Villain? No, I'll catch up with the protagonist after passing the civil service exam.

The Jinghai International Convention and Exhibition Center became the brightest "star" in the city tonight.

Under the enormous dome, the lights shone brightly and the music was deafening. Thousands of top internet celebrities from all over the country were at a grand cosplay party, showcasing their talents at various booths and live streaming rooms.

However, when Lu Jingyan led the special investigation team into the venue silently, he felt as if he had not come to some kind of "internet celebrity festival," but rather stumbled into the Spider Cave from "Journey to the West."

Demons danced wildly.

Area A is the "e-commerce live-streaming sales" zone.

A female anchor dressed in ancient costume, who calls herself "Sister Bird's Nest," is tearfully telling the camera her "touching story" of going deep into the mountains and forests to pick bird's nests by hand.

"Family members! It's not about making money! I just want to bring you the best things from these mountains!"

As she spoke, she took out a crystal-clear bird's nest from an exquisite wooden box beside her and showed it to the camera, "Look at the quality! Look at the strands! This is blood bird's nest that we risked our lives to harvest from the cliff! Today, it's not 998, not 888, only 99.8 yuan! Click the link!"

Lu Jingyan stood outside the crowd, coldly watching this scene.

The "crime radar" in his mind turned bright red.

[Large-scale fraud detected! The target, "Sister Bird's Nest," is selling counterfeit and substandard products made from pig skin and chemical additives!]

"Xiaoxiao, record this," Lu Jingyan whispered into his earpiece. "Notify the Market Supervision Administration to prepare to close in."

Section B is the "Outdoor Adventure" section.

A muscular, dark-skinned male streamer is leading a few so-called "fans" in a performance of "wilderness survival".

He had just started a fire with two stones and was preparing to roast a pheasant he had caught from who-knows-where when suddenly, several "villagers" dressed in tattered clothes and covered in soot rushed out from the side, grabbed his legs and started crying.

"Our benefactor! Thank you for building the road for our village!"

"If it weren't for you, we would never have been able to leave these mountains in our entire lives!"

The male news anchor, looking righteous, waved to the camera: "Folks, get up! This is what I should do! I just did a tiny, insignificant thing!"

The live stream was instantly flooded with comments like "positive energy" and "tears welling up," and the gift effects even covered up the streamer's face.

Lu Jingyan almost burst out laughing at the clumsy acting.

[Ding! Fake charity and malicious hype detected! The target is "Wilderness Mountain," using hired actors to scam netizens out of donations!]

"Tiezhu, go check the ID cards of those 'villagers'." Lu Jingyan's voice carried a hint of amusement. "I suspect they're extras from some film crew in Hengdian. Their acting skills are much better than Xiao Huohuo's."

Section C is even more important.

That's the "Talent Showcase" section.

A group of scantily clad female livestreamers were wildly twisting their bodies in front of the camera. Their dance moves were utterly devoid of any grace; the only common thread was the minimal amount of fabric they used, coupled with their extreme movements, each one teetering on the edge of revealing too much.

"Thanks for the rocket, bro!"

"Would you like to see me do the splits, bro?"

The air was filled with foul language.

Lu Jingyan only glanced at it, but he felt as if his eyes had been polluted.

[WARNING! WARNING! Large-scale vulgar and pornographic performances detected! This is a serious violation of the Cybersecurity Law!]

"This is hardly an online influencer festival!"

Zhao Tiezhu, following behind, was utterly bewildered by this bizarre scene. His worldview was shattered. "This is clearly a large-scale online and offline operation combining fraud, pornography, and money laundering!"

"You're only finding out now?"

Lu Jingyan pushed up his glasses, his eyes as cold as ice. "Now, do you understand why there are red dots all over here?"

Because this place is home to the largest and most concentrated group of scourges in the online world.

Behind each of them is a gray industry chain, and each of them is using different methods to harvest the intelligence and wallets of the ignorant fans in front of the screen.

"Captain Lu, the alarm for the murder case on the second floor is still going off!" Su Xiaoxiao's voice came through the earpiece, tinged with anxiety.

"I know."

Lu Jingyan looked up and glanced at the elevator leading to the second floor.

"You have to eat one bite at a time, and you have to handle one case at a time."

He stopped and stood at the entrance of the main power control room of the convention center.

"Xiaoxiao, give me thirty seconds."

"clear!"

Thirty seconds later.

"Snapped!"

A soft sound.

The dazzling lights and deafening music of the entire Jinghai International Convention and Exhibition Center went out in an instant.

The entire venue fell into a deathly silence and darkness.

Screams, gasps, and curses erupted instantly.

"What's going on? Is there a power outage?"

"I just spent a rocket! What a loss!"

Amidst the chaos, a bright beam of light suddenly struck the stage in the center of the convention center.

Lu Jingyan slowly walked onto the stage with a megaphone "borrowed" from the security room.

Behind him, Zhao Tiezhu, along with dozens of heavily armed special police officers, silently blocked all the exits like ghosts emerging from the darkness.

Good evening, everyone.

Lu Jingyan's voice, amplified through the loudspeaker, clearly reached every corner of the venue, instantly suppressing all the noise.

"Let me introduce myself. I am Lu Jingyan from the Jinghai City Public Security Bureau."

"I'm sorry to have interrupted your good fortune."

He looked at the bewildered, terrified, and confused faces below the stage, and a cold smile curled at the corner of his lips.

"Today's influencer festival has come to an end."

"The next segment is—"

"Cooperate with the investigation, and... take group urine tests."

"Now, everyone, put your hands behind your heads and squat down! Anyone who dares to move will be treated as violently resisting law enforcement!"

The entire room fell silent.

In just a few hundred live stream rooms, the cameras that hadn't been turned off faithfully recorded this "divine intervention" scene, spreading it across the entire internet.

The title of the live stream instantly changed from "Night of Revelry" to "Night of One-Pot Dish".

Lu Jingyan ignored the commotion below the stage.

His gaze pierced through the crowd and landed on the booth of "Sister Bird's Nest" in Section A, where she was selling fake bird's nests.

Taking advantage of the chaos, the woman was trying to secretly move a box of "stock" from under the table.

"It seems some people are not cooperating."

Lu Jingyan put down the megaphone, jumped off the stage, and walked straight towards the female anchor who was still making a last-ditch effort.

As he walked, he took out a pair of familiar gloves from his pocket and slowly put them on.

"Let's start with you."

Lu Jingyan looked at the woman who was so frightened that she collapsed to the ground, his eyes showing no pity whatsoever.

"I'd like to see just how many people this 'chicken soup for the soul' you've made from pig skin has poisoned."

"And you."

He turned his head and looked at the big eater who was live-streaming himself eating ten pounds of fatty meat, his mouth dripping with oil.

"You seem to be enjoying your meal?"

"I hope you'll still be this happy when you go to the hospital for a stomach pump later."