IPCFS: Chapter 117 Part 1

Ji Li broke free from the character’s state and walked with Fang Mo toward the monitor.

Director Rong Tong didn’t directly say whether it was a pass or not. He asked the staff to call up the playback of the main shot just now. “Fang Mo, Ji Li, take a look at your performance just now.”

Rather than a straightforward and meaningless oral narration, Rong Tong preferred to let the actors re-experience their acting skills from the perspective of a bystander.

Ji Li deliberately bent his body very low to allow the other staff members behind him to watch.

Fang Mo saw his subconscious etiquette and couldn’t help the corners of his lips from rising unavoidably.

In the four minute long rivalry scene, both men examined their performances.

There was no problem with the previous scenes that they watched on the monitor. This was until the camera froze on Ji Li’s side.

The thin lips that were pursed tightly, the corners of his eyes that were red and flushed, the gentle rhythm of wiping his glasses, and the fleeting ‘water droplet’ that fell on the lens.

This series of pictures impacted Fang Mo’s brain.

It was only then that he understood how accurate Ji Li’s interpretation was when his back was turned to Fang Mo.

Mu Qin was a restrained and introverted person. He didn’t have the impulses of great sadness or joy. He only showed his emotions in subtleties.

In this scene, Mu Qin showed forbearance, confusion, and his final relief and determination.

It was no wonder why he could feel so many clearly conveyed emotions from Ji Li’s back.

The other person had carefully integrated into Mu Qin’s character, breaking down all his inner emotions into countless tiny pierces hidden everywhere in his words and actions.

The seemingly simple three seconds were definitely the finishing touches of this scene! 

Fang Mo recalled his performance after Ji Li turned around. The more he looked at it, the more he felt that it was wrong.

The core of the shot at this time was Ji Li, so the Zhou Yong played by him showed weak emotions. This didn’t completely match Ji Li’s wonderful interpretation.

He was the one who relaxed his concentration and lost his aura.

Fang Mo couldn’t help looking at Ji Li beside him with a gleam of appreciation in his eyes.

The other person was still looking at the picture on the monitor, and his serious eyes seemed to be able to poke two holes into the monitor.

-Brother Mo, Ji Li is an actor with the strongest empathy I have ever seen. You can’t take it lightly when acting with him.

Qin Yue’s words reappeared in Fang Mo’s mind again, and he couldn’t help sighing.

He finally understood the terrifying and fearful acting skills of Ji Li, a young actor.

He couldn’t relax at all when acting against Ji Li, or the other person’s aura would rush out like a raging beast and make his aura completely collapse if he wasn’t careful.

Ji Li also watched the scene that was just filmed. He secretly glanced at Rong Tong and felt a bit troubled in his heart.

He had learned about Fang Mo’s strength in acting, so he hadn’t restrained himself during this confrontation.

The first half of the scene between them was okay. However, after he turned around, the other person seemed to have failed to completely keep up with his acting?

Ji Li was a person who pursued perfection. He secretly pondered on how he could suggest acting the scene again without hurting Fang Mo’s self-esteem.

Before he could speak, Fang Mo took the initiative to admit his mistake. “Director Rong, let’s do the scene again. I failed to pick up Ji Li’s acting in the second half of the scene.”

Rong Tong smiled heartily when he heard this. “Okay, let’s just do it again.”

This wasn’t the first time the two of them had cooperated. Fang Mo was a very perceptive actor. Since he could find his faults himself, there was no need to bother speaking up as the director.

The makeup artist of the crew heard that there was going to be a second take and took the opportunity to say, “Brother Ji, come and let me touch up your eye makeup.”

Ji Li’s eyes brightened and he bowed slightly to Rong Tong and Fang Mo. “Director, Brother Mo, I’ll go first.”

“Go.”

Once Ji Li’s figure retreated further away, Rong Tong put an arm around his friend’s shoulder. “Fang Mo, how is the male protagonist I found?”

“In the Yangtze River, the waves behind drive on those ahead. I finally understand the meaning of this.” Fang Mo sighed and shook his head.

“Ji Li might be young, but his strength shouldn’t be underestimated. I’ve retired from the circle for so many years, and my current acting skills aren’t a match for him at all.”

“Hey, don’t underestimate yourself. Your sense of drama and performance in the first half were above the standard, but your acting in the second half was slightly relaxed.”

Rong Tong pressed a hand to his friend’s shoulder and affirmed his analysis. “If it were any other actor who had retired from the circle for ten years before returning, it would have been difficult for them to reach the level of acting that you showed today.”

Fang Mo smiled and accepted Rong Tong’s comfort. “I’ll go and prepare first. I have to hurry and gather my emotions.”

He couldn’t lose again in the next scene, or he wouldn’t be able to have the reputation of a senior.

“Okay.”

It wasn’t until Fang Mo left that the surrounding onlookers dared to discuss his performance in a low voice.

“What is going on? Teacher Fang Mo took the initiative to ask to redo the scene again. He also admitted defeat and said that his acting skills were crushed by Ji Li?”

“Wasn’t the rivalry scene just now very good? Ji Li’s acting skills are good, but I think Brother Mo is also excellent at acting.”

“Right? Teacher Fang Mo has two Best Actor awards with super high gold content, but he is humble and he says he can’t compare to Ji Li? Doesn’t this mean that Ji Li’s acting skills are capable of winning the Best Actor trophy?”

Rong Tong looked around at the crew and smiled without speaking.

Outsiders enjoyed the lively scene while insiders saw the essence of the scene.

He wanted to say that as long as Ji Li persistently honed his acting skills and accumulated works, another powerful young actor would soon appear in the entertainment industry.

Five minutes later, the second take began.

Ji Li and Fang Mo cooperated very well and soon passed this first scene perfectly.

The next plot development of ‘Reverse Hunting’ was also wonderful.

Under Mu Qin’s reminder, Zhou Yong deliberately had the members of his team secretly investigate the identities of the remaining six guests at the hotel.

The first guest was a male painter who was 28 years old. Perhaps it was from living in the studio all year round, but his appearance was gentle and white. To put it in an exaggerated manner, he was weak. This time, he participated in the ‘Catching Summer’ event to expand his social circle and to gain more inspiration.

The second guest was a retired language teacher who was 55 years old. She had long black hair in a ponytail and wore black-framed glasses. She had a somewhat mean personality, and her mouth was full of preaching words. It was said that her neighbors didn’t like her very much, and her husband often stayed outside, not returning home.

The third guest was a schoolgirl who was 16 years old. She was a typical rebellious child who dyed her hair, smoked, drank, and skipped class to participate in this event.

The fourth guest was a woman in her 50s who had lived alone since her husband’s death a few years earlier. She signed up for this tour with her sister but participated alone since her sister was busy and couldn’t come.

The fifth guest was a bad-tempered and rich second generation master, and the sixth guest was a pure-looking working girl.

A month ago, the rich second generation master met the working girl in a restaurant and used softness and hardness to make her participate in this event. He planned to find an opportunity to seduce the girl, but he didn’t expect this to happen on the first night.

The seven people, including Mu Qin, seemingly came together ‘without intersection.’

Then after a careful investigation, the police found subtle commonalities among them that were similar to Mu Qin’s guess.

“Apart from me, the six people present might all be family members of other hidden homicides.”

The male painter had a sister who was abducted by a mentally ill person and was r*ped and killed in the wild. The case ended with no problems, and he only got a ridiculous amount of compensation in the end.

The son of the language teacher went traveling 15 years ago when he fell off of a cliff on the outskirts of a scenic area and died tragically. In the end, it was judged that he accidentally lost his footing.

The parents of the schoolgirl were at odds. When she was three years old, her alcoholic father strangled her mother with a rope during a heated argument and was still in prison.

The husband of the middle-aged woman accidentally drowned while swimming.

Speaking of which, the only two people who had nothing in common with the rest were the rich second generation master and the working girl. The police temporarily left these two people alone while investigating the remaining five people more deeply.

The deaths of these relatives seemed unrelated, but they were close together in the timeline. In addition, the cases were either hastily closed or pending.

If Mu Qin’s parents were the fifth hunt of the dead murderer, what about the others? Did they receive the same strange invitation?

Sure enough, after further investigation by the police, the remaining four people all took out photos of the letters they received.

The second hunt was a little girl covered in blood.

The third hunt was a male corpse that had been smashed into blood and flesh.

The fourth hunt was a swollen man floating in the water.

The fifth hunt was a young couple embracing after death.

The seventh hunt was a strangled woman who died with regret.

The purpose of their participation in this event was the same as Mu Qin’s, which was to learn the truth behind these photos.

They came quietly but hadn’t expected they would be arranged together. In addition, they didn’t expect that things would really develop as what was said on the photo.

“As long as you come alone, the murderer of XX will die before your eyes.”

The hotel owner died.

The diaries and murder weapons recovered from all over his hotel verified everything that happened back then.

R*pe, falling, strangling, drowning, stabbing… the methods of death were different, but it seemed to be a case of serial murders that did not have a pattern.

However, this came with many questions that were even more confusing.

Why were photos of the first hunt and the sixth hunt missing?

Was it because the murderer’s hunting was unsuccessful before his death, or did the invited family members not come? Did the pair of the rich second generation master and the working girl really just get accidentally involved in the case?

Moreover, even if this was the case, there was no way to prove Mu Qin’s innocence.

After all, was stabbing an adult male to death silently and tying him to the top floor of the hotel something that an ordinary person could do?

Solving cases had always been about evidence.

Judging from the situation of the hotel owner’s body, the most suitable suspect was the young and vigorous Mu Qin.

Just as the situation reached a stalemate, Mu Qin, Zhou Yong, and the real murderer behind the scenes made different moves.

Five days later, the rich second generation master, who was the first to be relieved of suspicion by the police, suddenly died in his home!

Right next to his corpse, the murderer had carved large words dripping with blood.

[Commemoration, the sixth hunt.]

Years ago, the other two deceased who were hunted and their photos weren’t found. Now there was another murder?

Who did it?

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Proofreader: Azure