121: Chapter 121 Confirmation

Late at night, just past midnight.

Compared to the massive waves Meng Zhu had stirred up on the internet, the apartment was completely silent at this moment.

"Ding-dong, you have a new communication request!"

Smart communication.

"Anna, who is being so inconsiderate?"

"Master, it is Li Feng, marked as Team Leader Li of the Film Bureau."

Meng Zhu, who was fast asleep, was woken up and irritably scratched his hair.

He sat up from the bed, grabbed a soft pillow to hold in his arms, and yawned while authorizing the connection.

A holographic screen instantly unfolded in front of the bed.

In the screen was Li Feng's face, etched with exhaustion yet looking exceptionally stern; the background was surprisingly still his office.

"Team Leader Li?"

Meng Zhu rubbed his sleepy eyes, his voice thick with nasal congestion.

"Is there some urgent military intelligence? What time is it? Don't you know that we actors need our beauty sleep?"

His tone was half-complaining, half-teasing.

Li Feng, watching Meng Zhu on the screen holding a pillow with messy hair and looking half-asleep, felt a flare of anger.

The meeting held for Meng Zhu after the movie ended meant he hadn't gotten off work even at midnight.

He had also intentionally called Meng Zhu at this hour, purely to annoy him.

But seeing that Meng Zhu wasn't angry and was instead teasing him cheerfully like a friend, Li Feng felt a bit embarrassed.

Coughing twice, he decided to get straight to the point.

He said in a deep voice, "Meng Zhu, you win."

"Win what? Winning by doing nothing?"

Li Feng rolled his eyes, ignoring his nonsense.

"The Film Bureau's evaluation meeting has just concluded."

"Your third movie has proven that you are the genius among geniuses."

At this point, Li Feng's eyes became complex, filled with frustration, relief, and even a hint of expectation.

"We have unanimously decided to approve you as a special case. The Film Bureau has officially passed a resolution allowing you to test-shoot a... movie where you can replace the protagonist instead of a supporting role."

He finished speaking.

He thought that after hearing this, Meng Zhu's sleepiness would vanish.

After all, this was the first time in many years that the Federation had restarted the protagonist replacement project!

This was the glory of a pioneer, an achievement to be recorded in history, and the expectation of hundreds of millions of netizens and fans!

However, Meng Zhu on the other side of the holographic screen simply rested his head lazily, the drowsiness on his face seeming even heavier than before.

He couldn't even help but yawn again.

Then, he asked in a tone that was almost indifferent and purely curious:

"Team Leader Li, when did I ever say I wanted to play the protagonist?"

"When did you, or rather your Film Bureau, get the illusion that 'replacing the protagonist' was something I was asking for?"

"Isn't that... the expectation of the audience and fans?"

...

The expression on Li Feng's face froze.

He was dazed for a moment, his mind going blank.

Then he subconsciously recalled his interactions with Meng Zhu and all related reports.

Had he ever said he wanted to play the protagonist?

No.

In fact, he had acted a supporting role into a protagonist.

So acting as a protagonist or not didn't seem to make any difference to him.

Wanting him to act as the protagonist, wanting him to be a pioneer, wanting him to break the rules...

All of this, from beginning to end, seemed to be nothing but wishful thinking on the part of them and the netizens.

This opportunity was something countless actors in the Federation dreamed of; if successful, the contribution would be enough to bring honor to one's ancestors and go down in history.

But Li Feng had never imagined that Meng Zhu would not care, or even refuse.

Li Feng opened his mouth, feeling a toothache.

He knew the tables had turned.

Especially after the third movie, the current netizens were already impatient.

And the Film Bureau's evaluation believed that apart from Meng Zhu, there was probably no actor who could guarantee no mishaps.

It was easy to imagine that if they changed to another highly anticipated actor and the start was a disaster, the protagonist replacement project wouldn't be able to restart for at least several years.

Li Feng wanted to slap himself twice.

He had actually overlooked such an important matter.

After a long silence, Li Feng looked up at Meng Zhu.

He was met with his half-smiling gaze.

Li Feng's heart skipped a beat.

This matter didn't seem hopeless; it could be discussed.

So his tone was unprecedentedly serious.

"What do you want?"

A glint of light flashed in Meng Zhu's eyes.

"I want information."

Hearing this, Li Feng's heart immediately tightened, and he pressed a button under the desk without changing his expression.

In an instant, their conversation was broadcasted in its entirety.

Li Feng thought for a moment and nodded slowly.

"Fine, but you can only ask one question. Think it through, and don't go too far."

Meng Zhu frowned and swallowed the question he had just thought of.

Indeed, the Federation was now being coerced by netizens, and the protagonist replacement project was imperative.

But the Federation was not without a retreat.

It was, after all, a state machine.

It would just cost some price, requiring a large amount of manpower and resources.

But this didn't mean Meng Zhu had the Federation in his grasp.

If the question was too excessive, the Federation could very well refuse.

This time it was Meng Zhu's turn to be silent.

After pondering for a long time, Meng Zhu raised his head again.

"My question is, like the internal power system in my last movie, does this kind of supernatural power actually exist, and does it have any practical use?"

Meng Zhu didn't ask about his wives; he guessed that might be of a very high security clearance.

And since there were clear conditions to unlock it, there was no need to waste it here.

As someone who had transmigrated to this world, how could he not yearn for the supernatural? Asking this question was very normal.

Of course, whether the supernatural existed wasn't actually important; Meng Zhu naturally had other purposes, but he wouldn't say it explicitly.

To be honest, this question really surprised Li Feng.

But he was a professional; he didn't answer on his own but waited for instructions in his earpiece.

Behind this earpiece sat a whole analysis team, as well as experts and leaders who had just been woken up.

After the team analyzed it, Li Feng understood Meng Zhu's scheme.

It had to be said that the Federation had done a complete background check on Meng Zhu.

But this person seemed to only reveal the tip of the iceberg, with the vast majority hidden in the shadows only he knew about.

Even though he had thought of him as very smart, he was still impossible to guard against.

After considering for a long time, and with Meng Zhu not in a hurry, Li Feng finally received the instructions.

He began to answer unhurriedly.

"That kind of supernatural cultivation system is both useful and useless."

Without waiting for Meng Zhu to continue asking, Li Feng was quite tactful.

"Useless means that you can never cultivate internal power in the real world, and it's even more impossible to have other supernatural powers."

"Useful means that if you are set as the ceiling of martial arts in a movie, then as long as you master all the martial arts you were set with and make them your own, it will be useful."

Meng Zhu frowned.

Li Feng didn't beat around the bush.

"For example, if your next movie is still a historical martial arts background, but you are set as a scholar, theoretically, if you happen to start learning martial arts, you might advance by leaps and bounds until you break your own setting and become a martial arts master."

With just this sentence, Meng Zhu smiled.

This was a completely unnecessary rule setting, very redundant.

Unless... the super intelligence simply couldn't control or change it.

So he was very happy and blurted out:

"Sure enough, the movie world is simply not as simple as a virtual world."

This was the solid proof from the authorities.

Li Feng was not surprised to hear this, but he just closed his mouth, the meaning self-evident.

Other information would cost extra, and it might not be for sale.

Meng Zhu also knew when to stop; after all, there would be plenty of time in the future.