Fallen Chronicles

Chapter 354 Chapter 354: The Good and Bad of the Scene Only Becomes Clear After Filming

*Click!*

"Stop for now! This part is crucial!"

After Director Merlon called for a stop, he quickly walked up to Renji, who was about to go on stage and had already finished his "makeup," wearing the custom-made Ashen Cloak by "Sin City Media."

The upcoming scene would be the first encounter between the Succubus Princess and Ashen in the entire series, highlighting the importance of this shot.

A script-reading style performance was not what Merlon wanted. He had become a well-known director in Sin City due to his pursuit of art and his meticulous crafting of films.

Director Merlon hoped that the characters in his works would be lifelike and realistic.

So now, he personally went on stage to guide Renji, helping him better understand and get into the role of Ashen.

"Come on, Dr. Renji, close your eyes and breathe deeply with me. You must remind yourself that when you open your eyes, you are no longer Renji, but have become Emperor Ashen."

"Good! Now! At this moment! As Ashen, the head of the base, there is a survivor on the verge of death in the alley in front of you."

"When faced with such a situation, a normal person's subconscious thoughts would only be one of two: to help or not to help."

A director's responsibility is to teach actors how to act. Merlon's habitual method was to read and analyze the script with the actors, dissecting the characters' psychological activities to the extreme.

He continued to analyze for Renji:

"But we all know that Emperor Ashen is a character who is extremely rational, even somewhat cold-hearted."

"So here, I think you should still be considering whether this survivor on the verge of death will become a burden to the base. If she dies here, will her corpse carry diseases that could cause an epidemic?"

"If that's the case, ordering soldiers to throw her out of the base is also a viable decision."

As he listened to Director Merlon's character analysis, Renji nodded inwardly. Indeed, the famous director had two brushes and three psychological activities that perfectly corresponded to the three options in his game.

In the following, according to the plot in the script, after weighing his options, Ashen ultimately chooses to "help" the refugee disguised as the Succubus Princess. This is done to highlight Ashen's kindness, even amidst his coldness, and to lay the groundwork for the Succubus Princess falling in love with him later on.

Just as everyone was about to start filming like this, another scholar on the set suddenly called for a stop with a frown.

"Wait! You're filming it wrong!"

Despite his advanced age, his voice was still solid. This scholar was none other than Professor Einstein, familiar to Renji.

Currently, the old professor was on vacation after just finishing the Mechanical Alliance. Conveniently, he was invited by Keyji to be the "technical advisor" for this filming of "Enchanting Body."

"Professor Einstein, what do you mean by wrong?" Even Director Merlon respected and humbly listened to this scholar, who was well-known in the field of ancient studies.

" Emperor Ashen shouldn't be such a simple person. I believe that the real one would have already discovered the Succubus Princess's identity."

"Already discovered...?"

"Yes, you don't need to change the script, but you must change the core idea. Emperor Ashen can choose to help, but what should be emphasized is not kindness. Emperor Ashen never needs kindness!"

"What kind of cold yet kind character is that? It's a third-rate protagonist in a shoddy love story. Please don't put such an image on Emperor Ashen!"

It was clear that Professor Einstein was particularly adamant about this point, and his tone had become quite stern.

He quickly offered his "revision" suggestion:

"What you should be filming here is the Emperor Ashen's wisdom. Because he saw through the Succubus Princess's disguise, he chose to counter her scheme with his own, offering help to let the Succubus Princess take the bait herself."

"Remember, Emperor Ashen is always playing chess, and every move is for a larger plan ahead!"

"Love? It is merely a tool for the Emperor. The only things in the Emperor's heart should be this painful world and all living beings in it. In his eyes are those who have suffered torment, been contaminated by the Miasma, and are waiting to be saved!"

Professor Einstein became increasingly impassioned as he spoke, gesturing continuously to help the surrounding crew members understand the Ashen Emperor.

Nova, who had been cold and indifferent from the start of the filming, surprisingly nodded in agreement with the professor's words. Zero also glanced at Professor Einstein several times, as they did not reject the position of being "tools."

Only Suthia did not look at professor Einstein. Instead, she turned her head toward Renji and blinked her eyes.

Her pitiful appearance seemed to say, -"So, Thia is just a tool?"-

"Then, Lord Ashen must take good care of his tool at night and put more lubricant in it~. Otherwise, the tool will rust if it's not used often~"

"…"

Actually, what Professor Einstein said was not wrong. At that time, when the options appeared, Renji already knew that this so-called "survivor on the verge of death" was definitely not that simple.

The reason was straightforward.

Any experienced player knew that anyone who could trigger a pop-up window with options and initiate a special event was no ordinary character.

However, it wouldn't work in the script. There were no "options" here.

Director Merlon was now arguing with Professor Einstein because he believed that, although Ashen could see through the Succubus Princess's disguise, there should be a reason or some foreshadowing.

However, Professor Einstein was a theorist. Although he insisted that the Emperor must have the wisdom to see through the disguise, he couldn't come up with a good way to do it.

As the scene was about to become a dispute, Renji had to speak up.

"How about this, Director and Professor? As the Succubus Princess, I think her test should be more challenging and in-

depth."

"You mean..."

"For example, the survivor disguised by the Succubus Princess is actually very beautiful. Even with her dirty face, you can tell she's a beauty. At the same time, the Succubus Princess is using her supernatural power to entice the Ashen's inner evil, making him have...a fourth thought!"

Renji's "bold hypothesis" made both Director Merlon and Professor Einstein stop arguing and listen attentively. Their eyes gradually lit up, and they even had the feeling of -"this is a great idea!"-

In Director Merlon's view, it was only natural for the Succubus Princess to enchant people's hearts. Indeed, she should have more evil and tempting tests to truly showcase Ashen's steadfastness.

Professor Einstein also highly approved of this idea. After all, this would explain how Emperor Ashen saw through the Succubus Princess – because she was releasing her enchantment skill.

Now, the remaining issue was the content of this so-called "enchantment" and what the evil thought was.

"Dr. Renji? Why did you stop? Continue, what is the fourth thought?" Professor Einstein eagerly asked.

"Uh, this is unnecessary, isn't it?"

Renji scratched his head, hesitating.

Before the professor could scold Renji, Director Merlon stepped in first to seriously correct Renji's thinking.

"How can it be unnecessary, Dr. Renji! You're doing very well immersing yourself in this role. We need your inspiration. Often, it's the actors' in-character actions that create many classic scenes!"

"Please, continue and be as detailed as possible! No, no, no! Your expression is too poor. We have a full crew here, so let's just film it directly!"

Renji: "?.?"

However, this is often the case.

The novel must be written to be called a novel, and the scene must be filmed first to know if it's good or bad.