The More Tragic I Act, the Stronger I Get — My Fans Beg Me to Stop Killing Off My Roles-Chapter 232: Two Worlds, One Heartbreak

Sun Zhou wrapped Jiang Ci tightly in a blanket.

Jiang Ci leaned against his assistant's warm body, wearily closing his eyes.

In his mind, the system panel's prompt that had just flashed by was so faint it was almost an illusion.

【Heartbreak Value Gained: 7 points. From set assistant Xiaohua.】

【Heartbreak Value Gained: 11 points. From photography assistant Fangfang.】

But Jiang Ci knew this was just the appetizer.

The real feast was still to come.

Not far away, Director Zhang Mouyi put down his walkie-talkie, completely ignoring the thunderous applause that continued to resonate throughout the entire set.

All his attention was focused solely on the head of the medical team nearby.

Only after seeing the other person, following an examination, give him an "OK" gesture, indicating the actor's condition was manageable, did he finally relax completely.

Immediately, he picked up the loudspeaker, his cold voice instantly drowning out all other noise.

"Jiang Ci, rest for half a day."

This seemingly considerate statement carried no warmth whatsoever.

Because the next sentence was the real point.

"Everyone else, not a single minute's break! Begin preparing for tomorrow's scene immediately!"

He swept his gaze across the entire set, and every crew member his eyes passed over felt a chill.

"Technical team, lighting team, set team, begin preparations for 'Longing Across Time' immediately!"

The moment the words "Longing Across Time" were uttered, the atmosphere on the entire set, which had just been boiling over due to Jiang Ci's explosive performance, instantly froze solid.

The scene with the highest filming difficulty and the most insane emotional demands on the actors in the entire script was about to begin.

The massive film set was swiftly divided into two parts.

Soundstage A housed the twisted, menacing "Divine Tree" from ancient Shangdu.

Soundstage B maintained the set of the "ancient locust tree" from the modern storyline, the one in the old mansion's courtyard hung with prayer-for-blessings red cloth strips.

Everyone sprang into action. Huge set pieces were slowly hoisted by cranes. The site was a flurry of activity, yet eerily, no one was speaking loudly.

This was Zhang Mouyi's set.

Efficiency trumped everything.

The technical director jogged up to Zhang Mouyi, his forehead covered in sweat. He handed over a technical plan that had just been rushed out, reporting with a grave expression.

"Director Zhang, the plan for dual-stage synchronous filming with real-time monitoring is ready."

"But... the demand for emotional synchronization between the two actors is unprecedented."

He swallowed hard, his voice still tinged with unease.

"If there's even the slightest deviation in rhythm or emotion from either side, by as little as a tenth of a second, the entire scene... could be ruined."

Zhang Mouyi took the plan without even glancing at it.

"I'm not trusting them. I'm trusting my own judgment."

He tossed out this sentence, his tone arrogant.

"If they can't even achieve this level of resonance, then they're not my actors."

The technical director wanted to say more, but upon meeting Zhang Mouyi's gaze, he swallowed all his words.

He nodded and turned to plunge back into the tense preparations.

The next day, early morning.

Inside and outside the A and B soundstages.

All crew members wore internal communication earpieces, moving among the equipment. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Zhang Mouyi sat alone in the central control room positioned between the two soundstages.

Before him were two massive main monitor screens, displaying real-time feeds from Soundstage A and Soundstage B respectively.

Beneath the main screens were two smaller monitors.

On them flickered data completely incomprehensible to ordinary people: the aperture value of Camera 1 in Soundstage A, the real-time audio waveform of the main microphone in Soundstage B.

The heavy soundproof door of Soundstage B was pushed open.

Su Qingying walked in.

She wore the simplest of casual everyday clothes, completely bare-faced, without even a trace of foundation.

She ignored all the busy crew members and cold cameras around her, walking straight towards the ancient locust tree perfectly replicated according to the script.

That tree was full of the breath of life.

On its thick branches hung several red cloth strips left by family members in different years for prayer and blessings, some already faded and whitened.

This tree was, in the script, the only spiritual anchor for A Li after she returned to the modern era.

At the same time, in Soundstage A, a hundred meters away.

Jiang Ci sat before a makeup mirror.

A special effects makeup artist was putting the final touches on his demonic makeup.

Two crimson-colored contact lenses were inserted, blocking all warmth belonging to a "human."

Using an extremely fine brush, the makeup artist painted the final black, vein-like demonic pattern spreading across his neck.

The person in the mirror looked like an Asura returned from hell.

Before filming began.

Zhang Mouyi, via the internal communication channel, spoke the same sentence to the two lead actors separated by a hundred meters.

His voice was calm, yet carried a weight that could penetrate eardrums and reach directly into the soul.

"Forget the cameras. Forget the script."

"From now on, in your worlds, there is only each other."

Inside Soundstage A, with the help of crew members, Jiang Ci was placed on the cold ground.

Beneath the Divine Tree.

He closed his eyes.

An extremely faint, low-frequency vibration traveled from the cold ground up his spine and throughout his entire body.

This was the "Divine Tree pulse" simulated by the special effects team per the director's request.

Jiang Ci's consciousness, following this pulse, slowly sank into an endless chaos and darkness.

There, there was only the anger of betrayal, the despair of abandonment, and the agony of demonic power running out of control.

In Soundstage B.

Su Qingying leaned her back against the rough bark of the ancient locust tree.

She closed her eyes, tightly clutching the prop spirit jade token, already shattered, in her hand.

The sharp edge of the jade dug painfully into her palm.

In her mind, she thought of nothing, only replaying one scene over and over.

The scene of that youth in fiery red robes, being pinned by him beneath the Divine Tree.

Once.

And again.

In the central control room, Zhang Moui watched the monitor feed from Soundstage B quietly.

He watched Su Qingying's body tremble slightly.

But he felt it wasn't enough.

This was just an actor steeping herself in emotion.

What he wanted was a breakdown.

He picked up the main microphone, not using the public channel,

but instead transmitting his voice directly and precisely into Su Qingying's earpiece alone.

The voice was soft, yet carried an awl-like penetrating force.

"He cannot hear your longing."

Through the earpiece, Su Qingying's body shuddered violently at these words.

Zhang Mouyi continued, each word calm and cruel.

"Unless you shout with your heart."

These words gave all the emotions Su Qingying had carefully been steeping a point of catastrophic release at this very moment.

She was no longer Best Actress Su Qingying; she was A Li, who had lost her beloved, trapped in another time, lonely.

Zhang Mouyi watched the figure on the monitor instantly break down, his eyes showing not the slightest ripple.

This was the moment he wanted.

Calmly, he gave the instruction to both soundstages simultaneously.

"Action!"