Chapter 15

Agent Smith is an antivirus program in the Matrix world, able to call upon the 'files' of individuals who have not yet 'awakened'.

In the battle at the subway station, the one killed by the train was the possessed 'vagrant'.

So when Ni'er ran back to look at the exit stairs, Smith actually walked out of the train that had made an emergency stop.

A strong and unkillable enemy is truly suffocating!

At the same time, the ship in the real world was discovered by the 'Sentinel' squid robots, equally perilous.

Anyone with movie-watching experience knows that the final showdown has arrived, but it's unclear how Neo will escape danger and win handsomely.

On the big screen, Wu Yan Zu's Neo sprinted through the streets, snatched a passerby's phone, finally contacted the ship, and then obtained a phone location that could transmit.

Under the tense music and the villains' 'bullet rain', Neo ran and escaped in every way, barely making it to the indicated Room 303.

The moment the door opened, the big villain Smith was waiting with a gun, fired several shots, and Neo, died!

"What the hell, what's going on?!"

"Isn't he the male lead?"

"He definitely can't die!"

Inside and outside the screen, everyone was shocked by Neo's death.

"Impossible!"

Morpheus stared at Neo's flatlined electrocardiogram, eyes full of disbelief—this was the 'Savior' he had been seeking all along—how could he just die like that?

But the agents weren't careless; they checked Neo's condition and confirmed he was dead.

The audience was utterly shocked—how could he just die?

"He'll definitely come back to life!" some audience members murmured.

Trinity also firmly believed this; she confessed to Neo's corpse, saying the Oracle had once told her she would fall in love with someone, and that person was her beloved (the "Savior"). So you won't die, because I love you!

After experiencing Trinity's confession and kiss, Neo actually came back to life.

Unexpected, yet understandable.

In the Matrix world, every individual is a program, a file.

The Oracle's identity is mysterious, but she said that the person Trinity falls in love with is the Savior, which can be understood as granting Trinity the authority to recognize someone as the Savior.

When she loves Neo and proves it, Neo truly becomes the Savior!

Some attentive film critics also recalled the Oracle's words to Neo: 'Sorry, kid, you have talent, but it seems you're waiting for something!'

Combined with the current plot, it's clearly saying that Neo, when he went to see the Oracle, was still not the Savior!

And when Trinity loves Neo and confesses to him, he becomes that person (the Savior)!

This feeling is somewhat similar to Guanyin's words to Zhixunbao in *A Chinese Odyssey*: 'The reason you haven't become Sun Wukong bearing the world is that you haven't met the person who would give you three moles…'

The plot handling of these two films on this point clearly shows a wonderful coincidence.

Zhixunbao needs to get three moles in order to see his true form through the magic mirror.

And Neo truly becomes an immensely powerful Savior in the Matrix world!

Originally just being able to dodge bullets was already impressive, but at this moment, Smith and the three agents fired wildly at Neo, yet Neo merely raised his hand, causing the bullets with semi-transparent trails to hang in midair, and he casually caught one and tossed it to the ground.

Then, with a tilt of his head, all the bullets fell to the ground.

At this moment the music becomes uplifting, and on the ship's computer screen one can see vast streams of data code flowing.

In the Matrix world, what Neo sees is a world and people composed of green code.

"My God, this part is too cool!"

"He really is the Savior!"

"He must have obtained the highest system privileges in the Matrix world!"

"Can now uninstall the antivirus software!"

The audience excitedly discussed!

On the big screen, Neo also easily dealt with the frenzied Smith, blocking all attacks with just one hand.

Finally, he even drilled into Smith's body, causing him to explode into fragments made of green code, akin to a forceful deletion.

The other two agents, seeing this, exchanged a glance and immediately split up to flee.

Neo returned to the ship at the last moment, and Morpheus took out the sentinel squid robots that had rushed into the ship with an EMP (electromagnetic pulse).

At the end of the film, Neo, after finishing a call in a phone booth, put on sunglasses and shot up into the sky like Superman!

"Holy shit, that's too cool!"

"Wu Yan Zu is so cool!"

"This movie is awesome, will there be a sequel?"

"Definitely there will be!"

The lights came up in the theater, and the audience, still wanting more, discussed the plot.

Look, Jiang Wen, wearing sunglasses, isn't in a hurry to leave; he probably fears being recognized.

His wife naturally knew his thoughts, sat silently for a while but still couldn't help saying: "This film is shot so well, it has both the excitement of a commercial film and the depth of an artistic film!"

"It's not exactly an artistic film, but the movie's worldview structure is truly one-of-a-kind, one could say it's remarkably ahead of its time!"

Jiang Wen paused, thought a bit, then said: "Whether domestically or internationally, there is no film with the same worldview structure; this really impresses me!"

What he didn't know was that, in the original history, The Matrix was filmed from March to August 1998, released in March 1999, but the script had been written long before.

And in this world, the Wachowski brothers, as of the end of 1997, still had no idea what kind of film they would end up making.

A typical example is the slow-motion "bullet time"; this term appears at the end of The Matrix script, in the scene where Neo is attacked by agents in a skyscraper.

"The Matrix agents fire at Neo at close range, and Neo uses miraculous power to manipulate the incoming bullets."

However, in the August 1998 shooting script, the description of this passage could be a bit more detailed, but the Wachowski brothers at the time still didn't know what "cinematic language" to use to portray this scene.

That feeling is like the author having a brilliant inspiration and a decent outline, clearly knowing where the plot will go next, yet not knowing how to put pen to paper.

However, as *The Matrix* premiered successively in Neidi and Xianggang, Haolaiwu studios will soon notice that a sci-fi blockbuster with superb special effects has appeared here, clearing up some confusion while becoming even more perplexed.

Inside the theater, after Jiang Wen saw most of the audience leave, he exited the screening room with his wife and first called Jiang Heng to offer congratulations.

He is quite arrogant, but he still greatly admires talented people.

"Congratulations, Director Jiang! Your *The Matrix* is likely to usher in a new era for domestic blockbusters!"

In the Bona office, Jiang Heng, lounging in the boss's chair, had already taken so many calls his hand was sore.

On the day of the premiere, several Neidi filmmakers who had exchanged calls all phoned to congratulate. Those coming from Xianggang were also remarkably well-informed, all calling or sending text messages to offer congratulations.

Jiang Heng was weary from dealing with it, but it was a painful yet happy experience.

"Then thanks for your kind words!"

"I think your film will surely surpass *True Lies*; at the very least it will gross over a hundred million!"

Jiang Wen has a rather literary disposition and doesn't prioritize box office when filming.

It's clear that Jiang Heng's film blends art and commerce exceptionally well, and the box office is very likely to break records—I can't help mentioning this.

Jiang Heng feels the same way now: for Neidi box office, he doesn't need much—seventy or eighty million would suffice.

In Xianggang, thirty or forty million, plus Taiwan, Japan-Korea, Southeast Asia, Europe—the box office will certainly be quite impressive.

It's just that Beimei is more troublesome; Warner Bros. hasn't started production yet, but they've surely read the Wachowskis' script and are making preparations.

As a result, he discovered that the film he wanted to make—without knowing how it would turn out—had already been filmed by Chinese filmmakers, and even better than they had imagined; he suspected this would make people doubt life and question reality.

Of course, Jiang Heng doesn't care about these things; it would be best if the film could be released in Beimei, but if it can't, it's no big deal—he can just make a few more.

After chatting a bit with Jiang Wen, he finally hung up, put away his phone, was about to rest, when Li Meiqi pushed the door open.

With the film's release, Li Meiqi will surely become a first-rate actress; however, since she hadn't been allowed to take any roles beforehand, idle and with nothing to do, she volunteered to be Jiang Heng's assistant.

"Director Jiang, the film channel called, saying they'd like to invite you for an interview!"

Jiang Heng pressed his fingers to his temples and asked, "When?"

"They want to record this afternoon!"

"No, I have an appointment this afternoon with the Jingcheng production team of Phoenix TV's Chinese channel for an interview!"

Li Meiqi gasped, "How can Phoenix TV in Xianggang move so quickly?"

Jiang Heng laughed, "The media in Xianggang have always been swift!"

Li Meiqi wondered, "How come I didn't know about this?"

"They called me directly—right, after the film's release you'll be a big star, no need to keep doing assistant work!"

Li Meiqi smiled sweetly; although she had been shuttling between hotel and office these past days, she hadn't had contact with ordinary viewers.

From various feedback data and the reactions of people inside the company and building, she also knew she had become popular.

From now on she'll not only be able to get roles, but also earn a lot of money!

"Thank you, Director Jiang; without your nurturing, I'd still be a little model in Taiwan waiting to break out!" Li Meiqi bowed slightly.

Jiang Heng chuckled, "Don't say that; with your talent, you'd become famous even without me—it's just that the path would be rougher and slower."

Li Meiqi murmured, "Director Jiang, you've never known hardship, have you? You don't know how those twists and turns before success can crush a person."

Jiang Heng blinked, recalling his experiences in this life, and indeed he had never known hardship.

At his worst, he still owned a thousand-square-foot luxury flat in Causeway Bay, a Tiger-head Benz, and over a million yuan in his bank account.

Over a million—just thinking about it occasionally makes him a little anxious.

What if the film fails and the Super Microcomputer is gone too—what then!

Relying solely on rebirth isn't enough to get by easily!

"Fortunately, hardship has paid off—everything's turned out well!"

"Mm, I know, I'll work hard!" Li Meiqi nodded slightly and left the office.

Jiang Heng continued taking calls, and soon got a call from a heavyweight figure in the Chinese-language entertainment industry.

"Hello, I'm Han Sanping—congratulations, Director Jiang!"

"Oh, Mr. Han, hello, hello!"

Han Sanping blinked; he knew it was a Xianggang colloquial habit, but being addressed that way still felt a little unfamiliar to him.

"I've heard that nearly all theaters in Jingcheng are sold out, all going to see *The Matrix*—it's putting a lot of pressure on me!"

Jiang Heng laughed, "The audience is just curious—after all, Chinese-language cinema has never produced a sci-fi film, let alone a effects-heavy blockbuster!"

"Yeah, a sci-fi film with effects comparable to Haolaiwu's—this promotion alone makes me want to go see it!"

Jiang Heng kept pondering the purpose of Han Sanping's call, also knowing he couldn't afford to offend him.

He smiled and said, "Actually, I know *Party A and Party B* is a great comedy; after the film's release, I'll go show my support too!"

Han Sanping exclaimed delightedly, "Director Jiang, you really mean that?"

Jiang Heng said, "That's natural. Although I've always lived in Xianggang, my concern extends beyond Xianggang's film circle to the entire Chinese-language market. In recent years, Xianggang's film output has declined, the overall box office keeps shrinking, and countless companies have gone bankrupt—Hong Kong cinema can be said to have reached a very perilous state."

Han Sanping thought, "Your observation is spot on—what then?"

"The Neidi film market is also struggling; although the major studios haven't ceased production, many theaters lose money and close—there are plenty of them!"

Han Sanping agreed, "There's nothing to be done—good films are too few to draw audiences into theaters."

Jiang Heng said, "So I think Chinese-language cinema needs healthy competition, and even more, mutual support."

"How should we support each other?" Han Sanping said, becoming interested.

Jiang Heng laughed, "I have an interview this afternoon with Phoenix TV's Chinese channel, and I've booked the film channel for tomorrow. I can use the interview to recommend *Party A and Party B* to the audience!"

Han Sanping listened, stunned—he never expected Jiang Heng to have such magnanimity.

"Although *Party A and Party B* is smaller in scale and weaker in competition, it should still be able to snag a share of the box office!"

Jiang Heng actually doesn't mind at all—he wants to do publicity for his competitor.

Who would have thought Jiang Heng could come up with this, or that he was inspired by Cheng Long and Zhou Xingxing's mutual cameos in each other's films?

While giving an interview, he casually helped promote it with a couple of lines; it wouldn't drive away the audience that originally wanted to watch The Matrix, and it could earn a favor—why not do it!

But in Han Sanping's view, Jiang Heng's breadth and ambition are too great!

"Thank you, Director Jiang—just for that remark, I've decided to be your friend!"

Jiang Heng felt secretly pleased, smiling as he said: "Actually, I've long wanted to befriend Mr. Han; I just lacked the opportunity, but if the chance arises, we can still cooperate!"

Han Sanping's eyes lit up, and he quickly said: "I don't know, Director Jiang, are you interested in collaborating with Beijing Film Academy on your next film?"

Jiang Heng gave an embarrassed smile: "Of course, I'm interested—just haven't decided what exactly to shoot yet!"

Han Sanping hurriedly said: "No rush, no rush—we just need to take a break for a while!"

What he was really thinking was, we should wait until the film is about to be released, look at the box office results, and then decide the extent of cooperation!

Otherwise, if we agree here and the box office collapses in a few days, it'll be awkward.

(End of chapter)