Chapter 17: Riding the Coattails

She had no regard for the Licheng police whatsoever.

Her heart and soul were entirely devoted to her grand scavenging mission.

Seeing him remain silent for a long time, with a look of "all my devotion was in vain" and an expression that said "one truly laughs when speechless," Jiang Xiaoya was utterly bewildered.

He... wasn't thinking about pocketing the rocket she had unearthed, was he?

Seeing Jiang Xiaoya's expression grow increasingly solemn and increasingly absurd, Qing Tianfeng turned and left decisively to prevent any further trouble.

Before leaving, he spoke up.

"The rocket needs to be handed over. Go sign the paperwork later, and you can collect a ten-thousand-yuan bonus."

Although Jiang Xiaoya was disappointed that the rocket couldn't be dismantled and sold as scrap metal, she was quite happy to receive a ten-thousand-yuan reward.

An entire afternoon of hard work had finally not been in vain.

Before leaving, she had inquired about Qing Tianfeng's office, wanting to thank him in person, only to learn that his entire team had gone back to rest because they hadn't slept for days.

First a body-dumping case, then a seaside manhunt, then discovering a misplaced rocket—one mission after another.

As it happened, Jiang Xiaoya had participated in all of them.

It really wasn't surprising that Qing Tianfeng was suspicious of her.

When Jiang Xiaoya left the police station, it was after eight in the evening, and the reporters outside had already cleared out.

Since she had eaten the boxed meal sent by Qing Tianfeng at the station, she wasn't hungry. After turning on her "Heavenly Eye" earpiece, she took a taxi straight to a nearby hotel.

Not just Qing Tianfeng's team, but she needed a good sleep as well.

The viewers in Jiang Xiaoya's livestream saw the blacked-out screen light up again. They were excited at first, but after seeing Jiang Xiaoya check in and enter her room, the stream went black again.

【Sister Stupid is in such a rush, she looks exactly like our CEO rushing to check into a hotel during a business trip.】

【Your CEO certainly knows how to travel for business.】

【She earned over twenty thousand in two days, why isn't Sister Stupid staying in a better hotel?】

【The production team has rules; food, clothing, housing, and transportation must match the profession. Actually, she's already staying quite well. I just came from another contestant's stream; supposedly he's been sleeping on park benches for the past few days, eating one old-style steamed bun a day. He's lost so much weight he's unrecognizable.】

【You must be talking about a contestant who's struggling. Next door, Zhou Yuyu is very popular; she often runs into fans who like her and provide all sorts of help. Her fans say she's the group's darling.】

【...】

The netizens murmured amongst themselves, but knowing that Jiang Xiaoya had left the police station and checked into a hotel, and that her stream would be blacked out for a while, they began to leave the room.

The livestream, which had peaked at over a million viewers, stabilized at around a hundred thousand.

The other contestants weren't as relaxed as Jiang Xiaoya. Aside from using the restroom, they didn't dare turn off their "Heavenly Eye" earpieces for fear of losing popularity; even when resting at night, they would just set the earpieces aside.

Zhou Yuyu had someone monitoring Jiang Xiaoya's stream. Once she knew Jiang Xiaoya had left the police station and obtained the hotel address, she rode a shared bike to find the locations of the other two contestants. Taking advantage of a bathroom break, the group reached a consensus: they would "accidentally" run into Jiang Xiaoya tomorrow.

Jiang Xiaoya's popularity was currently in a league of its own. This was a trend they had to ride. Even if they couldn't win the show, as long as they could break out of the show's circle, they could become influencers after the program ended and achieve financial freedom.

Of course, Zhou Yuyu didn't lack money. What she wanted wasn't just wealth, but to stand on a magnificent stage, looked up to by tens of thousands.

Although the others hadn't communicated with each other like they had, they shared the same idea, using their bathroom breaks to turn off their earpieces and contact friends to "monitor" Jiang Xiaoya's stream.

They say wealth should not be flaunted and one should act low-key to avoid trouble.

Jiang Xiaoya had no idea that because her popularity was so high, she had been targeted by the other contestants without her knowledge.

Of course, even if she did know, she could only shrug helplessly: There's no helping it, my strength won't allow me to be low-key!

Inside the hotel room, after a simple wash, Jiang Xiaoya climbed onto the large bed and lay down comfortably.

Zhou Yuyu and the others planned to "accidentally" encounter Jiang Xiaoya near her hotel, approach her, and force her to travel with them.

This tactic carried low risk but had a high chance of success.

Jiang Xiaoya slept until 1:00 PM, the time to check out. If not for the production team's rule that one must work diligently every day and uphold a professional spirit, she really would have extended her stay until her wallet ran dry.

As Jiang Xiaoya checked out and stepped out of the hotel, she hadn't even thought about where to go scavenging when she ran into Zhou Yuyu and the others right at the door.

"Jiang Xiaoya! What a coincidence, you're here too? I heard Qiong Mountain is nearby. We're planning to go scavenging there together, do you want to come?"

"Hehe, I'll just..." *not go.*

Jiang Xiaoya opened her mouth to refuse.

Another girl reached out, pressed a hand on her shoulder, and spoke brightly.

"Come with us! Qiong Mountain is quite high and is a famous scenic spot in Licheng. There are so many tourists; surely there will be plenty of bottles and cans up there?"

"Yeah, yeah! If we go together, we can scavenge and enjoy the mountain view at the same time. It'll be great."

"Let's go, let's go, don't delay us."

Without giving Jiang Xiaoya a chance to refuse, the two stepped forward and pulled her out by her left and right arms.

In the back of the group, Zhou Yuyu maintained an expression of wanting to approach but being afraid.

The viewers in Zhou Yuyu's livestream were feeling indignant on her behalf.

【Yuyu is just too kind-hearted. She meant well, but was misunderstood. She used to be so cheerful, but now she's become so introverted.】

【Yuyu is truly kind and beautiful, while Jiang Xiaoya is truly just playing dumb.】

【If it weren't for the other two sisters, Yuyu wouldn't have wanted to be with Jiang Xiaoya either.】

【Yuyu's beauty is natural; she's incomparable to those other vulgar types.】

【Keep going, Yuyu! No matter what, we love you!】

Jiang Xiaoya's livestream, however, was a completely different vibe.

【Ah, right, right, right, go climbing the mountain. Don't let Sister Stupid sit idle.】

【Are you trying to keep her busy, or are you trying to watch her find big loot?】

【Forget the loot, as long as the screen doesn't go black.】

【Ugh, I've been watching all morning, she's finally live. If she hadn't started, I was going to call a delivery guy to go knock on her door.】

【Uh... is it possible she was woken up by a delivery?】

【What delivery?】

【Door-to-door service!】

【!!!!】

【You guys are too ruthless. I'm the kind one; I'd order honey tea!】

【Then I'll be generous and order the 9.9 yuan combo.】

【Same hotel, calling the front desk to order instant noodles for Sister Stupid.】

This wave of comments even made the casual passersby in the chat unable to watch: *Having you guys around is truly Sister Stupid's blessing.*

Jiang Xiaoya hadn't decided where to go, but she was dragged along by them toward Qiong Mountain. After walking a distance, before even reaching the foot of the mountain, they began to encounter "colleagues." The original group of four became a group of six, and the six became nine.

With such a massive procession, forget scavenging—there wouldn't even be enough trash cans to go around.

Jiang Xiaoya repeatedly hesitated, wanting to back out, but she couldn't withstand the overwhelming enthusiasm of the others, who kept trying to strike up conversations with her all along the way.