by <unknown>
This also served to verify Chen Chen's previous hypothesis. He concluded that he could not use the item instantiated from the USB drive to charge the USB drive, just like how it would be impossible for a person to fly by consequently stepping on both of his feet and one after the other.
If he were to forcibly try to instantiate an energy generation object, the resulting object would be like this pendant here, nothing but an empty shell.
To be clear, this "Shell" did not imply that there was not a single trace of energy within. It merely meant that there was very little energy within.
Otherwise, it would contradict the fact that there was energy remaining in the instantiated memory eraser, PK Armor, cloaking device, and even the STEM Chip.
Chen Chen hypothesized that the energy within an object instantiated by the USB drive could not exceed the amount of energy consumed during the instantiation process.
This was the equivalent of a separate form of energy conservation.
This was why Chen Chen wanted to attempt to transfer the energy within the pendant back to the USB drive. If the USB drive managed to return to its previous condition before the instantiation, Chen Chen's hypothesis was thus proved valid.
Unfortunately, it could not be transferred.
Arriving at this thought, Chen Chen took a strong nylon rope and hung the pendant around his neck. He then turned to the USB drive again.
Chen Chen's motive for the experiment was to verify the theory of "whether a movie directed by the owner of the USB drive could be contained within the USB drive". This theory was set in conjunction with the law of conservation. If the movie could be taken by the USB drive2, it would imply that the law of conservation could be broken.
If it could not be contained, it would thus prove that the law of conservation could not be broken.
As it was now, it was a concrete fact that the USB drive had to abide by the laws of conservation. However, since it was able to contain a movie directed by the USB drive owner, things could become interesting…
A third possibility began to surface in Chen Chen's mind…
"Future cause and effect?"
Chen Chen squinted his eyes. He could not help but feel somewhat awkward when he watched the movie for the first time. It stemmed from an intrusive thought:
The villain organization in the movie seemed to be a portrayal of himself.
Even though the black tights did not come with the button devices that came with the GS Combat Suit, there was a reasonable explanation for it. There was no way Chen Chen would continue obtaining GS Combat Suits by instantiating it. It only made sense that he would have his own factory to manufacture such equipment.
Besides, even if the technological advancement of the GS Combat Suit proved too much for him to replicate, he could very well produce a simplified version of the GS Combat Suit.
In that case, was the black tights without the button a representation of his replicated variation of the GS Combat Suit in the future?
That was not the end of it.
To emphasize the strength of the villain, the director seemed to have made a conscious decision of having the actors display a stoic expression. Even when the villains in the movie received significant injuries, they displayed no signs of pain whatsoever as if they were not proper living beings…
Did this scene not bear a close resemblance to the God Chip controlled brainless cloned subjects he was developing?
Even toward the end of the movie, the identity of the villain was still left ambiguous. The audience may take it as a hint of there being a sequel. The way Chen Chen saw it, this further suggested several distinct possibilities…
What was more, to satisfy the condition of being close to reality, Chen Chen had set the movie to be based three years ahead of the present day, down to the exact month and day. The combination of these factors seemed to be a sign.
This was why Chen Chen had called Cheng Cao to receive confirmation.
For the movie to be so directed at Chen Chen's plans, apart from the possibility of the plot of the movie unraveling in reality over the next three years, there was also a possibility that someone had deliberately made a movie like this!
Till now, Chen Chen was unable to verify the origin of the USB drive. He suspected it was from the movie Lucy but he was unable to obtain concrete proof of his theory. If the movie was deliberately crafted by someone to be the way it was, it meant that that person probably knew about the existence of the USB drive!
Of course, the possibility was almost minuscule since nobody would willingly concede the USB drive after obtaining it, no less watching Chen Chen growing stronger by the day with it.
Chen Chen had suspected the previous owner of the USB drive may have taken out something within one of the horror films…
With all that said, Chen Chen was going to have to meet the director himself. He wanted to see if it was because someone had intentionally directed the film this way or some sort of mysterious workings orchestrated things this way…
Chen Chen held up the bottle of AD-001 and faintly squinted his eyes.
Did this bottle of drug truly come from three years in the future?
If it truly was so, was it his filming of the movie which led to the successful development of the drug or was it because the drug was going to appear three years later regardless, and thus influenced the outcome of his movie?
Chen Chen contemplated endlessly on the subject.
The rules of the USB drive seemed to be growing ever-complicated…
Chapter 129: Studebaker |
Midnight, following the commencement of the party at Silkdoor Hotel, Studebaker left the banquet hall under the adoring reception of the crowd.
Studebaker was a renowned Hollywood director. Ever since his first debut when he was twenty-five years old, he had directed more than forty movies so far. Two of his movies had exceeded 700 million U.S. dollars at the box office and entered the ranks of the top 100 in Hollywood history. He was a man with insurmountable talent.
This year, he was just forty-five years old and was in the prime of his career.
Some time ago, his latest script he received had just been finalized and handed over to the film crew.
However, Studebaker was not particularly satisfied with the script.
It was evident that there was too much pointless filler in the script. Many entertainment values were lost for the sake of so-called scientific and logical film settings. This had always been an unreasonable factor of commercial blockbuster chasing after box office success.
After all, most audiences came to the theaters to pursue a form of audiovisual banquet instead of seeking logical reasoning.
Unfortunately, this script was given to him by the Edwards family and they had specifically requested him to direct it.
Even though this chaebol had always kept a low profile, it was common knowledge among the film industry that they held the reins to at least one-fifth of Hollywood.
Studebaker had no grounds for refusal when faced with such a degree of capitalist control.
Since he could not make drastic changes to the script, Studebaker had to resort to concentrating his efforts on the character writing and development.
Under the odd circumstances, Studebaker decided to make the villains of the story extremely powerful. To emphasize the mysterious aspect, he did not provide much clarification of the identity of the villain even toward the end of the movie as to provide an ambiguous ending —
Did the protagonist manage to pass the drug to the board of directors in the end? Did he succeed or did he fail?
Nobody knew.
Of course, this was a very bold way to narrate a story. Any slip-ups and it would face major criticisms from various critic sites. On the contrary, if executed well, it could very well swing the reception the other way.
For now, his only hope was that the film would have a box office of more than 200 million following its release.
Studebaker silently pr
ayed for it to work out. If it did not achieve 200 million and the Edwards family suffered losses, not only would his future be compromised, but his reputation would also surely take a major hit as well.
Studebaker kept these worries to himself and kept up his supreme level of confidence on the outside. As the party ended, Studebaker left the Silkdoor hotel as the star of the night.
After finding his car in the parking lot, Studebaker gave it a rough estimation. He had only drunk two cans of beer more than two hours ago, the blood alcohol index in his body should not exceed 0.05.
In North America, driving with a BAC reading of less than 0.05 was not deemed illegal.
Since Studebaker was only forty-five years old and still had plenty of time to make a decent life for himself, he was not going to let a bit of alcohol ruin what would be a great life.
After ensuring that his condition should not affect his ability to drive, Studebaker entered his car cautiously. Before he even had time to start the engine, he felt a strange chilling sensation coming from behind him.
It was as if somebody was sitting in the backseat…
Studebaker looked back subconsciously and saw that there was nobody seated in the backseat.
Was it all in his head?
Studebaker made a slight frown. It seemed like it would be wiser to drink less in the future.
As Studebaker began to drive, he still could not shake off the feeling that there was somebody in the backseat. He had no choice but to use the car stereo to drown it out. Punk rock 80's music immediately came from the stereo systems.
Studebaker sang along to the songs while he drove back home.
When the car left the city and entered the remote suburban area, Studebaker felt another chilling bite up his spine. He could not help but glance into the rearview mirror. What he saw sent shivers across his body!
Without even realizing it, a stranger had appeared in the backseat of his car and was staring back at him!
"Screech!"
Studebaker instinctively stomped on the brakes. The car tires screeched violently before the car came to a halt in the middle of the road!
Was he seeing things because he drank too much? Or was it…
Studebaker clutched the steering wheel with all the strength he could muster, drops of cold sweat dripped down his forehead. He tried his best to suppress his fear and slowly turned toward the backseat…
"Mr. Studebaker, it's me."
Before he even had time to verify if it was all in his head, the person in the backseat suddenly spoke.
The man spoke with an accent unique to people from the Mainland, "Our boss would like to meet you."
"Mi- Mister Cheng Cao?"
It was only then when Studebaker saw that the man in the backseat was the film producer!
"Mr. Cheng Cao, why are you in my car?"
Studebaker had a wary look on his face. Before he could even click the alarm trigger button, he felt a numbness in the back of his neck. The other person seemed to have injected him with some substance!
Studebaker's heart sank. As he was about to resist, he felt a wave of drowsiness come to him like enormous, billowing waves. Before he had time to trigger the alarm, he had completely lost consciousness.
…
Inside a dimly-lit abandoned warehouse somewhere around the suburbs of Los Angeles.
Chen Chen sat in the warehouse, toying with a pendant hung around his neck. After a short while, he saw an unfamiliar car parked outside the warehouse.
The door opened. Chen Chen saw Cheng Cao marching toward him with large strides. He was carrying an unconscious man on his shoulders.
"Boss, this is the director of our movie, Mr. Studebaker."
After setting the man down on a chair, Cheng Cao s copped out a pail of water and splashed it on the man's forehead.
Upon experiencing a sudden stimulus, the unconscious man awoke abruptly and slowly opened his eyes.
When Cheng Cao saw that the man was awake, he turned around and left the warehouse to stand guard outside in case anyone tried to approach the place.
Chen Chen silently stared at the other person. He had seen this man several times online. This man was relatively popular and was among the ranks of the first-line directors in Hollywood.
As Studebaker woke up, his sight gradually readjusted and regained focus. He first looked around him before showing a dazed look.
"Who.. Are you guys? I, where am I?"
"Mr. Studebaker, accept my sincerest apologies that we have to meet like this. Allow me to introduce myself."
Chen Chen spoke lightly, carrying a unique hoarse tone when he spoke, "My name is Chen Chen, I'm an owner of a certain company and also an investor of the movie you're making."
"Investor?" Studebaker wanted to get up but could not muster the strength to do so. He clutched at his head and asked in a low voice, "What do you want? I've already finished filming the movie as you requested. What's wrong with my body…"
"Mr. Studebaker, we harbor no ill intentions. You're only under the effect of a bit of tranquilizer, you'll recover in a few hours."
As Chen Chen spoke, he exited the dark spot of the warehouse and went to a shabby-looking desk where he clicked a button.
In an instant, there was a burst of ethereal-sounding music playing.
Under the dim lighting, Studebaker saw a tape recorder and a box of cigarettes placed on the table.
"Cigarette, Mr. Studebaker?"
Chen Chen took two cigarettes from the box and handed one to Studebaker. Studebaker initially wanted to refuse but decided against it as to not offend the other party.
Chen Chen lit his cigarette before raising the lighter in front of Studebaker.
"Mr. Studebaker, please look over here…"
"Click!"
A brilliant sprout of flame arose following the clear and sharp spark produced by the roller rubbing against the flint.
Under the atmosphere set by the ethereal music, Studebaker felt as if the other party blew a puff of smoke on his face.
"Mr. Studebaker. I'm going to count to one, you'll then recall the first day of the film shooting…"
Studebaker felt as if someone was whispering into his ears but he could no longer hear anything at the present moment. His eyes were captured by a daze yet again. He felt like the sprout of flame was the only thing left which occupied the heavens above and the earth below…
Chapter 130: Three Movies |
Ten minutes later.
"Click!"
There was a shutter sound produced by a camera, a bright white flash appeared in the warehouse before darkness overtook it again.
Chen Chen removed his sunglasses as he walked out of the warehouse.
"Boss?"
Cheng Cao approached him and saw Studebaker sitting absently on the chair in the warehouse, his memory erased.
"It's alright, he'll leave on his own by the time he comes to his senses."
Chen Chen made a waving gesture and entered another vehicle. "Let's go, Cao."
"Yes."
Cheng Cao nodded and entered the driver seat.
As Cheng Cao started the car, Chen Chen leaned his elbows against the window and slowly became absorbed in thought as he looked out the window.
Chen Chen planned to hypnotize Studebaker to dig up his memories so that he had something to verify his theory.
However, Chen Chen attained nothing except for some private matters of Studebaker.
This meant that Studebaker directed the movie that way of his own accord. He was not subject to any form of external influence.
Now, this was interesting…
Chen Chen lowered his eyes faintly and let countless thoughts surge across his mind.
Could it be said that there was truly a hidden power in the world that served to connect the present with the future?
It was not so much as Chen Chen overthinking it, these sorts of events did regularly occur in movies. For example, in certain movies, the villain would rec
eive a prophecy from a seer that they could acquire the secrets of martial art by attaining A and B. Therefore, the villain began scheming to get A and B.
After attaining martial art, the villain was again informed by the seer that they would fall to the hands of A and B.
At this point, the villain began panicking and started to weigh the strengths of both sides:
First of all, on the villain's side, the villain was max leveled and full slotted, with red and blink. The villain could hold its ground whether it was a sneak attack or a straight-up ambush.
As for the two opponents, they may be ten levels lower. Barbarian only had a Bilgewater Cutlass to eventually build into a Blade of the Ruined King while Blademaster was building a Wit's End. The villain only needed to pull off a succession attack to get a double kill.
So, the villain blinked right in front of the two of them and went with a QREAW combo, drew a red on Barbarian, and began to chase down Blademaster.
What? Blademaster on his last hit popped his ulti and slipped away?
What? Barbarian popped his ulti and fled as well?
Due to the villain not killing the two of them immediately, Blademaster and Barbarian had space to farm now. In the end, after the two of them were farmed, they turned the situation around and killed the villain, forcibly fulfilling the prophecy of the seer.
Was the result caused by the foretelling of the seer? Or was it the other way around where the result was already set in stone and the seer merely foretold what was bound to happen?
Would any of this had occurred if the villain had not listened to the seer's prophecy in the very first place?
These disturbing thoughts constantly flickered in front of Chen Chen's eyes. He glanced at his wrist and got a feeling that the USB drive strapped to his bracer with its black gleaming light was silently staring at him…
Chen Chen could not help but shake his head when he arrived at this thought.
The only way to know was to wait till the 30 May three years later and see if the events depicted in the movie did occur.
In the movie, the company that invented the AD-001 drug was called Osmond Biotech. Chen Chen had Little X investigate it and found that such a company did exist in real life.