Huayu: This director is pretty strong.

Chapter 121 Saving People, or Saving Your Movie?

Only the deathly silence of the electrical current remained in the receiver.

Chen Yan didn't ask a second time and hung up the phone directly.

The flames licked his fingertips, and he released his grip, letting the curled ashes fall to the ground.

Wu Gang threw the last storyboard into the fire.

"Brother Yan, this fire..."

"It won't burn out."

Chen Yan's gaze swept across the wall.

The sound of rain in the old city.

He poured his heart and soul into his film in his previous life, only to have it crushed by capital before its release, leaving not a single frame behind.

These are the original manuscripts that were taken away by investors under the pretext of "internal review" and have been lost ever since.

They shouldn't be here.

This shouldn't have happened in Tianjin twenty years ago.

Chen Yan's gaze lingered on the last frame.

That was a group photo of the film crew after filming wrapped.

In the photo, Chen Yan, who looks more than twenty years younger, stands behind the director's monitor with a tired smile on his face.

Behind him, a man in a suit and gold-rimmed glasses was looking at the camera.

That man was the same capitalist who orchestrated his downfall back then.

It was also in that black and white photo taken at the Red Flag Photo Studio that the young man standing next to He Ping had a red X badge pinned to his chest.

Chen Yan's gaze was fixed on that face.

Fragments of memories from his past life washed over his nerves.

The sound of a bottle shattering, the image of a torn contract, the black van with its window rolled down as he passed out drunk on the street, and the face behind that window with a contemptuous smile.

Why?

Chen Yan's voice was very soft.

The man in black at the door spoke.

"That person said he was just taking back what was rightfully his."

He said, "You're a very interesting thief."

Chen Yan turned around.

Where is he?

The man took a step back and closed the door.

The sound of the latch closing came from outside the door.

Wu Gang rushed over and kicked the door.

"Bang!"

The wooden door vibrated, but did not open.

It is a steel-core security door.

Wu Gang swung the iron rod and smashed it down on the door lock.

Sparks flew everywhere.

The door panel was dented into a deep pit, but it remained completely still.

"It's no use."

Wu Gang stopped, panting heavily.

"This house has been renovated; it's a dead end."

Chen Yan ignored the door, walked to the window, and yanked open the curtains.

There's no street outside the window.

It was a newly built brick wall, the cement of which had not yet dried completely.

They were sealed inside this room.

The fire inside the house gradually died down, leaving only ashes on the ground.

In the darkness, the television screen in the corner flickered and then turned on automatically.

After the snowflakes cleared, the image became clear.

The camera is shaking violently, with an abandoned old factory building in the background.

Liang Qinian was tied to a chair with his hands behind his back, his mouth was taped shut, and his face was covered in bruises.

His chest heaved violently, and each breath was accompanied by bloody foam.

The camera zooms out.

A whiteboard stood next to Liang Qinian.

A map was drawn on the whiteboard with a red marker; it showed the transportation routes from Beijing to major cities across the country.

The time is marked next to it, accurate to the minute.

This is the theatrical distribution plan for the first batch of additional prints of "Thunder".

A processed electronic voice came from the television speakers, cold and emotionless.

"Chen Yan, a multiple-choice question."

"Save the person, or save your movie?"

"You come to the Third Repair Shop in HQ District alone. Otherwise, Officer Liang will suffocate due to an 'accident' in half an hour."

"And your expensive copies will encounter some minor 'traffic accidents' during transportation."

Wu Gang's fists clenched so tightly they cracked.

"I'll lead my men and storm in!"

"He's putting us in a difficult position."

Chen Yan looked at Liang Qinian's desperate eyes on the screen.

"He didn't want to kill Liang Qinian."

Chen Yan's voice was very calm.

"It's not really about destroying the copy."

Wu Gang looked at him, puzzled.

"He wants to destroy me."

Chen Yan pointed to the map on the screen.

"Thunder is both a hot potato and a gold mine. He wants the film to be released smoothly more than anyone else because the interests involved are so huge that he himself is just one part of it."

"What he wanted was for me to make a mistake at the height of my fame."

"A mistake of abandoning rescue efforts in order to save the film."

"He will hand over this video, along with evidence of my abandonment of the rescue, to the media. At that time, I will be the next He Ping, an opportunist who climbs up by stepping on other people's lives."

"The Palme d'Or will become my pillar of shame."

Wu Gang understood.

This is a strategy designed to undermine morale.

No matter what choice Chen Yan makes, she will lose.

Going to rescue them meant falling into their trap, putting himself in grave danger alone.

If you don't save people, you'll be disgraced and ruined forever.

Chen Yan took out his phone and dialed Su Wan's number.

The phone was answered after only one ring.

"Chen Yan".

There was not a trace of panic in Su Wan's voice.

Three things.

Chen Yan speaks very quickly.

"First, the opening date for the renaming ceremony of Minghai Cinemas remains unchanged."

"Secondly, the live media coverage of the event must not be stopped."

"Third, notify Lin Shufen that all copies should be immediately rerouted to the alternative transportation route."

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone.

Then, Su Wan's voice came through.

"The backup route was activated an hour ago."

Chen Yan paused for a moment.

"The first batch of copies has been loaded onto trucks and set off, taking the waterway through Tianjin Port. Wang Jianguo's men are personally escorting the shipment, bypassing all land checkpoints."

Su Wan's tone was as calm as if she were reporting on work.

"You said before that you should always leave yourself a second way."

"I had the printing plant print twenty more copies, which were stored in the underground film warehouse of the Beijing Film Studio. I also made the route map myself, three copies in total, one real and two fake."

"The one that was given out was fake."

Chen Yan listened to the voice on the phone, and his tense nerves relaxed for a moment.

The girl he raised has grown into a shield that can protect him from bullets.

"understood."

Chen Yan hung up the phone and looked at Wu Gang.

"Take all the brothers and go around into the sewage ditch on the west side of the factory area."

"Remember, surround but don't attack, wait for my signal."

Wu Gang nodded and picked up the iron rod.

"And what about you?"

Chen Yan walked to the newly built brick wall and lifted one foot.

"Bang!"

The brick wall collapsed outwards, revealing the street behind it.

The cement hadn't solidified at all; it was just partially covered.

Chen Yan patted the dust off his trouser legs.

"I'll go through the main entrance."

Fifteen minutes later.

HQ District Third Machine Repair Shop

The rusty iron gate was wide open, and it was pitch black inside.

Chen Yan went in alone.

His footsteps echoed through the tall factory buildings.

He walked through the empty workshop and headed towards the deepest part.

"Snapped!"

A blinding spotlight shone down from above, illuminating the center of the factory.

A chair.

A person was tied to a chair, with a black cloth covering their head.

Chen Yan stopped, about ten meters away from the chair.

The distorted electronic voice came over the factory's loudspeaker again.

"Director Chen, you're right on time."

"Now, the game begins."

The figure on the chair began to struggle and whimper.

Chen Yan did not move.

His gaze went past the chair and into the dark corner behind it.

"Remove his hood."

Electronic voice says.

Chen Yan remained motionless.

"I told you to take off his hood!"

The electronic voice raised its tone, tinged with impatience.

Chen Yan took two steps forward and then stopped.

"No need to lift it."

He spoke.

"Liang Qinian is 1.82 meters tall and weighs 160 kilograms. The person in the chair is at most 1.7 meters tall and weighs no more than 130 kilograms."

"The stand-in you found is too thin."

A long silence fell over the radio.

A few seconds later, the person under the spotlight stopped struggling.

He ripped off the black cloth from his head.

Under the light, a face covered in bruises and filled with fear was revealed.

It's not Liang Qinian.

He is Ma Zhiyuan, the head of the trade union on Laochang Street.

He looked at Chen Yan, his eyes filled with pleading.

A low laugh came from the factory's loudspeaker.

After the laughter subsided, the electronic voice sounded again, this time with a hint of amusement.

"Director Chen, the first scene is called 'Dummy People, Real Account'."