Superstars of Tomorrow
chapter-297

Chapter 297: Inferior to a Dog

As said by the masses, nowadays, there were only two sorts of actors left: those heading to planet Wai and those that had been eliminated.

And actors that were already filming at the Wai film studio complex, regardless of whether they were in the cast or not, were taking advantage of the situation. Since they were already on planet Wai, ignorant people might really think that they were playing some important role in “Founding Era.”

Not everyone knew that the Wai film studio complex and the set for “Founding Era” were two different places. Many people were deceived.

On the first day, when the cast and crew arrived on planet Wai, the internet was abuzz. Many people that were unable to visit planet Wai were green with envy.

The headlines on every continent were seemingly dominated by “Founding Era.” Netizens were also very happy to see these headlines.

Celebrities were falling over each other trying to post photos to flaunt. Online audiences hoped to see more excitement.

But no news came out from the cast and crew. Only the online interactive platform of “Founding Era” was releasing some trivial news every day.

The online masses that were waiting for excitement were not satisfied.

Where was the publicity?

Where were the trailers?

When it was going to be released wasn’t mentioned either!

There wasn’t even a single still from the serial, and all the big stars had collectively disappeared.

Regarding this, the official explanation of “Founding Era” was this: The entire crew does not have internet access. They are having a confined period.

Netizens of the New Era that couldn’t even live without the internet in their daily lives couldn’t help but pity the cast members.

“How cruel, to actually deny them internet access!”

“If it were me, not having internet access would be the same as denying my livelihood!”

“That is why I don’t want to undergo military service. How am I going to live if I get posted to some destitute place without any internet!”

“Will you even have the energy to use the internet when you are undergoing military service?”

“Speaking of this, nowadays, aren’t there very few serials that don’t have internet access? Indeed, this is the royalty of serials, It just isn’t the same as all those other inferior ones.”

“I wonder when we will get to see those stars post their photos. Without those, the entertainment circle feels miserable.”

Over at planet Wai, the cast and crew had indeed entered a confined period, but they had yet to officially start shooting.

The entire planet Wai had raised precautionary measures the moment “Founding Era” had announced its reboot. The military force here had also been expanded.

The military troops that had come along with the cast and crew were not just to ensure the cast’s safety. At least 60% of these troops were incorporated into Wai base’s military force.

In short, people of Wai base were delighted that the “Founding Era” project was setting up shop on planet Wai.

Once filming was completed, the set would change its name to “Founding Era Cultural Film City” and would become a tourist hotspot. Perhaps planet Wai might be able to apply for a second film cultural base.

In the future, when it was opened up to the public, planet Wai would only be worried if nobody came. With human traffic, there would there be resources and revenue. With revenue, there would be a guarantee for military expenses. If additional armaments were applied for, the probability of it being approved would be much higher. The base would be upgraded and gain wealth!

The area that “Founding Era” was using as a set had originally been a place that wasn’t in planet Wai’s development plans. This region did not even have a name, only an area number. But now, it had become a mystical place, although it was just a small corner when compared to planet Wai’s vast land. Now it was going to become a trace of history.

Its vile weather and terrible environment similar to that of the Period of Destruction was a reason why it had been selected for filming. Most places on planet Wai had four distinctive seasons and had favorable climates, like spring, all year round. However, this place seemed like it had only two seasons: an excessive winter and a hot summer. On rare occasions where it wasn’t cold or hot, the place was wrecked by sand and dust storms.

On the first day, when the cast and crew arrived, due to them being tired and having a lot of restrictions, they did not manage to explore the place.

The next morning, after the directorial team held a meeting, each cast and crew member was given an arrangements schedule.

For actors, they were giving a week’s time to adapt to the environment, learn how to use props, and make other sorts of preparations to get ready.

It was clearly listed on the plan that all cast and crew would enter a confined period. Once they entered this region, they should forget about getting out before the filming was finalized. If they really needed to do so, they would have to apply for it beforehand. The cast and crew could also forget about sneaking out too. The entire area was surrounded by military personnel, and if they were mistaken for extremists and shot dead, they would have died for nothing.

Every seven days, they would have two hours of time for internet usage. At all other times, there wouldn’t be any internet connection.

Zaro’s face turned black the moment he saw this. “How do we live without the internet!”

Older actors had experienced a lot and had encountered similar circumstances before. Although those conditions hadn’t been as stringent, having experienced life without internet access, they were still able to adapt. The younger actors, on the other hand, found it much harder to bear.

Fang Zhao wasn’t really affected. In his previous life, he had gone much longer without any internet. Even in this life, he had undergone a rather long period without much internet access on planet Baiji. Thus, his reliance on the internet was not as strong as that of other people of the same age.

The second day, after receiving the arrangements schedule, Fang Zhao and the others from Silver Wing gathered at the designated location. There, professionals would instruct them on how to use the various props.

The prop instructor wasn’t the least bit courteous towards these celebrities.

“People from that era were forced to get stronger on battlefields. Whether it was having the ability to kill their enemies or having the skills to escape, people then were well versed in it. Any person could leap 8 meters with just one stride. Can any of you do so? If you can’t do so, then you better familiarize yourselves with the usage of these props. Try not to become a burden when filming officially starts! No one will wait for you!”

“We aren’t even athletes—how is it possible to even leap eight meters with one stride,” someone muttered.

There were even people who joked about it. “If there is a dog chasing behind me, perhaps I might really leap 8 meters.”

The prop instructor paid no heed to what this bunch of instructors discussed in private and continued at his normal pace as he explained the usage of every single prop. Whether the actors listened seriously, whether they comprehended, he couldn’t care less.

Fang Zhao did not need it, but after some consideration, he felt that he shouldn’t be too segregated from the rest of the group and needed to act normal. So when others interacted with the props, Fang Zhao used them too. Familiarizing himself with their usage would be beneficial as well.

As Fang Zhao memorized the prop instructor’s introduction for each piece of equipment, he felt rueful. The convenience that technology brought humankind was indeed amazing.

The prop instructor left after finishing his talk. He had other matters to attend to and would leave the group of actors to train over here.

Ji Polun ran over to look for Fang Zhao. “Brother Zhao, should we had to the production team’s dining hall or to the gourmet street later? How about we head to the large dining hall at noon to experience the atmosphere and visit the gourmet food street in the late afternoon to try some Wai specialties?”

The gourmet food street that had been mentioned was a street constructed on the fringes of the film set area. The shops there were run by family members of Wai base military personnel.

The investments and the cast and crew provided job opportunities for the military and were bringing planet Wai considerable revenue. Military personnel garrisoned on planet Wai would definitely look after things well here.

Even a powerful dragon could not repress a local snake. Regardless of how much power and influence one held elsewhere, when on planet Wai, they still had to foster good relationships with the military stationed here. This was the territory of Wai base’s commander, Huo Yi. If the cast and crew should really encounter any big problems, they would still have to request help from the Wai garrison.

For the cast and crew, the gourmet food street definitely had a much greater appeal compared to the production team’s dining hall. However, the three meals at the dining hall were free, whereas the gourmet food street required them to fork out their own cash.

Naturally, celebrities did not lack such small amounts of cash. So there isn’t any internet for us to entertain ourselves with? In life, there are only a few other pastimes.

“We have to eat more. We definitely won’t get fat training for days in this horrid place. If we eat according to our past portions, we will waste away before filming has even started,” Ji Polun said. “We have to eat more good stuff before filming starts.”

Fang Zhao approved of Ji Polun’s statement. Before leaving, the prop instructor had given some parting words: “Try your best to eat. Even if you have no appetite or you aren’t acclimating well, you still have to force food down.”

At lunchtime, Ji Polun dropped whatever prop he was holding and ran over to Fang Zhao to have lunch together. His eager manner appeared as if he was afraid that Fang Zhao would run off alone.

A few other Silver Wing young actors who were of similar grades to Ji Polun gazed disdainfully at Ji Polun’s impatient thigh hugging. Following that, they compliantly joined in.

“Brother Fang, take me along!”

“Count me in!”

“Me too, me too!”

People who could squeeze into the cast of “Founding Era” were not foolish. They could clearly see that He Lisi was the head of the Silver Wing party, but there were too many people gathered around him. B-listers like them were nothing more than minions, and they could not force their way in. With no other choice, they could only follow Ji Polun and mix with Fang Zhao.

A few of them thought to themselves that fortunately, Fang Zhao was of a similar age to them. With common topics, they all felt comfortable talking to him

Even if any of them had mush for brains, the managers behind them surely had tricks up their sleeves. Previously, these managers had instructed them, If you aren’t smart, then watch what smart people do and learn from them.

For the past few years, Ji Polun’s stock had been rising. In the eyes of many people, he was a smart person.

Fang Zhao could see through their intentions, but as long as they had no evil inclinations, he would look after those he could. In his eyes, they were just little kids.

As Fang Zhao was bringing along a bunch of “kids” to the dining hall for lunch, he ran through the list of things he had arranged in his mind. Mmhm, no problems. Everything is accounted for.

Elsewhere.

At Earth’s space station, a cargo transport ship headed for planet Wai was stopped.

Yan Biao and Zuo Yu were not in the passenger cabin but in a single room allocated to them.

They had followed Fang Zhao’s instructions and brought along Curly Hair and all sorts of procedural documentation.

Fang Zhao belonged to the first batch of planet Wai cooperative partners, and planet Wai’s commanding officer Huo Yi had given him the green light. However, for him to bring a dog, there were all sorts of tests that had to be done to prevent foreign bacteria and other microbes from being carried in. There were slightly more of these procedures, and despite starting in August, it was only now that Fang Zhao had gotten a pass from planet Wai. It was only a one-time pass, and when Curly Hair was going to leave planet Wai, he would need to apply for it again.

However, the reason Yan Biao and Zuo Yu were able to enjoy the treatment of having a single room was because of Curly Hair.

When they had boarded, cargo was being loaded up on the transport ship. Curly Hair had smelt some hazardous materials. Those were goods that had some toxicity.

Despite layers of safety checks, there had still been a little leaking, and nobody had any idea how it had gotten through the checks.

The person in charge at the space station was furious. Investigate! Investigate thoroughly! Find out whoever or whichever step had a problem!

Over at the transport ship, they had only been concerned about whether there were problems with the goods that had been loaded up. The majority of these goods would be for the “Founding Era” cast and crew. If any star was poisoned as a result, those on the ship would be done for as well.

“Wasn’t there a police dog making a round? Why didn’t it sniff out anything?” someone asked, puzzled.

The space station had 20 elite dogs from Muzhou’s police academy with the specific purpose of searching the spaceport. Police dogs and technology gave a double layer of insurance.

However, this double layer of insurance wasn’t able to make it 100% safe.

“Strange. How exactly was this dog able to sniff it out?” somebody asked as the ship’s staffers gathered to discuss.

One of them was shocked by the results of his online search. “This dog is ranked fifth on the global pet value charts. It has a valuation of over 200 million!”

“I feel it is even better than the 200 million worth of new equipment that the space station just bought.”

“I just knew that the space station’s new batch of machines were no good. See, there are problems already.”

“In the past, I had never understood why a dog could be so expensive. Now I know why. It’s totally worth it!”

The transport ship’s commander had even specifically come looking for Yan Biao and Zuo Yu. “Let us borrow your dog again.”

Yan Biao and Zuo Yu were in an awkward situation.

Could their boss’s dog be so easily loaned out?

Of course not!

But this was someone else’s transport ship. They still had to ride on this ship to planet Wai.

Although Fang Zhao did not have any internet access, with some connections, the two bodyguards could still contact him. However, since it wasn’t an especially important matter, there was no need to make use of those connections.

The two of them considered for a bit. It wasn’t a big issue, so they sanctioned it.

“We can lend out the dog, but we have to follow along,” Yan Biao said.

The ship’s commander rejected it. “That won’t do. Many areas on this ship are off-limits to non-crew members. You guys have to wait here. Don’t worry! I will personally lead the dog to each cabin for a quick search before returning. It’s just a dog. Would I not return him after borrowing?”

Having reached this point, Zuo Yu and Yan Biao could only agree, since Curly Hair didn’t seem like he was indisposed to it.

The ship’s commander gladly brought the dog to patrol the ship and even got his men to allocate a room for Yan Biao and Zuo Yu with food and drinks.

Zuo Yu stared at the ceiling. “I feel that…”

“We are inferior to a dog,” Yan Biao replied numbly.

Translator’s Thoughts

The adventures of Master Curly and his two minions in space begins