"Hee hee~~"
"How about it? How about it? Mr. Reeve."
Nian looked at Lucas Reeve with an expectant expression, her demeanor casual and flippant. Paired with her stunning and uniquely charismatic looks, it was, to be honest, a little charming.
"What do you think of my script? Isn't it amazing? The moment you saw it, didn't you wonder what kind of genius screenwriter could write such a thing?"
Nian chattered on endlessly, even patting her own head in a narcissistic display.
"To be honest, after I finished writing this script, I read it over myself. Even as the screenwriter, I thought it was a work of genius. I was even!! I was even thinking about whether I should borrow a qipao from my sister Dusk for when I walk the red carpet at the Columbia Film Festival in the future."
"Umm...."
Lucas Reeve was trying to choose his words carefully.
To just come out and say it was a steaming pile of garbage would be a bit too hurtful to Miss Nian's excited heart. After all, she had poured her efforts into writing this script, and it would be impolite of him to reject it so directly.
Lucas Reeve thought for a moment, then slowly said, "Well, how should I put this, Miss Nian."
"Your script is actually... not bad! At the very least, you have the key elements, like emotional fluctuations, face-slapping, and extreme plot twists that audiences love. In theory, putting the facts aside, your plot is actually... decent. It's stitched together quite skillfully."
Lucas Reeve's forced praise immediately made Nian get a little full of herself.
An excited look appeared on her face, and her dragon tail swayed back and forth behind her. However, with each swing, the entire building seemed to tremble slightly.
She quickly opened the recording function on her phone.
"Ahem, could you please say that again?"
"...."
"From the moment I decided to make movies, everyone around me has said things like, 'Your script is terrible,' 'You're not cut out for filmmaking,' and 'What the hell is this movie you're making!'"
Speaking of this, Nian's eyes were filled with starlight.
"Mr. Reeve, you're the first person to recognize my creative talent!! You're a good person! No, you're a good god."
"It seems our tastes are the same. As I thought, it's not me who's wrong, but these mortals who don't understand the subtleties of my script. It seems only a god can understand a god; what do mortals know?"
The more Nian spoke, the more excited she became, even letting some Yanese dialect slip out at the end.
"So.... Mr. Reeve, let's make a movie!! Your casting is a perfect match for the female lead in my script. It's as if this script was tailor-made for you two!!"
Nian's gaze was filled with the light of hope as she stared intently at Lucas Reeve, awaiting his answer.
And at this moment, Lucas Reeve was in an awkward position.
This...
There was no way for him to refuse...
But this kind of film was just too terrible, and he simply didn't have the spare time for it.
Lucas Reeve's brain worked rapidly, trying to find a way to decline Nian's invitation. After a moment's thought, Lucas Reeve, using Surtr's body, picked up a piece of beef tripe and swished it in the extra-spicy hotpot a few times before tossing it into his mouth.
"Miss Nian, do you know how to make a movie?"
Lucas Reeve questioned her with the serious attitude of a professional.
Nian was stunned by Lucas Reeve's question.
"Isn't it just, you shoot with a camera, and then stick some scenes together?"
"No!!"
Lucas Reeve suddenly became serious, and his imposing manner actually startled Nian.
"Film is art! It can't be completed so simply!! You've imagined human art to be too simple, Miss Nian. Although you and I are both gods, it's undeniable that there are some human arts that even we need time to study and ponder."
'Whoa!'
Nian instantly sat up straight. The aura Lucas Reeve had just now was simply too powerful.
"Filmmaking can't be done by one person alone. Every single shot has its own meaning. Every shot is like a paragraph in a novel, containing a language unique to the camera. Moreover, different styles of movies require different shooting angles. What angle looks magnificent, what angle looks tragic, what angle looks cool and grand—all these require study."
"Furthermore, after shooting, you definitely need post-production. Do you understand lighting? Do you know color grading? Do you know sound mixing? Do you know special effects?"
"Film is a huge concept, the final product of the cooperation of multiple departments. It's not something one person can just mess around and create."
Lucas Reeve's words seemed to have truly bluffed Nian.
She really didn't understand any of it.
All these years, in her eyes, filmmaking was just shooting whatever and as long as she thought it was okay, it was fine. She never expected there were so many intricacies.
Nian's gaze towards Lucas Reeve changed in an instant.
It was as if he had transformed into a dear friend and mentor.
"Then!! How should I shoot it! Mr. Reeve."
"You need a professional team, Miss Nian. You are the director, and in the entire film crew, the director has the final say. How could you possibly hold so many positions at once? Also, distribution is a problem. I imagine, Miss Nian, you'd want to see your movie shown in theaters big and small all across Terra, right? Not just online where only a few people watch it all year."
"I do!!"
Lucas Reeve smiled and nodded.
"I have someone I'm very close to. Her family has a huge background, they're even major shareholders in the Columbia Pictures Group. When I go back to Columbia this time, I'll contact them for you. They will have a professional team to assist you and serve as your crew. Then, after filming is complete, they'll use all their resources for promotion. All the theaters in Lungmen, big and small, will be able to see your movie right away."
Lucas Reeve's words got Nian all worked up.
For a moment, she seemed to have temporarily given up on finding Lucas Reeve and Surtr to be the main characters and shooting the movie herself. In her mind, she was already daydreaming about her movie premiering in Lungmen. Then she would invite her shut-in sister to come out and watch it, letting her witness the skill of her greatest older sister. Just thinking about the look of admiration in her sister's eyes made Nian feel ecstatic.
"When, Mr. Reeve!!"
Nian asked excitedly.
Lucas Reeve nodded. "When I... make a trip back to Columbia. Give me your phone number, and I'll call you as soon as I contact the Columbia Pictures company."
"Alright!!"
Lucas Reeve breathed a sigh of relief. He'd finally dealt with her.
However, Lucas Reeve didn't plan to go back on his word. After returning to Columbia, he planned to have Jessica find a second or third-rate small director's team to give Nian some guidance. After all, for someone like Nian, who was a complete novice among novices, even a second or third-rate director might be too skilled.
Building a good relationship with a Divine Fragment was also a good thing.
Under Lucas Reeve's verbal barrage, Nian really did stop pestering him to be the main character. Instead, like she had met a like-minded friend with the same hobbies, she began to continuously share the scripts she had written over the years.
For example.
[The story of a genius student from the Yanese Tianshi Fu who loses his cultivation after being injured in a mission. After suffering through ridicule, he cultivates even harder, angrily shouting 'the river flows thirty years east, thirty years west; do not bully the young for being poor!' He cultivates for 23 hours a day, 24/7, and then finally dies from overwork.]
Or.
[A little girl with the blood of a Higashi nine-tailed fox who has long been unable to summon her Shikigami. Then, during a kidnapping, she successfully summons her Shikigami. However, this Shikigami turns out to be a legendary god. After working hard together, the little girl and the Shikigami fall in love. Decades later, the little girl's lifespan is exhausted, and she becomes an old woman and finally dies of old age, while the god Shikigami remains the same.]
To be honest.
Strictly speaking.
From Lucas Reeve's perspective, aside from making one's eyes glaze over, there weren't any major problems with these scripts. They had plot twists and gimmicks. As long as the endings were changed, they were quite normal. Perhaps the problem really was with Nian's filming.
Lucas Reeve shared his thoughts on the scripts. After all, Lucas Reeve had written web novels online in his past life and had a relative understanding.
And Lucas Reeve's various bizarre and interesting ideas made Nian's eyes light up. She became even more convinced in her heart that the god before her was her long-lost best friend. They had similar crazy ideas in so many areas. Why hadn't she met this connoisseur of talent sooner? She would have probably become a famous director long ago.
Lucas Reeve and Nian had a very pleasant conversation.
A single lunch lasted from noon until evening. The service at the restaurant was decent; they didn't rush them out, probably because Nian was a regular customer. It wasn't until it got dark that the two of them finished chatting and got up to leave.
Meanwhile, Surtr had long since fallen asleep inside his body. She had absolutely no interest in the topics Lucas Reeve and Nian were discussing.
When they reached a crossroads, Nian reluctantly parted ways with Lucas Reeve.
The next day.
Lucas Reeve boarded a tourist transport Landship heading from Lungmen to Columbia.
On Terra, although the wilderness was incredibly dangerous, it was all relative. Many transport companies, in order to give ordinary people the chance to travel to other countries or regions, built these massive transport Landships. A single trip could carry several thousand people. As long as there were no accidents and each trip carried more than a thousand people, it was generally profitable.
Of course.
Lucas Reeve and Surtr didn't have a single penny, so naturally, they couldn't afford a ride. Just as the vehicle was about to depart, Lucas Reeve and Surtr leaped onto the roof to hitch a ride. As the vehicle slowly pulled out of the station, another figure suddenly appeared on the roof, leaving Lucas Reeve and Surtr momentarily speechless.
"Yoho!! I didn't expect you guys to like riding on the roof too??"
Nian came skipping over on the roof with a grin, her tail swaying nonstop behind her. She sat down cross-legged in front of Lucas Reeve.
"....."
Lucas Reeve and Surtr's eyes widened.
"Nian.... you... you... how!!"
Nian puffed out her modestly-sized chest, patted it, and said, "Of course I'm going with you guys. How long would I have to wait for those teams to come to Lungmen? Besides, it's too inefficient. I might as well go to Columbia with you. And by the way, I have a small favor to ask...."
"I want to meet the boss of the Columbia Pictures Group... I hope she can give our movie a little... boost in the future...."
"..."
Lucas Reeve was speechless.
He silently mourned for this boss in his heart.
A normal person was being targeted by a Divine Fragment.
"Well... alright then."
Since Nian had already followed them, Lucas Reeve couldn't say anything else at this point and could only let her be.
"By the way, Miss Nian, besides filming movies, what else do you like to do?"
Nian poked her cheek with her finger.
"I used to like forging, but I'm a bit tired of it now. I don't really forge things anymore."
"???"
Lucas Reeve was stunned.
"You know how to forge?"
Seeing Lucas Reeve's surprised look, Nian once again proudly puffed out her chest.
"Of course. Each of my twelve siblings has their own unique ability. This unique ability can also be called a kind of rule, representing the pinnacle of a worldly standard..."
"I preside over forging. I can even say that there is no one in this world who can surpass me in the field of forging. I've forged countless divine artifacts, but I'm tired of it now. I don't really feel like firing up the furnace anymore. I kind of want to make movies."
Lucas Reeve's eyes widened.
It was only then that he noticed.
It seemed Nian wasn't lying. Her body was like a unique, living furnace, naturally carrying a high temperature of 1,400 degrees. No wonder Nian could eat spicy food so recklessly; compared to the high temperature inside her, these chili peppers were child's play. This level of heat made Lucas Reeve wonder if Nian would bleed molten lava if she got injured.
"What's wrong? You want me to forge something for you?"
Nian patted the head of Lucas Reeve in his little fire-person state and said with a grin, "No problem. As my most important dear friend, I can make an exception and fire up the furnace for you. I can forge whatever kind of divine artifact you want."
Lucas Reeve shook his head and said.
"No, I'm also quite skilled at forging. I have my own workshop in Columbia, and I've even forged two of my own unique metals. Miss Nian, you can go take a look."
"Ooh!!"
Nian was even happier now.
"I never thought Mr. Reeve and I would get along so well. Not only do we have such unified opinions on movie scripts, but we even have the exact same interests. I really feel like we're a match made in heaven, a perfect pair of partners!!!"
Nian's lively words made the nearby Surtr frown involuntarily.
"I can't wait to take you home to meet my sister Dusk, Mr. Reeve. I want this sister of mine to know that it's useless to stay cooped up at home all day. Only by wandering outside can you find the most compatible dear friend!!"
"How about you come back with me to Yan after this trip to Columbia is over?"
"Huh?"
Lucas Reeve was taken aback. He had only said one sentence, how did the plot suddenly get so weird?
The journey from Lungmen to Columbia took several days.
During these days, Lucas Reeve and Nian ate hotpot on the roof of the vehicle, chatting about scripts or forging-related knowledge. The journey passed quite happily. And as a Divine Fragment, Nian also revealed many things about the ancient era to Lucas Reeve, such as... the Ancient God of Flame, Laevatain, was a double-crossing bastard who caused Ragnarok among the gods in the western region of Victoria, bearing a striking resemblance to a certain god.
Finally.
Just as the vehicle was about to reach Columbia, to avoid being discovered, Lucas Reeve and Nian jumped off ahead of time.
And after the vehicle entered the station.
Several familiar figures walked out of the carriage.
Sora: "We're here!! I'm so tired. Is this Columbia?"
Exusiai: "It's my first time here too. How come it feels pretty much the same as Lungmen?"
Texas sighed. She, Exusiai, and Croissant already knew the truth; only Sora didn't.
Croissant's eyes, on the other hand, were shining. She had heard that Columbia was full of business opportunities, and she was already prepared to come and pick up some money.