“You didn’t figure anything out?”

“Don’t rush, take your time, and explain your thought process in detail. Don’t leave out any details.”

Zhu Xiaocai followed Lu Zhiyao into the room and sat down on the sofa in the suite’s living room.

Lu Zhiyao grabbed a half-finished cola from the table, took a gulp, and began to pour out his frustrations to Zhu Xiaocai.

“Director Zhu, I don’t know if your method doesn’t work or if I haven’t grasped the essence, but either way, I haven’t figured anything out.”

“You told me to imagine every unit as a living person.”

“I kept reminding myself of this point. At the beginning, it was fine; I deliberately kept all wounded soldiers in the back, and no one died.”

“But later on, one would die when I wasn’t paying attention, then another would die when I wasn’t paying attention…”

“Later, I discovered that the more I tried to treat them all as living people, the less I could do it!”

“Because if I kept reminding myself they were real people, I couldn’t concentrate and think rationally to handle the current battle.”

“Then the more I obsessed over it, the more people died.”

“So in the end, as the campaign got increasingly difficult, I simply couldn’t save these people’s lives.”

“Even though I repeatedly told myself these were all living people, my subconscious strongly rejected it and constantly denied this point, so I simply couldn’t believe it the way you said…”

“Finally, I became confused and lost. Even when many people died, I felt indifferent, and everything returned to square one.”

“In short, I gained nothing.”

After venting his frustrations, Lu Zhiyao looked at Zhu Xiaocai.

He had expected to see disappointment or comfort on Zhu Xiaocai’s face, but unexpectedly, Zhu Xiaocai raised his hand to signal him to stop talking, then lowered his head and began thinking seriously.

Lu Zhiyao was stunned.

What did this mean? Could Director Zhu have found inspiration from what he said?

Were all directors so good at reading between the lines?

Zhu Xiaocai furrowed his brow, feeling as if he had grasped something, but it wasn’t completely clear yet.

Mr. Pei had required that the minions in the game should have their own thoughts. Combined with the approach of “breaking the fourth wall,” this naturally led to the idea that “the minions in the game are actually real people.”

But this idea had already been used by others. To bring something new to the table, they needed to dig deeper into this concept and come up with something fresh.

Although Lu Zhiyao’s thought process couldn’t be directly used in the plot, it did provide some perspectives that hadn’t been considered before.

For example:

Caring too much about whether these units were real people would affect one’s rational judgment; paradoxically, not treating them as people might reduce casualties;

Because of the unique medium of games, the subconscious would resist and deny the idea that “characters in the game are all real people” during gameplay;

When too many people died, life became just a number, and even the highest commander would fall into numbness and despair;

But was it right to completely treat people as numbers? It seemed to create more problems…

Moreover, Lu Zhiyao had been playing “Starry Sea 2,” not “Destiny and Choice.”

Imagine if it were “Destiny and Choice,” where each minion would have their own thoughts, and the difference between humans and the insect race would be even greater…

With numerous ideas quickly colliding, Zhu Xiaocai suddenly felt inspiration strike!

He quickly said, “Let me use the computer!”

Lu Zhiyao hurriedly stood up. “Sure.”

Zhu Xiaocai exited “Starry Sea 2,” immediately created a new document, and began typing rapidly on the keyboard.

Lu Zhiyao curiously stood behind him. After watching for half a minute, he asked with confusion, “Director Zhu, are you… writing a story outline from scratch?”

Zhu Xiaocai quickly replied, “Of course not! I have a script of over a hundred thousand words on my office computer. This is just to jot down my recent inspiration.”

“Don’t interrupt my train of thought, and don’t look. I can’t write with you watching. Go sit aside for now.”

Having sent Lu Zhiyao away, Zhu Xiaocai continued frantically typing, recording all the inspiration in his mind.

Lu Zhiyao was suspicious but didn’t dare to look again, so he could only wait anxiously on the side.

Zhu Xiaocai wrote quickly, constantly adding and deleting content.

“Mr. Pei said there’s only one protagonist, Lu Zhiyao.”

“Either there are no supporting roles, making it a one-man show, which means the protagonist must undergo many mental transformations to sustain the entire length of the film.”

“Right now… it’s five times, which isn’t enough.”

“Hmm… it’s also possible there are supporting roles, but the supporting roles aren’t actors.”

“Artificial intelligence?”

“Yes, if we want to break the fourth wall, the protagonist controlling the fleet through the game would need the help of artificial intelligence. Similarly, simplifying game operations would also require some AI assistance.”

“Since artificial intelligence must exist in the film, it must create dramatic tension with the protagonist. Moreover, with the involvement of AI, the protagonist’s mentality can undergo many more changes.”

“Nine times.”

“The protagonist’s mentality changes nine times, each time pushing the story forward a bit more, closer to the final truth.”

“And we can’t forget that the protagonist is a determined space warrior who won’t show many expressions. So we need to strive to present a contradiction:”

“The plot takes viewers completely by surprise, creating powerful dramatic tension, but the protagonist remains strong, calm, and rational until the very end when there’s a slight emotional fluctuation, and each emotional change must be expressed through very subtle facial expressions…”

“With only one protagonist, this character must leave a deep impression on the audience.”

“Tell a good story, shape a good protagonist. In Mr. Pei’s view, this should be enough.”

Zhu Xiaocai wrote about five hundred words, then checked it over and nodded with satisfaction.

This was the most essential story outline, but to turn it into a script, it would need repeated adjustments and refinement.

Thinking of this, Zhu Xiaocai packed up the gaming laptop and put it in his backpack to take away. “Alright, movie star, your work is done, and I’m very inspired! I’ll go back and fill in that little bit missing from the script, and then we’ll immediately prepare to start filming!”

Lu Zhiyao asked uncertainly, “Director Zhu, are you sure the script is only missing a little bit?”

Zhu Xiaocai chuckled, “It was missing a lot originally, but not anymore! Rest well, shave your beard, and I’ll send you the first part of the script very soon.”

Lu Zhiyao was taken aback. “You’re still going to give me the script in batches?”

Zhu Xiaocai nodded. “Of course, to help you better adapt to the role. I’ll be going now!”

With that, Zhu Xiaocai turned and left.

Lu Zhiyao scratched his head in confusion.

It seemed like what he had said had truly given Director Zhu great inspiration.

But he still couldn’t figure out what the script would actually be like…

…

Zhu Xiaocai returned to Fei Huang Studio and immediately called Huang Sibo and the screenwriters together for a brief meeting.

“What do you all think of my idea? If it works, we’ll start immediately and complete the script as quickly as possible.”

“While writing the script, preliminary preparations can also begin.”

The screenwriters all showed expressions of surprise. “Impressive, Director Zhu! This story not only integrates well with the game content, but the character’s personality is also distinctive, and the story development is unexpected…”

Huang Sibo also nodded repeatedly. “Very good! And the film’s content really matches the game perfectly. I already have ideas about how to develop the game!”

Only one screenwriter frowned slightly. “But, Director Zhu, I feel that the ending seems a bit like a forced twist, not very natural.”

“Of course, shooting it this way is not objectionable, but some viewers might not be able to accept it.”

“Could we try to plant some foreshadowing hints earlier?”

Zhu Xiaocai remained silent for a moment, then, after careful consideration, he nodded. “Yes, there might be a bit of that feeling. But… the previous content is already quite complex and can’t fit in this foreshadowing.”

“Moreover, if the hints are too obvious, viewers might guess directly, which could cause all the mysteries we’ve laid out to collapse.”

“Or…”

“We could plant some foreshadowing outside the movie, deliberately misleading everyone, but when the mystery is revealed at the end of the film, it will make everyone feel it’s unexpected yet reasonable.”

Huang Sibo thought for a moment. “That could work! Shangyang Games is currently making DLCs for Tenda’s original games. I’ll ask them to help create a related DLC, which can not only plant foreshadowing but also promote the new game in advance!”

Zhu Xiaocai nodded. “Good, then everyone should refine the script based on the story outline I just gave. Work efficiently these next few days and complete the script as soon as possible!”

The screenwriters all nodded and went to work with great motivation.

Zhu Xiaocai then called Shangyang Games and explained his intention to Wang Xiaobin.

After a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, Wang Xiaobin said, “If it’s science fiction themed… there really isn’t a very suitable game. How about doing it in ‘Sea Fortress’?”

“We could create a separate independent storyline for ‘Sea Fortress,’ redesigning everything from the protagonist to the monsters.”

Zhu Xiaocai was very pleased. “That works! An FPS game is more suitable. Since FPS games use a first-person perspective, the immersion is stronger, making it easier for players to experience what I want to express.”

“Plus, ‘Sea Fortress’ has a massive player base, so the promotional effect would be better.”

“I just don’t know if it will impact your original development plan?”

Wang Xiaobin replied, “It won’t. I hadn’t decided exactly what to do yet, so if you have a better plan, I’m certainly willing to use it. Besides, Tenda Games is developing ‘Destiny and Choice,’ and I can directly use many of their art resources, so the workload isn’t that heavy.”

Zhu Xiaocai was very happy. “Great, then I’ll send you the story outline soon. Let’s put it in the ‘Sea Fortress’ DLC!”