A live stream that dramatically transformed a depressed schoolgirl shocked netizens across the count

Chen Lang pulled a multi-functional pen from his tactical pants pocket and pried off the cap with his thumb.

"Extend it over here."

"What are you doing?"

"Let's stamp your record."

"Can you draw?"

"My drawing is worse than yours, but my style is more imposing."

She offered her wrist.

Chen Lang held her hand.

His movements were extremely light, the black pen tip avoiding all the old marks.

With a few strokes, several intertwined thorny vines spread across the skin.

The lines are cold and hard, and the thorns point outwards.

The wildly growing branches and leaves entangled and devoured the scars along the wrist bones.

Shen Qingci looked down.

"Ugly."

"The fact that you can tell it's thorns means my drawing wasn't in vain."

Are you trying to comfort me?

"no."

Chen Lang put away his tactical pen and fixed his dark eyes on her.

"This is a reminder."

"If anyone tries to force you back into that music room, let them see these thorns first."

Shen Qingci's eyelids twitched.

"You'll stand up for me?"

"It depends."

"What's going on?"

"If the other party is reasonable, I'll reason with them. If the other party is unreasonable, I'll break their bones."

He paused, his tone returning to its languid state.

"But you still have to walk your own path."

Shen Qingci flipped her wrist, and the Buddhist prayer beads slipped off.

This time, she didn't hide the marks of thorns in her sleeves.

Just then, Chen Lang's communicator vibrated twice.

[Data extraction from the involved mobile phones has been completed.]

[Multi-level transfer records discovered.]

There is overlap between the end-user account and the procurement of equipment for the perimeter of the ancient city.

The upward curve of Chen Lang's lips disappeared.

Shen Qingci immediately realized: "You found out?"

"We found part of it."

"Zhao Yulan?"

"Her private accounts were used to transfer money to black market brokers in Jiangcheng. The brokers split the money into three transactions, one for tracking, one for vehicles, and one for chemical sprays."

Is the evidence sufficient for a conviction?

"This is enough for the police to file a case, and enough for your lawyer to investigate the accounts."

Chen Lang took out a memory card from the inner pocket and handed it over.

"We made three copies of the original data. One for your dad, one for the police, and I'm keeping the rest."

Shen Qingci ran her fingertips along the edge of the card.

"What are you planning to do?"

"Don't rush to kill her."

Why?

"If she dares to spend this money to extend her reach into Phoenix, tonight's kidnapping is just a stepping stone at best."

Chen Lang stared at the black water in the distance.

"They haven't revealed their true cards yet."

The boat reached the middle of the river.

The old boatman suddenly folded up half of the tarpaulin.

"You've come at the right time. Phoenix City is hosting the 'Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix' ceremony tomorrow night, and the Waterworks Department needs to clear the area for rehearsals tonight. You need to be ashore before 10:30 PM; otherwise, the water will be closed off."

Shen Qingci opened the notebook.

"A hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix?"

"A blessing ceremony held jointly by 36 villages in Miao territory, once every ten years."

The old boatman lowered his voice.

"Tomorrow night, the whole city will be turned off, and ten thousand water lanterns will be floated down the river. A nine-zhang-tall phoenix boat will also be launched in the middle of the river."

He pointed to the dark waters in the distance.

"In the center of the phoenix boat is a Miao drum that reaches the heavens, weighing eight hundred catties. When the drum sounds nine times, the whole city cheers."

"Who will play the drum?" Chen Lang asked.

The old boatman paused in his rowing.

"It was originally the village's goddess drummer. Today, they changed her at the last minute and replaced her with an internet celebrity from out of town. I heard that the boss behind her spent a lot of money, even covering the entire process of the phoenix boat lift and fireworks."

"A boss from out of town?"

"He had a northern accent and seemed very wealthy. He was accompanied by several silent men who looked like bodyguards."

The old boatman frowned.

"They came specifically a few days ago to ask if there is a maintenance access under the main drum platform of the Phoenix Boat."

Chen Lang did not respond.

Shen Qingci drew a line on the river in his notebook, marking the locations of the phoenix boat, the covered bridge, and the shallows downstream.

"Where does the maintenance access lead to?"

"The old warehouse under the bridge," the old boatman shook his head. "But that place has been sealed off for years; not even a dog can get in."

"No one usually comes in." Chen Lang fiddled with his tactical pen.

The Titan system suddenly issued a red alert.

[A change has been detected in the structural diagram of the main drum platform of the Phoenix Boat.]

[Changed time: 17:23 PM today.]

[Change: A temporary maintenance access panel has been added below the lifting platform.]

Shen Qingci suddenly looked up.

"They altered the structural diagrams."

"It happened tonight."

Chen Lang stood up.

His gaze pierced through the river mist, locking onto the Phoenix Boat's designated location.

The city will be dark tomorrow night for the grand ceremony with tens of thousands of people.

Everyone's attention will be drawn to the water lanterns, fireworks, and the nine-foot-tall phoenix boat.

If someone had hidden under the drum platform beforehand.

By simply creating a splash in the river, a person can be dragged directly into the maintenance tunnel in the dark.

"They want to make their move in front of ten thousand people." Shen Qingci closed the notebook.

"To be more precise."

Chen Lang sneered, "They want everyone to see with their own eyes that you 'accidentally fell into the water'."

Shen Qingci's knuckles turned white.

"and then?"

"Catch them as soon as they fall into the water. Pull them out and stuff them directly into the Phoenix Boat's sewer."

"Where are you taking me?"

"Not yet."

"Then let them move."

Chen Lang looked down at her.

"There will be a lot of people tomorrow night."

"A large number of people is more likely to make things bigger."

She turned a new page.

With heavy strokes of the brush, a phoenix with outstretched wings was drawn, next to which stood a giant drum.

She wrote down a line: "Watching all the birds pay homage to the phoenix, I beat my own drum."

Chen Lang glanced at it.

"Leaving no way out?"

"Keep."

She added below: "The way out is up to me."

Chen Lang raised an eyebrow.

"The captain is quite conscientious."

"You'll be in charge of covering the losses."

"Is this considered my job?"

"You're already on my ship." Shen Qingci looked at him.

"Then I'll take five skewers of ginger candy."

"On what grounds?"

"Escort fee for high-risk projects"

"You just received a fee for holding hands tonight."

"Holding hands and risking one's life are two separate projects."

Shen Qingci gritted her teeth: "If you keep deducting, I'll take all your wages."

"It's okay."

Chen Lang took her hand again, his thumb precisely avoiding all the red marks.

"I'm not short of money."

The covered boats approached the Huilongge Wharf.

Chen Lang stepped onto the slippery bluestone steps.

He turned around and reached out his hand.

Using the force of the current, Shen Qingci and I stepped ashore side by side.

Night fog surged from the river.

The dilapidated lotus lantern continued to drift downstream, passing through the dark bridge arch, where it burned even brighter.

It's 11 p.m.

Heavy truck RV campsite.

Titan has taken full control of the in-vehicle area network.

Shen Qingci sat in the living pod, organizing her journal.

Chen Lang stood in front of the central control screen and pulled up the underground structure diagram of the Phoenix Boat.

Four red lines intertwine on the screen.

Covered bridge, main drum platform, old warehouse, downstream shoals.

A perfect closed loop.

"They didn't do this on a whim," Shen Qingci said. "From the moment they modified the structural diagram, they were setting a trap for tomorrow night."

"Yes."

Chen Lang enlarged a corner below the drum platform.

"But there's something fishy about this picture."

"where?"

"If it were just a simple kidnapping, there would be no need to forcibly connect the maintenance access panel into the old warehouse."

The finger should be placed heavily on the edge of the screen.

"There's a second hidden line buried underneath, leading directly to the core substation of the ancient city."

Shen Qingci's eyes suddenly turned cold.

The next second, all the screens in the living pod lit up with red light.

[Intercepted overseas encrypted frequency bands!]

[Source: Ancient City Core Substation.]

The countdown command has been cracked!

In the center of the screen, the blueprints for the Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix Ceremony were suddenly unfurled.

The bottom of the phoenix boat was covered with a large area of ​​glaring scarlet.

Lines of cold, hard code emerged like venomous snakes:

Phase One: Creating a drowning incident.

Phase Two: Shifting Targets.

[Phase Three: After the Nine Drums, detonate the core power grid.]

That last line of text tore through the disguise.

Once someone falls into the water, they must be caught; even a god couldn't save them.

The carriage was deathly silent.

Shen Qingci picked up his pen.

Below the phrase "beat your own drum," the last sentence was carved in deep ink.

They wanted to beat the drum nine times to kill.

I'm responsible for making sure the whole city hears the truth.

Chen Lang stared at the countdown on the screen, a surge of anger welling up in his eyes.

He shut down all branch data.

Only a structural diagram of the phoenix boat remains.

"Tomorrow night, let's go see how they perform this play."

Shen Qingci raised her head.

"What if they mess up their performance?"

Chen Lang unzipped his windbreaker, revealing a smug smile.

"Then it's my turn to beat this drum."