China executes man inspired by Breaking Bad to poison billionaire 3 Body Problem producer

by

Xu Yao, a former executive at Yoozoo Games, has been executed by Chinese authorities. He was convicted of poisoning Lin Qi, the company’s founder, who played a key role in developing the Netflix adaptation of the science fiction novel, 3 Body Problem.

Lin started Yoozoo Games in 2009 and grew it into a prominent Chinese gaming company, even partnering with the creators of Game of Thrones: Winter Is Coming. Beyond gaming, Yoozoo also owned the rights to adapt Liu Cixin’s popular science fiction trilogy, Remembrance of Earth’s Past—the same series known internationally as 3 Body Problem.

Lin received posthumous credit as an executive producer on Netflix’s 3 Body Problem, which launched in March 2024. Netflix also announced that filming for Season 2 started in Budapest in November 2025.

Lin Qi, founder of Yoozoo Games and executive producer of 3 Body Problem

Xu executed after 2024 death sentence

Chinese media outlet Securities Times reports that Xu was executed on May 21, 2026, following the completion of all legal procedures in China.

Following the verdict, Three-Body Universe, the company behind the franchise, released a statement confirming the case involving Lin was closed and that justice had been achieved.

On March 22, 2024, a Shanghai court sentenced Xu to death. According to the Associated Press, Xu poisoned Lin in December 2020 following a disagreement about their business. Lin died about ten days later at the age of 39.

The court determined that Xu poisoned drinks at Yoozoo offices between September and December 2020, making four other people sick. Fortunately, they all recovered.

Xu Yao, Yoozoo Games executive, was executed on May 21, 2026

According to Chinese media, the scheme was even more disturbing than initially thought. Caixin reports that Xu, a fan of the show Breaking Bad, created a makeshift lab outside Shanghai. He allegedly purchased poisons online, tested them on animals, and then concealed deadly substances within pills marketed as health supplements.

According to reports, the poisonings occurred after Xu was removed from important work related to the 3 Body Problem project. Xu used to lead The Three-Body Universe, the Yoozoo company that handled all business dealings for the science fiction series.

Lin became sick on December 16, 2020, and Xu was arrested by police in Shanghai just two days after that. Sadly, Lin passed away on Christmas Day that year, long before Netflix released its version of the story.

Lin received the death sentence just one day after the first season of his major project, the Netflix series 3 Body Problem, was released worldwide, completing a poignant connection between his life and work.

Read More

2026-05-26 23:18