Poison, Betrayal, and a Sci-Fi Empire: China Executes Man Who Killed Gaming Billionaire

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A Deadly Betrayal at the Top of Shanghai's Tech World

Chinese authorities carried out the execution of Xu Yao on May 21, a former senior executive at Shanghai-based Yoozoo Games, following his conviction for the murder of the company's founder, Lin Qi. Yoozoo Games holds the rights to the television and film adaptations of "The Three-Body Problem" — one of the most celebrated science-fiction series in modern literary history.

Lin Qi died in late December 2020, just 39 years old, only days after being hospitalized. He had been secretly and systematically poisoned by Xu, who had served as the head of one of Yoozoo's subsidiary companies.

The Motive: A Grudge Born from a Netflix Deal

At the heart of the killing was professional jealousy — and a bitter sense of injustice. Xu had been instrumental in helping Lin Qi secure the licensing agreement with Netflix for the trilogy's television adaptation, a major commercial achievement for the company. Yet rather than being rewarded, Xu found himself increasingly pushed to the sidelines within the organization.

Feeling overlooked and resentful, Xu reportedly spent the equivalent of tens of thousands of US dollars acquiring highly toxic chemical compounds — including alpha-amanitin, a deadly substance naturally occurring in certain poisonous mushrooms and one of the most potent biological toxins known to science.

A Calculated, Hidden Poisoning Campaign

This was not an act of sudden violence. Xu carried out a methodical, extended poisoning scheme over time. He concealed the toxic substances inside ordinary, everyday items: probiotic supplement capsules, coffee pods, water containers, and whiskey bottles — the kind of things colleagues routinely share without a second thought.

Lin Qi fell ill and was hospitalized in December 2020, dying within days. Several other Yoozoo employees also became sick after being exposed to the contaminated items, though all of them survived.

Trial, Conviction, Execution

Xu was arrested, tried before the Shanghai High People's Court, and convicted of intentional homicide in 2024 — receiving the death sentence. The execution was carried out on May 21 of this year, according to reporting by Shanghai business outlet Yicai Global and subsequently confirmed by Yoozoo Games itself through an official statement on Chinese social media platform Weibo.

In that statement, the company expressed relief that the long legal process had finally concluded, describing it as justice served for Lin Qi's memory. All staff, the statement said, were deeply grateful that the case had reached this outcome.

The Sci-Fi Empire Lin Qi Left Behind

Lin Qi's legacy is inseparably bound up with one of the most remarkable publishing phenomena in recent Chinese literary history. "The Three-Body Problem," written by Liu Cixin, is the opening volume of a trilogy that has been translated into more than 40 languages. It follows humanity's first contact with an alien civilization — partly set against the dark backdrop of China's Cultural Revolution — and explores themes of survival, civilizational fragility, and the moral limits of power.

Liu Cixin became the first Chinese author ever to win the Hugo Award, science fiction's most prestigious prize. In China, the trilogy ignited a broader cultural boom spanning video games, films, exhibitions, and a rapidly growing publishing industry.

Netflix's "3 Body Problem" series, released globally in 2024 and produced by the showrunners behind "Game of Thrones," became an international phenomenon — a tribute to the commercial vision that Lin had relentlessly pursued before his murder.

Justice Served — But in a System That Deserves Scrutiny

China's judicial system operates under the direct oversight of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which maintains ultimate authority over major legal proceedings. The country carries out more executions annually than all other nations combined, according to Amnesty International — with proceedings that frequently lack the transparency and defendant protections considered standard in democratic legal systems.

In this particular case, however, the verdict — death for a premeditated, calculated, and prolonged murder — mirrors what most international legal frameworks would regard as a proportionate response to the crime committed.

For the staff of Yoozoo Games, and for the millions of fans of the "Three-Body" universe worldwide, the execution closes a painful chapter that began with a poisoned coffee pod and ended with the loss of one of China's most driven entertainment visionaries.

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Sources:

1. Reuters – China executes man for poisoning gaming tycoon behind "3 Body Problem": https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-executes-man-poisoning-gaming-tycoon-three-body-problem-2026-05/
2. Radio Free Asia (RFA) – Yoozoo Games founder Lin Qi poisoning case concludes with execution: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/yoozoo-lin-qi-execution-2026
3. Amnesty International – Death Penalty 2024: Global Report: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/research/2025/death-penalty-2024-global-figures/
4. BBC News – The Three-Body Problem: China's sci-fi sensation explained: https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-68494350

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