Chapter 63: A Movie Grew Out of the Dirt, and Lu Zhuofeng Crashed and Burned

Are we really going to smear Lu Zhuofeng?

And smear all the leading actors along with him?

We must remember, those are three first-tier actors and one of the country's top directors!

Yu Shi grew more and more anxious and uncertain. Should he call Ma Rong again to double-check?

Yet he was afraid of being scolded. Ma Rong had a nasty temper, and having misunderstood him repeatedly just now had already angered the man on the other end. He was terrified of provoking him further.

Still, without confirming it once more, he couldn't put his mind at ease. Compared to incurring Ma Rong's wrath, he was even more terrified of offending Lu Zhuofeng for no reason at all.

"I should just make the call. Making one call can't possibly be wrong."

Yu Shi dialed Ma Rong's cell phone once again, preparing himself mentally to be chewed out, but to his surprise, the call didn't go through.

"Where the hell did he go?" Yu Shi muttered, staring at his phone.

Forget it!

He would just do as Ma Rong said!

He couldn't afford to delay matters arranged by the company.

Moreover, he already had a hunch in his heart.

Perhaps the company saw that Cheng Cheng had cleared his name and wanted to win him back, and this smear campaign against Lu Zhuofeng's movie was an olive branch extended to Cheng Cheng to give his new film a helping hand. Otherwise, why would Ma Rong keep emphasizing Cheng Cheng?

It made total sense!

Having figured this out, Yu Shi pushed open the door to the studio, walked in, clapped his hands, and said:

"Drop everything you're doing right now. The company has new instructions. Our task this time is to dig up some dirt on Lu Zhuofeng's movie, *Glorious Era*!"

He paused, seeing the expressions of surprise on his team members' faces, and continued:

"That's right, *Glorious Era*! Our target is to drag out and expose the dark history of every single lead actor in *Glorious Era*, including Lu Zhuofeng!"

"Now, I'll assign the tasks."

"Yellow Hair, go across all platforms to collect negative reviews of *Glorious Era*. Compile fifty of the most-liked, highest-engagement ones into a template. I'm only giving you half an hour!"

Yellow Hair: "Got it, received."

"Chubby, you go collect black material on Lu Zhuofeng and the cast and crew of *Glorious Era*. Dig up as much detail as possible—don't even spare the cleaning lady on set! If there isn't any, fabricate some and make a list. I'm giving you half an hour as well."

Chubby wore a relaxed smile: "That's way too easy, fifteen minutes at most."

"Da Zhuang, go contact the marketing accounts, bloggers, and content platforms we collaborate with... commission articles from them. As long as their prices aren't too outrageous, agree to all of them."

Da Zhuang: "Understood!"

Yu Shi looked at the next person: "Fei Fei, go recruit people. Hire as many as you can, use the budget without holding back. This is a big job!"

Fei Fei flashed an OK gesture.

Yu Shi looked at the last person: "Finally, Mirror, you will direct this operation. Establish the battlefield, open up topics on major social media platforms, and guide the onlookers to get involved. Do you have the confidence?"

Mirror said loudly: "Yes!"

Yu Shi slashed his hand downward and said:

"Alright, let the operation begin. Move out!"

At the word of command, several people sprang into action.

Just an hour later, negative reviews for *Glorious Era* were flying everywhere.

"*Glorious Era* is just like me finishing a paper at the last minute to turn it in, randomly selecting unrelated clips and pasting them together. Scene transitions are chaotic as if completely unrelated, the narrative logic is broken, many things are left unexplained, and the ending is abrupt!"

"A work born from Lu Zhuofeng being cursed by sorcery!"

"It feels like sitting on pins and needles, like having thorns on one's back, like a bone stuck in one's throat."

"Lu Zhuofeng's absolute worst. Making movies for so many years with such a disjointed piece of garbage, doesn't he have any self-awareness?"

"Whose brain-dead script is this? Can I get a refund?"

"Trust me! Don't go to the cinema! I'm begging you! Trust me! Don't go to the cinema! Words from the bottom of my heart!"

"Such a waste of this cast..."

"They set up such a grand chessboard just to show me this??? The plot is utter trash... Lu Zhuofeng is getting more and more disappointing..."

At the same time, black material on Lu Zhuofeng and the main creators of *Glorious Era* began to spread wildly online.

Articles filled with words like "backstabbing," "secret marriage," "resource snatching," "billing disputes," "terrible character," "unspoken rules," "reheated leftovers," "catfighting," "profit transmission," "plastic friendship," "fawning over the rich and bullying the poor," "hype," "flirting," "kept mistress," and "harem" plucked at the neural cords of every netizen.

—

In a certain QQ group!

"[Chat Record]"

"Holy crap! Brothers, come look! The dirt on *Glorious Era* is too explosive! Other movies usually just have some scandal involving a single actor, but *Glorious Era* is a whole movie built entirely on top of scandals!"

"I saw it too, it's insanely defying the heavens. In other movies, scandals occasionally pop up by themselves, but the scandals in *Glorious Era* were mined like an ultra-large-scale oil drilling rig—from the director down to the lowest extra, not a single person is clean!"

"The scandals are so rich in nutrients that the resulting movie is dyed purple-black and gleaming!"

"I really don't understand how so many people hyping it up managed to brainwash me. I thought to myself, could it be that I was looking at Lu Zhuofeng through colored glasses because of that movie a few years ago? Is this movie really that good? Sure enough, something went wrong!"

"Come to think of it, it's even worse than *No More Bets*. Although the actors in *No More Bets* have had their scandals too, they weren't as black as *Glorious Era*! That old fogey Lu Zhuofeng actually runs a harem; it's so disgusting it makes me want to vomit."

"Nah, compared to *Glorious Era*, *No More Bets* is nothing at all, okay? It's as pure and innocent as a good woman!"

"Any actress in the entertainment industry is his for the taking whenever he wants, right?"

"I was planning to watch *Glorious Era*, but whatever, I'll go watch *No More Bets* instead."

"I strongly recommend watching *No More Bets*! I've already seen it! It is so damn good!"

"Wen Lian is mega-gorgeous in it! I've become a fan of hers again!"

"Bro, where are you located? Do you want to go watch a movie together?"

—

"Damn it!"

"Who is it?!!"

In the office, Lu Zhuofeng almost spat out a mouthful of old blood!

Just moments ago, he had received an emergency report from the publicity department stating that his movie *Glorious Era* had suddenly been hit with a massive wave of negative reviews, and various scandals about the cast and crew were being exposed.

When he went online just now to check, it was indeed true!

Both his name and the names of the crew members were dragged into it. These scandals included their past controversial remarks, unseemly photos, and even fabricated scandals—every single one of them the product of careful planning and malicious smears.

Such a centralized outbreak was definitely not the work of an individual, nor was it a random occurrence; there was certainly a powerful force driving it from behind.

A cleaning lady burst in, speaking in an authentic Northeast dialect, and cried out in grievance:

"Director, you've gotta believe me! I, Old Zhang Ge-da, have never had any improper relations with any actor in this show in my entire life, let alone some mother-complex creep coming after me! Heaven and earth are my witness, take a look at my old face—does it look like the kind of person who would do that kind of thing?"

The veins on Lu Zhuofeng's forehead were throbbing violently:

"I know! Get out first!"

The cleaning lady wouldn't let up: "I'm an innocent person, I've never done anything against my conscience."

Lu Zhuofeng roared: "Get out!"

"Then you better clear my name~" Before Lu Zhuofeng could throw a teacup, she blinked her small eyes, dropped those words, and swiftly made her exit.

Zhao Wenliang's gaze was cold and gloomy as he said:

"Zhuofeng, this matter isn't simple! It's clearly organized, premeditated, and targeted directly at us!"

Lu Zhuofeng said: "Then go investigate! No one is allowed to touch my movie! I'll make them pay the price!"

Half an hour later.

His subordinates came to report:

"Director Zhang, President Zhao, we've found out."

Lu Zhuofeng asked, gritting his teeth: "Which company did it?"

His subordinate replied: "It was done by Xianghua Entertainment."

Matters like this were very easy to trace; whatever walks leaves a track, let alone on the internet, where investigating it was even simpler.

The slightly clunkier method was to grab a paid internet troll, offer heavy rewards, and keep pulling the vine until the melon was found; the alternative was to communicate directly with Weibo, as whatever these troll studios did, they could never bypass the platform.

Zhao Wenliang frowned: "How could it be them?"

His initial guess had been either the camp behind *Comical Road Show*, *Flames of War*, or Cheng Cheng, but he never expected it to be Xianghua Entertainment!

Didn't Xianghua Entertainment fall out with Cheng Cheng?

They had no reason to do this, did they?

Lu Zhuofeng sneered coldly, grasping the key point instantly:

"What's so hard to understand about this? It's nothing more than seeing that Cheng Cheng has made a comeback and wanting to make up and reconcile with him!"

His gaze was incomparably grim: "But they shouldn't have targeted me! Since they dared to make a move against me, I'll let them know the consequences of offending Lu Zhuofeng!"