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

The day after Lin Mo began writing the script for "Raging Storm," something happened online.

A surveillance video has gone viral online.

In the video, several shirtless men are seen punching and kicking a girl in front of a barbecue restaurant. The girl is knocked to the ground, curled up with her head in her hands. Someone tries to break up the fight but is pushed away by the men.

The video is only forty seconds long, but every frame is enough to send your blood pressure soaring.

The video was taken by a passerby and posted on Douyin (TikTok). The caption was only one sentence: "This happened here last night. Four men beat up a woman. I don't know what to do, so I'm posting it so everyone can see."

The video was posted around 9 p.m.

By 11 o'clock, the number of views had exceeded 50 million.

By the next morning, the number of views had exceeded 300 million.

The comment section exploded.

"Are they even human? Four men beating up one woman?"

"Those of you watching the show, don't you have any conscience?"

"What city is this? Where are the police? Isn't anyone in charge?"

"Please, please, push this video to the trending topics so everyone can see it."

"I can't bear to watch it all, it's too painful. That girl must be in so much pain."

The trending topics were filled with related discussions.

#GirlBeating#, #CombatingOrganizedCrime#, #MustBeSeverelyPunished#, one after another, all in red trending words.

Major media outlets also followed up with reports.

The People's Daily published a commentary titled "Violence is no trivial matter; the fight against organized crime must not stop."

Xinhua News Agency also published it, with a more direct title: "Giving the people a sense of security."

The Ministry of Public Security reacted swiftly. The morning after the incident, the local public security bureau issued a statement announcing that all those involved had been apprehended and placed under criminal detention in accordance with the law.

However, the comments section remained unconvinced after the announcement was released.

"Just arrest them and that's it? Why did this happen?"

"We've been cracking down on organized crime for so long, how come there are still people like this?"

"Arresting people is not enough; we need to let the people know that this kind of thing will not happen again."

Director Wang sat in his office with his phone on the table; the screen was still lit, displaying the video.

He had already read it three times, and each time he read it, his expression grew more somber.

When Lin Mo knocked on the door and went in, this was the scene that greeted him.

Director Wang sat behind his desk, a cigarette between his fingers, and the ashtray in front of him was already piled high with cigarette butts.

He didn't say anything, he just pointed to the sofa.

Lin Mo sat down and waited.

Director Wang stubbed out his cigarette and asked, "Have you seen the video?"

Lin Mo nodded.

Director Wang was silent for a moment, then said, "The special campaign against organized crime was originally scheduled to launch a new round of operations in September. But as you saw yesterday, public opinion can't wait. Yesterday afternoon, an emergency meeting was held at the higher-ups, and it was decided to move it forward to early August, which is less than two weeks away."

He looked at Lin Mo: "You need to speed up your script."

Lin Mo nodded: "Director Wang, I'll speed things up, but there's something I'd like to discuss with you." Director Wang looked at him, "I'll finish writing the script for 'Raging Storm' as soon as possible, but I suggest we don't wait until the script is finished before starting the project. We can initiate the project first, assemble the team, cast actors, scout locations, and prepare—all of these can be done simultaneously with writing the script."

Director Wang thought for a moment: "Are you confident?"

"Yes," Lin Mo said. "I've gone through the story of 'The Storm' many times in my mind. Writing the script is just taking it out of my head; there won't be any major changes, and the project can move forward."

Director Wang stared at him for two seconds, then picked up the phone on the table: "Old Sun, come to my office."

After hanging up the phone, he looked at Lin Mo and said, "The project will start simultaneously. You decide on the personnel and the actors. Just tell me what resources you need."

Sun Jianguo arrived very quickly.

Director Wang announced his decision, and Sun Jianguo replied without hesitation, "I will fully cooperate."

Lin Mo returned to his office, turned on his computer, and created a new document—the "Raging Storm" project plan.

He first listed the cast.

An Xin – Zhang Yi.

He can play any role convincingly, from passionate young people to weathered middle-aged men.

Gao Qiqiang – Zhang Songwen, standing there, is Gao Qiqiang, the man who climbed up from the bottom and finally fell to his death after climbing too high.

Lin Mo also wrote down the other characters one by one—Sister-in-law Chen Shuting, Gao Qisheng, Li Xiang, Meng Yu, Uncle Tai, Yang Jian...

After he finished writing, he looked at the list again.

Then he sent a message to Sun Jianguo: "Director Sun, I've compiled the cast list, please take a look."

Sun Jianguo replied instantly: "You decide, I trust your judgment."

......

After Lin Mo sent the cast list to Sun Jianguo, the Ministry of Public Security began its operation.

It wasn't that Lin Mo didn't want to contact them himself, but his current position was that of a deputy director on temporary assignment, and it would be more formal for the Ministry of Public Security to handle some matters.

Moreover, this drama is a key project in the campaign against organized crime and evil forces, and it cannot be arranged through personal connections.

Sun Jianguo took the list and made phone calls to each person in turn.

The first call was to Zhang Yi.

Zhang Yi was filming in Northeast China. He had just finished work and was sitting in his car eating corn when he received the call. His agent answered the phone first, and upon hearing the words "Publicity Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security," the agent's hand trembled slightly, and he quickly handed the phone to Zhang Yi.

"Teacher Zhang, this is the Ministry of Public Security's phone number."

Zhang Yi paused for a moment, then took the phone: "Hello, this is Zhang Yi."

Sun Jianguo got straight to the point: "Mr. Zhang Yi, I'm from the Publicity Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security. We're preparing to film a TV series about the fight against organized crime and would like to invite you to play the male lead, a police officer. The director is Lin Mo."

Zhang Yi almost dropped the corn in his hand.

Lin Mo.

Lin Mo from "In the Name of the People" and "Going All In".

Led by the Ministry of Public Security and directed by Lin Mo, this film is about cracking down on organized crime.

With these three conditions combined, he couldn't think of any reason to refuse.

"I'll take it," Zhang Yi said. "When will you be joining the crew?"

"The script is still being written. Filming will begin in about two weeks. We will let you know in advance."

"No problem, I'll make my schedule available."

The second call was to Zhang Songwen.

Zhang Songwen was at home reading a script when he received the call and initially thought it was a scam.

He has been acting for over a decade, but has never achieved great fame. People in the industry know he is a good actor, but the audience doesn't recognize him.

The Ministry of Public Security wanted him to play the male lead?

How is that possible?

"Could you please repeat that? Which organization do you work for?" Zhang Songwen asked cautiously.

Publicity Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security.

Zhang Songwen paused for two seconds, then asked, "What are we acting in?"

"A gangster boss, who went from being a fishmonger to a crime lord."

Zhang Songwen fell silent again. This time, it wasn't doubt, but rather a question—how many years had he waited for this role?

He never gets any leading roles, not because he acts badly, but because he's not famous enough.

Now the Ministry of Public Security is looking for him; director Lin Mo specifically asked for him.

"I'll take it." Zhang Songwen's voice trembled slightly. "Thank you, thank you Ministry of Public Security, thank you Director Lin."

Sun Jianguo hung up the phone and put a checkmark next to Zhang Songwen's name.

Next up are Gao Ye, Li Yitong, Su Xiaoding, Ni Dahong...

I made calls one by one, and no one refused. No one asked about the pay or the availability.

When everyone heard the conditions of the Ministry of Public Security taking the lead and Lin Mo directing, their answer was the same: "Accept."

After making his last phone call, Sun Jianguo glanced at the time.

It took less than an hour from the first to the last.

He picked up his phone and sent Lin Mo a message: "Xiao Lin, all the actors have been finalized, and not a single person has refused."

Lin Mo replied with a single word: "Okay."

The actors are settled; next is the production team.

Lin Mo naturally turned to Zhao Mingyuan. He was the executive director of "In the Name of the People" and "All or Nothing," and having worked with him on both projects, they already had a good working relationship.

Lin Mo doesn't need a director who can steal the spotlight; he needs an executive director who can bring his ideas to fruition.

Old Zhao is this person.

When I called, Lao Zhao was in Hengdian overseeing a film set, and it was very noisy.

"Director Lin! You finally remembered me! I thought you had forgotten about me!" Old Zhao shouted on the other end of the phone.

Lin Mo smiled: "Brother Zhao, there's a job for you, are you interested?"

"Please speak!"

"A 39-episode series on the theme of cracking down on organized crime, spearheaded by the Ministry of Public Security, and directed by me."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then Old Zhao's voice boomed out: "Answer it! You have to answer it! Director Lin, when did you say we'd be joining the crew?"

"The sooner the better. The cast has been finalized; I'll send you the list later."

"good!"