After the filming was completed, I awakened my superpowers.

Chapter 136 The first female artist signed by the company

……

However, although there seem to be a lot of people, there are actually not many roles available for the crew to recruit from outside.

First of all, the male protagonist Ahua and the female lead in the previous film "The King of Traffic Jams" will continue in the second part, but their roles will also change.

For example, the male protagonist Ahua became the second male lead Ahua, and the original female lead became a pure supporting role, a pregnant and kidnapped tool man, with not many scenes in total.

Secondly, Sheng Yixia’s exclusive troupe of actors will also join the crew.

Brother Gu Yonghan will play the three-time traffic king Chen William, a role that allows him to fully demonstrate his acting skills as a veteran actor.

Yu Zi was internally chosen to play Mei Murata, who is more suitable for her figure and temperament.

As for Chi Yu, he had very few roles. He played a young Korean chaebol from Han who was good at gambling and was eliminated by Murata Mei in the round of 16.

But this does not affect anything. Now Chi Yu's popularity has soared because he is a big star. Not only does he have many acting offers now, but under the arrangement of Sister Zhang Qing, he has also started to appear in various variety shows. After filming this movie, he will also participate in a music variety show called "Masked Singer". It is obvious that he is preparing to develop in both singer and actor.

Moreover, since he is in this movie, his music will definitely be in the theme song or OST.

In fact, it's not just Chi Yu. Gu Ge and Yu Zi also have full schedules, and their pay is not low.

However, Zhang Qing took the initiative to squeeze out the water from the pay for them to join the crew of Du Wang Gaiden II, and it was not the inflated price reported to the outside world. This was not a deliberate exploitation of their value. In fact, this was also an excellent opportunity for them to show their faces.

Today, The King of Traffic 2 is the biggest hit online movie this year. It is rumored that it will be released simultaneously on Station A, Station Y, and Station T. All three stations have promised to provide corresponding resources for promotion, and the advance resources provided will be written into the contract.

Of course, these are just initial resources. Subsequent promotional resources will depend on the actual sales of the film. Those video websites have their own relatively mature operating mechanisms, and it is impossible for them to invest a lot of promotional resources in a film with a very low return rate.

After all, resources are limited, and every resource invested naturally needs to have an expected return.

Sheng Yixia naturally understood this very well. A bad movie like "Sword Immortal Conquering the Demons" could not be promoted no matter how many resources were invested.

In addition, there are actually many variety shows that want to invite Sheng Yixia to participate through Sister Zhang Qing, and the prices offered are very high, but Sheng Yixia declined them all after careful consideration.

The reason is simple. At this stage, participating in variety shows does not benefit Sheng Yixia at all except for making some money. Not only does it consume the sense of mystery and waste time, but he also cannot draw skill cards.

In Sheng Yixia's plan, even if he appeared on variety shows in the future, it would probably be for the promotion of dramas or movies. As for other things, unless he could draw cards, forget it. With that time, he might as well do some scientific research or earn points.

Sitting on the podium.

Sheng Yixia's mind was full of thoughts, and he seemed a little absent-minded and bored.

I used to think casting was quite interesting. I could sit in front of the actors and watch them try their best to perform, even being respectful and trying to please me, while I could decide whether they stayed or left or even developed their career. It seemed very impressive.

But when I actually did it, I found that it was really boring.

Just like the actress in front of him who was trying hard to pose and play the role of Zhang Meili, Sheng Yixia not only felt bored, but also had a strong urge to kick her out of the audition room.

His acting is terrible, even worse than when he first started out as Sheng Yixia, and other than his so-so looks, he's completely useless.

But the three casting representatives, Sheng Yixia, Zheng Baokun and Zhou Shuyue, still waited patiently for her to finish her performance. The reason was very simple: this was a "talent" recommended by an investor in the crew, and the investors who can now get a share of the funds in the crew are not just rich investors, so they still have to be respected.

After she finished her performance, Sheng Yixia regained consciousness and threw the dirty work to Zheng Baokun, saying, "Director Zheng, you are knowledgeable and experienced, so you should make the decision."

Zheng Baokun came to his senses after a start, knowing that the boss had asked him to do the job, so he showed a kind look: "Your image is good, but it does not meet the requirements of our crew for the heroine."

But the actress refused to do it when she heard it, and said, "I just performed alone without props, and I'm not used to it. Why don't I try to play a rival scene with Teacher Yixia, just the scene where we hug and kiss at the bow..."

Damn it!

Now it was Sheng Yixia's turn to be shocked.

Are you kidding? She has other intentions.
Immediately, his face turned cold and he said directly: "Don't waste time, next one."

He felt sick just thinking about this kind of character who looked like a puppet of the capitalists.

Soon, the on-site security guard asked her to leave.

He was not afraid of offending the investors. The investors' biggest goal was to make money, and pushing her here for an audition was probably just a means of doing business.

What's more, the investors are now begging to invest in the crew. If they really want to withdraw, there is no telling how much funds will be eager to come in. Even if there is no funds, Sheng Yixia can take care of it all by himself.

After sitting in this position, Sheng Yixia realized that the level of many actors was actually very poor. Even he really disliked them, and Zheng Baokun was even more disgusted. This made Sheng Yixia feel that his acting skills were actually quite good.

At least, he has now gotten out of the poker face category, and when he meets a character that is highly compatible with him, he can perform beyond his normal level.

After the actress was asked to leave, the next one quickly came in and started auditioning.

Generally speaking, if your performance is not good, you will be asked to leave after one audition or even less. You will be allowed to try again if your performance is okay.

Although Sheng Yixia felt bored, he did not slack off. After trying several times, he would throw away the resumes of those that did not work out, and would mark the resumes of those that did work and keep them for the time being.

In the midst of the busyness, I unknowingly lost a stack of resumes.

Just as Sheng Yixia asked one actor to leave and prepared for the next one, the door of the conference room was pushed open.

Led by Zhang Qing, the group entered the conference room.

The leading man looked to be in his forties. He walked with such a smug look on his face that he seemed to be in high spirits. If he hadn't been holding a thermos cup in his hand, he would have looked like a villain.

Undoubtedly, this is Chen Youde, the director of The Thieves.

Behind him followed the male lead He Yunqiu and the female lead Xiong Yike.

Seeing this, Sheng Yixia hurriedly stood up and walked forward, smiling politely, "Director Chen, why are you here?"

Then, he greeted He Yunqiu and Xiong Yike, "Hello, Brother He, Sister Yike."

The latter two also quickly greeted him with a smile.

Even Sheng Yixia went to greet them, so Zheng Baokun and Zhou Shuyue naturally followed suit, standing on Sheng Yixia's left and right, like door gods.

Director Chen looked Sheng Yixia up and down, and after a moment he sighed, "You are indeed a talented actor that I had my eye on since the beginning. It has only been a short time, but you have already started to stand on your own and soar to the sky."

After a pause, he got down to business: "Hasn't our Thieves Group finished its post-production? It will be launched tomorrow night, so I brought Yunqiu and Yike out to promote it. I just happened to know you were here, so I came to take a look."

So fast?
Sheng Yixia was also slightly surprised: "Is the time in the later stage a little tight?"

"It's not bad actually. We worked overtime in the later stages, mainly to take advantage of your popularity." Director Chen said with a smile, "Your bionic girlfriend is as popular as a big star, and the investors are urging us to put it on the shelves every day. We have to be quick. But don't worry, I'll keep an eye on it, and the quality won't be a problem."

The crew has been so busy for this film, so of course he has to keep an eye on it until the very end and will not let anything go wrong with the film.

Sheng Yixia finally felt relieved.

He still attaches great importance to the film that produced the magician character card.

Although this role card is not suitable for daily use, once you use it, you will be ready to fight to the death or to make the final decision.

Naturally, he wanted the Thieves to sell well, so that the character cards could be upgraded as much as possible, and the Magician character card, his trump card, could be as strong as possible, so that if he had to fight for his life, he would have more security guarantees.

In response to this, Sheng Yixia also said: "Director Chen, how about I go with you to promote it?"

Firstly, he wanted to build momentum for the Thieves Gang, and secondly, he really couldn't stand staying in this shabby place anymore.

Director Chen looked around the crowded audition room, patted Sheng Yixia on the shoulder and said considerately, "Leave this kind of media promotion to us. You're busy too, so take care of your own business first. Before the official launch, just forward it on Weibo."

"Yes, Yixia, you go ahead and do your work. We just came to take a look and won't disturb you." He Yunqiu was also very polite. He beat his chest with his hand and made an expression that said everything.

Then, the three of them really came in a hurry and left in a hurry.

This made Sheng Yixia feel like crying but without tears.

He just wanted to go along for the promotion and escape from the audition scene, wasn't that enough?
With no other options, he could only continue auditioning.

However, not all actresses are bad. After being eliminated one by one, there are always some good ones. Zheng Baokun also temporarily marked them to see if there are better ones later.

Especially some third-tier or even second-tier out-of-date actresses, who more or less had some skills themselves, and Sheng Yixia nodded secretly to some of them.

But the audition lasted until the end.

Zheng Baokun immediately took a fancy to a junior girl from the Magic Drama School. This girl was still in school and had never debuted, but she was a fan of Sheng Yixia and came to the audition with her classmates today.

But she didn't expect that her classmate was eliminated, while she, the runner-up, was chosen by Zheng Baokun.

In fact, although she looks good, her acting skills are quite average. Sheng Yixia and Zhou Shuyue couldn't help but look at Zheng Baokun with suspicion, as if to ask, "Director Zheng, are you planning to take advantage of me?"

Zheng Baokun quickly protested: "Boss Sheng, please don't blame me. I just looked at the role of Zhang Meili from the perspective of a professional director."

"In fact, playing Zhang Meili doesn't require much acting skills. Although she is the heroine, her role is not difficult. The most important thing is her natural temperament... This girl can be seen from a good family. She has been pampered since she was a child. She is clean and pure without any worldly airs. She is also a bit innocent, which fits the simple personality of the daughter of the richest man who is well protected."

Zheng Baokun said everything he needed to say in one breath to avoid being questioned by Sheng Yixia about his character and being considered disrespectful to his elders.

Sheng Yixia looked at the girl again.

Before, I only paid attention to her acting skills, but after hearing what Zheng Baokun said and looking at her eyes, it seemed that there was indeed some clean and clear taste, which is rare in today's entertainment industry. So I agreed with Zheng Baokun's statement. After all, he is a director, and unearthing the potential temperament of actors is his professional skill.

Seeing Sheng Yixia's approval, Zheng Baokun added in a low voice, "Besides, this girl hasn't signed with a company yet. Why don't we sign her with Shengxia Film and Television and train her well? Maybe we can raise a star out of her."

This proposal made Sheng Yixia slightly excited.

His career is about drawing cards and becoming stronger, and he can't always do it alone. He will definitely form his own team in the future. So, it makes sense for the studio to sign its own actresses, right?

The only small problem is that Shengxia Film and Television is still too small, and I don’t know if they are willing to sign?

"Okay, then Director Zheng, you go and talk to her." Sheng Yixia agreed after considering it.

But Zheng Baokun waved his hands repeatedly: "Mr. Sheng, please forgive me. Look at me, I look like a greasy middle-aged uncle..." He pointed at his face and said helplessly, "It will only scare the girl. She will definitely think I have some ulterior motives. Mr. Sheng, you are more approachable. It would be better if you talk to her in person."

Sheng Yixia thought so too, so he went out in person to find the girl.

She was still in the lounge area, talking in a low voice with her classmates. After the audition just now, she got the result "pending", and now she was a little nervous.

When she saw Sheng Yixia, she immediately stood up, lowered her head, looked a little nervous, and seemed a little at a loss.

"Hello, classmate Lu Muyu." Sheng Yixia greeted, "I have discussed with Director Zheng and Chief Producer Zhou, and hope that you can join our crew and play the heroine Zhang Meili."

However, before she could show her happiness, Sheng Yixia added directly: "However, we have a prerequisite here, that is, you must sign a contract with my Shengxia Film and Television Studio and become an artist under it." This is not that Sheng Yixia is taking advantage of someone's misfortune, but he doesn't want the crew to reject a large number of people and give this resource to Lu Muyu, and then she turns around and signs with another company. Isn't this just making wedding clothes for others in vain?
In fact, even when Sheng Yixia wanted to enter the entertainment industry, he had to sign with a company before he could get resources.

Otherwise, why would others give you resources?
In addition, stricter contract terms are also necessary. After all, it takes a lot of resources to cultivate a valuable artist. Don’t spend several years to cultivate a popular young artist, but end up jumping ship...

This will not only make previous investments go to waste, but will also make competitors disgusted.

Even if Lu Muyu is nostalgic and loyal, it won't work.

Because once a person becomes famous, a bunch of "kind-hearted and good-looking people" will gather around him. They are eloquent, good at persuasion, and seem to consider everything for you. You give them an idea today, and they give them another idea tomorrow.

Over time, no matter how strong the wall is, it will inevitably be dug down.

Rather than leaving opportunities for others to poach your talents, it is better to plug the loopholes in advance.

The two girls opposite were stunned for a moment. Before Lu Muyu could speak, her classmate said, "You can play the role, but you have to think about signing our Muyu. Her family is not short of money."

Sheng Yixia ignored the girl who spoke, but just gave her a gentle smile, then set her eyes on Lu Muyu, as if waiting for her own answer. If she wanted to negotiate the terms, he hoped that she would do it herself.

If it was someone who would listen to whatever her classmates said, Sheng Yixia would have no choice but to give up. An artist who is easily influenced and has no opinions of her own is a big problem, because you never know when she will listen to others and give you a big job.

Lu Muyu thought for a while and said, "In principle, I can agree to your request, but for the specific conditions and signing of the contract, I need my lawyer to be present. Mr. Sheng, I believe in your character."

"Okay, let me be frank with you. The other terms of the contract can be negotiated, but it must be a ten-year contract." Sheng Yixia said seriously that he would not exploit the artists, but the necessary long-term contract guarantees must be provided.

When he heard the word "ten years", Lu Muyu frowned, but when he thought about the fact that long contracts are common in the entertainment industry now, and it's the same everywhere, and for some newcomers, ten years is considered short.

Seeing this, her classmate wanted to speak, but Lu Muyu stopped her and nodded and said, "If the terms are okay, I can agree to it."

"I believe you will be satisfied." Sheng Yixia smiled and shook hands with her. "I will let my agent Zhang Qing contact you about the specific terms. I hope we can become colleagues."

After Lu Muyu shook hands with him, he became slightly excited: "Teacher Sheng, I really like watching you play Dr. Wu. I saw in the comments and barrage that you are also a graduate student at Aurora University?"

"Yeah, you don't expect me to help you with math problems, do you?" Sheng Yixia teased.

"No, no, our academic subjects are not that difficult." Lu Muyu waved his hands repeatedly, feeling a little helpless.

Sheng Yixia chatted with her for a few more minutes and got a general idea of ​​her family situation. Then she asked Sister Zhang Qing to come over to help negotiate the contract. The other party was not vague and directly called her father's lawyer to come over.

Sheng Yixia really appreciated this. After all, it was better to get things done in advance than to argue about it afterwards. This girl probably learned this from her family.

Another two hours.

The rest of the supporting roles have also been interviewed and roughly confirmed.

What was a little unexpected during this period was that Shao Jingqiu called and said that they had completed one training session and could temporarily leave the training camp to work.

As a result, as soon as she was released, she heard that Sheng Yixia's crew was recruiting, so she called directly to ask for a guest role.

There was no doubt that this was Shao Jingqiu trying to show goodwill to him.

After all, if a film queen joins an online movie, even if it is just a cameo, it will have a sensational effect and can bring huge traffic to the film.

Sheng Yixia naturally would not refuse such kindness.

To this end, Sheng Yixia also discussed with Director Zheng and Ning Tianyi and decided to give the role of the Dai female prime minister who is responsible for cooperating with the richest man Zhang to coordinate and resist the financial crisis to Shao Jingqiu.

This role is powerful but has few scenes, just one or two minutes in total. It is not easy to choose an actor because the actor's own aura must be able to suppress the role, so Shao Jingqiu is the most appropriate actor for this role.

After the interview, Zhang Qing and Lu Muyu had already agreed on the terms, although some of the terms caused objections from the other party's lawyer, who believed that they were too restrictive and the compensation for breach of contract was too high, etc., and suggested that they carefully consider the contract.

However, Lu Muyu knew that this contract with Shengxia Film and Television was considered very lenient in the entertainment industry, at least there were no traps. Therefore, she signed the contract decisively before her father arrived at the scene.

When her father, an old man who was about the same age as her husband, had a good aura and looked like a successful man, arrived at the scene, he knew that the contract had been signed and the situation was irreversible. He immediately glared at Sheng Yixia.

It was as if Sheng Yixia was not her daughter's new boss, but a bad boy who had deceived her daughter's feelings and body.

Sheng Yixia decisively called the father of this aggressive female colleague and said, "Uncle, don't bully the weak. Your daughter has her father to protect her. I didn't grow up in the Qidian Orphanage either. Why don't you talk to him instead of hindering us young people from doing our jobs properly."

The uncle was stunned. He didn't expect Sheng Yixia to use this trick.

Looking at his beloved daughter who was amused by Sheng Yixia, he was furious and immediately called Sheng Laodeng, trying to terminate the contract by putting pressure on Sheng Yixia's father.

After a few confusing conversations between the two, they began to greet each other.

After a while, the uncle's attitude became very polite, and he kept saying that since Mr. Sheng was in H City, we must have a meal together.

After a moment, he hung up the phone, and when he looked at Sheng Yixia again, his eyes became a little complicated.

"Yixia, Muyu will be in your care from now on, so please don't bully her. Come to my house when you have time and have a simple meal or something."

Then, he left...

These words made Sheng Yixia sweat on his forehead.

Is it necessary for this uncle's tone to be so awkward...

Fortunately, these are just minor incidents.

After finishing these things, it was already late, so Sheng Yixia went straight home.

In the evening, Sheng Yixia was busy arranging a meal for his parents, mentor, Ling Xudong, and his apprentice Li Haibo.

During the dinner, Sheng Yixia was naturally respectful, acting like a good disciple of his mentor and a good junior of Ling Xudong. It can be said that both the host and the guests had a great time.

The parents, the tutor, and Ling Xudong were also having a good chat, and soon they left Sheng Yixia alone and started chatting with themselves.

The dinner didn't end until three hours later.

After seeing his tutor and Ling Xudong off, he sent his parents back home, then packed up and went to the study to have a remote meeting with Ling Xudong and Gao Laodeng.

You have to eat and work. There are still many details of the drone project that need to be deduced and finalized, and the workload is not small.

At the same time, Sheng Yixia was staying in the study and holding a remote meeting with Ling Xudong and Gao Laodeng.

In a busy area somewhere in H City, there is a fenced-off construction site.

It can be clearly seen from the notice hung on the construction site that this is a museum construction project in the old city. It is already midnight, so the construction site is naturally quiet.

It can be deep below the construction site.

An underground structure several dozen meters deep was dug out at some point.

As we all know, H city was still a sea thousands of years ago. Therefore, it is more difficult to dig underground structures here than in the Central Plains. The altitude is too low and the groundwater level is too high. Pumping water, waterproofing, and preventing landslides are all huge projects.

However, there is no sign of water leakage in this underground structure, and it has been repaired and looks clean and fresh.

In the center of this underground structure stand two ancient and mottled stone lions. Despite the passage of time, one can still vaguely glimpse some of their former majesty and grandeur.

Two stone lions stepped on the ground, as if suppressing some ancient and evil existence.

Near the stone Suanni, two people in gray robes were watching them.

One of them said, "I spent too much time to find the sealed site of the Holy Son. At the same time, I used many methods to excavate this area. I spent a lot of effort just to avoid involving the Green Light Society in this construction site. I was worried that if the Green Light Society was exposed, it would affect the overall situation of the Holy Son's return."

The gray-robed man seemed to be talking about some difficulty: "I also know that the bishop is pressing, but it is really too difficult to do this kind of thing in a prosperous area like H City. Fortunately, with the blessing of our Lord, everything went smoothly."

This gray-robed man is naturally the former Chu Zhengming, now John Liu, one of the gray-robed high priests of the Dusk Organization!

However, although he raised the difficulty in order to shirk some of the responsibility, in fact this matter is quite difficult, and he is not completely making it up.

Who could have known that thousands of years ago, the forbidden land where the Son of God was sealed was still a primitive low-lying swamp, but now has become one of the world's most famous and prosperous metropolises?

This undoubtedly made his task extremely more difficult.

"But there are benefits, right?" An excited female voice rang out from another gray-robed man. "As long as we successfully remove the seal on the Saint Son and allow Him to return to the world, there will be a huge population nearby for Him to feast on. In a very short time, His strength will be restored to its peak."

"Given the current distance between the star realm and the earth on the four-dimensional level, a being as powerful as the Holy Son cannot pass through the layers of void veils and come to the earth in person. But now, this is a great opportunity for us!"

In layman's terms, it is equivalent to directly descending a mid-to-late-stage version of the BOSS in the early version of the game. Who can withstand this?
"Are you ready for the key to unseal it?" The gray-robed woman calmed down a little. "Tomorrow night is when the tide is at its highest. You don't want to miss it. Why don't you wait until next month?"

"We are ready." The gray-robed man said, "My people have tracked down the whereabouts of the 'key'. We were also very lucky to find that the owner of the 'key' is actually an extremely rare innate body."

"Good, very good. The great Saint Son will surely like the two great gifts we present." Upon hearing this, the gray-robed woman's voice became excited again. "The power of our great Lord will return to this world and guide us lost servants towards a new civilization."

"Tomorrow night, we will act on time when the tide is highest. This time, do not disappoint the bishop, my instructor."

"Definitely not!"

……

at the same time.

In the university dormitory building.

The little Taoist boy was playing a game with his new roommates. When they were about to take over the other team's high ground, his nose suddenly started to itch. He sneezed a few times and shivered at the same time.

But because of this delay, the operation became a mistake, and the opponent seized the opportunity to launch a counterattack.

"My, my, let's do it again." The little Taoist boy hurriedly apologized to his roommates, "I'll buy breakfast tomorrow."

Just saying.

His phone vibrated slightly as he received a WeChat message from first-year graduate student Gu Fengya: "Handsome boy, come out for a drink. I'll take you to the bar."

The little Taoist boy shuddered all over and felt a chill coming over him.

This made him suspicious.

Could it be...

Is the fish about to bite?
But didn’t Senior Yixia say that Senior Fengya would be fine?
……

(End of this chapter)