Chapter 403: A Script That's Gradually Going Off the Rails
When it came to the script, inviting that old lynx was definitely not going to be enough. Take the so-called "Dragon Knight vs. Aliens" plot for example—its two main characters were still complete mysteries.
"As for the Dragon Knight… well, I could barely pretend to be a dragon myself, I guess. But aliens? Isn't that a bit too avant-garde? I mean, the people living on this land don't even have a proper concept of the world they're standing on. 'Aliens' is way outside their vocabulary."
Nian scratched her head awkwardly—then suddenly realized something.
The boy in front of her had never once questioned that strange word.
Which meant… he knew about the idea of worlds. Of planets.
Her eyes widened for a split second. But since Steve didn't bring it up himself, it was his own secret. If he didn't want to say, her curiosity was pointless anyway.
"You're right," Steven admitted. "Aliens are too much. The audience wouldn't understand a thing, it'd just torture them. So… what about vampires instead? Classic horror villains. And we've even got a ready-made blood-magic girl on the island."
He stroked his chin, thinking it through. In a world that still thought in terms of "this land," aliens would be downright bizarre. Vampires, on the other hand—an eternal, reliable antagonist. Warfarin would probably even be happy to help.
"Hmm. Vampires are a good theme," Nian said, nodding. "But how should I put it… they're a little too overused. Fine as an element, but as the main villain? Not exactly breathtaking."
Indeed, vampire movies were everywhere these days, but none had the charm of the old classics. And the vampire label was too obvious—stable, yes, but lacking surprise.
"That's true," Steven admitted. "But since we've already got vampires, how about adding a zombie outbreak caused by them? That's something everyone loves."
His eyes were starting to shine. If they were already stacking elements, why stop now? And zombies were easy—no acting required. Just makeup, roll your eyes back, crawl on the ground, done.
"You have a point. I can add a section like that. A grand world needs something bloody and heavy, after all."
Nian nodded again—though she hadn't expected Steve's movie knowledge to be this extensive. Even zombie films?
"And speaking of blood and guts—how can we skip the invincible sharks? Three-headed killer sharks, shark tornadoes… absolute must-haves for legendary films!"
He was fully hyped now. Blood? Horror? How could they not include sharks? And since Specter had returned to the island, they could just have her play herself. Perfect.
"Oh! I've got it—Shark × Chainsaw Killer × Cute Nun. Think that'll work?"
Once he thought of Specter, Steven remembered all the "tags" she came with. Honestly, she could star in her own horror movie with those alone.
"And then we prepare her nemesis—Crocodile × Chainsaw Killer × Murder-Doctor. Wouldn't that make for an awesome showdown?"
Since they were already planning to drag Specter into this mess, Steven obviously wasn't going to let Gavial—an even better walking plot device—slip away. After all, aside from her hammer-shaped staff, Steven knew very well that she kept a ridiculously over-the-top chainsaw hidden under her desk.
A cheerful chainsaw maniac and a crocodile? Put her together with Specter and you had a perfect pair of disaster twins, a true duo of chaotic prodigies.
"You are a genius. How did I not think of something that interesting? This is perfect. I have to add it."
As a director of proudly terrible B-movies, Nian had one defining trait: if a sponsor mentioned an idea, she would absolutely include it. And Steve's suggestions were way too fun to ignore. How could she call herself a proper bad-movie director if she didn't film this?
She gave him a firm thumbs-up, showing her wholehearted approval.
"Mm, horror and R-18 elements are all lined up," Steven mused. "But… to turn this into a true masterpiece, we're still missing the most critical ingredient."
He stroked his chin and exchanged a glance with Nian's violet eyes.
She immediately understood. They nodded in unison, then spoke the word together:
"ZZZQ."
The moment the word left their lips, they practically wanted to embrace each other in mutual understanding. This was what people called chemistry. This was what it meant to be kindred spirits.
They both burst into laughter, then shook their heads at the same time.
"Then how about adding some cute-girl yuri fluff?" Steven suggested. "For example, the evil vampire who triggered the zombie outbreak falls in love with the protagonist's childhood-friend. That gives us a tragic love triangle and the sapphic angle. Perfect!"
Truly, Steven's experience with terrible films was unmatched. It took him only a second to come up with a solution.
"Cute-girl fluff?" Nian frowned. "It doesn't have enough of the real flavor. We need something more explosive."
"Then you leave me no choice," Steven sighed dramatically. "You're forcing me to use my ultimate move."
Nian blinked. "Ultimate move?"
"You just claim, as the director, that you're suffering in the intelligent department. That's peak correctness right there. Nobody would dare criticize your work. Instant full-coverage defense system."
"Holy crap," Nian gasped. "You really are the best."
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ZZZQ:
"ZZZQ" is a Chinese internet slang abbreviation. It stands for: 政治正确 — Zhèngzhì Zhèngquè—"Political Correctness"
In English, it basically means PC content—things intentionally added to a story or production in order to be politically correct, socially acceptable, or trend-aligned, rather than for artistic reasons.
In Chinese fandoms, especially when joking about low-budget movies, bad scripts, or over-the-top clichés, "ZZZQ" is used humorously or mockingly, like adding minority characters just to check boxes, forced diversity, a token LGBT subplot, "safe" themes that make works review-proof, or content that guarantees nobody can publicly criticize it
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Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iuyfwNVFHzIi9H4rWNT_lAm7jTSiah_M
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