Chapter 19: The Poorest Film Crew in History!

The last streak of twilight faded from the horizon, and darkness slowly engulfed the earth.

Yanjing City remained noisy.

But along a roadside unnoticed by anyone.

Several young men, gathered in small groups, clutched their hopes and followed Zhou Yang toward the set of *Sun Wukong vs. Superman 2*.

No one was willing to be shamefully kicked out without cause.

So deep inside, everyone held their breath, longing to prove their worth at this new set.

Of course…

They knew very well that this so-called *Sun Wukong vs. Superman 2* set was poor.

He had even prepared himself mentally for a long stretch of hardship ahead.

But…

When they finally followed Zhou Yang to the rented apartment and saw the few beds inside, all their passion and resentment felt like a bucket of ice water drenched over them.

This set had become shockingly destitute!

Professional cameras?

None!

Not even unprofessional ones!

Audio equipment, microphones, filters?

None!

Except for a loudspeaker, common on any street corner, like one used by vendors selling cabbage…

Professional lighting props?

None!

Monitors, tracks, lenses…

None!

Not a single damn thing!

…………

Night fell.

A breeze blew through the alley entrance.

The unlucky rejects from the *Love Ferris Wheel* set now sat huddled in the cramped apartment, staring blankly at each other.

“Zhou Zong, you… you’re not telling me this is our set!”

Silence.

After a long silence, prop master Liu Fang swallowed hard, looked around the apartment with barely any chairs, and fixed Zhou Yang with a final glimmer of hope.

He prayed this was a joke.

After he spoke, everyone else instinctively turned to Zhou Yang, sitting calmly on the chair.

“Strictly speaking, this is just a small branch of our set—a temporary resting area.”

They saw Zhou Yang nod calmly.

Zhou Yang’s words gave everyone a slight jolt; then someone cleared his throat: “Zhou Zong, we’re sorry, but may we ask—do we really make movies?”

“We’re making a real movie!” Zhou Yang nodded.

The rented apartment fell silent again.

Liu Fang opened his mouth but found his vocal cords had been ripped away—he couldn’t make a sound.

Zhou Yang stood up silently, smiling at each of them.

In the dim light, each person seemed to glow faintly…

Director Shen Long crouched nearby, embarrassedly lowering his head—his face wasn’t thick enough.

Chen Jianfeng was slightly better, his expression stern.

Cinematographer Zhang Yunyi was dazed, constantly scanning the surroundings, his scalp slowly prickling.

This set…

How could it look like this?

“Everyone, from now on, you are all part of this set.”

“Today, we’ve gathered to plan the next fifteen days of filming!”

“… ”

Under the dim light, Zhou Yang glanced at those present and finally broke the long silence.

Cinematographer Zhang Yunyi’s eyes widened: “Zhou Zong, what do you mean by ‘next fifteen days’?”

“Director Shen previously planned our film: *Sun Wukong vs. Superman 2* was meant to take thirty days. But I thought that was too long—I’ve compressed it to fifteen days…”

Zhang Yunyi watched as Zhou Yang pulled a plan from the nearby table, glanced at it briefly, then fixed him with a stare.

“What! Fifteen days? To shoot a movie? I…” Zhang Yunyi jolted upright, eyes bulging as if seeing a ghost.

“Yes, fifteen days. So time is tight, the task is heavy—we must release it before *Superman 2* hits theaters!”

The rented apartment fell silent again.

Everyone except Shen Long and Chen Jianfeng had their worldviews shattered.

Fifteen days!

What the hell does shooting a movie in fifteen days even mean?

In all of entertainment history—not even the entire industry—no such movie had ever been made.

Even during the 90s, when Hong Kong cinema peaked in output, top directors still took nearly thirty days to finish a film!

And what is Zhou Zong saying?

Did they hear right?

Fifteen days!

Damn it!

He said fifteen days!

What trash movie could they shoot in fifteen days?

“There was no road in this world—until enough people walked it, it became one.”

“B-but, we… we…”

Zhang Yunyi stammered, face twisted in despair: “We have nothing—how can we possibly shoot a movie in fifteen days…?”

“No, we have everything!”

Zhou Yang suddenly locked eyes with Zhang Yunyi.

Zhang Yunyi shuddered.

Meeting Zhou Yang’s gaze, he felt as if his clothes had been stripped off by those eyes.

A tense atmosphere suddenly filled the air.

It was chilling.

He instinctively plopped back onto the chair.

“Zhang, I recall you told me this afternoon you had some camera gear in your dorm, right?”

Zhang Yunyi perked up and nodded instinctively.

Then, seeing Zhou Yang smiling at him: “Wasting it would be a shame—why not bring it tomorrow?”

Zhang Yunyi’s head buzzed.

Then Zhou Yang turned his gaze to prop master Liu Fang. Facing Zhou Yang’s piercing stare, Liu Fang involuntarily stepped back: “Liu, I remember you said you made a lot of fake blood and simple foam props for your graduation project—correct?”

“T-those, those…”

“Why not bring them tomorrow too?”

Prop master Liu Fang opened his mouth.

Then, his vocal cords vanished again…

He couldn’t speak.

He held his breath for a long time, finally managing a sound—then saw Zhou Yang glance at his resume, smile, and speak again: “By the way, I saw your resume—you also made small special effects props for tokusatsu films, right?”

Liu Fang nodded.

“Bring them too?”

“… ”

Then Zhou Yang turned his smiling gaze to lighting technician Deng Caiyan.

Deng Caiyan shuddered and quickly shook her head: “Zhou Zong, I have nothing—I’m just a poor student, I don’t have any lighting gear…”

“It’s fine—I’m not asking about that. I mean, you do makeup as a side job, and you’re good at it, right?”

“Yes…”

“Good! Our film needs makeup…”

“… ”

Zhou Yang nodded, finally turning his gaze to Shen Long.

Shen Long shrank back, suddenly tense: “Zhou Zong, you know me—I’ve given you everything except my chastity and soul…”

Zhou Yang smiled and shook his head: “I know. I just want to ask—what’s still missing?”

“Where’s our shooting location? And the martial arts director? And we still need professional camera gear.”

“I’ll handle it immediately.”

“The costumes…”

“Don’t worry about the costumes—I’ll have them ready for you tomorrow.”

“Our lunch, all three meals a day…”

“I’ll take care of it tomorrow.”

“There are still some tool issues…”

“I’ll take care of it tomorrow.”

“What about the salary…”

“We’ll get the same pay as ‘Love Ferris Wheel.’ Beyond that, everyone here today—after this film releases, all income will be shared with you. You’re all shareholders of this movie…”

“…”

After Zhou Yang finished speaking, everyone exchanged uneasy glances.

The cinematographer looked around, then his heart gave a sharp jolt.

At this moment, he could no longer bear to look at this ridiculous, broke film crew.

This wasn’t filming a movie—it was pure bullshit!

He exchanged a glance with the prop master Liu Fang; both saw a clear hint of escape in each other’s eyes.

Just as he cleared his throat, about to speak…

He saw Zhou Yang stand up and look at everyone.

A moment later…

He smiled.

“Everyone thinks our movie is a joke…”

“Along the way, I’ve heard plenty of jokes too…”

“But…”

“Those who keep working seriously, striving to shine, to be extraordinary—deserve no mockery, and shouldn’t fear it.”

“…”

In the dim light, he spoke these words calmly.

After speaking, he pulled out his phone and checked the time.

Then his gaze turned to the window.

“It’s about time!”

As soon as he finished speaking, he quietly stepped out of the rented room and opened the door.

A bright, blinding light poured in from outside, engulfing Zhou Yang’s body.

Then…

Zhou Yang’s phone rang.

He answered the call.

“Zhou Yang, the props you needed—I’ve sent them over. Lights, cameras—check them. Also, I brought a few people with me. They just left ‘Love Ferris Wheel.’ I’m introducing them to your crew…”

“…”

Liu Fang and Zhang Yunyi froze.

In the phone, they heard the voice of An Xiaoshi, Director An.

Then…

They looked toward the distance.

In the distance, the car drew closer.

It stopped at the alley entrance.

Soon after, the car’s headlights dimmed and went out.

Under the dim streetlamp…

Not long after, several young people carried in a set of brand-new filming equipment.

Zhou Yang looked toward that direction, then at everyone in the room.

A moment later, he smiled.

“I said we had everything we needed.”

“Director Shen!”

“Tonight, inventory the filming gear…”

“Tomorrow…”

“Boxed meals, costumes, tools, props, action choreography…”

“Whatever our crew is missing—I’ll get it all sorted tomorrow!”

“…”

At that moment, Zhou Yang’s phone rang again.

Zhou Yang stepped out of the room.

The call was still from An Xiaoshi.

“What else do you need?”

“We need an Audi A6… lend me it for one day tomorrow…”

“???”

On the phone, Zhou Yang chuckled.