AD | Chapter 9

After stating Lin Shuyao’s conclusion, Lu Qingfeng could clearly feel the atmosphere in the conference room becoming heavy. However, he ignored this abnormal ambiance and continued to explain the current progress.

After he finished, Jiang Huainan spoke up to report, “Captain Lu, I investigated all the surveillance cameras around Taining Mountain and identified four taxis that might be related to the man in black. But we still need to call the drivers to confirm which specific vehicle it was.”

“Alright, you and Xiao Tao handle that. I’ll go to Rongguang Group later. Currently, the only clue we can trace is this Rongguang Group.”

“From all the materials we’ve been able to access, this Rongguang Group is indeed a very mysterious place. Tao Yu, explain the specific situation.”

Hearing this, Tao Yu nodded and opened the file in his hand. “Rongguang Group is a large internet company that has developed in recent years. The boss’s name is Song Wenbo. The boss also has an older brother. In addition, the largest real estate company in Rongzhou City is also owned by the boss. It is understood that the streamers under this company are basically between the ages of twenty-three and twenty-five. They are all somewhat famous on Douyin or Kuaishou. However, these streamers have very simple backgrounds. Before signing with the company, they were all individual accounts, so after signing, the accounts belonged to the company.”

“There was a very hot news topic online not long ago related to this company. It seems a Douyin blogger exposed that Rongguang Group blurred key points during signing, set harsh requirements for effective live streaming duration after signing, and demanded high penalty fees if streamers couldn’t meet the company’s requirements due to physical exhaustion. It caused a huge stir,” Tao Yu said.

“The three deceased persons in our case have only one thing in common: they all worked as streamers at Rongguang Group. I think this is not a coincidence.”

Lu Qingfeng nodded. “Does anyone have anything else to add?”

“Not for now,” Tao Yu said.

“Good, let’s leave it at that for now. Everyone, hurry up. Xiao Jiang and Xiao Tao, go check the taxis first. If there are any other clues, call me immediately.”

“Yes,” Tao Yu and Jiang Huainan said in unison.

After speaking, Lu Qingfeng left the conference room directly.

Watching his departing back, Tao Yu felt momentarily confused. He turned to Jiang Huainan and asked, “Hey, Jiang-ge, why is it that ever since Doctor Lin came to the municipal bureau, the Boss only takes him out on field duty and not us? And he makes me go out with you separately?”

Unexpectedly, Jiang Huainan glanced at him lightly and said, “What do you know? This is called… Forget it, kids shouldn’t know about this.”

Hearing Jiang Huainan say this, Tao Yu became unhappy. He shouted, “Hey, no, Jiang-ge, I’m only a few years younger than you. How am I a kid? Why can’t you tell me!”

Hearing this, Jiang Huainan burst out laughing. “Captain Lu and Doctor Lin knew each other in high school. What do you think their relationship is?”

Hearing this, Tao Yu became even more confused. He scratched his head and said, “What does this have to do with the Boss always taking Doctor Lin out on field duty? Is it just because they are close buddies? Then aren’t I half-buddies with the Boss? Why doesn’t he take me out on field duty and always makes me go with you?”

“Alright, let’s go, idiot. You won’t figure it out no matter how much you think. Let’s go. Don’t forget what the Boss instructed us to do,” Jiang Huainan said.

Tao Yu was speechless. Just as he wanted to continue refuting, he saw Jiang Huainan had already walked to the door of the conference room. Helplessly, Tao Yu suppressed the dissatisfaction in his heart, stood up, and walked toward Jiang Huainan.

After walking out of the conference room, Lu Qingfeng saw that Lin Shuyao, who should have been in the car, was actually standing at the door of the conference room. He was startled, then reacted. “Didn’t I tell you to wait in the car? Why are you here?”

“I just remembered I left something in the forensic office and came back to get it. I wasn’t waiting for you. I just happened to see you having a meeting inside when I passed by the conference room. I was about to leave when I ran into you,” Lin Shuyao glanced at him and replied calmly.

Lu Qingfeng touched his nose, feeling somewhat awkward. He intended to take out a cigarette to smoke, but after searching for a long time, he not only failed to find the cigarette pack but was also grabbed by Lin Shuyao, who stuffed a candy into his mouth.

He stood there stunned for a good while before taking the lollipop out of his mouth. The sweetness melted in his mouth. It was strawberry flavored again.

Seeing this, Lin Shuyao asked confusedly, “What’s wrong? Do you not like this candy? But I only brought this flavor today. Next time, I will definitely change the flavor for you.”

Upon hearing these words, the confused one became Lu Qingfeng instead. He said bewilderedly, “No, I wanted to ask why you stuffed a lollipop in my mouth?”

“Didn’t you have a craving for cigarettes? Weren’t you looking for the cigarette pack just now? I thought giving you a candy might help alleviate it slightly,” Lin Shuyao replied.

Lu Qingfeng felt somewhat helpless. Finally, after thinking for a moment, he put the lollipop back in his mouth.

Until Lin Shuyao handed him the keys, he continued the previous topic. “I didn’t have a craving for cigarettes just now. I just remembered some troubling matters and suddenly wanted to smoke.”

Lin Shuyao did not answer, but merely smiled faintly. After both got into the car, he said, “Captain Lu, actually, I think having a craving for cigarettes and wanting to smoke mean roughly the same thing. At least it proves you wanted to smoke just now, which is why I put this candy in your mouth. Besides, I saw you looking for the cigarette pack.”

Hearing this, the corners of Lu Qingfeng’s mouth twitched involuntarily. Lin Shuyao didn’t need to guess to know that the other party must have looked speechless. Because he had done the same thing when they first started dating to stop Lu Qingfeng from smoking. Although it might seem a bit childish, this method was always effective on Lu Qingfeng.

Lu Qingfeng: “So, did you swipe my cigarette pack again?”

Lin Shuyao nodded, then shook the cigarette pack in his hand and said, “Hey, your words sound unpleasant. How can you call it swiping? I took it openly. It’s just that you didn’t see it. Besides, isn’t this caring for a colleague’s health? To be honest, I really don’t like the smell of smoke on you. It’s too choking. Caring for colleagues is everyone’s responsibility.”

Lu Qingfeng: “…” Tsk, this guy is still the same as seven years ago.

Before Lu Qingfeng could speak, Lin Shuyao directly started the next topic. “Hey, Captain Lu, are you taking me out this time to visit that Rongguang Group? After all, the only connection between the three deceased persons is that they worked there.”

“Yes. Moreover, during the meeting just now, Xiao Tao mentioned another thing about this company, which caught my attention.”

“Is it that blogger named ‘Luo Feiyu’ on Douyin?”

Lu Qingfeng was somewhat surprised. “How did you know?”

“How could I not know? Oh~ Sorry, I forgot. You are an elderly person on a 2G network, so it’s normal that you don’t know. We modern people have something called ‘trending searches.’ However, this matter caused such a big stir that Rongguang Group eventually became famously infamous,” Lin Shuyao said.

Lu Qingfeng was startled and said helplessly, “Can you speak human language? What is the specific situation?”

“This blogger named ‘Luo Feiyu’ posted a rights-protection video on Douyin. In the video, he tearfully accused Rongguang Group, saying that the group had unreachable requirements for the live streaming duration of its streamers. If streamers couldn’t meet them, their shares would be deducted. Oh, and there were penalty regulations. The actual wages received by streamers were very meager, and many people had their wages arrears for several consecutive months.”

“Then why didn’t they terminate the contract?” Lu Qingfeng asked.

“Do you think they could afford that huge penalty fee?” Lin Shuyao sighed.

“It is said that this ‘Luo Feiyu’ had a streamer who was very close friends with him. To meet the duration standards, he stayed up late for a long time. As a result, during a live broadcast, he suddenly foamed at the mouth, convulsed, and fainted in public. Thus, Rongguang Group became overnight famous. Oh, right, this streamer who fainted during the broadcast has been lying in the ICU of the Second People’s Hospital of Rongzhou City. With such big news, haven’t you investigated this company?” Lin Shuyao asked Lu Qingfeng at this point.

Lu Qingfeng nodded. “Yes, we investigated the boss of Rongguang Group. But this boss has no criminal record, and his background is clean. He looks like an ordinary businessman. If anything, he is quite successful.”

“That is precisely the problem. Previously, many streamers, including this ‘Luo Feiyu,’ spoke up for the fainting streamer online. But later, the situation suddenly changed. The netizens who originally cursed Rongguang Group went to curse the streamer who fainted during the broadcast and his family. Captain Lu, why do you think… this happened?” Lin Shuyao stopped cleverly at this point, seemingly waiting for Lu Qingfeng’s answer.

Just then, there was a red light ahead. Lu Qingfeng stopped the car, thought for a moment, and cautiously said, “What other reason could there be? Either the victim’s family or the victim fabricated facts; or the boss has powerful connections behind him.”

“Bingo, congratulations, you answered correctly. But unfortunately, there is no reward.”

“At the beginning, this Song Wenbo produced a lot of evidence to prove that the hospitalized streamer did this to profit from everyone’s sympathy. But netizens didn’t believe it. They consistently believed these evidences were fake and continued to support Luo Feiyu overwhelmingly.”

“But this Luo Feiyu who filed the complaint changed his tune temporarily, right?” Lu Qingfeng asked.

“Mhm. And no one knows the reason for his temporary change of heart. At that time, everyone was cursing him for playing them. Tsk, the internet was truly a chaotic battlefield then.”

Lin Shuyao was about to continue when he saw the red light turn green, so he simply stopped talking.