Chapter 691: Test of Acting Skills

Qin Yi remained silent for a moment. “I’m only an ordinary soldier, and I don’t have the ability to command the entire army. I can’t accept this mission.

“What happened to the previous commander?”

As the AEISS replied matter-of-factly, its voice was devoid of any emotion. “While the mission to behead the Zerg Queen was underway, many Zerg ships tried to assassinate the commander as well.

“The commander perished together with those Zerg ships.”

Qin Yi looked incredulously at the abstract image of the AEEIS. “The commander… sacrificed his life?”

AEEIS: “That’s top-secret information.

“The Ansible communication technology that we are using is similar in principle to the Zergs’ consciousness. Our communications can travel through space and be realized in real-time. However, they can also be interfered with and are limited by distance. We have to ensure that the commander is always within a certain range of the battlefield.

“We can roughly determine the Zerg Queen’s position through our Ansible communication technology, but the Zergs can also roughly determine the commander’s position.

“The previous commander believed that he had already completed his mission, and so he sacrificed his own life to severely injure the Zerg army.

“Captain Qin, AS-371-45 team members are not the only ones making sacrifices.”

Once again, Qin Yi fell silent. “Why was I chosen as the new commander?

“I don’t think we’re short of people who are willing to make sacrifices.”

AEEIS: “There are two main criteria for the position of Commander of the Alliance Fleet.

“First, one must be strong-willed and ever-ready to sacrifice oneself. What’s more, under the severe mental stress of having to make huge sacrifices at any moment, one must also remain calm and logical enough to strategize.

“People who can only theorize without having fought Zergs on the frontline before would likely not have such mental tenacity.

“Second, one must have a good understanding of the Zergs’ way of thinking and its horrifying characteristics.

“We need a commander that can make good choices when it comes to important decisions, and not someone to direct specific battles. Making the right decisions is far more important than executing decisions correctly.

“Mankind is limited by their life form. The original structure of command was too inefficient for mankind to defeat the Zerg army—it was only barely sufficient to help us endure through catastrophe for a longer period.

“Thus, the commander is now only responsible for receiving information about the battle and making decisions.

“Gathering information, screening information, integrating information, relaying specific orders and instructions, and answering questions of individual soldiers… would all be done by the AEEIS from now on.

“At every moment, the AEEIS would be making deductions about the battle and storing millions of strategies and war models. The AEEIS would learn about and absorb every commander’s strategy and way of thinking before every commander sacrifices his own life. Then, it would make accurate predictions based on the data and seek a tactical strategy with the highest probability of success.

“Thus, as commander, you would not need to concern yourself with directing small teams in specific missions. All of those would be taken care of by the AEEIS. The commander needs to only observe the battle and make decisions.

“Captain Qin, the Blue Planet Alliance Fleet’s Supreme Executive Committee and the AEEIS think that you are the most suitable candidate to become the next commander.

“Of course, mankind cannot entrust the fate of the entire Alliance Fleet in the new commander’s hands immediately. Thus, the AEEIS will assist to train you for your role first.

“You can waste a lot of time on meaningless entanglements, but every second that you waste could reduce the probability of mankind’s victory.”

Qin Yi did not ask any more questions. Instead, he spent several minutes in silence. Then, he stood up, walked to the console in the middle of the space, and sat back down.

AEEIS: “Captain Qin, you really are the most outstanding soldier that the Blue Planet has ever seen.

“Here’s to hoping that you also become the most outstanding commander that the Blue Planet has ever seen.”

The moment Qin Yi sat down, the entire space changed.

It seemed like he was seated in an endless starry sky. Holographic images covered the walls of the ship, and no matter where Qin Yi looked, he could see holographic images appearing before him.

AEEIS: “The sphere by your right hand is called the ‘observation sphere’. You can use it to move quickly, zoom in and out of view, and perform different gestures. Dragging it or tapping it with one finger or multiple fingers would have different operative effects.

“The touch screen in the center can help you process important messages and decisions. Some decisions would also need your confirmation by applying pressure.

“The big screen in front of you will display a panoramic simulation of the battlefield, so that you can get a full picture of what’s happening at the frontlines.

“The screens on either side of the big screen would display less important information and decisions. You can choose to deal with the ones that you think are important through air gestures.

“The buttons by your left hand can help you to deal with quick instructions. Together with the ‘observation sphere’, it would allow you to make more detailed observations and give more precise commands.

“Of course, you can also issue instructions through the AEEIS, using the most primitive voice method. That’s a good supplementary commanding method, but you shouldn’t grow too reliant on it. That’s because human language can only convey so much information. In the battlefield, where the entire situation can turn around in the blink of an eye, and even with the AEEIS processing large amounts of information and decisions on your behalf, you could still slip up.

“The panoramic simulation will give you a first person’s view of every corner of the battlefield.

“The following is a simulation of when the Alliance Fleet first met with the Zergs. You can use the console to observe the entire battlefield. Use this opportunity to familiarize yourself with the observation sphere and various other operations.”

What followed after that had nothing to do with Lu Zhiyao. It was mainly set in space. Simply put, it was the first time that mankind’s Alliance Fleet met the Zergs. Since various little teams fought the battle in their own ways, they were quickly swallowed by the sea of Zergs and ultimately defeated.

…

Lu Zhiyao subconsciously read on, but there was nothing more in the script.

That was the portion that Zhu Xiaoce had given to him. In fact, Lu Zhiyao had no idea which part of the movie this was, and whether it was the beginning or the middle.

Although that portion seemed to be floating in mid-air, Lu Zhiyao was quite clear of his own role.

The protagonist, Qin Yi, was a soldier who had retired from the front lines. For some reason, he had been entrusted with an important task. He had to commence training with the assistance of artificial intelligence and take on the role of commander in the battle between mankind and the Zergs.

There was nothing particularly strange about the general framework, and many other movies had similar plots.

Furthermore, Lu Zhiyao knew that this movie would be related to Boss Pei’s new RTS. Since the movie would also become the transition CGs of the game’s plot, it made sense that the protagonist would be related to the gameplay of the RTS.

What bothered Lu Zhiyao more was the role that he had to play.

From that scene in the script, it looked like the role would be incredibly difficult!

In this scene alone, Qin Yi’s emotions were very complicated:

His joy after realizing that he had narrowly escaped death…

His pain after recalling that his teammates were dead…

His confusion after being told that he had completed his mission, but the battle was not over…

His rage after learning that the commander had purposely hidden information from them…

His disappointment after learning that the previous commander had sacrificed himself…

The struggle after realizing that he would become the new commander, but the acceptance of that responsibility soon after…

The most important thing was that Lu Zhiyao could not act out these emotions in an exaggerated manner.

That was because Qin Yi was a soldier who constantly faced death while carrying out his mission. Naturally, he would have a lot of mental strength.

What’s more, it was already written in the script that Qin Yi’s expressions would largely remain unchanged, and he would have no hysteria. Most of the time, he would be listening to the AEEIS’s explanation of the battle in silence.

In other words, Qin Yi had to minimize changes in his facial expressions while bringing across those complicated emotions.

What’s more, he would be facing the green screen for most scenes. They would add the cool effects later on, but Lu Zhiyao would not be able to see them for now. He had to rely entirely on his imagination.

He would have to act alongside an electronic voice that was devoid of any emotion, without anyone as company.

The make-up, costume, and props were relatively simple as well. According to the script, Qin Yi had just recovered and woken up in his cabin. Of course, he could not do many fancy things.

In short, how well the movie turned out depended entirely on Lu Zhiyao’s acting skills.

All the audience’s eyes would be fixated on the protagonist. The voice of the artificial intelligence and the cool scenes on the green screen would just be like garnishing.

If Lu Zhiyao failed to act well, the special effects would be meaningless, no matter how well done they were.

Lu Zhiyao quietly wiped the perspiration from his forehead.

He had indeed said before that he wanted to play a more challenging role.

However, this role seemed to be a little too challenging.

After Zhu Xiaoce finished dealing with the work outside, he returned. “How are things going? Have you gotten a good grasp on the character?”

Lu Zhiyao felt an enormous weight on his shoulders. “Director Zhu, this is too challenging. I’ve never acted a role like that.

“Honestly, I’m not confident of doing a good job either. If the movie fails because of my acting skills, then…

“Director Zhu, if you find someone more suitable…”

Zhu Xiaoce was stunned. What was the meaning of this? Was Lu Zhiyao backing out at the last minute?

Don’t do that! If you don’t act, I won’t be able to find anyone else to play the role here!

Zhu Xiaoce quickly responded very sternly. “No, this role was specially made for you by Boss Pei! It belongs to you alone!

“Boss Pei has already said that you are very suited for the role. You must not lose confidence in yourself. Both Boss Pei and I think that you’re good!

“Playing this role well would give you a huge breakthrough in your acting!”

Lu Zhiyao looked doubtful. “Is that true? Is that really what Boss Pei said?”

Zhu Xiaoce nodded profusely. “That’s right, Boss Pei specifically requested for you to act.”

Zhu Xiaoce had no other choice. He could only give Lu Zhiyao more confidence by making use of Boss Pei’s name.

Acting was about skills… but also about attitude.

If the actor lacked confidence in himself, how could he act well?

However, there would be no such problem if Boss Pei added a buff for Lu Zhiyao!

Lu Zhiyao fell into deep thought. “Does Boss Pei trust me that much?

“Could it be…

“He didn’t give me the script before for fear that I wouldn’t dare to come if I had read it?”

Zhu Xiaoce remained quiet for two seconds and then said, “That’s right. That’s the case.”

Lu Zhiyao chewed on the decision again and then nodded seriously. “Alright! Since both Director Zhu and Boss Pei trust me so much, I’m willing to take on the challenge!

“I won’t let Boss Pei down!

“I’ll do it!”