Rong Tong finished explaining the scene to the two actors and sat back in his monitoring seat. The on-site director made the final adjustments between the actors and the cameras.
“Director Rong arranged such a difficult scene as soon as we started filming. This isn’t very friendly to the actors, right?” The assistant director sighed in a low voice.
One person was Fang Mo, who had been out of the circle for many years and hadn’t acted in a while. The other was Ji Li, who was playing the male protagonist for the first time. The pressure on the two people was already great, and it would take time for them to integrate into the role.
The longer some actors were in the crew, the better they would act.
“It is only under pressure that one will be motivated. Wait and see. I have studied the acting of both of them, and they are strong actors.”
If they could directly shape their character in such a scene on the first day of the start-up, character shaping for their next scenes would be easier.
If it didn’t work, it wasn’t a big deal to waste half a day purely to find the correct sense of the act for these two actors.
After all, filming had just begun, and the crew still had time.
“Rong Tong, it is almost time.” The on-site director walked back.
“Ji Li, Fang Mo, it is almost time. Shall we start now?”
Ji Li and Fang Mo made the ‘OK’ gesture respectfully and quietly prepared in their filming positions.
Rong Tong subconsciously straightened up and shouted the first ‘action’ in the crew.
The camera equipment was started. There was the sound of the clapboard hitting, and Ji Li, who had already entered the state of the character, opened his eyes.
After a night of heavy rain, humidity silently filled the air.
Ji Li stood by the window, and his black shirt made his figure even thinner.
He wore glasses with thin silver frames. His thin eyebrows faded a bit under the cloudy and rainy weather, and his entire body gave off a type of indifference that had nothing to do with the world.
The first shot revealed the most superficial part of Mu Qin’s personality.
Seeing Ji Li’s appearance, the female employees present smiled knowingly.
In the script, Mu Qin had good skin and was very popular. It was only after deeply understanding him that a person could know that his soul had been incomplete and dark since childhood.
The camera followed his gaze down.
The outer courtyard on the first floor had been cordoned off. Many residents nearby had heard about this and came to see the liveliness.
Soon, the police carried a covered corpse out. The strong smell of blood filled the humid air.
There were too many holes in the dead body, so after a night of hanging, almost all the blood in his body was drained.
The onlookers covered their mouths and noses one after another, as if they were afraid that such evil energy would enter their bodies.
Qin Mu on the second floor was the only one to maintain his original appearance, as if he was watching a scene that had nothing to do with him.
It was only after seeing the car carrying the deceased move away that a sharp light filled his eyes.
Looking closely, it was chilling.
There was the sound of hurried footsteps outside the closed door. Then the policeman guarding him shouted, “Captain Zhou!”
After the murder, this isolated room became the place where Mu Qin was ‘detained.’
Bang, slam.
The door was kicked open and slammed shut.
Zhou Yong, played by Fang Mo, hurried over. His uniform was wet with rain from the outside.
“Xiao Qin, tell me, why did you show up at the scene of the crime?” There was anger suppressed in his question with a hint of trembling worry.
He wasn’t like some young actors these days, who read their lines casually during acting and relied on post-dubbing to add color to it.
Fang Mo’s generation of actors was particular about their speaking skills. His skills were as excellent as ever, even after ten years.
Mu Qin, played by Ji Li, looked over. “I came to play.”
“Play?” Fang Mo frowned, dragged him to the side, and whispered through gritted teeth.
“Do you know what your situation is right now? Judging from the inferred time of death, you are the only one without an alibi!”
“Yes, I know.”
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have received special treatment and been detained here alone.
Fang Mo looked at the indifferent young man and finally couldn’t help roaring, “You know my a**!”
Rather than staying at home, he asked for leave to go to such a place and became involved in a murder? As a result of his leave, the deceased was the murderer of his parents who had escaped in the past? All of the victim’s fatal wounds were the same as his parents’ back then.
Who else could have committed the murder apart from Mu Qin, who was deeply implicated in the case and was a forensic doctor?
If it wasn’t for the fact that the other person was a child he had grown up with, Zhou Yong would’ve wanted to list him as a key suspect immediately.
The two of them faced each other silently.
Finally, a crack appeared in the ice in Ji Li’s eyes. “Have you confirmed that? The deceased is the murderer who killed my parents?”
“……”
Zhou Yong was silent for a few seconds before replying, “The details are still being finalized, but the murder weapon and photos were found in a locked cabinet in his room.”
In addition, there were the experiences written down by the other person after he killed people.
Unlike other murderers who hid out of fear after killing, the hotel owner clearly saw his murders as experiences to show off.
It was just that he couldn’t share his experiences in society, so he wrote it down in his diary.
The basic information that had been found so far wasn’t very different from the case progression, and even the appearance of the deceased was consistent with the profile of the murderer that year. The result should be of 80 or 90% certainty.
After chasing this case for so many years, the murderer actually surfaced in such a manner. Zhou Yong also felt that it was incredible.
“Then he didn’t die miserably enough.” Ji Li pushed up his glasses, reflecting a cold light that was so calm that it was terrifying.
“What?” Fang Mo couldn’t believe it.
Ji Li took out a slender cigarette from his backpack and lit it in front of the other person. “If it were me, I would have used special anesthesia to put him down first. This way, he would have been clear-headed and unable to resist.”
The camera moved forward.
Ji Li skillfully raised the cigarette to his thin, red lips. He took a puff of smoke and slowly exhaled it.
The action couldn’t be any simpler, but it had a faint sexiness.
The misty smoke scattered. The eyes hidden in the haze revealed a killing intent that had never been there before.
Forensic doctors understood the fragility of life the best.
“I would have used a scalpel to peel off his skin little by little. Then I would have used the tip of the knife to cut the blood vessels in his body. Rest assured, the blood that comes out wouldn’t be too much. It would have just allowed him to watch himself die bit by bit.”
He talked about the most terrifying of killing methods in the most rational manner. The occasional tone that rose up was filled with a bit of interest, as if he was talking about a very fun game.
The watching staff members saw this scene and all got the chills.
How did Ji Li do it?
If he didn’t say anything, it made people feel that he was a calm, wise, and educated young man. Then, once he opened his mouth, he became an extremely cruel, criminal piece of scum.
In less than 30 seconds, and with a few simple lines, the contrast between his dual personalities was revealed with his words and deeds.
The male staff members felt that Ji Li’s acting skills were powerful, while the female staff members were fascinated by him. They couldn’t help suppressing their voices to discuss it.
“Absolutely. Looking at Ji Li like this, my legs are so soft that they are shaking.”
“The lines of the characters were very excessive, but it is cool to watch Ji Li play such a scumbag!”
“Did you see his Adam’s apple when he smoked? It was so s*xy, ahhhh!”
“Sure enough, my three views follow my five senses.”
“What are you talking about? He is a good male protagonist.”
The monitor was arranged outside the room. Director Rong Tong heard the chatter behind him, and a trace of satisfaction flashed in his eyes.
In the eyes of outsiders, the male protagonist Mu Qin was a person who lacked empathy and had a weak sense of morality.
In his previous forensic autopsy work, he received the complaints of many grief-stricken family members that he was too impersonal when recounting the cause of death and the detailed pain suffered by the deceased.
For so many years, Mu Qin had always thought about killing the murderer of his parents.
Such ‘killing’ scenes had been repeated countless times in his mind enough that he could say these words without fluctuations.
So far, Ji Li had made no mistakes in shaping his character, and he also played it very charmingly. After all, he was the male protagonist of the movie, so an eye-catching personality charm was a must.
However, what came next was the main event.
Rong Tong returned his gaze back to the main monitor. Zhou Fang snatched the cigarette in the young man’s hand and crushed it under his foot.
He pulled at Ji Li’s neckline with one hand, angry and pained. “Mu Qin, listen to me!”
“Your parents protected you desperately back then in order to keep you out of the darkness!”
“I know you have carried hatred for all these years, but people can’t be resurrected from death. If you really live to become another murderer, will you be worthy of your dead parents?”
Fang Mo’s explosive power was very strong. The back of the hand holding the collar was full of veins, and the camera zoomed in on his face. His tight jaw contained a trace of trembling.
Because he was afraid—
He didn’t dare to hear Mu Qin admit that he was a murderer.
Mu Qin was the child he had looked after since Mu Qin was young. If the other person really fell into the abyss of evil, then it must’ve been caused by his negligence.
His conscience couldn’t get over this hurdle.
The coordinator looked at the images being transmitted to the monitor and held his breath. “Fang Mo is still Fang Mo.”
The character’s emotions were well controlled, and his acting skills had been superb for over ten years.
The assistant director saw this and shook his head. “It is easy for Ji Li to suffer in this rivalry scene.
Explicit venting was easier than inner emotional venting.
If Ji Li’s next mood change wasn’t good, his aura would instantly be suppressed by Fang Mo.
“Everyone, be quiet.”
Rong Tong signaled while intently watching Ji Li’s next reaction.
On the monitor, Ji Li soon showed his own movements. He broke free from Fang Mo’s grasp, silently turned, and walked toward his backpack.
The camera moved with him. In order to express the character’s inner turmoil, the camera was deliberately shaken.
Ji Li took off the glasses he had worn for a long time, casually pulled out a tissue, and wiped them carefully along the edge of the lens.
Suddenly, a drop of water fell on the center of the lens. In the next second, the water trail was absorbed by the tissue, as if nothing had happened.
No one could see how it happened. Perhaps it was the rain from outside the window, or perhaps it was Mu Qin’s short and pained teardrop.
Rong Tong saw this scene and froze.
This sudden expression that jumped out from the script description was more suitable for the character of Mu Qin.
Mu Qin had persisted for many years and finally found the murderer of his parents, but the other person died so easily and some people pushed the responsibility of this crime onto his head.
Mu Qin felt it was ridiculous and absurd. At the same time, there was a trace of indescribable grievance and bewilderment.
It seemed that he had finally got his revenge, but he was actually drawn into a deeper and unfathomable darkness.
He wanted to find the instigator of this crime. This life was given to him by his parents, and he couldn’t die in this inexplicable hunt.
Fang Mo looked at Ji Li’s back and clearly felt the other person’s natural aura.
It was from pain to confusion to indifference.
There were no lines between the two of them and no eye contact, but Fang Mo felt a sense of relief.
He received a silent answer from the other person. The hotel owner wasn’t killed by him.
This child he had raised still adhered to the bottom line of law and morality.
Ji Li slowly put his glasses back on and handed the yellowed photo he was carrying to Fang Mo behind him. “Uncle Zhou, I didn’t kill anyone. I will cooperate with the police to investigate the crime properly.”
“But I want to tell you that the murderer didn’t only kill my parents back then. This isn’t a simple case of revenge.”
“Apart from me, the six people present might all be family members of other hidden homicides.”
The calm and rational tone changed him back to Mu Qin, who was indifferent to everything.
This was even though he was the biggest suspect at this moment.
Fang Mo’s eyes fell on the cruel photo and then turned to the words behind it: Commemoration, the fifth hunt.
“Uncle Zhou, I can probably guess the reason why the person behind the scenes framed me.”
“What do you mean?”
Ji Li looked at the other person with serious eyes, and every word was full of strength. “Perhaps I was the only lamb who survived those seven hunters back then.”
Someone wanted to take advantage of the murderer’s death to make Mu Qin bear the death penalty and die.
It was only in this way that the seven hunting games of the past would come to a perfect end.
The staff at the scene listened to the plot development and got the creeps.
Fortunately, Rong Tong shouted ‘cut’ in time to stop the pervasive suspenseful atmosphere, and the first rivalry scene of ‘Reverse Hunting’ ended.
Proofreader: Azure
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