Chapter 878: Main Mission
Chapter 878: Main Mission
I told Professor Bai that I would also bring Xiao Qin with me to the lecture hall tomorrow after school and he didn’t raise any objections.
“No problem, we welcome friends and family to come to our seminars. Our seminars are based on science and we welcome all who come and don’t chase those who leave. We will never restrict the personal freedom of our members.”
Despite having just admitted that they were a religious group earlier, he now referred to ‘members’ instead of ‘disciples.’ It was precisely because they operated under the guise of a scientific seminar that the Public Security Bureau had been unable to find solid evidence of their cult activities (moreover, up to this point, Happy Science hasn’t caused anyone to go bankrupt or suffer family tragedies, nor have they harbored inappropriate desires towards female members).
Since I would be venturing into a dangerous situation with Xiao Qin tomorrow night, I suddenly realized that I needed to speak with Professor Bai in advance and ask him to help me keep a secret from Xiao Qin.
The secret was about my heart disease.
Until now, the only people who knew about my heart disease were Dr. Yu, Peng TouSi, and the class leader. However, Dr. Yu was ultimately under Ai ShuQiao’s command, and since Dr. Yu sought help from his senior, the Poison King Klinger, it was likely that many in Ai ShuQiao’s circle were aware of it as well.
Based on my recent conversation with Professor Bai and Fang Xin, since they knew that Ai ShuQiao was conducting research with my blood, they must also be aware that I was poisoned from consuming the butterfly. I have to take precautionary measures to prevent Professor Bai from accidentally revealing it to Xiao Qin during our meeting.
I was cautious and didn’t directly admit to having heart problems. Instead, I indirectly asked Professor Bai whether their calculation program had figured out how to remove the toxin from my body.
“Can’t it be cured by drinking a lot of alcohol?” Professor Bai said like a know-it-all, “But Ai ShuQiao is worried that alcohol will kill the effective components in your blood, so she doesn’t let you drink, right?”
Professor Bai’s casual tone made me realize: By eavesdropping on phone calls and gathering information, he knew about the toxin in my body and had a half-understanding of the treatment method. However, they were unaware that the virus limited my heart and prevented me from engaging in intense physical activity for more than three minutes.”
“Since they mistook incomplete information as complete information, I didn’t feel the need to kindly remind them. To prevent Professor Bai from inadvertently mentioning anything to Xiao Qin, I lied and said that the butterfly toxin made me feel more fatigued than before. I didn’t tell Xiao Qin because I felt embarrassed, and I hoped he wouldn’t mention anything about it in front of Xiao Qin.
Professor Bai didn’t suspect anything and readily agreed to my request.
In fact, the last time I went to listen to a Happy Science lecture with Gong CaiCai, Professor Bai, who was the main speaker, was very knowledgeable. Despite being over sixty, he was physically robust and very energetic.
Such an intelligent man didn’t even carefully consider the flaws in my words and easily believed my lie about the toxins in my body. It can only be said that he was too careless.
Given that the calculation program was so advanced and it was capable of integrating billions of pieces of information and making inferences from all possible scenarios, then it had essentially become the ‘brain’ of Happy Science. The ‘brain’, which was regarded as a deity, made Professor Bai reluctant to think for himself, so he was only responsible for collecting information and letting the brain do all the thinking.
Perhaps the calculation program really was a system that defied the heavens, but its accurate predictions depended on correct information. Whenever possible, I should feed it a lot of false information to disrupt its predictions.
Bringing Xiao Qin along was definitely the right choice. Her ability to spout nonsense was on par with sports commentators. Once the illogical nonsense that came out of her mouth entered the calculation program’s database, simply identifying the truth from the lies and clearing out those useless redundant data would consume a huge amount of energy, right?
The members said before that the calculation program consumed an astonishing amount of electricity, which seems to be the truth. Other than renting houses and teaching classes, a significant portion of the money Professor Bai and his group swindled was spent on hardware and electricity costs.
I didn’t get home until 8:30 that evening. I saw my dad sitting on the sofa and trying to pull out a metal tack that was stuck in the bottom of his shoe. It seemed like he had just gotten home as well.
“Dad, did you go out?”
“Yeah, I went to a celebration party.” he said while removing the tack. He almost ended up breaking a nearby glass cup due to using too much force.
I learned that Uncle Fireball, who was sent to Dongguan to rescue Director Cao from a prostitution crackdown, had successfully completed his mission. Tonight, the HHH enthusiasts’ club held a celebratory banquet at a hotel to celebrate Director Cao’s release and to welcome the new member, Uncle Fireball.
My dad, as a senior (adult film) critic of the HHH enthusiasts’ club and the leader of the ‘Happy Valley Trio’, had to attend no matter what. He drank a bit at the banquet but still managed to stay sober this time.
My dad told me that Director Cao was incredibly lucky. He met a benefactor in the detention center where he was locked up, he was different than the nouveau riche movie sponsor he met last time. This time, he encountered an insider, a highly respected senior in the industry.
The respected senior had said:
“I’ve always stayed behind the scenes because I thought that my low profile meant the media wouldn’t know about my arrest. I didn’t expect to meet someone in the industry who would recognize me… How about this: you don’t disclose my involvement in solicitation, and I’ll give you a leg up in the film industry. Didn’t you gain some fame for ‘Bloody Battle of Jin Ling’ during the stop the cars to save the dogs incident? I have a 32-episode anti-Japanese TV drama script ready to be shot in Dong Shan’s film city. Most of the cast and crew are set; we just need a director experienced in martial arts films and a young actor with a villainous appearance. If you’re confident, take this job, and also bring the one who acted as Jin Ling Young Thug. It would be a waste not to play a villain with his looks…”
Why does Director Cao always get opportunities in the film industry every time he’s caught for solicitation? Moreover, the senior asked him to direct an anti-Japanese film but needed someone with expertise in martial arts films… It’s obviously going to be a kung fu film dressed up as an anti-Japanese film! He even specifically asked me to play a role, no doubt as a Japanese villain! Dream on! I wouldn’t agree even if I didn’t have heart problems!
I told my dad that it wasn’t open for discussion with Director Cao. He really didn’t force me because he knew how much I detested Japanese military uniforms and would never wear them while acting.
However, Director Cao acted quickly. He called me the next day at lunchtime to tell me that he desperately clung to his senior’s legs and pleaded on my behalf to secure a positive role for me.
Although the role didn’t have as much screen time as the Japanese villain, it was actually a Chinese character . It was a secret assassin from the ‘Anti-Japanese and Treason Elimination Squad’ under the Kuomintang. He was usually disguised as a student and would have a face-off scene with the famous traitor, Wang Fugui.
I told Director Cao I wasn’t in the mood for acting and was busy with my studies. However, Director Cao counter-questioned me about what school I could get into even if I worked hard. He suggested that I should join the entertainment industry to act as the tough guy. He had gone to great lengths to secure this role for me, which was not only a positive character but also had depth. I would be losing a rare chance if I missed this opportunity.
I took my heart condition into consideration and wanted to refuse, but Director Cao got impatient and thought I didn’t want to help him out.
“Xiao Ye Zi, you said you would never play a villain, so I secured this role by clinging to the senior’s legs and calling him ‘dad’! How would I face myself if you don’t accept it!”
Hey! I think you can’t face your ancestors anymore by easily calling someone else dad!
After all, Director Cao was my father’s friend. He helped my father when he was at his lowest point in his life. He also helped my father a lot during the Cui Song Mountain incident. He also helped me get this role so that I could fulfill my childhood dream of acting as a good guy who can fight in front of the camera.
In the end, I was too embarrassed to decline and asked Director Cao to find an actor more suitable than me first. If he couldn’t, then he could come ask me again.
I didn’t refuse because I confirmed the character had more speaking lines than fight scenes, so it didn’t have a high physical requirement. Anyway, the filming location was also in film city, so every time I go on set, I could stop by to visit Ai Mi from the crew of ‘Legend of the Magic Cauldron’.
When I answered the phone, Xiao Qin was eating at the same table with me. She silently listened to the conversation between me and Director Cao, then blinked and asked me:
“Are you going to star in an anti-Japanese TV series? A Kuomintang killer who’s usually a student, that sounds cool!”
“Well.” I joked, “It would be even cooler if it was the 18 Dragon Subduing Palms.”
Just before Director Cao called, I had told Xiao Qin that I was going to see Professor Bai after school today to officially start the main mission of ‘infiltrating the cult’ and told Xiao Qin to make preparations.
Xiao Qin likes to cause trouble for others by nature. Now, her goal was to make trouble within the cult, and she would also have to act with me, so of course, her eyes sparkled with excitement. She clenched her little fists to express her determination:
“No problem! I’m ready!”