After saying goodbye to photographer Anison, who had become a film enthusiast, the two removed their makeup, changed clothes, and left KULA Company, each returning to their own residences.
Liu Rulan didn't come with him today; only Xiao Chen came to pick up Xiao He. However, as soon as Xiao He got into the car, Xiao Chen couldn't wait to share the current situation of the battle on the internet with him.
"What's wrong?"
Xiao He initially thought something had happened to "Law of the Jungle," but seeing Xiao Chen's gloating expression, he realized that today's "Silent Search" was the real fun.
After watching the movie today, I was busy with other things and almost forgot about this important matter.
Xiao He immediately perked up and asked, "How is it?"
He also turned on his phone.
Xiao Chen coughed lightly and said succinctly, "The whole internet is mocking us, and there's been an uproar."
Xiao He: "...Has your ability to summarize become this strong?"
As he spoke, Xiao He's fingers had already very honestly tapped on Weibo.
【Silent search is ugly】
Great, a very simple and accurate trending topic title. Although I don't know if Sister Liu and her group helped buy the trending topic to push it up, this title is really fair and there is absolutely no element of smearing.
Xiao He immediately turned to Yin Fu, looking for a blogger in the吐槽 (tu cao, a Chinese online forum for吐槽, or吐槽, meaning to roast or criticize) section that he had previously liked.
As expected, this critic had already taken the lead and launched an attack on "Silent Search".
"The movie is called 'Silent Search,' but it actually has nothing to do with silently searching for a lost child."
"The director's name is Feng Zhengyang, but in reality, the quality of his work is incomparable to Feng Zhengyang's previous works."
"Is this what a big investment and big production team looks like? Where are the special effects? Where are the zombie hordes? Director Feng Zhengyang, is this all you've shown me?"
"Family members, do you have any clues?"
"After watching the movie, I was completely stunned. If the young couple next to me hadn't been in such a hurry to pass by, I would have really wanted to turn into a stray dog on the street and start biting people everywhere."
"I'm really confused. Not to mention the male lead was just a background character the whole time, Chen Yulin and Ren Qiuyu were just there loving each other, and they argued seven times in just one movie."
"Seven times! Do you understand what seven times means?!"
"The couple next to me only kissed four times! You two are facing the apocalypse and still have the time to argue seven times in a horde of zombies! I really admire you two!"
It's clear that this blogger is really angry today. In real life, he encountered a couple being all lovey-dovey next to him, which made him, a single guy, feel incredibly irritated. Then, in a movie, a simp and his goddess were arguing and bickering. Although this blogger seems to be watching a movie in the theater, he has actually suffered a severe mental blow.
Once such a critic gets angry, their attack power skyrockets, and they spew out witty remarks, thoroughly criticizing the plot of "Silent Search" without giving away all the spoilers.
Of course, he wasn't the only one on the platform. Other bloggers also came out to express their opinions and criticisms. Some bloggers who participated in the preview screening of "Law of the Jungle" even compared the two movies they had seen so far, criticizing and belittling "Silent Search" from all angles.
Unfortunately, these two films have been locked in a fierce battle since their official announcement and release, attracting a large number of netizens. Now that both films have been watched, it is only natural for the online "judge" to speak out and determine the winner between the two sides.
It just so happens to be dinner time, which is the peak time for video traffic. Many bloggers choose to post videos at this time, so Xiao He took this opportunity to browse through the videos and comment sections of several platforms to see what everyone's opinions were.
Great, so far we haven't seen any paid trolls from the "Silent Search" side take action. These comment sections are basically filled with genuine opinions and comments from real viewers.
The main creators of "Silent Search" have not made any new statements so far, and even Chen Yulin, who is usually very active, has stopped making any moves. It seems that these people are just going to play dead...
Xiao He found it somewhat strange.
This shouldn't be happening. Logically, such a media storm shouldn't occur on the «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» first day of release. At the very least, there should be some effort to cover it up and fight back before the film's reputation is completely ruined all at once...
Despite his doubts, it's not uncommon for people in the industry to pretend to be dead when a public opinion crisis erupts, so Xiao He didn't pay much attention to it. He drove back to his villa, intending to rest and go straight to sleep.
The next morning, Xiao He was awakened by a familiar cell phone ringtone.
He squinted his sleepy eyes, carefully fumbled for his phone, and then answered the call with his eyes still half-closed: "Hello?"
"Check the trending topics now."
Upon hearing this, Xiao He immediately woke up.
He glanced at the time on his phone, his brain forced itself to boot, and he managed to sit up in bed: "Okay, I understand."
Liu Rulan on the other end of the line didn't waste any words and hung up the phone immediately.
Xiao He immediately unlocked his phone and, following muscle memory, clicked on the trending topics list—
【The entire creative team behind "Silent Search" has gone missing】
【The crew of the film "Silent Search" are suspected of disappearing and absconding】
【Searching for the Missing】
【To the members of the Silent Search team: Are you still alive? Everyone is looking for you.】
Xiao He: ?
Upon seeing these trending topics, Xiao He was initially bewildered, but his sluggish brain finally realized what he had seen.
Have all the main creators of "The Silent Search" disappeared?
In other words, the director, producer, screenwriter, several main actors, and so on have all gone missing.
"Holy crap!"
Xiao He immediately became restless.
"No way? Didn't the police close in? How did they all get away?"
But then Xiao He felt something was off.
He could understand why Feng Zhengyang and his group wanted to run away, but why were Chen Yulin and his group of actors running away?
Although they do have some problems, they definitely don't deserve to run away with Feng Zhengyang and his group!
Feng Zhengyang and Dong Zeng are guilty of murder; if they don't run, they'll die. The screenwriter Lu Qiu, though not guilty of murder, is definitely shady and is also a potential prisoner...
While other actors in the crew did indeed have various issues, Xiao He believed that most people, like Chen Yulin, were simply there because of the renowned director Feng Zhengyang, wanting to participate in Feng Zhengyang's films and make a fortune. They were unaware of Feng Zhengyang and others' true intentions and circumstances, and even less aware that they would be implicated by the crew.
So they've disappeared too? What's going on?
Moreover, the police couldn't possibly be unaware of such a large-scale exodus...
Immediately, another guess came to Xiao He's mind—
Unless these people weren't missing... but caught?
Sure enough, Xiao He's phone rang again; it was Liu Rulan calling.
"Hello?"
Have you seen what's happening online?
"Hmm, so these people really are missing? Something doesn't feel right..."
"Indeed, they didn't disappear; they were all taken into police custody."
Looking out the window at the faint light rising on the horizon before dawn, Liu Rulan finally let out a long sigh.
"In addition, Feng Zhengyang and Dong Zeng resisted arrest by the police and were stabbed three times each by Tong Junhui. They have been sent to the hospital for emergency treatment. As for the others, they are said to be involved in some money laundering case and are currently at the police station."
Xiao He gasped.
