[imagesource:netflix]

Since its release last month, the new Netflix series 3 Body Problem has been watched by millions of people all over the world.

The three-book series adaption, about a fictional past, present and future wherein Earth encounters an alien civilisation, has been credited with propelling China’s budding science fiction genre after its publication in 2008. But now, a large part of the drama is taking place in a courtroom in Shanghai.

It turns out, one of the key players behind the adaptation was sentenced to death just a day after the show’s release.

The former executive at Yoozoo Games, which has links to Game of Thrones and the new Netflix series, was just sentenced to death for plotting the poisoning of the founder of the high-profile Chinese gaming company. Xu Yao poisoned the food of Lin Qi in December 2020 because of a dispute over the running of the business, the Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court said.

Lin (pictured below on the left), who was 39 and sometimes dubbed China’s “billionaire millennial”, died about 10 days later. Police detained Xu (pictured on the right) a few days after Lin’s death.

Image:here

Gaming tycoon Lin’s company Yoozoo Games owns the rights for film adaptations of the Chinese science fiction epic and Xu, who was known as a distinguished lawyer, became consumed by professional rivalry after Lin sidelined him shortly after he helped land the Netflix deal in 2020, the court noted per the BBC.

Within months of this apparent slight, Lin was dead – the victim of a poisoning plot described as both “premeditated” and “extremely despicable” by the court last week.

For fans of The Three-Body Problem, which is set against the backdrop of China’s Cultural Revolution, the parallels are clear.

“At least we know that Xu Yao and Lin Qi have read The Three-Body Problem thoroughly. Lose your humanity and you lose a lot; lose your animal nature and you lose everything,” said one comment on China’s Weibo.

Lin and Xu were said to be fine working together initially. Lin entrusted Xu with leading a subsidiary named The Three Body Universe just a year after Xu joined Yoozoo as the company’s chief risk officer in 2017. The subsidiary oversaw the acquisition of intellectual property rights for film adaptations, and both individuals collaborated closely to negotiate the deal to turn the novel into a Netflix original series.

But when Lin decided to put other executives in charge of business operations, Xu began to plot his revenge.

Some reports said he set up a company in Japan to acquire the lethal substances and even tested them on animals. Xu then disguised the substances as probiotic pills and gave them to Lin. Lin checked himself into the hospital when he felt unwell after taking the pills and was initially in stable condition, but then he died on Christmas Day 2020 before ever getting to 40.

Four other people were sickened by the stuff but did not die after Xu poisoned beverages in the office between September and December 2020, the court said in a statement.

Lin’s sudden passing sent shockwaves through China’s gaming and technology industries, triggering extensive speculation. However, it would be years before the complete details surrounding his death surfaced, despite Xu being taken into custody within days.

Following his death, Yoozoo issued a statement on its official Weibo microblog which read: “Goodbye youth… We will be together, continue to be kind, continue to believe in goodness, and continue the fight against all that is bad.”

3 Body Problem is the first book in a trilogy called Remembrance of Earth’s Past, by Chinese author Liu Cixin. The novel has been translated into close to 30 languages since it was published in Chinese. It has remained among Netflix’s most-watched programmes since its release on 21 March.

It is worth a watch but don’t count on a second season at this rate.

[source:bbc]