"Ehehe! Everyone, come on out!!!"
At night, the sky was exceptionally calm.
In Jessica's villa, Nian's shout summoned everyone in the house. Even the eternal shut-in Dusk was forcibly dragged out of her room by Nian. Everyone sat on the living room sofa and carpet, their eyes all fixed on Nian in the center.
Nian raised her hands high, her face flushed with excitement, as if she had a major announcement to make.
"Ahem, ahem!!"
"Everyone, eyes on me!! I have an announcement to make."
Nian's posture strongly resembled a certain declaration.
"Mhm."
Everyone nodded, but Dusk said impatiently: "Spill the details. Don't waste my time."
"Hmph hmph! My documentary!! It's just... been completely finished!!"
"???"
Hearing Nian say this, everyone was stunned.
That fast? It hasn't even been a month?
"Er... I don't want to watch. Goodbye." Dusk was the first to get up and bail.
"I can already imagine how terrible your documentary is. Something filmed in less than a month... you really think you're a master? I think your filming skill is on par with Second Brother's painting skill—worse than the mud on the ground after a heavy rain. I'd rather not get high blood pressure. I'm leaving."
Dusk had just stood up when Nian rushed over and grabbed her in a headlock.
"You can't go!!"
"I really put my heart into filming it!! Besides, Lucas Reeve was guiding me the whole time, acting as the producer. I basically only used shots that he approved!! I think what I filmed this time is definitely awesome."
"Why don't we... take a look?"
Miss Ceylon knelt by the coffee table, brewing black tea for everyone, while Nine-Colored Deer brought over pastries made from flowers.
"I think we can. After all, Mr. Reeve was the producer." Jessica nodded.
And Dusk, who had been about to leave, finally relented.
"Fine. Since Lucas Reeve was supervising, I'll take a look."
Dusk sat on the carpet with the others, picking up a small cup of black tea to drink.
Nian turned on the large projector screen in the living room, loaded her movie on the computer, and then hurriedly sat down next to Dusk to watch it with everyone.
———
"What was your profession before you became Infected?"
Lucas Reeve's narration rang out, and then, one by one, the Infected comrades of the Reunion Movement appeared on the screen.
"A doctor..."
"A third-year student at Ursus Imperial University."
"An architect."
"An engineer."
"A regular worker."
"Student."
"Student."
"Student."
.....
"How did you become Infected?"
"I... was treating a patient... who was Infected... so..."
"Encountered a Catastrophe while interning out of town."
"My skin was pierced by Originium on a construction site."
"Hit by shrapnel during a gang fight."
"Catastrophe..."
"Catastrophe..."
"I was caught by the Infected Pickets and thrown into the mines. I got infected in the mines."
.....
As the camera panned, in the slums of Chernobog, countless Infected hid in the shadows, never seeing the light of day.
"I don't dare go out... I'm afraid of being caught by the Infected Pickets. My... mom and dad were caught by them and died in the mines."
A scrawny, raggedly dressed boy with rough skin, not very old, squatted on the ground, wiping away tears. He was thinking of his parents.
"I don't know why they're afraid of us. I don't know what we did wrong. We were just ordinary people before we got sick. I never hurt anyone. Even after I got sick, I proactively left people, afraid I'd infect them. But...."
Helplessness... despair permeated the slums.
The scene cut.
A young Infected was running, while a group of Infected Pickets chased from behind. The cruel amusement on the Pickets' faces was exceptionally clear on camera.
The nobles were indulging in debauchery, while the Infected were wailing in pain.
In the Ursus mines, the cold wind howled. Many Infected, wearing thin, tattered clothes, continuously transported ore. Beside them, Ursus soldiers were cracking whips. At this moment, it was like hell on earth.
The footage didn't just show Ursus. Although Ursus footage was the most frequent, there was also Columbia, and Siracusa...
"Are the Infected really demons?"
As the camera kept changing and the BGM grew more sorrowful, Lucas Reeve's narration sounded.
"Before they got sick, they were just ordinary people. They had families, children, went to work, went to school, living their simple lives. These people... were all ordinary people living peaceful lives. Just because they contracted a disease? They became irredeemable demons?"
"Let me ask, if your child, your father, your siblings, suddenly contracted Oripathy one day, would they also be irredeemable demons?"
The narrator's voice was full of emotion, striking straight at the heart. Coupled with the constantly shifting scenes in the documentary, the atmosphere was cranked to the max.
In the blink of an eye.
The one-and-a-half-hour documentary finished playing.
As the staff credits rolled at the end, many people finally realized it was over.
"This... *you* filmed this??"
Dusk stared at Nian, stunned.
Nian cleared her throat, "Ahem," but she felt a bit guilty. Because... many of the shots she took were deleted directly by Lucas Reeve. Many of the shots were filmed only after Lucas Reeve told her how to film them. Even the script was written under his guidance.
It was as if Lucas Reeve was the real director, and Nian was just the camera operator.
Beside them, Laurentina couldn't help but clap.
"Although... the cinematic language is still mediocre, far from what a proper major director's documentary would be, and the theme isn't very clear, with some parts obviously chaotic... I have to say, this documentary is actually filmed quite well. It has the potential to win an award."
"I'm optimistic about you."
"Hmph hmph!!"
Nian was ecstatic, puffing out her chest proudly and patting it.
"After all, I'm a talented director. I've only been filming for a little over a hundred years to get to this level. If I work hard for another five hundred years, imagine where I'll be!"
Everyone: "...."
Jessica was also quite surprised.
After all, since Nian filmed it, it would definitely need to be released. And if it was filmed too poorly, to be honest, Jessica would lose some face. But this documentary, truth be told, really couldn't compare to a professional documentary by a major director, but the theme was excellent. The Infected... tsk tsk... in all these years on Terra, among so many directors, not a single one had filmed the Infected. Perhaps some directors had the idea, but even if they wanted to, did they dare? Even if they filmed it, many places wouldn't allow it to be screened.
But Nian was different.
Who was she afraid of? Other than Sui, Nian feared no one.
With Raythean Industries, forget other countries, at least in Columbia, no one could take this documentary down.
And.
This theme could be said to be a brand new... era-defining theme. A theme no one had ever dared to try.
"It's filmed very well, Miss Nian." Jessica said, "Send me the original file. I'll contact the head of the Columbia Pictures Group tomorrow and have him release this movie."
"Wuu!! Thank you, Jessie-dear!"
Nian happily threw her arms around Jessica. This sense of accomplishment, of being unanimously recognized by everyone, was a first for Nian.
She was usually carefree, but she was by no means stupid. She knew that, to others, her last movie was genuinely bad. So, while she was happy, she wasn't *that* happy. But this time, with this documentary, Nian could clearly sense that everyone's praise was from the heart.
This sense of accomplishment from gaining their approval!!
Whether this movie could be released or not, honestly, was no longer important to Nian. At least, her friends around her had acknowledged her.
Next day.
The chairman of the Columbia Pictures Group arrived at his company, beaming. A new secretary had just joined the company yesterday, and he had spent all last night discussing the philosophies of life with her. The female secretary was so moved she cried out loud.
Suddenly.
The phone rang, making the slightly fatigued chairman frown.
Who is it!!
He answered the phone with a harsh tone, but in the next second, his expression changed instantly.
"Ah, ah! Miss! What can I do for you?"
"Oh! No problem, no problem! A small matter!! Leave it to me, I guarantee the results will satisfy you, Miss!!"
Hanging up the phone.
The chairman let out a heavy sigh and couldn't help muttering.
"Why are all these big shots so bored..."
After instinctively muttering to himself, the chairman suddenly realized something and quickly slapped himself, fearing the walls had ears.
A moment later.
Another secretary handed the film disc to the chairman. The chairman gave it a casual, symbolic look. After all, if he didn't watch it and the other party asked him what he thought, it would be bad if he couldn't answer. So, he might as well watch it; it wouldn't cost him anything.
A documentary?
The chairman was stunned.
About the Infected?!!
Holy shit!!
The chairman, who had little interest moments ago, suddenly shot up straight. This theme!! They really dared to film it!! He had been in the film industry for decades, and this was the first time he had seen a documentary or movie with this theme.
Director: Lucas Reeve, Nian
The chairman remembered these two names; they were the director and male lead of the previous movie.
As the documentary played, the chairman gradually became absorbed. Although... from his highly professional perspective, the filming was indeed mediocre, but... this theme!! It alone deserved a full score.
After all, the purpose of documentaries and movies, the ultimate goal, is to resonate deeply with people, to strike a chord with the audience's hearts. The filming techniques are just supplementary. And this documentary, to be honest, the chairman was very optimistic about.
If any other director had filmed it, the chairman really wouldn't have dared to release it. But Raythean Industries was different.
With a single phone call.
Many people within the group sprang into action, making many copies of the film and sending the film reels to large and small movie theaters throughout Columbia. They weren't in a hurry to screen it. This kind of documentary needed promotion, and that was what they were best at.
In the following days.
With promotions in major movie theaters and from various media bloggers online, this documentary reached a household-name level of awareness. Basically, anyone with a smartphone knew that a documentary about the Infected was about to be released.
A documentary about the Infected??
After hearing this theme, many people became interested.
To be honest.
90% of city dwellers had never seen an Infected. Their impression of the Infected often came only from word of mouth. And this documentary was specifically about the Infected. Amidst the aesthetic fatigue from the pursuit of special effects in modern blockbusters, this documentary, filmed on a topic that no one understood but everyone was interested in, seemed to stand out. Many people were already eagerly awaiting its release.
It wasn't just ordinary citizens; many of the Infected in Columbia's slums also heard about it. However, they couldn't afford to go to the theaters. They just hoped this documentary would be filmed realistically, and not be something from the higher-ups to persecute the Infected.