Chapter 65: Ultimate Challenge!

A week later, *Wolf Warriors 2* officially kicked off its roadshow promotional tour.

The first stop was in Nanchang.

Compared to *City of Rock*, the promotional campaign for *Wolf Warriors 2* was much more understated.

After all, it was a war-themed film.

Naturally, the focus remained on the filming process and the professional dedication of the actors.

Wu Jing, a man who once considered a nine-kilometer hike and a week of solo survival as fitting birthday gifts for his own son, was predictably strict with his actors.

Yet, this strictness was built upon an even higher standard he set for himself.

During the promotions—joined by actors Wu Gang, Yu Qian, and producer Yu Baimei—Wu Jing either talked about his demands of the cast and the dangerous experiences during filming, or he praised Zhou Le.

After all, among the cast, Zhou Le was the one who had spent the most time alongside him.

Either Wu Jing used his martial arts training to counter Zhou Le’s street-fighting techniques, or he had Zhou Le give him tui na massages to relieve his injuries and muscle soreness.

Occasionally, they would even go out together to shoot firearms.

"Le is truly an exceptional young actor. In my view, when it comes to sheer acting skills among his generation, he is already in the top tier."

Hearing this, Zhou Le quickly grabbed the microphone: "No, no, Brother Jing is flattering me. Actually, I'm still just a primary school student in the acting world. There are plenty of people out there who are much stronger and more talented than I am."

Yu Qian suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu upon hearing these words.

Down in the audience, many viewers shouted out: "No, there aren't!"

Having already watched the entire film during the roadshow, they could clearly judge Zhou Le's acting prowess for themselves.

Zhou Le hurriedly corrected himself: "Yes, there are!"

"No, there aren't!"

Panicking, Zhou Le pleaded, "Please don't force me to offend people."

Bursts of laughter erupted from the audience.

Following that, Wu Jing singled out Zhou Le’s dedication to his work, his professional handling of firearms, his acting skills, and his expertise in tui na massage, praising him for each attribute.

"And the most important thing is that he's a bargain. As far as I know, *City of Rock* gained traction largely thanks to Zhou Le's late-stage promotion. Just think about it—though he wasn't a huge household name back then, he somehow possessed this incredible ability to carry traffic on his own. Yet his acting fee was only fifty thousand. That is an absolute steal! Unlike a certain little fresh meat actor I approached earlier for this exact same role, who demanded twenty to thirty million right off the bat."

The audience immediately perked up with curiosity.

"Who was it?"

"Hahaha, well, I certainly can't say. Saying it would offend people."

However, mid-sentence, Wu Jing abruptly changed the subject and shoved the microphone he was holding right into Zhou Le’s hands.

"Let Le say it. He knows too, and he's not afraid of offending people."

Zhou Le: "???"

"Brother Jing, I'm starting to regret jumping onto your pirate ship. Today is only the very first stop, and you're already trying to make me burn all my bridges in the industry?"

"Of course, it's not like it can't be said, but that'll cost extra."

In the end, though, Zhou Le did not actually name names.

After all, Kris Wu was a top-tier idol.

The combat effectiveness of idol fandoms was astonishingly fierce.

Coupled with the fact that he was currently serving as a mentor on the iQiyi variety show *The Rap of China* this June, his popularity and momentum were at an absolute peak.

Besides, as a mentor himself, if he truly offended the guy, wouldn't those vocational school rap bros immediately release diss tracks targeting him?

Although he hadn't had deep contact with that circle, Zhou Le vaguely remembered that back in 2015, Huang Zitao—who, alongside Kris Wu, Luhan, and Zhang Yixing, was known as one of the "Four Returnees"—had sung a song titled *The Great Ruler* for an endorsement game.

Because the lyrics contained the line, "Every single one of my rap songs obliterates all rappers," he was immediately bombarded with diss tracks from numerous rappers. Among them, one named Pharaoh released a track called *Super Ruler*, which left the deepest impression on Zhou Le.

It gave him a profound understanding of what telegraph-style rap truly sounded like.

Zhou Le wouldn't even dare to listen to it without audio censorship.

Therefore, there was simply no point in offending these people.

The roadshow was a resounding success.

Yet, once it ended, Wu Jing asked Zhou Le if he was heading off to film a variety show in a few days.

"Yes, Brother Jing."

"Then do me a favor and help promote the movie when you're on the show."

"Sure thing. I'll check with the production team later to see if they can arrange a segment like that for me."

"Haha, I trust you. I really admire your promotional skills."

Wu Jing genuinely admired him.

Just last month, Zhou Le had trended on hot search topics more times than those top-tier idol artists.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have claimed that the box office of *City of Rock* was single-handedly propped up by Zhou Le.

"Still, you're way too thin right now. What's your next role?"

"A television drama. Because of character requirements, I can't gain back the weight just yet. I still have to maintain strict control over my physique."

"Sigh, you really are dedicated. Twenty years ago, with your look, acting skills, and drive, you definitely would have made it big. Promise me, Le, if you ever get a second chance at life, make sure to properly develop your career in the mainland. Never even think about getting mixed up with the Hong Kong film circle."

Zhou Le: "Understood."

Because of his upcoming variety show commitments, Zhou Le did not return to Beijing immediately after the Nanchang roadshow wrapped up.

Instead, he stayed behind for a few days to enjoy local rice noodles, stir-fried dishes, and clay pot soups.

Every now and then, he would be recognized by passersby.

"Little Su, I feel like I've finally made something of myself. People can actually recognize me out on the street now," Zhou Le said, a hint of pleasant surprise in his heart.

This was likely due to his appearance in *City of Rock*.

Whenever Zhou Le dined at local restaurants, the owners would eagerly ask for a photo together, hoping to paste the pictures on their walls for publicity.

"Boss, your food really tastes great. I love it. As long as you can guarantee that the flavor won't drop even when you get busy in the future, hang the photos up all you want," Zhou Le said.

The restaurant owner readily agreed without missing a beat.

In truth, the owner was just being polite by asking, and Zhou Le's remarks served merely as a gentle reminder.

Even if the owner hadn't asked, once Zhou Le left, they would have hung the photos up anyway.

As an artist, he certainly had the legal right to pursue the matter, but doing so would inevitably put him at odds with the general public, many of whom followed trends blindly.

After finishing his stay there, Zhou Le took a direct flight to Sanya.

He had watched *Go Fighting!* in the past, but only the first season; he hadn't kept up with the subsequent ones.

Still, he retained a deep impression of the cast members.

Huang Lei somehow felt a bit incongruous to him; especially after watching the variety show and then seeing him in television dramas, Zhou Le always felt something was slightly off.

Once the plane landed, Zhou Le boarded the vehicle arranged by the production team and headed to the hotel.

"Teacher Zhou, I'm a staff member from the show. You can just call me Little Liu. Please take a look at this."

Zhou Le took the folder handed over by the staff member.

Inside were the taboos and restrictions associated with each cast member.

Specifically, certain topics were strictly off-limits.

For example, Lay Zhang could not be asked about his former K-pop group in South Korea, Show Lo could not be asked about his family, and Chiling Lin could not be questioned about past relationships.

The list wasn't overly long, and after glancing through it a few times, Zhou Le had it memorized.

"Does Teacher Zhou have any taboos of your own?"

Zhou Le thought for a moment and replied, "None."

Indeed, there was nothing that couldn't be brought up, especially since he was essentially a newcomer compared to the rest of the cast.

Even if they brought things up, he probably wouldn't know how to respond anyway.

At worst, he could just defer to Gulnezer.

When the time came, he would just brush it off by calling them good friends.

Much like the dynamic between Bo Huang and Chiling Lin, or Da Peng and Liu Yan.

(Black Ze Zhiling)