fter throwing himself back into script rehearsals, Hugo's performance clearly underwent a qualitative change; he had fully entered the zone.However, since they were only doing simple rehearsals now, Hugo's performance could only be described as standard—it wasn't exactly stunning, but at least it allowed the script rehearsals to proceed smoothly, which was already a significant improvement.The atmosphere in the conference room had finally returned to calm. Although no one took the initiative to talk to Hugo, at least no one was eyeing him with strange looks anymore.It was just that everyone was still unwilling to have too much interaction with Hugo, as if he were some kind of contagious virus. Hugo did have the intention to talk to Jack—after all, Hugo was introduced to the production by Jack—but unfortunately, Jack had no such intention. After the morning script rehearsal ended, Jack left with Rob.In the end, during lunch, Hugo was like an abandoned child, sitting alone in a corner to eat. Kevin did come over to sit for a while, but Hugo only chatted with him briefly before using the excuse of needing to read the script to catch up on progress, letting Kevin return to the main group.Hugo knew that everyone wasn't openly mocking him now only because they didn't want to affect the progress of the script rehearsals, but they still didn't approve of him. Before Hugo could prove himself with his strength, or before Jack took the initiative to change his attitude toward Hugo, this situation was unlikely to change in any fundamental way.Therefore, even if Kevin stayed with Hugo, it wouldn't change anything, and it would only make Kevin's position rather awkward. That was why Hugo took the initiative to give Kevin an out, letting him return to the main group. However, what Hugo said about reading the script was also a fact; after quickly finishing his lunch, he began reading the script again. He was too far behind in progress now, and if he didn't seize the time, his situation in the production would only become more difficult.The lunch break lasted a full ninety minutes. The others gathered in small groups to smoke or drink coffee, while Hugo sat alone in a corner, continuing to read the script.Watching Hugo buried in his reading, Joseph walked over and handed him a bottle of water. Hugo didn't look up, just raised his free left hand, but fumbled for a long time without touching the water bottle, only grabbing at the air. Joseph helplessly grabbed Hugo's left hand and shoved the mineral water into his palm. Only then did Hugo grab the bottle and place it on his lap, but he didn't drink for a long time, his right hand constantly writing and drawing on the script, muttering to himself from time to time.Joseph could only let out a soft sigh, crouched down, helped Hugo unscrew the cap of the mineral water bottle, then grabbed Hugo's left wrist and lifted it, saying, "Drinking some water won't take up much of your time."Only then did Hugo react, quickly tilting his head back to gulp down two large mouthfuls of water, a smile immediately appearing on his face; he was clearly thirsty. After finishing the water, Hugo bowed his head to look at the script again. Facing Hugo like this, Joseph could only helplessly screw the cap back onto the mineral water bottle, then stood up and stepped back a few paces, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, quietly accompanying Hugo.When Jack and Rob returned, this was the scene they saw. Unexpectedly, Hugo had not gone to build relationships with the other Actors, but was instead reading the script all by himself, which was something Jack truly hadn't anticipated.Looking at the ambiguous expression on Jack's face, Rob chuckled, "Jack, remember? He's the one you recommended to me. I'm very satisfied with him now. What about you?"Jack's expression didn't change much, he just curled his lip, "At least those two old guys didn't lie to me." Putting aside everything else, Hugo's attitude toward conduct was very correct, which slightly improved Jack's impression of him. "But whether he's suitable or not depends on his upcoming performance. If he performs poorly, those two old guys can just wait." The two old guys mentioned here naturally referred to Bo and Al.Looking at Jack's stern expression, Rob chuckled and didn't say anything more, instead walking toward the conference room. When he stood at the doorway, he called out in Hugo's direction, "Hugo, the afternoon script rehearsal is about to start. Come in."Unfortunately, Hugo, immersed in the world of the script, didn't hear it at all. Joseph looked up, saw Jack preparing to enter the conference room, and quickly patted Hugo on the shoulder, "It's starting."Hugo finally reacted, quickly stood up, grabbed the script, and walked toward the conference room. Before Hugo even sat down, Rob said, "Let's start the afternoon with the courtroom interrogation between Daniel and Kendrick." The entire conference room fell silent in an instant.Hugo paused slightly, but quickly regained his flow, took a deep breath, and sat back down in his chair. He could clearly feel the gazes from Demi, Jack, Kevin, and others—there was curiosity, sarcasm, and schadenfreude.Daniel and Kendrick had a confrontation scene in court. As Jessup's loyal subordinate, the order for the Code Red came from Colonel Jessup and was then issued directly by Kendrick. Therefore, breaking Kendrick had extraordinary significance. This scene was an important moment for Daniel to showcase his ability. In other words, this scene was very, very difficult.Hugo didn't look at Joseph's worried gaze, didn't look at Jack's inquisitive gaze, nor did he look at Demi's disdainful gaze. He just opened the script to that scene, then looked up at Kiefer Sutherland sitting diagonally across from him; Hugo would be acting this scene opposite him.After receiving the ready signal from him, Hugo took a deep breath, closed his eyes to make some adjustments, and entered Daniel's state: "Captain Kendrick, these are the three most recent performance reports for Lance Corporal Dawson, and they bear your signature. Twice he was rated excellent, but on the last report, dated June 9th, the evaluation he received was below average. I would like to discuss this last report." Hugo's speech was very fluent, steady, and calm."No problem," Kiefer said."Lance Corporal Dawson, his rating after graduating from infantry school was excellent. When more than half of his class were promoted to corporal, Dawson was still a lance corporal." Hugo kept controlling his tone, stating facts steadily, only adding a little more weight to adjectives like "excellent," as if he were talking about something insignificant. "Was Dawson's promotion blocked because of this last report?""I'm quite sure it was," Kiefer continued to answer."Why would this report give Dawson such a poor evaluation?" Hugo slightly accelerated the rhythm of his speech, following closely after Kiefer's words."I really forgot." Inadvertently, Kiefer's response speed also quickened slightly, "I have many men under my command, and many reports to write.""Captain, can you recall an incident where a Private First Class named Curtis Bell stole liquor from the officers' club?" Hugo shifted the topic and slowed down his speaking speed again. It was clearly noticeable that Kiefer's response also slowed down somewhat, "Yes, I remember.""Did you report it to your superiors?" Hugo seemingly casually raised the ending of his words, asking in a very soft tone.Kiefer's voice involuntarily grew a bit louder, "I have only two books by my bedside, the 'Marine Corps Code of Conduct' and the 'Bible.' The only superiors I know are my commanding officer, Colonel Nathan Jessup, and God."Hugo didn't answer immediately, but paused, silently raising his volume a bit, "By your logic, Captain, I can take it that you also do not acknowledge the military court as your superior.""Objection, irrelevant to the case." Jack, the government lawyer played by Kevin, interrupted Hugo. And the Actor playing the judge also followed up, "Objection sustained. Please be careful, counselor.""Did you report Curtis Bell to your superiors?" Hugo's speed and tone returned to normal."In my memory, Private First Class Bell was very excellent, and I didn't want to see his record tarnished because of this," Kiefer answered steadily.Hugo leaned toward the conference table, his body tilting slightly forward, and then deliberately slowed his speaking speed by half a beat, which slightly deepened the weight of his words, "You prefer to resolve it internally within the unit, is that right?""Yes, that is indeed the case." Kiefer fell for it, as expected.Hugo couldn't help but reveal a smile, "Captain, do you know what a Code Red is?" The answer was naturally affirmative, "Have you ever ordered a Code Red to be carried out?" The answer was naturally negative, "Captain, did you ever order Dawson and two other subordinates to guard Curtis Bell for a total of seven days, giving him no food or drink other than water?"Hugo began to speed up the connection between questions and answers, slightly increasing his speaking speed, but not exaggeratedly so, which made Kiefer's responses also begin to quicken, "That is a distortion of the facts, Lieutenant! Private First Class Bell was confined in the barracks, with water and vitamins as supplements, and I can assure you that his health was never threatened.""I'm sure that was very interesting for Private First Class Bell." Hugo inexplicably slowed down his speed again, and then immediately accelerated, "But did you order him to be placed in solitary confinement? Did you order that no food be provided?" This irregular change of speed by Hugo held the entire rhythm firmly in his own hands. Sure enough, Kiefer was passively following Hugo's speed. The impatience on Kiefer's face revealed his inner agitation, which was also a reflection of the character Kendrick's inner state."Yes, I gave the order," Kiefer said after taking a deep breath."Can this form of punishment be considered a Code Red?" Hugo actually slowed down again, but the connection between the question and answer left Kiefer feeling a bit breathless, so he fell silent, and finally only managed to squeeze out a "No." Hugo seized this moment of silence, and immediately following Kiefer's answer, quickly reeled off a long string of words, "If I were to call the other four hundred and seventy-eight Marines at Guantanamo to testify, would they consider this a Code Red?"It could be felt that Hugo was silently controlling his speaking speed, tone, and volume, using this subtle way to master his own manner of speaking and power arrangement. Before people could even react, he had already seized the rhythm.On the surface, it seemed that Hugo was just reciting lines, but this was not just "reciting" lines, it should be called "acting" lines. Although it looked plain and unremarkable, it made both Jack and Rob's eyes light up.In just one short morning, Hugo was actually able to have such an epiphany; this kind of talent and this kind of effort were not things that ordinary people could possess.
