Old Harden, can you handle having your vision-shifting abilities on all the time?

The sound of sirens grew louder as it approached, echoing through the valleys of the Qinling Mountains in the early morning, startling a flock of birds into flight.

Students who were carrying their luggage onto the bus at the hotel entrance stopped what they were doing and looked curiously in the direction from which the sound came.

"What's going on?"

A boy, carrying a backpack and looking puzzled, asked, "Why are the police here?"

"Could someone have done something wrong?"

The other girl shrank her neck nervously.

The counselor leading the group frowned and strode towards the hotel lobby, wanting to find out what was going on.

Standing next to Xu Xing, Li Yuting felt a sudden jolt in her heart.

She instinctively gripped Xu Xing's arm tightly and asked in a low voice, "Brother Xu, it's not because of that video I posted, is it?"

Xu Xing looked down at her and reached out to ruffle her hair: "Don't overthink it. Even if it's because of that video, it's not a big deal."

"But……"

Li Yuting bit her lip. "I looked it up online, and some people said that fish is a Class I protected animal in China called the Qinling lenok. Will posting it online cause trouble?"

"The video you posted was just a normal record of your life. You didn't harm the fish. You caught it, looked at it, and then released it. It's not illegal."

Xu Xing's tone was calm. "Besides, it's a good thing that a first-class protected fish species was found in the stream. It shows that the ecological environment here is good, so it doesn't count as causing trouble."

Hearing him say that calmed Li Yuting down a little, but she still felt uneasy watching the law enforcement officers file in.

Just then, a black Audi A6L hurriedly drove into the parking lot, its tires screeching on the ground.

The car door opened, and a middle-aged man wearing a dark blue polo shirt stepped out quickly.

The man was about fifty years old, with a slicked-back hairstyle, a slightly overweight build, and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses.

As soon as he got out of the car, he rushed towards the hotel lobby, his forehead covered in fine beads of sweat, clearly indicating that he had sped all the way there.

Xu Xing looked at that figure from behind and felt that it looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it before.

"Who is that person?"

Li Yuting also noticed the man with the slicked-back hair.

"I don't know, maybe it's the hotel manager."

Xu Xing answered casually, but his eyes kept following the man's back.

The man with slicked-back hair rushed into the hotel lobby, went straight to the front desk, and asked a few urgent questions.

The receptionist pointed in this direction, and the man nodded, turned around, and quickly walked over, soon identifying Xu Xing and Li Yuting's group.

He strode over with a smile plastered on his face, but there was an undisguised anxiety and reluctance in that smile.

"Excuse me, everyone."

He walked up to the group, clasped his hands together, and asked earnestly, "Excuse me, which student posted that fish-catching video on the short video platform last night?"

All eyes turned to Li Yuting.

Li Yuting subconsciously shrank behind Xu Xing.

The man with the slicked-back hair also turned his gaze to Li Yuting, and his smile became even more solicitous: "Hello, classmate, I am Zhao Dezhu, the person in charge of that rafting project."

Could you please delete that video?

Li Yuting didn't speak, but looked at Xu Xing.

Xu Xing stood in front of Li Yuting, his gaze lingering on the face of the man with the slicked-back hair for a few seconds.

He carefully examined the other person's face, quickly searching his memory.

He seemed to have indeed met this Zhao Dezhu before.

Three months ago, when Gao Min's mother, Zhao Jinhua, held a one-month celebration for her grandson who had taken her surname, he briefly saw him at the hotel entrance.

At that time, Zhao Jinhua was boasting that her cousin from her maternal family had a very big business in Chang'an.

Zhao Jinhua's cousin.

Gao Min's cousin.

Xu Xing's eyes turned slightly cold.

Zhao Dezhu clearly had not yet recognized Xu Xing.

His entire attention was on Li Yuting at that moment. Seeing that Li Yuting didn't speak, he quickly added, "Classmate, don't misunderstand, I'm not going to hold you responsible for anything."

"That video went viral online, and now it's alarmed the forestry and fisheries departments. If they find out there's a Class I protected fish species here, my rafting project might have to shut down..."

His tone was pleading: "So I'd like to ask you to help me delete the video and then explain to the police that the video was AI-generated and not real."

Don't worry, I won't let you help for nothing. I can compensate you; just name your price!

Upon hearing this, Li Yuting's eyes widened: "AI-generated? Isn't that a scam?"

"How can this be called lying?"

Zhao Dezhu quickly explained, "It's just a small misunderstanding, it'll be fine once it's cleared up. Anyway, you released the fish and no one got hurt, so everyone's happy!"

Li Yuting frowned and looked at Xu Xing.

Xu Xing didn't answer immediately, but looked at Zhao Dezhu and slowly said, "Boss Zhao, you're Gao Min's cousin, right?"

Zhao Dezhu's smile froze instantly.

He then took a closer look at the young man in front of him, and the more he looked, the more familiar he seemed.

Three months ago, when his cousin Gao Min held a one-month celebration for her child, he did see a person there. That person was Gao Min's father-in-law!

Zhao Dezhu's pupils suddenly contracted, and his expression was as if he had seen a ghost.

Xu Xing! It was actually Xu Xing!

What's he doing here? And with a young female college student?

Zhao Dezhu's mind raced, and he quickly understood many things.

No wonder that video was posted online, no wonder the matter became such a big deal, it turns out it's because Xu Xing was here!

He inwardly groaned, but forced a smile: "Mr. Xu, it's you! What a coincidence!"

"That's quite a coincidence."

Xu Xing looked at him and said in a calm tone, "Boss Zhao, I can't agree to your request. We are normal consumers, and it's normal for us to record our lives and share them online."

We will answer the police's questions truthfully; other matters are none of our concern.

Zhao Dezhu's face instantly turned extremely ugly.

He gritted his teeth, trying to suppress his anger, and forced a smile: "Mr. Xu, how about this? I'll give you one million yuan. You can have this student delete the video and tell the police it was done by AI."

One million, consider it a small token of my appreciation!

Xu Xing looked at him, a cold smile playing on his lips: "Boss Zhao, do you think I'm the kind of person who's short of a million?"

Zhao Dezhu was speechless.

He knew, of course, that Xu Xing was not short of money.

He had recently heard that Xu Xing was a top restorer at the Chengxinzhai Restoration Center, and that he was said to earn at least tens of millions a year.

A million is really nothing to this kind of person.

But he couldn't think of any other way.

He took over this rafting project from someone else for more than 30 million yuan at the beginning of this year. With the subsequent renovations and decorations, he has invested nearly 50 million yuan in total.

He's only been operating for less than six months and hasn't even recouped one-tenth of his costs. If he's ordered to shut down for rectification because of this fish, then all his money will be wasted.