Chapter 585 - 384: How the Hell is He 8 Years Old?

Chapter 585: Chapter 384: How the Hell is He 8 Years Old?

[The camera pushed in. Lovi and his three companions walked into the sanctuary cave under the curious and wary gazes of the Dwarves.]

[By a bonfire deep inside the cave, a Dwarf leader wearing a bronze crown stood up.]

[He approached the four of them, looking up at them from his inferior height.]

[The Dwarf leader grumbled loudly, "Fack, this is why I don’t want to deal with humans—can you show a little respect!"]

[Lovi and the others suddenly realized the situation. They sat down one after another, aligning their line of sight with the Dwarf leader’s. "We are here to hunt the dragon. Your village was destroyed by the dragon, wasn’t it? We need weapons."]

[The Dwarf leader fell silent for a few seconds, his gaze sweeping from the Knight Commander to Lovi’s face.]

[The Dwarf leader: "Dwarven weapons cannot be given to untrusted outsiders."]

[Thief Tucker: "At a time like this, you’re still talking about rules."]

[Lovi glared at Tucker. "Then what are your traditions?"]

[The Dwarf leader: "It’s simple. Prove yourselves."]

[He extended a thick, stubby finger. "Either forge an item that everyone acknowledges, or outdrink us."]

[Lovi: "We’re not good at forging weapons, so you want to have a drinking contest?"]

[The Dwarf leader said dejectedly, "No, no, no. The dragon destroyed our brewery. We don’t have much ale left; we have to save it."]

[The Dwarves behind him revealed expressions of heartache.]

[The Dwarf leader regained his spirits. "There is a third way. Arm wrestling! Use your strength to prove that you are worthy of weapons blessed by the Dwarf God!"]

[The Dwarf leader waved his hand and shouted toward the depths of the cave, "Dwalin! Come out! It’s your turn!"]

[Dwalin walked out.]

Upon seeing the actor playing Dwalin, Ryan Reed almost lost his composure. He quickly coughed twice to cover up his smile.

Director Del Toro didn’t call cut. In fact, this was exactly the effect he wanted.

"Dwayne Johnson is here too?" the assistant director asked in shock. "He’s actually making a cameo as a Dwarf?"

Li Wei looked at Dwayne Johnson’s height, which was close to two meters. Compared to a Dwarf, he was basically twice as tall.

[Lovi: "This is a Dwarf too?"]

[The Dwarf leader: "Amazing, isn’t it? This kid is only eight years old, but look at how strong he is."]

"Is this freaking eight years old?" Li Wei thought.

[Lovi took a deep breath and stepped forward. "Bring it on!"]

The two of them stepped up to a flat rock in the middle of the cave and clasped hands.

Li Wei exchanged a glance with Dwayne Johnson, noticing that the man didn’t seem to be here just to play a supporting role in his scene. His eyes carried a hint of probing and provocation.

[The Dwarf leader gave the order: "Begin!"]

Dwayne Johnson’s arm instantly exerted force. If it were any other actor, their arm probably would have actually been pinned down by him.

However, that wasn’t how the script was written. The script clearly stated that Lovi defeated the Dwarf; otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to logically obtain the weapons.

"This old guy is probably trying to make a fool out of me," Li Wei thought.

News of Dwayne Johnson liking to steal the spotlight and improvise unscripted scenes on set wasn’t anything new. It was just a pity that he was trying to show off in front of Brother Li Wei.

Dwayne Johnson truly wanted to win. He was now considered a top-tier A-list star in Hollywood. Having mingled in Hollywood for so long, he had gradually developed a sense of honor and pride in representing it. With Li Wei crossing over from another field, Johnson naturally wanted to test his mettle.

Gritting his teeth, Johnson held back a bit of his strength at the start. However, he gradually felt like he wasn’t arm wrestling a person, but rather grappling with an iron pillar embedded deep into a foundation.

Li Wei looked at the trembling Dwayne Johnson and chuckled lightly. His arm began to tilt unhurriedly. With the absolute power of a bulldozer, he easily pressed the back of Dwayne Johnson’s hand onto the rock.

"Cut!" Director Del Toro called out, stopping the scene. "Let’s do it again!"

He instructed Dwayne Johnson, "Johnson! You need to push and pull! Don’t let Li Wei pin you down so easily! Use a little force! Don’t go easy on him!"

Dwayne Johnson kind of wanted to curse. "Fack, I already used all my strength! I didn’t go easy on him!" he thought.

"Let’s do it again," Li Wei said with a smile. "Mr. Johnson, don’t hold back this time."

...

As Dwayne Johnson left with his team, he turned his head to glance at Li Wei, who was chatting with the director. He lingered on Li Wei’s forearm for a few seconds, then looked at his own.

He racked his bald head but couldn’t figure it out. Li Wei looked like he had skinny arms and legs, which couldn’t compare to his own physique, forged from years of taking steroids and working out. So why was Li Wei’s strength so terrifyingly huge?

As if noticing his gaze, Li Wei smiled, greeted him, and made a hand gesture signaling to keep in touch.

Dwayne Johnson maintained his usual smile on his face, but he turned and walked away.

Li Wei looked at Dwayne Johnson’s retreating back, smiled, shook his head, and withdrew his gaze. He took a moment to glance at his quest panel:

[Quest: Dragon’s Heart (7) Completed]

[You have proven your strength and obtained weapons blessed by the Dwarf God.]

[You obtained: 0.2 free attribute points]

[Quest: Dragon’s Heart (8) Initiated]

[It is time. Old grudges and past hatreds will be settled here. Kill the dragon and dig out its heart.]

[Quest Reward: 0.3 free attribute points]

"It’ll be completed soon!" Li Wei thought.

It seemed that this "Dragon’s Heart" questline only required nine sub-quests to complete, and the attribute points rewarded were quite substantial. It looked like he had a good chance of advancing to a Golden Knight this year.

"Director, if time permits," he said to Del Toro, "I want to film all the remaining scenes in one go. What do you think?"

Hearing Li Wei’s words, Del Toro immediately raised both hands and rejected him with a smile.

"The mechanical dragon prop is still being fine-tuned," he said. "The dragon-slaying scene is the climax of both the special effects and the plot. After the dragon is attacked, its scales, body parts, and joints need to fall off according to a precise timeline and accurate sequence. The special effects and post-production teams need to repeatedly model and scan everything during this period."

"How long will it take?" Li Wei asked.

"Close to two weeks," Del Toro said, taking an iPad from his assistant and showing Li Wei the schedule. "The fine-tuning should be done around early June."

"Then what do we do for these two weeks?" Li Wei asked. "Do we do some reshoots for other materials?"

"Exactly," Del Toro said. "We’ve finished shooting the main framework, but we still need some transitional shots."

Li Wei thought of the "Elf Water" quest. "In that case, I happen to have some other ideas for the plot and the subsequent developments. Let’s discuss it..."

The original main plot involved the protagonist’s group finding evidence in the Dragon’s Lair that the council president had been raising the dragon after killing it. Upon returning to the royal palace, they would discover that the King, played by Johnny Depp, had already been killed by the council president. The protagonist and the others would then defeat the council president and save the Kingdom.

"But we need to consider one problem. My LW beverage provided sponsorship," Li Wei said. "You can’t just leave it out."

"Then... what do you mean?" Del Toro asked.

"My idea is to have the protagonist, Lovi, get injured during the final battle," Li Wei said, righteously adding scenes for himself. "Then, when he’s on the verge of dying, the Elf Mage brings out the Elf Water and saves his life. Because of this, the protagonist owes the elves a massive favor at the end."

He looked at Del Toro. "What do you think of this idea?"

"Hiss..." Del Toro thought for a moment. "Do you absolutely have to add this plot?"

"I want to add it," Li Wei said sincerely.

"Then how about changing the name?" Del Toro tested the waters. "Elf Water sounds a bit tacky."

"It can’t be changed," Li Wei said firmly.

"You know I have the final cut privilege, right?" Del Toro said. "I don’t think this is a good idea. I was planning to place the LW beverage product placement during the Ogre segment."

Li Wei activated Adaptability (Bronze) and smiled. "It’s fine, Director. Please, continue."

...

Another week passed. In early June, Li Wei received accurate news from William Stone.

"Mr. Li Wei, I am now officially notifying you," his tone was much more polite than before. "On the Pentagon’s side, the supply division of the Defense Logistics Agency has officially initiated the supplier qualification approval process for the LW sports beverage."

Li Wei picked up the water cup on the table, took a sip, and said, "I originally thought this would take more than half a year."

"That was originally the case. The Defense Logistics Agency is, after all, responsible for national security," William Stone said. "But since you, Mr. Li Wei... are a bit different, you can have someone submit the materials to the supply division in Philadelphia at any time now. Once the materials are submitted, we can help you push forward to the next step."

His attitude was more than twice as good as before, and he didn’t mention a word about how that company called "Pioneer Nutrition Technology" was handled. Li Wei didn’t ask, either.

"Thank you, General Stone," Li Wei smiled. "I’ll have someone go submit the materials."

After hanging up the phone, Li Wei thought for a moment and dialed Jin Heon’s number, recounting the whole matter from beginning to end.

"That’s basically the situation. Anyway, the Defense Logistics Agency is currently waiting for us to submit the materials," Li Wei said, without mentioning anything about Ronan. "If you don’t have time, have Mark and Arthur make a trip."

"Boss, how did you do it?" Jin Heon asked curiously. "How did that general suddenly change his mind?"

It wasn’t a good idea for Li Wei to reveal the matter concerning Ronan Mellon to Jin Heon right now. After all, the past month had been a rather critical period, and the fewer people who knew, the better.

"What if it was your materials that moved the general?" he joked. "That’s not impossible."

Upon hearing this, Jin Heon froze for a moment before bursting into laughter, letting out a soft "PFFT."

"Boss, you must be joking," she said. "The way General Stone looked that day, it’s obvious this has nothing to do with my materials."

"I know," Li Wei said. "But that’s what you should tell the public."

Jin Heon bit her lip. "Alright, Boss," she said. "I’ll have them get on it right away."

After hanging up, Jin Heon placed her phone against her chest and thought carefully.

"Aish—no matter how I look at it, the boss stepped forward and resolved this issue," she muttered to herself. "Coupled with what the boss told me before...

"It looks like the boss is trying to promote me no matter what." She tapped her forehead with a bit of a headache. "This feeling of being taken care of... is actually so intoxicating."

She opened her computer and sent messages to Arthur and Mark respectively.

"The supply division of the Pentagon’s Defense Logistics Agency has initiated an expedited review for LW’s supplier qualifications. General Stone was highly appreciative of the product materials we submitted last time. I need you two to make a trip to Philadelphia in the next couple of days and submit the complete application documents."