In 2018, after convincing actor Yang－a pop idol with a sizable fan following－to lead the cast, Xu teamed up with veteran scriptwriter Feng Ji, best known for the 2011 hit Designation Forever, about a heroic militia in the 1930s, to launch the project.

However, with enthusiasm for the movie and TV industry ebbing among a lot of capital investors－due to reasons varying from unpredictable risks to low returns－the preparation was more difficult than initially estimated. Equally, policy changes around that time made getting approval for the creators to visit a military barrack for research purposes more difficult.

The maverick director, however, found a clever way to find his inspiration. As the TV series, which develops through two parallel storylines, shifting from training routines to fighting missions, needed a lot of well-built actors to play the special forces operatives, the casting team focused on recruiting retired veterans, especially those who once served in the special units of the People's Armed Police Force.

That way, it became much easier to hear adrenaline-filled tales of military derring-do when the "storytellers" were telling them to try and impress the director in a bid to land the role. "Most of the stories were about China's efforts to counter terrorism. Their contribution and sacrifice to safeguard our country and maintain social stability is quite respectable," he says.

With a crew of over 1,000 members and a cast of around 150 actors, the TV series－which took nine months to shoot in 2019－captured most of its fighting scenes in a mountainous village in Yunnan province, which is located near the border between China and Myanmar.

Speaking about Yang, a dance major graduate from the PLA National Defence University, the director says his temperament, shaped by military college, matches the character he plays. "I also told him to imagine how his life might be if he wasn't chosen to play Jia Baoyu in A Dream of Red Mansions (a popular TV series which marked Yang's acting breakthrough). I said he might be dispatched to work as part of a troupe, as many others on his course would have been. Then he was able to quickly grasp the perspective of the protagonist," recalls Xu.