CDJMM – Volume 4 -Chapter 50 Filming in the Interstellar Era (50)

The singing stopped. The screen suddenly went black. Xie Xun blinked in confusion—was the movie already over?

At that moment, countless fierce emotions churned inside him. He had an urgent need to express his feelings in writing. He had almost already drafted the opening of his review:

“The Soviet Union, the first socialist state in human history—survived civil war, famine, World War II, nuclear leaks, only to fall to peaceful evolution…”

But Xie Xun’s thoughts were abruptly cut off by a sharp gunshot. Then came the heavy thud of a body hitting the ground, followed by rising screams.

Eyes widened in shock, Xie Xun stared at the screen as the image returned. The moment he saw it clearly, he couldn’t stop himself from letting out a terrified scream.

Elderly Menshak’s temple had a gaping hole, white brain matter spilling across the ground. He lay in a pool of blood with his eyes open, a faint, unreadable smile lingering at the corner of his lips. In his hand, he tightly gripped a rusted, old-fashioned pistol.

Young people stood around his corpse in panic, their voices breaking into fragmented, chaotic sobs.

The screen went black again. This time, it was truly the end. Credits began to roll. Xie Xun stood frozen, his mind a complete mess.

Menshak was dead?

He committed suicide!

Why would he commit suicide?

No—there was no need to ask that question.

What he should ask was: Why did Menshak choose to die today? Why did he choose to kill himself right in front of those young people?

Remembering the faint smile on Menshak’s lips, Xie Xun felt as if he had grasped something.

He was using his own death to ensure those young people would never forget him, never forget them, never forget the history they represented—the memory of the dissolved Soviet Union.

Had Menshak already decided to kill himself before going to the cemetery? Or was it a sudden impulse?

Why would Director Shi make such a movie?

Why choose Soviet history as the entry point?

Given the current era, was he implying something deeper?

Was Shi Jing using the past to satirize the present?

One reason for the Soviet Union’s collapse was the peaceful evolution carried out by Western capitalist countries—using money to corrupt Party members. So now, were there also hostile forces carrying out peaceful evolution against Huaguo? The rising voices of criticism against the government and the system online—were they signs that ideological corrosion had already taken root?

Too many questions circled in Xie Xun’s mind.

He felt he needed to watch the movie again to grasp more details, to find answers to these questions.

When the public release came, he would definitely watch it several more times!

---

Mo Mingrui returned home in a daze.

His terminal had been vibrating nonstop—people kept trying to contact him. When he opened his chat app, countless private messages flooded in.

Ever since he announced in the fan group that he would attend the premiere of The Dawns Here Are Quiet, the group had exploded. Everyone kept reminding him to explain the plot when he got back.

But Mo Mingrui wasn’t just watching the premiere; he also had the task of writing a film review. On the People’s Daily Online website, there was a dedicated film review section with professional reviewers.

This time, the editor-in-chief gave him the opportunity because he was a fan of Shi Jing.

Now that the movie had ended, many friends were anxiously asking for his impressions.

“Luo Bao Not Radish”: “How was the movie? Good?”

“Black Cat Knight”: “What’s the plot?!”

“Troll with No Parents”: “What did you think? Out of 10 points, how many would you give?”

These three were his closer online friends. Among them, he had even met Luo Bao in person, so he answered their questions first.

“Super good!! Highly recommended!”

“I can’t explain it clearly—just know it’s really, really good! It comes out on October 1, you must watch it!”

“I give it 100 points! Director Shi is incredible! Words can’t describe how amazing it is!”

Even though more than an hour had passed, recalling the scenes still made Mo Mingrui’s eyes sting, his throat tighten, and his heart swell with indescribable, tangled emotions.

The Dawns Here Are Quiet was a film about Soviet history, yet it didn’t feel like it was merely recounting history. Shi Jing seemed to be using that history to tell the audience something.

Mo Mingrui sensed this keenly, faint ideas forming in his mind.

As powerful as the Soviet Union was, having survived countless storms, it ultimately fell apart because of a few traitors—a childish, almost absurd ending that insulted the memory of those who had sacrificed themselves.

Back then, most citizens—including Menshak—never believed the Soviet Union would truly collapse. They thought it merely faced some problems. But those problems weren’t insurmountable. As long as the people united as one—just as they had done through countless crises before—they would easily overcome this one too.

But the Soviet Union still collapsed.

Because people’s hearts are like smoke, people’s hearts… are easily swayed.

That is the terrifying thing about peaceful evolution—it can easily shake a person’s mind, shake their convictions, and thus shake the very foundation of a nation.

For some reason, Mo Mingrui suddenly recalled certain comments he had seen online:

“Zerg are actually the ancestors of humanity!” “I totally can with Sevier!” “Brain-Zerg are the ultimate direction of biological evolution!” “I want to be Zerg in my next life”…

These idiotic remarks he had always dismissed with contempt were, at this very moment, impacting him as violently as the explosion of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

A wave of dizziness hit him.

Peaceful evolution…

So early…?!

He stood there in the bedroom, stunned, scalp tingling, as if countless insects were gnawing at his goosebumps.

…

“China Film Network, September 21 (Reporter Zhao Dongmei) — The film The Dawns Here Are Quiet, co-produced with the participation of the National Publicity Department, held its premiere on the 21st at the Capital Grand Theater. Chief director Shi Jing attended the event alongside well-known actors from home and abroad, such as Lev Gler, Lancelot, Williams, and Zhang Yanfang, and interacted closely with the audience…”

“…At the premiere, Director Shi Jing stated that although The Dawns Here Are Quiet is based on Soviet history, it holds important significance for our era today. The Soviet Union’s collapse had its internal causes, but we must also not ignore the role peaceful evolution played in pushing it along… In the information age, we must remain vigilant against cultural infiltration and peaceful evolution. Otherwise, the Soviet Union’s yesterday will become our today…”

Cao Desheng turned off the video, the wrinkles on his face stiff as marble.

In stark contrast to his rigid expression, his cerebral cortex became extremely active. Countless thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.

He didn’t know how much time had passed before he let out a slow sigh, the corner of his mouth curving helplessly—not quite depressed, more… expectant.

He could already foresee just how explosive the impact of this film would be once publicly released.

This film The Dawns Here Are Quiet, drawn from Soviet history, was bound to be given far greater significance in this new era.

We have already drawn our sword. Now then—how will you respond?

…

Zerg Star, Imperial Capital.

“Welcome to today’s episode of Movie Navigation. I’m your host, Song Jiajia. Today, our program has invited a heavyweight guest—Director Shi Jing—to talk to us about his new film The Dawns Here Are Quiet.”

The person addressed as Director Shi was a young man, looking to be only in his twenties. His phoenix eyes were bright; his pearl-like lips curved in a gentle, reserved smile. Refined, handsome, graceful—someone who made you feel familiar at first sight.

However, Sevier, who was watching the broadcast, looked at the youth with icy eyes—eyes filled with an inorganic coldness, assessing and appraising.

“We all know that The Dawns Here Are Quiet is a film telling Soviet history. Director Shi, why did you choose this subject matter?”

“Because the difficulties the Soviet Union faced during its development are very similar to the difficulties we face now.”

“What difficulties? Could you explain it to us in more detail?”

The young man smiled gently, but his eyes gleamed sharply. “The West’s peaceful evolution of the Soviet Union—how is it any different from the current cultural infiltration and brainwashing coming from the Zerg?”

Crack.

With a sharp sound, Sevier crushed the armrest of his chair to powder.

He stared at the youth calmly speaking on the screen, his gaze filled with pure killing intent.

This person… cannot be allowed to live.

Suddenly, the antennae on his forehead twitched—they had detected that special pheromone.

The Queen! The Queen was summoning him!

He instantly pushed open the door, spread his wings, and flew toward the palace.

…

Sevier finally saw the Queen half an hour later.

The Queen was eating while laying eggs.

He knelt down, touched his antennae to the floor, and bared the vulnerable back of his neck in submission. “My Queen, Sevier is at your service.”

If an entomologist from Earth were to witness this scene, they would cry out in shock—the Zerg being addressed as “Queen” looked completely different from all previously recorded queens.

This generation’s Queen was a terrifying aberration.

Her upper body—ignoring the dark purple skin—was undeniably that of a stunning woman with an excellent figure. But from the waist down, she had a massive spider-like abdomen and segmented limbs.

At that moment, new eggs were continuously being produced from the underside of her abdomen. Workers hurriedly carried them away to special hatcheries.

To replenish the energy needed for such production, the Queen consumed large quantities of fresh flesh every day—flesh taken from various species across the universe. By devouring them, she extracted excellent genetic traits and replicated them into her offspring, enabling the Zerg to evolve again and again.

“Sevier, I heard you wanted to assassinate a director some time ago?”

“Yes. He escaped, but next time I will definitely kill him.”

The Queen spoke while swallowing chunks of flesh. “His works are quite popular. I watched them when I was bored, and then I discovered something interesting.”

She crunched a human rib and swallowed it, then licked the blood from her fingers, her voice slow and languid. “We have destroyed most of humanity’s history. Yet every work he shoots is a restoration of the real history we already erased. Interesting, isn’t it?”

Sevier was shaken to the core. He even forgot his instinctive fear of the Queen and looked up, blurting out, “He filmed real history?”

Although the Zerg destroyed humanity’s historical records, Zerg Star still had backups—backups of top-level secrecy, known only to the Queen and her closest confidants. Naturally, Sevier knew nothing.

The Queen tilted her head, smiling like an innocent little girl. “Tell me—how do you think he knows the real history?”