At 9:30 a.m. on November 30, the temporary press conference for the 'A Chinese Ghost Story' production was held at the ruins of Fa'en Temple, the film's shooting location.
The press conference was jointly organized by Lu Chen Workshop and Jiayang Film Industry.
A representative from the Lion Rock Film City management was also present. Invited media outlets included ATV, 'Ming Pao', 'Hong Kong Daily', 'Bolo Daily', 'Entertainment News Report', Kowloon Radio, and others.
Aside from a handful of reporters who had rushed over after hearing the news, most had been invited through Zhou Yi's personal connections.
Otherwise, judging by the incident alone, the major media outlets wouldn't have been interested in covering it. It was also a chance for Zhou Yi to quietly demonstrate the extent of his influence.
The venue itself was very simple. Two long tables covered with a cloth served as the podium, while the reporters sat on chairs temporarily borrowed from the Film City management.
The setup looked rather crude. The only thing that gave it a more professional feel was the projection screen and projector set up behind the speakers' table.
By the scheduled start time, around thirty media organizations had arrived, with forty to fifty reporters and photographers in attendance. The atmosphere was orderly, without the usual noisy commotion.
Lu Chen and Zhou Yi took their seats first, followed by Wan Xiaoquan and Chen Wenqiang. Next came the Film City management representative, and finally a middle-aged woman wearing gold-rimmed glasses, who sat at the far end of the table.
After sitting down, Chen Wenqiang turned to Lu Chen. "Mr. Lu, shall we begin?"
Lu Chen nodded seriously. "Let's begin."
Chen Wenqiang cleared his throat, straightened his back, and leaned toward the microphone.
"Welcome, everyone, to the 'A Chinese Ghost Story' production's press conference. We've invited you here today to explain the series of malicious incidents our production has suffered over the past few days."
Having spent decades in the entertainment industry, Chen Wenqiang was an old hand. Even though serving as the production's spokesman wasn't his regular job, he handled it with ease.
He clearly and methodically explained everything that had happened from beginning to end before concluding indignantly, "Hong Kong is governed by the rule of law, yet our production has still been subjected to this kind of harassment. Honghua's actions have not only severely affected the morale of our cast and crew, but have also forced us to suspend filming, causing enormous losses. We sincerely ask our friends in the media to uphold justice and report the truth."
When Chen Wenqiang finished speaking, the reporters exchanged puzzled glances. Many of them had been sent here without knowing exactly what had happened; they only knew that the production had gotten into a conflict with someone.
Now they finally had a basic understanding of the situation. Still, on the surface, it didn't seem like the kind of story with much news value, unless the production itself was trying to generate publicity.
Some reporters assumed they understood the situation and were prepared to ask a few routine questions out of courtesy. But those who had personally witnessed the confrontation outside earlier had plenty of questions.
One of them immediately stood up and asked loudly, "Mr. Lu Chen, did you hire a private security team to protect your production? Is that how you managed to bring the situation under control so quickly?"
Chen Wenqiang slid the microphone over to Lu Chen.
Without the slightest sign of panic, Lu Chen answered, "The people who subdued the troublemakers weren't hired security guards. They're members of our production. They're the Lu Family Team that I brought with me from the Mainland."
'The Lu Family Team?' It was a new term, and many of the reporters were immediately intrigued.
One of them asked, "Could you tell us more about the Lu Family Team?"
He had personally witnessed how formidable they were. Even ordinary martial arts instructors couldn't fight like that.
Lu Chen smiled faintly. "The Lu Family Team is a martial arts team that I personally organized and trained. At present, it consists of twelve members and one chief instructor. They're responsible for all the action scenes and stunt work in our film and television productions."
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Lu Chen officially introduced the Lu Family Team to the public for the first time.
Although the team was still completely unknown and had no productions to its name, Lu Chen believed that in just a few years, everyone in the Chinese entertainment industry would know that name.
Facing one question after another from the reporters, Lu Chen remained calm and composed throughout. Even when a question went a little too far, he deftly sidestepped the trap, giving them nothing they could use against him. But that alone wouldn't be enough to shape public opinion.
Fortunately, Lu Chen had come prepared.
After answering another reporter's question, his expression turned serious.
"As far as this incident itself is concerned, our production has certainly suffered some losses. But I believe the police will handle the matter fairly and see that justice is done. That alone isn't why we've invited all of you here today."
After offering the police a few words of praise, Lu Chen abruptly changed direction.
If this wasn't about using the media to seek justice, then what was it? The reporters looked at one another, wondering if Lu Chen was just putting on an act.
Seeing their reactions, Lu Chen smiled faintly and said calmly, "First, I'd like everyone to watch a piece of surveillance footage recorded by our crew this morning."
The projection screen and projector behind the podium finally came into use. Under the crew's direction, the surveillance footage from that morning was soon displayed for everyone to see.
By the time it had been recorded, dawn had already broken. Combined with the quality of the surveillance equipment, the footage was remarkably clear. Everyone could see two men sneaking toward the set.
One carried a plastic bucket, while the other held a long bundle wrapped in plastic. Farther back, a lookout could just be made out standing watch.
The truth quickly became clear. One of the men opened the bundle, pulled out the carcass of a dead dog, and prepared to throw it over the wall. At that very moment, several crew members guarding the set rushed out and caught the two men red-handed.
The video froze there.
Turning back to face the audience, Lu Chen spoke in a heavy voice. "What truly makes me angry isn't Honghua's harassment of our production. It's that, in order to achieve their goals, they were willing to brutally kill innocent animals."
The moment he finished speaking, the image on the screen changed.
"Ah!" Gasps immediately filled the room. Several female reporters even shut their eyes, unable to bear the sight.
Displayed on the screen was a photograph of the dead dog. The photo had been taken with disturbing clarity.
The dog's body was covered in blood, its eyes were wide open, its tongue hung from its mouth, and a stab wound from a sharp blade was clearly visible on its neck. The enlarged close-up delivered a shocking visual impact.
---
(End of Chapter)
You can read ahead up to 60 chapters on my patreon https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395