I will be stronger after the remake

This is an important character with quite a lot of screen time. The male protagonist works undercover as the other party's subordinate, using each other while developing a subtle bond.

With Director Hu playing the role, I can feel more immersed in the character.

Chapter 45 Choosing Actors

There are four and a half main female characters in "The Invisible Guardian".

The first one is Fang Min, the male protagonist's childhood sweetheart, who dies the most times besides the male protagonist.

In the early stages, she is an innocent girl who has never experienced the harsh realities of society. Her father is the male protagonist's mentor. He is betrayed by an internal traitor, which leads to the exposure of his identity as an underground party member. In order to protect the students and to help the male protagonist gain the trust of the Japanese, she voluntarily dies at the hands of the male protagonist. Fang Min is unaware of the inside story and hates the male protagonist for it.

She gradually matured and took different paths due to different political stances. In the Kuomintang line, she was a student leader who remained steadfast in her beliefs even when she was slandered as a traitor.

During the "Red Youth" route, she learned about the male protagonist's plight and also became an underground party member. She infiltrated the Kuomintang's Military Intelligence Bureau as "Number Three" to secretly protect the male protagonist. Several years later, she recreated the male protagonist's burned files, proving his party membership.

"Let Yuan Ji play this role."

Tang Ping wrote Yuan Ji's name after the character without hesitation.

Through their interactions over the past few days, he discovered that Yuan Ji, who appeared to be self-destructive and complacent due to his inability to advance his spiritual level, was actually cynical at heart, occasionally uttering very sharp remarks, showing no mercy to evil people, and possessing very strong principles.

The second is Junko Muto, the daughter of Shio Muto. She is a history teacher and has a kind and simple personality, but she does not lose her beliefs and ideals. After witnessing the truth of the suffering that Japan's war brought to the Chinese people, she decided to record history with her own pen. Based on the male protagonist's narration, she created a historical memoir called "The Lies of the Times".

"Pure, kind, and with strong beliefs... Hmm... I don't seem to have anyone like that around me, so I'll leave that blank for now."

The third is Zhuang Xiaoman, whose ostensible identity is a senior intelligence officer in the Wang Jingwei regime's Special Service Section, but whose true identity is a Kuomintang agent known as "Flying Eagle."

She is capable of sacrificing friends for missions and killing colleagues to protect the male protagonist. She is a complex character who combines rationality and sensibility, ruthlessness and tenderness. She is also the most charming female character and is jokingly referred to by players as a bad woman.

"This role is not easy to play. If you don't have acting skills, even a PowerPoint presentation won't work. Besides, I don't think I know anyone with a similar personality. Hmm... I won't consider this one. I'll just ask the company to recommend a suitable candidate."

If we really had to choose, adoptive mother Yu Saifeng would be a good fit. Don't be fooled by how much she dotes on Tang Ping and how easy she seems to get along with her. As a woman who has achieved success in business, she is destined to be anything but a kind-hearted person.

But no matter how you look at it, Tang Ping would never invite her adoptive mother to act, so let's just ignore that.

The fourth is Lu Wangshu, also an underground party member, codenamed "Nightingale". Although she is the only character who ends up with the male protagonist and has a child, her character is very one-dimensional because she appears in very few scenes.

She had a lover in the background, but during her time undercover, her lover married someone else. In order to keep her working, her treacherous superior concealed the truth and arranged for the male protagonist to pretend to be her engaged couple. In the end, the two developed genuine feelings for each other through life and death.

Lu Wangshu is a man of faith, and after being captured, he remained steadfast to the death. He is exceptionally capable and can perfectly execute the tasks assigned by his superiors. From a young age, he was taught to cater to others and wear different masks in front of different people. While experiencing the harsh reality, he also harbors beautiful fantasies about love.

"Director Feng is quite suitable for this role, but I don't know if she's willing to take it."

Unlike a certain idle head of the security department, Feng Yingying, as the supervisor of a base, has many daily affairs.

It's not that I didn't get any rest. During my training in Tangping, I ran into him reading in the library and we chatted together. But I felt really bad that he used his precious days off to film.

Of course, given his status as the son of his benefactor, he figured that the other party wouldn't refuse his request, but that was precisely what Tang Ping resisted.

If we had no connection whatsoever, it would be simpler; we could just make a phone call and ask. If they wanted to come, they could; if not, that was fine. But right now, it's a bit of a dilemma.

"Never mind, just write down the name for now, and we'll decide whether to call later."

The last half is Gu Junru. She doesn't have many scenes, but her character is charming. She is a naive junior who admires the male lead wholeheartedly. However, she dies at the hands of the male lead because of a mission. Therefore, she is quite loved by players. Her character is similar to Mutou Junko, who has no life goals.

“If Shu Jiang loses weight, she could play this role.”

Tang Ping thought about it and felt that players probably wouldn't accept a 130-pound Gu Junru unless they used beauty filters and photo editing techniques.

"Forget it, photo editing costs money too, let's just ask Feng Maimai instead."

Despite being sisters, Tang Ping and Feng Maimai were very relaxed when they got along, and she never felt the slightest bit reserved. This was due to both their personalities and the difference in their positions.

Crystal Fung will consider gratitude, while Maggie Fung will not, unless you actively ask her to repay the favor.

Tang Ping wrote Feng Maimai's name after Gu Junru's, and after looking at the other important male protagonists, she wrote Ma Yiming's name after Li Feng.

"Since he's a good brother, of course I should arrange a role with a lot of screen time for him. I think he'll thank me for that."

……

"Head of the Special Service Section of the Wang Jingwei regime, you're really going all out to get me to play this role!"

With all the members of the Public Security Section present, Ma Yiming took Li Feng's script from Tang Ping and his face darkened upon seeing the character introductions.

Tang Ping explained, "This character is very outstanding. He seems ruthless and unscrupulous, but in fact he also cares about his subordinates, is loyal to his duties, hates betrayal, and only seeks to protect himself in the chaotic world, but he goes astray. If this kind of villain with a character arc is played well, he will be very popular with the general public."

He cared for his subordinates and hated betrayal, but as a result, all three of his subordinates betrayed him.

After finishing the script, Ma Yiming was even more speechless.

"Have you watched Detective Conan? Do you dare say Gin isn't a popular character?"

Tang Ping earnestly advised, "Only children care about good guys and bad guys. Look at the director, he doesn't care."

Hu Ze said slowly, "I would like to pick a better, more upright character, but there aren't many good people in your script."

"After all, the theme is infiltration. If everyone around you is a good person, what difficulty is there in infiltrating?"

As Tang Ping explained, she looked at Yuan Ji and, seeing that the other woman was expressionless and her likes and dislikes were unclear, asked, "What does Senior Sister think of this role? Would you be willing to play it?"

Yuan Ji glanced at him and said slowly, "I heard that when you authors are creating your scripts, you write the people you come into contact with in your daily lives into the scripts. So, in your mind, I am the image of Fang Min."

"Uh……"

Tang Ping couldn't explain it, because that's true under normal circumstances. But the key point is that "The Invisible Guardian" wasn't created by him. He had the characters first and then chose the actors, rather than creating the characters based on the actors.

Chapter Forty-Six Rewards

"I don't care about filming, let's talk about business first."

Hu Ze led Tang Ping to an empty room, and after confirming that no one was around, he said, "Regarding your reward, the organization's idea is to see what you think. It could be pills or magic treasures related to psychics, or improved welfare benefits in reality, or even a house. You can choose whichever you like."

"I'll pass on the benefits and I don't need a house. I'm quite satisfied with my life in reality." Tang Ping's material needs were already very low. "As for choosing between elixirs and magic weapons, please give me your opinion, Director."

Without hesitation, Hu Ze said, "Then naturally we should choose magic weapons. There are many ways to obtain pills, but magic weapons are much rarer. You either need to make great contributions or know a spiritual energy user who has mastered the spiritual energy of weapon crafting. Moreover, the difficulty of crafting the two is not on the same level. The materials for pills are relatively easy to obtain, as they are everywhere in the Illusionary Realm. The materials for magic weapons, on the other hand, have to be obtained from monsters."

"I'll listen to the director and choose the magic weapon."

"What type of magical artifact do you want—offensive, defensive, healing, or supportive?"

If it were a game, Tang Ping would definitely choose to continue to strengthen his support abilities. After all, each character has their own role, and you should focus on what you are good at. But in reality, you can't think like that. Making up for your weaknesses is the top priority.

"Healing and support are out of the question; my spiritual energy and magic are primarily focused on those two areas. As for offense and defense, well..."

Given Tang Ping's inherently cautious nature, he would have prioritized defensive magic weapons. However, after experiencing the calamity caused by the spider demon and the feeling of wanting to save people but being powerless to do so, he changed his mind.

"I choose an offensive magic weapon."

"What about the attributes?"

"Water systems are the best, followed by wood systems."

"Melee or ranged combat?"

"Ranged attacks have magical abilities, so I'll choose melee."

Hu Ze nodded, noted down all the requests, and said, "Alright, I will report your requests. If the organization has a suitable magic weapon, it will be issued within ten working days. If not, someone will be sent to discuss it with you."

Tang Ping asked curiously, "Couldn't you just give me a booklet of magical artifacts so I can choose them myself? That way, I wouldn't have to worry about running out of stock, and it would significantly improve efficiency."

"I have a booklet on elixirs, but not on magical artifacts."

Tang Ping pondered, "Because elixirs can be mass-produced and categorized, while magical treasures are all unique?"

Hu Ze said, "That's one reason. More importantly, the magical artifacts of psionicists all have special mechanisms. They're not the kind that's obvious, like releasing fireballs or enhancing elemental abilities. The mechanisms themselves are important information. If we make it into a booklet explaining the functions of magical artifacts, it will bring huge hidden dangers if it's leaked. In the future, when the organization gives you a magical artifact, you'll have to figure it out on your own. You can't tell others the relevant information and treat it as your own psionic ability."

"I understand."

"Oh, right, I brought the certificate and badge for the First-Class Merit Citation. I'll give them to you later. Remember to keep them safe, as they won't be replaced if lost."

Tang Ping laughed and said, "This award ceremony is too simple. Isn't there any commendation ceremony or something?"

"The Psionic Bureau is classified, but this classification doesn't refer to the organization itself, but rather to personal information. Bringing a group of people together can easily lead to intelligence leaks. You need to adjust your mindset and not think of yourself as an ordinary person, but rather as an undercover agent, just like the role you're about to play."

"It's the 21st century, why are we still acting like underground party members!"

Hu Ze said irritably, "If you insist on holding an awards ceremony, it's not that I can't give you one, but you'll be the only psychic who attends."

"I'd rather not, I don't want to be made a fool of."

The two returned to the filming location, where the third crew happened to be free. Tang Ping decided to test the waters and get into character.

Since he wasn't actually making a movie, he simply skipped the opening ceremony, gathered the crew, and started filming immediately. The director of the third group smirked at this, feeling even more that these people were amateurs.

Although the cast has not yet been decided, it doesn't matter; we'll film the scenes that can be filmed first, and no one has raised any objections to this.

Most film crews don't strictly follow the script's order when filming; they divide the film into different scenes and then shoot them in the most efficient way.

As for what constitutes the most efficient approach, there are different definitions. Generally, it is believed that filming scenes from the same location together saves the most on location costs.

Tang Ping chose to film a press conference held by Muto Shio, in which the male lead disguised himself as a reporter and mingled in the interview department, attracting Muto Shio's attention by asking questions.

He really looked down on the makeup artists on set; the makeup they did for female characters was nothing short of disastrous. Unfortunately, the highly paid makeup artists hadn't arrived yet, so he tried to choose male-oriented roles whenever possible.

"start!"

With the reminder, the crew officially began filming.

Tang Ping held a pen in one hand and a notebook in the other, pretending to take notes. The other extras playing reporters also got into character, some taking notes like Tang Ping, while others stared blankly at the podium in front of them. Overall, their performance was satisfactory.

Tang Ping had no objection to this; the main character in this scene was Director Hu, and the others just needed to act in a way that didn't go too far.

Director Hu did not disappoint Tang Ping's expectations. With makeup on, he looked quite dignified, standing on the podium and speaking eloquently, seemingly oblivious to the cameras in front of him and the crew members around him, as if he were really giving a speech.

When an old general takes the field, one is worth two.

This was exactly the result Tang Ping wanted. Someone else might have been nervous and stage-frightened, unable to resist looking at the camera, but Director Hu wouldn't. He had experienced similar situations many times before, and for any decent meeting, someone would be responsible for filming and recording it.

In terms of audience size alone, this performance was actually the one with the smallest audience of any speech Hu Ze had ever given.

"pass."

The director called out weakly.

Tang Ping walked over and glanced at the image, then frowned: "The lighting is wrong, it's too dark, making the characters look too sinister."

The director defended himself, saying, "After all, he's playing a Japanese character, so it's normal for him to be a bit sinister."

"Although he is playing a Japanese man, it is still the early stage of the war, when the Japanese army is advancing triumphantly. His mental state should be high-spirited and full of confidence."

"...At worst, we can just edit the photos later."

"If the subject is good, retouching is the icing on the cake; if the subject is not good, retouching is just patching up the flaws. We'll talk to the lighting technician and shoot it again."

"Okay, you're the investor, so you call the shots."

The director looked a little impatient, but he still agreed.

He went to the lighting technician and told him about Tang Ping's requirements, but the lighting technician also looked dissatisfied and complained for a while.

Tang Ping took in the expressions of the two men, then looked at the other crew members and found that they also looked unhappy, like working people forced to work overtime.

Realizing that continuing like this would only lead to more problems, Tang Ping quickly picked up a megaphone and shouted, "Today, all crew members who are working will receive a 50% raise. I hope everyone will cheer up, cooperate fully, and finish filming as soon as possible so we can go home early."

Because of the overtime pay, the crew's attitude improved considerably, and they stopped being perfunctory.

Chapter 47 Political Commissar's Work

"Everyone, thank you for your hard work. We've finished filming today. Go back and rest now."

As Tang Ping called out, everyone, including the extras, relaxed and dispersed in twos and threes.

Tang Ping and her group went to their accommodation, a three-star hotel, which was quite good in all aspects. This hotel specializes in catering to film crews and has a long-term cooperative relationship with Youxing Entertainment Company.

During the meal, Hu Ze said with a serious expression, "Judging from their behavior during the day, the attitude of these crew members is very problematic."

Yuan Ji chimed in, "Even with more money, they wouldn't be as motivated, they just wouldn't be as perfunctory. In comparison, the extras are more dedicated than them."

Tang Ping, on the contrary, could understand: "There's nothing they can do. In their eyes, they could have rested and slacked off, but they have to work overtime because of our extra tasks."

Song Tao, who was temporarily acting as the producer, hurriedly said, "That's not the case. Under normal circumstances, even if they have completed all the work assigned by the crew, a portion of the tasks from the first and second groups will be deducted and given to them. How could we really let them rest?"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ji immediately changed his stance: "Then you're in the wrong. They completed the work efficiently, how can that be wrong? Doesn't this mean that the harder you work, the more you suffer?"

With a pained expression, Song Tao explained, "Filming is different from other jobs. You can't accurately estimate the workload. For example, the weather and the actors' condition will affect the filming schedule. You also have to consider the location. There are only so many scenes in this scene. You can't just stay here after you've finished filming."

"The workload assigned to the third group was already less than that of the other two groups. The original plan was to wait until they finished filming before assigning more people to help the other two groups speed up their progress."

"Besides, the third group isn't stupid. If they filmed slower, they wouldn't have extra work to do. Don't they know how to dawdle? Their filming speed is normal, neither fast nor slow."

Tang Ping said, "What you're talking about are things that didn't happen. Since they didn't happen, they're as good as non-existent. In their eyes, they're doing work outside of the contract, working as free laborers, so they must be resentful."