Huayu: This director is pretty strong.

Chapter 149 Signal Cutoff and Underground Sparks

The flames scorched the edges of the sheet.

The paper curled up and turned black.

Chen Yansong started the engine.

The fire went out.

Chen Yan threw the charred paper into the ashtray.

"Go. Make the fire even bigger."

Su Wan loosened the doorknob.

She walked back to her desk.

Pierre's breathing could be heard coming from the speakerphone on the table.

"Harvey just bought out the television broadcasting rights for the closing ceremony."

Pierre's speech quickened.

"The directors at Canal+ TV received a memo. Whenever the 'Broken Bridge' crew appears, all cameras should be switched to a wide shot or the video should be canceled."

Chen Yan picked up a new pencil.

The pen tip rests on the table.

Pierre coughed twice.

"The servers of Gaumont Cinemas were disconnected from the network. People from the Ministry of Culture are sitting in the lobby. We can't even send out an announcement about pre-sale refunds."

Chen Yan looked at the movie schedule.

"Are the theater's backup projection systems still usable?"

Pierre flipped through the papers.

"The analog projector is still there. But without a film scheduling instruction, the projectionist doesn't dare to turn on the power."

Chen Yan broke the pencil in his hand.

"Wait for my instructions."

Chen Yan pressed the hang-up button.

Su Wan's phone vibrated.

The screen displays Lin Shufen's name.

Su Wan answered the phone.

Press speakerphone.

Lin Shufen's voice came through.

"Something's happened in China. Thousands of online troll accounts have appeared on Tianya and Xici Hutong. All the posts are flooded with the same news."

Su Wan took out a pen and paper to write it down.

Lin Shufen flipped through the papers.

"The news headline reads 'Broken Bridge' expelled from Cannes due to excessive gore. Sina.com's entertainment headline has also changed. Lu Haiming's remaining associates in China are spending money to buy trending topics. They want to ruin the film's reputation before its release."

Chen Yan looked out the window.

Rain is hitting the glass.

Lin Shufen spoke at a steady pace.

"Do you need me to contact domestic media to refute the rumors? We can release scanned copies of the pre-sale contracts."

Chen Yan turned around.

"No need. Debunking rumors will only lead to a self-proving trap."

Lin Shufen paused for two seconds.

"What can we do then? Domestic cinema managers are all watching the Cannes Film Festival closely. If the rumors are true, the screening rate of northern cinemas will be in jeopardy."

Chen Yan opened the drawer.

"Let them post it. I'll show them the real news in twelve hours."

Chen Yan ended the call.

He walked towards the bedroom.

Open the door.

Zhang Yuan was snoring on his folding bed.

Chen Yan kicked away the empty wine bottle on the ground.

He patted Zhang Yuan on the shoulder.

Zhang Yuan opened his eyes.

Sit up.

Chen Yan pointed outside the door.

"Rent a master disc burner. Buy three hundred blank discs. The highest speed industrial-grade discs are needed."

Zhang Yuan grabbed his coat.

Where can I rent it?

Chen Yan glanced at his watch.

"Find the business center at the Martinez Hotel. You have twenty minutes."

Zhang Yuan rushed out of the room.

Twenty minutes later.

Zhang Yuan carried a black CD burner into the suite.

A hotel staff member followed behind, pushing a trolley.

There were six boxes of blank CDs on the handcart.

Chen Yan unplugged the power cord from the laptop.

He brought the computer to the dining table.

Zhang Yuan connected the data cable to the CD burner.

Chen Yan opened the project file for "Broken Bridge".

He dragged the timeline.

The cursor is stopped at the point three minutes into the game.

The image freezes on Lin Qingqiu's hands as he raises the hammer.

Chen Yan extracted this audio and video clip.

He opened the audio processing software.

Chen Yan drags the equalizer.

"Cut off high frequencies above 4000 Hz. Boost ultra-low frequencies below 60 Hz. Increase gain by 12 decibels."

The sound wave waveform appears thicker on the screen.

It turned into a dense black square.

Zhang Yuan looked at the screen.

"This audio will burn the paper cone of a consumer speaker."

Chen Yan saved the file.

"Independent cinemas use industrial-grade horn speakers. They won't burn out."

Chen Yan pointed at the screen.

"Burn this file. Three hundred copies. Burn them all."

Zhang Yuan removed the plastic seal from the CD.

Insert it into the CD burner or CD drive.

The laser head emitted a sharp cutting sound.

The indicator light is flashing.

Chen Yan walked up to Su Wan.

"Contact Pierre. Get him to hand over the back door codes to the screening rooms of all 300 independent cinemas in France."

Su Wan made a phone call.

Three minutes later, the fax machine ejected five pages.

The paper was printed with dense addresses and numbers.

Su Wan handed the paper to Chen Yan.

"We got the password. But the Ministry of Culture cut off the cinemas' internal network. How do we send the discs over?"

Chen Yan walked to the balcony.

Open the glass door.

More than a dozen heavy motorcycles were parked on the street corner.

The driver, wearing a leather jacket, is smoking.

Chen Yan pointed to the street corner.

"Cannes' underground racers. Hire them. A thousand euros a trip."

Su Wan picked up her purse.

She walked towards the entrance.

Chen Yan turned his head.

"Tell them to avoid the main road and hand the disc directly to the projectionist."

Su Wan closed the door.

Four o'clock in the morning.

One hundred and fifty motorcyclists gathered in the alley behind the hotel.

The noise from the exhaust pipe vibrated the walls.

Su Wan carried two black travel bags down the stairs.

She unzipped her jacket.

It was filled with CDs in transparent plastic boxes.

Each box has an address label.

Su Wan distributed the CDs to the riders.

A roll of euro cash was also handed over at the same time.

Su Wan pronounced in French.

Deliver it before dawn.

The riders stuffed the CDs inside their leather jackets.

Zip up the zipper.

Su Wan unfolded a map of all the roads in France.

Su Wan drew lines on the map with a red pen.

"Take the A6 highway to Lyon. Take the A7 highway to Marseille. To get to the cinemas in Paris, take the ring road. Avoid all the checkpoints set up by the Ministry of Culture."

The rider leader took the map.

He folded the map and stuffed it into his leather jacket.

The leader pulled down his mask.

"We take money and do things. The police can't stop us."

The helmet visor fell down.

One hundred and fifty heavy motorcycles drove out of the back alley.

The car headlights pierced through the rain.

Tires ran over the water.

The locomotives dispersed to different highways.

Heading towards Paris, Lyon, and Marseille.

10:00 AM.

Inside Miramax's temporary office.

Harvey sat in the boss's chair.

He signed the broadcasting rights buyout agreement.

The check was handed to the person in charge at Canal+.

The person in charge put the check away.

"The broadcast van is parked at the end of the red carpet. Cameras three and five are for wide shots. Cameras one and two are for close-ups. When Chen Yan's team walks onto the red carpet, all close-up cameras will turn off their power."

Harvey interlaced his fingers.

"What about inside the awards ceremony area?"

The person in charge put the documents into a briefcase.

"The control room is equipped with a delay system. There is a seven-second processing time for the video. As soon as the name 'Broken Bridge' is announced, the video will cut to the audience. The audio fader will be pulled all the way down."

Harvey leaned back in his chair.

"I want them to disappear from this world."

The person in charge left the office.

The assistant pushed open the door and came in.

The assistant flipped through the notebook.

"The French Ministry of Culture has sealed off all of Gaumont's computer labs. The screening system for 'Broken Bridge' is completely paralyzed."

Harvey picked up his coffee cup.

What will Chen Yan do?

The assistant closed the notebook.

"He stayed in his suite the whole time. He didn't give any interviews or contact the organizing committee."

Harvey took a sip of coffee.

"He's waiting to die."

Harvey put down his coffee cup.

Porcelain pieces collide on the table.

"Contact Thomas. Have him prepare a press release. As soon as the awards ceremony is over, immediately release the news that 'Broken Bridge' won nothing."

7:50 p.m.

Paris city center.

Gaumont Independent Cinema.

The main entrance is sealed with a white seal from the Ministry of Culture.

The hall was pitch black.

Old John, the projectionist, sat in the projection room on the second basement level.

In front of him was an old-fashioned analog signal projector.

There was a knocking sound coming from the back door of the computer room.

Three short, sharp strokes followed by two pauses.

Old John stood up.

Pull open the iron gate.

A rider wearing a soaking wet leather jacket stood outside the door.

He unzipped his jacket.

Take out a transparent CD case from the inner bag.

The CD case was handed to old John.

The rider turned and ran up the stairs.

Old John closed the iron gate.

He walked to the control panel.

Open the CD case.

Remove the disc.

Push it into the disc drive slot of the projector.

The red phone on the console rang.

Old John picked up the receiver.

Pierre's voice came through.

"This is Pierre. Turn the speakers up to full power."

Old John looked at the mixing console.

Pierre continued speaking.

"Push it to the red line area. You don't need to pay for the burnt speakers."

Old John hung up the phone.

He walked to the amplifier rack.

The cabinet contains eight 2-kilowatt professional power amplifiers.

Old John gripped the fader on the mixing console.

Push it up to the top.

The indicator light jumped into the red warning zone.

Old John turned the volume knob.

The knob goes beyond the normal scale.

Stop at the maximum value.

The cooling fan is running at full speed.

It makes a buzzing sound.

7:59 PM.

Chen Yan stood on the balcony of the Martinez Hotel.

The sea breeze blows through the streets.

Su Wan stood behind him.

She looked at the pocket watch in her hand.

The second hand ticks.

Su Wan closed her pocket watch.

"Three hundred cinemas. All ready."

Chen Yan looked at the movie palace in the distance.

Searchlights illuminated both sides of the red carpet.

Chen Yan looked at his watch.

"start."

It was exactly 8 p.m.

Inside 300 independent cinemas that were shut down across France.

Three hundred projectionists simultaneously switched off the main power switch.

The control panel lights up green.

Current surges into the analog signal projector.

The laser head reads data from the optical disc.

The audio signal travels along the cable into the industrial matrix speaker.

Paris.

Lyon.

Marseille.

Cannes.

Inside the dark screening room.

The screen lit up with white light.

on the screen.

Lin Qingqiu raised the mud-covered iron hammer.

The hammer slammed down heavily.

Smash the granite.

The low-frequency sound waves, processed with extreme gain, burst forth from the speaker.

The high-decibel roar shook the floor of the screening room.

Dust fell from the ceiling.

The sound penetrated the soundproof wall.

They rushed onto the street.

The Champs-Élysées in Paris.

Passersby stopped in their tracks.

They looked at the movie theater that was sealed off.

A low, rumbling sound came from inside the wall.

Rhythm and regularity.

a bit.

Two times.

Three times.

The coffee shop's glasses slid across the table.

Port of Marseille.

Seagulls flew away from the breakwater.

Lille city center.

The flock of pigeons in the square took flight.

Strasbourg.

The pedestrian covered his ears.

The sound of impacts emanated from the three hundred underground screening rooms.

The sound of Lin Qingqiu smashing the stone drowned out the noise of the traffic on the street.

Chen Yan stood on the balcony.

He heard low-frequency vibrations coming from the next block.

Chen Yan turned around.

He walked towards the door.

"Let's go."

Chen Yan picked up the suit jacket from the hanger.

"Go collect the award."