"This is truly spectacular."
Passing through a room on the second floor, looking at the exquisite toys, Margot Robbie marveled, "You and Murphy really know how to have fun."
Gal Gadot smiled, "It adds excitement and keeps the interest alive between us."
"Uh..." Margot Robbie walked up to a whip hanging on the wall and touched it, saying, "No wonder Murphy is so infatuated with you and uninterested in other women."
She turned to look at Gal Gadot, "Can I take it down?"
"Sure," Gal Gadot made a welcoming gesture, "Feel free to look around."
Margot Robbie took down the whip, noticing it was a short whip wrapped in an exceptionally soft layer of velvet, likely to prevent the recipient from getting hurt.
"Can I ask you a question?" She gently swung the whip, testing its feel, and after Gal Gadot nodded, she asked, "Is the mark on your neck caused by this?"
"No," Gal Gadot, always candid with Margot Robbie, replied, "It's from another similar one."
Margot Robbie's eyes widened, "How many do you have?"
"A lot," Gal Gadot walked over, "Interesting and fun ones."
In fact, she and Murphy had an even more fun place, but it wasn't open to outsiders. It was their secret room for making private movies.
"Doesn't this thing..." Margot Robbie shook the whip, "hurt when it hits?"
Gal Gadot took the whip from her hand, "It varies from person to person, and everyone's experience is different."
Margot Robbie curiously asked, "What about me?"
"That's hard to say," Gal Gadot raised her hand, ready to put the whip back, casually replying, "Who knows without trying?"
"Well..." Margot Robbie hesitated for a moment, then said, "Can I try...is that okay?"
Gal Gadot paused in the act of putting the whip back, turned around, and said, "What? You want to try it?"
Previously hesitant, Margot Robbie had now made up her mind, "Gal, just hit me once. I want to see if it hurts."
"Dear," Gal Gadot couldn't help but laugh, "What are you thinking?"
Margot Robbie smiled, "I'm just curious. I want to try it."
She looked around, found an oddly shaped chair, walked over, bent over it, showing her butt tightly wrapped in skinny jeans, and turned her head to Gal Gadot, "There's plenty of flesh here. Hit me once so I can see how it feels."
"Well..." Gal Gadot was obviously hesitant.
Margot Robbie deliberately slapped her own butt, making a crisp sound, "Don't worry, I won't blame you if it hurts."
Gal Gadot still stood there, not moving.
"Hurry up!" Margot Robbie urged, "Gal, you're the one hitting me, not the other way around. Since when did you become so hesitant?"
Faced with her curious friend, Gal Gadot felt quite helpless. Walking over, she said, "Alright, don't blame me if it hurts."
"Okay!"
Margot Robbie responded, turning her head away, readying herself.
Gal Gadot raised the whip, aimed at Margot Robbie's butt, and brought it down. Initially, she intended to give a light tap, but for some reason, seeing Margot Robbie prepared for a hit made her use six to seven-tenths of her strength.
"Snap!"
The sound of the velvet-covered whip hitting the jeans echoed.
"Ah!"
Margot Robbie let out a scream, reflexively bouncing up from the chair, jumping aside, and reaching behind her, looking at Gal Gadot, "That hurt like hell!"
Her words snapped Gal Gadot out of it. Shaking her head to cover her momentary lapse, she innocently said, "Maggie, I didn't even use much force."
"It hurts..." Margot Robbie hissed, "It really hurts!"
She tried walking around a bit. Fortunately, the whip's protective layer prevented any real harm, just some pain.
"My bad! My bad," Gal Gadot threw the whip onto the chair, went over to support Margot Robbie, and they walked towards the door, "I've asked the chef to prepare an Australian-style lunch for you."
Margot Robbie, still rubbing her butt, walked out, "That's more like it. Let's go to the living room. I need to lie down for a while."
Back in the living room, Gal Gadot changed the subject, avoiding the recent incident, and chatted with Margot Robbie about fashion and gossip in their circle, planning to go shopping together in the afternoon.
As noon approached, Gal Gadot glanced at the wall clock and said, "The press conference at 20th Century Fox should have started."
"20th Century Fox will announce the sequel to 'City of Chaos'," Margot Robbie evidently knew the purpose of the press conference.
Just as Gal Gadot and Margot Robbie were about to head to the dining room for lunch, the press conference at the Fox Building had been underway for some time.
"Last year, 'City of Chaos,' jointly produced by Stanton Studio and 20th Century Fox, achieved excellent box office results."
At the podium, only Murphy and Kara Faith were seated, but there were hundreds of reporters below. Kara Faith was speaking, "The sequel to 'City of Chaos' will begin production next week, jointly by Stanton Studio and 20th Century Fox. The film will still..."
She gestured to the media reporters towards Murphy, who was sitting beside her, "Be written and directed by Murphy Stanton. The title of the sequel is 'City of Darkness'!"
Kara Faith glanced at her prepared notes and continued, "The production budget for the film is two hundred million dollars! The main actors from 'City of Chaos,' Henry Cavill, Margot Robbie, and James Franco, will return for this shoot."
Having said most of what needed to be said, Kara Faith looked at Murphy, "Now we'll open the floor for questions. Director Stanton will answer some questions about the film."
The reporters instantly turned their attention to Murphy, who had been silent since the press conference began, hoping to get some enticing news from him.
Such press conferences didn't allow for random questions. 20th Century Fox had arranged it in advance. A staff member with a microphone quickly found a reporter from Fox News among the raised hands.
"Director Stanton," the reporter stood up and asked, "With the sequel titled 'City of Darkness,' is it going to be darker than the original 'City of Chaos'?"
Murphy moved the microphone slightly closer, "You could say that. This film will be darker and more tragic but will also have more hope than 'City of Chaos.'"
The microphone was then passed to a reporter from Yahoo Entertainment, who asked, "Is the script for the film finished?"
"It was completed a long time ago," Murphy intentionally created favorable news for the film, "When I was preparing the script for 'City of Chaos,' I also completed the outlines for 'City of Darkness' and the third film. It's a tightly connected trilogy."
The next reporter asked a rather personal question, "Can you tell us your salary for this film?"
Murphy thought for a moment and replied, "I can only tell you this much: my salary consists of a base fee and a bonus based on the film's earnings. The exact amount is a commercial secret."
He glanced at Kara Faith, "I've signed a confidentiality agreement with 20th Century Fox. If I reveal it, I won't get paid."
The room burst into laughter at Murphy's comment.
Clearly not wanting to answer more personal questions, Murphy was allowed to steer the conversation back to the movie.
"Director Stanton," a reporter from Box Office Mojo asked, "When will 'City of Darkness' be released? Is the release date set?"
"Next summer, in May," Murphy said directly, "The first weekend of May. I'm not sure of the exact day."
This was enough for the reporters.
"Will this film introduce the antagonist for the third film, like the magician in 'City of Chaos'?" another reporter stood up and asked.
Murphy didn't give a direct answer, instead mysteriously saying, "You'll find out when you see the movie next year."
Kelly Laporte from The Hollywood Reporter then got the microphone and asked, "I've heard that Margot Robbie's character Jay will have a significant role in this film. Is that true?"
Murphy had already handed part of the script to the main actors before the Oscar nominees' luncheon, so it wasn't surprising that some vague details had leaked out.
"Yes," Murphy confirmed, "Jay will undergo a major transformation. The relatively innocent and kind district attorney will face severe trials."
He had decided to cancel the Two-Face character and give Jay a more substantial role.
After answering a few more questions, the press conference ended. Murphy and Kara Faith walked out of the press room. Instead of leaving immediately, Murphy followed Kara Faith to her office to discuss assembling the crew.
Especially concerning funding, the two hundred million dollars was a huge amount, even for 20th Century Fox, and couldn't be gathered quickly.
Murphy hadn't been talking to Kara Faith for long when her assistant called in, saying Bill Ross had an urgent matter outside.
Bill Ross quickly entered the office, looking at Murphy, "Someone is using negative publicity tactics to create bad press about Diego Ross."
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