With mixed feelings, Ling Yichen and Jun Moran made further contact with the mysterious man who claimed to be a former employee of a competitor platform. They met him in a secluded coffee shop. The man wore black-rimmed glasses, appeared slightly nervous, and his eyes frequently darted around warily.
"Hello, we are Ling Yichen and Jun Moran from the film crew." Ling Yichen broke the silence first, trying to keep his tone calm and ease the other party's tension.
The mysterious man nodded slightly, took a USB drive out of his bag, and pushed it in front of them: "The evidence is all in here. I secretly copied it. I couldn't stand their unscrupulous methods, so I decided to stand up."
Jun Mo Ran took the USB drive, his eyes full of doubt: "Why are you helping us? How can we believe the authenticity of this evidence?"
The mysterious man gave a wry smile: "When I worked for that platform, I was already dissatisfied with their way of doing things. This time, they've gone to extreme lengths to suppress you, and I simply couldn't tolerate it anymore. As for the authenticity of the evidence, you can have it authenticated by professionals. I guarantee there's no forgery involved."
After a moment of contemplation, Ling Yichen said, "Regardless, thank you anyway. But we need some time to verify this evidence."
After parting ways with the mysterious man, Ling Yichen and Jun Moran immediately returned to the film set and handed the USB drive over to the legal team for authentication. After careful analysis and comparison by professional technicians, the evidence was confirmed to be authentic and valid. With this evidence, they felt as if they had grasped a sharp blade capable of cutting through their predicament.
"With this evidence, we can directly expose our competitors' despicable acts and thwart their schemes," said Attorney Zhang from the legal team excitedly.
However, Ling Yichen was not so optimistic. He frowned and said, "Things are not that simple. Although this evidence can prove that they made malicious reports, we must consider the consequences carefully before making it public. Once it is made public, it will inevitably trigger a fierce media war, and our new drama may also be involved, receiving more attention and questioning."
Jun Mo Ran agreed: "Moreover, we don't know how our competitors will retaliate. Since they've done something like this, they certainly won't let it go easily."
As the production team engaged in heated discussions about whether to release the evidence, time slipped away. Only one day remained until Jack's one-week deadline, and investigations from the other two countries that had been accused were imminent.
At this crucial moment, the production team received a response from the first country to conduct a video defense. The country stated that while the evidence and explanations provided by the production team were convincing, due to the significant impact of the whistleblower incident, they needed to conduct further investigation and verification, and could not provide a definitive conclusion at this time. This means that the production's release in that country remains uncertain.
"What should we do? Time is of the essence!" The publicity manager paced anxiously back and forth in the conference room.
Ling Yichen took a deep breath and said, "We can't sit idly by. On the one hand, we should continue to communicate with the relevant departments of this country and provide more supplementary materials; on the other hand, we should speed up our preparations for responding to the investigations by the other two countries. As for this evidence, we will not disclose it for the time being and observe the situation further."
Thus, the production team once again plunged into a tense and busy period. They further refined their evidence materials to meet the censorship requirements of the other two countries, while also preparing more detailed cultural interpretation plans. Ling Yichen and Jun Moran personally communicated with cultural institutions and media in each country, striving for their understanding and support.
However, just as they were focusing all their efforts on dealing with the crisis, their competitors struck again. They spread rumors through various channels, claiming that the production team's new drama had serious quality problems, with stiff acting and numerous plot holes. These rumors spread rapidly online, causing doubt and concern among some uninformed viewers.
"This is outrageous! They're trying to drive us to our doom!" The actors were all indignant after learning about the rumors.
Ling Yichen and Jun Moran knew they had to take action to salvage their reputation. They decided to use social media platforms to release highlights and behind-the-scenes footage of the new drama, showcasing its high quality and the actors' superb performances. Simultaneously, they invited renowned film and television critics to watch the series and provide objective and fair reviews.
Thanks to the production team's efforts, online public opinion began to gradually shift. Many viewers, after watching exciting clips and reading professional reviews, regained their anticipation for the new series. However, this only temporarily alleviated the pressure from public opinion; the real crisis remained unresolved.
As the week-long deadline approached, Jack contacted Ling Yichen again. He stated that the platform remained very interested in releasing the new drama, but due to the current controversies and uncertainties, they needed the production team to provide a clear solution by today; otherwise, they would consider abandoning the collaboration.
Ling Yichen and Jun Mozhan felt unprecedented pressure.
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