1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 542 Giving Hong Kong filmmakers a filming shock

You listen to me, I listen to you.

The only difference was that Natasha immediately noticed something amiss in her room.
The technical team has not yet found that the Dupont lighter in Zhai Yuan's possession has been tampered with.

But under these circumstances, Natasha dared not continue her eavesdropping work openly as she had before.

She only installed one listening device near Zhai Yuan, but at this time, at least three more had been installed in her own room.

With Vladimir's arrival and a few simple Soviet-style jokes, based on experience, there was almost a 90% chance that Natasha's appearance was strange, but no conclusive evidence had yet been obtained.

However, evidence is merely icing on the cake for both the Stasi and the KGB.
In the Soviet Union, once a powerful figure harbored suspicions, evidence became almost irrelevant.

If absolutely necessary, instruct subordinates to conduct comprehensive surveillance and tracking that can last for decades, and sooner or later they will be able to find incriminating evidence against the target.

This is also what makes intelligence agencies frightening to the public: you don't know if you are being monitored, and you can't be sure if you will say something wrong.

"Tell them to take their time investigating, I'm not in a hurry at all~"

Zhai Yuan arrived at the basement where the technical team was located and saw three shifts of monitoring operators wearing headphones, working around the clock.

He casually fiddled with the listening equipment in the basement, and quickly lost interest in this tedious and boring job.

Zhai Yuan put his arm around Ye Zhiming's shoulder and said with a calm smile, "But if that White Russian woman really has a mission, she'll definitely be more anxious than we are."

Ye Zhiming accompanied Zhai Yuan out of the listening room and took the initiative to say, "If you want to go back to Hong Kong, I can keep an eye on things in the Soviet Union. Why bother finding an outsider?"

"How could you say something like that? Have you forgotten your experience of being put in solitary confinement in the Ural barracks?"

Zhai Yuan turned his head and teased him, then continued, "We are foreigners after all, so we still need a local as a buffer to make things easier in the future."

Not only in the Soviet Union, but in most countries, capitalists and oligarchs are backed by foreign financial groups.

Is it that these conglomerates don't want to manage their businesses themselves? It's simply that familiar faces are more likely to gain public trust and recognition.

Ye Zhiming couldn't refute it, and after a pause, he said, "There are so many Soviet devils in the Far East Club, why not just pick one at random? I think Vladimir is pretty good."

Zhai Yuan waved his hand helplessly, "How I wish I could make him my underling, but that would be presumptuous..."

"Just make friends and maintain relationships. Everyone in the club has a complicated background, and they have a relationship of cooperation and checks and balances."

Zhai Yuan casually pushed open the door to another room in the basement. Several uniformed messengers were piling bundles of letters on the table.

The envelopes were moistened with a steam engine, and the mail openers opened them one by one to check their contents. Finally, they were resealed and labeled as mailable.

Zhai Yuan closed the door and smiled at Ye Zhiming again: "Natasha has a KGB background at most. Just think of her as a female version of Vladimir. It's actually cleaner and purer for her to come over."

Ye Zhiming grinned: "Is it that simple? This woman has a great figure, you must have other ideas!"

"There are too many misunderstandings about me, and I don't want to explain."

Zhai Yuan smiled knowingly, shook his head, glanced at his watch, and snapped his fingers: "Time! Let's go see this curvaceous woman! Since she's now a section chief in the Ministry of Culture, let's chat about cultural topics~"

…………

"So, Mr. Zhai, what have you gained from this trip to the Soviet Union?"

Yekaterinburg, Kolizovo military airfield.

A group of familiar faces disembarked from the plane. As soon as they landed, Liu Zhenwei, Zunlong, and several others came up to greet Zhai Yuan warmly.

The "Iron Man" crew received orders to travel to the Soviet Union to film the final war scenes.

"When we transited through Moscow, we made a point of visiting the Far Eastern Bank. Wow, impressive!"

Liu Zhenwei wrapped his woolen coat tighter around himself. After not seeing his boss for several months, he felt that the latter's demeanor was increasingly resembling that of a capitalist.

Military vehicles led the way, followed by a company of heavily armed uniformed soldiers. Standing beside them were Li Zhi, Ye Yuqing, and a White Russian woman they didn't recognize.

Before entering the film industry, Liu Zhenwei worked as a financial manager at an Asian capital company. He had seen many wealthy people, but few exuded the aura of control that Zhai Yuan showed at this moment, which was completely different from his impression of him more than half a year ago.

This composure and ease cannot be built simply by money.

Liu Zhenwei glanced at the heavily armed soldiers standing to the side and clicked his tongue in admiration, wondering what Boss Zhai had experienced during his time in the Soviet Union.

"We're exploring some new business opportunities and also helping you scout things out in advance. If the filming of 'Iron Man' goes smoothly this time, we can film scenes in the Soviet Union for any large-scale scenes the company needs in the future."

Zhai Yuan greeted everyone with a smile, then pointed to Natasha beside him: "Let me introduce you, Miss Natasha, the head of the Soviet Ministry of Culture."

When the Hong Kong guests from the film crew heard that he was an official, they all took the initiative to step forward and shake his hand.

Natasha responded with a sweet smile, creating a harmonious scene.

The main creative team for "Iron Man" that came to the Soviet Union this time consisted of about twenty people.

John Lone, the male lead of Iron Man, was naturally present, and his girlfriend, Wang Xiaofeng, also eagerly followed.

"Little Feng, you've become a housewife now?" Zhai Yuan hadn't seen an acquaintance in a long time, and his tone was more friendly as he teased Wang Xiaofeng, "You even followed me all the way from the Soviet Union. Don't worry, with me keeping an eye on things, Brother Long won't cause any trouble~"

Wang Xiaofeng, with her arm around Zunlong's, rolled her eyes and pouted, "Then I'm even more worried."

Zhai Yuan chuckled and scolded him playfully, then patted Zunlong on the shoulder: "Hey, Brother Long, let me pass on some tips to you. When it comes to dealing with women, you'd better get her in bed right away, otherwise she'll easily talk back..."

Wang Xiaofeng gave Zhai Yuan a hearty shove with a loud laugh: "Shut up, boss!"

Then, he briefly inquired about Girls' Generation's situation. Upon learning that after the release of "High School Musical 2," they were personally led by Chen Shufang and Shi Nansheng to Japan and South Korea for promotional performances, Zhai Yuan smiled.

“This separation has lasted quite a while.” Zhai Yuan looked at Liu Zhenwei beside him and raised his chin: “Old Liu, I’ll give you a month to finish the remaining scenes of ‘Iron Man,’ and then we’ll all go back to Hong Kong together.”

"Received!" Liu Zhenwei smiled and turned to instruct the executive director beside him, teasingly saying, "Did you hear that, Asheng? If you manage to get things sorted out in a month and delay Mr. Zhai from seeing his girlfriend, you don't need to come back to the company after the Spring Festival."

Following the sound, thirty-year-old Chen Musheng wore a simple, honest smile, his slightly excited gaze shifting from the rifles held by the accompanying soldiers. Chen Musheng cautiously asked Zhai Yuan, "Mr. Zhai, can we use real weapons for this location shooting?"

"Tanks, planes, cannons, whatever you want, I can get it for you."

Zhai Yuan sized up this man who would become a mainstay of Hong Kong's gunfight film industry and made a promise in an arrogant tone.

Finally, he turned to look at Natasha beside him: "Is that how it is, Director Natasha?"

Natasha smiled and said, "Mr. Zhai and Comrade Ye Liqing have such a good relationship that he's willing to lend you military equipment. It's just a matter of going through the formalities at the Ministry of Culture."

Zhai Yuan smiled noncommittally and whispered in the woman's ear, "Actually, I'm not very familiar with Ye Liqing. It's just that I'm responding to Yekaterinburg's reform policies!"

Natasha forced a smile, then sighed with a hint of anxiety in her heart.

At this point, the relationship between her and Zhai Yuan was like that of two sticks fighting a wolf, both afraid of each other, but Zhai Yuan was obviously more indifferent. After the Ural Hotel was bugged, Natasha could only reduce the frequency of the listening and try to extract information from him face to face, but every word he said was watertight.

Unless I change my environment and escape from all the attention I'm currently under...

Having overheard Zhai Yuanfang's conversation with Liu Zhenwei, Natasha took the initiative to ask, "Mr. Zhai, are you going back to Hong Kong?"

Zhai Yuan nodded and said, "Far East Bank is gradually getting back on track. Go back and rest for a while, and come back after the Spring Festival."

After the Spring Festival, the Russian presidential election should be nearing its end. Once President Ye implements a full economic reopening, those 'bad debts' in his hands can gradually be cashed out.

Natasha pondered for a moment, then smiled and winked, "I'd also like to see Hong Kong, the largest film studio in East Asia. I wonder if there's any chance?"

Zhai Yuan turned to look at the woman and grinned, "Of course, you are very welcome to visit my territory."

At this point, Natasha clearly hadn't realized the weight of the words 'my territory'.
She let out a soft breath, determined to use every means at her disposal to take down Zhai Yuan completely during this trip to Hong Kong, before the presidential election was over...

…………

With December approaching, "Iron Man" needs to be released during this year's Spring Festival season, so time is tight and the task is heavy.

After Liu Zhenwei, Chen Musheng, and Zun Long arrived in Yekaterinburg, another special plane arrived the next day to transport the filming equipment and props to the location.

The first Hong Kong film ever shot on location in the Soviet Union has officially begun.

The Sherebryansky quarry, outside Yekaterinburg.

The abandoned mine, with its towering walls and scattered rubble, presents a natural battlefield atmosphere.

As Chen Musheng gave the order to "Action," several armored vehicles appeared slowly at the end of the road, kicking up clouds of dust, on the monitor.

The Soviet actors from the Odessa Film Studio, whom Natasha mentioned, were all ready to go.
Under the studio system, Soviet actors were as dedicated as their counterparts in mainland China at the same time, but they had very few filming opportunities and were cheaper than those in mainland China. If the entertainment industry had developed healthily, the Russian Federation might have been able to occupy a place in the world film industry in the future. However, in the decades that followed, the Russian Federation was in a state of internal and external troubles, and it was too busy to deal with all kinds of big and small matters. Obviously, no one had the mood to take care of entertainment business.

But now Zhai Yuan has arrived with 91 Entertainment, bringing with him funding and a complete set of mature commercial film production processes, and an unprecedented collaborative development in film history has quietly begun.

"After all, it is a superpower that has been able to rival the United States for so many years, leaving behind a wealth of untapped potential."

A shed was set up on a distant hilltop. Zhai Yuan leaned back in his chair, set up a pair of binoculars, and observed the filming scene below, unable to help but sigh inwardly.

The armored vehicle's iron tracks crushed the gravel.

On the monitor screen, John Lone, dressed in a suit, was communicating with Soviet soldiers in English.

boom!
A specially designed shell landed between the armored vehicles, sending up a burst of fire several meters high and blasting an expensive armored vehicle to pieces.

Chen Musheng and his team huddled behind a small hill, staring at the firelight directly in front of them, their hands clenched tightly, their faces filled with barely concealed excitement.

This isn't the black powder commonly seen in Hong Kong movies; it's the real effect of military explosives. Faced with such realistic scenes, even the grand scenes in Chen Shilong's films seem like children playing house.

Bang bang bang! Rat-a-tat-tat! Rat-a-tat-tat!
The film's plot unfolds with a chase targeting John Lone, where two groups of Soviet soldiers in different uniforms engage in a gunfight in a quarry.

Ding!
A mortar shell landed in front of Zunlong, and as the corresponding fear appeared on his face...

Benny Chan raised his megaphone and shouted, "Cut! Stand-in, get in position!"

A foreign stunt double, about the same height as John Lone, stepped forward, took a few deep breaths, squatted down in front of the cannonball, and gave the camera an OK sign.

"Action!"

Immediately afterwards, Chen Musheng's palm swung down.

With a loud bang, the shell exploded suddenly in front of the foreigner. At the same time, several steel cables behind the foreigner's stunt double snapped taut, pulling him backward to create the visual effect of being blasted away by the shell.

Even with a reduced amount of gunpowder and facing the explosion head-on, the Soviet soldiers were still shaken, their ears ringing, their faces and hair charred black.

"Cut! Actors, get back in position!"

John Lone, now sporting a disheveled and dirty makeup look, went over to check on the foreign stunt double for a couple of minutes. Then, lying on the ground, he struck a painful pose in front of the camera, the red ink from the blood bag gradually spreading across his chest...

Mountaintop gazebo

Zhai Yuan stared at the monitor screen and nodded silently.

These kinds of war scenes definitely have more impact when filmed on location.

Liu Zhenwei rubbed his hands together excitedly.

So cool!

The artificial firelight created by A-Xu New Vision Company using green screen post-production is clearly far from reaching this level of quality.

Every roar, every wisp of smoke, and every piece of rubble would take a lot of time to create with computer effects, and would have an awkward floating feel. But in the monitor footage at this moment, every frame of the shot has the weight of real life.

The future of the film industry may gradually move towards the digitalization that Mr. Zhai mentioned.
But the scene that unfolded before Liu Zhenwei today was more shocking than any war film he had ever seen before.

(End of this chapter)