Brother Dao Took the Entertainment Industry by Storm, Fans Beg Me Not to Kill Anymore-Chapter 421: Entering the Phantom Thieves Alliance 2 Film Crew

"Huh? You want us to steal perfume?"

Shi Ji was also dumbfounded. Rubbing his bound and numb wrists, he looked at the butler before him as if looking at an idiot.

"Hmph, this is no ordinary perfume."

The butler wore an expression of disdain. "This is the priceless 'Black Marie'! The exclusive perfume used by Queen Marie Antoinette of Louis XVI back in the day. It's said a single drop was worth a fortune. Just one spray, and the fragrance would linger for ages, refreshing and captivating the heart. It was the masterpiece of master perfumer Jénnifen. Unfortunately, during the Great Revolution, Jénnifen burned the formula while fleeing and died of illness in a foreign land. The last few remaining bottles of the original perfume were also lost in the chaos."

This Queen Marie was a highly controversial figure in history. Extremely extravagant, she pursued fashion and art, bringing a luxurious fashion trend to the entire aristocratic social circle of ancient France.

The perfume she used originally had no name. It was a mysterious, subtle fragrance she commissioned at great expense and manpower, reserved solely for her own use. The name was eventually given by later generations, attaching Marie's name to it, symbolizing its uniqueness.

However, listening to the butler's endless introduction, Shi Ji and Lu Xiaokong both swallowed hard simultaneously. They could neither understand this pursuit of a lavish lifestyle nor comprehend what the big bosses wanted with this original perfume.

"It's just a bottle of perfume. By now, it's probably all evaporated anyway," Shi Ji roasted.

Lu Xiaokong glanced at Shi Ji in surprise, seemingly not expecting Shi Ji to understand physics.

Shi Ji rolled his eyes at his big nephew in annoyance. "Is this stuff really that hard to understand? With such a long history, even if it was just water, it would have evaporated by now!"

"Therefore, only one bottle remains in the world," the butler emphasized.

"The value of these things is assigned by people. It has little intrinsic value itself, and after so many years, there might only be a tiny bit left." As he spoke, Lu Xiaokong looked at the butler with suspicion. "So how do you prove it still exists, and how do you prove it's that final bottle of 'Black Marie'?"

"That's none of your concern."

The butler's expression changed in an instant. "Alright, off you go."

Then Lu Xiaokong and Shi Ji were thrown out of the manor.

"Damn!"

Shi Ji couldn't help but complain. "They didn't tell us anything! Just a lousy bottle of perfume, where are we supposed to find it?"

Such a big town, perfume everywhere, and they don't know what the perfume looks like now or what it smells like. Where do they even start looking? Isn't this purely making things difficult for them?

On the contrary, Lu Xiaokong stood in place, pondered for a long time, then turned and walked towards the town center. "Let's go, visit perfume shops."

Shi Ji immediately followed, offering a flattering smile. "Oh, great! Looks like my big nephew has thought of a way?"

Lu Xiaokong nodded seriously. "Follow the historical story."

"Huh?"

"Since that master perfumer Jénnifen's hometown is right here in this town, I believe there must still be people who've heard her story." Lu Xiaokong's tone was firm. "As long as someone has heard it, we can trace back through the stories passed down by word of mouth. We might actually find the perfume's final whereabouts!"

And this was also their only method!

-

"Xiao He, you guys are here!"

Xie Jingshi, who had just finished filming a scene, already knew about Xiao He's flight today. After wrapping up a scene, he proactively greeted Xiao He.

"Yeah, you guys are fast. You've already started shooting?"

Xiao He glanced at the middle-aged man beside Xie Jingshi and respectfully greeted him. "Hello, Teacher Chen You!"

The middle-aged actor playing Shi Ji was named Chen You. He often played comedic roles. The "The Phantom Thief Alliance" series essentially ushered in a second spring for his career. Although his current traffic within the industry circle is far from what it used to be, he was a household name actor in his early years.

Chen You's actual personality was quite different from Shi Ji's. Although his character in the story was always laughing and joking, he himself was more on the serious side, even bordering on stern and unsmiling. Faced with Xiao He's friendly gesture, he merely glanced at Xiao He and then nodded.

"The script this time is quite rich, and time is tight. Starting early is good to catch next year's Spring Festival Slot."

Xie Jingshi continued explaining the production team's current situation to Xiao He with a smile.

At this moment, Assistant Director Fan Congwen also walked over and greeted Xiao He.

The crew configuration for "The Phantom Thief Alliance 2" this time was relatively familiar, overlapping significantly with part of the staff from "Corner Also." After all, both were investments and teams under Director Zhuang Hongyi's company. So, seeing these familiar faces felt normal to Xiao He. He even spotted several staff members from the "No Bait" period here as well.

Because of this, although Xiao He wasn't very familiar with several actors from "The Phantom Thief Alliance 2," he didn't feel the awkwardness of arriving at an unfamiliar set when he joined this production team.

Fan Congwen was responsible for making introductions, taking Xiao He around to reacquaint him with a few currently less familiar faces in the crew.

The personnel lineup for "The Phantom Thief Alliance 2" didn't have much traffic. The main focus was essentially on the two leads. Most other actors had average name recognition but possessed solid acting ability. Only Xiao He, in this guest role, had seen his status skyrocket after a year of hard work, with traffic almost rivaling that of the lead, Xie Jingshi.

This situation was relatively rare. One could only say Director Zhuang had foresight, signing Xiao He in advance for roles in "The Phantom Thief Alliance" series. Otherwise, given Xiao He's current market value, he might not have necessarily agreed to continue guest-starring.

Of course, although this was called a guest role, it was almost equivalent to a major supporting character. Xiao He's scenes had clearly increased, even having dedicated highlight moments and comedic points. His character was also much richer compared to before, no longer just a thin, behind-the-screen hacker image.

Not long after Xiao He sat down, he was pulled away for styling.

Just like last time, Xiao He's hair needed temporary spray-dyeing to white, and multiple tattoos needed to be applied to his body. Therefore, his pre-filming preparation work was more extensive than others, and the preparation time was relatively longer.

By the time he came out, only a lingering remnant of sunset red light remained on the horizon.

Xiao He wore a black hoodie and wide-leg jeans, with a pair of AJs on his feet. When he walked, he naturally carried a somewhat slacker/grunge vibe. When looking at people, he automatically lifted his chin, his eyes even turning into half-closed dead-fish eyes. When talking to people, he exuded a naturally aloof and distant air.

Even so, his overall state was still very handsome.

It's just that no one knew he would become the off-screen exploitation target for the two protagonists in the future, eventually getting thoroughly scammed by this uncle-nephew duo, reduced to a comedic character with the contrast/comedy factor maxed out.

The cooler he looks now, the more awkward/miserable he'll be later.

—Actually, when reading the script, Xiao He once thought Zhuang Hongyi had something against him.

Of course, Xiao He had to admit that the contrast between appearing aloof on the outside while actually being a funny guy was there, and the potential for topic buzz was there too. Doing it this way would create many memorable points for his "hacker" character.

And perhaps because there was a "perfume" background involving a lot of basic theoretical knowledge about perfumers, the script also added another trait to his character: this hacker was actually also a top student, a "chemistry Ph.D."

Even the crucial final bottle of "Black Marie" was made by him.

One could only say that as a protagonist, he might not be qualified, but as a legitimate thief, he was very professionally capable.

As for why a chemistry Ph.D. became a thief—don't ask. If you ask, it's about challenging himself.