Rebirth: My Home Has Become a Gathering Place for Young Women with a "Crazy" Spirit

Qin Lang used the name "Wang Yan" on his "Investigative Journalist" account. Less than ten minutes after posting on his WeChat Moments with this account, he received a friend request from Qiao Desheng.

The verification message read: "Hello, I am Qiao Desheng from the security department of Yulong Hot Spring. I saw that you are investigating our company and would like to have a chat with you."

Qin Lang looked at the message and sneered.

He didn't reply immediately, but instead opened the game, "Welcome to King of Glory..."

After playing two rounds, a full hour had passed before Qin Lang leisurely closed the game, opened Qiao Desheng's friend request, accepted it, and replied in the chat box: "What's up?"

During the hour-long wait, Qiao Desheng kept having wild thoughts, and his mental defenses were slowly crumbling.

Seeing that the other party had finally responded, Qiao Desheng immediately replied: "Reporter Wang, is it convenient for us to meet and talk? There are some things I would like to discuss with you in person."

"It's inconvenient." Qin Lang refused decisively, saying, "We can talk online."

Qiao Desheng remained silent for a minute, then sent a long message: "Reporter Wang, I know you're investigating Yulong Hot Spring, but the information you've gathered may be somewhat one-sided. Our company operates legally, and many of the issues you've raised are misunderstandings. I'd like to talk to you and provide you with more accurate information to prevent your investigation from going astray. We are also willing to cooperate with your work and provide any necessary support."

This statement surprised Qin Lang; he hadn't expected Qiao Desheng to say something so insightful.

Qin Lang understood perfectly well that what he meant by "cooperating with the investigation" and "supporting" was actually a way of asking for some "hush money."

He pretended not to understand and asked, "Support? What support?"

Seeing that the other party had relented, Qiao Desheng immediately replied, "We can provide some research funding; after all, it's not easy for you to do this. We can discuss the specific amount in person."

"If we're going to talk, let's talk online. Otherwise, just wait and see the results of the investigation." Qin Lang's attitude was firm.

Qiao Desheng hesitated for a moment, then finally compromised, saying, "Okay, let's talk online. How much do you think is appropriate?"

Qin Lang didn't give him a direct quote; instead, he sent him a link. This link led to the website of the "Consumer Rights Protection Platform" that Old Z had created. The homepage prominently displayed the name "Yulong Hot Spring," with a line of large red text below stating: "31 consumers have filed real-name complaints, and regulatory authorities have intervened in the investigation."

Qiao Desheng clicked the link and saw the page. He jumped up from his chair. He quickly scanned the content and became increasingly alarmed.

This website not only contains records of administrative penalties imposed on Yulong Hot Spring, but also screenshots of some "consumer complaints" and even a few blurry "internal photos".

Of course, these so-called "complaints" and "photos" were all made by Qin Lang himself. Based on his memory of his last visit to Yulong Hot Spring, he made the photos so realistic that Qiao Desheng couldn't see any flaws.

Upon seeing this, Qiao Desheng truly panicked.

He wasn't afraid of the Royal Dragon Hot Spring being investigated; he wasn't the boss, and he wouldn't have to take the blame if problems were found.

Qiao Desheng was afraid that Yulong Hot Spring would be investigated because of him. If the boss, Sun Hongbin, found out that Yulong Hot Spring was being investigated because of his extortion, Sun Hongbin would definitely not let him off the hook. At that time, even his cousin, Wang Zhongxi, might not be able to protect him.

Therefore, Qiao Desheng wanted to suppress the matter.

How to suppress it? We need to silence Wang Yan, the "reporter" investigating this matter.

"Reporter Wang, what's going on with this website?" Qiao Desheng felt like he had been outmaneuvered. Although he was angry, he could only be polite.

"This website was created by me and a few colleagues," Qin Lang replied, suppressing a laugh. "We've collected enough evidence regarding the Imperial Dragon Hot Springs incident; we're just waiting for the right moment."

Qiao Desheng: "What timing?"

Wang Yan: "We are waiting for a formal response from the regulatory authorities. We have already submitted materials to the relevant departments through the website's reporting channel."

Qiao Desheng's heart sank. If these materials were actually submitted to the regulatory authorities, he was finished. His cousin, Wang Zhongxi, certainly wouldn't be able to protect him either, and even his cousin himself might be implicated.

"Reporter Wang, we can discuss this matter further," Qiao Desheng's tone noticeably softened. "Name your price, how much will it cost to settle this?"

Qin Lang's smile deepened as he read the message. But he didn't reply immediately; instead, he left Qiao Desheng waiting for another twenty minutes.

Huang Ziqiang sat obediently to the side, watching how Qin Lang lured Qiao Desheng into this trap step by step. Watching Qin Lang's actions, he secretly sighed: "I really don't know how Brother Lang's brain works. He always comes up with these 'dirty tricks.' Compared to this 'extortion' of Qiao Desheng, the way Brother Lang helped get money from Ruan Zhihuan last time is really child's play."

Twenty minutes later, Qin Lang leisurely replied to Qiao Desheng: "As a reporter, I'm not doing this for money."

Upon seeing this message, Qiao Desheng immediately became anxious: "Reporter Wang, I know you're not doing this for the money, but you've worked so hard for so long, you deserve some reward, right? Here's what we'll do: name your price, and as long as it's reasonable, I won't haggle."

Qin Lang waited a while longer before replying, "One hundred thousand."

"One hundred thousand?" Upon seeing this price, Qiao Desheng took a deep breath, stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, and a sinister glint flashed in his eyes.

"What, is that too much?" Qin Lang replied deliberately, "Then forget it. I'll wait for the regulatory authorities to give an official response before making this public."

"Not much, not much..." Qiao Desheng gritted his teeth and replied, "100,000 is no problem, but you have to promise to delete all the materials, shut down the website, and never investigate the Royal Dragon Hot Spring again."

"Okay," Qin Lang replied quickly this time, "but I have one condition."

Qiao Desheng: "What are the conditions?"

Wang Yan: "Pay first, then delete the stuff."

Hmm? Qiao Desheng hesitated. It wasn't that he couldn't come up with 100,000 yuan, but he was afraid that the other party would take the money and not do the job.

At this moment, Qin Lang (Wang Yan) seized the opportunity and added, "You can also choose not to pay. But I remind you, our report has already been submitted, and the regulatory authorities will send people to Yulong Hot Spring for inspection no later than next week. At that time, everyone will know what you've done."

Upon seeing this, Qiao Desheng's expression changed. "Fine, 100,000 it is."

As Qin Lang requested, Qiao Desheng transferred 100,000 yuan to a virtual account. This account was handled by Old Z and would go through multiple transfers before finally being deposited into a clean account and then transferred to Qin Lang.

Three minutes later, when Qiao Desheng checked the account of "investigative journalist Wang Yan" again, the profile picture had turned gray, and the Moments were empty, as if the person had never existed.

He then went to the website of that "rights protection platform" and found that the website was also inaccessible, displaying "closed".

Logically, the other party had taken the money, deleted the items, even canceled the account and shut down the website, which fulfilled the transaction rules. Qiao Desheng should have been happy, but suddenly his heart skipped a beat, and a feeling of unease arose.