Superstars of Tomorrow

Watching Fang Zhao’s speed of ascent before taking a look at those other police officers in the screen, Eric thought to himself, I didn’t realize they were that slow normally!

Too little training indeed!

At this moment, a police officer on the roof deck made a report to Eric. "Our deployment at the bow of the ship was complete, but the suspect suddenly changed his direction and is headed to the side!"

"Why is he running over there?" Eric queried.

"I remember that there is an SVIP area on the 17th floor. The balcony there doesn’t have any surveillance," Fang Zhao replied in the same comms channel.

Hearing this, Eric understood what Fang Zhao meant right away.

"There is indeed a royal high-end suit on the 17th floor with private balconies. Does that person intend to jump from the roof to the 17th floor?"

The whole SVIP area on the 17th floor did not have any surveillance monitors, nor were there any police officers there. Most importantly, the statuses of the people staying there were even more special, and they were more particular about privacy. Normally, they would simply not allow the police access to search and investigate that area.

Was the suspect’s intention to once again evade the surveillance and then change into a new disguise?

Fang Zhao’s conjecture really made sense. Eric also agreed with it.

"We can’t let him go down! Who is the nearest to the place?" Eric asked.

"The men from T squad... and Fang Zhao," another police officer replied.

At this moment, the suspect, who had already arrived at the side of the ship, jumped decisively without so much as a hint of hesitation. No random person would have the guts to jump from such a height at this sort of place. It was obvious that he had made preparations beforehand and probably had equipment on him.

However, the members of T squad, who were in pursuit, were not as adequately prepared, and they did not have any equipment for descending. The distance between the roof deck and the 17th floor was only three stories, but dropping down straight was dangerous if one wasn’t careful. Whether it was falling into the ocean or landing on the decks of another floor, there was a risk of suffering fatal injuries. At least, according to past statistical data from accidents.

T squad slowed down and waited for equipment to be delivered to them before jumping off and descending. On the other hand, Fang Zhao, who had appeared at almost the same time as T squad, did not pause at all.

The few people watching the situation unfold through the surveillance system were once more startled.

"Is he going to..."

"Jump into the ocean!"

"Fang Zhao, don’t be impulsive! The suspect dared to jump because he came prepared. Don’t think that the plaything in your hands can ensure your safety! Dropping into the ocean at this time is not amusing at all!" Eric exclaimed. He was extremely anxious when he saw Fang Zhao’s position.

Yet as Eric was spewing out these words, Fang Zhao had already leaped off the deck and was falling.

"Save him!" Eric howled.

————

Inside a special high-grade custom-made suite on the 17th floor.

The preinstalled phone in the room was ringing constantly, as if it wouldn’t stop till its purpose had been accomplished.

Roman’s eyebrows knitted as he frowned. He didn’t want to break his train of thoughts to answer the phone.

Following that, his personal comms device also rang. If the call was from close family members or friends, the notification tone would have been different. Thus, the incoming call was from an unknown number.

Since he did not know the caller, there was no need to take notice of it.

Now was probably around the time when the auction was starting. Perhaps some person had managed to get his contact information through certain means and was harassing him with the continuous calls.

Under normal circumstances, perhaps Roman might have answered, but right now, his inspiration was overflowing and his train of thought was in a superb state, just like painters not wishing to take a break while they were still painting and composers not liking being disturbed when composing. This was totally trying to start a feud!

What a bother!

Roman scratched his head agitatedly. His somewhat disheveled hair became even messier.

He took large strides over to shut off the room’s preinstalled phone and set his own communications device to silent mode. After that, he hurriedly returned to the screen and continued his deep musings.

Roman’s eyes were bloodshot from staring at the screens for so long. He still had the same expression of unparalleled concentration as he studied every subtle expression of the characters displayed on the screen.

He watched the audition videos of a few actors and compared them to some historical video resources and felt that there still was something missing. Thinking about it more, he brought up videos of Fang Zhao again.

He kept studying videos of Fang Zhao. Those from his military service and those from normal entertainment media reports. Every time he studied these videos, he gained something new.

"This expression, so good. It’s 30% cultured, 70% unyielding. That’s more like it!"

"This is very good too. Composed enough, incisive, and steady!"

"Crossing swords in the fires of war tempers a person indeed..."

With his bloodshot eyes, Director Roman was like a crazed maniac chanting an incantation as he mumbled to himself. He had been tired, but he had gained a second wind and was stimulated. Even the ocean breeze flowing through the window was unable to calm him down.

Watching video after video in succession and analyzing them carefully, Roman discovered that Fang Zhao was simply just like the Fang Zhao from all those historical video resources!

Not in terms of his physical appearance, but this was what Roman felt when looking at Fang Zhao’s expressions.

But if he was more stringent, they weren’t exactly the same.

Comparing the two, the Fang Zhao from the historical video resources had a much more frightening aura emanating from him. His imposing manner was even more terrifying. The sort of fire and blood vibe that seemingly was capable of transcending the screen was not something actors could easily replicate.

The historical video resources that had been preserved were limited, and Roman did not know the true nature of the historical Fang Zhao. All he could do was use these resources as a foundation before gradually carving the image of this historical figure into his mind.

Having gone through numerous resources, especially precious videos preserved from the Period of Destruction, Roman already had a vague idea of the image of this Fang Zhao. When he saw these videos and photographs before him, it once more helped make the image in Roman’s mind clearer.

When audiences spoke about a certain role, they would always associate it with the actor who played the role. However, an actor was the direct transmission of a director’s thoughts.

When "Founding Era" started filming, what the actors acted out would be what Nova Roman envisioned.

Perhaps it might be different from the actual historical figure, but at least this role would be Nova Roman’s own version modeled according to historical resources!

And Fang Zhao was indeed a good template and an important reference.

Roman sighed with regret. "What a pity!"

If Fang Zhao was an actor with many years of experience, Roman would have contacted him for an audition. Unfortunately, he was an industry outsider.

"But his expressions are still really good, and his mannerisms are decent too. He has reference value. I’ll just buy some video copyrights when the time comes."

Mumbling to himself, Roman took a little step forward and leaned closer toward the screen. He looked at Fang Zhao’s photograph displayed on the left side of the screen, then observed the screenshot taken of Fang Zhao from one of the historical videos.

"There is just a little something lacking in that imposing manner."

Roman wouldn’t insist on that frightening aura. That had been honed by the martyr Fang Zhao for decades from close to a century of fighting for survival in a fiery hell, whereas the Fang Zhao on the screen in front had grown up and lived in the peaceful New Era. Even the most top-notch actor might not necessarily be able to act this out, and there was no need for placing such high demands on Fang Zhao.

You win some, you lose some.

"How rare it is to find such a good template. I have to study this more, and when I’m explaining to the actors how to act, I can show them these videos."

Roman enlarged the photograph of Fang Zhao.

"I still feel like there is a little something lacking..."

"Right, too young!"

"Some wrinkles should be added, and the scars. The face needs some fine tuning to raise his domineering look!"

Roman extended his hand, preparing to use some software to age the person in the photograph and add on scars and others details to make the photograph closer to the image he had in his mind, but he suddenly heard activity coming from the balcony. Turning his head over, he saw a figure tumble onto the balcony and rush over to the interior.

A stranger using this sort of method to intrude into this sort of place at this sort of time could only be described as "not a good person"!

Alarm bells were already ringing in Roman’s head. However, before he could react, another figure descended from the top and tumbled onto the balcony. At the same time, a snake-like whip flashed across.

The suspect that had successfully landed on the balcony of this suite on the 17th floor was about to silence the person in the room and prevent said person from calling for help or making a police report, but just before he could do so, he felt his legs be looped and pulled under him as he crashed into the floorboards with a loud bang. Immediately afterward, his entire body was bound up like a dumpling.

The suspect was in a daze at the sudden mishap that had occurred in the blink of an eye. Glancing at the rope binding him, the cartoon illustrations on it appeared to be sneering at him.

He thrashed about a few times trying to break free, then stopped moving.

With the cold muzzle of a gun pressed to the back of his head, who would dare move?!

Once Fang Zhao had subdued the suspect, he intended to explain to the guest in the room to prevent any misunderstandings arising. As he looked up at the person in the room and clearly saw the situation in the room, he was rooted for two seconds before saying, "Handling a police case. Please do not panic."

As he said that, Fang Zhao brought up the electronic warrant that Eric had sent him, proving that he was assisting the police with this case.

The suspect, who was wrapped up like a dumpling, did not dare make any large movements. All he could do was carefully twist his neck and rotate his eyebrows to analyze the surrounding conditions and seek a chance to escape.

Sneaking a peak at the person behind him who was pointing a gun at his head, the suspect cursed silently. Where did the police get this sort of godly person? Even his landing after that jump was much smoother than mine!

With this intuition and skill, you could work at any of the 12 large Cemetery of Martyrs. If you have the time, why not go deal with terrorists or head to foreign planets to fight for merit? What reason do you have to stay on a cruise ship as a small cop! Why did you have to f*cking take note of me?!

The suspect carefully turned his neck again and looked toward the front. When he saw the situation in the room, he froze too.

Inside the room, the walls were adorned with many mounted screens. There were videos, screenshots, and photographs on every screen. There were different backdrops: jungles, cities, streets, stages, and so on. The person in the photos had different outfits. Some were military uniforms, while others were suited for events. Some of these images were full-length shots, while some were feature close-ups...

There were all the same person!

And they were exactly the same as the person behind him!

But he kept feeling that he had seen this person somewhere. The more he looked at it, the more familiar the person seemed.

After that, as if the suspect had thought of something, his eyes widened and he wished that his neck could just snap right now.

The wretched old fella in the room with an unkempt appearance and stubbly face, with his hand still on a photograph, seemed like the globally acclaimed director that had been a recent hot topic on the internet.

Furthermore, thinking about how famous, rich, and powerful people like him led their secret private lives, he felt his brain going through countless possibilities in a flash before he finally comprehended.

Unwritten. Rules!

The suspect that assumed he had discovered the truth wailed over his misfortune in his heart. Seems like I have just witnessed a transaction that can never ever see the light of day! Am I going to be silenced for good?

As for Nova Roman, who was standing in the room, he was also stupefied by the chain of unforeseen events. He had not expected that there would be people landing on the balcony of his suite in the SVIP area!

When he saw the way the dumpling-like person lying on the floor was staring at him, Roman was even more displeased.

Why do you have to stare at me like you I’m an old pervert?!