Huayu: This director is pretty strong.

Chapter 41 Turning off the red light

The ashes swirled in the muddy water and turned completely black.

Two green jeeps rushed in from the north entrance of Laochang Street, their tires carving half-meter-deep ruts in the mud.

The car door opened.

Six men in dark gray uniforms jumped to the ground.

The man in the lead was thin with very high cheekbones, and he was carrying a briefcase with a sealing strip.

He strode up to Liang Qinian and blocked his way of taking Lu Haiming away.

"Director Liang, you acted quickly enough."

The man didn't look at Liang Qinian; his gaze was fixed on the gap in the foundation buried by rubble.

Liang Qinian hugged the iron box closer to his chest and placed his hand on the holster at his waist.

"Liu Cong? The Safety Supervision Bureau is out on fieldwork in the middle of the night, does your director know?"

Liu Congcong pulled out a stack of official documents from his bag and displayed them to everyone.

"An urgent report has been received. The construction site at No. 107 Laochang Street is illegally storing an excessive amount of industrial detonators, and the detonation process violates Article 14 of the Production Safety Law. The city has ordered the site to be sealed off. All personnel, equipment, and raw materials involved in the blasting are to be detained on site for investigation."

He turned around and pointed to the camera behind Chen Yan.

"Um, move it. Put the negatives in the lead box."

Two uniformed men stepped forward, stepping onto the broken wooden planks.

Zhang Yuan suddenly jumped off the scaffolding and stood horizontally in front of the machine.

"This is German-made, worth millions. Don't you know the rules?"

Liu Cong looked at Chen Yan, his voice flat.

"The law is the rule. The film records the moment of the explosion; that's evidence of the violation. Anyone who obstructs it is committing violent obstruction of official duties."

Lu Haiming sat in the back seat of the jeep, and rainwater soaked half of his face because the window was half lowered.

He didn't look at Liang Qinian; his gaze swept across the crowd and landed on Chen Yan.

"Director Chen, I warned you. The roads in Tianjin are uneven, and it's easy to twist your ankle."

Lu Haiming's previously tense shoulders relaxed, and he leaned back against the chair cushion.

"Director Liang arresting me is a matter of procedure. Section Chief Liu bailing you out is a matter of justice. In Tianjin, procedural justice can keep you in jail until your hair turns white."

Chen Yan remained seated in the director's chair, without getting up.

He held a shriveled Red Plum cigarette in his right hand, his fingernail digging into the tobacco.

"Director Liu. Our blasting permit is registered with the provincial department, and the approval document is in the hands of Producer Su."

Su Wan walked over quickly and handed a document with an official seal to Liu Cong's nose.

"Look carefully. The amount of gunpowder used has been approved by experts."

Liu never accepted the document.

He took a caliper from the person behind him.

"The experts approved the static parameters. When you just detonated it, the thunder could be heard in residential areas three kilometers away. This indicates that you arbitrarily changed the length of the detonating cord, which constitutes an illegal alteration of the nature of the explosion."

Liu Cong waved his hand.

"seal up."

The uniformed men rudely pushed Zhang Yuan aside, and one of them reached for the film magazine of the camera.

Su Wan grabbed the other person's wrist with great force.

"This is an international co-production asset. If you make even a single move without our legal counsel present, I will file a complaint with the French consulate."

The other party shook off Su Wan.

"In Tianjin, the Safety Supervision Bureau is the largest."

The man pressed down hard on the latch of the film compartment.

Chen Yan stood up, his shoes making a squelching sound in the mud.

He walked over to the camera and blocked the other person's view.

"Su Wan, give it to them."

Zhang Yuan panicked.

"Chen'er, this volume is the climax of Director Liang's reception of people. If we give it to them, we'll have wasted our time!"

Chen Yan looked at Zhang Yuan, his eyes lifeless.

"Let them take it."

He turned to look at Liu Cong.

"Director Liu, the negatives are right here. But I must warn you, there's not only the explosion footage here, but also something General Lu buried underneath twenty years ago. If you take it, this hot potato will be yours."

Liu Cong's eye twitched twice.

He looked at Lu Haiming.

Lu Haiming sat in the car, his finger lightly tapping on the window sill.

"Director Liu, handle this strictly by the book. Even if there are gold bars involved, the gunpowder case must be investigated first."

Liu nodded.

"Pack it up."

Two silver metal safes were brought up.

The film magazine was forcibly dismantled, and three rolls of already exposed film were stuffed into the radiation shielding layer.

Liu Cong looked at Chen Yan.

"The people have to come with us. Director Chen, you are suspected of illegally storing dangerous materials."

Liang Qinian took a step forward.

"Lu Haiming, I still need to take him back to the bureau for questioning in this murder case. Your Safety Supervision Bureau shouldn't interfere with criminal investigations here."

Liu Congcong took out another document from his bag.

"That's your business. I'm taking Chen Yan away through administrative detention procedures. Director Liang, we're all working for the stability of Tianjin, don't make things difficult for me."

Four uniformed men approached Chen Yan.

Wu Gang, holding a wrench, led the group of old workers to gather around.

The atmosphere at the scene was like a rubber band stretched to its limit.

Chen Yan raised his hand, signaling Wu Gang to step back.

"Old Wu, clear the rubble. Protect that pit so the rainwater won't wash it away again."

He turned to Su Wan and whispered his instructions.

"Go find Lin Shufen. Tell her that it's time to start eating this rotten piece of flesh, Haiming Film Studio."

Su Wan's hands were clenched tightly on the hem of her clothes, her knuckles protruding.

"I'll go with you."

Chen Yan shook his head.

"You'll be more effective outside."

Liu Cong walked over and reached out to grab Chen Yan's arm.

Chen Yan stepped aside and got into the green jeep.

Lu Haiming's car began to turn around.

Two green jeeps followed behind.

The car headlights illuminated the broken walls and ruins of the old factory street.

Chen Yan sat in the back row, with a uniformed man sitting on either side of him.

Liu Cong sat in the passenger seat, adjusting his tie in front of the rearview mirror.

"Director Chen, actually, you did a pretty good job directing this film."

Liu Cong looked at Chen Yan in the mirror.

"Unfortunately, you didn't find the right sugar daddy."

Chen Yan did not respond.

He watched the old buildings rushing past the window, his gaze settling on the red radio tower in the distance.

That's a landmark in the old city of Tianjin.

The tower spire was originally flashing a regular red warning light.

a bit.

Two times.

The red light suddenly went out.

Chen Yan felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, and then the signal bars went to zero.

He reached into his bag and pressed the reset button on the electronic weather instrument.

LCD screen display: Full-band electronic interference.

Liu Congcong took a small transmitter out of his pocket and turned off the power.

"Director Chen, don't bother."

Liu turned around, his face revealing an extremely professional indifference.

"From now on, you cease to exist in Tianjin."

Chen Yan looked up at the distant night sky.

The rain stopped.

But the dark clouds pressed down even lower.

The jeep sped out of the old factory street and, instead of heading towards the Safety Supervision Bureau, turned onto a dirt road leading to the seaside.

Lu Haiming's Audi loomed ahead, appearing and disappearing intermittently.

Chen Yan closed his eyes.

He felt the bumps in the car body and the vibrations at the metal contacts.

He counted silently in his mind.

"one two three."

far away.

Suddenly, an extremely blinding white light appeared in the direction where the signal tower disappeared.

That wasn't lightning.

That was the third set of high color temperature lights left by the film crew under the foundation of the clock tower.

Chen Yan suddenly opened his eyes.

He had no trump cards up his sleeve, but he knew that Zhang Yuan still had a fourth roll of unpacked film.

Those were scrap rolls that he had hidden at the bottom of the camera beforehand.

"Director Liu, you've taken the wrong tape."

Chen Yan's voice echoed in the cramped carriage.

Liu Cong's face stiffened.

He suddenly opened the safe in his hand.

Inside was only a torn roll of scrap metal and a piece of white paper with the words "Pay back the debt" written on it.

"parking!"

Liu shouted at the driver's seat.

Lu Haiming's car was also parked at the edge of the seawall.

Chen Yan sat in the car, watching Liu Cong angrily tear the paper to shreds.

Outside the car window, the waves crashed against the breakwater, the sound as heavy as an execution.

Freeze.