Overly Intense [Criminal Investigation] 107

Chapter 107: Liang Wei is Liang Wei

Qin Luo went to the production in the morning and found that the set had been sealed. She had sent a message to You Ning, but no one had replied. Qin Luo had only seen the production assistant.

The assistant had said that President Li had been called to the police station and had not yet returned to the production. Several investors had contacted her, wanting to ask if it involved a criminal case, but she had not dared to reply.

The assistant stood far away from Qin Luo, speaking cautiously.

Qin Luo did not blame her for being on guard. After all, Her Kill was the target of public criticism online. Now that someone had died on the set, her existence as the original author and screenwriter was like a guillotine. Anyone who got too close to her would be sent to their death.

“A lot of the production’s equipment has been seized, and the materials sent to the editing room have also been intervened in by the police for review. They said that the production has to provide all the video materials.”

The equipment being seized meant that after the production staff had been investigated, they would still be suspended. This was a risk that was inevitable when involved in a criminal case. Once the project was suspended indefinitely, the probability of the investors withdrawing their investment was extremely high, especially the funds that might be controlled by his wife after Shang Yi’s death. What was even more dramatic was that the one who had died was the production’s legal counsel. All the contracts had to be handed over to a new law firm, including this case.

It was like a tangled mess.

“How did Lawyer Xin die?”

Qin Luo had only heard from Wang Xi that after Wang Lu had been released from the criminal investigation team, Xin Wuzheng had come to the production to talk to her about her dismissal. It just so happened that the new photography team had said that the original lighting track circuit equipment was aging, and an employee had been injured at work because of it. Xin Wuzheng had also been negotiating with the insurance company about compensation.

But Wang Xi had originally been going to a meeting and had been asked by Qin Luo to go and see the girl who had been sexually harassed that day. After the two had finished talking, he had been preparing to go to the complex for a meeting when he had heard someone calling the police. At that time, the actors had just started their makeup. You Ning was in the next studio, coordinating the selection of the set. The director was not at work either. There were not many onlookers. She had glanced from outside the crowd and had seen a person lying in a pool of blood. There was blood sprayed all over the power distribution room, and there were also a few special effects props and cable heads on the ground.

Wang Xi did not know how he had died, because no one had dared to go forward to check the body. And You Ning had arrived very quickly. After a glance at the body, she had immediately sealed off the scene, and the onlookers had been stopped by her.

Before the police had arrived, You Ning had not opened the door of the power distribution room. She had even told the onlookers that if this matter was spread and affected the filming progress, the production would find a lawyer to sue, so no one had dared to take pictures or videos.

The police had arrived very quickly and had immediately called people in batches to the side for questioning. Besides the witnesses, anyone who had had actual contact with the deceased had been taken to the police station for questioning.

At first, because she was not sure of the cause of death, Wang Xi had only told Qin Luo that the person had died in the power distribution room and that it was related to electricity. It just so happened to correspond to the third story of Her Kill, which had scared Qin Luo to death, and she had rushed to the police station to cooperate with the investigation.

But that night, when Wang Xi had come out of the police station, she had told Qin Luo that the person was lying on the floor of the power distribution room and seemed to have been stabbed many times. When she had come out, she had talked to the props department, and the other had said that the blood on the wall looked very much like special effects blood plasma.

Qin Luo was not at the scene, and the rumors sounded half-true and half-false, making it difficult to distinguish.

The production assistant shook her head. “I was at the complex yesterday after the incident, not at the set. Sister Li didn’t let me go over so that I could stay and hand over the work.”

With that, the assistant began to complain, “I notified the artist coordinator to have all the actors stop work. Many of the artists’ studios came and made a fuss for half a day, saying that if the schedule was delayed again, they would have to withdraw from the production.”

The actors withdrawing from the production was not a big deal for the current Her Kill. Qin Luo leaned back on the sofa, calm and composed. She was not a police officer and did not have to pursue the killer. What she had to do now was to handle the situation properly.

“Has President Li found a new lawyer?”

“Not yet.”

Xin Wuzheng was dead, and all the problems related to the lawyer’s side were paralyzed. They had to quickly form a legal team, including a criminal lawyer and a reputation lawyer, and also a legal consultant for the artist coordinator.

Qin Luo thought that Sister Wang from the Logos legal team was a lawyer who specialized in reputation cases. She could temporarily ask her to help sort out the legal boundaries that might be touched upon in the creation and filming process.

While sending a message to Sister Wang, Qin Luo also asked, “With the criminal case being filed, the production will probably be delayed for a couple of months. Have the artist coordinator communicate first and see how much of the original cast can be kept, and how much needs to be reshot if we have to change people.”

And… Qin Luo added, “The production did not have a criminal psychology consultant during the table read. We can find a channel to contact one now, and at the same time, add some public welfare investment and set up anti-crime public service announcements. If the investors are not willing to pay for this, then it will be counted as an additional investment from Logos.”

Not withdrawing investment, but adding…

Although Her Kill was a screenwriter-centric system, and Qin Luo participated in the box office revenue sharing, what was the difference between adding investment and gambling in this situation? Wasn’t it just throwing money down the drain?

The production assistant looked at Qin Luo with a blank expression.

Qin Luo looked up. She thought of the configuration of the screenwriting team. “Oh right, I remember that the script used blockchain for storage back then, and the copyright of each version was clearly defined. You can find some time to organize the materials for me.”

The assistant took a note and at the same time took out her phone. “Then I’ll organize it and send it to the screenwriting team’s group chat, and I’ll @ you in the group then.”

Qin Luo looked down and sorted out her thoughts. When she looked up, she had a smile on her face. “Thanks.”

The assistant’s anxiety was somewhat relieved. She slowly sat down on the sofa and carefully observed the great screenwriter Qin.

In just half a month, Screenwriter Qin had visibly lost weight, her hair had lost its luster, and her glasses were not clean. Her elite temperament had been reduced by half, and her tired appearance was no different from her, a working stiff.

Don’t empathize with the capitalists!!!

The assistant silently reminded herself in her heart, but she still couldn’t help but feel sorry for the great screenwriter Qin. “Screenwriter Qin, why don’t you go home? The production will handle it after Sister Li comes back and has a general meeting.”

Qin Luo couldn’t wait for a result here either and simply stood up and left.

Before she left, she also made a request, “Send me a copy of the resumes of all the members of the screenwriting team.”

Qin Luo did not dare to go back to Cloud Top after she had left the production. She went directly to Logos. After she had hung up on Liu Jia, the two had not contacted each other again. She believed that Liu Jia, as one of the investors of Her Kill, would have received the news of the third person’s death last night at the latest.

But Liu Jia had not contacted her, and had not even asked about her safety.

When Qin Luo walked into the Logos office floor, she saw the familiar front desk of the reading group. The other greeted her politely and, in a business-like manner, switched to the Logos greeting. Behind her was the IP map of Logos. To attract partners, Liu Jia had specially installed a real-time scrolling screen at the main entrance, which showed the number of followers of all the KOLs under her. The total number of followers on the entire network was 2.1 billion, and the number of business followers was as high as 330 million.

The front desk bowed to her with a smile, as if 300 million fans were winking at her. Qin Luo walked past with a blank expression and went straight to Liu Jia’s office.

Liu Jia was sitting in her office, smoking. She was about to curse when the door was suddenly pushed open. Seeing that it was Qin Luo, she quickly put out her cigarette. She even patted the smell and poured her coffee on the cigarette butt.

Qin Luo threw her bag on the sofa and went straight to the point. “You can talk about Shang Yi’s matter first.”

“What matter?”

Qin Luo said in a deep voice, “The matter of Shang Yi’s assistant being pregnant, the matter of Xin Wuzheng helping him with the contract, and the matter of Bawanghua’s termination of contract, the matter of logistics, the matter of the live stream department.”

These things that made one realize belatedly.

Liu Jia stood up and walked to the door, locking it from the inside. Then she leaned against the desk and looked at Qin Luo from two meters away.

“You’re asking me in this tone because you think I’ll break the law.”

After three seconds of silence, Qin Luo exploded.

Qin Luo rarely pointed at people. This gesture was uncivilized and had a discriminatory and demeaning meaning. When Qin Luo was a child, she had hated it when her grandmother had pointed at her head, so no matter how excited she was when she spoke, she would use her palm, a polite invitation.

But she had nothing to pretend in front of Liu Jia.

Her eyes were as sharp as a knife, her anger undisguised. Qin Luo raised her index finger and pointed straight at Liu Jia. She held her trembling arm forward. If her fingertip were a knife, she would have stabbed it into Liu Jia’s neck. As long as she could wake her up, she would even commit a crime.

“Using public relations to create rumors is already on the edge of the law, you know?! Don’t you look at the scrolling screen when you come in? Don’t you know how much of a spread Logos has? A third person has already died. If you don’t want to go in, then tell me everything you know.”

Liu Jia was angered by this gesture. She suppressed her volume. “But I’m not the one who killed him!”

Qin Luo warned her, “You’re no different from a murderer now!”

Liu Jia felt that Qin Luo must have lost her mind. But she understood that the other had suffered one blow after another. This kind of pain needed to be borne by a friend, but Liu Jia could not accept this kind of harsh criticism.

How could the blame of being the culprit be placed on her head before the killer was even caught?

“Qin Luo!!”

Qin Luo asked, “Didn’t you see the news that Tang Yao’s parents were cursed for seven or eight days and were about to commit suicide, and that Tang Yao couldn’t take it anymore and went to the police?”

Liu Jia felt it was absurd. “Then is it my fault that Qi Yingjun abused Tang Yao and her parents forced her to get married?”

Qin Luo just said, “The criminal investigation team is already investigating me. Do you think they won’t find out who is creating the guiding public opinion? This kind of large-scale propaganda of a killer has the risk of incitement. Do you dare to be responsible for Xin Wuzheng’s death?”

“Then what about you?!” Liu Jia’s eyes were red. “Did you think about the social impact when you were writing Her Kill? We’re doing the same thing. You’re just doing it for creative needs, and I’m just immoral. Who is more noble than whom?”

Seeing Liu Jia’s wet eyes, holding back a single tear, her gaze was scorching as she confronted her.

Qin Luo withdrew her arm and put her hands in her pockets. “If the police can’t catch the killer for a long time, and the storm gets bigger, then someone will have to take the fall.”

“I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

Qin Luo put away her sharpness and took a tissue and placed it on the desk. “If it’s between Logos and you, I will not hesitate to choose you.”

Liu Jia picked up the tissue and turned her back to wipe her face. “Don’t you pua me.”

Qin Luo sighed. “So will the police find out about you?”

Liu Jia threw the tissue into the trash. “No.”

Qin Luo was puzzled. “Did Olivia use a middleman’s black water army?”

Liu Jia was silent for a while and then said truthfully, “All the marketing accounts are Liang Wei’s.”

Qin Luo was shocked. “Shang Yi’s wife?”

“Yes.”

“That marketing account that disses me every day is Liang Wei’s?”