Chapter Seven: The Film Remake

Three days have passed since I returned from the cinematic world.

There is a one-month intermission before the next wish-fulfillment mission begins. This period is ample time for Song Ren to rest properly, but the downtime has only left him feeling restless and bored, itching for action. His daily routine primarily consists of sparring with Feng Yuxiu to learn the finer points of martial arts. The gap in their overall strength is not significant; one possesses superior technique, while the other holds greater raw power. The sparring sessions often end in split results, with Song Ren mostly focused on absorbing Feng Yuxiu’s insights and the essence of his martial expertise.

After three days of being cooped up at home, he decided to head out and catch the screening of the movie remake mentioned by the Wish System. After all, having personally participated in that cinematic world—even if his time there was brief—he was quite curious about how the remake had been adapted.

He randomly chose a cinema and made his way to the D-zone screening room. Song Ren arrived alone, found a seat in the corner, and waited for the film to start. According to the system’s arrangement, the remake of *Kung Fu Jungle* would be released in the real world for a duration of half a month. The final box office revenue would be converted into Wish Coins at a specific ratio. As for how the system distributed it into the real world, that was the system’s business; Song Ren didn't need to worry about it.

He sat in the dim corner, glancing at the empty seats in the hall. There were only seven or eight scattered audience members, which was expected given it was an off-peak time on a regular weekday. Furthermore, it was just a remake of a non-blockbuster film, so its appeal was quite limited.

Just then, the opening credits began to roll on the screen.
Lead Actor: The Boss
Director: The Boss
Producer: Wish
Presenter: Wish
"..."
Song Ren’s eyelid twitched the moment he saw the credits. The few scattered audience members in the theater were also stunned. Although this was a remake, had they really replaced all the main cast members? A few murmurs of dissatisfaction rippled through the dark theater, though they gradually subsided as the film officially began.

The story opened with the scene of Feng Yuxiu killing a boxing champion with his bare hands in a tunnel as an introduction. After seeing the news report in prison, the protagonist, Xia Houwu, intentionally provoked and injured over a dozen fellow inmates to force a meeting with Officer Luk Yuen-sum, who was in charge of the case.

Then followed the process of assisting Officer Luk in tracking down the serial killer, Feng Yuxiu. The beginning of the story held no surprises. It was identical to the original, and the pacing remained tight, especially the fight scenes, which were still quite eye-catching. The few audience members in the hall were watching with interest.

It wasn't until the arrival of the "King of Weapons," Hong Ye, that the audience started to feel that the tone of the film had gone awry. Specifically, just as Feng Yuxiu was about to slit the throat of the King of Weapons on set, the latter suddenly pulled a handgun from behind the crowd. This scene caused a male audience member in the front row, who was drinking cola, to spit it out on the spot. He stared, wide-eyed, and shouted, "What the hell! Is this a joke? The remake even rewrote the plot?"

The theater erupted in chaos. When the King of Weapons shot and killed Feng Yuxiu on the spot, the remaining audience members began cursing and losing their composure, with several standing up in indignation.

"Are you kidding me? Feng Yuxiu dies at this point?"
"The main villain dies before even meeting the protagonist?"
"So this is how you remake a movie, huh!"

Song Ren remained unfazed by this plot development and continued to watch with interest. The subsequent plot, however, caused the audience even more frustration. Because of Feng Yuxiu’s premature death, the protagonist Xia Houwu—who was supposed to be assisting the police to atone for his crimes—saw his role effectively end. Furthermore, because he had injured over a dozen inmates earlier, he lost his chance to commute his sentence, leading to an extension of his prison term. Upon returning to prison, Xia Houwu was utterly depressed; this was completely different from what he had expected! Feng Yuxiu was just too incompetent!

The King of Weapons, Hong Ye, faced a similar fate. Because he had fired a gun and killed someone in public—even if it was a suspect—he was arrested on the spot. Although the murder weapon went missing, there were far too many witnesses. Coupled with Hong Ye’s sensitive public profile and the severe negative impact of his actions, he was sentenced to five years in prison. Hong Ye was completely bewildered. Facing the stern interrogation, his mind went blank, and he could only offer a triple denial: "I didn't do it, I don't know how, and I have no idea what happened!" The police remained silent, viewing the martial arts star's response as a blatant refusal to cooperate.

...

When the entire movie finished playing, the theater fell into a deathly silence. Then, the final credits appeared once more.
Lead Actor: The Boss
Director: The Boss
Producer: Wish
Presenter: Wish

The next moment, the entire theater exploded. The seven or eight audience members began arguing heatedly.
"Is this supposed to be a remake?"
"Forget the part before the King of Weapons appeared; what on earth was the second half? Were they showing us political news? Even documentaries aren't edited like this!"
"What a piece of trash!"
"I've never seen such an outrageous remake. They replaced both the lead and supporting actors halfway through!"
"An action film starring Donnie Yen, and he only shows up for a split second at the beginning?"
"Is that really how the King of Weapons uses his weapons?"

Amidst the constant clamor, Song Ren quietly left the theater alone. He no longer held any expectations for the box office of this remake, especially since the conversion ratio was calculated in units of 100,000. He would be lucky to get even ten Wish Coins out of this. The reputation of the remake was already atrociously bad, and the supporting character, Hong Ye, was being mercilessly mocked by the audience, but Song Ren couldn't care less. In the end, they were mocking the "King of Weapons," and what did that have to do with him?

Compared to these issues, he was more concerned with the influence the remake had on the real world. He kept an eye on the news online afterward, but the world seemed as it always was. The remake didn't cause a single ripple on the internet. Aside from the addition of a poorly received movie, there was no disturbance at all, as if everything had been this way from the start.

Over the next half-month, the remake of *Kung Fu Jungle* earned a total box office of 200,000. Based on the 100,000-to-1 conversion ratio, it ultimately added only 2 Wish Coins to Song Ren’s total. Although he had expected a small amount, he hadn't anticipated it would be this low. Two Wish Coins—at least it was better than nothing.

Fortunately, combined with the 99 Wish Coins he had left, he had exactly enough to redeem another Inheritance Blind Box, with one coin to spare. Song Ren promptly purchased the second Inheritance Blind Box and opened it immediately.

[Blind Box opened successfully. Obtained the Inheritance Crest of the Ferocious Beast Kui Ox: Hoof (+1)]

The dark, ancestral energy surged into the center of Song Ren's brow once again. At the same time, the "Hoof" character mark on his back grew darker and larger, spreading from his central spine upward toward his shoulder blades. The jet-black mark seemed to come alive as he moved his shoulders; the more one stared at it, the deeper the sense of oppression it invoked. Song Ren clenched his fists, and a surge of power, even greater than before, erupted within him.