Chapter 491 - 322: Is There a Suitable Role for Me?

Chapter 491: Chapter 322: Is There a Suitable Role for Me?

’Excellent, excellent, excellent.’

Li Wei was overjoyed.

Coming to Hollywood was the right call. The system and the [Jester’s Skull] had truly let him exploit a bug.

"Mr. Li Wei?" Jason Miller noticed Li Wei’s attention seemed to be caught by something. He followed his gaze toward Soundstage 9. "What is it?"

"It’s nothing," Li Wei said, making an excuse. "Is Director Guillermo Del Toro filming here too?"

"Oh, yes. Are you a fan of his, Mr. Li Wei?" Jason thought for a moment before adding uncertainly, "If I remember correctly, he just signed a deal with Netflix last year. He should be filming a new fantasy movie right now."

"Of course. I grew up watching his fantasy films," Li Wei said with a smile. "*Pan’s Labyrinth*, *Pacific Rim*... they’re all excellent movies. I’ve seen *Pacific Rim* in particular many times."

"Yeah. Unfortunately, not many traditional film companies are willing to give him such a huge budget to make movies anymore," Jason Miller shrugged. "Especially with how advanced visual effects are these days. He still insists on using real props, real mechanical structures, and real makeup."

Li Wei nodded. The Jaeger cockpits in *Pacific Rim* were built at a 1:1 scale. With today’s increasingly advanced special effects and rendering technology, that kind of approach would inevitably demand a high cost and long work hours.

’No wonder the system could be glitched like this by him.’

"I really like his movies," Li Wei asked suddenly. "Can we go inside and take a look?"

Jason was taken aback.

This wasn’t on the itinerary for today. Besides, this was a Netflix project, not one of Warner’s own.

However, Jason Miller had been in this business for ten years. Satisfying a client’s requests was something he did almost every week.

"I’ll go ask," he said immediately. "I haven’t dealt with his crew before, but I know someone in Warner’s location coordination team. Let me make a call first."

"Alright, go ahead and ask," Li Wei said. "Make sure to give them a heads-up. Filming is a confidential matter, after all."

Jason nodded and stepped aside, pulling out his phone to make the call.

Less than five minutes later, Jason returned.

"It’s all set," he said. "The guy from Warner helped me contact the on-site supervisor from Netflix. They said we can visit, but we’ll need to sign an NDA, and we can’t stay for too long."

"No problem. Just the two of us will go. We’ll take a quick look and leave," Li Wei said to Anya. "You look so tired you can barely keep your eyes open. Why don’t you guys go rest in the car first?"

Anya nodded, a bit dazed. After spending the whole afternoon on the set, the evening sun made her feel completely drained. She and Daria went straight back to the car to rest.

Jin Heon was also sent back to the car. In the end, only Li Wei and Jason headed to Soundstage 9 for the tour.

Soundstage 9 was a size larger than Soundstage 16 and significantly taller. The interior ceiling height was likely over 20 meters.

When the on-site supervisor from Netflix saw Li Wei standing next to Jason, he froze.

"Jason, you should have told me earlier!" he said, giving Jason a friendly punch on the chest. "You should’ve just said your client was Li Wei! And here I was, making you beg me for ages."

"Don’t blame him," Li Wei said with a smile. "I’m a fan of Director Guillermo Del Toro. I just happened to be passing by and was hoping I could come take a look."

"Well, then I’d have to say you’re really lucky," the Netflix supervisor said, shaking his head as he personally pulled open the soundstage’s side door. "There’s a real behemoth inside."

The moment a crack appeared in the doorway, Li Wei’s breath quickened involuntarily.

He saw a giant dragon lying in the center of the soundstage.

Its body stretched from one end of the stage almost to the other, nearly 40 meters long from tail to head.

Its head was raised high, about seven or eight meters off the ground. Its mouth was slightly open, revealing two rows of interlocking fangs, each as long as a forearm.

The dragon’s body was covered in dense scales. Each one had been hand-carved and then individually painted with metallic lacquer. Under the lights from the ceiling, they refracted a deep luster somewhere between Gold and amber.

Its wings were folded at its sides. If they were fully spread, Li Wei estimated its wingspan would exceed 60 meters.

But what truly made Li Wei understand why only a deep-pocketed new media giant like Netflix would be willing to invest in Guillermo Del Toro was that this dragon was not a static sculpture.

Two technicians inside the soundstage were standing on scissor lifts, constantly adjusting the mechanical structure of the head. With a low hydraulic hiss, the dragon’s head turned about 30 degrees. Its eyes, inlaid with golden irises, swept past Li Wei’s direction as if scanning for prey.

The system even popped up a new quest window:

[You have witnessed a Gold-rank creature in its entirety for the first time]

[Your understanding of this world’s Power has deepened]

[Free attribute points +0.1]

"My God," Jason Miller said, dumbfounded. "How was this made?"

"Entirely by hand," the Netflix supervisor said, his tone a mixture of pride and exasperation. "Director Del Toro’s team brought in a crew from Italy that specializes in mechanical stage structures for operas to design it. The design alone took three months, and the construction took over a whole year."

"The head and forelimbs can move within a certain range of motion," he said, pointing to the dense network of pipes and control boxes beneath the dragon’s body. "The tail and wings are pulled by steel cables."

Li Wei walked to the front of the great dragon and studied it carefully.

"Take your time looking around," the supervisor instructed. "I’ll go get Director Del Toro."

Soon, he returned with a short, stout, middle-aged man. The man had a round face, black-framed glasses, and was wearing a dark blue work jacket. His hair was messy, giving him the air of an artist, but he didn’t quite look like a master who had won an Oscar for Best Director.

"You’re Li Wei?" He recognized Li Wei at a glance. "I’ve seen your games. Very exciting."

"Director Del Toro," Li Wei said, shaking his hand. "I’m a fan of your work."

"A fan of my work! I’m a fan of *your* work!" Del Toro boomed with laughter.

Seeing Li Wei constantly studying the great dragon, his eyes lit up, and he proactively began to tell him about it.

"Her name is Aurora," he said, patting a scale on the dragon’s claw with immense pride. "This movie is called *The Last Flying Dragon*. It’s an exclusive project I signed with Netflix. In the story, Aurora is the last flying dragon in the world. Her parents were killed by humans, and she decides to take her revenge on mankind."

He pointed to the dense web of hydraulic lines and control modules under the dragon’s body.

"The team from La Scala opera house in Italy spent a year building it," he said. "This head alone has over 200 independent joints, allowing it to perform all facial expressions like blinking, opening its mouth, turning its head, and flaring its nostrils."

"4,217 scales, 327 bones," he added. "Every single piece is numbered."

"Incredible," Li Wei said in admiration.

’In this day and age, there really aren’t many veterans left who stick to old-school, hands-on methods,’ Li Wei thought. ’Most movies nowadays claim to have ever-increasing budgets, but their visual effects show little improvement. Who knows where all that money is going.’

Just then, the system popped up again.

[Hidden Quest: Dragon Blood Knight Advancement]

[You have endured countless hardships and traveled over mountains and rivers to finally find a trace of it.]

[You have witnessed the howls of vampire hordes, you have survived the march of the undead legions, you have overcome all manner of cruel trials, and now, you finally stand before it.]

[The Dragon Blood within you trembles—with fear, but also with excitement. It yearns to devour true Dragon Blood, a true dragon heart, and evolve into a true Gold-rank creature... provided you survive.]

[Quest Objective: Slay the great dragon and obtain its heart.]

[Quest Reward: Dragon Blood Knight Advancement]

’Such a grand description, even talking about devouring a dragon’s heart,’ Li Wei thought to himself.

But that raised a question. Li Wei looked at the great dragon before him.

How was he supposed to get its heart?

’Buy it and take it apart?’

"Director Del Toro," Li Wei couldn’t help but ask as he gazed at the lifelike dragon. "This dragon... what will happen to it after filming is done?"

"What do you mean?" Del Toro tilted his head.

"I mean, after shooting is over, will this model be dismantled or preserved?" Li Wei asked directly. "If there’s any chance of it being sold, I’d like to buy it."

Del Toro was stunned for a moment, then he burst out laughing.

"Do you have any idea how many people have asked me that question?" he said, rubbing the stubble on his chin. "Unfortunately, I don’t plan on selling it before the movie is finished. Besides, Universal Studios is already in talks with me. I’ll most likely sell it to them. I heard they plan to put it in the Harry Potter park."

Li Wei nodded, showing no particular reaction. Instead, he continued chatting with Guillermo Del Toro about the movie’s premise.

As they talked, they found themselves getting along very well, and Li Wei spoke up again.

"Has casting finished yet?" he asked. "Are there any roles that might be suitable for me?"

The smile on Del Toro’s face vanished. He looked Li Wei up and down.

A height of 188 cm, a perfect shoulder-to-waist ratio, a handsome face with strong yet refined features.

He was younger, more handsome, and stronger than Henry Cavill.

"Are you serious?" he asked.

"Of course," Li Wei nodded.

’First, I’ll get on the inside. Then I’ll find a chance to dismantle it.’

Del Toro pondered for a moment.

"We’ve already cast all the other roles," he said. "The only one left is the Dragon Slayer who has to kill the dragon, the role of a young soldier."

"My casting director has already seen hundreds of people," he said, spreading his hands. "But frankly, I haven’t seen anyone who satisfies me yet."

He looked at Li Wei, glancing him up and down, then suddenly clicked his tongue in wonder. "Your look is certainly right for it."

But then he shook his head. "I just don’t know about your acting skills."

He thought for a moment and finally said, "How about this: have your agent send me your information and go through the normal application process, but you’ll go straight to the final round of auditions. How does that sound? I’m not an investor in this film, so I can’t just hire you as the male lead because you’re a Super Bowl champion. The risk is too great."

"No problem," Li Wei nodded. "Thank you, Director Del Toro."

The two chatted for a few more minutes, and after taking a photo together, Li Wei and his group left Soundstage 9.

He absolutely had to complete this Dragon Blood Knight advancement quest. After all, it was one of the best ways to get a massive boost to his stats.

If the security measures and surveillance here weren’t so strict, he would have just found a chance to sneak in and destroy it.

Unfortunately, looking at the dense array of various monitoring and surveillance devices in the soundstage, he temporarily dismissed the thought.

Li Wei and Jason got in the car and arrived at the private residence of Brian, a senior producer at NBC, a little after 6:00 PM.

At the dinner party, they toasted and drank freely. Both the hosts and guests had a wonderful time, and everyone was very happy.

After it ended, Li Wei and the others returned to their hotel to prepare for the next day’s taping of *The Tonight Show*.