Chapter 13: Streamer, It’s Your Time to Shine!-Desafio de transmissão ao vivo: Cem vezes entrando por engano em cenas de crime(Gato de rua)

Page 1 of 3

Police Headquarters, the Director’s Office.

Miao Hui set down the report sent by Beacon County Public Security Bureau and rubbed her forehead.

What should have been an ordinary pickpocketing operation had unexpectedly exposed a drug-trafficking case.

And it had all come to light because a pickpocket had stolen a drug dealer’s bag.

It was like a rat dragging out a shovel—the real trouble lay buried deeper.

What troubled Miao Hui even more was that, in this lifetime, she had somehow encountered a second person who seemed capable of stumbling into a criminal case wherever he went.

She massaged her temples, picked up the telephone beside her, and said, “Have Lin Tianzong and Song Xiangchen come to my office.”

A few minutes later, Lin Tianzong, captain of the Criminal Investigation Brigade, and Song Xiangchen, captain of the Narcotics Squad, arrived at Miao Hui’s office.

“Director Miao!”

Miao Hui handed each of them a paper file. “This is the report sent by Beacon County. It concerns a drug seizure and requires our support. Have a look.”

Lin Tianzong and Song Xiangchen opened the report and read it carefully.

Song Xiangchen analyzed the situation. “Based on the report, it appears that there is a drug-trafficking stronghold inside Yongsi Temple.

“The pickpockets wandering around Yongsi Temple were likely drawn there by that drug-trafficking operation.

“A considerable number of addicts have no stable source of income. They can only rely on theft to fund their drug purchases.

“Therefore, the large-scale thefts currently breaking out at Yongsi Temple are an offshoot of the drug-trafficking case.

“They are most likely addicts gathering money for drugs before making their purchases.”

Miao Hui placed both hands on the desk. “I agree. This is definitely a case of pulling up the radish and bringing out the mud.

“So we need to act on two fronts.

“First, Tianzong, organize the best pickpocket investigators in the brigade and carry out an anti-pickpocketing operation. Those addicts are almost certainly among the pickpockets at Yongsi Temple.

“These pickpockets will be our breakthrough. Once we arrest them, we should be close to locating the drug dealers’ den.

“Second, Xiangchen, you will investigate the source of the drugs. At the same time, conduct discreet inquiries and gather information. Trace the drugs back to their source and use that to locate the trafficking stronghold.”

“Yes, Director Miao!”

———

Yongsi Temple Police Station.

After giving his statement and registering the stolen property, Lu Xingzhou had his phone returned to him. By the time he stepped out of the police station again, night had fallen completely.

“This…”

Lu Xingzhou walked out of the station in astonishment. If not for the moon hanging overhead, bright enough to look at directly, he might not have been able to tell whether it was day or night.

Page 1 of 3

Page 2 of 3

In the darkness, his vision was completely unaffected. He could still clearly make out the cicadas beating their wings on the distant tree trunks.

“So this is the new skill, Low-Light Vision? This is incredible. How is this any different from daytime?”

The evening breeze in July was hot and dry, while Yongsi Temple remained as lively as ever.

Lu Xingzhou reopened his livestream.

“Everyone, your streamer is back!”

The entire screen filled with comments teasing Lu Xingzhou for ending up at the police station three times in two days.

“An accident. They were all accidents. I haven’t been livestreaming for just one day, and you all know perfectly well that I never ran into any cases before. This was simply bad luck.”

“Come on, I’ll take you on a virtual tour of Yongsi Temple.”

“Look, the river ahead is the Zhang River. Yes, the very same Zhang River where Ximen Bao supposedly fed several sorceresses to the water god, as you learned in your textbooks.”

“There’s even a pleasure boat performance in the distance.”

“Why on earth are they performing Ximen Bao feeding sorceresses to the river god?”

A tributary of the Zhang River ran through the Yongsi Temple scenic area. The water was not deep, but July’s heavy rains had made the current swift. In the distance, the pleasure boat rocked unsteadily, while spectators on the bridge cheered excitedly.

The programs aboard the boat included singing and dancing, but there were more acts involving acrobatics, juggling, magic, and the like.

The rocking vessel added an element of unpredictability, while the performers’ seemingly unfeigned mishaps made the show all the more entertaining.

At that moment, a clown with greasepaint on his face was standing on a unicycle, tossing bowling pins into the air.

Suddenly, as the current shifted, the boat lurched violently. The clown on the unicycle was hurled straight from the second deck and crashed heavily into the river.

From a height of thirty or forty meters, hitting the surface of the water was hardly better than striking concrete. He blacked out instantly.

“Someone’s fallen into the water!”

The workers aboard the pleasure boat immediately descended into chaos. Several searchlights swept frantically across the water.

The spectators on the bridge crowded together, climbing onto the edge and searching below for the fallen clown.

But by then, the night was so dark that one could not see one’s own hand in front of one’s face. The river was black as ink, and the summer current was extremely swift. The unconscious clown vanished beneath the surface in the blink of an eye.

The lifeguards on both banks could do nothing but stare helplessly. They could not see the person in the water at all.

Human effort was insignificant compared with the vast river. Even if every one of them jumped in, they would be searching for a needle in a haystack.

Then, in Lu Xingzhou’s livestream, someone started a comment.

Page 2 of 3

Page 3 of 3

<Streamer, it’s your turn to perform!>

The comments that followed quickly fell into formation.

<Streamer, it’s your turn to perform!>

…

In an instant, the densely packed comments flooded the livestream like a wave.

All kinds of gifts and tips began appearing in a frenzy as well.

Lu Xingzhou was nearly unable to keep a straight face. “Wait, you go to other people’s livestreams to watch them do crazy stunts, and you come to mine just to watch me risk my life, is that it?”

That was what he said, but thanks to Low-Light Vision, the river that appeared black as ink to everyone else was as clear to Lu Xingzhou as it would have been in broad daylight.

It was not that Lu Xingzhou did not want to save the man. He merely wanted to collect a few more gifts first.

Saving someone was right, wasn’t it?

It was!

Making money was right, wasn’t it?

That was right too!

Why couldn’t he save someone and make money at the same time?

Did being a good person mean he had to be held at gunpoint?

Lu Xingzhou raised his hand and launched his livestream drone. He connected the microphone clipped to his chest to the drone, activated the public-address function, and shouted at the bewildered lifeguards standing along the bank:

“My drone has a thermal-overlay mode. Open my livestream. The username is All About Spoiling Fans. We can share the same field of vision.”

The lifeguards stared blankly for a moment, then immediately understood what Lu Xingzhou meant. One after another, they pulled out their phones and opened the livestream.

Outside, everything was pitch-black. On their phones, it was as bright as day—and the clown floating in the water was outlined in a red box.

The lifeguards’ minds buzzed.

This was actually possible?

Although they could now see the clown in the river, the real world remained shrouded in darkness. It was difficult to determine his exact position, and rescuing him was still fraught with obstacles.

Lu Xingzhou continued shouting, “I’m going down to save him. I’ll tie a glow stick to my wrist as a beacon. Bring a boat and come get me!”

With that, Lu Xingzhou leapt from the bridge into the river.

Page 3 of 3