The shop smelled of plastic wrap and old paper.
The owner, holding a disc binder behind the counter, searched for movies as he asked, "Disaster films are pretty niche. What specific type are you looking for?"
"Virus outbreaks, mutated beasts, alien invasions... that kind of thing. Ordinary people trying to survive before the end of the world..."
"Got it, got it. Hold on, I'll find some for you."
Standing in the shop, Su Jin's gaze swept across the wall of movies.
Though they were just simple movie covers, they held a lot of information.
Movies could basically be seen as a condensed version of society.
He was renting disaster films this time to get a clearer idea of how this world approached disasters.
If a real disaster struck, absorbing information from movies might be much faster than digging through real-world data himself.
He had talked to Fu Qingdai before, and she'd mentioned she often rented discs to watch cartoons at home.
He could find a chance to go to her place later and borrow her disc player.
But from what the owner said, disaster films seemed to be a niche genre in this world... Most of the movie posters on the wall were of people kissing.
That wasn't surprising. It probably meant there weren't many films with outstanding special effects. Film technology hadn't developed that quickly; they just didn't have the technical capability.
Two minutes later, the owner emerged from behind the counter with three discs.
He handed them to Su Jin, saying, "Here, these three. They're exactly what you're looking for!"
"Only three?" Su Jin took the discs and examined them. "They're covered in scratches. They won't skip, will they?"
"Just these three. Don't worry, if they skip, I'll give you a refund." The owner chuckled. "Buddy, I've been doing this for years, you think I don't know what you're after? I like this genre too. The others are all missing something. These three have no romance, just pure disaster!"
"A man of taste! How much to rent?"
"Same price as it says outside. Five yuan per disc, ten yuan deposit."
"Alright, I'll take them all."
Su Jin readily paid up. The owner took the money and smiled, "Want to pick out anything else? I've got all the latest releases. Guaranteed to satisfy!"
"Could you also pick out some history, urban, and military war films for me? The content has to be realistic. I don't want any trash."
"Don't you worry, my friend. I don't have any trash here!" The owner turned, grabbed a disc binder, and started searching again.
Before long, Su Jin had three more discs in his hand. He glanced at the covers and took out his money. "Not bad. I'll take them."
"Care to look at anything else?" the owner asked with a smile.
Plenty of people usually rented discs, but they'd only rent one or two at a time, and they'd dawdle in the shop for half an hour picking them out.
This young man today was interesting. He wasn't picky and made his decisions quickly. He must be a seasoned film buff.
"Hmm..." Su Jin's eyebrow twitched. He leaned forward and lowered his voice, "Hey, buddy... you got... you know?"
We are bit.ly/3iBfjkV, find us on google.
The owner's eyebrow shot up, and his voice dropped instinctively. "What?"
"The good stuff."
"I've got good stuff. Aren't all of these good?"
"That *kind* of good stuff."
"Don't have it. I run a legitimate business here." The owner straightened up and shook his head.
Su Jin stared at the owner and clicked his tongue. "Come on, buddy. I've already rented six discs from you. I'll be back for more."
The owner sized Su Jin up and asked tentatively, "What genre are you looking for?"
"As long as it's pretty and exciting... I'm a serious buyer, don't worry. But let's get one thing straight, you have to let me preview it. I don't trust the covers."
*Doesn't trust the covers... this guy's a connoisseur.*
After a few seconds of thought, the owner nodded. "Alright, follow me."
Following the owner, he pushed open another door in the shop.
Behind the door was a small, sparsely decorated room. A mattress lay on the floor, along with a low table holding a bulky CRT television. Clothes and disc cases were scattered on the ground. It looked like the owner's living quarters.
The owner bent down, picked up a disc binder from the floor, and opened it for Su Jin. "Here, pick one yourself. Twenty yuan a pop, for sale only, no rentals."
Flipping through the discs in the binder, which were covered in pictures of women in swimsuits, Su Jin looked up and asked, "Is this stuff dirty enough?"
The owner laughed. "Buddy, what a question. If a dirty movie isn't dirty, isn't that a crime in itself?"
"Alright, pick one for me to watch."
"No problem! This is all top-shelf stuff. You'll know it when you see it!"
The owner randomly picked a disc, bent over, and put it into what looked like a VCD player.
The sound of the disc spinning up was heard, and an image appeared on the old CRT TV.
"Let me fast-forward for you." The owner picked up the remote and pointed it at the TV, speeding up the playback.
As the video sped along, its contents flashing by, Su Jin stared intently.
The two people on the TV were going at it quite intensely, a battle just as he had imagined.
But honestly, for a warrior like him, long since tempered by the onslaught of Japanese culture, this level of content was nothing.
But when the camera started to zoom in, Su Jin's eyes widened and he leaned closer to the screen.
Just then, a close-up of the action appeared!
Zoomed in, then zoomed in again, every detail was crystal clear.
Seeing Su Jin practically pressing his face against the TV, the owner's upturned smile slowly fell. He reached out and patted Su Jin on the back.
"Hey, hey, hey! Buddy, is it really necessary? You're about to climb into the screen."
Su Jin straightened up, rubbed his eyes, and cheered internally.
The human anatomy in the video was completely normal, just ordinary humans. The muscle structures perfectly matched his own impressions.
The movements were all normal, technical actions.
This further confirmed the high degree of similarity between this place and Earth.
If a zombie transformation really happened, he would at least have an expectation of what to see. There shouldn't be any bizarrely mutated organs.
"Sorry about that, I got a little carried away," Su Jin said with an embarrassed laugh.
"How about this one? If you like it, take it," the owner asked, holding the disc.
Su Jin shook his head and tightened his grip on his bag. "I'll pass for now. Maybe next time. Thanks, boss."
"This one's really good! It's a shopkeeper's recommendation! You were so into it just now, why are you suddenly..." The owner trailed off, his eyes fixed.
He was staring intently at Su Jin's hand, which was hidden under his trench coat.
Under the coat, the other man's hand seemed to move a couple of times before quickly becoming still.
"No way..." The owner tilted his head, stunned into silence. "You're... done already!?"
"What do you mean, 'done'..." Su Jin stopped short. Following the owner's gaze, his face darkened.
"Thanks. May you be blessed with a long and peaceful life."
With that, he turned and left the room, striding quickly out of the shop.
The owner was left in the shop, utterly bewildered, and started cursing at Su Jin's retreating back.
"Damn this kid! Three minutes? I've heard of people freeloading rides and meals, but now there are f*cking freeloaders for porn too!? F*cking hell, stop watching and go see a doctor!"
Proofreader: Peter Pan