Chapter 560 - 366: A Challenge Against Li Wei

Chapter 560: Chapter 366: A Challenge Against Li Wei

"Director!" Li Wei chased after him. "Director Del Toro!"

He strode briskly across the shooting area, catching up to Guillermo Del Toro right at the door of the core production team’s lounge. Del Toro was chatting with his assistant, discussing the scene they had just shot. Hearing Li Wei call out to him, he turned around. "What is it?"

"It’s about our current casting issue," Li Wei cut straight to the chase. "Have we started recruiting? When does it begin?"

Hearing this, Del Toro shot his assistant a look. The latter understood immediately and took his leave. The two of them walked into the lounge. Del Toro poured himself a glass of water and leaned against the edge of the table.

"You heard about it too?" he asked.

"My employee was the one who found out," Li Wei said, taking a seat on the sofa. "I contacted the chief of the Los Angeles Police Department and read the files. Over fifteen people from our crew are implicated, including the actor playing the Mage, Coos Bane."

Del Toro nodded, looking somewhat frustrated. "We were already done shooting," he said. "His first take was completely finished, and now this happens."

"Even if he is cleared and bails himself out, once he comes back," Li Wei said, "we can’t use him anymore."

"Naturally," Del Toro said, rubbing his temples. "The original plan was for the main party to seek out the Elf Mage after defeating the Ogre, and then the four of them would set off together to track the dragon’s whereabouts. Now that he’s gone, we have to reshoot all his previous scenes too!"

Li Wei was just as anxious as Del Toro, because it wasn’t just the director’s shooting schedule that was stalled. His own quest was stuck here, too! Without the actor, his quest couldn’t be triggered. Currently, the rogue and the Knight Commander were in position, waiting only for the Mage. If the Mage couldn’t take his spot, the quest was dead in the water and couldn’t progress.

"The crew is currently bringing in replacements," Del Toro sighed. "The casting director is already contacting new candidates, and recruitment will start very soon."

"How soon?" Li Wei asked.

"One to two weeks, probably," Del Toro said thoughtfully. "With this incident happening in our crew, a lot of actors are hesitating on the sidelines. Plus, we need to recruit replacements for the other staff members... In short, it takes time."

One to two weeks.

Li Wei sighed. From the look of things, all he could do now was wait. Although he was highly efficient and worked fast, he couldn’t take care of everything himself.

After walking out of the lounge, Li Wei stood in the corridor with his hands stuffed into his jeans pockets, his head tilted slightly upward as he stared blankly at the metal scaffolding on the studio ceiling. Jason Miller walked over. Seeing his boss staring at the ceiling, he couldn’t help but walk up and follow his gaze. The two of them stood side by side, looking up at the ceiling together.

Seeing Jason and Li Wei standing together, Patrick, the analyst, also walked over to Jason’s side and joined them in staring upward.

By the time Li Wei snapped out of his daze and turned his head, he realized there were at least four or five people standing beside him. "What are you guys..." Li Wei asked, bewildered, "doing?"

"No idea," Jason Miller replied. "Boss, what are you looking at?"

"I’m looking at my quest panel," Li Wei thought to himself. "Do you guys have one too?"

"It’s nothing, I was just thinking about something," he said aloud. "By the way, has anyone seen the actor playing the Royal Palace Knight Commander?"

Li Wei had just noticed something interesting when looking at his quest panel. According to the system’s evaluation, the Royal Palace Knight Commander was Gold-tier! Not only that, but a Gold-tier Knight, which was a status a whole rank higher than Li Wei’s current one. This meant that under the right trigger conditions, this Royal Palace Knight Commander might actually be able to "teach" him something special. It was certainly worth a try.

Li Wei asked for the actor’s whereabouts and went to find him. He walked back into the studio area and spotted a figure taking off armor next to a row of temporary changing stalls. He was a D-list actor whose name Li Wei couldn’t recall. Unlike Li Wei or Johnny Depp, who commanded salaries in the tens of millions, the Knight Commander’s pay was a mere 300,000 USD.

"Need a hand?" Li Wei asked, walking over.

The Knight Commander’s actor looked up, saw Li Wei, and nearly jumped out of his chair. He instinctively tried to stand up, but his leg armor snagged, causing him to plop right back down the moment he rose.

"Let me help you," Li Wei said with a smile, stepping behind him. "There we go."

"Thank you, Mr. Li Wei," the Knight Commander’s actor said, clearly thrilled. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Hmm..." Li Wei chuckled. "Actually, yes. Have you written a character biography for this Knight Commander role?"

"A character biography?" The actor was taken aback. "Yes, I have. I made one."

Li Wei’s eyes lit up. "Let me see?"

The Knight Commander’s actor looked a bit nervous, like a student about to hand in homework. He had heard rumors that Li Wei’s acting skills were good enough to coach Depp, which made him feel as if he were back in an acting class having his assignments checked by a professor. He took a backpack out of his locker, dug out a notebook, and handed it to Li Wei.

"Did you do this yourself, or with the screenwriters?" Li Wei flipped through the pages but found no valuable skills to learn. It only contained the character’s background, upbringing, and personality traits.

"I did it myself," the Knight Commander’s actor said cautiously. "Is it too simple?"

"It’s well written," Li Wei said. "But it’s not enough. For example, hmm... if we were to adapt this character into a video game, what skills do you think a Royal Palace Knight Commander would possess? What special abilities would he have? What do you think?" He looked the man in the eyes and continued, "Could you go find the writing team and draft a new character biography?"

The Knight Commander’s actor blinked. After hesitating for a few seconds, he slowly nodded.

"Under... stood," he said. "I’ll go do it in a bit."

"Good," Li Wei nodded in satisfaction. "Go on. Once you’re done, I can run some lines with you and help you practice."

The actor paused. "I’ll go right now." His footsteps quickened immediately.

Li Wei nodded in satisfaction. "Go ahead, go ahead," he thought. "If I want to learn a new skill, I can just ask the system directly. Now this is a good system."

By noon, Li Wei had made his way to the catering area.

Today, the food trucks were serving Mexican burritos and roast chicken. Li Wei grabbed a burrito and two roast chicken legs. Just as he sat down at the long table, he saw Jason Miller walking over with a plate of fried rice. The bandages on his head had been changed, but he was still wrapped up looking like a white rice ball.

"Have a seat," Li Wei said, pointing to the spot across from him. "Does your head still hurt? How are you feeling?"

"Much better," Jason said, sitting down and scooping up a spoonful of rice. He wasn’t quite used to chopsticks yet. "The doctor said the bandages can come off in a couple of days."

"Just be a little careful," Li Wei reminded him. "You have wounds on your hands, too. If you can’t hold up, take a few more days off to rest. Can’t Patrick do the work too?"

"Patrick is an analyst from an outsourced auditing firm, after all," Jason chuckled. "I was worried he might slack off if I wasn’t around."

"Do you need me to help with anything?" Li Wei asked after a moment of thought.

"No need, Mr. Li Wei," Jason said, scooping up another spoonful of rice. "He used to be a bit disobedient, but now..." He pointed to his head and the wounds on his hands. "Now the entire crew knows I’m a complete workaholic. He wouldn’t dare slack off around me."

"That’s good," Li Wei smiled, stuffing the last bite of his burrito into his mouth. "Let me know immediately if anything comes up."

"Don’t worry, Mr. Li Wei," Jason Miller nodded.

In the blink of an eye, another week passed.

On the last Saturday of April, the weather in Los Angeles was as sunny as ever.

Griffith Park, a massive urban park covering over 4,000 acres, had nearly half of its area commandeered by the Los Angeles Police Department today. From the park’s main entrance all the way to the winding mountain road below the Griffith Observatory, blue and white LAPD logo flags fluttered in the wind. There was a water station every fifty meters, with bottles of LW energy drinks neatly arranged on the tables. The bottles even featured a special commemorative logo for the Fallen Officers Memorial Week.

"Alright, I understand..." Li Wei hung up his phone. "It’s fine, we’ll reschedule for next week."

"What’s wrong?" Police Chief Robert Flynn asked. "Did something happen?"

"It’s nothing," Li Wei shook his head. "I previously scheduled a dinner with the editor-in-chief of the New York Times, but he hasn’t returned from Europe yet, so it was pushed back to next week."

Robert Flynn nodded. "Come on, let’s take a photo together."

Li Wei was attending this event as a sponsor. After participating in the brief opening ceremony, a representative for the families of the fallen officers went on stage to deliver a speech, followed by a moment of silence from the entire crowd. Once it ended, the atmosphere gradually shifted from solemn to relaxed.

By tradition, before the official long-distance run began, there would be a few recreational warm-up competitions—push-ups, pull-ups, bench presses, arm wrestling, short-distance sprints, and so on. It was similar to the physical fitness competitions held within the police force or the military, just with a much more laid-back vibe. Certain areas of the park were divided into arena zones, each surrounded by a large crowd of police officers watching the spectacle.

A burly Black man, whose physique could rival Arnold Schwarzenegger’s, was doing warm-up stretches.

"Who is that?" Li Wei turned his head and asked Flynn, who was standing beside him.

"That’s the champion of our LAPD SWAT team," Robert Flynn said, taking a look. "He’s placed first in the national police comprehensive physical fitness rankings for five consecutive years."

Right as Robert Flynn introduced him, the champion defeated three consecutive challengers in an arm-wrestling match, triggering a wave of cheers from the surrounding crowd. He stood in the middle of the grass, arms spread wide, as if accepting the worship of his colleagues.

"Who else?" he laughed boisterously. "Is there anyone who can challenge me today?"

A chorus of jeers and cheers erupted from the crowd.

The Black SWAT officer looked around and suddenly locked eyes with Li Wei.

"Mr. Li Wei!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. "Come on down, let’s play a little! After all, you’re the number one player in the NFL, the Super Bowl MVP, and the greatest Quarterback in history!"

"I’ll pass," Li Wei said with a smile, taking a microphone to decline. "I’m afraid you’ll get hurt and embarrass yourself."

The crowd of over ten thousand people burst into roaring laughter.

The Black SWAT officer felt his dark face instantly burn with embarrassment. He shouted back, "Come on, Li Wei! Let’s see the intensity of the NFL!"

Seeing him act so relentlessly, Li Wei raised an eyebrow. Before he could even speak, the system panel popped up again:

[You have encountered a quest: Provocation from the Captain of the Royal Palace Guard]

[The Captain of the Royal Palace Guard has issued a challenge to you. As a Knight, how will you face his challenge?]

[Option A: Refuse. How can a mere royal guard compete with a Knight? Reward: 0.1 free attribute points.]

[Option B: Accept. Since he wishes to humiliate himself, you can only grant his wish. Reward: 0.1 free attribute points.]

"Since you wish to humiliate yourself, then..." Li Wei thought.

Li Wei set down the microphone and hopped right off the raised platform. Amidst the cheers of the crowd, he strode toward the arena.