We asked you to make an anti-corruption film, but you made one in the name of the people!

The day after Zhao Jian made the call, Lin Mo received a formal invitation from the Ministry of Public Security.

The caller was Director Sun from the Publicity Bureau, who was very polite.

"Director Lin, when is a convenient time for you? We'll arrange a car to pick you up."

Lin Mo said, "No need to pick me up, I can go by myself. We're both in Yanjing, it's just a matter of taking a taxi."

Director Sun insisted, "That won't do. You are a VIP now, so we must receive you."

Finally, it was decided that the Ministry of Public Security would send a car to the Supreme People's Procuratorate to pick up the person at 10:00 a.m. the next day.

After hanging up the phone, Lin Mo told Lao Han.

Old Han nodded: "Go ahead, have a good chat. People from the Ministry of Public Security are easy to get along with."

"Director Han, aren't you coming with me?"

"They invited you, not me." Old Han waved his hand. "Why would I go and join in the fun? You can go by yourself, don't embarrass us."

Lin Mo smiled wryly: "I'll try my best."

……

At 9:50 a.m. the next day, Lin Mo changed into a clean dark blue jacket, white shirt, and black casual pants, and left the company building.

A black Passat with a Ministry of Public Security license plate was parked at the entrance.

A young man standing by the car, dressed in casual clothes, saw Lin Mo come out, his eyes lit up, and he quickly walked over to greet him.

"Director Lin! Hello! I'm Xiao Zhang from the Publicity Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security, here to pick you up!"

Xiao Zhang looked to be in his late twenties, with a buzz cut and a very energetic demeanor. He reached out and shook hands with Lin Mo, giving her a firm grip.

"Thank you for your help," Lin Mo said with a smile.

"No trouble at all! Director Lin, let me tell you, I'm a fan of yours! I watched every single episode of 'In the Name of the People'!" Xiao Zhang said as he opened the car door, his tone as excited as a young fanboy.

Lin Mo was a little embarrassed by the praise: "Thank you for your support."

Once in the car, Xiao Zhang chatted with Lin Mo while driving.

The car drove for more than twenty minutes and arrived at the gate of the Ministry of Public Security.

Armed police were on guard at the entrance. Xiao Zhang showed his identification and drove the car inside.

The Ministry of Public Security building is very impressive, a gray-white building that is solemn and dignified.

When Lin Mo got out of the car, he found that several people were already standing at the door.

The man leading the group was a middle-aged man in his forties, wearing glasses and smiling. He was none other than Director Sun, whom I had spoken to on the phone yesterday.

"Director Lin! Welcome, welcome!" Director Sun strode over, shook Lin Mo's hand, and said, "You must be tired from your journey!"

"Director Sun, you're too kind. It's no trouble at all."

Several other people were standing next to Director Sun; they were all colleagues from the Publicity Bureau.

"Come, come, let me introduce you." Director Sun pointed to several people beside him, "This is Old Li, Little Zhao, Little Wang from our Publicity Bureau..."

Several people shook hands with Lin Mo one by one, and their attitudes were very enthusiastic.

Especially that girl named Xiao Wang, who looked to be in her mid-twenties, with a ponytail, blushed when she shook hands with me.

"Director Lin, I... I'm your fan!" Xiao Wang's voice trembled slightly.

Lin Mo smiled and said, "Thank you."

"Director Lin, can I take a picture with you?" Xiao Wang took out his phone, his eyes full of anticipation.

Before Lin Mo could speak, Director Sun laughed beside him, "Alright, alright, let's get down to business first. We can take the photo later."

Xiao Wang put his phone away, feeling embarrassed.

Director Sun led Lin Mo into the building, encountering many colleagues from the Ministry of Public Security along the way.

"Hey, isn't this Lin Mo?"

"Who directed 'In the Name of the People'?"

"It really is him!"

"So young!"

Many people stopped and cast curious glances.

A young man ran straight over from across the corridor, his face flushed and neck bulging: "Director Lin! Hello! I'm Xiao Liu from the Criminal Investigation Bureau. I really, really love the dramas you direct!"

Lin Mo shook hands with him: "Thank you."

After shaking hands, Xiao Liu stood there grinning for several seconds before being pulled away by his colleague.

Director Sun shook his head with a smile beside him: "Director Lin, you're quite the star in our department now. After we told you you were coming yesterday, so many people came to ask me if we could arrange a meeting."

Lin Mo felt uncomfortable being praised: "Director Sun, please don't say that. I'm just a small-time director."

"A minor director?" Director Sun laughed heartily. "If you're a minor director, then there aren't many major directors left in the country."

……

Director Sun first took Lin Mo to the conference room of the Publicity Bureau.

The meeting room wasn't large, but it was very tidy.

Fruit, tea, and several bottles of mineral water were laid out on the long table, along with a nameplate bearing Lin Mo's name.

Lin Mo's lips twitched when he saw the table card.

This is way too formal!

"Director Lin, please have a seat and some water. Director Wang is currently in a meeting and will see you in about half an hour," said Section Chief Sun.

Lin Mo nodded and sat down.

Director Sun chatted with them for a while, briefly introducing the current situation and difficulties faced by the Ministry of Public Security in anti-fraud publicity.

"To be honest, we've filmed quite a few anti-fraud propaganda videos before, but the results haven't been very satisfactory," Director Sun sighed. "They're either too serious, like watching the evening news, or too flashy, and the public can't remember them. So we invited you here this time to try a different approach."

Lin Mo asked, "Director Sun, do you have any real case materials here? I'd like to take a look and find a starting point."

"Yes! Plenty!" Director Sun stood up, walked to the filing cabinet, opened the drawer, and took out a thick stack of folders.

"These are some typical telecom fraud cases from the past two years, and there are quite a few in northern Myanmar as well. Please take a look."

Lin Mo took the folder and opened the first one.

This is a case of a twenty-year-old girl.

Her name is Xiao Zhou. She had just graduated from university and saw a high-paying overseas job posting online. She was lured to northern Myanmar. Once there, she realized it was a telecom fraud scheme, and she was beaten if she didn't comply.

She tried to escape, but was caught and imprisoned in a water dungeon for three days and three nights. After she came out, she was a completely different person.

Later, her family spent 150,000 yuan to redeem her.

Lin Mo turned the pages one by one, his heart growing heavier with each page.

These are not scripts, not novels, but real cases.

Behind every folder lies a ruined life and a broken family.

His fingers paused for a moment when he flipped to the third folder.

The protagonist of the case is a 22-year-old young man named A-Jie.

After being tricked into going to northern Myanmar, Ah Jie refused to participate in the scam and had his left leg broken with an iron bar by members of the scam gang. Later, his arm was also broken.

In the end, his parents scraped together 200,000 yuan and ransomed him.

Ah Jie is still in the hospital. He has a metal plate in his left leg and walks with a limp.

The folder contained a photo of A-Jie at the hospital.

He lay on the hospital bed, his eyes vacant, a forced smile on his lips.

Lin Mo stared at the photo for several seconds, then closed the folder and put it aside.

"Director Sun, may I take these materials with me?" Lin Mo asked.

"Yes, it was originally prepared for you," Director Sun said. "However, you can't take the original with you; we've made a copy for you."

"Thanks."

……

Half an hour later, Director Sun's phone rang.

"Director Wang has finished his meeting, Director Lin, let's go over there."

Lin Mo followed Director Sun into the elevator and arrived at the Criminal Investigation Bureau floor.

Director Wang's office was at the very end of the corridor, and the door was open.

Lin Mo walked in and saw Director Wang sitting behind his desk with a pile of documents spread out in front of him.

He was in his fifties, with dark skin, wearing a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows; he looked like a man who got things done.

"Director Wang, Director Lin is here," said Section Chief Sun.

Director Wang looked up, saw Lin Mo, immediately stood up, and walked around the desk to come over.

"Xiao Lin, welcome, welcome!" Director Wang grasped Lin Mo's hand firmly. "I've wanted to see you for a long time, but I haven't had the chance."

"Director Wang, you're too kind," Lin Mo said.

Director Wang laughed heartily, pointed to the sofa, and said, "Sit down, sit down."

Lin Mo sat down, and Director Wang also sat down on the single sofa next to him, while Section Chief Sun sat opposite him.

"Xiao Lin, I've watched 'In the Name of the People'," Director Wang said bluntly. "It's well-made! Many of my colleagues in the department are watching it. Old Zhao—your Prosecutor Zhao—praised you a lot when he called me."

"Prosecutor Zhao, you flatter me," Lin Mo said modestly.

"It's not flattery, it's the truth." Director Wang waved his hand. "Your drama clearly explains the work of the procuratorate. The people love to watch it, and they believe it after watching it. That's skill."

Lin Mo didn't respond, waiting for Director Wang to continue.

Director Wang's smile faded, and he became serious: "You've seen the telecom fraud in northern Myanmar, too. There's a lot of public outcry online, with people criticizing us for inaction. To be honest, we're anxious too, but this can't be rushed. Cross-border law enforcement involves a host of issues, including diplomacy and international law, which isn't something we can handle alone."

"So Director Wang wants to reduce the number of people being scammed through publicity?" Lin Mo asked.

"That's right." Director Wang nodded. "What's the root cause of being scammed? It's that ordinary people don't know. They don't know how dangerous northern Myanmar is, how terrible telecom fraud is, or that high-paying job postings are all scams. If there were a work that clearly explained these things, so that after reading it, ordinary people would have a hunch—to question high-paying job postings first—then our work would be much easier."

Lin Mo remained silent for a moment.

"Director Wang, I want to make a movie."

Director Wang was taken aback: "A movie?"

"Yes, a movie." Lin Mo repeated what he had told Prosecutor Zhao. "Telecom fraud can't be explained clearly with just a promotional video. We need a movie to tell a complete story, so that the audience feels fear and vigilance after watching it. That's the only way to make it effective."

Director Wang thought for a moment, then slapped his thigh: "Alright! Let's make a movie! You decide the budget, you choose the actors, and the Ministry of Public Security will fully cooperate!"

Lin Mo said, "Director Wang, I'd like to adapt this into a real case. I'd like to refer to the materials that Section Chief Sun just gave me."

"No problem." Director Wang waved his hand. "You can look at all the files, cases, and data. If you need to interview the victims, we can help you make the arrangements."

"There's one more request," Lin Mo said.

"you say."

"I wanted to make this film realistic. It had to be a true depiction of what a telecom fraud industrial park is like, how the victims were scammed, beaten, and how they escaped. It couldn't be glorified or downplayed; it had to send chills down the audience's spine."

Director Wang looked at Lin Mo, remained silent for two seconds, and then nodded.

"Okay. Go ahead and film. I'll take responsibility if anything goes wrong."

Lin Mo felt a surge of warmth in his heart.

This statement, like what Prosecutor Zhao said about me bearing the burden, carries great weight.

After leaving Director Wang's office, Section Chief Sun took Lin Mo to the Criminal Investigation Bureau's conference room.

Several people were already seated in the conference room; they were all police officers from the Criminal Investigation Bureau responsible for handling telecom fraud cases.

There were people of all ages, men and women, and each person had a stack of materials in front of them.

Director Sun explained, "Director Lin, these are all key personnel in our bureau, specializing in investigating telecommunications fraud cases. We called them here today to have them tell you about real cases."

Lin Mo nodded and sat down in the main seat.

"Thank you all for your help."

A police officer in his forties spoke first: "Director Lin, let me tell you about a case first."

He opened the folder in front of him and began to speak.

"Last year, there was a case where the victim was a 26-year-old woman named Xiao Chen. She met a man online and chatted with him for two months. The man then persuaded her to invest in some kind of cryptocurrency. Xiao Chen believed him and invested more than 1.2 million yuan in total. Among the money were her own savings, her parents' retirement money, and money she borrowed from online lenders."

"And then?" Lin Mo asked.

"Later it was discovered that the man was part of a fraud ring and was in northern Myanmar. All the money was transferred away, and not a single penny was recovered. Xiao Chen couldn't take the blow and jumped off a building. He didn't die, but he broke his spine and may never be able to stand up again."

There was a moment of silence in the conference room.

Another young police officer continued, "Director Lin, I have another case here. The victim was an elderly woman in her sixties whose son worked abroad. The scammer impersonated her son, saying he had an accident abroad and needed 100,000 yuan. The old woman panicked and transferred the money without verifying the details. Later, when she discovered she had been scammed, she cried uncontrollably; that 100,000 yuan was her life savings for retirement."

One after another, everyone was talking about the cases they had handled.

Lin Mo listened, holding a pen in his hand, writing something down in his notebook.

But he wrote slower and slower because there were too many cases to remember.

Behind every case is a living, breathing person and a real family.

Some people were swindled out of all their savings, some were burdened with debt, and some even lost their families.

Most of those scammers are hiding in northern Myanmar, escaping justice.

When a young female police officer recounted the last case, her voice choked up a little.

"I was in charge of this case. The victim was an 18-year-old boy who had just finished his college entrance exams. He saw a job posting online for a guy in northern Myanmar with a high salary and wanted to earn some money for his university tuition, so he secretly ran away. When he got there, he found out it was a scam. He tried to escape, but was caught and beaten. The second time he tried to escape, he had three ribs broken. The third time he tried to escape... he never came back."

Silence fell over the meeting room.

No one speaks.

Lin Mo put down his pen and took a deep breath.

"Thank you all." His voice was a little hoarse. "I will use all these cases of yours. When this film is made, it must let the people know—northern Myanmar is not heaven, it is hell."

When the meeting ended, the young policewoman caught up with Lin Mo and handed him a USB drive.

"Director Lin, these are some case materials I've compiled, along with a few photos. You might find them useful."

Lin Mo took the USB drive: "Thank you. By the way, what's your name?"

"My name is Li Na."

"Li Na, thank you."

Li Na smiled, but her eyes were still red.

It was already past four o'clock in the afternoon when I came out of the Ministry of Public Security.

Xiao Zhang drove Lin Mo back to the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

On the way, Lin Mo leaned back in his seat with his eyes closed.

My mind is filled with those cases.

Young Chen jumped to his death, an elderly woman was scammed, the body of an 18-year-old boy...

His phone vibrated.

It was a message from Director Sun: "Director Lin, thank you for your hard work today. We will prepare the materials you requested as soon as possible and send someone to your office tomorrow."

"it is good."