Trembling At A High Altitude

"Okay, then I'll be straightforward. I will submit an application to the Film and Television City on your behalf, claiming this was a script accident and you were an innocent victim, asking for your body to be restored to a younger state. In doing so, I will face certain penalties, but there's a good chance Film and Television City will approve the application."

"The transport pod has preserved all the status data of your body before it entered the script. Their repair on your body cell aging will make use of that complete set of status data."

"This will lead to an outcome."

"Your body will revert to its pre-transport state, before you had developed any muscle."

"It's highly likely that your muscle cells will lose some, if not all, of their muscle memory."

"Your memory might be impaired, even severely so."

Liu Shiyuan paused here.

"Then wouldn't this all have been in vain?" Li Teng sighed.

"Now, I'm going to get to the crucial part, listen carefully." Liu Shiyuan's expression turned serious.

"Understood." Li Teng sat up straight and attentive.

"During the restoration process, the extent of your muscle memory loss and memory damage will depend on how long you can stay conscious while being repaired."

"If you can stay conscious throughout, you can minimize this loss."

"If you fall into uncontrollable sleep as soon as you go in, then the loss will be maximal."

"Staying awake inside the cell restoration pod is very challenging; it'll all depend on your willpower."

"Additionally, staying awake in the cell restoration pod can have some severe side effects, potentially resulting in your body and cells being restored to a younger state, but these cells may age faster afterwards, meaning you might still not have many good years left."

"Falling directly into sleep is the safest method, with absolutely no chance of these side effects."

"Whether to try to restore your body to a younger state or to retain as much muscle memory as possible is your own choice."

"Oh, and one last thing I should mention. Once you are promoted to Best Actor, you can exchange points for additional lifespan."

Liu Shiyuan finished his explanation.

"How long will the cell restoration last?" Li Teng thought of a question.

"About four or five hours, maybe longer, maybe shorter."

"There have been accidents with scripts before, right?" Li Teng asked Liu Shiyuan tentatively, as Liu Shiyuan seemed too familiar with the details.

"This type of script, generally referred to as a nurturing script, made using the Time Bubble in early days, has had many accidents, like actors accidentally entering time loops and looking utterly aged when rescued. So the Film and Television City has gained some experience in dealing with these issues," Liu Shiyuan replied quite vaguely to Li Teng.

"So, when can I undergo the restoration?" Li Teng asked Liu Shiyuan again.

"Once my application is approved, the earliest could be tomorrow. After you return to the pillar, if a helicopter hasn't come to pick you up within three days, it likely means the application has been approved," Liu Shiyuan responded to Li Teng.

"Okay."

...

"I can become young again, right?"

On the way to the airport, Liu Yin asked Li Teng.

The others also turned to look at Li Teng.

"There's a chance, but it's not certain, and I might lose all the muscle and skills I developed in the script," Li Teng said with a disheartened expression.

"Turning young again and you care about these things? We could start over," Liu Yin consoled Li Teng.

"Yes, look on the bright side," Elsa and Gao Fei among others also comforted Li Teng.

Huang Xun wanted to take pleasure in Li Teng's misfortune, but after thinking it over, he decided against it.

What if Li Teng really did become young again?

What if he got the next script?

But seeing him become so old, full of wrinkles, how could he feel so happy?

Huang Xun couldn't help but burst into laughter looking out the window.

"Moron!" Gao Fei cursed Huang Xun.

...

Security check, boarding.

Each returned to their pillar.

After more than fifty years, back to the top of the pillar.

Li Teng did not feel a wave of emotions.

He simply watched the distant sunset quietly, like an old man at dusk, recalling his long life.

He had almost done only one thing throughout his life.

That was shooting.

Though he had done some other things in the early stages, in this script, the time he spent in the shooting training ground was the longest, accounting for almost more than ninety percent.

He did not believe that the battle instincts, shooting accuracy, and almost pure control over various weapons he had immersed himself in for decades would be forgotten in future repairs.

And the free fighting skills he had learned in the last few years.

"Is it just about trying to stay alert?"

Li Teng had already had experience in this area.

He had succeeded in staying alert even in a dying state, it was just about doing it one more time.

He would try his best to stay alert throughout, retaining as much muscle memory, and brain memory as possible.

If he could endure those long, hard years, why care about these few hours of repair time?

Watching the sunset, Li Teng gained many more insights about life.

The mindset of an old person is ultimately different from that of a young one.

Who knows what his mindset will be like after he changes back from an old man to a young man?

A person's life is long if you say it's long, but very short if you say it's short.

Decades have passed in a blink of an eye.

Who else could have a chance to start over?

Li Teng felt very lucky as he was now.

That once real world was now also very far away.

He felt that his life already belonged here, tied to this stone pillar.

He would never be able to return to that once real world.

Even if he had the chance to go back, he might make the same choice as he did in the "Time Prison" script.

Continue to stay.

The sun set in the west, and the sky slowly darkened.

Just like all old people, Li Teng lay down tremulously.

He lay on the cold top of the stone pillar.

After lying down, all his joints hurt a bit.

It must be because of excessive training.

Or perhaps, it was purely due to physical aging.

All organs were irreversibly degrading and failing.

In the long river of time, human life is too brief.

That's right, had Liu Shiyuan mentioned that after becoming Best Actor one could exchange points for life?

Had he said that?

Li Teng recalled seriously.

It seemed like he had.

When people get old, their memory also fades.

Hopefully, that application would be approved soon.

Hopefully, a helicopter would come to pick him up tomorrow.

He still preferred being young.

Being young was so great!

When seeing beautiful girls like Anna and Yao Xue, he couldn't help but want to touch.