Chapter 281 - 274: Backer
"He wanted to film my friend, and I stopped him. Is that a crime? You’re all adults—can you stop making baseless accusations?"
Wu Ming grabbed Jiang Li’s hand and prepared to take another route. However, they had barely taken two steps when the group blocked their path again.
"Apologize to Feifei!"
Looking at the unreasonable mob in front of her, Jiang Li simply pulled out her phone and called the police.
"Hello, is this the C City Police Station? My friend and I are being blocked by a group of strangers, and they’re holding weapons."
"Hey, hey, hey! What nonsense are you spouting?!"
The group hadn’t expected Jiang Li to actually call the cops. Frightened by her words, they quickly dropped the items in their hands onto the ground.
Seeing this, Wu Ming remembered that the police hadn’t left the area yet. She cleared her throat and screamed at the top of her lungs, "Help! Help! Murder!"
Xu Chengfu was still on the phone with the station, trying to find out who Jiang Li was, when he heard a sudden cry for help. He hurriedly led his team toward the commotion as his colleague’s voice continued over the phone.
"Jiang Li? Oh, I know. Didn’t word come down from above recently? If we encounter Jiang Li, we are to cooperate with her fully, no questions asked.
"I heard she’s incredibly capable and can solve any case. The higher-ups also explicitly stated that we must never blow her cover."
"Alright, got it," Xu Chengfu said, recalling her cryptic words from earlier that day.
"Go see where Jiang Li went. Is she still around?" Xu Chengfu instructed his nearby colleagues.
"The fire department seems to be looking for her too," a colleague replied. "She charged into the sea of flames to help out today and even saved lives. They were in a rush to get the injured firefighters to the hospital at the time.
"By the time they realized it, Jiang Li was already gone. It seems she was taken away by a friend. They’re trying to track her down as well."
Upon hearing this, Xu Chengfu’s expression turned incredibly grave. "Search! We must find her. She knows who set the mountain on fire.
"Those three animals... we have to catch them!"
As Xu Chengfu hurried over with his team, he saw seven or eight people surrounding two young women, shouting aggressively.
"What’s going on here?!"
Wu Ming stepped forward and laid everything out in a rapid-fire tirade. "Officer, I want to report them for spreading rumors, defamation, and endangering my personal safety.
"This streamer named Feifei came over earlier today shoving a phone in our faces. I told him my friend couldn’t be on camera. It was bad enough that he insulted me, but now he’s inciting cyberbullying!"
"No, Officer! We just wanted them to apologize. Hitting people is wrong in the first place!"
"He was in the wrong first! I already told him no filming! Oh, right, I also need to sue him for infringing on our portrait rights!" Wu Ming retorted.
"Stop!" Xu Chengfu hurriedly interrupted. With voices coming at him from all sides, his head was BUZZING.
"All of you, come back to the C City Police Station with me!"
It was only after Xu Chengfu spoke that he noticed Jiang Li standing behind Wu Ming. His eyes instantly lit up.
"Jiang Li, you haven’t left! This is fantastic!"
"I won’t leave until the arsonists are caught," Jiang Li said calmly.
"Thank God!" Xu Chengfu exclaimed, turning to his subordinates. "What are you standing around for? Hurry up and get the cars!"
The officers beside him immediately jogged off to fetch the vehicles.
The group of troublemakers exchanged uneasy glances as they watched Xu Chengfu’s deferential attitude. A bad premonition welled up in their hearts.
"Damn it! I’m so pissed!" Wu Ming muttered. "Does he think he’s a big deal just because he’s an internet celebrity? Who isn’t an internet celebrity these days?!"
Sitting in the police car, Wu Ming grew angrier the more she thought about it. She logged into her video account and posted an update:
"I am the so-called villain Feifei is talking about.
"I won’t bother explaining myself. Offering a massive reward! Did anyone record the entire incident? Unedited video with audio. Reward: ten thousand. Thank you!"
Wu Ming took a few huge gulps of water after posting the video. "BAH! Don’t force me to use my national connections!"
Jiang Li was instantly amused by her words. "It’s fine. Someone will handle it."
Having fully understood the ins and outs of the situation, Xu Chengfu watched the heavily edited video clips that had been taken completely out of context. His temples THROBBED violently.
Of all the people to film, he just had to film Jiang Li. This guy had truly messed with the wrong person.
Meanwhile, Chang Fei was still live streaming, subtly and overtly manipulating public opinion.
"I’m really fine, guys. It’s just some minor scrapes. Seeing the fire put out and everyone safe, I feel at ease," Chang Fei said, acting pitiful.
"SOB SOB SOB! Our streamer is too kind! How can such a kind person be treated like this? I’m so mad!" a viewer commented.
Just as Chang Fei finished speaking, he received a co-op request from an account with a police badge avatar. He was momentarily stunned.
He wondered if he had alerted the police this quickly, and if they were here to back him up.
"Ahem, family, a call is coming in. Everyone quiet down."
Looking at the rapidly scrolling comments, Chang Fei felt incredibly smug. He knew he would gain a lot of followers after this incident.
He accepted the connection, making sure to turn on the speaker.
"Hello, this is the C City Police Station. Your video contains information regarding key personnel. We are issuing you a warning: take down the related videos and stop spreading them immediately."
Chang Fei’s expression stiffened. He wondered who the key personnel could be.
He wondered if this was a fake cop, and if those two women had found someone to scare him.
"You say you’re the police, but do you have proof? Who knows if you’re a fake cop!"
Lu Xingye stared at Chang Fei’s live stream. There were a hundred thousand people online, all of them hurling abuse at Jiang Li and Wu Ming. Some "enthusiastic" individuals were even starting to dig into their real identities.
Looking at the stream of insults and the malicious, sexually explicit rumors being fabricated, Lu Xingye gripped his phone tightly.
He had only found out Jiang Li had gone to Datian Town after seeing the edited clips. In the video, Wu Ming was supporting her while her arms hung limply by her sides; she was clearly unconscious.
He didn’t know how she was doing now.
His expression turned ice-cold. In the very next second, he directly applied for a video connection.
Chang Fei paused for a moment but still accepted it. When he saw the person on the other end, he was instantly dumbfounded.
Lu Xingye glared sharply through the screen. "Do you still need proof?
"If you refuse to cooperate, we will take coercive measures."
"Holy crap, it’s really the police!" a viewer exclaimed in the chat.
"Did the streamer get into trouble?" another asked.
"Quick, go look! The person who pushed him is a streamer with over ten million followers! She even posted a bounty. Other streamers who were at the scene have already posted videos. The truth will be out soon!" another comment read.
Chang Fei looked at the messages flying across the screen, his heart going THUMP THUMP THUMP. He wondered what on earth was going on.
A second later, his live stream was abruptly shut down, followed immediately by a notification popping up on his phone.
Only then did Chang Fei begin to feel true fear. Right after, he scrolled onto Wu Ming’s hefty reward video. He clicked into her profile, and his vision immediately went dark.
She was a fortune-telling streamer with over ten million followers, and her fan base consisted entirely of wealthy tycoons.
A few minutes later, the local fire department also posted a statement to clarify the situation:
"According to the statements of our personnel, this lady disregarded her own safety to charge into the sea of flames to help, and even saved three of our members at a critical juncture.
"Do not let kind-hearted people be disheartened. Please stop spreading rumors!
"We reserve the right to sue those who fabricate and defame!"
This statement was followed by a blurry video showing Jiang Li rushing into the inferno to help, dragging several people out, and finally jumping into a puddle.
Before Chang Fei could recover from his shock, two police officers arrived in front of him and presented their badges.
"Chang Fei, you are suspected of spreading rumors and inciting cyberbullying. Please come with us."
Chang Fei felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. He realized he was completely finished!
Wu Ming moved quickly as well. Chang Fei wasn’t the only streamer who had shown up at the fire scene.
The incident from earlier in the day had coincidentally been recorded by someone else.
"I’ll send you the video, and I don’t want any money," a voice suddenly said.
Jiang Li looked at the girl who had appeared in front of her, raising her eyes in shock.
She was stunned to realize that the girl was actually still alive!