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

The next day.

Lin Mo arrived at the Ministry of Public Security.

He didn't go to the office; instead, he went to the filming studio on the fifth floor.

From afar in the corridor, Zhang Hao could be heard shouting at the top of his lungs, "Are you stupid?! This is obviously a scam!"

Wu Erwo's voice sounded even more aggrieved: "How would I know? She said she was my elementary school classmate! And she even knows my name!"

Lin Mo stood at the door and listened for a while, then smiled.

Pushing open the door, Zhang Hao was pretending to transfer money on his phone, while Wu Erwo stood beside him looking anxious.

Uncle Luo sat on the chair next to them, holding a thermos in his hand, looking at the two of them expressionlessly. His expression wasn't acting; he genuinely thought these two were hopeless.

"Stop for a moment," Lin Mo said.

Zhang Hao turned around, saw Lin Mo, and his eyes lit up: "Director Lin! You're back!"

Wu Erwo also shouted.

Uncle Luo stood up, nodded to Lin Mo without saying anything, but a smile played on his lips.

Lin Mo went over and watched the playback on the monitor, reviewing the footage they had just filmed.

Zhang Hao stood to the side, rubbing his hands nervously: "Director Lin, how's this take? We've filmed it twice, but it still feels a bit off."

Lin Mo thought for a moment, then pointed to the screen: "You were too hasty when you said that line just now. Slow down. You're lying, not being lied to, so you need to have a smug feeling of 'I'm smarter than you.' If you rush, you'll look guilty, not like a liar, but like a thief who's been exposed."

Zhang Hao paused for a moment, then slapped his thigh: "Right, right, right! That's why I always felt something was off! It's just that feeling! I don't have that feeling!"

Wu Erwo muttered quietly from the side, "You were never a liar to begin with."

Zhang Hao glared at him: "I'm playing a conman!"

Lin Mo was amused and watched it again, pointing out a few details—Wu Erwo could take a half-beat longer when delivering his lines, and Uncle Luo didn't need to stand so quickly when he came in; he could stand at the door for two seconds first, letting the audience see his face, before walking in.

Uncle Luo nodded and said okay.

Zhang Hao then asked, "Director Lin, have you seen the ones we released before?"

Lin Mo nodded: "I've watched a few episodes, and it's well-made."

Zhang Hao chuckled and scratched his head.

Looking at the two of them, Lin Mo felt that they were really suitable for this series.

It's not that they acted well, it's that they were born into the roles. They didn't need to act; just standing there, the audience found it funny.

Lin Mo said, "You guys keep filming, I'm leaving."

Zhang Hao chased after him to the door and called out, "Director Lin, could you come and make a cameo appearance next time you have time? Just show your face! Say one line!"

Lin Mo didn't turn around, but waved his hand.

Lin Mo no longer worries about the "Police and People Working Together" account.

Zhang Hao wrote the script, filmed, and edited everything himself, occasionally sending parts he was unsure about to Lin Mo for a look.

Uncle Luo became more and more relaxed; he just stood there and looked like a seasoned policeman, without needing to act at all.

The number of followers increased from five million to eight million in less than a month.

The comments section is full of new memes every day. Netizens have turned Zhang Hao and Wu Erwo into emojis and Luo Shu's "You two" into a voice pack.

Han, the director of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, told Lin Mo on the phone last time that several brother units came to learn from their experience, asking how the Supreme People's Procuratorate created its Douyin account.

Director Han said he didn't know and told them to ask Lin Mo.

When people asked who Lin Mo was, Director Han said he was from the Supreme People's Procuratorate and was currently on temporary assignment at the Ministry of Public Security. He told them to go to the Ministry of Public Security to find him.

Lin Mo was left speechless, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Old Zhao returned on the third day.

They brought five large suitcases, filled with material disks, prop lists, and shooting logs.

He arrived in Yanjing at around 10 a.m., and Lin Mo picked him up.

Old Zhao was carrying a backpack and dragging a suitcase in each hand, with a young man following behind to help him carry things.

Lin Mo went to greet him, and Old Zhao shouted as soon as he saw him, "Director Lin! I'm finally back! You have no idea how tiring it was to demolish the scenery! That fish stall on Old Factory Street, just taking half a day to remove the water pipes! And the wall of that police station interrogation room, the neighborhood committee said it had to be restored to its original state, without leaving any traces, so we painted it twice!"

Lin Mo smiled and accepted the box: "Thank you for your hard work, Brother Zhao. I'll treat you to a meal later."

Back at the Ministry of Public Security, Lao Zhao moved all the footage from the hard drive to the editing room.

The editing team consists of long-time collaborators who have been working with Lin Moqian since "In the Name of the People." Old Zhou is in charge of visual editing, while Xiao Chen is in charge of sound and mixing.

Lin Mo plugged in the hard drive, opened the folder, and found that it was organized by episode number—episode 1 to episode 39, one folder for each episode, and each folder was numbered according to scene.

Lin Mo never had to worry about Lao Zhao's work.

"Let's start from the first episode." Lin Mo sat in the back, Lao Zhou sat in the front with his hands on the keyboard, Xiao Chen adjusted the volume, and Lao Zhao moved a chair and sat down next to him.

Old Zhou dragged the footage from the first episode into the timeline.

Lin Mo stared at the screen without saying a word, and Lao Zhou didn't ask either, just waiting.

After a while, Lin Mo spoke up: "In the first round, Gao Qiqiang sells fish. Use the second one. The rhythm of the second one is better than the first one. He was too tense in the first one, but he relaxed in the second one. Right."

Old Zhou clicked the mouse a few times and dragged the second one in.

"In the second scene, An Xin is at the police station. We used the first scene, where he was in a confused state. The later scenes were too intense. An Xin hadn't experienced that much yet, so the scene shouldn't be so heavy."

Old Zhou did as instructed.

Lin Mo pointed out each item one by one, while Lao Zhou dragged them out one by one.

Occasionally, Lin Mo would stop and watch the two clips of the same scene several times, then choose one, or ask Lao Zhou to keep both, saying they would take a look at them later.

Old Zhou has worked with Lin Mo on three films and is already used to this pace.

Other directors, when editing, have to watch, compare, and struggle repeatedly. Sometimes they can't choose after watching for a long time and say, "Let's put it aside for now and deal with it tomorrow."

Lin Mo didn't hesitate; he knew which one he wanted at a glance, and a second glance was all it took to confirm.

The agreed-upon ten days actually took less than nine.

It wasn't that Lin Mo was working overtime; on the contrary, he arrived at the editing room later than Lao Zhao every day.

They strolled over around 10 a.m., stayed for two or three hours, and left again at 2 p.m.

Sometimes they'd come once in the morning, look at a few clips, say "okay, cut it like this," and then disappear.

Old Zhao was left in the editing room, watching from morning till night.