Chapter 85: Life's Performance

The temperature at Clearwater Bay Studio plummeted to 3°C. The special effects team dumped the last batch of industrial ice blocks into a giant pool 50 meters long and 30 meters wide, and a bone-chilling chill immediately rose from the water surface. Xiang Fei, wrapped in an army-green cotton coat, held a temperature gun to confirm the water temperature: "1.5°C, not cold enough yet, add three more trucks of dry ice!"

The assistant director shouted hoarsely into a megaphone: "All actors, attention! This scene is expected to take 6 hours to shoot; the medical team has prepared 20 doses of adrenaline!"

Ceng Jiang, wearing only a thin white engineer's uniform, had frost crystals already forming on his gray-white beard. He clung tightly to a piece of floating wood, his lips turning a terrifying bluish-purple. During the seventh take, he suddenly choked on water, yet completed his lines amidst violent coughing: "The boiler room... it's all gone..." This accidental shot became the most shocking segment of the entire film.

Liu Xun, playing the priest, conducted a deathbed prayer in chest-deep icy water, the Bible in his hand frozen to his palm. Between takes, medical staff had to use warm water to remove the book.

Cheng Long and Hong Jinbao, real-life senior and junior brothers, performed a heart-wrenching scene together in the icy water. Hong Jinbao, playing the old chef, shoved the only life jacket at Cheng Long: "Ah Long, the breath-holding technique I taught you all those years ago... cough cough... it's time to put it to use..."

Yuan Biao suddenly burst out of the water, pushing a floating board toward the two: "Senior brother! Eldest senior brother! It was me who stole your roast goose back then!" The shot of the three exchanging smiles became the most touching moment of life and death in the entire film.

Zhao Yazhi, playing the noble lady, maintained an elegant posture even in the icy water, until the shot where she sank to the bottom to protect a child. Xiang Fei demanded: "Sister Zhi, make your hair spread out slowly like a jellyfish!"

In the scene where Hui Yinghong rescued Zhang Min, her right leg suddenly cramped. But she insisted on completing the action of lifting Zhang Min onto the floating board, reciting her lines until she fainted: "Young Lady... you must live on..."

The main storyline between Qian Xiaohao and Cai Shaofen made the entire set hold its breath. When Qian Xiaohao pushed Cai Shaofen onto a door panel, Xiang Fei suddenly demanded: "Xiaohao, you must kiss her fingertips first, then slowly slide into the water." After soaking in near-zero degree seawater for 45 minutes, Qian Xiaohao's shivering was completely uncontrollable; medical staff measured his core body temperature had dropped to 33°C.

Anita Mui abandoned the lifeboat and swam toward Leslie Cheung: "Leslie! Your concert isn't over yet!" Leslie Cheung raised his violin out of the water, but the strings suddenly snapped due to the low temperature. Xiang Fei kept this accident, his lips trembling as he said: "Ah Mei... this time... you're really out of tune..."

Lin Zhengying, playing the fortune teller, maintained astonishing calm amidst the chaos. When the compass malfunctioned due to the cold, he improvised by calculating with his fingers: "Kan represents water... today... great misfortune..." This on-the-spot performance was praised by Xiang Fei as "a stroke of divine inspiration."

When Wan Ziliang and Qin Pei wrestled over a floating board, their wigs were pulled off. Xiang Fei shouted: "Don't stop! This is true survival instinct!" Qin Pei suddenly suffered heart discomfort during the shoot, but after inhaling oxygen for 10 minutes, he insisted on completing all shots.

At 4 AM, when most actors were already showing symptoms of hypothermia, Xiang Fei was still pursuing perfection: "Teacher Qin Pei, your pocket watch must stop exactly at 2:20 when you fall into the water! Zhang Min, when you struggle, you must reveal the red nail polish on your left foot!"

When medical staff injected Cai Shaofen with a heart stimulant for the fifth time, Xiang Fei finally called "Cut." But he immediately added: "Same time tomorrow night, reshoot the underwater wide-angle shot."

In the Shaw Brothers high-level meeting room, Li Guoming watched the secretly filmed studio footage, his cigar long since extinguished: "These madmen... they are making a movie with their lives..."

Fang Yihua said softly: "This is true cinematic art."

Inside the medical tent, Cheng Long and Hong Jinbao, still hooked up to IV drips, were bickering: "Senior brother... the 'Water-Walking' technique you taught me... is completely useless..."

In the distance, Xiang Fei was ordering the props team: "Prepare 200 live fish for tomorrow! They must struggle around the actors! And find two live sharks!"