Chapter 50 A Traitor
Chen Yang turned around and walked towards Liu Ran's office after hearing Zhu Que's words.
Entering the office, Liu Ran, Su Ya, Liu Xiaomei, and Lin Yueyu were gathered around the desk, sighing.
Liu Ran muttered, "This is really strange. How could every single copyright be sold? Is it that easy to sell copyrights for online literature now?"
"And these are all millions. Does it mean that novelists now have an average income of millions?"
Su Ya also shook her head and asked Lin Yueyu, "Yueyu, you've been in this industry the longest. Were the copyrights for these novels always this difficult to buy?"
Lin Yueyu immediately shook her head and said, "No, actually, it's absolutely not like this. Only the copyrights for books by top authors are easily sold."
"For ordinary, high-quality writers, their books are very difficult to sell copyrights for. Their monthly royalties are only a few thousand to over ten thousand, just enough to get by. It's just a way to make a living. Where would so many people buy their copyrights?"
Liu Xiaomei also slapped the table and said, "Yes, this is too unfair. We've inquired with over thirty novelists these past few days."
"Honestly, some of their books I couldn't even finish reading. Although the plots were good, their writing style was really terrible. How could their copyrights be sold?"
"And sold for such high prices, it's truly baffling."
Liu Ran sighed and said, "If we can't buy scripts now, we won't be able to proceed with the subsequent film and television production."
"Should we find a screenwriter now to write the script? In that case, the quality of the script won't be easy to control, and most importantly, it will take too long, and the outcome will be unpredictable."
Chen Yang walked over and asked Liu Ran, "Wife, what's happening?"
Liu Ran sighed and nodded, "Yes, the short video we filmed before was very popular, and the public fan account for the short video has accumulated over thirty million followers. This number is terrifying. It can be said that as long as there are no hiccups, our next web series will definitely be a hit."
"But as we were preparing for the web series, all the actors and other personnel were in place, but the script got stuck. We want to film a historical web series, so we planned to select scripts from current historical online novels."
"However, even slightly well-known scripts have already been bought. The most frustrating thing is that we asked about over thirty less-known historical books and intended to buy them for millions, but in the end, these books were also snatched up with their copyrights bought in advance."
"We have everything ready now except for the script. Yet, this script, which we thought would be the easiest to acquire, has turned out to be the most difficult. Selecting a good script is very challenging. Our film and television department is truly in a state of utter chaos right now."
Chen Yang frowned upon hearing this and said, "This is a bit strange. I also read online novels. Most writers have very meager incomes and simply cannot sell their copyrights. How about this, I'll go to the film and television department to take a look."
Lin Yueyu said, "Let's go together."
After speaking, the two of them walked out of the office side by side.
Lin Yueyu sighed and said, "Liu Ran trusts me and made me the director of the film and television department. But now, all the money has been invested, and we haven't even taken the first step. I truly feel I've failed Liu Ran's trust."
Chen Yang smiled and said, "There are risks in doing anything."
As they spoke, they arrived at the film and television department. The entire twenty-third floor belonged to the film and television department, and the staff was quite numerous.
Lin Yueyu led Chen Yang to office 302. Inside the office, there were over ten employees, each browsing online for information on recent historical novels.
Whether they were physical books or online novels, everyone was currently making efforts to find novels with adaptation value, preparing to buy them immediately for adaptation and filming.
Chen Yang looked around and nodded, "Alright, I understand. Let's discuss everything tomorrow."
Chen Yang gave Lin Yueyu a playful smile and turned to leave.
Upon returning to his own security office, Chen Yang called two subordinates and quietly gave them some instructions.
The two subordinates were stunned and asked Chen Yang, "Celestial Venerable, you mean for us to install hidden cameras in the film and television department?"
"But that's against the rules. That place involves employee privacy, and there are many well-known stars in the film and television department. If it's discovered, aren't you afraid your wife will impose household discipline on you, Celestial Venerable?"
Chen Yang glared at his subordinate, feeling a bit speechless.
In the past, these subordinates were respectful towards him and dared not joke around. Now that they were security guards and he was the security captain, these guys were really getting too bold.
Chen Yang said, "Just install it as I told you. Hurry up. Especially in the copyright department, you must monitor the entire surrounding area. Go."
Chen Yang kicked one of the subordinates and then drove both of them out of the office.
The film and television department was very busy. After all, even filming a web series consumes immense resources and manpower.
Society is now operating at a very fast pace, and the filming speed of web series also requires speed. Therefore, there are often three to five teams filming simultaneously.
Coupled with special effects teams, makeup teams, etc., sufficient support is needed.
Now that the department's plans were complete and many people had been recruited, the daily payroll was in the millions. If scripts couldn't be produced, it would be a complete waste.
The next morning, in Liu Ran's office.
Liu Ran, Su Ya, Lin Yueyu, and director Yu Long sat around the table, their brows furrowed.
Lin Yueyu sighed and said, "It's really strange. Yesterday, our copyright department screened five acceptable online novels and prepared to acquire them immediately. But we discovered that someone had already bought all five of these novels in advance."
"These five novels were very obscure, just written acceptably. Our employees exhausted themselves reading them, their hair falling out, only to be late again. It's exhausting!"
Yu Long on the side shook his head and said, "It seems we have to find another way. We can only hire a few screenwriters and write while we film. Only then can we ensure the copyrights are ours."
"A large number of filming personnel are already in place, and the actors have also been selected. Their schedules are only for the next two months. After two months, they will go to other film crews. We can't afford to delay any longer."
Just as the four people in the office were sighing continuously.
The office door was pushed open, and Chen Yang walked in.
Chen Yang held a USB drive in his hand. He closed the office door behind him and smiled at Liu Ran, saying, "Wife, the reason has been found."
Liu Ran looked at Chen Yang curiously and asked, "What reason?"
Chen Yang shrugged and said, "The reason why we can't buy copyrights. I said long ago that it's very difficult to sell copyrights for online novels now. Most famous top authors never rely on this."
"But lately, we've bought so many books, and they've all been snatched up by others. There's clearly something wrong here."
Liu Ran's eyebrows twitched, and her pretty face turned towards Chen Yang as she asked, "Something wrong? What is it?"
Chen Yang dangled the USB drive in his hand and said, "Because there's an inside mole in the copyright department."