[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans":3,"chapter-the-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-the-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-chapter-255":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The More Tragic I Act, the Stronger I Get — My Fans Beg Me to Stop Killing Off My Roles",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1297919,1723,"Chapter 255: Chen Mo’s First Appearance","the-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-chapter-255",255,"\u003Cp>Three days later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The film set moved to the \"Military Police Headquarters.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The exterior of the cold, gloomy interrogation room was dimly lit, the air thick with the pungent smell of prop blood mixed with dust.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The background actors found their own corners, adjusting their states, their faces wearing the numbness and fear appropriate for the scene.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Zhen stood in one corner, holding a leather whip, practicing his whip-cracking repeatedly against a wooden post.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Crack!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sharp sound of splitting air echoed through the oppressive film set.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He needed to recapture that \"rabid dog\" state from a few days ago after being publicly humiliated, but the more he forced it, the more it felt wrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That madness from the inside out wasn't something that could be easily replicated with a few movements.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He played the actuary \"Mr. Kobayashi,\" who had to report the results of an \"asset liquidation\" targeting a patriotic businessman to the Japanese army's intelligence chief, Major Takahashi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Director Hou Hsiao-hsien didn't give him any acting guidance, nor did he say anything about the required emotional tone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He just had someone give Chen Mo an old-fashioned abacus and a thread-bound ledger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The director's only sentence was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What I want is not a villain who is acting. I want a machine that treats human lives as numbers.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Mo took the abacus and the ledger,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>his fingertips lightly brushing over the cool beads of the abacus,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>feeling that unique texture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He slowly nodded toward the director's direction,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and when he lowered his eyelids again, that last trace of youthful inexperience belonging to the student Chen Mo\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>had been completely locked away deep within his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, he walked to his designated filming area.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All lighting was ready.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hou Hsiao-hsien sat back behind the monitor and picked up the walkie-talkie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Action!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the interrogation room set, the smell of blood hit them head-on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Various torture instruments hung on the walls, dark red prop blood on the floor not yet dry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A \"patriotic businessman\" tortured beyond human recognition lay limp on the torture rack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet, in the center of this chaos and gore, stood a clean office desk that felt jarringly out of place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Mo sat behind the desk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The buttons of his gray Zhongshan suit were fastened all the way to the top, his back ramrod straight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the desktop, the ledger lay open, the abacus placed at a distance from the edge of the desk so precise it seemed measured with a ruler.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watanabe, playing Major Takahashi, was roaring at the half-dead businessman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He paced agitatedly in the interrogation room, his military boots stepping on the sticky floor, making a grating, teeth-setting sound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Baka! It was supposed to be five hundred gold bars, why did we find less than one hundred! Where is the money!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watanabe's Chinese carried a deliberately stiff accent, every word dripping with brutality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Zhen, standing at his side, immediately got into character. Wang Dachui, the thug he played, cooperatively waved the whip in his hand, letting out a threatening shout.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Damn it, refusing a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit! Major Takahashi is asking you a question!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The entire interrogation room was filled with roars, threats, and the weak moans of the tortured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Zhen kicked the torture rack, the massive vibration causing the pen holder on the corner of Chen Mo's desk to shake, a fountain pen rolling out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The camera slowly pushed toward Chen Mo in the corner. He seemed deaf to everything around him,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>reaching out, picking up that fountain pen with two fingers, and placing it back in the pen holder,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>only then continuing to move the abacus beads. The previous chaos, to him, was merely brushing away an insignificant speck of dust.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His fingers moved swiftly across the abacus, making crisp, irritating \"clack-clack\" sounds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His fingers were slender, but the movements held no humanity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not a hint of hesitation or pause.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Clack!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Mo stopped his movements.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The last bead on the abacus returned to its position, the sound clearly audible in a gap between the roars.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He pushed up the black-framed glasses on the bridge of his nose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Major Takahashi.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He spoke, his flat, monotone voice devoid of any fluctuation, clean and crisp, easily cutting through the on-set noise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The target merchant, Zhou Fuyuan, has three fixed assets under his name, including one rice shop and two properties.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Based on yesterday's black market land prices in Shanghai, the forced liquidation loss rate is forty-two point seven percent. Liquid assets are estimated at two hundred gold bars, currently whereabouts unknown.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His report was clear, calm, devoid of any personal emotion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watanabe, playing Takahashi, turned around, interrupting him impatiently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don't want to hear that! I want to know where the remaining gold bars are!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Mo ignored his fury.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He continued in that flat tone used for reporting \"today's vegetable prices.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Direct execution would require one Type 38 rifle bullet, market price seven cents. Subsequent corpse disposal and site cleanup costs are estimated at one yuan and twenty cents.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The cost-effectiveness is too low.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He lifted his head, looking at Takahashi through his lenses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I have a suggestion.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The entire set's clamor paused eerily at this moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the roaring Watanabe instinctively looked at him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Zhou Fuyuan has one wife, two sons, and one daughter.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Mo stated a fact calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We can have him witness, every day, one of his loved ones undergoing interrogation.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"At that time, he will voluntarily hand over all hidden gold to ensure his family's survival. This is the most efficient method for obtaining maximum profit.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He finished speaking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The entire film set fell into a deathly silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The background actors who had been performing moments ago completely forgot their actions, staring dumbfounded at Chen Mo, real fear showing on their faces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fury on Major Takahashi's face froze. He stared at this young man who was always fiddling with the abacus in the corner,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>a sickly, kindred-spirit-like appreciation gradually surfacing in his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind the monitor, Hou Hsiao-hsien didn't call cut.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The camera remained locked on Chen Mo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Mo took out a disinfectant wipe wrapped in wax paper from his jacket pocket.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He unfolded it unhurriedly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wiping the ebony frame of the abacus meticulously, carefully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Cut!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hou Hsiao-hsien's voice finally exploded from the walkie-talkie, shattering that suffocating silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Mo put down the wipe, but he didn't immediately revert to his usual self.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead, he raised his head, his gaze passing over the stunned crowd, finding Jiang Ci standing in the shadows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci gave him an almost imperceptible, slight nod.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a signal from a \"superior,\" cold and approving.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then did the chill in Chen Mo's eyes recede, transforming back into that somewhat dull, ordinary student.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The demon from moments ago had never existed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the surrounding crew members, looking at him, all instinctively took a step back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This actor brought by Jiang Ci had revealed the other side hidden beneath his skin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Xiaoping, who had been observing from the sidelines, had stood up at some point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at Chen Mo, silently isolated at the center of the crowd, her already pale face was now frighteningly white.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her assistant beside her handed over a bottle of water, asking softly, \"Xiaoping-jie, are you okay?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Xiaoping didn't take the water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She looked in Chen Mo's direction, murmuring to herself, her voice so light it could scatter with a breeze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I used to think traitors were hateful-looking, with blue faces and fangs.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Now I realize...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The most terrifying traitor might be sitting right across from you, quietly, helping you check the ledger.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1278,"2026-06-05T18:00:08.557Z",1,"novelbin.me","76c3ea77ed8d22f2391118c83a24ef2b23787ea593b2be2670407dcc50b512f7","the-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-chapter-256","the-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-chapter-254",366,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-cover.jpg"]