Chapter 215: Don't Touch Me

The group continued forward, walking into the Human Body Research Base from the film—high walls stretching deep, looking very claustrophobic.

If one were walking here alone, it would feel scary; with a group, it's fine.

All sorts of "scientific" instruments were arranged inside the base's laboratory; since they weren't filming now, nothing much could be made of it.

Post-production color grading is done after shooting, so it won't look like what you see here.

This place will be the most exciting part of the second half.

After bragging about Liu Tianxian, Fang Hong started bragging about their Best Special Effects: "What you see here looks like an impregnable fortress, but it's all fake. The characters in the film are all quite powerful in martial arts—they can punch through a wall with one fist."

Hearing him say that, the three leaders looked at the wall; visually it was stacked giant stones, very realistic.

Zuoshandiao touched the wall surface—uneven and textured—and couldn't tell anything either.

"Can you demonstrate?" he said.

"Sure."

Fang Hong was about to punch it himself, but thought better of it and held back—though the thing was fake, it still had a certain hardness.

Otherwise, if it crumbled at a touch, that would be too fake.

In case he couldn't smash it, that would be awkward. He said: "Xie Miao, come demonstrate for everyone."

"Okay!"

Xie Miao stepped forward, clenched his fist, and punched the wall hard with all his might, punching a hole through it, then stepped back.

Zuoshandiao stepped forward, grabbed a handful of debris and rubbed it between his fingers—it was made of foam and plastic.

"If you look at it alone, it's still a bit fake."

"There's definitely post-production special effects added."

Fang Hong led the three leaders to a shed.

This shed couldn't fit that many people; only the two assistant directors and Liu Tianxian went in.

The shed walls were covered with all kinds of effect design drawings; inside there were seven or eight people, who all stood up when they saw the visitors.

Fang Hong pointed at the four people standing in the corner in front of computers and introduced: "This is our special effects team."

It wasn't that special effects only had four people—rather, these four were stationed at the crew to assist with filming.

Then he pointed at the person standing in front of the large monitor: "This is special effects director Yao Qi, who previously worked at Sony Image Graphics."

"Oh!"

Zuoshandiao, having heard he worked at Sony, couldn't help but take a second look, extended his hand and said: "Hello!"

"Hello!"

Yao Qi also extended his hand and nodded, then shook hands with the other two leaders.

"Have Director Han take a look at your stuff," Fang Hong gestured.

"Okay."

Yao Qi gave up his chair.

The Assistant brought over a few chairs; the several people sat down and looked at the HD monitor in front of them.

The screen showed Xie Miao bursting through the wall, flying with a kick toward three people—the shattered feel, the physical effect of rocks flying everywhere, was made very realistic.

It also came with sound effects.

If filmed normally, it wouldn't be that realistic—normal filming would just be breaking through the wall, without much feel.

The leaders watched as if it were a myth—after all, there was also the Mind Control Flying Knife.

After that came the scene of Xie Miao being beaten up badly by Liu Tianxian.

The fight was different from traditional ones—no flashy moves—just Liu Tianxian pinning Xie Miao to the ground and beating him hard; those realistic striking moves had details and enhanced embellishments added.

The physically realistic effect made it impossible to tell it was virtual.

"Slow this down a bit to look," Zuoshandiao gestured.

The HD display slowed down, and the delicate feel of dirt splashing and grass flying sideways emerged.

If played at normal speed, it would pass in a glance, not seen clearly.

"Not bad."

Zuoshandiao said to La Peikang beside him.

La Peikang nodded, indicating his approval.

The ones from the United States really are different—their special effects philosophy is just more advanced than ours; this has to be acknowledged.

Everyone else was crew staff who had already seen it and found nothing novel; the two assistant directors watched it every day, even less novel.

Liu Tianxian found it quite novel—when she was beating people at the time, there weren't many effects; she just followed the action direction and beat them.

One could say this was the easiest martial arts scene she had ever filmed.

She's invincible, after all—being faster than the opponent is enough; small fries get instantly killed; when fighting people, where would there be so many flashy moves?

It's all because of the influence of xianxia dramas and Hong Kong dramas!

"What K did you film this in?" Zuoshandiao asked.

"4K," Liu Yin, who was at the back, spoke up.

"This is our cinematographer Liu Yin," Fang Hong introduced.

"Oh!" Zuoshandiao nodded.

"These clips are combined from many computers," Liu Yin introduced his cinematography cooperation with special effects.

"."

Zuoshandiao and the two leaders finished touring the crew, got a sense of Jade Rabbit's production capability, and prepared to take their leave.

"How about we go have a meal and let me properly host the leaders," Fang Hong said.

Now the several people were walking out of the crew.

"No need, you go about your business, we're just here to take a look, we're not eating." Zuoshandiao had heard the Principal was shooting a film at their digital base.

So he invited two friends to come along and take a look.

No outsider knows just how capable the Jade Rabbit truly is.

"I hope next time the leaders will grace us with another visit and offer guidance, giving me the chance to properly host you," Fang Hong said with great politeness.

"We didn't come to guide you—just out of curiosity. Don't treat us like leaders; just have a normal chat," Zuoshandiao said.

Now everything's commercialized; Fang Hong didn't have to entertain them if he didn't want to.

The other two leaders also smiled.

Fang Hong nodded, thinking all officials were the same.

Zuoshandiao was just saying it in passing, then turned to Liu Tianxian: "Yifei, give this film your best."

He could tell this film was made by the Jade Rabbit's most professional team—the best resources had been poured straight into this girl.

"Yes, Director Han, I'll give it my all and not let down your expectations," Liu Tianxian promised.

This only increased her pressure—if the film flopped, it might just be blamed on her again.

But she knew this movie had been tailor-made for her by Fang Hong.

After viewing and chatting, the three leaders left.

The crew members dispersed too, resuming filming and rushing to meet the deadline.

Fang Hong and Liu Tianxian saw the three leaders off, and as they walked back, they saw Lu Dabo wiping a brand-new BMW with a cloth.

He looked so serious, as if it were priceless.

"Is this your car?"

Fang Hong stepped closer, eyeing the BMW with curiosity—it gleamed with polish, brand-new. He couldn't resist reaching out to touch it.

"Yes! Hey hey, don't touch!"

Lu Dabo hurried to block him, afraid he'd scratch the paint!

Fang Hong immediately frowned: "I can't touch it?"

Lu Dabo felt embarrassed—he'd bought his first car, spending three or forty thousand, so he treasured it like his own woman.

He could understand that mindset; before, he'd only ever been able to look at such things, never dared to touch them.

Now that he had one, he wouldn't let anyone else touch it.

"You can't touch it anyway—look, the logo says it: Don't Touch Me!" Liu Tianxian chuckled, pointing at the BMW letters on the hood.

"The Immortal Sister can touch it," Lu Dabo added.

"I fucking—!" Fang Hong snapped, kicking out: "You're discriminating against me for being a man, aren't you?!"

Lu Dabo dodged aside.

Fang Hong missed, overextended his kick, nearly toppled over—Liu Tianxian caught him just in time.

"Fine, fine, touch it, just be gentle," Lu Dabo said, seeing the Principal was serious. "I fucking still have to be gentle with it?"

Fang Hong, furious, raised his fist as if to punch the car.

Lu Dabo panicked, rushing forward to stop him—but froze when he realized Fang Hong was only threatening, not actually striking.

These two were hilarious—Liu Tianxian was laughing helplessly beside them.

Fang Hong ignored Lu Dabo and turned to walk away.

"Principal, you can touch it," Lu Dabo called out.

"No thanks, what a shitty car—I don't even care about it," Fang Hong waved dismissively, thoroughly annoyed.

"Boss, your oil's here!"

Just as Fang Hong was leaving, a junior ran up with a fuel canister: "Top-grade 98-octane—I got it from the crew's official vehicle. See if this is enough."

Lu Dabo's face changed—he rushed forward to cover the junior's mouth.

Fuck, clueless bastard—don't you see who's here?

Fang Hong heard it, turned, and pointed at Lu Dabo: "You're something else—you stole my oil."

The junior, seeing the Principal, realized he'd spoken out of turn—he lowered his head to his chest, praying the Principal wouldn't recognize his face.

"Principal, let me explain," Lu Dabo pleaded, sweat beading on his forehead.

"Caught red-handed—explain it to me," Fang Hong said.

"I—I just borrowed it temporarily to test if it's good, and if it is, I'll return it," Lu Dabo stammered, clearly nervous.

He'd been caught with the evidence.

"Do you think I believe you?" Fang Hong pointed at himself.

Lu Dabo wiped his forehead, too nervous to speak.

He wouldn't let others steal, yet he stole himself.

But this was his first time—mainly because he couldn't bear to spend the fuel money, and the crew had plenty anyway.

Liu Tianxian saw how terrified he was; she nudged Fang Hong's arm, signaling him not to pressure the man.

"I'll pretend this never happened. Borrow me your BMW." Fang Hong's expression softened.

He'd only been scaring Lu Dabo—stealing oil meant nothing to him.

"Principal, it's not appropriate for someone of your status to drive a BMW—you should be driving a Rolls-Royce," Lu Dabo suddenly sounded sharp.

"I've driven Rolls-Royces too much—I just want to experience what it's like to drive a BMW," Fang Hong said coolly.

Liu Tianxian stared wide-eyed at the man—can't you just stop showing off?

She'd never seen this man drive a Rolls-Royce—he didn't even own a car.

"Fine," Lu Dabo reluctantly agreed.

Fang Hong turned and walked off—he'd only been joking; he had no intention of punishing Lu Dabo, as long as he didn't break any core rules.

"Do you have a Rolls-Royce?"

"No." Liu Tianxian shook her head.

"Buy one then." Fang Hong said.

"Buy one for what?" Liu Tianxian said.

"Let me experience it. In the future when I go out and people ask me what a Rolls-Royce feels like, I can share with confidence — it'd be so embarrassing not to be able to say." Fang Hong said.

"Then you pay!" Liu Tianxian held out her hand.

Hearing this, Fang Hong shut his mouth.

"You cheapskate!"

Zuoshandiao coming to visit the set was just a small interlude, stealing oil was also a small interlude — when a production crew gets big, there are many things people don't know about.

Anyway, Fang Hong didn't look into it closely. As long as they could finish filming within such a large budget, that was fine.

If it went over budget, then the production team's accounts had to be investigated!

Filming continued, the scene picked up from last time.

Liu Tianxian was brought back to the experimental base and saw that inside the base, just like ten years ago, they were conducting inhumane experiments on human bodies.

This made her feel somewhat uncomfortable inside. She was no longer the her of ten years ago — what she had grown accustomed to seeing back then, the present her, influenced by her family, had become kind.

She was brought to a brightly lit laboratory, where all sorts of sci-fi instruments were arranged.

Liu Tianxian was seen being pinned onto an experimental chair by several burly men in black. The chair was forged from adamantine, automatically fixing her feet, hands, neck, and forehead in place with thick iron plates.

Above her head was an instrument emitting white light, currently scanning her brain.

"Subject 1, do you still remember me?"

Song Jia's voice echoed through the laboratory. He was just outside the glass in front of Liu Tianxian, in another room — only Liu Tianxian couldn't see him.

Liu Tianxian was familiar with this voice, but at this stage she could only pretend not to recognize him, her face full of innocence: "I don't know who you are, and I don't know what you're talking about."

Song Jia assumed she had lost her memory from the headache, so she ordered her subordinates to give her an injection.

Once that injection went in, Liu Tianxian's brain became intensely active, but this wasn't the serum she wanted — she could only continue acting.

She was seen tightly shutting her eyes, struggling with an extremely pained expression, blood flowing from her nose, her face covered in sweat from the pain.

That was water sprayed on her face by the crew.

"You are my proudest Subject."

Song Jia spoke of her results while watching the instrument show Liu Tianxian's brain in a red state — she knew she had fallen ill, meaning her head would explode.

So she ordered her subordinates to give her another dose of the drug, this dose appearing blue.

After the drug entered Liu Tianxian's body, Liu Tianxian immediately perked up, her pupils also turning blue.

The instrument in front of Song Jia showed Liu Tianxian's brain was also in a blue state: "How is it? Do you like the gift I gave you?"

This was the drug that truly treated Liu Tianxian's brain.

But this serum only had one month's efficacy — without the drug to maintain it, she would still fall ill and explode. She just wanted to use this drug to control Liu Tianxian.

But she overlooked Liu Tianxian's IQ. Liu Tianxian also felt the drug taking effect — meaning for this one month she could freely use her abilities, including telekinesis.

Previously she had never used telekinesis.

"Honestly, it exceeded my expectations."

She raised her head, revealing a faint mischievous smile.

Seeing this mischievous smile, Song Jia's face changed, somewhat dumbfounded.

"Doctor, it's really been a long time since we've met."

After Liu Tianxian finished speaking, she lifted her eyes in a single glance, and the laboratory immediately crackled with the sound of electric current — a light bulb burst, and all the instruments were destroyed.

"Crack-crack-crack-crack!"

The instruments in the room where Song Jia was also all sparked and broke.

This made Song Jia's face change drastically. Only at this moment did she realize in shock that Subject 1 had not lost her memory — she was in fact stronger than ten years ago.

Liu Tianxian in the laboratory easily broke free from the restraints on the chair, and in an instant appeared in front of the black-clad guard.

The guard hurriedly raised his gun to shoot, but with a single look from Liu Tianxian, he was sent slamming into the wall, dead.

With a casual beckoning gesture, a handgun flew into her hand, then she pointed it at the glass — she knew Song Jia was right behind that glass.

"Bang-bang-bang!"

Liu Tianxian fired several shots in succession, but the glass didn't budge — clearly bulletproof glass.

Song Jia was also panicking badly, and hurriedly released Neural Toxin into the laboratory, which immediately filled with rolling white fog.

However, Liu Tianxian showed not the slightest fear. Instead she walked up to the glass and, toward Song Jia hidden behind it, revealed a faintly anticipatory smile.

Then she retreated and vanished into the white fog.

Song Jia hadn't yet recovered from her shock when Liu Tianxian had already appeared behind her like a phantom.

"Doctor, I miss you terribly. Are you doing well?"

Hearing the voice, Song Jia spun around sharply and saw Liu Tianxian's face wearing a mocking smile.

"You?" Song Jia forced herself to stay calm.

"Who you are, who I am — I remember very clearly," Liu Tianxian recounted the scheme she had been laying out since childhood.

How she escaped from the base ten years ago, how she selected her adoptive parents, how she led the base people to come find her — everything had been planned by her.

Understanding everything, Song Jia let out a bleak laugh — so she was the prey, and Liu Tianxian was the hunter.

Once the story was told, in order to obtain more serum, Liu Tianxian didn't kill her either, but kicked and broke one of her legs, grabbed her by the hair, and walked through the base.

At this moment, she was unstoppable — slaying gods if gods blocked her, slaying Buddhas if Buddhas blocked her! Including Young Master Zhao who had harassed her.

(End of chapter)