AD | Chapter 10

Seeing him suddenly stop the topic, Lu Qingfeng wanted to speak. But when he turned his head, he found that the red light in front had turned green. He had to return his attention to driving. Only after they started moving again did he turn his head and ask, “So, what happened next?”

“This ‘Luo Feiyu’ suddenly released an apology statement, saying that the unequal live streaming clauses mentioned earlier were fabricated to attract attention. Rongguang Group did not exploit them. Usually, the streamers took the majority share of the live streaming tips. The reason for lying was to get the company to increase her share ratio,” Lin Shuyao said.

“This… isn’t it a bit too far-fetched? Would netizens believe it?” Lu Qingfeng asked.

Lin Shuyao nodded in agreement. “Yes, it is very far-fetched. But people had no choice but to believe it. First, the boss of Rongguang Group produced a lot of evidence. Then, the streamer ‘Luo Feiyu’ suddenly issued a statement defecting and admitting he fabricated it to attract attention. At this point, most people’s anger had overshadowed their reason.”

“Moreover, as long as one person believed it, public opinion would gradually tilt. Some netizens even demanded that the hospitalized streamer return their donations… Since then, Luo Feiyu’s comment section was basically filled with curses. Not long after, he deleted his account. After this incident, Rongguang Group became thoroughly famous.”

Hearing this, Lu Qingfeng shook his head and sighed. “Things on the internet are real and fake, true and false. Saying one thing today and another tomorrow. Netizens are so easy to deceive.”

“This is called a reversal. Moreover, there is a follow-up to this matter,” Lin Shuyao couldn’t help but say.

“Oh?” Lu Qingfeng said.

Lin Shuyao: “Just after ‘Luo Feiyu’ deleted his account, the mother of the hospitalized streamer began to accuse ‘Luo Feiyu’ of being a liar, saying they never received a single cent of the donations from netizens.”

Lu Qingfeng: “So where did the money go?”

“That is precisely what I find interesting. Don’t rush. Listen to me continue.”

“Sharp-eyed netizens discovered that although the hospitalized streamer’s mother claimed she had no money to hire a caregiver, the clothes she wore were a luxury brand. This caused a huge uproar. Have you ever seen cyberbullying?”

“To what extent?” Lu Qingfeng asked.

“Not long after, both of them died.”

“Died?” Hearing Lin Shuyao’s words, Lu Qingfeng was shocked.

“It is said that they committed suicide by burning charcoal at home. However, do you think this is possible? A mother dressed in bright, luxurious clothes, who was just sucking the blood of her comatose daughter, suddenly takes her daughter and commits suicide by burning charcoal. Isn’t that strange?” Lin Shuyao asked.

Lu Qingfeng subconsciously nodded. “It is indeed very strange. Moreover, they were cyberbullied to such an extent. Didn’t they think of calling the police for help? Why is that?”

As he was speaking, the navigation system in front suddenly rang out. They found a place to park, and the two got out of the car separately.

After Lin Shuyao finished talking about this case, neither of them spoke along the way. The atmosphere suddenly became weird. At the same time, he was thinking about what Lin Shuyao had just said.

Indeed, the behavior of this mother and daughter was inconsistent with common sense. A mother who cried in the live stream room that she had no money and couldn’t afford a caregiver, yet wore a set of luxury brands, relied on her comatose daughter to suck blood, used netizens’ kindness to raise funds, and then took her daughter to commit suicide by burning charcoal. No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t figure it out.

Why exactly?

Moreover, if it was really as Lin Shuyao said, with such large-scale cyberbullying that even threatened their personal safety, why didn’t they call the police for help?

These points were too strange.

As they walked, Lu Qingfeng thought in his heart. It wasn’t until they reached the entrance of Rongguang Group that Lin Shuyao suddenly spoke up. “Captain Lu, say, if this Rongguang Group really has problems, and we investigate too deeply, will they suddenly push out a ‘scapegoat’?”

Lu Qingfeng was startled. “Scapegoat?”

“It is the information age now. If the pressure of public opinion is too great, and public opinion puts pressure on the offending company, and considering that deaths have occurred, it is inevitable that something like ‘cutting off the wrist to save the body’ might happen.”

“Just like… when the police investigate a case, if the pressure is too high, they might arbitrarily arrest someone who is not the murderer to take the blame, and then close the case hastily…” Lin Shuyao said with a smile.

Lu Qingfeng looked at him, and his face cooled down. “Lin Shuyao, don’t forget, you are a public servant. It is good that I heard these words, not someone else. Otherwise, you would be waiting for disciplinary action!”

He stopped completely at this point, turned to look at Lin Shuyao, and said, “Or do you know something? Is that why you said this?”

“What could I know? I was just speaking casually just now. Oops, I accidentally misspoke. I am truly a law-abiding good citizen. Oh right, now I must add one more title: your good colleague.”

“Do you think someone like me, who can’t even clock in and out on time and stays up late with you at the bureau every day, could be a bad person?” Lin Shuyao said.

Lu Qingfeng: “…” I suspect you are implying that I don’t let you get off work, but I have no evidence.

“Lin Shuyao, if you hadn’t been my colleague, I would have suspected you were a dangerous criminal element based on what you just said. If someone else had been standing here, you probably wouldn’t be able to keep your job as a public servant. Don’t forget, you are a police officer, a public servant,” Lu Qingfeng stared at him, with no smile on his face.

“Fortunately, the one standing here is the impartial Captain Lu, not someone else. Besides, I am a law-abiding good citizen. After all, I haven’t done anything wrong, and I am here accompanying you to interview the masses. If I were truly a dangerous element, when the police came to investigate inside the group, I would first say nothing and suppress the matter temporarily. I would wait for the true planner to appear, then discuss countermeasures with him. Whether pushing out a ‘sheep’ or other strategies, it would indirectly divert the police’s attention.”

“As long as they can’t catch a real murderer like me, sacrificing a ‘sheep’ doesn’t matter,” Lin Shuyao said.

Lu Qingfeng frowned. He disliked Lin Shuyao speaking to him this way. It sounded uncomfortable. Moreover, his tone really sounded like someone who would do such things. Fortunately, Lin Shuyao was just standing here saying this to him.

Thinking this, he made a shushing gesture with his finger against Lin Shuyao’s lips, and then said, “It is also fortunate that the one standing here is me. However, Doctor Lin, what have you learned in these seven years? Why has your political awareness suddenly become substandard? After this case is over, I will definitely buy you several sets of high school politics and university ideology books to read. Study hard and strive to improve your ideological awareness. Let this be the last time. I will pretend I didn’t hear it.”

Lin Shuyao: “…” Are you sick?

As they spoke, the two walked to the entrance of Rongguang Group. The office building in front was decorated to look exceptionally grand, but there were not many people entering. As soon as they entered the group, they were stopped by the security guard at the door.

“Excuse me, gentlemen. Are you employees inside? I don’t seem to have seen you before,” the security guard said.

“Police.” Lu Qingfeng took out his police ID and showed it to the security guard in front of him.

“Rongzhou City Criminal Investigation Detachment. We are investigating a vicious case. Specific case information cannot be disclosed. We are here to see your boss, or your person in charge will do.”

The security guard was startled upon seeing this, then said, “Oh, okay. Please wait here for a moment, officers.” After saying this, he ran toward the reception desk inside.

While the security guard went inside, Lu Qingfeng looked up and observed the surrounding environment. It had to be said that this company looked very wealthy at first glance. The entire building was covered with transparent glass curtain walls. Lu Qingfeng couldn’t help but sigh, “The scale of this Rongguang Group is truly large.”

Lin Shuyao looked up and nodded in agreement. “If we really talk about it, it can be considered truly earning gold by the bucketful every day.”

A few minutes later, the security guard returned. Beside him was a middle-aged man with a big belly, wearing a suit.

When the man saw the two, he paused for a moment, then looked deeply at Lin Shuyao. Only then did he pile up the fat on his face into a smile and said, “Hello, officers. I am the manager of Rongguang Group. My surname is Wu. Our boss has gone on a business trip to Jiangning and is not in Rongzhou now. If there is anything, you can talk to me first.”

Before Lu Qingfeng could speak, Lin Shuyao stepped forward and said, “I noticed that you kept staring at my face when you came over. May I ask… is there something on my face…?”

The manager was stunned, then smiled. “Sorry, Officer. I just thought you looked familiar, very much like a deceased friend of mine, so I looked a few more times. I did not mean to offend you. Our conference room is over there. You two can follow me there to talk in detail.”

Lin Shuyao seemed to be thinking, nodded, and said no more.

Manager Wu extended a hand and pointed forward, then led the way in front of them. It wasn’t until they arrived at a conference room that Lu Qingfeng spoke. “Hello, I am Lu Qingfeng, Captain of the Criminal Investigation Detachment of Rongzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau. I am here today to understand some situations.”

“Okay, Officer Lu, and… this officer, please sit down,” Manager Wu said.

“Ask whatever you two want to ask.”

“Manager Wu, how long have you been working here?” Lu Qingfeng asked.

“More than ten years? I was promoted by our boss personally,” Manager Wu said with a dry laugh.

Lin Shuyao looked at the person in front of him. He noticed that the man’s hands unconsciously clenched into fists, as if he was afraid of something.

“As far as we know, your Rongguang Group is a large online live streaming company, so the people you recruit are all streamers, right?”

Manager Wu nodded. Seeing this, Lu Qingfeng asked again, “So, do you know these three streamers: Zhuo Jia, Jiang Yue, and Ye Ziqing?”