Chapter 44: Whose Rules Are Greater

The director was also getting a massive headache. If the trending searches didn't drop soon, the show was truly going to be ruined.

"Maybe we should wait a bit longer."

The assistant director, who was staring at Jiang Xiaoya's livestream, suddenly spoke up.

Everyone turned to look at him simultaneously.

The assistant director explained in a low voice, "Jiang Xiaoya has gone out. Should we wait a little longer?"

The others exchanged glances before belatedly looking toward the director.

"Wait a little longer?"

"Wait?"

"Let's wait."

"..."

The director's silence was deafening.

The livestream was a chaotic mix of people; the bullet comments were a noisy mess, a total free-for-all.

Five minutes after Jiang Xiaoya's livestream started, the comments tore open a new rift once again.

【Dammit, Stupid Sister is out. Everyone shut the hell up.】

【If you want to watch, watch. If not, get the hell out of the stream.】

【Stupid Sister is out. Stop your incessant whining. Keep it up and I won't be polite.】

【If you don't want to watch, get lost. Don't talk nonsense, or don't blame us for being rude.】

The noisy comments fell silent for a moment, but the hired water armies would never pass up an opportunity to fan the flames, and they immediately surged forward with provocations.

【Jiang Xiaoya and the show are faking it, stepping on other contestants to rise to the top, and you won't even let people talk about it?】

【We just need an explanation. Is that so hard?】

【If you truly have a clear conscience, why all the secrecy?】

【"Not being polite"? I'd love to see how you plan to be impolite.】

【What, has society become so lawless that you're planning to doxx us all now?】

【Even netizens are this arrogant, with such twisted values. I can't imagine how twisted the humanity of the person they worship must be.】

While the two sides were arguing uncontrollably, Jiang Xiaoya and Qing Tianfeng's car was already on the road. In about twenty minutes, they arrived at their destination.

They arrived at an abandoned factory. The surrounding environment was chaotic and disorganized. It was said that long ago, due to heavy industrial pollution, the factory area had been slated for demolition. Developers had bypassed the area, and while the city had developed rapidly, this place had remained unchanged for decades.

The former residence of the grave-robbing gangs was right here.

Just as Jiang Xiaoya and Qing Tianfeng parked the car, dozens of wolfdogs ran out from the front, barking ferociously at them.

Jiang Xiaoya and Qing Tianfeng turned around and retreated into the car in three quick steps. They got back out, both holding electric batons.

Qing Tianfeng even pulled out his law enforcement ID. There was no one here, but they couldn't rule out the possibility of hidden surveillance. As the saying goes, "courtesy first, then force"—if they actually ended up killing these dogs, it would be justifiable and legal!

The group of wolfdogs that had just been released from their cages saw the two people getting out of the car. Seeing their bared teeth and saliva, they seemed to catch a scent of something; they actually stopped barking and began to back away step by step.

Holding her electric baton, Jiang Xiaoya pointed it at the lead wolfdog and beckoned to it.

A whimper rang out, and the wolfdogs scattered in fear.

Jiang Xiaoya shrugged with boredom. Hearing footsteps, she slowly turned her head.

A man in a security guard uniform appeared before them.

The electric baton in Jiang Xiaoya's hand stopped just millimeters from his neck.

"Po... Police officer... I'll cooperate, I'll cooperate. Please don't move."

The security guard's legs shook when he saw the law enforcement ID in Qing Tianfeng's hand.

Before Qing Tianfeng could speak, Jiang Xiaoya, with the baton still pressed against the man's neck, spoke slowly.

"Did you let the dogs bite people?"

"It... I thought they were thieves," the man said, wiping away cold sweat.

"What do you have that's worth stealing?" A smile curled at the corners of Jiang Xiaoya's lips.

"Nothing... I just let them out for a stroll... yeah, a stroll."

The security guard realized instantly that he had said the wrong thing.

Qing Tianfeng frowned and glanced at Jiang Xiaoya.

When he had brought people here last time to search the rooms and take statements, he hadn't investigated further when he encountered these wild wolfdogs. He hadn't expected Jiang Xiaoya to trap the man in just a few words.

It seemed this industrial zone was not simple.

The noisy livestream had now fallen silent.

As everyone thought about it carefully, they understood Jiang Xiaoya's implication.

【Brainpower. That's pure brainpower right there.】

【A woman who can take down a smuggling ring in one go definitely has some skills.】

【Which blind person thought she was just putting on a show?】

【No matter how much you try to hype someone up, you can't fake intelligence.】

【When we call her "Stupid Sister," the focus is on "Sister," not "Stupid."】

Of course, the water armies and anti-fans continued to persist, clinging to the line that everything was just a script for the show.

Jiang Xiaoya lowered the electric baton from the guard's neck, her smile bright. "Look how scared you are. I was just joking."

Jiang Xiaoya looked at Qing Tianfeng beside her. "Captain Qing, let's take a walk around."

"What do you want to see? This is a visit by outsiders; we need to register you. That's the rule," the security guard said, blocking their path.

"Is your rule bigger, or is mine?"

Qing Tianfeng held his law enforcement ID in front of him.

The guard tried to block them again, but Qing Tianfeng pushed him aside, and he and Jiang Xiaoya walked inside as if he weren't even there.

The guard chased after them. "Are you still investigating that group of people? I'll take you there. However, new tenants have moved in over the last two days."

Qing Tianfeng stopped and looked back at Jiang Xiaoya.

If the houses had already been rented out, what could they find?

Jiang Xiaoya carried her electric baton, walking with purpose. "Since we're already here, let's check the situation with the new tenants too."

Hearing this, Qing Tianfeng followed. The security guard took out his phone to notify the tenants, under the pretext of asking for their cooperation with the inspection.

Seeing that Jiang Xiaoya had no objection, Qing Tianfeng did not stop him from tipping them off.

The two quickly arrived at the residential area within the industrial zone. It was a row of single-story houses that, due to years of neglect and environmental pollution, gave off a faint scent of decay.

When Qing Tianfeng and Jiang Xiaoya arrived, some people were washing clothes, some were cooking, and one woman was even playing with toys with her child. Hearing that the police had arrived, they all looked at each other as if it had nothing to do with them.

The security guard stepped forward and spoke. "This is a police officer from Licheng. They are investigating a case recently. Please cooperate with the investigation."

As soon as these words were spoken, the tenants, who had previously acted indifferent, immediately exploded.

"We haven't committed any crimes, so why do we have to cooperate with an investigation? No, wait, we haven't committed any crimes, so why are we being investigated?"

"Exactly! What are we supposed to cooperate with? What is there to cooperate with? We haven't done anything wrong."

"Hey, I told you back then not to rent here, not to rent here. Don't look for cheap places. The environment here is bad, and things like this have happened before. You wouldn't listen and insisted on renting it."

"I wouldn't listen? You think I wanted to rent here? It's because I have no money! The child needs medical treatment; where else am I supposed to find that much money?"

"..."

Seeing the couple arguing, the people nearby rushed forward to mediate.

"Stop arguing, don't make a spectacle of yourselves. If they want to check, let them check. We aren't carrying anything illegal, so let them inspect."

A man who spoke with reason stepped forward to control the situation.

The arguing couple stopped their shouting, and the woman turned and took her child to play at a neighbor's house.