[{"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-259":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},1297923,1723,"Chapter 259: That ruthlessness is just like it!","the-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-chapter-259",259,"\u003Cp>Hanging up the phone, Jiang Ci clutched his mobile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He turned and walked back into the film set.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crew of \"The Lurker\" was racing to film a night scene.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a scene where Shen Qingyuan's identity comes under suspicion, and he is \"tested\" with torture by Major Takahashi in an interrogation room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hou Hsiao-hsien's film set was so quiet you could hear your own heartbeat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The makeup artist was applying the final touches to Jiang Ci's injury effects.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Intricate whip marks crisscrossed his chest and back,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>with special materials creating the visual effect of torn, flayed skin at several key points.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The makeup artist unscrewed a spray bottle, spritzing a mixture of glycerin \"sweat\" onto his forehead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci sat motionless in the chair, eyes closed, his breathing long and steady.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the entrance to the set, a slight commotion broke the silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Producer Zhang Wang, hunched over with an almost fawning smile on his face, led a group of people inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man at the front was around sixty, with a lean build, yet his posture was ramrod straight like a pine tree.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had a square face, his brow and eyes bearing the righteous aura accumulated over years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was Yan Zheng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind him followed two young assistants carrying briefcases, their expressions respectful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hou Hsiao-hsien sat behind the monitor, not even lifting an eyelid, his pupils focused solely on the light and shadow on the screen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Wang didn't dare disturb him, only guiding the visitors to a spot a few steps behind Hou Hsiao-hsien.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Teacher Yan, look, that's Jiang Ci,\" he whispered, pointing towards the figure in the light and shadow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yan Zheng followed his pointing finger, his gaze sweeping over that figure. The polite smile that had been on his lips immediately tightened into a thin line.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had reviewed the materials before coming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The \"Bad Ending Aesthetics Master\" from the trending list, the \"funny guy\" waving a water gun in variety shows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These frivolous labels were utterly incompatible with the weight of the hero in his heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could this young man truly bear that name?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hou Hsiao-hsien finally looked up from behind the monitor, casting a glance at Yan Zheng as a form of greeting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, he picked up the walkie-talkie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"All departments, get ready.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Action!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The already tense air in the interrogation room was instantly sucked dry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A glaring spotlight shone directly on Jiang Ci's face, illuminating the subtle twitches on his cheek.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watanabe, playing Major Takahashi, wore a cruel smile reminiscent of a cat toying with a mouse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He paced over to the brazier, using tongs to pick up a branding iron glowing red-hot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sparks danced on the iron, the heat waves causing the air in front of the lens to shimmer slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mr. Shen, my patience has its limits.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watanabe's Mandarin was deliberately stiff, adding to the brutality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Tell me, who is 'Abyss'?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci, tied to the interrogation chair, struggled to lift his head,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>his sweat-soaked black hair plastered to his pale temples.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn't answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Takahashi walked over slowly, bringing that branding iron closer, bit by bit, towards his chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the iron neared, the muscles in Jiang Ci's body began to twitch uncontrollably,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the tendons on his neck standing out starkly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stared fixedly at the iron, getting closer and closer, hot enough to sear through flesh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was calculating the physiological price he needed to pay to buy the other party's psychological trust.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind the monitor, Yan Zheng's previously casual stance vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He instinctively took half a step forward, his eyes fixed on the close-up of Jiang Ci on the screen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sizzle—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The branding iron pressed against his chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Smoke controlled by the props team billowed up, accompanied by the horrifying sound effect of scorching.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci's body instantly arched like a bow, a muffled groan, suppressed and distorted, forced its way from deep in his throat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The intense pain caused his muscles to spasm violently, cold sweat soaking through his back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that was only a momentary physiological reaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next second.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A mocking smile stretched across that face, twisted by agony.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He lifted his head, looking directly into Major Takahashi's stunned face, and whispered in clear, deliberate Japanese, word by word.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Major, the heat...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"is too much.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watanabe's movements froze. Looking at this young man's reaction, a chill shot up his spine to the top of his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the monitor screen, that face twisted in agony yet smiling,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>gradually blurred in Yan Zheng's eyes, overlapping with another, completely different face from the depths of his memory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Twenty years ago, in a drug lord's lair in the Golden Triangle, over a dozen guns were aimed at one man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That undercover police officer, codenamed \"Bedrock,\" after a cigarette butt burned a blackened hole in his forearm, had smiled just like that and said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Boss, your cigarette... lacks punch.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The faces were different, the eras were different.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that same ruthlessness, treating oneself as a tool to be discarded at any moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That same absolute determination seeping from the very marrow of one's bones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a direct inheritance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Cut!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hou Hsiao-hsien's voice shattered the suffocating atmosphere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It's a wrap.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tension on set, stretched to its limit, finally snapped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Staff immediately stepped forward, untying Jiang Ci and offering him water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci didn't take it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stood up from the chair, his body staggering slightly. Someone nearby moved to support him, but he waved them off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The costume designer brought over a large military overcoat, draping it over his shoulders, covering those terrifying \"wounds.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci shook his head, as if trying to shake off the pain belonging to Shen Qingyuan that still clung to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He regained the quiet composure belonging to the actor Jiang Ci, draped in the military overcoat,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and walked straight through the crowd, carrying the bloodstains and the chill of the interrogation room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone's gaze followed him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He walked towards the group of people behind Hou Hsiao-hsien.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stopped in front of Yan Zheng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind Yan Zheng, the younger assistant instinctively held his breath,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>his gaze glued to those patches of flayed skin, unable to look away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other one seemed pushed by an invisible wall, taking a weak, half-step back on unsteady feet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci ignored them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked at Yan Zheng, at that face full of righteous dignity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Teacher Yan?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked at the other man calmly, his voice slightly hoarse from the performance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My mother is easily frightened. Don't go scaring her in the future.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If you have something to say, say it to me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Producer Zhang Wang's smile froze on his face, the on-set atmosphere plunging to an icy awkwardness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yan Zheng, however, waved his hand, signaling the people around him to step back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wasn't angered by Jiang Ci's bluntness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead, he examined the young man before him with an almost scrutinizing gaze, taking in every detail.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a long while.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A smile slowly spread across Yan Zheng's face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Alike.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Goddamn alike.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Not the looks.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It's this kind of drive, this willingness to do anything to protect what you care about. That's what's alike.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci didn't speak, a flicker of wariness passing through his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yan Zheng also stopped beating around the bush, getting straight to the point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The country is making a film about 'Operation Thunderbolt.'\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"As a tribute film for Police Establishment Day.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Operation Thunderbolt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These four words pierced through Jiang Ci's heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The codename Lin Wan had mentioned on the phone was now spoken from the mouth of someone completely unexpected,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>in an utterly solemn manner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had acted in so many tragedies of others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, the greatest tragedy of his own life was to be put on the silver screen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Jiang Ci's immediate shift into a somber state,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yan Zheng continued, \"A project jointly produced by over a dozen units, directly supervised by the Film Bureau.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You understand its weight.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ci's breath hitched for a moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course he understood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The highest level of resources, the strictest scrutiny, and the most authoritative official significance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yan Zheng looked directly at Jiang Ci, at that face that appeared even paler against the backdrop of bloodstains and wounds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Word by word, he dropped a true bombshell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I am the screenwriter for this film.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I want to invite you to play your father.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1391,"2026-06-05T18:00:08.557Z",1,"novelbin.me","54473c1ba1c049bb9c378d1ce3d2b8c60bc83fc0fca40393a1b7b7bbdeb914d0","the-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-chapter-260","the-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-chapter-258",366,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-more-tragic-i-act-the-stronger-i-get-my-fans-cover.jpg"]