Chapter 83 The Controversy Over Role Replacement

Yunji left, furious, but Chen Tianyu made no attempt to stop him.

Finding them again would not be difficult, and besides, he had no reason to prevent him from leaving.

Whether Yunji and his associates were the murderers of Xiao Su and Hu Wenyi was something he lacked any basis to deduce. No matter what, the Divine Eagle Detective Agency was an organization that dared to operate in the open and cooperate with the police; accusing them of murder at this stage was premature.

It was just that their methods were utterly despicable. If they were not exposed in time, Chen Tianyu could not be certain what other accidents might occur. He merely wanted to ensure the safety of the Beiting members, especially the women who lacked defense capabilities.

Xiao Su had referred to this place as a den of devils, and it seemed that was indeed no exaggeration. Various factions were intertwined, and regardless of their original intentions, whether good or bad, they directly or indirectly pushed the women living here into the abyss.

To put it bluntly, everything was done for profit, while the victimized women were nothing more than chess pieces.

A chill involuntarily crept up his spine, and it had nothing to do with the wind.

As for what to do next, he did not yet have a particularly good plan, but the stunt Yunji pulled on the film set had unexpectedly provided Beiting with an opportunity.

Solving a case could not wait, and theoretically speaking, Yunji's philosophy was not wrong.

Chen Tianyu fished out his last cigarette and stood in place, deep in thought for about five minutes. By the time the burning tip reached his fingers, another plan had already surfaced.

Liu Zichen went to the municipal hospital. Examination results showed two fractured ribs, minor facial scratches, and a dislocated right ankle, requiring a period of recuperation.

Of course, this was entirely orchestrated by Chen Tianyu; the actual injuries were not nearly that severe.

However, with a massive glass chandelier crashing down, sustaining such injuries was entirely plausible. Since Liu Zichen was a young woman, no one had the heart to say her injuries were feigned, nor was there any way to verify them. As a newly minted leading actress, giving up a golden opportunity for stardom was surely something most ordinary actors could not even imagine.

Consequently, there were not many voices of doubt from Tianxia Media, only chaos.

The languid Director Lai was so frustrated he was tearing at his hair. When he personally visited the hospital to see Liu Zichen, only to find the leading actress's face wrapped in thick bandages, he knew it was game over!

After offering a few words of perfunctory comfort, Director Lai lingered in the hospital room, looking rather dejected.

Seeing this, Liu Zichen had a flash of inspiration. Feigning difficulty in speaking, she said, "Director Lai... looking like this... I'm afraid I won't be able to... recover in the short term. What do you... think?"

Lai Quande let out a long sigh, looking like a deflated ball.

Liu Zichen suggested, "How about... for the subsequent plot... let Mingyue... take the lead role? What do... you think?"

Lai Quande remained listless. "How can that work? She isn't the prototype for the mermaid. What kind of a mess would that turn out to be?"

Liu Zichen smiled inwardly, though she maintained a sincere expression. "Doesn't the company... have a one-month deadline... to arrange the release schedule?"

"The sensation generated by... the mermaid probably... won't last very long either... If it isn't released... within this timeframe, I'm afraid... the outcome won't be... ideal."

"Damn it all to hell!" Lai Quande angrily slapped his hefty thigh, cursing profanely for the first time in front of a woman. "I don't know which damned bastard pulled this dirty trick and tripped me up so badly! Whoever this is, they clearly want to completely crush me. Who could it be?"

Liu Zichen asked with simulated puzzlement, "Has it... still not been figured out... who did this?"

With her face covered anyway, she was spared the trouble of disguising her facial expressions.

Lai Quande said dejectedly, "How can accidental incidents like this easily be investigated and solved? Besides, the company's security department is a bunch of good-for-nothing freeloaders. Relying on them? I'm not holding out any hope."

"What about the police?" Liu Zichen wanted to confirm. "What do the... police say?"

Lai Quande curled his lip. "The police are even slower. They have to follow procedures, telling me they need to investigate step by step... Damn it, do they have any idea that we are already on the verge of a catastrophe?"

This answer was within Liu Zichen's expectations. She simply fell silent for a moment.

Immediately afterward, she suggested again, "Director Lai... I feel we... cannot sit here and wait for our doom. We might as well let Mingyue... shoulder the heavy burden first... As long as I am able, I will also participate in a few scenes. Can't we do some reshoots before the release?"

A glimmer of light finally appeared in Lai Quande's eyes, and he probably figured this might be a viable emergency measure.

"According to the doctor, when do you think you'll be able to resume filming?" Lai Quande asked, clinging to a shred of hope.

Liu Zichen thought about it carefully. "The attending physician says... about half a month... ideally... at least ten days..."

"Ten days I can still manage," Lai Quande said, looking somewhat relieved. "Mingyue is actually a pretty good talent. Since we are in this impossible predicament, I'll add some subplots and find a body double for you. We can also incorporate some green screen keying performances so that your reshot scenes in post-production won't look too jarring."

The green screen keying performance he mentioned was, of course, the acting method frequently criticized in recent times regarding certain young idols, where the main actor does not need to be on screen at all times. First, other actors perform all the segments, and finally, a cold, striking image of the lead actor is inserted, or supplemental footage is filmed intensively during post-production, sometimes without even uttering a single word. The biggest flaw of this approach lay in its lack of interactivity, detaching it from reality.

As a renowned director, Lai Quande had always disdained such methods, but matters had been pushed to this point—

"Finding a temporary body double right now is a bit difficult, but I'll figure something out. Just focus on recovering and try to get well as soon as possible," Lai Quande said, comforting both Liu Zichen and himself.

Liu Zichen suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for the older man, but she knew how to weigh priorities, and a subtle glint flashed in her eyes.

Lai Quande nodded, understanding her intent, and promptly took his leave.

Over the next few days, Lai Quande gritted his teeth and pushed through with the plan. Shen Mingyue performed quite adequately, rendering the subplots rather brilliantly. By the third day, a body double was finally found. Although her appearance and temperament differed vastly, and Lai Quande threw a massive fit, he had no choice but to reluctantly accept her, merely arranging for more green screen work during the filming process.

What Lai Quande never expected was that ten days later, Liu Zichen's condition actually worsened, with multiple wounds becoming infected and suppurating. The preliminary diagnosis indicated that the chandelier had contained a slow-acting poison. At this point, Lai Quande was completely dumbfounded.

The body double had unexpectedly become the true lead. Although Lai Quande replaced Liu Zichen's stand-ins several times mid-stream, he was almost never truly satisfied with any of them.

Liu Zichen's discharge date was pushed back from ten days to fifteen, from fifteen to eighteen, and from eighteen to twenty... with no end in sight!

The international blockbuster *Mermaid VII* thus materialized in such a bizarre fashion.

Lai Quande wrote a detailed report, accompanied by a profound self-criticism, submitted it to the board of directors, and awaited their judgment!