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

Here.

After hanging up the phone with the Ministry of Public Security, Zhang Songwen sat on the sofa and didn't move for a long time.

He held his phone in his hand, the screen still lit, then leaned back and fell onto the sofa, staring at the ceiling. He was afraid he had misheard; what if they called tomorrow to say there was a mistake?

But the phone call clearly stated: Publicity Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security, anti-gang crime theme, male lead, director Lin Mo. The same Lin Mo who directed "In the Name of the People."

Zhang Songwen suddenly jumped up from the sofa and spun around the room twice.

The apartment he rented wasn't big; the living room was just a few steps away. He walked around it twice, but that wasn't enough, so he walked around it twice more.

Then he picked up his phone, opened his contacts, and found Zhou Yiwei.

The phone rang four times, then I answered it.

"Hey, Songwen? What's up? I'm cooking right now." Zhou Yiwei's voice came through the receiver, accompanied by the background sounds of a spatula stirring.

"Yiwei, I need to tell you something. Hold on tight." Zhang Songwen's voice trembled slightly.

The sound of the spatula stopping on Zhou Yiwei's end: "What's wrong? Are you alright?"

"It's nothing, it's good news." Zhang Songwen took a deep breath. "The Ministry of Public Security just called me."

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

"Yiwei? Are you listening?"

"I'm listening." Zhou Yiwei's voice had clearly changed; it wasn't as casual anymore. "The Ministry of Public Security? What do they want with you?"

"It's a movie, a story about cracking down on organized crime, with Lin Mo as the male lead." Zhang Songwen said, feeling like it was all a dream.

Zhou Yiwei fell completely silent. The sound of the spatula stopped, even their breathing became softer. After several seconds, he finally spoke: "Lin Mo? The director Lin Mo who made 'In the Name of the People'?"

"right."

"Is the Ministry of Public Security leading the effort?"

"right."

"You're playing the male lead?"

"right."

Zhou Yiwei was silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed, a loud laugh filled with a sense of triumph: "Damn it! Songwen! You've finally waited for this day!"

Upon hearing these words, Zhang Songwen's nose suddenly stung with tears.

He and Zhou Yiwei were college classmates, sharing a bunk bed for four years.

Both of them studied acting, but they took different paths after graduation.

Zhou Yiwei was lucky; he landed a leading role just a few years after graduation. Although he wasn't a top star, he always had acting opportunities and could make a living.

Zhang Songwen's life wasn't so smooth. After graduating, he spent ten years playing minor roles, including eunuchs, security guards, and extras with only a few lines.

The director said you acted very well, but you're not famous enough, so it wasn't his turn.

During the toughest years, he could barely afford to pay his rent.

Zhou Yiwei knew he was having a hard time, so he would introduce him to work every now and then, sometimes as a guest star, sometimes as a supporting actor.

Although none of them were big shots, at least they were able to feed him.

Once, Zhang Songwen got drunk and said to Zhou Yiwei, "Yiwei, do you think this is how my life will be? Playing supporting roles my whole life, and no one will know who I am until I die."

Zhou Yiwei didn't say anything at the time, but patted him on the shoulder.

He patted me several times, but didn't say anything.

He never expected that a big-budget TV series would offer him the lead role.

"Yiwei, are you listening?" Zhang Songwen's voice brought Zhou Yiwei back to the present.

"Hey, I'm here." Zhou Yiwei cleared his throat. "Songwen, let me tell you, you have to do your best on this film, give it your all. The Ministry of Public Security is leading the project, and Lin Mo is the director. This kind of opportunity might only come once in a lifetime. Haven't you always wanted to play a memorable role? This is it."

Zhang Songwen tightened his grip on his phone: "I know."

"And also," Zhou Yiwei paused, "don't be nervous. Your acting skills speak for themselves, who can outact you? Director Lin specifically asked for you, which means he has high hopes for you. Trust me, once this show airs, you won't be the same person you were before."

Zhang Songwen took a deep breath: "Yiwei, thank you."

"What are you thanking me for?"

"Thank you for encouraging me all these years."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, then Zhou Yiwei's voice rang out, tinged with laughter: "Zhang Songwen, stop with the act. Aren't you just being sarcastic? We're like family!"

Zhang Songwen also smiled.

After hanging up the phone, he glanced out the window. It was getting dark. He thought about the path he had walked over the years: the auditions that had rejected him, the supporting roles he had only a few lines of, the hours he had spent waiting in the corners of the film set. It was all in the past, or rather, none of it had been in vain.

Everything he experienced will become part of Gao Qiqiang's flesh and blood.

......

After the cast and crew were finalized, Lin Mo felt it was time to let the outside world know.

It's not for hype, but to let the public know that the Ministry of Public Security is doing its job, the crackdown on organized crime is progressing, and there's a film documenting these events.

He registered on Weibo a long time ago, but hasn't used it much.

When "In the Name of the People" was a hit, his workplace asked him to open a shop, saying it would be convenient for publicity.

Xiao Wang helped him register the account. The profile picture was a photo of his work ID, and the bio said he was from the Publicity Department of the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

The number of followers grew from zero to over five million in less than two months.

He rarely posts on Weibo; most of his posts are reposts of official content from the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the Ministry of Public Security, with almost no original content of his own.

It's not that I don't want to post, it's that I don't know what to post.

He's an actor, not someone who just chats online.

But he felt he should post one today.

Lin Mo opened his phone's photo album and found a picture.

The photo was simple—a black background with four large white characters in the center: "Combating Organized Crime and Eliminating Evil."

The line below in smaller print reads: "Give the people a clean and bright world."

There are no complicated compositions or fancy filters; it's clean, direct, and powerful.

He thought for a long time about the caption, typing a few lines and deleting them, then retyping them again, until finally only one sentence remained: "Some things have to be done by someone. Some people have to be filmed. The fight against organized crime is not just a slogan."

I clicked send.

Lin Mo put his phone in his pocket and continued writing the script.

What he didn't know was that the comment section exploded less than ten minutes after the Weibo post was published.

"Holy crap! Director Lin posted on Weibo? I've never seen anything like it!"

"Anti-gang crime campaign? Director Lin, are you going to make a film about it?"

"Black background, large white text—this quality suggests they're planning something big."

"Everyone, pay attention to the caption: there are people and things to film—Director Lin is definitely preparing for a new movie!"

People started guessing.

"Director Lin, is it a TV series about cracking down on organized crime?"

"With 'In the Name of the People' fighting corruption and 'Desperate Gamble' fighting fraud, is a crackdown on organized crime on the way?"

"Stop asking, the answer is they're filming."

"Director Lin, stop just posting pictures, say something!"

In less than an hour, the number of comments exceeded 100,000.

A new hashtag appeared on the trending topics list: #LinMoCombatesOrganizedCrime#. It climbed from 43rd place all the way up to 9th place in less than two hours.

One commenter offered an interpretation: "Let me translate Director Lin's caption: 'Some things always have to be done—the fight against organized crime is difficult, but it must be done. Some people always need to be filmed—the police officers fighting on the front lines of the fight against organized crime; their stories deserve to be remembered.' He's promoting his new film."

This interpretation was pushed to the top and received over 300,000 likes.

Some people even dug up the video of the girl being beaten a couple of days ago: "Did Director Lin see that video? Is that why he posted this Weibo?"

"It's possible. After that video came out, the whole internet was calling for a crackdown on organized crime. Director Lin's statement at this time clearly indicates his intention."

Zhang Yixing was the first to repost it, adding the caption: "Looking forward to Director Lin's new work."

Jin Chen also shared it, sending a thumbs-up emoji.

Wang Chuanjun didn't retweet, he just liked it, but his fans were more concerned about the fact that the official accounts of the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the Ministry of Public Security retweeted it.

The official Weibo account of the Supreme People's Procuratorate reposted the message with the four characters: "Support Director Lin".

The official Weibo account of the Ministry of Public Security reposted the message and added four words: "Stay tuned."

Netizens are in an uproar again:

"The Ministry of Public Security said 'Please look forward to it'? Isn't that an admission?!"

"The Supreme People's Procuratorate says it supports Director Lin, and the Ministry of Public Security says 'stay tuned'—isn't that just official confirmation?"

"Director Lin, just tell us, what are we filming?"