Living in a county town, starting as a stock market maker...

"Yes, boss!"

Wang Min immediately took out her phone and contacted a local security company.

Liu Liu and Zhang Hong also got busy; one went to check the information on the constant temperature and humidity warehouse, and the other started making a list and coordinating logistics.

Star Media's job postings have listed two new positions.

Aerial photographer (S-level project experience)

Post-production visual effects artist (with experience in film-level projects)

Not many people are submitting resumes. In a small place like Hegang, it's difficult to find qualified professionals.

But Gu Ming wasn't in a hurry.

He was looking for industry experts who were willing to stay here for a short period of time for a good project.

Two days later, Star Media welcomed two interviewees.

The first one was a man in his forties, with dark skin and calloused hands.

His name is Qi Hong, known in the industry as "Old Qi". He is one of the most well-known aerial photographers in China and has worked with several internationally renowned directors.

As soon as Lao Qi sat down, he got straight to the point.

"Is it President Gu? To be honest, if the offer from the headhunter hadn't been so outrageous, I wouldn't have even considered coming to Hegang."

He glanced around the small office, his eyes scrutinizing him.

"I've looked at the project information, it's crazy, like a joke. But the list of equipment you rented is incredibly professional. Phase One IQ4, a custom-made version for aerial photography, paired with a Shotover F1 gimbal. There are only a handful of teams in China that can handle this setup."

He stared at Gu Ming.

"I want to know, what exactly are you trying to do? Spending so much money just to take a picture?"

Gu Ming smiled and pushed a document over.

"Teacher Qi, this is the airspace use permit for our flight route that we have obtained, as well as the weather window analysis report for the next week."

Qi Hong paused for a moment, then picked up the document.

The more I looked at him, the more serious his expression became.

The airspace use permit was stamped with a red seal indicating joint approval by the military and civil aviation authorities.

The weather report is detailed enough to predict wind speed, cloud thickness, and atmospheric visibility for the next 72 hours.

This is no joke.

"I'm joining."

Qi Hong put down the document and said only three words.

The second interviewee was a young woman in her early twenties, wearing black-rimmed glasses, who seemed somewhat introverted.

Her name is Xu Jing. She just graduated from the Digital Media Art major at the Beijing Film Academy, but her resume already shows that she has worked on post-production projects for two theatrical films.

"I...I watched your video, 'The Shape of Money'."

Xu Jing pushed up her glasses.

"I think your idea is... really cool. Visualizing a business budget as dynamic information is an art form in itself. I'm curious to see what you're going to do next."

Gu Ming briefly explained the concept of the project to her.

Using 150 million pixels to present the true details of a city.

The girl's eyes lit up instantly.

"Can I see the footage?"

"The materials are still on their way."

Gu Ming said, "But you can familiarize yourself with our technical requirements first."

He turned on his computer, and on the screen was a technical specification document that was dozens of pages long.

Regarding the data processing workflow of a single photo at the TB level, the color management scheme for multi-layer exposure compositing, and the final output standard adapted to giant LED screens.

Xu Jing was completely absorbed in watching, muttering to herself incessantly.

"Layered rendering... proxy server cluster... RAW format lossless transcoding... My God, you guys are going to do the post-production work of a movie with just one photo."

She looked up, her cheeks flushed.

"Boss, when can I start? I don't want to wait even a minute longer."

The office is now fully staffed and equipped.

Gu Ming looked out the window; the sky over Hegang was still somewhat hazy.

Unbeknownst to him, an investigation targeting him had already begun in the capital.

---

Beijing, China World Trade Center Phase 3, top floor.

Princeton Investment Bank, Greater China Headquarters.

Su Qingying, dressed in a bespoke suit and seven-centimeter heels, walked through the quiet office area.

Traders and analysts along the way nodded to her, their eyes filled with awe.

Su Qingying, the executive director of Princeton, is known in the capital circles for her decisiveness.

Her time is measured in seconds, and the projects she handles are often worth tens of billions.

Five minutes ago, she had just finished a video conference about a cross-border merger and acquisition.

Back in the office, my personal assistant handed me a cup of hand-drip coffee.

"President Su, the trust fund manager of the Shen family just sent an urgent email."

"In the past week, a total of 18 million yuan was transferred from Ms. An'an's personal consumption account to a small company registered in Hegang that has been established for less than a month."

"The fund's risk control system has identified this as a high-risk fraudulent transaction."

Su Qingying's hand, holding the coffee, paused in mid-air for a moment.

Hegang?

That small northeastern city where you can buy an apartment for just tens of thousands of yuan?

Eighteen million?

She put down her coffee cup, turned on her computer, and pulled up the company's information.

Xingchen Media Co., Ltd., with a registered capital of 100,000 yuan, has Gu Ming as its legal representative.

An unfamiliar name.

Su Qingying frowned.

She had always had a headache about her younger sister, Shen An'an, whom her family had entrusted to her care.

He spends money like water, acts without thinking, and spends all his time hanging out with a bunch of shady characters.

Su Qingying always thought those were just minor things, like buying a few bags, a few pieces of jewelry, and throwing a few parties.

But this time is different.

Eighteen million yuan flowed into a shell company; the whereabouts of this money seem more like a case of fraud.

"Book me the earliest flight to Jiamusi right now."

Su Qingying closed her laptop.

"Furthermore, use our resources to thoroughly investigate this company and this man named Gu Ming."

A few hours later.

A Gulfstream business jet took off from Beijing, and a preliminary investigation report on Star Media was sent to Su Qingying's private email.

The report was very simple.

A new company, and an ordinary college graduate who has just resigned from his job in the south and returned to his hometown.

The only bright spot is that this company recently made three local girls famous.

Su Qingying looked at the photos of the three girls with heavy makeup and a cold smile curled at the corner of her lips.

Scammers always use the same tricks.

First, use some small successes as packaging, then use them to deceive rich kids who have too much money but no brains.

She could almost picture Shen An'an being captivated by a dazzling dream of stardom, investing large sums of money in a conman, only to lose everything in the end.

---

The next afternoon.

A black Maybach was parked in front of the villa that Shen An'an rented.

The car door opened, and Su Qingying got out of the car.

She looked at the house in front of her, which seemed out of place in Hegang.

Even the accommodations were arranged; it seems this scam had been planned for a long time.

She didn't ring the doorbell; she just pushed the door open and went inside.

In the living room, Shen An'an was wearing a silk bathrobe, lying on the sofa doing her nails while scrolling through her phone.

She froze when she saw the figure appear at the door.

"Qing... Sister Qingying? What brings you here?"

Shen An'an put away her phone and sat up from the sofa.

Su Qingying walked up to her and looked down at her.

"Eighteen million, where did it all go?"

Shen An'an's face turned pale instantly.

"I...I invested in an art project."

She stammered, "It was a piece of performance art, incredibly impressive!"

"Art?"

Su Qingying smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.

"In Hegang, 18 million pieces of art? Is it to paint the entire city gold, or to have Picasso resurrected and paint your portrait?"

"No, it's a project called 'Seeing the Earth in 100 Million Pixels'! We want to take the most amazing photo in all of China!"

Shen An'an's eyes reddened; in front of Su Qingying, her explanation seemed powerless.

"Give me the project manager's phone number."

Su Qingying said, "I want to see him now."

Shen An'an took out her phone with trembling hands, but she couldn't get through to Gu Ming.

Finally, the call reached Wang Min.

Wang Min panicked when she heard Shen An'an's tearful pleas for help on the phone, but she remembered the word "professional" that Gu Ming had been emphasizing recently.

She took a deep breath and tried to make her voice sound calm.

"Ms. Shen, please don't worry. Please have that...that lady come directly to our company. You know the address."

Half an hour later.

Su Qingying stood at the entrance of Xingchen Media.

It was more formal than she had imagined; at least it wasn't in a dilapidated residential building.

She pushed open the door and saw the girl named Wang Min, as well as the densely packed flowcharts on the office whiteboard.

Her gaze swept over the words "secondary approval of airspace for flight routes" and "72-hour weather forecast window," a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.

"Mr. Su... Hello."

Wang Min stood up, wanting to shake hands with Gu Ming like she did, but then felt it was inappropriate, and her hand awkwardly froze in mid-air.

"Show me your project contracts, financial statements, and all the documents."

Su Qingying sat down directly.

Wang Min didn't dare to be negligent and hurriedly took out a large pile of documents from the filing cabinet.

Su Qingying picked up the first document.

"Shotover F1 Gyroscope Stabilized Gimbal Rental Contract"

She raised an eyebrow when she saw the name of the American company on the contract and the seven-figure deposit.

She recognized this device; it was standard equipment in big Hollywood productions.

Would a scammer really go to such lengths?

She picked up a second one.

These are the employment contracts and resumes of two new employees.

Qi Hong, aerial photographer.

When she saw the string of familiar names of domestic and international blockbusters on her resume, she paused for a moment.

She had heard of this person when she was doing due diligence on film and television investment projects; he was a big shot in the industry.

Would someone like that accompany a swindler in his nonsense in Hegang?

Xu Jing, post-production special effects artist.

She graduated from the Beijing Film Academy, ranking first in her major, and participated in two film projects that her investment banking team had followed up on.

This doesn't seem like a scam. Or rather, it's not a simple scam.

To use a real team with tens of millions of dollars to execute a seemingly absurd goal.

What exactly are the people behind this trying to do?

Countless possibilities flashed through her mind.

Money laundering? Capital manipulation? Or some kind of behavior she couldn't understand?

"Give me your core project proposal."

Wang Min quickly printed out Gu Mingliu's outline and handed it over, placing the top copy at the top.

Su Qingying took the plan that still smelled of ink.

She took a deep breath and turned to the first page.

She saw a name in the column for the project's chief director.

Gu Ming.

Su Qingying was stunned.

She suddenly remembered her university campus from a few years ago.

That boy who always sat quietly in the back row of the classroom, with little presence.

He had average grades and average looks. After graduation, he went to the south and was never heard from again.

In her memory, he was an ordinary person, even somewhat boring.

It's him?

The person who planned this crazy yet professional project was actually that ordinary college classmate?