Man Executed After Trying to Poison Billionaire Netflix Producer

Chinese authorities have executed a former gaming executive convicted of poisoning billionaire producer Lin Qi, the man tied to Netflix’s hit adaptation of “The Three-Body Problem,” in a chilling case that sounded more like a crime thriller than a boardroom dispute.

Xu Yao, once the head of a Yoozoo Games subsidiary, was put to death on May 21 after being found guilty of murdering Lin in 2020, according to Chinese media reports. Lin, the founder of Shanghai-based Yoozoo Games, held the film adaptation rights to Liu Cixin’s blockbuster sci-fi trilogy, best known by the title of its first book, “The Three-Body Problem.”

The story behind his death was shocking. Prosecutors said Xu targeted Lin after he was sidelined inside the company, despite reportedly helping secure the major Netflix deal tied to the franchise.

Instead of walking away from a corporate feud, authorities said Xu built a poison arsenal.

Local reports said he spent tens of thousands of dollars buying highly toxic substances online, including alpha-amanitin, a deadly compound found in poisonous mushrooms. He allegedly hid the poisons in probiotic pills, coffee capsules, water containers and whiskey bottles before sharing them with Lin and other employees.

Lin fell ill in December 2020 and died days later. He was only 39. Several others were also sickened but survived.

Yoozoo Games confirmed the execution in a statement on Weibo, saying the case had “finally reached its conclusion” and that “justice has ultimately been served.”

Lin’s death stunned China’s entertainment and tech worlds. At the time, he was listed among China’s richest entrepreneurs, with a net worth of roughly $1 billion.

His company later released an emotional farewell, writing, “Goodbye youth,” and vowing to “continue the fight against all that is bad.”

The “Three-Body Problem” franchise has become one of China’s biggest global sci-fi exports, helping fuel books, games, television productions and Netflix’s 2024 series “3 Body Problem.”

But behind that international success was a deadly corporate betrayal — one that ended with a billionaire dead, several people poisoned, and the man convicted of carrying it out executed by the state.