While Bao Wei began his makeup, Liu Zehang arrived, accompanied by the male lead of the film, Zhuo Jianhua.

Zhuo Jianhua, nearly sixty years old, was the oldest and most experienced actor present, playing the head of the special task force in this film.

This team leader also had a real-life prototype, highly respected in C Province's criminal investigation circles, and Zhuo Jianhua, a powerful actor, was certainly not disgracing the image of that police officer.

Everyone briefly introduced themselves, then quieted down as their respective makeup artists began their work.

After a while, the adjacent makeup area became lively. Xiao He noticed the Uncle Li he had previously paid extra attention to, now re-entering to distribute water to everyone.

From his demeanor, he seemed like a very ordinary person, with nothing special about him—if Xiao He didn't have his golden finger, he would probably think the same.

But...

Xiao He fell into deep thought.

What exactly is going on with this guy? Does he have some special purpose ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) in this film crew?

Or is it just a coincidence?

"Teacher Li," Uncle Li handed a bottle of water to an actress diagonally behind Xiao He.

From this angle, Xiao He could see them clearly in the mirror.

She was a very young, beautiful girl with long, thick black hair, wearing a white dress, looking gentle and radiant, with a slight smile in her eyes when she spoke.

—She was the kind of first love many teenagers would have in their student days.

"Thank you, Uncle Li," Li Hanyue took the water, smiling politely. "You can just call me Xiao Li. We both share the surname Li; we're practically family."

Uncle Li chuckled honestly, "Nickname, how can I? Teacher Li is an excellent actress and deserves to be addressed as such."

Li Hanyue sighed helplessly, "You really don't have to."

Uncle Li: "I must, I must—"

After chatting with Li Hanyue for a while, Uncle Li continued to distribute water on his own, but compared to Li Hanyue, he didn't have much to say to others.

But perhaps Xiao He's gaze caught Uncle Li's attention, as he suddenly turned his head and met Xiao He's eyes through the mirror.

Xiao He: ...

Since it was impossible to avoid, it was better to face it directly.

Xiao He gave Uncle Li a smile in the mirror.

But Xiao He forgot one thing—

He was no longer the ordinary college student who could express his emotions freely.

He was now the Heaven-Chosen Murderer!

The young man in the mirror smiled with provocation and wickedness.

Uncle Li's expression changed slightly, but he didn't step forward; he just gazed deeply at Xiao He for a moment, then turned and left.

Xiao He shrugged: Sure enough, a smile is the ultimate killer move for sincerity.

After his makeup was done, Xiao He calmly walked onto the set, enduring the gasps of the others in the makeup area.

"Is that prop supposed to be placed like that? Why don't you just put it on your head? Put it over here!"

Hou Rongxuan, who had been cheerful yesterday, was completely a tyrant on set today, directing the situation with an unpleasant tone, "Over there! Where's the knife? Bring the knife! At least give me a sharpened one, right? Are you going to make the actor tear the prop with his bare hands later?"

Xiao He remained composed, taking his position for his character, and a prop assistant smoothly handed him a butcher knife.

As soon as he took it, Xiao He began to automatically analyze the knife's condition—

Single-edged, thick blade, upturned edge, 20 cm long, light and well-balanced, suitable for deboning and slicing meat.

"Xiao Xiao, have you read the script? Do you know what you're supposed to do later?"

At this moment, Hou Rongxuan walked over.

"Yes, I've mostly finished it," Xiao He nodded.

This scene was about the Zhu Family Brothers discussing the neighboring slaughterhouse, and in this part of the plot, Xiao He was mainly responsible for being a background character.

Hou Rongxuan was very satisfied and pointed to a spot for Xiao He: "At that time, you'll stand behind them, make your meat-cutting movements big, you don't have to actually cut it down, just throw the props hidden underneath there, move quickly and don't stop, and don't cut your hand, understand?"

Xiao He: ...

He could cut it for real, but pretending to cut while making it look real was something he genuinely found difficult...

"Actually, I can cut it for real. My knife skills are quite good."

"Okay, then that's how it is—huh? Xiao Xiao, what did you say?" Hou Rongxuan looked at Xiao He with a surprised expression, then his face turned serious.

"Xiao Xiao, this is not like cutting meat for cooking. This is a whole pig. Cutting it not only requires understanding the pig's structure and form, but also identifying the scientific name of each part of the pig's body, and knowing the proper way to handle the knife for each type of meat... These are all very specific. It won't look good if it's exposed on camera. Liu Zehang and Bao Wei both specifically studied for this. If you only know the basics, don't just jump in."

"born to kill" had many scenes set in a slaughterhouse. The eldest and second brothers were experienced butchers, and although the third brother was still in school, his animal slaughtering skills were also very impressive.

Bao Wei and Liu Zehang had specifically studied for a period for this film, even going to the countryside to slaughter pigs. Xiao He, being a last-minute addition, had fewer demands from Director Hou, who only discussed with the screenwriter to modify some of his scenes.

But he didn't expect Xiao He to be so unappreciative.

Xiao He saw the anger and doubt in Hou Rongxuan's eyes, but he said nothing, merely lifted the butcher knife in his hand, rotated his wrist flexibly, the blade glinting with silver light, then brought the knife down heavily onto the chopping board with a loud bang.

The sound was so loud it startled everyone. Liu Zehang, standing nearby, didn't dare to breathe, fearing Xiao He intended to slaughter the director. Even Bao Wei frowned, his gaze falling on the hanging string of pork ribs, then his brow relaxed: "What precise knife work!"

Everyone followed Bao Wei's gaze and then realized that the piece of pork ribs that had been hanging above Xiao He's head had now become clean pig bones, and all the meat that had been attached to the ribs had fallen onto the chopping board in front of Xiao He, piled into a small mountain. The pieces of meat were of similar length, clearly separated, perfectly like works of art.

Everyone gaped, staring dumbfounded at the scene before them, and some quietly narrowed their eyes.

"Holy crap! Did we get that on camera just now?" Hou Rongxuan shouted excitedly, then looked at the cameraman, completely devoid of his previous anger, "This scene is absolutely incredible!"

Yet, who could have imagined?

An ordinary college student could possess such knife skills.

Unfortunately, no one had recorded this scene beforehand.

Director Hou, who received a negative answer, was greatly disappointed. Xiao He could only comfort him: "It's okay, Director. As long as you believe me, I can also perform a deboning for you."

It's all deboning, what's the difference between deboning pig bones or human bones?

Xiao He rubbed his nose, hiding his guilty conscience.

Hou Rongxuan, however, didn't notice anything amiss at all. He slapped his thigh and decisively shouted, "Old Li! Bring the props!"

Uncle Li walked over, dragging a large piece of pork.

Despite his lean build, he was very strong. He directly lifted the pork, twisted his waist, and placed half a pig on the table.

Xiao He watched his every move, taking the opportunity to probe Director Hou: "Director Hou, is Uncle Li part of your team? He looks so amazing, so strong!"

Hou Rongxuan was stunned for a moment, then denied it: "No, he's someone we hired when we set up the film crew. He's very strong and works very diligently, so I kept him on."

"I see..."

Xiao He was thoughtful.