The fragile great artist was reduced to tears.
The director thought he would refuse the offer and wanted to give him some compensation to make him move on quickly to the next opportunity.
Wiping away his tears, the great artist murmured, "Fine, I will try to produce the perfect flaw."
The director was surprised, "You choose to compromise?"
The great artist nodded, feeling aggrieved, "I still have a mortgage to pay."
Well, even great artists are mortals who need to cater to their basic needs.
After the great artist’s "reprocessing," the perfect piece now bore flaws and was no longer as flawless.
The bloody scene turned into something akin to an abstract painting. Although it still had a sense of horror, most people do not find abstract paintings terrifying compared to realistic ones, which feel more frightening.
The "corpse’s" face, which was originally wide-eyed with traces of blood and dry, cracked lips, had turned a bluish hue...
But after "reprocessing," that face was merely pale as paper, with closed eyes appearing peaceful.
Bypassing the wall obstructing the view, what originally was a scene of impactful, atmosphere-rich gore, now was just a large stain of blood around the corpse with minimal splatter on the urinal and toilet—no mottling or pools of blood.
The director was very pleased, "This crudely made, dime-a-dozen special effect is not scary at all."
The Prop Master, with tears: "In the end, we bow to the evil forces of money."
The director patted his shoulder, "Once the mortgage is paid off, you’ll be a proud artist who doesn’t bend for money again."
The Prop Master choked up, "After the mortgage, there’s the car loan too."
Director: "...Fine, maybe pursue the soul of art after you retire?"
The Prop Master sighed, "The essence of art is poverty."
The director agreed, "Painters only become famous after they die; paintings aren’t valuable if the artist is alive."
The Prop Master was slightly startled, "You make a good point."
Little Taotie and his companions sat in the break room, replaying the interrogation room footage of the two "witnesses" accounts over and over.
Ji Guang, "Both spoke quite convincingly."
Girl: "There’s blood on the urinal, so the young one telling the truth. The man did kill the victim at the urinal."
Rock Band member shook his head, "But there’s also blood on the toilet, according to the man’s statement, the student killed the victim in the toilet stall."
"Both seem to be telling the truth," said Little Taotie tilting his head, "but they also seem to be lying."
"So are they both lying?" Ji Guang asked.
Little Taotie blinked, nodding, "I think they are both lying, but there’s no evidence."
The director walked in, this time he brought a lawyer along.
"This is the lawyer for the young one."
Later, another lawyer came, representing the man.
Both lawyers had the same message: currently there is no evidence that their clients are the murderers.
Little Taotie looked confused, "I don’t quite understand."
The girl was equally confused.
They both had little knowledge in the area of law.
Ji Guang frowned and looked towards the director.
The director responded, "Both are witnesses, but they accuse each other, so their testimonies are not credible, and legally ineffective."
"So, what both said is useless?" Ji Guang asked.
The director nodded, "It’s equivalent to having no eyewitnesses; if there’s no testimonial evidence, they will soon be released as not guilty."
"Not guilty? Why? Both are suspects!" the girl asked, puzzled.
"That’s how the law works."