Indian scams are infamous worldwide.
Since 2013, they have specifically targeted wealthy and arrogant Americans by establishing professional telecom fraud organizations. Their scams were so successful that they swindled billions from elderly Americans in their sixties and seventies.
Because of this, the U.S. Department of Justice officially listed India as a "key country for telecom fraud prevention" in 2016.
Yet, Indian scammers remained relentless and nearly impossible to guard against. They impersonated tax officials, police officers, and even Homeland Security personnel. They used forged arrest warrants, deportation orders, and fake tax payment notices to intimidate victims into transferring money to designated accounts.
Beyond telecom scams, Indian fraud rings also used text messages and malicious websites. The moment someone clicked a link, a Trojan virus would infect their device. Then, the scammers would brazenly approach victims under the guise of a "technical team" offering to remove the virus—for a fee, of course.
This time, the Lucy:Final Curtain War production team fell victim to such a scam.
A call came in from someone claiming to be from the "Indian Visa Office," stating that the crew's visas were invalid and that they needed to contact a nearby police station to reapply.
The American crew, unaware of India's notorious scams, believed the call immediately.
As soon as the production manager called the police station, two officers arrived. After inspecting their visas, the officers confiscated the crew's filming equipment, claiming some items had entered India unlawfully.
The production team panicked. They quickly tried to bribe the officers, but to their horror, the officers took the money and left without resolving anything.
After waiting for hours without any updates, they went to the police station for help—only to be told that India had no such thing as a "Visa Office." They had been scammed.
Realizing this, they immediately contacted the executive producer and Ethan.
He had also arranged for security teams and private drivers for the production crew, hoping to avoid trouble.
Yet trouble still found them.
After learning about the scam, Ethan immediately arranged for a new set of filming equipment to be shipped over. Fortunately, the crew hadn't lost too much—the larger equipment was still in customs clearance and hadn't yet reached their hands.
Still, the estimated loss was around $150,000.
The amount wasn't significant, but Ethan had no intention of letting it slide.
He immediately instructed journalists to publish a news report exposing how Lucy's production had fallen victim to Indian fraudsters.
Additionally, he had experts investigate records of American citizens scammed by Indian fraud rings and published an in-depth report.
The article featured interviews with several elderly victims who had lost everything:
"Those Indians ruined my life."
"God should punish them—they took all my savings!"
"I used to be a university professor. Now I'm homeless. The government needs to do something to stop these scams!"
These three individuals, despite their different backgrounds, had all been scammed out of their life savings.
Especially the professor—when people saw that even an educated intellectual could be deceived, the response was a mix of mockery, sympathy, and deep concern.
Suddenly, Indian fraud became a hot topic across America. People discussed it over meals, and even The New York Times published an article about the rampant scams originating from India.
Since the story involved foreign affairs and impacted ordinary citizens, it became prime news material.
Before long, the U.S. Department of Justice formally engaged in talks with India.
Shortly after, Indian authorities announced a crackdown on telecom fraud and established a dedicated anti-fraud task force.
Not long after that, as Ethan's team prepared for the final leg of filming in Tokyo, the Indian police announced that they had recovered the scammed filming equipment and arrested three suspects.
Ethan knew these three were unlikely to be the real masterminds behind the scam, but expecting Indian law enforcement to thoroughly investigate was about as realistic as expecting a chicken to start dancing.
So, Norton Eye didn't bother digging any deeper.
As for Ethan, he was now at the Tokyo Dome, preparing to film the final major scene.
"Wow, Yuki! This place is incredible!"
Stepping into the Tokyo Dome for the first time, Mayu Watanabe was awestruck by the vast, empty stage before her.
"I know, Mayu! Soon, we'll be singing on that stage. It's unbelievable!" Yuki Kashiwagi nodded, her face radiating excitement.
Meanwhile, Yuko Oshima scanned her surroundings. When she spotted the massive filming rigs and robotic arms, she gasped in admiration.
"Hollywood, huh? The equipment is insane!"
Other girls who had worked in film and TV also nodded in agreement.
In Japan, most television dramas were shot in pre-set studio spaces. Even historical productions often relied on cheap-looking sets.
For modern urban dramas, actors could at least move between real city locations. But large-scale productions? Forget about it—they simply didn't exist.
So, seeing an entire Hollywood production take over the Tokyo Dome left them in awe.
Not to mention the many foreigners around them—tall, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, and speaking fluent New York-accented English. The moment they spoke, the Japanese idols felt a little self-conscious.
Then, they spotted Scarlett Johansson in the distance.
"Oh my God! It's Scarlett!"
"She's so beautiful! And her skin is flawless!"
"Do you think we can get her autograph?"
"Maybe Mr. Akimoto can ask for us?"
The girls buzzed with excitement, struggling to contain their enthusiasm.
At that moment,Yasushi Akimoto,arrived and calmed them down before leading them to the side of the stage.
There, they saw the director of the film—Ethan.
"It's Director Norton! He's so cool! I watched Inception three times!"
Yuko Oshima's eyes sparkled with admiration, as if she wanted to rush over and ask for his autograph right then and there.
"So he's Director Norton! He looks so young."
"Yeah, but don't be fooled—he's won an Oscar! He's one of the greatest directors in the world!"
Yuko passionately introduced him to the other girls, who were stunned by this revelation.
Then, they saw Yasushi Akimoto, respectfully exchange a few words with Ethan.
To their astonishment, the world-class director soon started walking toward them.
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