Chapter 36: Addiction!

  Alright, if there are ten more posts cheering me on in the comments section today, I'll continue with four updates today, all out!

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  This small wave in the play soon passed, and Christina's performance afterwards was flawless. Zhou Shaoming quickly excitedly announced that this shot was OK!

  Next, the special effects personnel rushed up and installed syringes with needles on Christina's body. This part is Amanda crawling out of the needle pit, her body full of syringe shots.

  "This is going to give the audience goosebumps!" special effects artist Franklin cackled with glee, picking up a hypodermic needle.

  This needle has been specially treated and the entire back of the needle is tightly attached to a small, thin piece of paper similar to a band-aid.

  Then use glue to stick it on the skin, and brush a layer of sticky, hand cream-like **, the paper will be completely soaked in the skin, creating a fake image as if the needle is really stuck in the skin.

  Christina looked at the needles "growing" from her body and said uncomfortably, "Oh God, this is too terrifying!"

  Franklin chuckled, "Not done yet, Amanda. Now I'm gonna spray some red paint on your skin to make it look like you've got needle tracks!"

  As they spoke, amidst the snickering sounds, Christina's hand began to swell with blood.

  "Put the needle back on! HOHO! This is finally done!" Franklin, who had been busy for half a day, put the syringe back on and looked at Christina with satisfaction, who had over ten injections in her hand. He snapped his fingers: "NICE! Alright! You can go take a look now!"

  Zhou Shaoming let out a long sigh of relief on the side, this scene was his most anticipated death mechanism, and it had finally been completed.

  But no one knew that solving Christina's problem would bring more trouble.

  Robert Downey Jr. is the least of Zhou Shaoming's worries when it comes to acting skills, but he's like a time bomb that you don't know when will go off, and it's not something else, but his years-long struggle with addiction.

  Addiction is not something that can be resisted by willpower or dedication to dreams, it's a truly terrifying beast that once arrived, will easily destroy all resistance.

  During this period, Little Robert relied on methadone to withstand his addiction. Fortunately, he didn't take much heroin and the time between doses wasn't long, so he was able to control his withdrawal symptoms with willpower and methadone.

  But as the shoot wore on, an increasingly uncontainable sense of unease and craving for drugs almost drove Little Robert to the edge of madness.

  Drug addiction is not difficult to quit, what's hard to quit is psychological dependence on drugs, which is the fatal weakness of almost all people with weak willpower.

  In previous episodes, it was always after filming ended or when Little Robert had no scenes that he could hide and use medication to alleviate the pain.

  And now, just as Dr. Gordon was taking a scene in his home, Little Robert's dope habit broke out in full view of everybody.

  "CUT! Robert, what's wrong? Are you uncomfortable?" Zhou Shaoming found that Robert in the lens was completely out of state, he changed his usual performance, and the whole person had a slight and imperceptible tremble.

  "Smith, I...I'm done for, help me, find me a place." The once clear eyes had become cloudy, the corners of his mouth twitching involuntarily. Little Robert didn't want to lose face in front of everyone, desperately suppressing the panic that seemed to be plummeting into an abyss, beads of sweat as big as peas sliding down from his forehead, and he collapsed to the ground in a sorry state.

  "Damn it! Why now of all times?! Everyone take a break!" Zhou Shaoming knew that Little Robert's addiction was acting up, so he hastily dropped everything and supported Little Robert to the dressing room.

  The crew members were at a loss, not knowing why the lead actor, Little Robert, suddenly seemed to be ill, and the director didn't call an ambulance or send him to the hospital, but instead ran into the makeup room and chased everyone out.

  "Get out! Get lost! Faster!" Zhou Shaoming bellowed, chasing away the makeup artists and other actors who were still in the makeup room.

  "Medicine, give me medicine, methadone! Hurry up!" Little Robert sat in the chair with pale lips, his bones seemingly being gnawed by a swarm of ants, letting out a painful scream, grasping the armrest in agony.

  "Where did I put it? Where did I put it?" Zhou Shaoming frantically rummaged through Little Robert's bag, dumping everything out.

  "Little bottle, there's a little bottle inside!" Little Robert's mouth corners were already out of control, and saliva flowed out like silver threads. He rolled his eyes white and said with difficulty. The fingers grasping the armrest turned pale due to exertion.

  Zhou Shaoming rummaged through Little Robert's bag with a flurry of hands and feet, and soon, a small bottle appeared among the miscellaneous personal items such as books, mirrors, cigarettes, lighters, etc.

  "Ah, that's it!" Zhou Shaoming's eyes lit up as he grabbed the bottle and rushed to Little Robert's side, hastily opening the cap, ready to pour out the medicine.

  However, there was no medicine in the bottle, and not a single pill fell into his hand!

  "Damn it! Where's the medicine? Have you taken all the medicine?" Zhou Shaoming was in a hurry, without methadone now, how could they suppress Little Robert's addiction?

  "Damn it, Mingming, there were so many, so many pills!" Little Robert also stared incredulously at the empty pill bottle, his eyes wide with shock. The intense pain that came crashing down like a wave soon overwhelmed him, leaving him no time to think about anything else. Under the double blow of his long-suppressed craving for drugs and the disappointment of not finding any pills, he suddenly turned red-eyed and pushed Zhou Shaoming away with one hand while still rummaging through his bag.

  If he used to rely on willpower to resist, and the idea that taking medicine could control his addiction, now, without medicine, without methadone, the fact thoroughly crushed him.

  Zhou Shaoming was caught off guard and was directly pushed to the ground. He stared at Little Robert, who wanted to open the door and rush out. He quickly scrambled up and rushed over like a whirlwind, hugged him tightly, and shouted: "FUCK! Where are you going?"

  "No more medicine, no more! I'm going to find Tom, I, I want, I need a fix!" The crazy addiction made Little Robert frantic and restless, desperately trying to break free from Zhou Shaoming's restraint, his eyes red, yelling to rush out the door.

  "No, you can't touch that thing again! You can't destroy yourself!" Zhou Shaoming suddenly picked up Little Robert and slammed him to the ground, then pressed down on him with his own body.

  Can't let him go, can't let him touch drugs again! Can't let him just conceive a dream of life, just establish confidence, and then collapse again, and return to the road of no return.

  If, if he takes another puff, the wound that had just healed would rupture again. Not to mention Robert, who has already lost all hope and confidence in himself, even Zhou Shaoming didn't know if he had the confidence to save him again.

  In just over a dozen days, Zhou Shaoming and Little Robert had become quite good friends. Even if not for the system's designation of Little Robert as his main actor, even if it was just for friendship, Zhou Shaoming would unhesitatingly help him, helping him escape his suffering.

  He can't let Little Robert go find Gold Tooth Tom again!