Chapter 49

《Tokyo Fortress》 is an adapted story, the original being "Puxi Fortress" written by Jiangnan in the magazine "Nine States." However, "Puxi Fortress" is a romance novel wrapped in a sci-fi battle setting, while "Tokyo Fortress" is a full display of Shen Zhenghui's mischievousness.

The story is set in 2020, imagining a brilliant young boy who is not good at communicating with others. At this time, the Delta aliens begin to attack Earth, and the U.S. military stationed in Japan returns to defend their homeland. The Self-Defense Forces take over national defense but are unable to withstand the attacks. The Americans use the previously discovered Alpha alien civilization to transform the Tokyo Tower into the last weapon to defend Japan. However, passive defense only delays the inevitable, and it must be combined with the Tokyo Tower's bubble defense system and air strikes against the aliens. As the aliens rapidly grow stronger in battle, the Self-Defense Forces suffer heavy losses, and more young people are recruited for pilot training, but the new pilots cannot keep up with the losses. At this moment, the protagonist steps forward because a girl he likes—a female Self-Defense Forces officer in charge of recruitment—dies. The protagonist's inner universe erupts, and he flies a plane to destroy all the aliens. Then, Puxi and New York sink, and Tokyo relies solely on the protagonist for support until the Alpha civilization, the enemy of the Delta aliens, fires from several light-years away, destroying the main fleet of the Delta aliens, thus saving the civilization.

This story is more of a satirical work filled with malice towards Japan rather than an imitation of "Puxi Fortress." It sets up many malicious plots, such as the Self-Defense Forces officers born and raised during the Showa era being fearless heroes, while those from the Heisei era are cowardly otakus who even flee, thinking that the aliens won't invade the desolate areas of Hokkaido, and don't forget to bring their figurines when they run.

The female protagonist is intentionally written by Shen Zhenghui to be pure and ethereal, with a maternal glow. The male protagonist has a gentle personality but is endowed with superhuman combat abilities. Shen Zhenghui explains that this setting is inspired by Nobita from "Doraemon" or Ender from "Ender's Game."

Surprisingly, the Japanese really enjoy this setup. Yamaguchi Masahiro loves it, and Maeda Masahiro is considering animating the story. When Murahama Masashi finished "Re-take" and prepared for a new TV animation, the planning department, encouraged by Liu Xin, submitted this proposal.

They had three reasons: 1) It's an air combat story, allowing them to test the experience and skills accumulated from "Battle Fairy Yukikaze" and its prequel; 2) It's an original story with no copyright issues; 3) It can serve as a promotional tool for future "Battle Fairy Yukikaze" and its prequel, while gauging the market's reaction to such animations.

The proposal was smoothly approved, and Yamaguchi Masahiro was tasked with refining the entire story and details. Since Liu Xin was also part of the planning, she enthusiastically joined the work, diligently coordinating between China and Japan. Perhaps due to the recent resurgence of "EVA" fever, Yamaguchi Masahiro unconsciously leaned towards "EVA" when refining the story. The originally satirical plots were set up seriously, revealing the sense of human survival crisis in extreme situations. The final alien rescue of Earth was foreshadowed, and the protagonist's sudden superhuman dominance was rationalized in a unique way. The female protagonist, originally a minor character in "Puxi Fortress," was demoted to the second female lead, while the first female lead became the protagonist's childhood friend. Yamaguchi Masahiro even changed the pure love setting in Shen Zhenghui's original work, adding a passionate scene between the protagonist and the second female lead. The entire script was transformed, but it seemed to fit the Japanese taste, especially the setting of Puxi Fortress and New York Fortress being occupied by aliens.

Faced with such a unique transformation, Shen Zhenghui could only orz.

Of course, he didn't idle. The script for "My Sister's Man" needed re-examination, and Shen Zhenghui had to visualize the effects of the film he wanted to shoot in his mind, preparing for the pre-production. He followed the usual routine, rewriting the novel based on the revised script and finding an artist to create storyboards—these could serve as the basis for a manga if the TV series became popular.

However, unlike his previous workaholic self, Shen Zhenghui felt distracted this time, as if a part of his heart was not fully engaged in the work but was preoccupied with something else. This mood affected all his work, so he delegated many tasks to other staff members, acting only as a supervisor. As time passed, this mood grew stronger, and although Shen Zhenghui repeatedly comforted himself that Aizawa Tomoaki would soon return, this mood was like an addiction—drug addiction, gambling addiction, internet addiction—irresistible. This reminded Shen Zhenghui of Liang Shuming's confession in "Will the World Get Better?" that he had always wanted to become a monk but couldn't due to his physical condition. Now, Shen Zhenghui deeply felt the restlessness in his body, which was more intense than all the restlessness he had experienced in his previous life.

"Power is the greatest aphrodisiac; I must have taken some aphrodisiac," Shen Zhenghui said to himself in front of the mirror.

With Aizawa Tomoaki's return date approaching, Shen Zhenghui almost couldn't wait to fly to Beijing.

Just then, Shen Zhenghui received a call that forced him to stay in Tokyo.

"Ha, Brother Shen, I'm really troubling you," Lin Jian greeted Shen Zhenghui with a laugh, his arm around a beautiful woman, and his assistant and bodyguard carrying luggage. "This time in Tokyo, Brother, you have to show me around!"

The caller was Lin Jian, who said he was coming to Tokyo to discuss cooperation. Since he had been warmly received in Hong Kong, Shen Zhenghui had to personally entertain Lin Jian.

So, facing Lin Jian's familiar greeting, Shen Zhenghui forced a warm smile, "Brother Lin, you're too kind. You were so hospitable in Hong Kong, and now that you're in Tokyo, I must return the favor." As he spoke, Shen Zhenghui glanced at the woman beside Lin Jian, finding her somewhat familiar.

"Oh, this is my girlfriend," Lin Jian noticed Shen Zhenghui's gaze and introduced her, "Lin Xi, you know, from Taiwan."

Lin Xi smiled sweetly at Shen Zhenghui and said softly, "Mr. Shen, hello!"

You really like Taiwanese women, don't you? Shen Zhenghui was momentarily speechless, "Miss Lin is even more beautiful in person than in the movies; it's an honor to meet you!"

"Where, where, you're much handsomer in person than in the movies," Lin Xi said, covering her mouth with a smile and shaking hands with Shen Zhenghui.

Shen Zhenghui brought two business cars to pick up Lin Jian. After leaving the airport, Lin Jian and Lin Xi got into the car with Shen Zhenghui, while his bodyguard and assistant took the other car.

Once in the car, Lin Jian looked around and was surprised to see only the driver, "Brother Shen, you don't bring a girlfriend?"

Shen Zhenghui didn't know how to answer. Technically, Aizawa Tomoaki was his girlfriend, but mentioning her would make him seem inferior to Lin Jian. So, he smiled, "I've been too busy lately, no time for a girlfriend."

"Oh, what are you busy with? Filming a movie?" Lin Jian's eyes lit up.

"Preparing for a TV series, and I'm also involved in an animation project," Shen Zhenghui replied.

"TV series, huh." Lin Jian seemed uninterested, "Takeshi Kaneshiro has also acted in Japanese TV series, ha ha." He patted Lin Xi's waist.

Lin Xi gave him a playful glare, which Shen Zhenghui saw and felt a surge of anger. The image of Lin Xi's sexy and charming performance in "Gambler's Battle in Las Vegas" flooded his mind. Unwilling to look more, he focused on Lin Jian, "I've arranged a meeting with President Fukuda of Nihon Eiga, we are very interested in Hong Kong films."

Lin Jian pursed his lips, "It's tough in the film industry now. Before the handover, we hoped the mainland market would open up, but it didn't. Instead, Hong Kong faced a financial crisis. If not for the crisis, why would Ringwood be unable to produce films this year and only do distribution?"

"I remember you invested in a film this year, didn't you?"

"Zha Chuan Yi is only good at TV series. His films are a disaster!" Lin Jian complained, then changed his tone, "Mr. Shen, do you have any plans to film a movie soon? Look at Xi Xi, she's great! We can collaborate."

"Ha ha, probably not until the second half of the year," Shen Zhenghui replied.

Lin Jian patted Lin Xi's back, and she immediately said, "Mr. Shen, can I meet Miss Aizawa? I really enjoyed her performance in 'Cruel History of North High School' and would like to get her autograph."

Regardless of whether Lin Xi was sincere or not, Shen Zhenghui had to respond seriously, "She's studying in China and won't be back for a while."

"Miss Aizawa is the lead, can you give Xi Xi a supporting role?" Lin Jian said, "We can wait until the second half of the year." He turned to Lin Xi, "Clear your schedule then."

Shen Zhenghui smiled and said to Lin Xi, "We would be very happy to have Miss Lin!"

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Finally, I somewhat understand the feelings of Beijing people about the Olympics and Shanghai people about the Expo. My holiday!

Real place names have also become sensitive words. This is really frustrating!

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