Hey! The Criminal Assistance System Can Even Be Used Like This? 56

Deleting the cosplay makeup video and waiting three days caused Yun Ziwei to be puzzled. Three days wasn’t that long, though, so Yun Ziwei felt she could still bear it.

As soon as the three-day deadline arrived, Yun Ziwei urged Xu Zhizhi to hurry up and increase her popularity before the red carpet event. Chen Han also needed it; this year was crucial for her promotion to A-list star. She had a very successful television drama at the beginning of the year, and the drama airing at the end of the year was also expected to generate significant traffic. As long as the ancient costume drama could achieve minor explosive popularity, she could truly transform from a second-tier actress to a first-tier star. Xu Zhizhi also urgently needed the traffic to solidify her position in the entertainment industry and win this mutually beneficial battle.

After being inexplicably kept waiting for three days, Yun Ziwei’s patience had reached its limit. Xu Zhizhi apologized while releasing the video, retouched again by Lin Yu, officially launching her first marketing campaign. She wasn’t comfortable with it, but Lin Yu explained that the entertainment industry was like that; if Xu Zhizhi wanted to avoid being exploited and still make money, she couldn’t remain completely unpolished. Besides, it was no different from showcasing her talent; gaining more people’s affection wasn’t wrong. It has to be said, Lin Yu was good at comforting people.

The video was officially released from Xu Zhizhi’s account, and paid traffic promotion began. If it hadn’t been a “forced push,” Chen Han could have retweeted it, and other video bloggers would have started to imitate the video, creating a storm.

“The video title is set as: ‘I only asked you to do a makeup imitation, not to change your head!'” Lin Yu pointed at the video title and showed Xu Zhizhi a smug smile. Xu Zhizhi looked at the title, feeling a little uneasy. Was her imitation makeup really that impressive? However, remembering that Zhang Yumming hadn’t guessed her identity without her telling him, she had to admit that the Criminal Assistance System’s output was indeed excellent. However, with insufficient facial transformation uses left (only 6), she urgently needed to learn the art of facial transformation.

The outdoor film crew was delayed due to filming issues, giving Xu Zhizhi a day off. Taking advantage of the break, Xu Zhizhi began to learn according to her own understanding. Facial transformation not only involved understanding the other person’s face but also understanding her own face, then replicating and recreating an identical appearance. Even if Xu Zhizhi only needed to learn enough for her own use, it would require considerable effort. So, she started practicing from seven in the morning, later buying a Ball-Jointed Doll (BJD doll) and some tools and paints, turning it into a doll customization project. Because of working on such a small face and needing one-stroke completion, Xu Zhizhi’s skills improved significantly, and she learned very detailed customization. Finally, she started to try simple facial transformations on herself, constantly adjusting until everything was right. Thanks to Xu Zhizhi’s exceptionally good skin, a day of such effort only resulted in slight redness.

Lin Yu was a BJD doll enthusiast. Seeing Xu Zhizhi transform a doll bought from a local online marketplace into other dolls she liked, she became incredibly enthusiastic, begging Xu Zhizhi to customize her dolls later. She paid for the doll Xu Zhizhi had modified and felt an overwhelming sense of happiness. Xu Zhizhi wanted to just give it to her, as it was just practice, but Lin Yu vehemently refused, saying that finding someone with skills as good as Xu Zhizhi in the circle was extremely difficult – they were impossible to book – and the original price was a bargain!

Lin Yu later posted the modified doll on Weibo, prompting many inquiries about who had done the makeup and requests for appointments. While delving deeper into learning facial transformation, Xu Zhizhi’s cosplay makeup imitation of Chen Han suddenly gained a massive following on the short video platform. In just a morning and an afternoon, Xu Zhizhi received over one million likes, quickly reaching the top of the largest short video platform. Before anyone could repost the video, Yun Jiu’s prepared team quickly launched operations, creating accounts on various platforms to post the video and promote it. It quickly became a viral sensation across all platforms, and Yun Jiu’s network of influencers quickly started producing videos to maintain the heat. Chen Han’s retweet, at this point, was just icing on the cake.

Most of the comments were extremely surprised because Xu Zhizhi’s video didn’t use any beauty filters. Watching her quickly apply makeup and gradually transform into Chen Han’s appearance had a tremendous impact on the viewers.

“Is this a ‘head-changing technique’? I watched Xu Zhizhi transform into Chen Han with my own eyes!”

“Before clicking on the video, I thought it was clickbait; now I know it’s a technical master!”

“A blogger specializing in video authentication has confirmed that Xu Zhizhi’s video shows no signs of post-production synthesis; it’s a real, hand-done head change!”

The comment section also included members of the *The Tracker* crew stating that Xu Zhizhi always did her own makeup for her roles in the crew, and her makeup test received the director’s praise! This might have even alerted Qian Qian, who liked and replied using the official account of the *The Tracker* crew.

It was indeed marketing, but it wasn’t a “forced push”; instead, it unexpectedly generated far more traffic than the company team had imagined. It was clear that Xu Zhizhi had a lucky streak. This was extremely rare in the entertainment industry. The key was that when Lin Yu later posted more daily vlogs with Chen Han, the likes were almost equal to the previous video, and the comment section was filled with positive comments. The length of the videos didn’t affect the completion rate; even various cute animal makeup looks instantly became the new traffic code for the beauty section!

An unexpected harvest. Even Chen Han didn’t expect that this collaboration, done as a favor for Xu Zhizhi, would significantly boost her commercial value. Her Weibo and other platform followers increased by over two million. It was almost on par with the company’s top-tier actresses! Chen Han’s manager, who had initially been quite critical, almost cracked a smile upon seeing these figures.

Xu Zhizhi remained detached throughout, only learning about the news from Lin Yu’s constant chatter.

“It’s so late; nothing bad will happen! Those things you imagine won’t happen!” Xu Zhizhi comforted the worried Lin Yu. She stuck to her routine, practicing in the evening before washing up and going to bed. She also reminded Lin Yu to go to bed early and not to worry too much about those things.

Lin Yu looked at the carefree Xu Zhizhi, feeling helpless. “Zhizhi, you’re so fearless! With such massive traffic, there will surely be all kinds of strange people emerging.” Especially on the short video platform, many unpleasant things had happened before.

“Mhm! So, before anything happens, let’s sleep first!” Xu Zhizhi poked her head out from under the covers. “When something does happen, we’ll have the energy to deal with it, instead of getting bogged down beforehand!”

It has to be said, Xu Zhizhi’s words made perfect sense. Lin Yu nodded, “Okay, let’s sleep.”

Still, this was good; regardless of what happened, composure was best. So, Lin Yu washed up and went to bed. However, before sleeping, Xu Zhizhi felt a sense of being watched. But she thought she should be fine; after all, she hadn’t done anything wrong and hadn’t offended anyone. No one would plot against her without reason, right? Thinking this, Xu Zhizhi closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Xu Zhizhi could sleep; some others couldn’t. The entertainment industry was a place of favoritism and the pursuit of traffic, even someone as laid-back as Xu Zhizhi couldn’t escape it, let alone others. Especially seeing Xu Zhizhi’s fan base steadily growing, their eyes were red with envy. As the enemy soared and they fell, painful emotions would accumulate.

A man who had just been explicitly rejected by the film crew stood on the roadside, his face illuminated by the streetlights, revealing a ferocious expression. Xu Zhizhi didn’t know him, but he unilaterally considered her a rival. They were both signed to Yun Jiu around the same time, except he was signed after Yun Jiu acquired his agency. When they joined Yun Jiu, their positions weren’t that different. It happened that he also started with villain roles, so he paid attention to Xu Zhizhi, albeit with pity. Because Xu Zhizhi was a woman, the villain role limited her career path in the entertainment industry.

He had thought that perhaps, in time, he could pursue Xu Zhizhi. If possible, they could hype up their CP (Couple). He even thought of a name for their CP: Villain Couple. At that time, he had played a villainous second male lead with a significant role in a historical romance drama. Although the drama was lukewarm, he believed he was better than Xu Zhizhi. Therefore, he felt he had been pretty good to Xu Zhizhi.

His pity for Xu Zhizhi changed in an instant. Once, he heard that Xu Zhizhi signed with Yun Jiu thanks to Director Zhou’s recommendation. And before joining the company, she had even starred in Director Zhou’s drama! Transitioning from a television actor to a film actor was a difficult step for many actors. Xu Zhizhi possessed enviable luck, while he had spent five years to achieve the same level.

Just as he felt they were on equal footing, the low-budget web drama, *The Black Raven*, unexpectedly exploded due to Xu Zhizhi’s involvement. Xu Zhizhi quickly rose to fame, and he often heard his manager’s sighs about how “minor fame relies on luck, major fame relies on fate,” and Xu Zhizhi clearly belonged to the latter. He admitted that he felt twisted at this moment; could five years of his efforts be less than a few months of Xu Zhizhi’s?

He began to suspect that Xu Zhizhi had charmed film investors or Director Zhou; otherwise, she wouldn’t have bridged the gap from web drama actor to film actor. This suspicion brought an odd sense of balance to his mind, until Xu Zhizhi was cast as the female lead in a film by the new genius director, Qian Qian.

The female lead role—what did Xu Zhizhi do to deserve it? Based on her previous acting skills, she should never have gotten the script. Jealousy fueled hatred, growing into a towering tree. He saw her makeup imitation video early on, watching Xu Zhizhi directly transform into someone else, his eyes flashing with intense hatred. He thought of the method he had used to deal with a small-time actress. Back then, he had used that method to make that actress disappear from the entertainment industry.

He took out his phone and started typing rapidly. Then the other side started quoting a price. The moment he saw the price, the man hesitated; it was too expensive. Sending it would mean emptying his savings. But thinking of Xu Zhizhi’s success, his eyes instantly hardened. He didn’t want Xu Zhizhi to reach a higher position than him. He wanted her to fall, to become dust beneath his feet. Like the previous actress, go home and live a quiet life, don’t dream of reaching the top overnight!

He pressed the numbers, entered the password, and completed the transfer. The other side replied with “OK.” The man also showed a look of anticipation. He just wanted to see Xu Zhizhi fall. And if he didn’t do it, others would, right?

At midnight, in the comment section of Xu Zhizhi’s imitation makeup video, a comment quickly rose to the top:

Little Grass: [First, I have no intention of attacking Xu Zhizhi. I just want to say, Xu Zhizhi, this video hurt me.]

[I’m not afraid of my information being leaked or cyberbullied. I just want to say now that I was once deceived by someone skilled in makeup and disguise. The person tricked me into a small mountain village, and I stayed there for three years.]

[No one knows how much I suffered in those three years, what inhuman treatment I endured. I don’t want to see this kind of so-called makeup technique spread.]

[This video reminds me of the past, of those tears and blood.]

[If it weren’t for the persistence of the police and my family, I would still be trapped in that remote mountain village because of sympathy for someone with a deceptive appearance.]

[I hope everyone will be cautious in imitation, and I hope that the tragedy I experienced won’t happen again.]

The short video platform had character limits for comments, so Little Grass’s comment was posted in installments as replies to her original comment. Nighttime traffic was no less than daytime, so many people quickly noticed the comment. The story of a young girl deceived by such sophisticated disguise and trafficked to a mountain village immediately attracted significant attention. How many were insincere internet users (water army) is unknown. In any case, the rapid increase in likes brought the comment to the top, followed by a one-sided “reflection” on the makeup imitation. For instance, using it for criminal purposes – criminals disguised themselves as similar people or vulnerable individuals to attract women or children before trafficking or deceiving them.

Following Little Grass’s initiated “reflection,” the number of people criticizing and intensely “analyzing” the situation increased. Xu Zhizhi’s comment section became chaotic. Marketing accounts quickly captured and reposted screenshots, even evaluating Xu Zhizhi’s cosplay makeup imitation.

At 3 am, before Yun Jiu could react, the other party launched a large-scale attack across the internet. The short video platform’s trending topics and Weibo’s top three trending topics were all about discussions and criticism of Xu Zhizhi. They accused Xu Zhizhi of providing criminals with ideas by posting such a video, suggesting that she might have used this technique to deceive others. The speed was shocking.

When Yun Ziwei contacted Xu Zhizhi, she was fast asleep and thought she was dreaming when she heard the phone ring. The phone rang for more than ten seconds before Xu Zhizhi fumbled for it, squinting as she answered. “Yun Jie, what’s wrong?” In the middle of the night, Yun Ziwei wouldn’t call unless it was important. While speaking, Xu Zhizhi sat up, turned on the light, and rubbed her temples to clear her mind.

“Something happened. I’ve sent you a screenshot. An account named ‘Little Grass’ posted a comment in your comment section. Netizens have been incited to believe that your realistic imitation makeup will create more victims like Little Grass.” Yun Ziwei paused before continuing, “They believe you are at fault, an accomplice, for creating such a realistic imitation, and are attacking you.”

Knowing Xu Zhizhi’s strong psychological resilience, she quickly explained the situation. Seeing that Xu Zhizhi didn’t respond, Yun Ziwei quickly added, “Do you have any good ideas? If public anger isn’t handled properly, you might have to disappear from the public eye for a while.” Deleting comments was already too late; since this matter spread so widely, deleting them would only fuel accusations of guilt.

The situation was incredibly thorny because, according to the commenter’s words, Xu Zhizhi had been framed as a trafficker. If not handled well, Xu Zhizhi might be forced to retire from the industry. But Yun Ziwei didn’t say it so bluntly. Of course, Yun Jiu’s public relations team wasn’t idle. However, the results were minimal; before they could react, the internet was flooded with Little Grass’s statements. They naturally realized it was unusual, but that wasn’t the priority now.

Xu Zhizhi exited the interface, opened the picture and enlarged it slightly, then frowned slightly. After reading it, she didn’t feel guilty; she sympathized with the other person’s experience. But it was the other party’s comments that quickly pushed her into the abyss. She thought for a moment and went to the other person’s profile, which was a recently registered account.

“Have you tried contacting this person?” Xu Zhizhi asked.

Yun Ziwei quickly replied, “Several teams have sent private messages, but the person hasn’t responded.”

Xu Zhizhi removed her finger from the private message button, looking at the empty works section of the account. To be honest, Xu Zhizhi didn’t mind retiring, even though the money she had earned wasn’t enough for her retirement yet. But she didn’t want to retire under such unclear circumstances. She had a clear conscience; why should she retire because of one comment?

“Yun Jie, you must have a plan, right?” Xu Zhizhi asked.

Yun Ziwei hummed, “We plan for you to record a video, make a statement about the video content and show some vulnerability; vulnerable people are easily sympathized with. After showing vulnerability, we’ll publicly explain and express sympathy to Little Grass.”

Not an apology, because an apology would mean admitting that Xu Zhizhi was wrong. A normal person would know that releasing a realistic cosplay makeup imitation video wasn’t wrong.

Yun Ziwei then outlined the subsequent response strategy, mainly to keep a low profile and let the heat subside. The focus was on expressing concern, explaining that imitation makeup was a type of video and there was no intention of causing harm, and finally, stating that she opposed crime.

Lin Yu was already standing at the door, her eyes filled with anger. She wanted to tell the whole world that Xu Zhizhi was a righteous person, and how could someone twist her video content based on one comment? Thinking this way, Lin Yu vented her frustration to Xu Zhizhi after she finished the call.

Xu Zhizhi smiled faintly and comforted her. Xu Zhizhi needed to film during the day, so she took advantage of the evening and tidied her hair, changed clothes, and started filming without makeup. Sitting in front of the phone camera, looking at the prepared lines, Xu Zhizhi couldn’t utter a word. She knew it was her own grievance. She had only released an ordinary video, but because of a comment of unknown truth, she had to wake up in the middle of the night to explain and comfort the other person.

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