Chapter 439: Eavesdropping
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Police dogs, no matter how intelligent and obedient they were, and no matter how much their trainers were fond of them, at the end of the day, they acted based on their conditioned reflexes. They couldn"t distinguish between training and actual combat. Once the conditions they encountered in training occurred, they would attack human beings.
According to Xiao Liu, not only did the anti-riot dogs and guard dogs, such as Red Dragon and Prince, receive training to s.n.a.t.c.h guns, but they also had been trained to grab knives. They would spontaneously lunge at someone to bite their wrist if they pointed a knife at their owner. Although police dogs were required to obey the rule of "biting without causing injury" during training, meaning they could bite one"s wrist to stop them from moving but not causing any harm, no one could guarantee that the police dogs would not hurt humans in an unpredictable violent situation.Liu solemnly reminded Zhang Zian, who also planned to seriously bear this matter in mind.
After arriving at the studio, Xiao Liu reluctantly bid farewell to Red Dragon. He agreed to meet it in two days, then drove away and left.
Zhang Zian went into the small gray and white courtyard which served as the temporary shooting site, and searched for the director Feng Xuan. Zhang Zian looked around and couldn"t find him. He asked a few people who also shook their heads and said that they didn"t know.
Before shooting began, everyone was very busy making sure nothing was wrong with the parts they were responsible for. It would be very unpleasant if the director or deputy director publicly scolded them. Zhang Zian was embarra.s.sed to disturb the crew members, so he had no choice but to continue looking on his own.
Just then, the leash in his hand tightened up. Famous took a few steps forward and sniffed at the ground. It turned back and said, "I smell the scent of the director, and it seems quite recent."
"Well, take me to him." Zhang Zian was overjoyed. He remembered that dogs were very good at looking for people. In general, a dog must sniff the personal belonging of the target beforehand so that it can remember the target"s smell, but Famous had already remembered the smell of Feng Xuan. It could distinguish his unique odor from the complicated and mixed smells in this small building.
Lowering its head, Famous led the way. It paused every few steps. Due to frequently accompanying Famous, they walked on the left side of Zhang Zian, and they also sniffed the way Famous did.
Zhang Zian was led by Famous to the second floor, where a variety of equipment had been temporarily placed there by the crew, and most of the rooms were locked. Following the smell of Feng Xuan, Famous had come to the end of the corridor where there was a small door leading to the rooftop. It looked back at Zhang Zian. The meaning in its eyes was Feng Xuan was beyond the door.
Zhang Zian wondered what could Feng Xuan be doing on the rooftop? This building was too low. Even if he jumped, he would not die.
He opened the door. Behind the door were narrow steps that rose gradually. After turning a corner, the rooftop appeared. Standing on the edge of the rooftop, Feng Xuan was talking while holding his cell phone.
Famous and the two police dogs did not bark, so Feng Xuan did not detect their arrival. He said on the phone, "Lao Yu, considering our years of friends.h.i.+p, are you really not going to help me out this time? Don"t tell me how poor you are, I am not borrowing money from you! Your movie has a large production and brilliant scenes, there must be many pyrotechnicians in your crew, right? How many? Ten? Twenty? I"m not asking for much, just send me two pyrotechnicians and I will pay their wages. What do you think? I"m being brazen asking you about this. Can you please grant my request?"
Just when Zhang Zian was about to approach Feng Xuan, he overheard this dialogue and paused. Although it was inappropriate to listen to others" conversation on the phone behind their back, this matter had something to do with him, so he could not help but listen. Besides, he was sort of an informant for the police.
It"s unknown what the person on the other end of the phone had said, but a crafty smile appeared on Feng Xuan"s face. He said in a mockingly pitiful tone, "What? You can give me one pyrotechnician at most? All right, I"ll settle for one. Lao Yu, you are too stingy. You owe me. You should buy me a meal next time we meet. Tell him to come to Binhai City and report to me as soon as possible. Talk later."
The older, the wiser, thought Zhang Zian. By deliberately asking for two, Feng Xuan had given himself some leverage. As they bargained, the other person felt like he owed Feng Xuan something…
Feng Xuan hung up the phone. He turned around and saw that Zhang Zian was holding the three dogs, standing at the entrance to the rooftop. His expression froze.
"Director Feng, I have something to discuss with you. I didn"t mean to eavesdrop on you," Zhang Zian quickly explained.
Feng Xuan slightly pondered a moment and asked, "What"s the matter?"
Zhang Zian told what Liu had said, reminding him that he should be extra careful shooting scenes involving knives and guns. Feng Xuan was shocked, he nodded and said, "Well, this is indeed very important in shooting the relevant scenes. I will use the montage method to divide the scenes."
"Well…Director Feng, you go on with your business, I will go downstairs to prepare." Zhang Zian was a bit awkward standing there, so he tried to find an excuse to escape.
"Wait, did you hear me just now?" Feng Xuan stopped him.
Zhang Zian bit the bullet and said, "I really didn"t mean to..."
"It does not matter if you heard, in a few days, everyone will know." Feng Xuan"s tone was very calm. "In fact, I have been talking to the directors I know, asking them to lend me the pyrotechnicians in their crew. Since there was almost an accident during the audition, I decided to replace Guan Biao. I will not allow any pyrotechnic mistakes. But please help me keep it confidential for the time being. It"ll take a few days for the new pyrotechnician to get here, and we must rely on Guan Biao in the meantime."
"Got it, I won"t reveal it to anyone," Zhang Zian a.s.sured him.
Feng Xuan said, "Let"s go downstairs together. Did you read today"s script?"
"Yes. We"re going to shoot the scenes about capturing the runaway robber, right?" Zhang Zian confirmed. Today"s scenes was about the daily training of the police dogs, but there was a certain degree of danger. A Hummer was parked on the roadside, the door was closed, and only the windows were open. Famous would sprint from a few meters away and leap into the window, then bite the right hand of the robber that was holding the steering wheel. If Famous did not master the strength and speed correctly, it was likely that Famous would hit its head.
This was one of the day-to-day training subjects in the police dog training brigade, and it should be effortless if it were done by Red Dragon and Prince, but Feng Xuan was worried if Famous would be able to do it.
"Rest a.s.sured, Director Feng, I think there will be no problem." Zhang Zian was not sure, but he believed in Famous. After reading the script, he went home and discussed the plot with Famous. Famous was confident it could make it.
It was not only Famous that Feng Xuan needed to worry about, but the scene was equally as dangerous for the actor who played the robber. The actor had to wear a thick protective suit under his clothes in case that Famous bit him with excessive strength and hurt him.
They went to the filming location one by one. Famous suddenly signalled for Zhang Zian look to the right. Zhang Zian slightly turned his head and saw that Guan Biao was coming out from a room. He yawned while walking, lifting his clothes to scratch his belly. He was carrying a small bucket of alcohol in his hands. Due to long-term drinking, his face was red.
It recurred to Zhang Zian that in addition to arresting the robber, they would also film the dogs training, jumping through rings of flames. Pyrotechnicians were responsible for all scenes involving fire, so Guan Biao came to work today. On one side of the venue was a series of rings that had not yet be ignited. The bucket of alcohol carried by Guan Biao was for this purpose.
It was not hard for a dog to jump through a ring of fire, and even a dog in a circus could do this, which was to help dogs overcome their fear of fire. It was not an issue for Famous. The only concern was whether or not Guan Biao would use this opportunity to play some dirty tricks. But Zhang Zian thought this would be unlikely, because all the dogs must line up for the drill, and there was no way to control the props in order to deliberately hurt a specific dog. Fortunately, this person would be dismissed from the crew in a matter of days.
Just to be sure, Zhang Zian took Famous and the two police dogs to the steel rings before Guan Biao arrived, and checked them up one by one. He set his mind at ease when he realized the rings were pretty strong, and that Guan Biao should not be able to pull any tricks.