Chapter 77: Plot in Motion

Chapter 77: Plot in Motion

The premiere ratings of "Voices of the Dead" were of great concern to the key members of the production team.

As soon as Lu Xu woke up, he saw Shao Yao posting various monkey emojis bouncing all over the place in the group chat.

Lu Xu: '...'

It felt like witnessing an introvert turning into an extrovert firsthand.

But according to Shao Yao himself, he is only this active in the "Voices of the Dead" group.

Director Xu Yan was on edge, while scriptwriter Zhao Jincheng, on the other hand, remained calm. As he put it, the show has already aired, and the audience has watched it. What's the use of being nervous? They can't change the numbers.

"It won't be bad, don't worry."

Lu Xu himself has a strong pull. The first two episodes of "Voices of the Dead" had tight pacing, with the suspense perfectly timed. In terms of editing, Xu Yan put in a lot of effort, removing any elements that disrupted the flow of the show.

In Zhao Jincheng's opinion, "Voices of the Dead" definitely wouldn't flop.

Even if it doesn't become a massive hit, it would at least have a loyal fanbase.

The premiere ratings would take another half an hour to come out, so Zhao Jincheng decided to search for audience reviews of "Voices of the Dead" first.

As a scriptwriter, he cared more about the script's reception.

"Watching 'Voices of the Dead' late at night is really spooky... My mom came out to use the bathroom, and it startled me so much I couldn't move."

"Jiang Lin concluded it was a solo crime, but the criminal investigation team had a different take. I'm curious, how did the criminal operate?"

"Curious about the crime method +1, why can't 'Voices of the Dead' air 10 episodes a day?"

"This kind of detective show is perfect for binge-watching, right? Plus, it has supernatural and thriller elements, it's amazing."

After searching around, Zhao Jincheng found that the majority of the audience was discussing the plot. Even if some talked about Shao Yao and Lu Xu's performances in the show, it was still in the context of the plot, with the main focus being on the roles Jiang Lin and Su Yang played in solving the case.

Zhao Jincheng silently breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, "Voices of the Dead" had only aired two episodes. It was a good sign that the audience was willing to continue following the plot.

Zhao Jincheng picked up a pen and wrote the number 9000 on a piece of paper.

Even if it didn't break 10,000, with Lu Xu's current influence, breaking 9,000 shouldn't be difficult.

On several rating websites, "Voices of the Dead" had a score of 9.5, similar to the start of "The Path of Bones."

"The ratings are out!"

Xu Yan sent a message in the group, and Zhao Jincheng immediately went to search for it. But before he could find the results, he saw Xu Yan send a long "..." in the group.

Zhao Jincheng: "?"

His internet was a bit slow, so he didn't refresh it in time.

"..." Was it bad or good?

"It's much better than I expected."

Zhao Jincheng: "..."

So, what’s the deal with the ellipsis?

His internet finally came back on just then, and Zhao Jincheng immediately saw that "Voices of the Dead" was topping the popularity charts.

"Voices of the Dead" was also the only drama that day to hit over 10,000 in popularity.

"Impressive," Zhao Jincheng messaged Xu Yan, "I’m talking about Lu Xu, not you."

Xu Yan: "I’m the director here, just saying."

A show’s early buzz is more about the actors; quality matters later on. Of course, some dramas are so bad that they lose viewers after just two episodes, so there’s no point in expecting more.

Zhao Jincheng could confirm that if someone else played the lead in "Voices of the Dead," it would be difficult for the drama to hit over 10,000 in popularity.

...

When the data for "Voices of the Dead" debuting with over 11,000 came out, a lot of people in the industry were speechless.

Though unwilling to admit it, the moment they saw the popularity of "Voices of the Dead," they felt like Lu Xu had 'made it.'

He already had the pull of a top-tier actor.

Especially since the cast of "Voices of the Dead" wasn’t exactly star-studded, and the genre wasn’t exactly hot right now. Whether competitors were willing to admit it or not, Lu Xu played a big part in the show’s premiere numbers.

"It’s just the premiere, no need to overhype it, right? 'The Empress' had a much stronger premiere than 'Voices of the Dead.'"

"+1 +1, I know Lu Xu is eager to rise, but he’s pulling the same old moves again."

"So 'Voices of the Dead' only hit 11,000? I thought it was 17,000."

The "Voices of the Dead" team ignored the bitter comments from the outside world. Zhao Jincheng, in particular, was confident because the story of "Voices of the Dead" was just getting started.

Starting from the third episode, Jiang Lin and Su Yang began their investigation into the case.

S City is a massive metropolis with over ten million people. While the skyscrapers are undoubtedly glamorous, the city also has its share of ordinary neighborhoods, places that most people might not even notice.

The area marked on the map looked small, but if measured by foot, it was quite a distance.

Su Yang followed the information provided by Jiang Lin to search for clues, finally zeroing in on a coastal urban village.

Su Yang was driving, with Jiang Lin in the passenger seat. As they passed a certain street, Jiang Lin would open the window and listen carefully for a moment. As they moved forward, the audience could hear a steady, rhythmic drumbeat.

Every time they passed a new area, Jiang Lin would provide some information—the production team wasn’t playing riddles with the audience, but the information Jiang Lin provided usually wasn’t the final answer, requiring viewers to analyze as they watched.

"Jiang Lin’s like a crime-solving NPC."

"...What’s the special meaning behind the sound of broken glass? I don’t get it at all."

"Ah! Jiang Lin and Su Yang just made eye contact, and that bicycle bell sound was really eerie. I feel like I’m starting to grasp the logic of the case, but I still don’t fully understand!"

The car continued to move slowly, and the area marked on the map grew narrower. Jiang Lin kept his eyes closed, deep in thought.

By this episode of "Voices of the Dead," viewers almost never associated Jiang Lin with Lu Xu’s other roles, as Jiang Lin didn’t fit the "handsome" category. However, in this scene, with his eyes closed, Jiang Lin’s expression was no longer casual but instead showed a rare seriousness, making many viewers feel that "this guy is actually quite handsome."

At one moment, Jiang Lin opened his eyes: "This is the place."

Su Yang nodded.

They got out of the car and entered a narrow alley.

Su Yang kept a close distance to Jiang Lin.

It was clearly afternoon, but the accelerating music or chaotic drumbeats created unease, and the alley seemed darker, as if untouched by sunlight for ages.

Their footsteps on the stone slabs were neither heavy nor light, Jiang Lin’s pace was almost leisurely, yet it oddly reminded him of a pleading voice he’d once heard.

Maybe it was near an alley like this.

At one point, the outside noise felt like a death knell.

Su Yang handled the questioning, while Jiang Lin lowered defenses—his demeanor made him more approachable than Su Yang.

The questions were carefully chosen, with unpleasant details and specifics of time and place intentionally vague.

Naturally, they pieced together the image of a young girl living alone.

Another figure was someone who appeared abruptly in the urban village and then vanished.

The two were closing in on the criminal.

Since Jiang Lin had identified the victim, he could infer more details from the victim’s profile... like the sound of footsteps scraping the ground, suggesting the perpetrator’s left foot wasn’t agile.

He appeared in the morning, though the exact time was unclear, but the uncles and aunts who’d lived in the urban village for years would remember who the girl met and whether she’d gone out.

Though the village’s surveillance didn’t cover every corner, the crime’s timing was clear.

Finding a man on a specific bike, with a limp, strong arms, and possibly carrying heavy items, was easier than finding a needle in a haystack.

When the criminal fled to another city to strike again, the S City Criminal Investigation Brigade had him cornered.

Su Yang joined the arrest, while Jiang Lin handled identification.

In the first case, the audience barely knew Jiang Lin and Su Yang, only that Su Yang was a stoic tough guy, far stronger than Jiang Lin—

Like, a thousand times stronger!

Su Yang’s ferocity during the arrest, the power in his fists... the audience thought Jiang Lin needed to see it.

#Does Jiang Lin know you’re like this?#

"Shao Yao’s fight scenes are stunning!"

"Whoa, so intense! The tough guy’s hurt."

Su Yang stayed silent until this moment, when the audience saw his rage and understood why he partnered with Jiang Lin—he believed in justice more than anyone and couldn’t stand lives being taken by criminals.

The caught criminal showed a look of despair, both angry at being caught and in pain from being beaten, and after Su Yang returned to the car, the first thing Jiang Lin asked him was: "Why didn’t you beat him a few more times?"

"Don’t just aim for the face."

The audience: "..."

These two are cut from the same cloth.

But they also felt that compared to the pain of the victims, the few hits the criminal received were definitely light.

"Great!!"

"Jiang Lin is incredibly capable; the information he provided perfectly matched the criminals' patterns. He and Su Yang are like brains and brawn—when they act, it’s always a game-changer."

"I’ve decided to go back and rewatch these two episodes; there were some parts that didn’t quite make sense to me."

"I must say, the way they meticulously pieced together the truth is downright scary. Ordinary people could never extract so much information."

"Absolutely spine-chilling!"

In just four episodes, the criminal of the first case has been apprehended, and suddenly, discussions about "Voices of the Dead" have skyrocketed.

The first two episodes didn’t conclude the case, leaving many mysteries unsolved. Even if viewers wanted to recommend it, they couldn’t find the right hook, only able to say, "The protagonist can hear the voices of the dead," to which the person being recommended would usually respond, "And then what?"

And then, well, there was nothing more to say.

But the conclusion of the first story was different.

The case was particularly mind-boggling. Without the supernatural elements, it certainly wouldn’t have wrapped up so fast. The pacing was fast, without a single moment of drag, almost pulling a clear thread out of the chaos for the audience to follow and uncover the truth.

Even if it was hard to understand at first, as long as you followed the show’s logic, the audience could inevitably piece together the entire case.

In this season, "Voices of the Dead" was already the most anticipated series.

Indeed, many in the industry were waiting for "Voices of the Dead" to flop, expecting it to go the way of "Watchmen" and "The Empress."

However, after the first case concluded, what popped up on the trending list was a post by a well-known film blogger: "Decoding the First Case of 'Voices of the Dead,' Discussing Those Easily Overlooked Details."

In just four episodes, less than three hours, this blogger listed over 30 details: "Personally, I believe these are all foreshadowing and hints. Every subtle sound in the series is not redundant, and some frequently appearing items, like the bike bell, correspond to the subsequent plot developments."

Another blogger analyzed Jiang Lin and Su Yang’s method of narrowing down the scope: "This is a common technique in handling criminal cases…"

And there was also "Analyzing the Subtle Details of Su Yang and Jiang Lin’s Synergy in 'Voices of the Dead'…"

The latter didn’t really need analysis, as the audience had already mentally dissected it many times.

Of course, the bloggers’ interpretations were different from those of the average viewer, leaning more towards analyzing how their synergy propelled the case forward.

But whether it was the bloggers’ analysis or the viewers’, it all proved that "Voices of the Dead" had already captured the audience’s attention with the first case.

The next morning, the latest popularity of "Voices of the Dead" was announced—13,000+.

A whopping 2,000 points higher than its premiere!