Those Who Haven't Shot a Sun Are All the Same

Two weeks later, the bank's review was complete, and the funds were approved. Duan Jiaze immediately brought over the five pairs of snow hares and one pair of small civets he had already negotiated for. Although they were Class II protected animals, the acquisition costs weren't very expensive.

Snow hares are a bit like arctic foxes; they are the only wild hares that change color, with dark fur in the summer and turning snow-white in the winter, allowing them to hide in their snowy environment. They were all commercial hares, and excluding transportation fees, they cost a total of eight thousand yuan.

Considering the staffing issue, Duan Jiaze temporarily placed them in the canine enclosure. Their cages, like Yousu's, were temperature-controlled. Moreover, the sand and gravel were also white to simulate a snowy environment.

As for the small civets, Duan Jiaze bought them from a breeder. They were only five months old, and a pair cost about three thousand yuan. He didn't deliberately choose particularly exceptional ones.

Because small civets have scent glands and can produce musk all year round—a substance that can sell for more than three thousand yuan per gram—they are raised not only in places like zoos but also on some farms for musk production and sale.

The small civets were placed in the feline enclosure. They looked quite similar to cats, but were more robust, slightly larger in size, and had predominantly brownish-yellow fur with spots and stripes.

Both the snow hares and the small civets were timid animals. As soon as they were unloaded from the vehicle, Duan Jiaze saw them huddled in a corner of their cages, nestled against each other.

“Don't be scared, don't be scared,” Duan Jiaze couldn't help but say a few comforting words. Since they arrived at night, Duan Jiaze said to Yousu, “Why don't you try to persuade them?”

Yousu revealed a cute smile, “Don't be scared, don't be scared.”

The snow hares were so scared they wet themselves.

They understood, but it only made them more frightened.

Duan Jiaze was speechless and put them into their respective enclosures. The small civets' enclosure had a hiding spot. The two small civets immediately scurried inside.

The snow hares also all huddled together, trembling.

Yousu said gloomily, “Although you didn't buy breeding rabbits, they grow fast and reproduce very quickly. In just a few years, there will be so many of them that the zoo definitely won't be able to house them all...”

At that moment, Duan Jiaze and Yousu said in unison:

“We'll sell them to other places!”

“I'll eat them!”

Duan Jiaze: “...”

Yousu: “...”

Yousu argued slyly, “It's not just me; Bai Suzhen and Xiao Qing also like to eat rabbits. If we raise so many, why can't we eat them?”

“Because that's just unnecessary. You have your allocated feed, why would you eat rabbits?” Duan Jiaze refused firmly, “You're not allowed to eat your colleagues.”

Yousu said resentfully, “What's the point...”

......

Just as Duan Jiaze had brought in two new species of animals, the next day, someone from the conservation station called him again.

“We've rescued two red pandas. Because they have permanent disabilities and are not suitable for release back into the wild, we're hoping Lingyou Zoo can take them in.”

Duan Jiaze only heard the word 'panda', and immediately lost his mind. “Pandas! Pandas! You're giving them to us?!”

The person from the conservation station broke into a sweat, “Director Duan, calm down, they're red pandas!”

Duan Jiaze: “Right! Red pandas! They're even small ones!”

The person from the conservation station: “...”

Half a day later.

Duan Jiaze: “Oh, it's the instant noodle mascot...”

When he heard 'pandas', he got so excited he didn't even think logically, only to discover later that they're just called red pandas, and they're a different species from giant pandas. And, they looked exactly like raccoons...

The person from the conservation station explained, “It belongs to the red panda genus within the raccoon family, but it's not a raccoon. You see, its face is rounder, and its fur is reddish-orange.”

Was there a difference? After hearing that explanation, Duan Jiaze felt like it was just a raccoon with a filter on it.

Of course, these two were still very cute.

After searching for pictures of raccoons online to compare, Duan Jiaze finally saw the difference. He personally felt red pandas were cuter. Their fur had a warm tone, and not only were their faces round, but they also had two teardrop-shaped tufts of white fur at their eyebrows, similar to an Alaskan Malamute.

Luckily, Duan Jiaze wasn't a keeper; otherwise, the people from the conservation station would have doubted their qualifications to raise animals.

Lingyou Zoo was indeed run by a bunch of amateurs at the moment. After this explanation, Duan Jiaze went back and had Xiao Su make a teaser post introducing the new snow hares, small civets, and red pandas, with special attention paid to explaining the origins of the red panda.

Red pandas were also Class II protected animals, and getting two of them for free made Duan Jiaze, who had just gotten the loan but was used to being poor, especially happy to save some money.

Besides continuously bringing in new animals, Duan Jiaze also asked the company he had worked with before to help him recruit more staff. And this time, he intended to select employees with relevant experience or degrees in related fields.

......

Two weeks later, the commercial film crew also moved into Lingyou Zoo.

Duan Jiaze was unwilling to close the zoo for the shoot. Besides, they didn't need many wide shots. So they filmed enclosure by enclosure, closing only one at a time.

Because the animals appearing in the script, from Xiong Siqian to Luya, were all very fierce, it was practically impossible to have them appear in the same shot as the American Shorthair cat. Instead, they would be filmed separately and then composited together with a computer. With some post-production editing, it would create a seamless commercial.

A total of six types of animals from Lingyou Zoo would appear: the arctic fox, monkeys, a black bear, a lion, a Blizzard Corn Snake, a Green Tree Python, and the Golden Crow.

Their appearance order was arctic fox, monkeys, pythons, lion, and black bear—each bigger and fiercer than the last. This was also to highlight that the final one to appear, though small in stature, had the most powerful presence.

For the first shoot, the crew chose the monkeys. They felt that monkeys were relatively intelligent and could get them off to a good start, believing a smooth shoot would be a good omen.

They started by filming the monkeys, and as expected, it went quickly. Inside the pit-style enclosure, most of the monkeys were temporarily moved, leaving only six for the shoot. Under Duan Jiaze's direction, their performance was spot-on.

After Xu Chenggong carried all the monkeys away, it was the turn of the commercial's star, an American Shorthair cat named “Banban”.

Its owner held it the whole time. Perhaps because of the ferocious beasts in the zoo, Banban had been uneasy from the moment it arrived, trembling in its owner's arms. Now, after a long time coaxing, the owner placed it in front of the camera.

“Meeeoow—”

The moment Banban was put down, it shot back up, let out a piercing cry, and burrowed into its owner's arms.

The owner was very helpless; this was not Banban's usual behavior. It wasn't the type of cat that was afraid of going out. “Maybe the smell here is affecting it. Can we change locations? You're going to do computer compositing anyway.”

They had originally wanted to film on-site, but seeing this, it was clear that wouldn't work. So the entire crew had to relocate to an empty enclosure to film the cat's parts.

On the way, Banban's owner fed it a few pieces of cat food, which was the very product this commercial was meant to showcase: chicken-flavored natural adult cat food.

Banban took one bite and suddenly leaped out of her arms.

The owner was startled and quickly chased after it.

Banban was seen darting in front of the monkeys, drooling at the eating monkeys through the bars of the cage. The hunger in its eyes was unmistakable.

Faced with its covetous gaze, the monkeys bared their teeth and made threatening noises. But Banban was unmoved, continuing to stare intently at their food.

The director saw this scene and seemed lost in thought. He had the cameraman bring the camera over to capture a shot. He had just been complaining that Banban wasn't enthusiastic enough about the cat food. If they filmed this look and edited it in, it would be very convincing.

Banban remained motionless, letting them film. It was only when the shot was finished and its owner came to pull it away that it let out a pathetic cry.

Xu Jinghui, who was nearby, smiled at Duan Jiaze who was also watching, “It seems this cat food isn't as appealing to cats as your zoo's feed.”

Duan Jiaze: “...Haha, you're right.”

It would be strange if it weren't appealing. It's not that the cat food is bad, but if given the choice, any cat would choose Lingyou Zoo's feed.

Forget cats, Duan Jiaze himself often had the urge to snack on the feed...

The owner forcibly carried Banban away. After entering the enclosure, things went a bit more smoothly; Banban no longer leaped up.

But the terrible thing was, the director found that its only emotion was fear... No matter how they guided it, it couldn't show a “brave” side. So the director could only try his best to find angles and force poses.

However, this wasn't a solution; they couldn't handle every shot this way. When facing the other animals, the protagonist cat would deftly dodge, sometimes showing fear. But in the final showdown with the big boss, the cat definitely needed to display bravery head-on.

“Let it rest for a bit. We'll film its parts later,” the director said, troubled. “Why is it still acting so timid when it's clearly safe here now?”

Duan Jiaze also found it a bit strange. He had told everyone to restrain their demonic auras.

He had great faith that Luya would keep his word; given Luya's pride, he would never go back on a promise. As for the other animals, they shouldn't have such a strong effect from so far away...

Or was it that this cat just had poor psychological fortitude?

The more the director thought about it, the more frustrated he became. They had spent quite a bit of money to hire this cat, which was also specified by the advertiser. It had filmed many commercials before and was said to have an excellent track record. He never expected it to be so cowardly this time.

Setting Banban's scenes aside for now, the director went to film Lingyou Zoo's animals.

There's no harm without comparison. Only after comparing did they realize just how easy Lingyou's animals were to film. The director had never had such a smooth experience filming animals in his entire life. One could be luck, but two, three... that was the Zoo Director's skill!

This young Zoo Director didn't need any other keepers to assist. Each time, he was the one directing and guiding the animals. Including that astonishingly large black bear, which he even dared to lead around.

With him present, watching the black bear obey his commands more obediently than a dog, the staff, who had been somewhat nervous, all felt at ease. As expected, every trade has its master. A professional is just different.

Every time, with just a lift of his hand or a single word, the animals would perform actions according to his commands. Even if the actions had been communicated beforehand and specially trained, this was still incredible.

Under such smooth conditions, they finished filming all the other animals' scenes and some B-roll footage in just two days, and that was with the director striving for perfection.

Regarding the performance of some animals, the director didn't know if he was overthinking it or if they truly had Oscar-worthy acting skills.

But even after two days of rest, the star, Banban, still hadn't adjusted its state of mind.

Strangely, it had plenty of energy when it escaped its owner's control to run around the zoo coveting other animals' feed, but as soon as it was time to film and perform an action, it would wilt.

The cameraman chased it around the park and got a few usable shots, but there was truly no way to get a close-up.

Even moving the filming location to a hotel room didn't change anything.

The director was at his wit's end. All the other shots were done, but they had been stuck on Banban for a while. The production team discussed for a long time and finally decided to slightly modify the script.

They thought they could reshoot the boss battle and no longer force Banban to bravely resist the great demon king. They would just let nature take its course, letting Banban be scared, tremble, lie on the ground, and look pitiful when facing the great demon king... In the end, in a sudden turn of events, a keeper would come and carry the great demon king away.

Thus, Banban could still happily go home hugging its cat food.

After discussion, they also felt that although this wasn't as dramatic, it was actually more in line with the premise. Having a cat defeat a bird of prey that could even KO a person was somewhat unrealistic to begin with. And the setup of the owner leading the great demon king away was even more consistent with reality.

In the viral video, it was precisely Duan Jiaze's command that made Luya fly out and attack someone. Moreover, the daily feeding routines posted on Lingyou Zoo's official Weibo also always showed this kind of interaction. Luya the bird was ferocious, yes, but very obedient to his master.

The great demon king, so domineering a moment ago, would instantly turn timid in front of its master, and even look back unwillingly at the cat food as it was taken away—it was quite funny. It was different from the original plot where the cat angrily swiped with a claw, bared its teeth with its fur on end, and scared the demon king away, but the effect was just as good.

This emergency plan was unanimously approved, and the film crew went to discuss it with Duan Jiaze.

One issue was the need to reshoot Luya's scenes, and the other was that Duan Jiaze might also have to appear on camera.

Duan Jiaze had no problem with this plot change, but he felt a bit embarrassed about appearing on camera; this was different from a news interview.

“It's fine, you don't have to show your full face. We really just need the concept of a ‘keeper’,” the director said. “Many films and TV shows have this kind of design where the animal's owner's head isn't shown.”

That was true. In any case, those who had seen the viral video would naturally understand the connection, and for those who hadn't, it wouldn't affect their understanding at all.

Duan Jiaze finally breathed a sigh of relief, “Then there's no problem. I can cooperate.”

......

Duan Jiaze went to make the announcement. The next day, an enclosure would be closed again to reshoot Luya's part.

He also explained the revised plot to everyone. He remarked with a sigh: “That cat might have a weak constitution, sullen one moment and excited the next. The director could never film it when it was in the right mood, so he just changed the plot. It's a good deal for the Daoist Lord.”

A glint of cunning flashed in Yousu's eyes as she giggled, “The Daoist Lord might not see it that way.”

“How is it a good deal?” Just as Yousu had said, Luya spoke incredulously, “Being defeated by a cat and being carried away by you are both humiliating!”

Duan Jiaze: “...”

He was actually speechless...

For Luya, those who haven't shot a sun were probably all the same; it didn't matter if it was a person or a cat.

Luya pressed a hand to his forehead and continued to criticize Duan Jiaze with some anguish, “Being carried away by you is probably even more humiliating.”

Duan Jiaze: ??

Duan Jiaze patted Luya's shoulder and mimicked his tone, “You'll get used to it.”

Luya: “.........”

......

The next day, Luya's scenes were reshot. This time, they needed to further enhance the sense of oppression he gave off in order to create a contrast with the subsequent plot.

The director also asked Duan Jiaze to direct Luya to perform eating; the way he ate meat was especially ferocious.

After filming Luya showing off his might and intimidating small animals, it was time for Duan Jiaze to appear. He didn't even need to change his clothes. He walked over, pinched Luya's raised wing, and then scooped him up in his hands.

And so, Luya, who had been “glaring menacingly” just a moment before, immediately sat obediently in Duan Jiaze's hands. His eyes were still staring intently in the direction of the cat food, but he was carried further and further away by his master...

One take.

The director started clapping. “Thank you for your cooperation, Director Duan. We've really troubled you this time, having to both guide the animals for us and appear on camera.”

He shook hands with the approaching Duan Jiaze and said with a smile, “Don't worry, I've applied for a salary for you.”

“There's actually a wage?” Duan Jiaze, with Luya perched on his arm, also said cheerfully, “Then I'm pleasantly surprised.”

“Of course there is,” the director glanced at the nearby Luya. He felt that the bird of prey's gaze wasn't very happy and couldn't help but take a few steps back. Seeing Duan Jiaze look at him in surprise, his old face flushed red. He felt a bit embarrassed and said sheepishly, “I've studied the surveillance video of it pecking people many times. Just now, being so close, I was actually a little scared...”

They had just filmed Luya's scenes, and it was fine watching on the monitor, but face-to-face was too real and terrifying.

Duan Jiaze knew at a glance that he had been intimidated by Luya's glare. He hugged Luya to his chest. “It's okay, he's very obedient. He won't hurt anyone without a command.”

The director sighed with emotion, “You've really raised this bird well. It follows orders to the letter. To be honest, at home, even my wife isn't as obedient as it is...”

Duan Jiaze: “...??”

The director asked sincerely, “Can I ask how you usually train it? I've seen many pet birds, but none are as well-behaved as yours. Are there any tricks to it?”

Duan Jiaze thought for a moment, stroking Luya's feathers as if patting a dog's head. He whispered, “There's no special trick. Just praise him, praise him relentlessly, from the inside out.”

The director was dumbfounded for a moment, then laughed, “Your bird is quite the narcissist then, huh!”

Luya: “...”