Chapter 441: This Is What You Call Cover Art Fraud
"So you're telling me I'm a female crocodile that mutated after getting bitten by a cyborg, inherited part of that cyborg's memories, and now I'm supposed to go fight another monster?"
Behind the scenes, Gavial—who had long mentally prepared herself for whatever brand of insanity awaited her entrance—stood there with her mouth hanging open. She pointed at the toy crocodile, now completely obscured by a blinding green spotlight, and couldn't stop herself from swearing.
If she didn't flat-out refuse, then what she was supposed to do next was simple: walk out from that green light in place of the toy crocodile, leave behind a "cool" departing silhouette, and call the scene a wrap.
But the problem was—
This was all nonsense.
Every single part of it was one giant point of complaint.
As someone whose sense of aesthetics and sanity were fully intact, she genuinely could not comprehend a plot this bizarre, let alone accept playing one of its most important roles. And to make it worse, she was supposed to wear a crocodile mascot suit.
This had completely exceeded the limits of what her sense of shame could tolerate. And this was just the beginning—she was supposed to be one of the main protagonists and keep filming for the rest of the movie.
This was more painful than killing her outright. If they wanted her dead, they could at least do it cleanly.
"I think it's pretty good," Nian chimed in before Steven could say anything, blinking innocently as if nothing about the situation was strange at all. "Doesn't it feel cool? It perfectly matches my image of Crocodile Chibi."
"…I also think it's, uh, acceptable?" Steven added after a moment, pointing toward Ace and Logos, who were still dutifully lying on the ground pretending to be corpses. "Anyway, you've got to finish this shot, right? Otherwise you'd be letting all their hard work go to waste."
Gavial followed his finger and looked at the two elite operators who were truly, genuinely committing to their roles in this eye-meltingly terrible movie.
Elite operators indeed.
After clenching her teeth, she finally made up her mind and marched resolutely toward the camera, straight into the blinding green light.
Then, as the glow faded, Gavial—now fully encased in a crocodile mascot suit—appeared exactly where the toy crocodile had been.
She left behind a silhouette that had absolutely nothing to do with the word "cool," and disappeared into the alley that looked more like a murder scene than a film set.
"Second Act: The Origin of Crocodile Chibi—successfully completed! Everyone can wrap up!"
As Nian's voice rang out, Ace and Logos finally sat up from the ground.
The two exchanged a glance, shared a knowing smile and then turned to look at Steven.
They didn't feel embarrassed at all.
Compared to the missions they usually had to go through, this was nothing. No risk to life, generous compensation, and the only price to pay was acting out a role that might make people feel a little shy—honestly, that was easy mode.
"If you've got this kind of perk again next time, don't forget to call me," Ace said with a hearty laugh, slapping Steven hard on the shoulder. "As long as I'm free, I can be your temp actor anytime."
Logos, on the other hand, was far more gentlemanly. He didn't say much, but judging from the relaxed smile on his face, he clearly didn't feel uncomfortable either.
In fact, in some ways, he thought the same as Steven—this whole thing was unexpectedly fun.
The only one who didn't come back was Gavial, who had just stormed out of the alley. That brief moment on camera seemed to have completely drained her remaining sense of shame. At this point, she clearly couldn't bring herself to stand here any longer.
"Don't worry," Steven replied confidently, raising an eyebrow at Ace as he casually hooked an arm around his shoulder like an old drinking buddy. "If I'm calling you, it's definitely for something good. We're bros—rock-solid friendship."
In Rhodes Island—a place where, for some inexplicable reason, women vastly outnumbered men—the people Steven was truly close with were basically Ace and his circle of elite operators. With the rest, he couldn't really say he was that familiar.
Besides, among men, sharing meals and drinks was already enough to prove camaraderie. Steven genuinely saw Ace and the others as real friends. Even in this so-called prank movie, he hadn't assigned them anything too outrageous.
Hearing Steven's reply, Ace just chuckled and returned the gesture, slinging an arm over Steven's shoulder as well.
Sometimes, friendship between men really was that simple. No need for interests or benefits—just laugh together, and that was enough.
That said, this made Nian—who had just set down the camera—the odd one out as the only woman left on set.
"I don't really mind filming you two hugging and bonding," Nian said, raising a hand to interrupt the pair of overly chummy grown men. "But could you give me a chance to speak? Also, Ace, your idea of taking on another extra role will probably have to wait."
His part was already finished. The script was bloated as it was, with plenty of characters barely getting any screen time. Adding another minor role played by the same person clearly wouldn't work.
"However," Nian continued, turning her gaze toward Logos, who had remained quietly on the sidelines and hadn't joined Steven and Ace's brotherly antics at all, "I really like your vibe."
She smiled brightly.
"If you don't mind, would you be willing to let me use your current look for the movie's cover art? I feel like it'd definitely attract a lot of… enthusiasts."
With a handsome guy like that on the poster, how could it not lure people into watching?
As for the fact that he died less than ten seconds after appearing—
Well, that was something the watcher only discovered after buying a ticket, right?
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Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iuyfwNVFHzIi9H4rWNT_lAm7jTSiah_M
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[1] https://www.patreon.com/collection/55713?view=condensed
[2] https://www.patreon.com/posts/152281351?collection=55713
[3] https://www.patreon.com/posts/152281351?collection=55713
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