Chapter 527: Alien Spaceship

The night grew late, and Chicago felt unusually quiet. Beckerman pushed his way out of the bar, let out a loud belch, and shook his alcohol-addled head. He staggered down the street until he reached Wacker Drive. As the main artery of the Chicago area, it was usually swarming with traffic. Hailing a cab here was supposed to be easy, saving him the trouble of calling for one.

But tonight was different. Dizzy, he tore through two lines of police tape and stood on the curb of Wacker Drive, glancing left and right in confusion. Not only were there no moving vehicles, but aside from a few cars parked along the side, the entire avenue was eerily empty.

'What happened?'

Beckerman scratched his head. His alcohol-numbed brain was slow to react. Why couldn't he see a single person in this normally bustling district?

A plague? War? A zombie siege? Or an alien invasion?

He was a sci-fi fan to begin with, and fueled by the alcohol, all sorts of bizarre ideas popped into his head.

Suddenly, Beckerman spotted someone. Across the wide avenue, a figure was waving and shouting at him, frantically signaling for him to get away, as if he were standing in a danger zone.

'Has something major really happened?'

Even through his drunken haze, Beckerman cautiously took a few steps back. Just then, a sudden roar erupted from the intersection hundreds of feet to his left. The noise was so massive that, even from this distance, it was deafening.

A moment later, a bright beam of light shot down from the sky, illuminating the area, accompanied by the chopping sound of helicopter rotors.

Police sirens and the roar of car engines erupted all at once.

'Are the police chasing a major criminal?'

Given Chicago's long history with the mob, such a scene wasn't exactly rare.

Just as Beckerman thought this, blinding lights flared at the intersection and turned the corner. The beams were so intense they lit up half of Wacker Drive.

"Uh..."

Seeing the monster caught in the glare, Beckerman's jaw dropped. "What the hell is that thing?"

It was something that looked like a car, but its shape was bizarre. No matter how he looked at it, it was no ordinary vehicle. The black material plating its exterior looked exactly like heavy armor...

But did such an armored vehicle, tank, or car even exist in the world?

Beckerman immediately shook his head. At that very moment, the monster tore past him down the street at around a hundred miles per hour. The vibrations of the crushing tires against the asphalt and the gale-force wind it kicked up nearly knocked him off his feet. Compared to that beast, the dozen police cars chasing right behind it looked like absolute sissies.

'The police are chasing that monster?'

Seeing this, Beckerman finally understood what was happening, though he couldn't figure out what the monster actually was. It had warranted the dispatch of so many police officers and even the evacuation of all of Wacker Drive...

Suddenly, a possibility struck him. Trembling with excitement, he frantically dug his mobile phone out of his pocket and dialed the number for Chicago Television.

"Hello? Is this the TV station?"

Upon receiving confirmation, Beckerman slurred loudly, "I saw aliens! This isn't a joke. I just saw an alien spaceship on Wacker Drive, and the cops are chasing it!"

Up in the air, the helicopter continued to circle. Duke sat inside, monitoring the feeds constantly transmitting to the screens. Occasionally, he would glance out the window at the frantic car chase on the streets below, commanding the entire situation from above.

The crew had done a massive amount of preparation to film this chase sequence. Ever since he, Hannah Serena, and John Schwartzman had finished their location scouting in Chicago, eighteen stunt drivers had arrived in the area to hone their driving skills and familiarize themselves with the roads, spending months getting ready.

Duke's reputation also played a vital role. The Chicago City Government not only fully cooperated with the crew but offered unprecedented support. To film the insane car chase scenes, several city blocks had been temporarily closed off to all traffic.

This kind of situation had become increasingly common in recent years. To attract major Hollywood productions, local governments all across the United States were offering various accommodations and tax incentives. The exodus of Hollywood crews was severe, and fewer and fewer films were actually being shot in the Los Angeles area.

A successful film could have a massive impact on a city.

Even staunch anti-dukeists had to admit that he had turned New Zealand into a global tourist destination with The Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

Furthermore, Chicago's financial situation was even worse than that of Los Angeles. While not as exaggerated as Detroit's, rumors of bankruptcy had circulated several times around the heavy industry city.

The helicopter trailed closely behind the Batmobile as it rocketed down the road along a carefully designed route. It would occasionally stop to make adjustments before ramming the pursuing police cars and flipping them over. Even though it was just a film shoot, the power of this super-monster was unrivaled.

In an urban environment, going up against ordinary criminals and lightly armed police, Batman was practically unstoppable.

Filming continued until the early hours of the morning before Duke finally called it a wrap. The cleaning company hired by the crew then moved into the blocks, clearing away all the debris left behind by the staged car crashes.

By the time Duke stepped off the helicopter and regrouped with the ground crew, reporters rushing in from all directions had already surrounded the area. They even blocked the exits, looking as though they wouldn't let him leave until he gave them a statement.

Duke had no choice but to accept an interview, though he only offered generic, perfunctory answers. However, he paused in slight surprise when a reporter mentioned that someone had called a TV station that night, claiming the Batmobile they saw was an alien spaceship.

"That just proves the crew's Batmobile is truly unique and spectacularly impressive."

Leaving them with that remark, Duke got into his car with the help of the arriving security personnel. He left Wacker Drive and headed straight back to the hotel.

All the filming in the Chicago area was scheduled for the night. Even with the city government's support, normal shooting was impossible during the day due to Chicago's heavy traffic. The high-speed chase scenes with the Batmobile were finished in just one night, but the car crash sequences were far more tedious and time-consuming to film.

These collision scenes were exactly Duke's specialty. The actual filming time wasn't long; the vast majority of the time was spent on preparation. A crash lasting only a few seconds often took hours to set up.

Undeniably, there were many shortcuts in filming, but there was no cheating the prep work for practical on-location shoots. Otherwise, they would likely end up dealing with injured actors and a host of other troubles.

Duke never fought unprepared battles; every single shoot underwent meticulous pre-production planning.

But this time, he had run into a bit of trouble. He still hadn't locked down an exterior filming location for Wayne Manor. Unlike the modern mansions scattered all over the country, the Wayne Family was a classic household with a deep historical tradition. The manor required a sense of primitive, historical weight. Otherwise, he could have easily borrowed or rented a mansion in Malibu.

Originally, the crew had finalized an old-style estate on the outskirts of Paris. Rumor had it that the owner was some sort of duke. However, after Duke brought the crew to Chicago, the owner suddenly went back on his word. He preferred paying the breach of contract penalty over letting the film crew use his property. Faced with this situation, Duke felt quite helpless.

The owner wasn't short on money and had no ties to the film industry, so he didn't care about Duke's opinion at all. Most importantly, he was perfectly willing to pay the penalty.

Duke had no choice but to give up. He simply sent the production's lawyers to Paris to discuss terminating the contract and collecting the penalty.

If it had been a hot-tempered director, they would have definitely blown their top. Fortunately, Duke had always been level-headed and knew that the world didn't revolve around him. As he adjusted the shooting schedule, he instructed Charles Roven to find a suitable location as soon as possible.

"You're getting dark circles under your eyes." Inside the hotel's Italian restaurant, Aerin Lauder, who had come to visit the set, looked at Duke. He had been working straight through the nights recently. "Don't tell me you're stressing over this?"

"Is it that obvious?" Duke rubbed his eyes. A nocturnal lifestyle was far from pleasant. "It'll be fine in a bit. The Chicago shoots are almost done."

Aerin picked up her glass of water, took an unhurried sip, and continued, "Perhaps I can help you solve this little problem."

"Then I won't bother saying thank you." Duke could tell Aerin Lauder wasn't joking, so he didn't stand on ceremony with her. "Darling, it'd be best if it's quick."

In reality, he didn't need to shoot inside the manor. The interior could easily be built on a soundstage. What he desperately needed was an exterior wide shot.

"My cousin has an estate in the northern suburbs of London," Aerin Lauder said, taking out a pen. She jotted an address down on a napkin and slid it across the table. "The manor was built by the Rothschild Family in the 1850s, and it's only an hour and a half's drive from London."

Duke picked up the napkin and glanced at it, as Aerin added, "I'll give my cousin a heads-up later. It shouldn't be a problem."

"I'm only shooting some exterior scenes." Duke didn't reject the kind offer. "We won't go inside the manor to film."

The meal lasted just over half an hour. Aerin Lauder had other business in Chicago, so she soon excused herself, though she made plans with Duke to visit the set and watch them film that evening. Duke returned to his room and buried his head back in his pillows. More than a week of continuous night shoots had completely wrecked his biological clock.

Fortunately, they didn't encounter any major trouble while filming in the Chicago area—this was, after all, Duke's forte. After twelve days of grueling work, all the Chicago scenes were completed. Aerin Lauder also coordinated with her cousin, allowing Duke to lead the crew straight to London. They shot the handful of required exterior scenes there before heading back to Los Angeles.

Anne Hathaway, the only actress with a relatively heavy role, also joined the cast.