu Lingzhou huddled at the deepest part of the medicine cabinet, hearing the roars outside and the loud bang of the door being slammed, she hugged her legs even tighter, curling herself into a small ball.
The creaking and grinding sounds of the zombies seeped in through the crack in the door; it was the sharp, grinding sound of teeth gnawing on metal.
Suddenly, a loud explosion rang out, and a large hole was blasted open in the clinic's iron door.
Smoke and ash rushed into the room, choking Lu Ci, who coughed twice. He waved his hand to disperse the smoke and shouted to his teammates behind him, "Hurry up, grab all the useful medicine before the zombies arrive!"
A small team of more than a dozen people filed in, opened their backpacks, and swept all the medicine bottles on the shelf into their bags.
The medical supplies in this town are the scarcest resources in the entire instance. The drop rate of antibiotics and hemostatic agents is extremely low. If you miss this clinic, you don't know where the next supply point will be.
A bottle slipped off the shelf, fell to the ground with a thud, and rolled several times.
The entire clinic fell silent instantly, as if everyone had been put on pause, and they all looked warily into the deepest part of the medicine cabinet.
Lu Ci gestured for everyone to stay put, then gripped the knife handle tightly and walked slowly around the overturned IV stand toward the source of the sound.
The figure huddled in the shadows in the corner, and mistaking it for a zombie, raised his knife to strike.
Qu Lingzhou heard the sound of wind overhead and looked up.
A pair of eyes filled with fear peeked out from beneath the wispy hair.
Lu Ci's pupils contracted; it was actually a living person. He abruptly stopped his sword strike mid-air, the blade barely stopping less than five centimeters above Qu Lingzhou's head.
Cheng Zhiwei followed behind, holding a baseball bat, and asked in a low voice, "Brother Lu, what's wrong?"
Lu Ci stared at the person huddled in the corner for several seconds.
Although his clothes were torn in a few places, they were clean. There was no blood on his body, nor any signs of zombie-like transformation. Only his face was filled with terror.
He sheathed his knife, turned to his teammates behind him, and said, "It's nothing, just a kid."
He crouched down, trying to make his tone sound less like an interrogation, "Why are you here all alone? Have you been bitten by a zombie?"
Qu Lingzhou shook his head fearfully, his hoarse voice squeezing out a few words: "A person, not bitten."
Lu Ci took another closer look at him. The kid in front of him had fair skin and tender flesh, and his hands didn't even have a callus. He didn't look like a survivor who could have survived in this kind of apocalyptic hell.
The zombie density in Plague Town is the highest among the first three dungeons. Even ordinary players don't dare to go alone when they're in a group. It's a miracle that he's still alive.
But those eyes were so innocent; looking into them, he ultimately couldn't bring himself to be ruthless.
In the end, he's just a kid; what kind of trouble can he possibly cause?
"Can you stand up? We're preparing to evacuate. If you want to come with us, then we'll leave together."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a cold voice came from behind him.
Mo Zhao leaned against the overturned medicine shelf, arms crossed, his gaze coldly sweeping over Qu Lingzhou: "Resources are limited. Bringing one more person only increases the danger. I disagree."