Villain? No, I'll catch up with the protagonist after passing the civil service exam.

The air in the lounge was as quiet as a newly sealed tomb.

Lu Jingyan slammed the so-called "internal script" onto the coffee table, making the ashtray on it jump.

Director Zhang stood trembling in the corner. Although his belt was fastened, his face was even paler than when he hadn't pulled up his pants. He stared intently at the account book, his eyes darting around like a venomous snake whose vital spot had been seized.

"A big-budget production costing 500 million?"

Lu Jingyan casually flipped to a page, pointed to a line of details, and said with a mocking tone, "This is what you call 'burning money for art'?"

"Props cost: Thousand-year-old lightning-struck wood, 800,000 per piece."

He walked to the corner of the room and picked up a prop cane that he hadn't had time to put away. It was a magical artifact used by the "old immortal" in the drama; it looked antique and had a high-quality feel.

Lu Jingyan gently pinched the skin between two fingers.

"Click."

The "thousand-year-old lightning-struck wood" that was supposedly worth 800,000 yuan had crumbled like a crispy egg roll. Inside, white foam plastic was exposed, along with several rusty iron bars that had been stuffed in to increase its weight.

"Lightning-struck wood made of foam? Director Zhang, is this foam studded with diamonds or plated with gold?"

Lu Jingyan patted the foam crumbs off his hands, his eyes sharp as knives. "Eight hundred thousand? I think even eight dollars is too much."

Director Zhang swallowed hard, cold sweat trickling down the edges of his Mediterranean-style hair.

"This...this is for the safety of the actors! Props just need to look realistic; anything too heavy could hurt someone..."

"Okay, how about this one?"

Lu Jingyan turned another page, "Clothing fee: Heavenly Silk Immortal Robe, unit price two million, a total of twenty sets to be made, total price forty million."

He glanced at the brightly colored theatrical costume on the clothes rack next to him.

The actress who almost got sexually harassed earlier was wearing this too. It looks okay from afar, but up close it's full of loose threads. It's the cheapest kind of synthetic material, and the static electricity it generates can turn your hair into an afro.

"You're claiming two million yuan for curtain fabric that costs only 9.9 yuan with free shipping on Taobao?"

Lu Jingyan laughed, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "Director Zhang, this isn't just taking kickbacks; are you insulting the audience's intelligence, or insulting the tax bureau's calculations?"

"I……"

Director Zhang opened his mouth, but found that he couldn't make amends at all.

"Captain Lu, we've found out."

Holding her laptop, Su Xiaoxiao typed rapidly, her expression growing increasingly serious. "The investors in this production are three shell companies registered overseas. After the funds entered the country, they quickly flowed into hundreds of private accounts through various inflated expense claims from the production team, such as exorbitant actor salaries, exorbitant prop costs, and exorbitant post-production fees."

"Finally, this money was transferred through underground banks to the overseas trust fund of the senior management of Huayi Media."

Su Xiaoxiao looked up, her eyes wide with shock. "This isn't a movie shoot; this is a massive money laundering machine!"

All the clues came to a complete conclusion at this moment.

Why does Director Zhang continue to receive a steady stream of investment despite his films being consistently poorly made and receiving consistently low ratings?

Why do those young, inexperienced actors with absolutely no acting skills receive hundreds of millions in film and television fees?

Because they don't care whether the movie is good or not, or even whether it will be released in theaters. What they want is to make their shady money appear legitimate under the guise of "movie making."

A bad movie?

That was their best camouflage.

"Director Zhang, you have quite a wide range of professional skills."

Lu Jingyan closed the ledger and handed it to Zhao Tiezhu behind him. "Not only is he suspected of forced molestation, but he's also a professional 'front man.' The amount of money laundering is huge. This charge is enough to keep you in jail for the rest of your life."

"No! It wasn't me! I'm just an employee!"

Director Zhang completely broke down.

He knelt down with a thud, grabbing Lu Jingyan's trouser leg, sobbing uncontrollably, "It's all the company's fault for making me do this! I don't want to make bad movies! But how can I launder the money if I don't report it this way? I was forced into it!"

"Save these words for your colleagues in the Economic Crime Investigation Division."

Lu Jingyan took a step back in disgust, avoiding his greasy hands.

"Xiaoxiao, notify the Economic Crime Investigation Division to immediately freeze all accounts of the production crew and detain all related financial personnel. This entire production crew, from top to bottom, will be ruined. Not a single one of them will escape."

"yes!"

Su Xiaoxiao responded excitedly. This is a major case; if we solve it, it will be another significant achievement for our special investigation team.

Zhao Tiezhu stepped forward, picked up the limp Director Zhang like a chick, and dragged him out of the lounge.

Outside, the film crew was in complete chaos.

The news of the director's arrest and the investors' absconding spread like wildfire throughout the film set. The aspiring actors, who had been hoping to make a name for themselves through this film, were now ashen-faced, as if the sky had fallen.

Only the lowest-level extras seemed unconcerned about what was happening.

For them, nothing is more important than eating.

It was lunchtime.

A huge food cart was pushed in, and several chefs were serving food to the extras who were queuing up with large ladles.

The aroma of steaming hot food wafted through the cool night air.

As soon as Lu Jingyan stepped out of the lounge, his nose twitched slightly.

It had a very strong aroma of braised meat.

good smell.

It smells a bit... excessively good.

Logically speaking, the boxed meals for film crews like this should only cost around ten yuan, just large pot dishes, and it's good enough if they're even cooked. But this aroma was rich and strong, with a strangely alluring quality that made people's mouths water and even create an urgent urge to eat.

Lu Jingyan stopped in his tracks.

His gaze swept through the crowd and landed on the extras who were squatting by the roadside, wolfing down their food.

They ate with great relish.

Some people even licked the soup clean, their faces showing an almost obsessive sense of satisfaction. After finishing one serving, they were still pushing forward to get another.

That state of mind didn't seem like they were eating a boxed lunch; it was more like they were...

Lu Jingyan's eyes instantly darkened.

He recognized that smell all too well. He had smelled similar odors in the kitchens of those underground drug dens during previous drug raids.

"Captain Lu, what's wrong?"

Seeing that he wasn't leaving, Su Xiaoxiao asked with some confusion, "Are you hungry? Why don't we get some to try? This film crew may be terrible, but the food seems pretty good. It smells delicious."

Lu Jingyan did not answer.

He strode forward and headed straight for the food truck.

With each step he took, the "crime radar" in his mind would jump, until he stood in front of the large iron barrel containing braised meat, at which point the alarms were sounding in unison.

The cook was busy serving food when he suddenly saw a slender hand reach out and stop his spoon.

"Hey? What are you doing? If you want to eat, go to the back of the line!" the chef yelled impatiently.

Lu Jingyan ignored him.

He lowered his head, brought his face close to the metal bucket, and gently sniffed it.

In that instant, a faint yet unique bitter taste, hidden beneath the rich, dark sauce, entered his nostrils.

Lu Jingyan raised his head and looked at the burly chef with a cold gaze, as if he were looking at a dead man.

"queue?"

He pulled the portable drug test card out of his pocket and threw it directly into the soup bucket.

"I'm afraid of this meal. If I take one bite, I'll have to line up to meet the King of Hell."