Reborn Action Star: Starting in Hollywood

"You... money alone is not enough; there's another crucial point."

"???"

Depp didn't understand, and Lin Yuan didn't explain.

Lin Yuan couldn't reveal the real reason, as it wouldn't make a difference anyway.

That is, he acted too weakly, which made Amber Heard look down on him in her heart.

Although Depp has never lacked women in the past and seems to be experienced, Lin Yuan knows that he is a complete novice when it comes to the game of men and women.

Because he used to dominate in all his games, and back then he was young and handsome enough that women genuinely liked him when they dated him.

In this situation, no matter how immature Depp acted, women were willing to cater to him, which meant that Depp didn't need to learn any strategies for winning over women.

However, as Depp gets older, even though the media always praises him as a Hollywood heartthrob, his looks are definitely not as good as they were when he was young; this is an ironclad law of nature.

In modern terms, Depp is now considered an old man.

In terms of looks alone, he is definitely not a match for Amber Heard, who is 23 years younger than him. He would have to use money to bridge the gap in their charm.

This made the relationship between the two fundamentally unstable.

Lin Yuan knew he wasn't an omnipotent god and it would be difficult for him to solve such a problem. He only hoped that Depp's marriage wouldn't become a "heavy-taste" news story for the whole world, like in his previous life.

"Let's drink." Lin Yuan didn't know what else to say.

He raised his mare's milk sachet, clinked it against Depp's, and then tilted his head back to drink it down.

Don't drink and drive, but we're already camping tonight.

Given his metabolic rate, he shouldn't be unable to drive by tomorrow morning.

The two sat there silently, occasionally clinking their wine pouches together; everything was contained in the wine.

As night deepened, the temperature continued to drop, and a cold wind swept across the campsite, carrying fine snowflakes.

But the campfire burned even brighter, its orange flames licking the lamb skewers on the iron rack, dripping fat and sizzling, the aroma mingling with the smoke and drifting in the chilly air.

"Is this the essence of a good life?" Depp asked with a smile.

"Such a beautiful night won't come again after filming is over, so cherish it if you think it's great," Lin Yuan said with a smile.

"What are you talking about? Drinking without me?"

Meng Tao had finished roasting the whole lamb and, carrying a large bunch of red willow branches to roast the lamb, sat down next to the two of them.

"Come on, the most authentic Western Region roasted meat."

Depp took the lamb skewers, but instead of eating them right away, he brought the skewers close to his nose and took a deep breath.

The bark of the tamarisk branches was roasted until it cracked slightly, releasing a bitter, resinous aroma that mingled with the smoky scent of mutton and filled the nostrils.

"I had no idea you had this trick up your sleeve."

Depp took his first bite, and the mutton fat burst between his teeth. The scalding juice, mixed with chili powder and coarse salt, made him gasp, but he couldn't bear to spit it out.

The meat is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with the edges slightly charred. When you bite into it, pink juice seeps out, mixed with the unique woody aroma of red willow, creating a storm on your tongue.

“Holy shit…” he muttered, oil slicking down his chin and then smearing it on his jeans.

"Even if I die in this desert tomorrow, at least tonight's meal will have been worth it," Depp said bluntly.

"Shut your stinking mouth!" Meng Tao said sternly.

"I was just saying..." Depp's tone was weak.

“You can’t even talk about it! Although metaphysics is unscientific, there seem to be some unseen laws in this world. You’re speaking without thinking, and you’re afraid of getting into trouble,” Meng Tao said.

"Is it really that bad?" Depp was still somewhat unconvinced.

"Do you know what the Taklamakan Desert means?" Meng Tao asked.

"What do you mean?"

"In the local language, it means 'in but not out,' have you ever thought about it, given your past luck..."

Meng Tao's words completely silenced Depp.

Countless memories flashed through Depp's mind:

While filming "Pirates of the Caribbean," he went into the sea to shoot a scene and almost froze to death in the icy water.
While filming "Pirates of the Caribbean 2", he was bitten by a venomous snake and almost died from an allergic reaction.

While filming "The King of Spies" and "The King of Spies 2"...

These past experiences gave Depp a sense of foreboding, as if he really was always unlucky.
Seeing Depp's somewhat embarrassed yet worried expression, Lin Yuan patted Depp on the shoulder: "Don't worry, although you're always unlucky, with Meng Tao and me around, you've always managed to escape danger."

Hearing Lin Yuan say this, Depp felt relieved and said gratefully, "Lin Yuan, I'm so grateful for your care over the years. I still feel embarrassed when I think about how rude I was when we first met."

Depp was referring to his first encounter with Lin Yuan.

At that time, he formed a potential alliance with director Johnston, wanting to ostracize Lin Yuan from the film crew.

When they first met, the two were on a sampan aboard the Black Pearl. Depp tried to sabotage Lin Yuan by knocking him into the water, but ended up getting soaked himself.

Looking back on that time, Depp feels that he was truly ignorant and fearless, actually trying to confront Lin Yuan.

"Ha...hahaha..." The three of them suddenly burst into laughter.

I never imagined that was so long ago, and that they would go through so much together afterward.

"Come on, let's drink!" The three men's mare's milk wine bags collided heavily together once again.

"Wow! Look at the sky!" Just then, an exclamation came from the camp.

Everyone looked up at the sky and was instantly stunned.

Without the pollution of city lights or the obstruction of clouds, the Milky Way finally reveals its most primal and violent beauty at this moment.

It didn't hang gently in the sky, but rather poured down explosively, as if a god had overturned an entire diamond mine in the air, scattering stardust all over the dome.

"Wow! Is this the Milky Way? I've never seen such a dazzling Milky Way before!"

"Shouldn't it be called the Diamond Galaxy? It's so magnificent!"

"Director, quickly film this! This scene could totally be used in a landscape documentary."

Throughout the camp, the crew members exclaimed in admiration.

"あれ! 星が踊っている!"

Lin Yuan heard GAKKI-chan exclaim in her native language in surprise, and he laughed, patted his bottom, and got up from the ground.

"You guys drink, I'm leaving now."

"Tch! He values ​​women more than friends." *2
Lin Yuan didn't mind and walked towards GAKKI and Charlize Theron with a smile.

Upon seeing Lin Yuan's arrival, the two tacitly moved to either side, making room for each other.

Lin Yuan casually sat down between the two.

"Why are you looking at me? I'm here to watch the stars with you. Isn't that romantic?" Lin Yuan asked.

When you say that, can you please look at where your hands are?

"Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you're covered by a blanket." The two women thought to themselves in unison.

"What's so interesting about the stars? You're more beautiful than me. I'll never get tired of looking at you." Charlize Theron's cheesy pickup line was clearly meant to annoy Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan retorted without backing down: "Don't stare at me, it's tiring."

Charlize Theron realized something was wrong and completely ignored the retort.

But GAKKI asked, rather naively, "Why?"

"Because you'll be tempted!"

(Benefit)*2
How disgusting, I feel like throwing up.

Indeed, fighting disgust with disgust is the best way.

“Don’t keep an eye on us either, it’s tiring,” Charlize Theron retorted.

"I'm not tempted," Lin Yuan said with a smile.

But his smile quickly faded as a hand reached out from under the blanket.

Lin Yuan: (ω)
The cold winter night seemed to have become warm...

……

……

The next morning, Lin Yuan woke up early in his Mitsubishi Pajero.

He pulled away from the four jade arms that were wrapped around his neck and put on his clothes.

As Lin Yuan moved, GAKKI-chan and Charlize also woke up.

"It's only six o'clock?" GAKKI looked at her watch, which showed the local time.

“Yes, it gets light early in the desert. The light is already quite bright even before the sun has risen above the horizon,” Lin Yuan continued. “The road is starting to get difficult today, so we need to set off early.”

"Yes, I hope everything goes well today," GAKKI-chan nodded.

But reality often doesn't go as planned. After yesterday's smooth sailing and the wonderful bonfire party last night, the second day's itinerary was met with all sorts of setbacks as soon as it began.

First, the ice on the river surface froze overnight, then melted into mud at noon, and the Dongfeng truck got stuck in the icy mud.

Meng Tao could only temporarily organize people to solve the problem by paving a road with wooden planks and using camels to drag the road. It took 4 hours.

Immediately afterwards, the Mitsubishi Pajero that director Miller was riding in had a problem; the V33 carburetor froze due to the -20°C temperature.

When the mechanic was using a blowtorch to heat the blankets, he accidentally ignited them.

Fortunately, Meng Tao had prepared enough fire extinguishers and put out the fire in time; otherwise, the entire vehicle might have been totaled.

After this series of twists and turns, they had only traveled less than 60 kilometers on the second day.

Just when the crew thought the second day was bad enough, the experience on the third day made them truly understand why the Taklamakan Desert is feared by the locals as the "Sea of ​​Death."

At noon on the third day, the sun was suddenly shrouded in a layer of gray, like a light bulb scratched by sandpaper.

"What's going on? This looks really bad," Depp's voice came through the car radio.

"My ears hurt a little," Lin Yuan also said.

He was quite familiar with this kind of pain.

It's very similar to the eardrum pain he experienced when he emerged from the deep sea during the filming of "The Spy King 2".

That's the pain from the pressure on the eardrum when the air pressure changes suddenly, similar to the throbbing pain during takeoff and landing of an airplane.

"Lin Yuan, look! The desert at the 9 o'clock position is moving!" Director Miller exclaimed over the call channel.

Everyone looked in the direction director Miller pointed, and saw the sand dune line in the distance begin to twist and writhe violently.

Lin Yuan and Meng Tao were immediately horrified—this was no sand dune movement at all.
It is not a mirage, but a precursor to trillions of tons of sand being lifted into the stratosphere.

"Damn it, the instruments show a wind speed of 113 kilometers per hour, it's a black sandstorm! A black sandstorm is coming!" Meng Tao roared.

"A black sandstorm? That sounds serious?" Depp asked, looking rather clueless.

"F*CK! This time, the supplies might suffer a major loss, and our filming opportunity will be canceled halfway! How could there be such a strong sandstorm? The weather forecast is completely inaccurate!" Meng Tao said angrily.

"Meng Tao, calm down!" Lin Yuan immediately reassured him, "How long until the sandstorm arrives? Quickly execute the contingency plan."

Hearing Lin Yuan's words, Meng Tao's anxiety lessened considerably. He carefully assessed the situation and said, "We expect to arrive in 15 minutes, which will give us time to prepare."

"Trucks are on the outermost layer, off-road vehicles and jeeps are in the middle, and camel herds are on the innermost layer."

"All vehicles are chained together with their front ends facing outwards."

"All camels are blindfolded, connected by saddle ropes, and their front legs are locked to restrict movement!"

……

Under Meng Tao's command, the pre-arranged plans were being executed in an orderly manner.

With all preparations complete, the black sandstorm was just around the corner.

The skull-shaped cloud structure of the sandstorm eyewall was clearly visible in the air. The strong winds, mixed with sand, lashed against the windshields of vehicles, making a crackling sound, like popping beans.

"Sit still in the car and don't open the doors or windows," Meng Tao instructed again, then opened the car door to get out.

"Meng Tao, where are you going?" Scarlett Johansson reached out and grabbed his clothes.

“I’m going to the inner area to be with the camel trainers and the camel caravan,” Meng Tao said.

“It’s too dangerous. What are you going there for?” Depp asked as well.

Meng Tao shook his head: "It's not that dangerous. The camel caravan is on the innermost layer. But someone has to watch over it; it's not enough to just leave it to the camel trainer."

"Why? Don't camels instinctively know how to avoid sandstorms?" Director Miller asked over the communication channel.

“The sandstorm is too large to be managed without human intervention. If I don’t go and face it with the camel herds, they will also hide in the vehicles. If the camel herd goes berserk, we will lose a lot of supplies,” Meng Tao said.

"I'll go with you," Lin Yuan said, having remained silent until now.

“Lin Yuan, you stay in the vehicle. You don’t know how to manage a camel herd. This is my responsibility. If I make you do everything, it makes me look like a useless piece of trash,” Meng Tao immediately refused.

Hearing him say that, Lin Yuan had no choice but to give up.

Meng Tao immediately jumped out of the car and went to the innermost part of the camel herd.

All the camels were linked together by iron chains into a hexagonal structure, with each camel spaced 1.8 meters apart.

This series structure can create air vortices in strong winds, reducing wind pressure by 30%.

The cargo on the camels has been unloaded and piled up at a 45-degree angle downwind to form an artificial sand barrier.

Seeing how skillfully the camel trainers completed their preparations, Meng Tao nodded to himself.

He went to the center of the camel trainers, exchanged a few words with the leader, and then sat down with his back to a camel.

With Meng Tao personally overseeing things, the camel trainers felt embarrassed to get on the vehicles to avoid the sandstorm and could only stay in place with Meng Tao to face the onslaught.

Finally, a fierce wind, carrying countless grains of sand, howled in... (End of Chapter)