Brother Dao Took the Entertainment Industry by Storm, Fans Beg Me Not to Kill Anymore

Chapter 718: "Fast Speed Shadow 7" - "The Race Is Over, Life Begins."

"Ah-choo—Ah-choo—Ah-choo—"

Moses sneezed three times in a row, rubbing his nose with some confusion.

"This damn place! No one bothers to take care of the environment around here. The air quality just keeps getting worse!"

He grumbled while continuing to apply medicine to his swollen pig-like face, completely unaware that because of his actions, someone far away in China had quietly added another mark against him.

Meanwhile, back in China, Xiao He, who had just figured out the situation online, could only let out a helpless sigh. "Looks like this time, those marketing accounts actually got it right."

If it weren't for the pictures and evidence, he wouldn't have believed it himself.

Unfortunately, it was already too late to do anything about it now...

Xiao He had been swamped with work lately and simply hadn't had time to deal with this news. Now that the marketing accounts had spun such a convincing story, everyone who needed to see it had basically already seen it. Whether they believed it or not, this could only be treated as a movie marketing stunt now.

Wasn't it just making this movie's marketing seem a bit more desperate?

It was their first time taking on an overseas order at Linghui Entertainment. Wasn't it normal to overdo it a bit and mess up? The domestic netizens wouldn't believe it anyway... right?

Xiao He subconsciously chose to avoid looking at the comment section, hoping to keep his own heart a little more at peace.

Liu Rulan, naturally, wasn't about to continue discussing this mortifying topic with Xiao He. She walked over to the side and pulled out a movie ticket. "Here, I already asked Director Chou. Your scenes for this afternoon are basically done, so I bought you a ticket for the free time."

"Fast Speed Shadow 7?"

Xiao He took the ticket and glanced at it. It was for the afternoon show, the one that usually had the fewest people.

"That's right. It's at a theater a bit farther from Hengdian," Liu Rulan said. "It's still too close to the fans around here."

Hengdian also had its own commercial center with a dense concentration of theaters, making it relatively convenient to catch a movie.

However, considering Xiao He's rushed free time and his current level of popularity, Liu Rulan felt it was better to arrange for him to go elsewhere.

Xiao He nodded. "Alright, come to think of it, this might be the first movie I've been so busy with that I didn't even have time to watch it. I honestly have no idea about its quality or effect."

Although he had gone to the United States specifically for promotion, he still hadn't seen the movie since coming back.

Liu Rulan raised an eyebrow and offered a friendly suggestion. "The current box office results already speak volumes, don't they? You could also go online and check out the roasting comments."

"No way, I have to see it with my own eyes first before I say anything," Xiao He shook his head immediately. "Seeing is believing!"

Liu Rulan could only shrug and say indifferently, "Suit yourself."

And so, Xiao He took the ticket and quietly made his way to the theater Liu Rulan had arranged for his viewing.

...

"Fast Speed Shadow 7" largely followed the typical Hollywood movie formula common nowadays. The plot wasn't particularly novel; its main strength lay in nostalgia.

From a logical storytelling perspective, the gist was that the protagonist wanted to retire, wash his hands clean, and stop getting involved in gang conflicts. However, due to a regret from his early racing career, he couldn't bring himself to make the final decision.

At the same time, his gang clashed with another gang again, triggering a complex criminal case. The detective who had previously worked with the protagonist, Anniver, along with his old friends from the past, all appeared one after another following these events.

Most of the popular characters from the earlier "Fast Speed Shadow" series took this opportunity to make a comeback, each showing off their skills, capitalizing heavily on the nostalgia of longtime fans. From a storytelling perspective, each character's appearance was relatively justified, and they weren't just set pieces. It was clear that the production team had put genuine effort into it, not simply dragging old characters back for a cash grab.

After hearing about Anniver's decision to retire, they all expressed their different views, whether out of loyalty or self-interest. Anniver wavered amidst these choices.

Finally, after receiving encouragement and support from his wife, he made up his mind. He rekindled the drive of his youth, decided to investigate the past incident, and entered the final race of his life. It was to prove himself for who he once was, and to completely put a period on the past he couldn't let go.

Overall, the narrative template for "Fast Speed Shadow 7" was actually the most common inspirational story template used in Hollywood movies today: the protagonist wants to do something but faces obstacles and setbacks. Then he starts to reflect, successfully meets a "mentor" who provides guidance, and finally regains his confidence, finds his original intention, achieves complete growth, and succeeds.

Although the story was essentially old wine in a new bottle, the fact that it had sustained the franchise for so long meant it was certainly well-loved by the general public. Moreover, this story was packed with plenty of high-speed driving and fight scenes, which elevated its appeal significantly.

—Who doesn't love watching such thrilling, crazy, and massive spectacles?

At the very least, as Xiao He sat in the theater watching, he was still infected by those driving scenes, feeling his scalp tingle from the intensity.

And watching this kind of movie in a theater was truly a feast for the eyes and ears.

Especially seeing the later part where he himself rode a motorcycle onto the scene to save the female lead, then drove a car with the protagonist and others to escape the villain's castle. The magnificent and stunning beauty of racing wildly through the sunset was an image that, once seen, was impossible to resist.

Director Tannis truly lived up to his reputation as a famous director; he really knew how to grasp the story's theme. As "Fast Speed Shadow 7" was the last major work in the racing series, most of its highlights were indeed centered on the driving sequences. Even the breathtaking fight scenes on the castle rooftop became mere supporting elements. No wonder so many people abroad had the urge to imitate the driving after watching the movie.

The final car race needed no further elaboration. The massive spectacle of the entire city watching the race was a rare sight even on the streets of Los Angeles, USA. As a firsthand witness to the event, Xiao He was most impressed and could still vividly recall the feeling of his heart pounding during the race, his pulse racing in exhilaration, and his blood seemingly boiling.

Even after finishing the movie, he could still recall the passionate screams of the film fans in his ears from back then.

At the time, as a supporting actor, not many people on set actually recognized Xiao He.

But during that explosive driving scene that set the entire street on fire, he displayed immense personal charisma and extremely skillful technique. He took the lead in the early stages, and in the later cornering, the moment of victory exchanged with the protagonist Anniver left a deep impression on many people present. They gave him a heartfelt ovation right there on set.

So at that moment, Xiao He could truly feel their admiration.

It wasn't for the character or the actor, but purely for this magnificent performance.

Outside the story, unforgettable past events were fondly remembered. Inside the story, the ending had also concluded.

When the screen went dark and then lit up again, the film's ending, and the final extra scene of the entire series, slowly appeared.

—It was the car the protagonist Anniver drove when he first appeared in the series. It was also the vintage car that had accompanied the longest throughout the entire franchise. It was only totaled in the fifth installment due to an accident, but even after that, it was still quietly placed in the protagonist's garage as a memento, appearing as a background piece in every subsequent film.

At the beginning of all the stories, the protagonist drove this car to meet everyone.

And so, at the end of all the stories, the protagonist drove this car to say goodbye to everyone.

No roar, no furious racing. His wife held their child in the passenger seat, while he looked calmly into the distance and gently pressed the accelerator. The engine let out a low, gentle hum.

The camera slowly pulled back, and the setting sun stretched the car's shadow long.

Finally, a line of white cursive text quietly appeared:

"The race is over. Life begins."