126: Chapter 126 Furniture God of War

After the prop crisis was resolved, the filming progress of "police story 2025" noticeably accelerated.

Today was a major scene—an alley fight.

Plot setup: The protagonist, Chan Ka-kui (played by Su Zhe), is blocked in a narrow dead-end alley by over a dozen thugs from an opposing gang during his investigation.

He has no gun, and no knife.

He can only use what's at hand to fight his way out.

On set.

The action director, Uncle Hong—yes, he had followed along again, this time as the film's action director—was giving Su Zhe instructions for the scene.

"Teacher Su, the action we've designed for this scene is a head-on, hard-hitting clash."

"The other side has steel pipes, and you are empty-handed."

"You need to use the wall for a rebound kick, then disarm them, and then use..."

As Su Zhe listened, his brow furrowed.

He glanced at the alley.

Both sides were piled high with miscellaneous items, there were a few shared bikes that looked quite new, and some air conditioner outdoor units hanging on the wall.

"Director Hong, wait a second."

Su Zhe interrupted him and asked, "Fight here? What if I accidentally scrape off the wall plaster, or kick the air conditioner outdoor unit until it's dented... does the crew have to pay for it?"

Uncle Hong paused, stunned: "That's for sure. It's written in the venue rental contract; any damage must be compensated at cost."

Su Zhe's heart gave a violent jolt.

Compensation?

That was absolutely out of the question!

The current crew budget might be his future bonus pool, and it was already very tight; there absolutely could not be any extra expenses!

"No way!"

Su Zhe rejected this action design decisively and hurriedly said, "It's too violent, too expensive. We need to fight a bit more civilly, and try to avoid damaging public property as much as possible!"

Uncle Hong was dumbfounded: "This... this is an action movie, Teacher Su! How can we do it without fighting? Do you expect us to reason with the thugs?"

"Who said we aren't fighting?"

Su Zhe's eyes scanned the surroundings.

Finally.

His gaze locked onto an aluminum alloy folding stepladder that had been brought back from the second-hand market and was leaning against the corner of the wall.

That was something he had picked up for 15 yuan, originally intended for changing light bulbs.

Su Zhe walked over.

He grabbed the ladder.

He weighed it in his hand.

"We'll use this."

"Use this?"

Uncle Hong was dumbfounded, "Fight with a ladder? This... isn't this too ridiculous?"

Su Zhe pushed up his non-existent glasses and revealed a confident smile.

"Director Hong, this isn't called ridiculous, this is called... Furniture War God."

...

"Action!"

Following Director Chen's command.

A dozen stuntmen holding soft rubber steel pipes rushed into the alley with roars.

Su Zhe stood at the end of the dead-end alley.

He wasn't holding any divine weapon or sharp blade.

Instead, he was hugging that not-so-light folding ladder.

"Go! Kill him!"

At the command of the lead extra, three steel pipes smashed toward Su Zhe's head simultaneously.

If it were a conventional fighting style, Su Zhe should have stepped back to dodge.

But he didn't.

He pushed out with both hands.

"Snap!"

The folding ladder instantly unfolded.

Like a shield, it precisely blocked those three steel pipes.

"Clang, clang, clang!"

Immediately following.

Su Zhe turned his wrist, and the ladder closed.

It happened to clamp the wrist of the thug in the middle.

"Ouch!"

The thug let out a miserable shriek, and the steel pipe in his hand dropped.

Su Zhe pulled in one motion.

The ladder seemed to have a life of its own, taking that thug and spinning him around, not only blocking the attacks of the people behind but also conveniently throwing this unlucky guy into the wall.

Holy crap?

Behind the monitor, Director Chen's eyes widened.

"This works too?"

But this was just the beginning.

For the next three minutes.

Su Zhe showed the entire crew what it meant to have "a ladder growing on his body."

A thug tried to kick him.

Su Zhe stabbed the ladder into the ground, climbed up along the ladder, and then did a backflip, with the ladder perfectly fitting over the thug's neck.

"Crash!"

The thug became a "prisoner in a cangue," crashing into his companion while dizzy.

Two thugs attacked from left and right.

Su Zhe held the ladder horizontally, one end for each person, perfectly jamming their waists.

Then he spun it violently.

"Off you go!"

The two people were thrown away like spinning tops.

The most brilliant part was the final move.

The lead extra rushed over with a prop machete.

The ladder in Su Zhe's hands suddenly opened.

The thug slashed his knife onto the crossbar of the ladder and got stuck.

He couldn't pull it out.

Su Zhe took the opportunity to close the ladder.

Snap!

The ladder not only clamped the knife but also conveniently clamped the thug's fingers.

"Ah... it hurts, it hurts, it hurts..."

The thug let out a genuine scream; although Su Zhe had pulled his punches, the sense of fear was real.

Su Zhe kicked him in the butt.

The thug flew out along with the ladder, crashing perfectly into a pile of empty cardboard boxes.

"Perfect!"

Su Zhe clapped his hands, standing amidst the chaos, calm and composed.

Cut!

Director Chen jumped up excitedly, even ripping his headphone cable.

"Amazing! Amazing! This fight scene is so inspired! Not only is it tense and exciting, but that feeling of wit amidst the ridiculousness... it's simply the Furniture War God!"

Uncle Hong was also stunned.

He had practiced martial arts his whole life and had never seen anyone be able to pull off such tricks with a broken ladder.

"This core strength, this equipment control... Su Zhe, tell me honestly, did you work on a renovation crew before?"

Su Zhe walked over to Director Chen.

He picked up the ladder that had done such a great service.

He stroked the white mark where it had been slashed with a pained expression.

"Director. The scene is finished. But this ladder... seems to have some wear and tear."

Director Chen waved his hand grandly: "Reimbursed! I'll buy you a new one!"

"No, no, no."

Su Zhe quickly waved his hands.

"A new one is too expensive, it costs several hundred. This one can still be used, just needs a little repair. What I mean is..."

Su Zhe pointed to the surrounding intact walls, air conditioner outdoor units, and shared bikes.

"You see. In order to protect this public property, to keep the crew from paying for damages, I specifically used this 'overcoming hardness with softness' fighting style. Does this count as... saving the crew from a huge economic loss?"

Director Chen was stunned.

He looked around.

Indeed.

If they had really fought according to the original plan, this wall plaster would definitely have fallen off, the air conditioner outdoor units would definitely have been dented, and the compensation would have been at least tens of thousands.

"It counts! Of course it counts!"

"Then..."

Su Zhe rubbed his hands together, revealing a familiar smile, "Can that... saved tens of thousands of yuan... be..."

Director Chen understood instantly.

He pointed at Su Zhe, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"You, oh you! Are you obsessed with money? Fine! Tonight's boxed meal, I'll add a roast chicken for you! Plus a five-hundred-yuan bonus! Is that enough?"

Su Zhe's eyes lit up.

Five hundred?

Deal!

He happily carried the ladder, which had only cost 15 yuan but had now increased in value, on his shoulder.

"Wrap! Let's go get the roast chicken!"

Watching Su Zhe's cheerful back.

Uncle Hong couldn't help but sigh: "Young people these days... for the sake of a bite to eat, they really can force out any martial arts secret technique. This isn't an action actor? This is clearly a 'meal-chaser' fighting for survival!"