5
Li Zitong hurriedly paid the bill. I was an outsider to this matter, and I wanted to leave. But the assistant director said it was a serious matter, and everyone who had been to the set should return to discuss it. Come to think of it, based on my father's experience in criminal investigation, as a temporary outsider, I was a serious suspect, and sooner or later, the local police would call me back for questioning. With no other choice, I got in their car and returned to the set.
It felt like déjà vu, like I was back to the day I found the body in the secret room. I was drawn into a powerful vortex, unable to control myself.
On the way, the assistant director drove absentmindedly while explaining the cause and effect of discovering the missing jewelry. He almost ran a red light at an intersection and only slammed on the brakes after Li Zitong reminded him.
The front of the car slid more than a meter beyond the solid white line at the intersection, but even that didn't stop him from speaking.
"Filming ended at 8:30. Before the entire cast and crew had left, the security team rushed to seal off the entrances and exits, unlocked the glass case, and drove away the 'Dawn Star' crown in a special car. Only the production staff and art crew remained on-site to sort things out." He looked anxious, his fingers tapping the steering wheel in time with the red light countdown. "Around 10 o'clock, the production staff were checking the materials list and discovered something was missing—a replica of the crown, which we'd use as a fake for other scenes—had disappeared from the safe deposit box in the prop room."
"Wait, what was lost was just a replica?" Li Zitong asked.
"Of course not. What's the big deal? Just hear me out." The assistant director floored the accelerator the instant the traffic light changed, and I couldn't help but lean back. "I didn't think much of it at first and told him to go through the normal damage reporting process. But then I remembered something was amiss: the fake crown was going to be used in a scene the following week, and if we ordered it again, we wouldn't have enough time. So I quickly called the head of the security team and asked if they could send someone back to the scene to help us review the security footage and see if there was any clue to the fake crown's disappearance. As it turned out, he noticed something was amiss, so he stopped the transport vehicle, took photos of the crown in the safe, and sent them to Polka for identification. And guess what? The one in the truck was the missing fake, a moissanite imitation. The real thing was nowhere to be found."
Li Zitong frowned, "This is very strange."
"I think so," the assistant director replied. "The security on set is so tight. The glass case holding the crown is real, bulletproof glass, procured by the security team. There's security on duty at all times, and there are three security cameras on site. How could a thief stand a chance? Besides, every entrance and exit is heavily checked. Even the executive producer has to go through a metal detector. Even if someone did steal it, who would be able to get it out?"
"Is it possible that she escaped through the ventilation duct by removing the ventilation window like the heroine in your movie?" I interrupted.
The assistant director rolled his eyes at me in the rearview mirror, as if to say there was no time for jokes right now. Li Zitong, who was in the passenger seat, explained, "Unfortunately, the temporary set building didn't actually have ventilation ducts. The ventilation window was a makeshift addition by the prop team. Although the script mentioned the protagonist escaping through the duct, that scene actually had to be reshot elsewhere."
I nodded. "I see. Come to think of it, the ventilation ducts in real life aren't supposed to be wide enough for an adult to fit through."
The assistant director ignored me. "Anyway, I think there's something fishy going on here. Do you think the Polka executives are deliberately trying to trick us? Now that I think about it, the sponsorship thing seems uninvited, and they were way too quick to agree to contribute money and effort."
"We don't know anything right now, so don't make any assumptions," Li Zitong said. "Let's go to the scene and take a look first."
The assistant director sighed, "I'm afraid that once we get to the scene, they'll shift the blame onto us. After all, no one wants to take the blame for such a huge mistake."
The result was exactly as the assistant director expected.
When we arrived at the scene, the entrance and exit security equipment had been removed. Filming props were scattered everywhere, creating a chaotic mess. A dozen security guards were rummaging through the scene, creating a chaotic mess. A man in a gray suit and a crew cut stood in the center, giving orders in a furious tone. Upon seeing us, he ignored his subordinates and strode towards Li Zitong.
"Where are the people from your crew? Why are you the only ones here? Hurry up and call everyone else back!" He yelled at Li Zitong.
Li Zitong didn't get angry, and calmly explained, "I've already called to inform them. But it's too late, and many of the cast and crew have already taken the bus back to the hotel. It's unrealistic to ask them to come back now."
"It's already late, and you're still talking to me about it?" The man with the buzz cut raised his voice again. "If you can't find the things, don't even think about escaping responsibility."
"I know this is very troublesome, but I still hope that both of us can calm down and talk peacefully." Li Zitong remained calm. "If we act rashly now, it will only cause more trouble."
"Calm down, calm down! You're just making sarcastic remarks... Humph, I think you might be helping to hide something? The thieves are probably from your crew."
"Speak more clearly!" the assistant director intervened. "Stop spitting bloody words at me. I even said there was a mole among your security personnel. The entrances and exits are all under control. Who else but you could have gotten the stuff out?"
The man with the crew cut was furious. "Nonsense! Let me show you how I'm going to deal with you." The situation was about to get out of control.
"Enough!" Li Zitong suddenly yelled hysterically, and everyone was startled.
"I say, can we calm down and talk for a moment?" After yelling, her tone returned to calm. "We have our own difficulties. We can't tell the crew, especially the extras, the truth. We absolutely can't tell them that priceless jewelry is missing and ask them to come back to cooperate with the investigation. At least not yet. We have star actors on the crew, and they are always followed by the media. If the reporters find out and it becomes negative news, the consequences will be unimaginable. The whole movie might be stillborn."
"You're still fussing over movies at this critical moment? That crown is said to be worth over 200 million. While that might be inflated, it's still worth a good 100 million. Compared to this..."
"Compared to that, our film's investment is tens of millions," Li Zitong continued. "If the jewelry is really lost and the film is ruined, who will bear the responsibility? Are you coming?"
The buzz cut man was speechless. After a moment of silence, he spoke again, his voice much weaker. "So what do you think we should do?"
Li Zitong pulled him aside, and the two of them whispered to each other. I felt like I was the only unnecessary person at the scene, so I just lowered my head to play with my phone. Suddenly, a security guard in blue rushed out of the backstage security room and shouted excitedly, "We found it! The surveillance video captured the theft!"
Everyone rushed to the security room, their goal the same, and the small room quickly filled up. Li Zitong and the assistant director were walking slowly, so I could only stand outside the window and look in. Although it didn't matter to me, curiosity piqued my interest and I couldn't help but lean over and peek in from the side.
The blue-clad security guard, still agitated, pointed at the surveillance screen and incoherently explained his findings to the crew-haired man: "Around 6:45 pm, that's when the attack took place. I fast-forwarded the footage, but now it's slowed down."
On the surveillance footage played at 0.5 times the speed, the lock of the central booth was opened, the bulletproof glass window was open, and the camera was locking onto the "Dawn Star" at close range, waiting to shoot.
I remember what happened: when filming close-ups, the glass would affect the lighting. After Li Zitong's repeated requests, the security captain called his superiors and reluctantly opened the glass case. Everyone's attention was drawn to it; even the makeup artists and prop crew stopped what they were doing.
The camera was adjusted and ready to turn on when my vision suddenly blurred. I instinctively covered my eyes, and it took two or three seconds for my vision to return. Everyone present must have had the same experience as me, and many people cursed out loud on the spot.
The one who caused the trouble was the young crew member who was in charge of the fill light. His face turned red and he became the focus of the whole audience.
"For some reason, this thing suddenly started up and was set to maximum brightness. It might be a malfunction." He explained while looking down to check the buttons.
"Okay, it's not a big problem, let's continue filming." Li Zitong said, and the scene became quiet.
But the third camera on the surveillance footage captured a scene unwitnessed by anyone in the audience. Two seconds before the flash went off, a man took advantage of the moment and quickly approached the central exhibition stand. As the fill light came on, he squeezed into the gap between the crowd at the speed of a 100-meter steeplechase and quickly replaced the crown in the glass case.
By the time everyone's vision recovered, the man had turned his back to the first camera and calmly put the "Dawn Star" into the tool bag.
"He was the one who did it!" The blue-clad security guard paused and zoomed in on the scene. The man was wearing a mask, revealing only half his face. The mask had been pulled up above his nose, exposing part of his chin. It suddenly dawned on me that the reason he was able to move freely despite the bright light was probably because he had covered his eyes with the mask beforehand, then pulled it down when he felt the flicker of light.
"Ah, that's..." The assistant director's expression changed and he whispered. Li Zitong and I turned to stare at him, but he came to his senses and shook his head, "It's okay, it's okay."
Everyone in the security room stared at the paused screen in silence. I guess they were all thinking the same thing at that moment - confused, because I was too.
A thief had the audacity to commit such a crime in front of a crowd of a hundred people. Was he insane? He was lucky he wasn't caught red-handed. But the three all-around cameras on the scene weren't just for show; they recorded everything, didn't they?
The buzz-cut man was the first to react. He grabbed the mouse and rewound the scene. Suddenly, he turned around and yelled to his subordinates gathered around him, "Can anyone tell who this man is?"
All the security colleagues shook their heads in unison.
"Then what are you all standing there for? Hurry up and check the table and compare it with the admission records. Don't everyone who enters have their ID and photo recorded? Even if it's only half a face, can't we compare them? Clothing, height, body shape, and movement patterns within the venue, check everything for me."
The security guards cried out in a chorus of "Oh!" and dispersed. The assistant director pulled Li Zitong aside and whispered, "That guy in the surveillance video just now looks like your brother."
"You mean Li Tianci? When did he come? How come I didn't know?"
"He called me the day before yesterday morning. He said he was short on cash lately and asked if he could be given a position in logistics like before. I agreed for your sake. Didn't you know about this?"
"He didn't tell me... Are you sure it was him?"
The assistant director nodded nervously. "I happened to run into him this afternoon. He was dressed exactly like in the surveillance footage. White shirt, jeans, and a mask. I asked him why he was wearing a mask, and he said he had a slight cold and was worried about catching it."
Li Zitong's face turned pale. I was worried for her. Her brother, the one I knocked down?
"It's verified!" shouted the person at the door, looking through the computer records. "That person entered the set at 9:00 AM. His name is Li Tianci. He's registered as the crew's prop master."
The buzz-cut man rushed out of the monitoring room and shouted at Li Zitong fiercely, "I knew it was one of yours. You were the one who asked to open the glass cabinet. You are all in the same gang."
Li Zitong did not answer, his body shook twice, but he finally managed to keep his balance and did not fall.
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