Huayu: This director is pretty strong.

Chapter 97 The Dying Sword of Law

The black Santana hissed softly at the back door of the cinema. Wu Gang gripped the steering wheel, ready to step on the gas.

In the backstage lounge of the cinema, Chen Yan had just changed out of his soaking wet suit and was fastening his tie clip in front of the mirror.

"Su Wan, leave Beijing to President Lin. You keep a close eye on the box office and public opinion."

Chen Yan straightened his cuffs, his voice completely calm, "Let's go to Tianjin and uproot Lu Haiming."

"clear."

Su Wan was about to nod.

hum-

Her Nokia phone vibrated violently in her pocket.

Su Wan took out her phone, and the caller ID on the screen made her expression change.

It's an inside line at the distribution center.

She pressed the answer button, listened for only a few seconds, and then stopped breathing.

"Chen Yan, something's happened."

Su Wan put down her phone, her voice tense. "There are more than a dozen people blocking the entrance of the Film Bureau. They're from Ruihe Law Firm. They say they want to seize all the master tapes and copies of 'Thunder'."

Wu Gang's hand, which was about to push open the car door, froze in mid-air.

Chen Yan turned around, his face showing no surprise.

"reason."

"Ownership litigation".

Su Wan spoke very quickly, each word crystal clear: "Lu Haiming's Minghai Film Industry is suing you, claiming that the initial development funds for 'Thunder' came from their company, and accusing you of misappropriating company assets for private creation. Until the ownership is clarified, any copies are prohibited from being released."

The air in the lounge felt like it had been sucked out.

Tomorrow is the national release date, and if copies can't be distributed, it's tantamount to a death sentence for "Thunder".

"Where is General Manager Lin?"

Chen Yan asked.

"They're already in the conference room at the distribution center, but the other side brought people from the notary office, and all the paperwork is in order. The leader is Zhao Cheng, the top lawyer in Beijing who handles economic cases. He said this is a civil property dispute, and even if the Emperor himself came, he would have to follow the legal procedures."

Chen Yan picked up his coat from the back of the chair and put it back on.

"Wu Gang, turn off the fire."

He walked towards the door and said to Su Wan, "Let's go meet this top lawyer in the capital."

An hour later, at the film distribution center building.

The long table in the conference room was full of people, and the atmosphere was oppressive.

On the left is a team of lawyers led by Zhao Cheng, a middle-aged man with gold-rimmed glasses. They are all dressed in suits and exude composure.

On the right, there was only Lin Shufen, the cigarette between her fingers almost burned to the end.

The door was pushed open.

Chen Yan walked in, with Su Wan and Wu Gang following behind him.

"Director Chen, you've come at the perfect time."

Zhao Cheng stood up, a professional smile on his face, and extended his hand. "I am Zhao Cheng, the legal counsel for Minghai Film Industry."

Chen Yan didn't even glance at the hand hanging in mid-air. He walked straight to the head seat, sat down, and placed his briefcase on the table.

Wu Gang stood behind Chen Yan like a wall.

Zhao Cheng awkwardly withdrew his hand, his smile freezing for a moment.

"Lu Haiming is in the interrogation room, and you're here talking to me about copyright?"

Chen Yan spoke, his voice not loud, but it made the temperature in the entire conference room drop a few degrees.

"Mr. Lu's case involves personal criminal issues, while Minghai Film Industry is an independent legal entity."

Zhao Cheng sat back in his chair, regaining his composure. "According to the company's financial audit, some of the equipment rental and labor costs for your filming of 'Thunder' were paid through Minghai's account."

He pulled out a copy of a transfer receipt and pushed it to the center of the table.

"From a legal perspective, this film is a work made in the course of employment, and at the very least, there is a serious overlap in ownership rights. We have applied to the court for property preservation."

Lin Shufen crushed her cigarette butt and said coldly, "Attorney Zhao, dozens of cinemas have already finalized their screening schedules. Are you trying to undermine us now and drag the entire industry down with you?"

Zhao Cheng spread his hands: "President Lin, there is no room for sentimentality before the law. We are simply protecting the legitimate rights and interests of the parties involved."

"That money was sponsored by Lu Haiming in his personal capacity; there's a loan agreement!"

Su Wan stepped forward and took out the documents she had prepared beforehand.

Zhao Cheng pushed up his glasses and slowly pulled another agreement from the folder.

"Ms. Su, there's always a chance of something going wrong. Here's a supplementary agreement."

He pushed the agreement in front of Su Wan.

"It was written in black and white on the document that if the loan could not be repaid on time, the ownership of the work would automatically belong to Minghai Film Industry. At the end of the agreement was Director Chen's handwritten signature."

Su Wan's gaze fell on the signature, and her body swayed slightly.

The handwriting was exactly the same as Chen Yan's.

"Impossible... I've checked all the contracts!"

A barely perceptible smile played on Zhao Cheng's lips: "Director Chen, why don't you take a look for yourself?"

Chen Yan picked up the so-called "supplementary agreement" and lightly ran his fingertips over the signature area.

In his past life, Lu Haiming used this trick of signing blank paper to kill countless opponents.

"A photocopy?"

He tossed the paper back onto the table, his tone as indifferent as if he were asking about the weather.

"The original document has been submitted to the court for notarization."

Zhao Cheng was confident of victory. "Until the forensic report is available, this copy is sufficient to support emergency preservation. Therefore, Director Chen, please immediately notify your team to stop distributing copies. The court's enforcement officer is already waiting downstairs."

You could hear a pin drop in the conference room.

Lin Shufen looked at Chen Yan with a complicated expression.

This game seems to have truly reached a dead end.

"Chen Yan, if this is true, I'd like to..."

"Da, da, da."

Chen Yan's fingers tapped rhythmically on the table.

He interrupted Lin Shufen, opened his briefcase, and took out a completely different contract.

It was entirely in English, and the cover featured the Berlin Film Studios' lion logo.

"Attorney Zhao, I heard you majored in economic law and minored in international trade law?"

Chen Yan pushed the contract to the center of the table.

Zhao Cheng frowned and reached out to open it.

He only read two pages before slowing down his page-turning.

"this……"

"The global distribution contract for 'Thunder'."

Chen Yan leaned forward, his gaze piercing through his glasses and fixing on Zhao Cheng's face. "It was jointly signed by Berlin Film Studios of Germany and China Film Group. Article 3 clearly stipulates that the film is listed as a 'Key National Cultural Trade Project'."

Su Wan strode forward, looked down at the contract terms, and her eyes widened.

Chen Yan turned to the last page and pointed to the official seal on it.

"The contract stipulates that any civil injunction against the film that results in a breach of contract by the German party will trigger a punitive clause, resulting in damages of US$15 million."

"At the same time, according to the spirit of the draft 'Foreign Trade Preservation Regulations,' when civil disputes involve significant national interests, priority should be given to ensuring the enforcement of foreign-related contracts. Your current preservation application is blocking the country's foreign exchange revenue."

Chen Yan's voice, each word distinct and deliberate, struck Zhao Cheng's heart.

"Attorney Zhao, you can continue to apply for asset preservation. But can Minghai Industry, whose accounts have already been frozen, come up with the $15 million bail money now?"

Zhao Cheng's face turned a deep purplish-red, and he opened his mouth but couldn't utter a single word.

Chen Yan stood up, walked to him, and bent down.

"Furthermore, forging commercial contracts is a criminal offense."

He lowered his voice, so that only the two of them could hear, "The paper on your supplementary agreement was made of environmentally friendly paper that only went into production this October. And the loan agreement I signed was in September."

Sweat rolled down Zhao Cheng's forehead.

"I...we were just following procedure..."

"President Lin," Chen Yan straightened up, no longer looking at him, "instruct the staff to continue distributing copies. Anyone who dares to put up seals should prepare their checkbooks to pay compensation."

Lin Shufen burst into laughter, picked up her phone, and dialed: "Get them out of the way! Get all those in the way out!"

Zhao Cheng and his legal team slunk out of the conference room under the watchful eyes of everyone.

Chen Yan didn't stop. He walked to the window and dialed the private number he knew by heart.

Raindrops pattered against the glass.

The call connected, and a frail yet powerful voice came through.

"Chen Yan?"

"Minister, it's me."

Chen Yan looked at his reflection in the glass and said, "You said that we can't let geniuses be tied down by those petty people who exploit legal loopholes."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

"Are Lu Haiming's people still causing trouble?"

"We want to freeze the copies before the theatrical release."

"I see."

The phone hangs up.

Less than five minutes later, a black Audi A8 silently drove into the distribution center compound. The license plate, which started with the number "0", brought all the commotion to an abrupt halt.

A middle-aged man who looked like a secretary got out of the car, walked straight to the court enforcement officer waiting downstairs, and handed him an official document.

"Upon receiving an urgent notice from higher authorities, the copyright dispute concerning 'Thunder' will be addressed immediately through administrative procedures. All assets of Minghai Industry have been taken over by the liquidation team. This film is currently the only valuable asset, and any attempt to undermine its value will be considered an infringement upon the interests of all creditors."

Zhao Cheng's phone slipped from his hand, fell into a puddle, and shattered.

Chen Yan walked down the steps, stopped in front of him, and patted him on the shoulder.

"Attorney Zhao, the sword is a fine sword."

"Unfortunately, the person who wielded the sword has rusted."

After saying that, he opened the Santana's door.

Wu Gang stepped on the gas, and the headlights tore through the rain.

Zhao Cheng stood there, his expensive suit soaked by the rain, looking utterly disheveled.

Inside the car, Chen Yan's phone rang again.

It's Liang Qinian's number.

"Chen Yan".

The veteran police officer's voice carried a hint of barely suppressed excitement.

"The item has been found."

"The book that records all the shady dealings is hidden in a secret compartment on the top floor of the clock tower."

Chen Yan looked ahead at the direction of Tianjin, which was shrouded in the night rain.

"very good."

"But..." Liang Qinian changed the subject, his voice turning somber.

"The mute man who was left in Tianjin by Lu Haiming to guard this ledger has disappeared."