I am a Big Player
Chapter 653 - 644, the crew has arrived, the destination is the City that Never Sleeps!_1

Chapter 653: 644, the crew has arrived, the destination is the City that Never Sleeps!_1

Ren He wolfed down his meal, having returned to Karamay late last night to install the car’s satellite phone and stealthily replenish the water in his cartoon cup: He bought two packs of bottled water and secretly poured it into the cup while in his car.

After replenishing his water supply and quickly taking a bath somewhere, he rushed back on the road. He was afraid that Li Kun and his people might suddenly venture into the Desert without warning, and what if they killed a yak while he was unprepared? Wouldn’t that be a classic case of shooting himself in the foot?

Even Ren He found the journey tiring, but he was fortunate to have the ’Banquet’ skill provided by the Divine Punishment System. As long as he ate enough food, he could absolutely ensure he had plenty of strength and energy.

In everyday city life, this skill was honestly quite superfluous, but it was only in the Desert or while engaging in extreme sports that Ren He realized just how practical this skill really was.

Now, after finishing two plates of food and two bowls of plain noodles mixed with vegetable soup, Ren He felt completely rejuvenated, as if he’d come back to life. Xinjiang’s cuisine has a rich variety of ingredients, mainly consisting of vegetables, fruits, fish, meat, and eggs. The difference in seasoning for vegetables is similar to that of other cuisines, with the main distinctions in the use of meat and eggs, which have their own unique customs and particularities. Xinjiang cuisine is predominantly halal, with beef and mutton as staples, often prepared with cooking methods like explosion, roasting, hot pot, braising, sauces, grilling, and steaming. Famous dishes include roasted whole lamb, big-plate chicken, bread soaked in mutton soup, and hand-pulled mutton, with a tendency towards sour and spicy flavors.

Ren He, after all, had eaten fish-flavored shredded pork from four or five shady restaurants. Some made it with chicken, others with mutton, but never with pork, and each dish was spicier than the last, which was quite a characteristic. To tell you the truth, it actually tasted pretty good.

But in this godforsaken place, taking a bath was utterly pointless. His face, freshly washed just yesterday, was now covered in dust.

However, for someone like Ren He who had endured seven days in a stench-filled sewer, a bit of dirt was nothing.

Coming to the Desert for this mission also represented an exotic experience for Ren He. In his previous life, he wouldn’t have dared to imagine lying in ambush for a poaching gang in the Desert. He would’ve been content just watching movies about it.

His trip back to Karamay for supplies was entirely to avoid drawing attention at these shady establishments; if he had replenished a large amount of water and food here, even a fool would know he was heading into the Desert. By that time, Li Kun and his gang would probably have started wondering: Why would a mere shopper follow us into the Desert?

Upon seeing Ren He full and satisfied, the boss amiably suggested, "There’s a place here where you can rest. Do you want to replenish your car’s fresh water supply or...?" It seemed the boss had mistaken Ren He for the kind of hardened character who faced life and death in the Desert, like Li Kun.

"No need," Ren He waved his hand, "I’m hurrying back to Urumqi, not going into the Desert. Why would I need to replenish water?"

Ren He handed the boss a hundred yuan: "No need for change," he thought, damn, I hope I’m not overplaying it this time! If he says I’m short by 20 again, I’m smashing the place up!

Ren He chuckled to himself, the boss wasn’t even the same person, so why was he adding to the drama?

That said, he glanced outside at the sandstorm which showed no signs of abating. But he could wait no longer. Wrapping his scarf around himself, Ren He got into his car and plunged into the sandstorm, completely obscuring his direction from anyone’s sight.

Ren He actually appreciated the weather, thinking it was better to drive slowly than to let his movements be discovered.

After confirming that Ren He had left, the shady restaurant’s boss picked up a shabby, makeshift satellite phone: "Hey, cousin, that guy went to Urumqi. He didn’t enter the Desert or replenish any fresh water."

...

A sandstorm had howled for three whole days before it finally subsided, intermittently waning but always returning with vigorous force.

When the sandstorm had calmed, a convoy of about a dozen vehicles of various colors drove into Karamay City. Zhang Ming hopped out of the car with a sprightliness that belied his years, showing no sign of fatigue.

Some said Zhang Ming was a workaholic; once a film crew got underway, one wouldn’t dream of seeing him rest until the shooting was wrapped up.

This had been the case since Zhang Ming’s early days, and decades later, it remained unchanged. And so, others said that Zhang Ming’s fame was the result of his own struggle, a reward for his diligence.

But success in this world is never that simple; people only see the halo of success and then cherry-pick virtues from that person to critique and analyze.

"Stock up on water," Zhang Ming cheerfully told all the crew members as he looked at the clear skies of the desert that followed the sandstorm. "This is the last stop before we enter the desert. Brace yourselves for the hardship ahead. Once we’re in, it could be half a month to a month without the chance to return to the city for enjoyment."

"Roger that, you can count on us. Ever since becoming actors, we never expected an easy life," Li Shuaizhen, who followed the crew, laughed. He was fortunate to have landed the role previously played by Xu Zheng in "No Man’s Land": the lawyer with the surname Xiao.

He had also played Xu Zheng’s character in "Crazy Stone," and now here he was again, only this time within the pages of the script.

Although it had been a long time since he’d last seen his dormitory roommate, who was even unreachable by phone, he felt deeply grateful from the bottom of his heart. The main role he had been granted was not easily come by, and he had to seize it.

For this role, Zhang Ming hadn’t allowed him to go home over the New Year, making him stay in Zhang Ming’s house to discuss the script daily with the old man, and then to practice acting under Zhang Ming’s guidance.

He was very much aware that if his acting wasn’t up to snuff, it would be a waste of a good script, and so he studied ever harder. The longer Zhang Ming trained him, the more he admired the director—where else could you find a director who would so hands-on teach an actor? Moreover, Zhang Ming even let Li Shuaizhen stay at his house.

On New Year’s Eve, Zhang Ming’s wife made dumplings for both Zhang Ming and Li Shuaizhen; Li now respectfully referred to her as his master’s wife. That night, lying in the guest room bed with his eyes brimming with tears, he felt homesick, and he also felt that after all his crafty endeavours in the tough grind of Hengdian, his breakout day had finally come.

He knew very well that if "No Man’s Land" was well-made, it would bring him both fame and fortune. But he was also aware that this wasn’t just due to his unique talent that had caught Director Zhang’s eye—it was because of Ren He.

He wondered what that classmate of his was doing in the Capital these days.

At that moment, the assistant director approached Director Zhang and said, "Let’s rest a bit before we head north. We found out half a month ago that there’s a City that Never Sleeps on the 217 National Highway up north. It matches the ’Paris of Night’ in our script quite well, so we can spend money to shoot there directly."