FYN Chapter 194 The Trial in the Steel Jungle, A Desperate Counterattack at the Opening Ceremony
Chapter 194 The Trial in the Steel Jungle, A Desperate Counterattack at the Opening Ceremony
Nine o'clock in the morning.
The open-air plaza of Shougang Third Factory.
In October in Beijing, the wind from the old Shougang plant area carries the rough smell of rust, swirling all the way from the abandoned blast furnaces.
Gray clouds hung low, pressing down on the top of the blast furnace, and the remaining walls of the factory buildings creaked and echoed in the wind.
The square was already packed with people.
Long lenses and short lenses were set up in the media area, with rows of cameras raised and pointed at the stage.
The flashes went off in quick succession, one after another, so bright they hurt your eyes.
Zhou Man squeezed into the front row of the media area, clutching a recorder in her palm, her hand covered in a fine sheen of sweat.
If Chen Yan is nailed down today, she will be the top entertainment reporter in Beijing.
9:50.
Chen Yan walked from backstage to the stage.
He was wearing a simple black jacket, without a tie, the hem of which was fluttering slightly in the wind.
His steps were steady.
Lin Qingqiu, Richard Taylor, Wang Yuanchao, and the core teams from Vita Digital and Yanying Heavy Industry followed behind him.
There were no big-name celebrities, no red carpet, and no flowers.
There was only a group of engineers and technicians wearing work clothes, with machine oil stains on their cuffs and iron filings and dust on the soles of their shoes.
Chen Yan walked up to the microphone.
The sound of camera shutters clicking intensified from the audience, with lenses almost crossing the cordon and shoving into his face.
"Everyone."
Chen Yan's voice echoed throughout the square through the speakers, "Welcome to the opening ceremony of 'The Wandering Earth'."
Zhou Man immediately raised her hand and asked in a loud voice, "Director Chen! There are rumors that the 400 million yuan investment in your film was actually used to illegally raise funds through a fake project."
She moved the recorder forward half an inch, speaking even faster, "There's even been money flowing in involving organized crime. How do you explain that?"
A cacophony of discussion immediately erupted from the crowd, as dozens of microphones were simultaneously thrust forward.
Chen Yan looked at Zhou Man.
He did not answer.
9:55.
The sound of sirens ripped through the wind in the factory area.
Six police cars with Tianjin license plates rushed into the factory area, their wheels crushing the sand on the concrete ground before stopping at the edge of the square.
The car door opened, and more than 20 fully armed police officers got out, quickly setting up a cordon to surround the entire stage.
The person leading the group was a middle-aged man dressed in a high-ranking police officer's uniform.
Deputy Director of the Provincial Department.
The media area was in an uproar.
Reporters frantically pressed their shutters, capturing this impactful scene on their cameras.
Zhou Man's cheeks flushed, and her breathing quickened.
The fun has begun.
The deputy director led four police officers onto the stage.
He took out a detention warrant stamped with an official seal and showed it to Chen Yan.
"Chen Yan, you are suspected of economic fraud and organizing and leading a mafia-style organization."
The deputy director spoke with an air of officialdom, his words conveying a firm, businesslike tone: "You are now being summoned in accordance with the law. Please cooperate with the investigation."
Wang Yuanchao stepped forward and blocked Chen Yan's path.
"What are you doing! This is a key national cultural project!"
Two police officers immediately stepped forward and grabbed Wang Yuanchao's shoulders.
Richard Taylor frowned and protested loudly in English.
Chen Yan raised his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet.
He looked at the deputy director, his gaze sweeping over the detention warrant.
"I request to make a phone call."
Chen Yan's tone remained calm.
"You have no rights right now."
The deputy director waved his hand, "Take him away."
Two police officers approached Chen Yan with handcuffs.
Just then, a deep engine sound came from behind the square.
A black, extended Lincoln drove into the factory area, its body brushing against the dust it kicked up, and slowly came to a stop on the side of the square.
Lu Haiming lowered the car window halfway down, leaned out with his cigar-holding hand, and gestured towards Chen Yan's direction.
Chen Yan withdrew his gaze.
He did not resist and allowed the police to handcuff his wrists.
The sound of the metal latches snapping shut was amplified by the microphone and echoed throughout the entire square.
Zhou Man shouted, "Director Chen! Is there anything else you want to say?"
Chen Yan turned around and looked at the media below the stage.
"I have a gift for everyone here today."
Chen Yan struggled to raise his handcuffed hands.
He pressed the remote control he had been holding.
Behind the stage, on that huge red dustproof cloth, the fasteners popped open at the same time.
The strong wind whipped up the dust cover, completely revealing the enormous creature lurking beneath.
The vehicle features a ten-meter-high cab, rugged armor lines, massive bulletproof glass, and a six-row track drive system below.
The searchlights at the front of the car lit up, their blinding white light sweeping across the entire area.
On the side of the front of the car, a line of large characters is painted in white.
Yanying Heavy Industry CN171-11 Rescue Team.
The shutter stopped clicking.
The reporters in the front row took a half step back and looked up at the heavy machinery that completely defied common sense in domestic film and television.
This is no ordinary prop; it's a real, drivable steel behemoth.
Richard Taylor stared at the car, his pupils filled with fanatical light.
The deputy director frowned.
He realized that things were out of control.
"take away!"
He shouted sternly.
Chen Yan was escorted off the stage.
Just as they were about to reach the police car.
The sound of vehicles could be heard again outside the factory gate.
It wasn't a police siren.
Instead, it was the dull sound of tires rubbing against the ground.
Eight black Audi A6s with white backgrounds and Beijing license plates drove into the square, maintaining an absolutely equal distance between them, and cut directly between the police car and the Lincoln.
The car door opened, and more than twenty people wearing dark jackets and red party badges on their chests got off.
The leader was a middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses.
He was holding a file folder in his hand.
The deputy director's face turned deathly pale in half a second when he saw the middle-aged man.
He recognized the other person's identity.
Director of the Second Supervision Office of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.
The middle-aged man ignored the police officers around him and walked straight to the stretch Lincoln.
He knocked on the car window.
When Lu Haiming saw the person's face clearly, his fingers holding the cigar trembled, and the ash fell onto the expensive leather seat, burning a black hole.
The facade of a Confucian businessman that he had maintained for ten years shattered completely at this moment.
The car door was opened.
"Comrade Lu Haiming, please come with us."
The middle-aged man spoke slowly, each word clearly enunciated: "Cooperating with the investigation into some overseas funds."
Two staff members from the Discipline Inspection Commission stepped forward and stood on either side of the car door.
Lu Haiming stiffened his neck and turned to look at Chen Yan in the distance.
Chen Yan stood between two policemen.
His hands were cuffed, but his posture was ramrod straight.
Through the crowded throng, he looked at the Lincoln, his expression unchanged from when he was handcuffed.
The middle-aged man turned around and walked towards the deputy director.
He pulled a piece of paper from the document bag and handed it to the deputy director.
"Deputy Director Zhang, we also need you to explain the source of funds for your overseas property purchases."
The deputy director's hands began to tremble.
He didn't take the paper.
"Cuff him."
The middle-aged man gave orders to the staff behind him.
The situation completely reversed within two minutes.
The police officers who had come to arrest Chen Yan were all stunned.
They watched as their superior was taken away by the Discipline Inspection Commission, unsure of whose orders to take.
The materials submitted by Yan Huaizhong became a guillotine that fell from the sky, precisely cutting off all of Lu Haiming's escape routes.
The middle-aged man walked up to Chen Yan.
He glanced at the handcuffs on Chen Yan's hands.
"Open."
He said to the policeman next to him.
The police quickly took out the key and unlocked the handcuffs.
Chen Yan flexed his wrists.
"Director Chen, your materials are detailed enough."
The middle-aged man extended his hand and shook hands with Chen Yan. "The higher-ups attach great importance to this. It's a key national cultural project, and no criminal gangs or corrupt officials will be allowed to interfere. You can focus on making your film."
"Thanks."
Chen Yan answered.
The disciplinary committee's motorcade escorted Lu Haiming and the deputy director away from the factory area.
The square fell silent, with only the wind whipping up sand and dust that swept across the concrete surface.
The reporters even forgot to press the shutter button; their brains were still processing this incredible reversal.
Chen Yan stood in front of the huge transport vehicle and picked up the microphone again.
"Now, I formally announce."
His voice carried on amidst the grinding of heavy industrial gears.
"The Wandering Earth, filming begins."
Zhou Man and several informants from the five major cinema chains in the audience turned pale.
They brought not Chen Yan's death warrant, but a coronation ceremony for Yanying Heavy Industry's rise to the top of the Chinese film industry.
Not far away, outside the gate of Shougang, in an inconspicuous Santana, Li Jianguo of Oriental Cinema watched the disciplinary committee convoy drive away and gritted his teeth as he took out his phone.
"President Lu has been injured. Activate the backup plan."
He pressed the phone to his ear, his Adam's apple bobbing. "Notify Director Zhang, 'A Better Tomorrow' is being moved up in release date. We're going to crush it online!"