Chapter 371: Mysterious Woman!

In an office in Beverly Hills, the sunset outside the floor-to-ceiling windows dyed the entire Los Angeles skyline a deep orange.

The office's decor was typical old Hollywood style—dark solid wood wall paneling, heavy wine-red curtains, a giant movie poster of The Godfather hanging on the wall, and wooden bookshelves beneath the poster filled with Golden Globe and Palme d'Or trophies.

Beside the bookshelves, an old-fashioned vinyl record player was playing a jazz piece, the saxophone's timbre flowing slowly through the room.

Sitting behind the desk was a man in his sixties, wearing a dark blue custom suit, his tie hanging loosely at his collar, unknotted.

His hair was completely white, but combed very neatly, every strand lying flat against his scalp.

Spread out on the desk in front of him was a printed document.

The cover of the document bore a title, written in bold, black font: "Chu Chen——THEFOURHORSEMENPROJECT."

The subtitle was: Basedontrueevents.

He flipped to the second page.

On the page was a photo of Chu Chen performing at Russell Square, enlarged to a size that almost filled the entire page.

The producer's gaze lingered on that photo for a long time.

His right hand held a pen, the tip tapping lightly on the edge of the photo, once, twice, three times, like someone knocking on a door, unsure if anyone was inside.

The female assistant stood at the doorway, holding a tablet, the screen displaying an email that had just been received.

She cleared her throat: "Sir, Warner has also sent over a letter of intent; it is said their budget is higher than ours."

The producer did not look up.

His gaze remained on that photo: "Those people at Warner, they only know how to make superheroes. They see Chu Chen doing parkour and think this is another Spider-Man. They don't understand what this person is doing."

He put the pen down, leaned back in his chair, and shifted his gaze from the photo to the crystal chandelier on the ceiling.

The crystal facets refracted fine, diamond-like light in the afterglow of the sunset.

He is not an action hero. He is an elegant, righteous magician. He is using the form of crime to do something that charities have thought about for a hundred years but never achieved. That is the core of the story. It's not a magician stealing things; it's a person using incredible methods to correct the injustices of this world...

At the same time.

In Netflix's office located in Hollywood, another producer was also looking at the same materials.

Spread out on his desk were more photos—

The bloodstains Chu Chen left on the glass curtain wall of the Bloomsbury Building.

His back as he spread his arms on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House.

Surveillance screenshots of him wearing a uniform and holding a food tray inside the Temporary Detention Center.

Every photo was arranged on the desk by him in chronological order, like a strip of film being spliced together, growing longer and longer.

"This is the real crime film."

He said to his screenwriter, his voice carrying an excitement that bordered on greed, the kind that only appears when seeing massive profit: "His story alone is already more brilliant than all crime movies from the past ten years combined. We don't need to write any plot. We just need to find someone who can play him."

The screenwriter sat opposite, holding a cup of coffee that had already gone cold:

"But the problem is, who is suitable to play him? He is not a villain in the traditional sense, nor is he a hero in the traditional sense. He stands between the two, like a tightrope suspended in mid-air. You need an actor who can make the audience, when they see him, both fear him and hope he wins..."

"I don't know, but I believe you can solve this problem."

At the same time!

In a high-rise apartment in Manhattan, another independent producer was calling his investor.

His voice was loud: "This is not a movie; this is an entire series. The performances of the Four Horsemen, each one could be an independent movie! A tetralogy! He alone can support a Magic Thief Universe!"

The voice on the other end of the phone was somewhat hesitant: "But right now there are several countries looking for trouble with him; will we have any problems if we film a biography of him?"

The producer's voice lowered, but the certainty in his tone did not diminish at all: "Isn't that even better? Problems are box office! Audiences love controversial stories! They love to see what the person behind those wanted posters stuck on the walls actually looks like!"

Time flew by.

Finally, three days later arrived.

The second phase of the Simulated Crime competition officially ended.

The Expert Group did not catch Chu Chen.

When the announcement that the competition had ended popped up on the livestream screen, the barrage did not show the expected disappointment, nor the frustration of losing again.

There was only one line of text in the barrage, repeated by everyone over and over again, like chanting a sutra: "See you in the third phase."

Late at night, Yanjing.

After returning to Huaxia, Chu Chen did not show his face, only accepting invitations to attend press conferences and several exclusive interviews after the competition ended, keeping him busy for several full days before things finally settled down.

This night, after finishing an exclusive interview with CCTV, he drove home by himself.

When he arrived at the Yanjiao Villa Estate, it was exactly 12 o'clock at night.

He was wearing a dark gray hoodie as he stepped out of the driver's seat.

The villa's lights were dark.

Just as he opened the door, he discovered something wrong!

The door lock had been opened by someone!

Realizing something was amiss, Chu Chen stood before the entryway, using Spatial Perception to clearly outline the three-dimensional structure of the entire villa—the living room, kitchen, stairs, bedrooms, study, and basement.

The dimensions of every room, the thickness of every wall, and the path of every pipe spread out in his Spatial Perception like a highlighted blueprint.

The next second.

He perceived something that was not in that blueprint!

A person.

To be precise, a woman!

She was sitting on the sofa in the living room, holding no weapons in her hands, and there was nothing unusual about her.

She was wearing a black bodysuit and looked very capable.

Even with her long hair, it could not hide that innate heroic spirit!

She just sat there like someone waiting for another.

Seeing this, Chu Chen opened his eyes.

The curtains in the living room were drawn open, and the streetlights in the courtyard cast parallel, slender shadows of light onto the living room floor through the gaps in the blinds.

"You've finally returned," the woman said indifferently, seemingly having noticed Chu Chen.

Chu Chen stood on the threshold between the entryway and the living room, his foot not yet having stepped inside.

Hearing the woman speak, he did not evade, answering very calmly: "Who are you?"

"Snap."

The villa's lights were suddenly turned on.

The woman turned her head to the side.

Her eyes reflected a faint light, like two planets burning in the darkness.

"You don't need to know who I am," she said, her voice not loud but possessing a great sense of Force.

"Speak," Chu Chen said. "What is your purpose in coming to find me?"

The woman smiled slightly, stood up, and swayed her figure as she walked before him, saying: "Young man, have you heard of the Huaguang Society?"