Chapter 1: Historical Simulation Panel

April 4, 2004, Qingming Festival.

Beijing, Central Academy of Drama dormitory.

Everyone else had gone home for the Qingming Festival to sweep the graves of their ancestors.

Cheng Sheng, however, was in the dorm, diligently writing a screenplay.

Shaking his nearly numb fingers, Cheng Sheng thought back to the scene from two days ago, feeling as if he had just lived through a dream.

In that dream, he seemed to have finished watching the entire life of another version of himself.

He had finished elementary, middle, and high school in Yangkou Town, Rao City, Jiangxi Province, then tested into the Central Academy of Drama, becoming a member of the 2002 Directing Department.

After graduating four years later, he had expected to become a director, but until 2025, he remained nothing more than a history film analyst on a small video site.

Wasting over twenty years, he had achieved nothing.

Then, an accidental electrocution, and he was gone.

Having seen the life of that other self, he could feel the other's deep sense of resentment.

He was meant to be a director, yet he ended up as a history film analyst.

Was this to be his own future life?

Perhaps it was.

It was precisely because of that other self's unwillingness to accept his fate that he had found this version of himself in a parallel universe.

Cheng Sheng couldn't quite tell if what had just happened was a dream, or if another soul truly existed.

If it were true, would his own future turn out the same way?

No.

Since the other one failed, it didn't mean he would.

Moreover, with the memories of his other self, he was bound to succeed.

Although the other version of him had achieved nothing, because he had been a history film analyst, he had watched countless historical films and dramas, which provided him with the opportunity for success.

"If I can't succeed even with this, then I really am a loser."

Thinking of the other self's failure, Cheng Sheng felt filled with motivation.

In two days, he had finally completed a movie script.

With this script, he would surely be able to take the first step toward becoming a great director.

*Zzzzt!*

Suddenly.

The air in front of Cheng Sheng blurred, accompanied by the sound of electromagnetic interference.

This gave him a huge fright.

"What the hell."

Reaching out to touch the air in front of him, the blurred space suddenly transformed into a panel, which made him cry out in shock once more.

Fortunately, everyone in the dorm had gone home for Qingming, otherwise, they might have thought he had lost his mind.

"Golden finger, system, cheat."

Cheng Sheng recalled the plots from the novels his other self used to read, and he was so excited he nearly jumped up.

Could it be that he was the protagonist of a novel?

With another person's memories, plus a golden finger, wouldn't he be invincible?

Suppressing his rapidly beating heart, Cheng Sheng began to study the panel before him.

Ten minutes later.

Cheng Sheng finally understood the specific functions of the panel.

It turned out to be a Historical Film Simulation Panel.

It had two main functions.

The first was simulation, which could turn any script into the most perfect historical film screenplay.

The second was immersion, which was specifically designed for actors.

The meaning was simple: as long as he was in charge of the film crew, he could make all the actors experience total immersion.

In other words, even if an actor had zero acting skills, he could turn them into a master of the craft.

A machine for creating Best Actors and Best Actresses!

Cheng Sheng was so pleasantly surprised he nearly fainted.

Heaven was truly favoring him.

With this simulation panel, combined with the memories of the other person, his directing ability would skyrocket. In the entertainment industry, he would be unstoppable.

Damn it!

Who in the entertainment industry would dare look down on him from now on?

If a male star wanted to win Best Actor, he’d have to kneel before him.

If a female star wanted to win Best Actress, would she throw herself at him?

Forget it, he was a decent man.

The number one person in the Chinese entertainment industry.

That title sounded good.

Cheng Sheng began to daydream excitedly.

After a while, Cheng Sheng finally calmed down and looked at the script he hadn't finished writing—*Buried*.

In every Chinese entertainment transmigration novel, the low-budget film the protagonist must shoot not only makes money but also wins the three major European awards.

"Simulate."

Cheng Sheng’s heart stirred as he decided to test the panel's first ability.

In an instant, the script vanished.

A moment later, it reappeared.

This...

Cheng Sheng rubbed his eyes. If he hadn't been staring at the script the whole time, he would have thought it had never disappeared.

The reappeared script seemed significantly thicker.

Cheng Sheng put away the simulation panel and picked up the script with trembling hands.

He opened it.

By the time he finished reading the entire script, three hours had passed.

He closed the script.

Cheng Sheng carefully placed it on the table and began to breathe heavily.

The script modified by the simulation was simply too amazing, too miraculous.

The *Buried* script had undergone a complete transformation.

It was essentially a different script entirely.

It had gone from a suspense-thriller to a profound historical film.

The simulation panel really lived up to its name—Historical Simulation Panel.

Moreover, the simulation panel thoughtfully provided a series of follow-up plans.

However, to develop subsequent film projects, he had to write a relevant historical film script first before he could simulate it.

There were two options for simulation.

One was random simulation, and the other was targeted simulation.

Taking the script *Buried* that Cheng Sheng wrote as an example, that fell under random simulation.

For targeted simulation, he had to write a historical film script, and then, based on that, simulate a perfect historical film screenplay.

Staring at the name on the script—*The Tang Dynasty: Origins*—Cheng Sheng began to think about how to film it.

But this production was too grand; the funds required to shoot it would be substantial.

Thinking about how he didn't even have ten thousand in his pocket, Cheng Sheng gave a bitter smile.

"At least a small goal."

The capital required was too vast; relying on himself alone was absolutely impossible.

Even if he asked his father to sell the family house and farmland, he probably couldn't scrape together three million.

The gap between three million and a "small goal" was simply too large.

He would have to find investors.

If others heard him ask for a "small goal," they would probably kick him to death.

A rookie director asking for an investment of a "small goal"—did they think they were fools, or that they had too much money?

Cheng Sheng had considered shooting a low-budget film.

But after getting the golden finger, he seemed to have lost interest in those low-budget projects, especially when he thought about shooting other types of drama films; he couldn't seem to muster any enthusiasm.

Now, his greatest motivation was to shoot a historical film.

Thinking of this, Cheng Sheng felt an unbearable itch in his heart.

"I must find a way to shoot it, even if... wait, there was a line of red text at the bottom of the simulation panel earlier."

Unable to bear the itch, Cheng Sheng, who had even considered doing something criminal, suddenly remembered what he had overlooked and hurriedly summoned the simulation panel.

"Holy crap!"

There really was a line of red warning text at the bottom of the panel.

After reading it, Cheng Sheng was dumbfounded.

It was actually a time limit for filming.

He had to shoot it within six months, or else the memories of his other self would be erased.

Wasn't this trying to kill him?

If it were a low-budget film, it wouldn't be a problem, but this script was a massive project. Could it be done in six months?

New book, please add to your library.

(End of chapter)