Chapter 290

The film then entered a dual‑main‑line mode, with Wang Miao's side contacting the "Science Boundary" organization, and then came the experience of playing the Three Body game.

Immediately afterward, the famous scene "Three Body people dehydrating" appeared.

Then a flower‑age girl stepped out of the shadow of a boulder, and under the scorching of two "suns", she slowly lay down on the parched land.

Skin that had been supple enough to be blown apart instantly wind‑dried, the body turned into a sack of skin, and slowly collapsed.

For the 2007 film market, a living person dehydrating and wind‑drying in the blink of an eye delivered a shock no less than that felt when first seeing the liquid‑metal robot in Terminator.

Everyone in the venue stared wide‑mouthed, gasping in low voices.

Jiang Wen was more straightforward, blurting out "Holy shit", "Damn, this is awesome!"

Then, upon reaching "Zhaoge City", countless dehydrated Three‑Body people were tossed into the pool like trash bags, the scene of them soaking back to life likewise drew loud "awesome" cries from the audience.

Before they could react further, the sun in the sky suddenly set, a cold wave hit instantly, and the fleeing Three‑Body people were first frozen into ice sculptures, then shattered by the wind into fragments all over the ground.

Successive shocking scenes had the audience shouting in exhilaration.

Liu Cixin was overjoyed, feeling this was exactly the scene he had written.

Director Jiang is Director Jiang; no one in the country, or even the world, could have shot it better!

One can say this set of special‑effects shots instantly won over the audience, and many boys who had paid a high price for premiere tickets told the girls beside them, "Was this money well spent? I told you Director Jiang wouldn't disappoint us!"

The girls were also excited and thrilled, nodding eagerly, "Director Jiang is so awesome!"

In fact, looking back more than ten years later, this special‑effects visual is not as shocking.

But any evaluation of something must consider the era in which it exists.

Take Jurassic Park, which burst onto the scene in '93 and grossed $9.12 billion worldwide; viewed twenty years later, it's just so‑so.

But in '93 it truly astonished everyone, driving countless people crazy.

Wang Miao's side focuses on the drama, investigating the reasons many scientists committed suicide.

Shi Qiang's side is pure action.

Because he is investigating the ETO, the Three‑Body Advent organization, he constantly faces gunfights, car chases, and explosions.

Speaking of Jiang Wen, he indeed suffered a lot during filming, but the final result was still good.

In fact, Jiang Heng once considered replacing the actor with Korean action star Ma Dong‑seok to play Shi Qiang.

He resembles Jiang Wen somewhat in appearance, but is more muscular and his fight scenes are more impressive.

However, the film was already half‑shot, so changing actors would be unsuitable, and he dropped the idea.

As the plot unfolded, the two gradually uncovered the truth behind a series of events.

It turned out that after Ye Wenjie sent a signal to the Three‑Body world, the Three‑Body world dispatched a "proton" to reach Earth, and by interfering with scientific experiments it caused many physicists to commit suicide.

The theoretical physicist Yang Dong, played by Wan Qian, left a suicide note saying: "Physics has never existed and never will."

Their suicide stemmed from a collapse of faith, because particle‑collision experiments repeatedly failed, the foundation of physics research vanished, leaving them lost.

The ultimate culprit behind all this was the astrophysicist whom Wang Miao greatly respected—Ye Wenjie.

Zhang Jingchu's elderly makeup was well done, very natural; looking at her, she seemed truly aged, and her recent performances were like those of an ordinary old scholar.

But her true identity was the cult leader of those fanatical believers, the spiritual head of the Earth‑Three‑Body Organization.

Ye Wenjie arrived at the meeting as commander, immediately executed a member named Pan Han, then led the group in reviewing the organization's history.

At that moment, Shi Qiang and the military arrived together, engaging in a fierce gunfight with the Three‑Body Organization members, and ultimately captured several people including Ye Wenjie.

The truth of the matter was now fully revealed.

The military learned that the Three‑Body world truly exists, and that all the information exchanged between ETO and the Three‑Body world had been completely stored on the "Judgment Day".

How to obtain this key information intact became the protagonists' ultimate goal.

One expert after another proposed various plans, only to have each one rejected.

When everyone was at a loss, the ever‑nonchalant Shi Qiang suddenly suggested: "Erect two pillars on the banks of the canal, stretch many of the 'flying blade' nanomaterial produced by Professor Wang's team between them, spaced about half a meter apart…"

Hearing this, everyone was first shocked, thinking it impossible; but after discussion they realized it was actually a very perfect plan.

The final plan was approved, operation codename "Guzheng Action".

In the film's finale, the mighty "Judgment Day", under the effect of the "guzheng", dispersed into over forty sheets each half a meter thick; the sheets looked as soft as cloth, quickly deformed, and formed a pile of complex shapes.

Evans, inside the command center of the "Judgment Day", was sliced into three sections by the "flying blade"; his topmost part crawled forward more than a meter, and at death his eyes stared in the direction he had been crawling.

In a computer facing that direction, all the Three‑Body information intercepted by the Advent faction was stored.

The special‑effects scene of the "Guzheng Action" could only be described as explosive for the 2007 audience.

Jiang Heng also put real heart into this plot; if calculated, it belongs to the category of severe budget overruns.

At the story's end, General Chang Weisi told the assembled meeting: "Comrades, please note that our conference may now be under the surveillance of the sophon; henceforth, no secret will remain."

And just three seconds after Chang Weisi finished speaking, humanity outside the Three‑Body world and the Earth rebels made first contact.

"You are bugs!"

These characters appeared before everyone's eyes.

Then, in distant space, a huge, shocking, technologically laden Three‑Body fleet was sailing toward Earth, full of oppressive pressure.

Just as the audience unconsciously wondered what weapons humanity could use to resist them, the film ended.

"Whoosh!"

Countless people involuntarily exhaled, for the film had given them too much shock, thought, and oppression.

When the lights came up, the audience again applauded warmly to express their excitement.

"Congratulations, Director Jiang, you've made another classic!" Feng Xiaogang was the first to rise and shake hands.

"Thank you!"

Jiang Wen also stood up beside him and said, "I have to admit, in the sci‑fi field you are absolutely the best director!"

Director Jiang laughed and said, "As long as it's commercial cinema, I'm the best!"

"Hahaha, why not one day make an art film?" Jiang Wen joked.

Jiang Heng smiled and said: "Sure, I have time to think it over!"

To be honest, after making too many commercial films, there's also a hint of weariness.

He actually wants to make a film similar to Parasite, but he's afraid it won't pass censorship easily!

(End of chapter)