Song Junhan fled Gu's Entertainment.
Even after getting into his car and returning to Junlin Entertainment, the fear and hatred still consumed him.
Without taking a moment to process his stress, Song Junhan immediately ordered an investigation into the original author of "I Am the Great City Lord" and whether the plagiarism claims were true.
The overlap between the two novels was over ten percent, and some commenters in the original work's review section had already pointed out that "I Am the Great City Lord" plagiarized "A Vacant City in My Dreams," making the investigation not difficult.
Upon seeing the results, Song Junhan collapsed onto his chair, a cold sweat breaking out on his back.
Song Junhan promptly summoned the company's legal department. Faced with these findings, the legal team also found themselves in a difficult position.
After much deliberation, the legal department representative spoke, "Mr. Song, the current situation is not in our favor. It would be best to settle this privately."
Song Junhan leaned back in his executive chair, his brow furrowed. Finally, he asked, "What are our chances of winning?"
He had previously gone to Gu's Entertainment to provoke them, and now he was being told to settle privately.
How could they settle privately?
Should he beg that Mr. Gu?
He couldn't bring himself to do it!
The legal department staff exchanged glances, then hesitantly replied, "Less than twenty percent."
Hearing this answer, Song Junhan abruptly swept the files on his desk to the floor, shouting, "A bunch of useless people! What's the point of keeping you all on the payroll! Useless!"
The legal department staff lowered their heads, not daring to respond.
The evidence was conclusive, and Gu's Entertainment's legal department was notoriously formidable, comprised of top-tier experts.
If they had been able to control the initial conditions, manipulate data and backend systems, or drag out the timeline, it might have been different.
But Mr. Gu had already issued a lawyer's letter to Song Junhan, indicating that any such minor maneuvers would be extremely difficult.
Could they be blamed for this?
This project had been initiated by Song Junhan himself, driven by his eagerness to prove himself. All departments had given the green light. If he hadn't been so rushed, perhaps they could have discovered the problematic nature of the book earlier.
But…
Now that the television series was already airing on satellite TV, it was undeniably too late to discover this.
"Mr. Song, from the submission of materials to the court issuing a summons, then to the trial, first instance, second instance, and the possibility of further appeals if dissatisfied, this process takes a very long time," someone finally spoke up in a low voice. "If we can stall until the finale of the television series, we should be able to mitigate the damage to some extent."
Hearing this, Song Junhan's expression improved slightly. "We'll do as you say."
No matter what they did now, they had to suppress this matter, let the drama conclude, and then deal with the rest.
"Also, regarding that plagiarizing original author, gather all the evidence. Once this is over, I will hold him accountable!" Song Junhan still had some sense left. Only by completing this step could all the blame be shifted to the original author, clearing [Junlin Entertainment]'s name.
This way, the impact on Junlin Entertainment would be minimized, and the company's future development would not be hindered.
Recalling Gu Yaoyang's mockery, Song Junhan clenched his fist at his side.
This time, he absolutely would not change the company's name, and he would not give Gu Yaoyang another opportunity to mock him.
"Yes," the legal department staff breathed a sigh of relief and then hesitantly asked, "Mr. Song, shouldn't we also try to negotiate with Gu's Entertainment?"
After all, such matters should be delayed as much as possible, and it would require cooperation from Gu's Entertainment.
"..." Song Junhan was extremely unwilling but had to bow to reality.
He had considered going himself, but the thought of Gu Yaoyang's gaze sent shivers down his spine, so he decided to delegate the task.
The chosen person needed to hold a relatively high position in the company, be articulate, and be loyal.
He did not want to let the organization know about his significant blunder at this time.
Before Song Junhan could choose someone, Gu's Entertainment's legal department had already posted the lawyer's letter online, directly tagging Junlin Entertainment.
Furthermore, Gu's Entertainment took the opportunity to launch their own web drama, "A Vacant City in My Dreams," quickly setting a broadcast date and explicitly stating in the promotional copy that the work was the original creation plagiarized by the satellite TV hit "I Am the Great City Lord."
Gu's Entertainment had also clearly exerted pressure on the original author and the serialization website of "I Am the Great City Lord." The plagiarizing author immediately issued a public apology with sincere words, and the original novel was even taken down by the website with a 404 error.
This move undoubtedly dropped a torpedo into the already bustling entertainment industry, stunning the onlookers and leaving Song Junhan bewildered.
Almost simultaneously, the phones at Junlin Entertainment were ringing off the hook. Song Junhan managed to answer the first few calls patiently and respond cautiously, but he then proceeded to hang up and turn off his phone.
"Gu Yaoyang…" Song Junhan glared, gritting his teeth, "You are ruthless… truly ruthless!"
Earlier, at Gu's Entertainment, he seemed to be playing a long game, but now he was clearly aiming for a swift victory, intending to crush him completely.
It had only been an hour and a half since he left Gu's Entertainment, and Gu Yaoyang had accomplished all this.
Was he not giving him even a moment to breathe?
Not only that, but he was deliberately trampling on the commercial empire that he had painstakingly built over time, using his efforts as a stepping stone to promote Gu's Entertainment's own drama!
Disgusting! Utterly disgusting!
When the satellite TV station's leadership called the company to inform them that the broadcast of "I Am the Great City Lord" would be suspended starting that evening until Junlin Entertainment completely resolved the issue, and even threatened to pursue breach of contract penalties, Song Junhan finally broke.
"You all want to force me to my death, don't you?
Fine! Very good!
Even if I die, I'll drag you down with me!" Song Junhan's eyes turned bloodshot, and he abruptly stood up, immediately ordering, "Do not respond to the plagiarism matter at all. Immediately find someone to release a statement exposing that Gu's Entertainment had an accident on set, with equipment collapsing and injuring two actors… no! Say two spectators were killed, and that Gu's Entertainment deliberately used this incident to divert public attention to suppress the matter.
After half an hour, have someone release another statement, claiming this was a deliberate setup by Gu's Entertainment to eliminate rivals and attempt industry monopolization. It would be best to involve the Gu family and claim that the Gu family had severed ties with Gu Yaoyang."
"This… the first part is understandable, but the second statement… no one would dare to publish it, would they…" the staff member hesitated, as this was not merely muddying the waters but also involved the Gu family of the capital and Mr. Gu himself.
"Bribe them!" Song Junhan was beyond caring now. He could not lose, no matter what, at least not to Gu Yaoyang and Xia Qing Tian.
Song Junhan's expression was resolute, and his tone firm, "No matter how much money it costs! Throw it in!"