Chapter 437

The rest of the crew were watching the spectacle.

Just based on what Jin Li said to Xu Ting, they didn't think Jin Li would let it go so easily.

But unfortunately, a matter that could have triggered a crisis for the crew was resolved just like that.

After Jin Li said "I don't blame you," she went to the trainer to work on her physical fitness.

Xu Ting also walked to the other side to exercise silently, leaving the onlookers confused. Did Jin Li really just let it go like that?

Didn't she ask how that assistant would be dealt with later?

Didn't she ask how the police investigation was progressing?

Didn't she ask under what charges Xu Ting intended to sue the assistant?

Everyone discussed it privately and reached a unanimous conclusion.

"Jin Li and Xu Ting must have talked privately, which is why they were so calm on set. This was within their expectations!"

This conclusion best explained why Jin Li let Xu Ting's assistant off so easily.

Although many people still felt something was off.

"If they really reached a private settlement, was it necessary for Jin Li to say those sarcastic things?"

"If they really settled it privately, shouldn't Xu Ting have been spared from apologizing in person? Apologizing on set with so many people watching is so embarrassing, and the news definitely spread!"

"I saw that Director Chu wasn't there at the time. Could it be that Jin Li is waiting for Director Chu to be present before she makes her move?"

Harboring these doubts, the crew observed for a few days and found that Jin Li really had let it go that easily.

"Wow, Sister Jin Li is so kind-hearted. She must be a fairy descended to the mortal world!"

"If it were me, I definitely couldn't be that magnanimous!"

What the staff didn't know was that Director Chu was present when Xu Ting apologized to Jin Li.

But Director Chu felt it was awkward to face such things in person, so he took the opportunity to walk away.

And the reason Jin Li let it go so easily and didn't hold Xu Ting responsible was all because on the night of the incident, Chu Chenliang called Jin Li and promised her:

"I know that asking you to give up pursuing this matter makes you feel wronged, but you are the supporting actress, and Xu Ting is the lead actress. If a conflict breaks out on set and reaches the ears of the paparazzi outside, it will cause some unnecessary controversy for 'Dawn'.

I don't think that just because Xu Ting is the lead actress, you must yield, but for the sake of the big picture, I hope you try your best not to clash with Xu Ting... If you are willing to yield, I will cast you as the lead in my next film."

Chu Chenliang's words were firm and resonant!

Jin Li had no pursuit of money or material desires, but she was quite interested in acting.

In a play, she could experience a hundred flavors of life and explore another world she didn't know.

So, she was genuinely moved by the promise Director Chu made.

Whether the script is good or not is one thing, but a good director is worth an actor betting everything on.

Director Chu was indeed a capable director. Apart from that film last year which had poor promotion leading to mediocre box office results, the box office of the other films he directed could all rank in the top fifty in China.

Jin Li thought for a few seconds and agreed.

"Director Chu, I'll give you face. If Xu Ting apologizes to me in person on set, I will forgive her. But I'll also be upfront with you: if she comes to trouble me again later—"

Before she could finish, Director Chu said: "She won't come to trouble you later; she's a smart person. If she does come to trouble you, you won't need to confront her; I will reduce her screen time myself."

This was said so casually and without hesitation that Jin Li was momentarily dazed.

Had Director Chu long thought about reducing Xu Ting's screen time, which is why he agreed so easily?

Since the director had said so, what else was there for Jin Li to say? Naturally, she had no objections.

The storm subsided, and the onlookers took several days to recover before their gazes toward Xu Ting and Jin Li returned to normal.

By this time, the physical training for the lead actors was almost complete, and Jin Li began a new round of training—shooting!

While she was training her shooting feel, the leads also began training in the use of a series of weapons, including long knives, short knives, and sticks.

As the second female lead in the story, and given the doomsday theme, some of those who survive will awaken supernatural abilities, and the second female lead is no exception.

The speed and strength of the zombies are constantly evolving, from the lowest level of fearing light, moving slowly, and only acting when hearing sound, gradually evolving to being able to act during the day, moving faster and faster, and acting upon smelling the scent of living people.

Then, the zombies gradually evolve toward humans, having their own language, being able to make expressions, having joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, and some special zombies will also awaken supernatural abilities.

In such a cruel environment, if humans didn't have supernatural beings, they would almost fall to the very bottom of the food chain.

After all, even animals like mice, chickens, cats, and dogs can evolve in the apocalypse, and their five senses can evolve to be sharper than humans', allowing them to live better than humans.

Ruan Ruanruan, played by Jin Li, accidentally drank water from the apocalypse and came into contact with the zombie virus. She didn't become a zombie, but she developed a supernatural ability.

It is worth mentioning that she was among the first batch of people in the story to awaken, awakening even faster than the leads.

But because her awakened ability was not easily discovered, it wasn't until the end of the story that everyone realized she had also awakened an ability.

The ability Ruan Ruanruan awakened was "Precision Control."

The early manifestation of "Precision Control" is imitation. Anyone she has seen, she can imitate that person's behavior, including their habits.

Jin Li had two big scenes to shoot in two days. One scene was the awakening of the ability, divided into the pre-awakening, the awakening, and the post-awakening.

But because the early ability manifests as "imitation," only the pre-awakening and the awakening required Jin Li to show intense emotional fluctuations.

After awakening, it was relatively normal; at most, she was more meticulous in her observations than before, and the suggestions she made in the team were finally more reliable.

But everyone wouldn't think Ruan Ruanruan's change was due to awakening an ability; they would only think she had grown up.

After all, everyone knew how unreliable she was before the apocalypse and when it first arrived.

Besides the "Ability Awakening" scene, there was another scene where Ruan Ruanruan encounters a crisis and subconsciously uses her ability to imitate a policeman she remembers to fire a gun.

Ruan Ruanruan was touching a gun for the first time, but she used it very skillfully, which surprised everyone.

However, when others thought of Ruan Ruanruan's identity, they didn't find it strange.

The precious daughter of the local richest man, held in the hand for fear of falling, kept in the mouth for fear of melting—who knows what this young lady had played with before the apocalypse came.

Maybe she didn't like shopping and buying things, but instead fell in love with playing with guns, which is why she was so skilled at using them?

Well, after all, she's a rich person. As long as she doesn't do anything illegal or criminal, she can afford to play with anything.

These two scenes were both big scenes, but Jin Li needed to finish them within one day.

Each of the two big scenes had fragmented parts. Currently, the script calls for three scenes for the ability awakening and three scenes for using the imitation ability to fire a gun.

But the specific number of scenes to be shot still needs to be adjusted according to the situation on set.

In case Jin Li is not in good condition that day, for the sake of better editing, the director might shorten the six scenes into seven, eight, or a dozen...

This is a common occurrence on a film set.

Oh, and it's also very normal to temporarily add scenes and shoot plot points that didn't appear in the script.

There are many unexpected situations on set, and there are also times when directors and actors have temporary inspiration. It's impossible to shoot exactly according to the script's description.

This is the same as an author writing. Before opening a book, you list an outline; after opening the book, you list a chapter outline for each chapter, originally thinking you could write bit by bit according to the chapter outline.

You lower your head to type, your operation as fierce as a tiger, then you look up at the chapter outline—

Uh, it's not exactly the same as the content of the chapter outline listed before; it can only be said to be completely different.

It's the same on a film set.

The plot of the script only keeps the general direction from collapsing, but many impromptu plot points can add icing on the cake to the film content.

"I'll teach you the gun-holding posture first. Feet shoulder-width apart, body leaning slightly forward, palm empty when holding the gun with the right hand, buttstock pressed tightly against the shoulder."

The trainer demonstrated the movement, and Jin Li followed her movements, looking quite decent.

The trainer relaxed her body and personally corrected Jin Li's movements: "Feet shoulder-width apart, your stride is too big, pull your feet in a bit."

"The body is leaning too far forward. Leaning forward doesn't mean hunching; stretch backward. Yes, that's it. And the shoulders, the shoulders can't be too relaxed, or there will be no power..."

After correcting the posture, they began aiming and firing.

Director Chu didn't intend for Jin Li to fake it, so he used real guns + blank cartridges, and when shooting, there were blank cartridges without bullets being fired.

Jin Li had to learn how to use a gun to make it look more realistic during filming.

The trainer continued to teach: "Adopt the 'three-point-one-line' aiming method (aligning the front sight, rear sight, and target). When pulling the trigger, be 'fast first, slow later' to avoid the muzzle shifting..."

After a morning of training, Jin Li still had to come to the set in the afternoon to continue training.

The afternoon was spent learning safety protocols and malfunction management. Firearms are strictly forbidden from being pointed at the human body when not in use, and even empty guns must follow safety zone rules.

She also had to learn how to handle gun jams: learning how to quickly clear duds, jams, and other unexpected situations.

The trainer specifically emphasized one point: "Many people think that shooting just requires the movements to be in place, but that's not the case. Shooting also tests psychological quality and physical endurance."

"When shooting, you also need to control your breathing. You must maintain slow and deep breathing and avoid holding your breath for more than 8 seconds, as this may cause your muscles to tremble and your grip on the gun to be unstable."

"Some films and TV shows will give a close-up of the character's face when they are shooting. At that time, the character is motionless, which is to highlight the character's composure."

Only then did Jin Li know that one needs to hold their breath and focus when shooting to avoid body swaying caused by breathing. But holding one's breath for too long is also bad, as the muscles will also tremble.

After exercising all morning, the afternoon training had been specifically lowered in difficulty for Jin Li, focusing more on knowledge popularization, but Jin Li still felt a bit tired.

She shook her sore arms and sighed: "It's not easy to be a shooting athlete either!"

The trainer smiled: "That's right, the shooting suits worn by shooting athletes are very thick and heavy; they are shooting under pressure."

She changed the subject: "However, their shooting suits are also specially made, thick and supportive, which can disperse the weight-bearing pressure on the arms and reduce muscle tremors."

Mentioning shooting athletes, the trainer told Jin Li an interesting story.

"Let me tell you a metaphysical saying: long-distance shooting doesn't depend on eyesight, but more on 'gun feel.' This gun feel is an intuitive control over the weight, balance, and recoil of the firearm. You can also think of it as a sixth sense."

"Athletes' shooting in competitions is often the super-strong muscle memory formed through long-term training, ensuring the absolute stability of the actions of raising the gun, aiming, and firing."

"But even so, not everyone can achieve excellent results through day-and-night training; this depends on everyone's gun feel."

The trainer said regretfully: "When I was young, I played shooting and was one of the top five in the club. I participated in the provincial competition selection and once broke into third place, but unfortunately, I was defeated during the national selection. Only then did I know that there are people beyond people, and heavens beyond heavens."

Jin Li asked curiously: "Does shooting value gun feel, not eyesight?"

The trainer smiled: "How can it value eyesight? The bullseye is only 0.5 millimeters, and it cannot be distinguished by the naked eye from 10 meters away. It all depends on the athlete's gun feel to shoot, treating the entire target surface as the aiming area."

"In this case, maintaining super-strong psychological quality and absolute concentration is the only way to break into the finals. You might not know that some shooting athletes actually don't have very good eyesight; not everyone can have 1.5 vision."

"I was eliminated in the national competition before by contestants with 0.7 and 0.1 vision, and the contestant with 0.1 vision even won the championship. In shooting competitions, psychological stability and consistency of action are more critical."

A thoughtful look flashed across Jin Li's eyes.

Seeing her deep in thought, the trainer reminded her: "But this doesn't apply to you. You are filming, so you still need to aim carefully; you can't shoot by feeling."

Jin Li smiled: "I understand, so I'd better hurry up and practice muscle memory so that it looks decent when filmed."

The trainer said with satisfaction: "Right, that's the awareness you should have."

The trainer had trained Jin Li's physical fitness and thought highly of Jin Li's awareness.

While Jin Li was practicing shooting, Bai Jiang and Xu Ting also began training with long knives and sticks.

Their tasks were heavier than Jin Li's. Jin Li could still rest at night, but they trained from morning until night.

And these weapons were not as easy as firearms; there was a possibility of injury during training, not to mention during sparring.

So every time they sparred, they had to put on a layer of protection.

In the evening, Jin Li had already returned to the hotel to rest, but Bai Jiang and Xu Ting were still practicing.

The two practiced with different weapons; Bai Jiang practiced with a long knife, and Xu Ting practiced with a long stick.

Finally having a half-hour break, Xu Ting took the script to find Bai Jiang; they had previously agreed to discuss the script together.

Xu Ting felt that returning to the hotel late at night would definitely leave no time for discussion, so it was better to discuss it during the break.

As a result, when she found Bai Jiang, she discovered him holding a copy of "High School Mathematics Compulsory 1: Five Years of College Entrance Exams, Three Years of Simulation."

Xu Ting:???

Xu Ting couldn't help but speak up: "Bai Jiang, are you okay?"