LRAB Chapter 54 Professor, your performance... was a disaster.
Chapter 54 Professor, your performance... was a disaster.
"Liu Li... seems to be alive!"
Chen Ming's exclamation, tinged with tears, was like a lightning bolt cleaving through the rainy night, and also struck Cheng Jing's ears.
Her fingers, holding the cigarette, trembled, and ash fell in a flurry.
"What did you say? Say it again?!" Cheng Jing growled into the phone.
"Live! The live stream feed has changed again!" Behind Chen Ming's voice came exclamations from inside the command vehicle. "Just now, twenty seconds ago, the blacked-out live stream suddenly flickered again! The image was shaky, the light was dim, but you could see…you could see a woman! Her profile, leaning against the wall, talking! Although it was hard to see clearly, her clothes, her hairstyle…it was Liu Li! She's still alive! What is she pointing at?! Then the image disappeared again!"
Cheng Jing's mind raced.
Liu Li isn't dead? How is that possible?!
Just now on my phone, that woman who hanged herself! She looks like she's already dead... What did Chen Ming and the others see?
An illusion? A disguise? Or... the real Liu Li?
The interaction between the two screens instantly brought her to her senses.
If Liu Li is really not dead, then whose body is it? If she is dead, then who is the "Liu Li" in the live broadcast?
A trap? Or... an opportunity?!
"Listen, Chen Ming!" Cheng Jing spoke rapidly, her brain racing. "Regardless of who's real and who's fake in the footage, this news must be released immediately! Through channels you can control, find reliable self-media outlets or influential accounts, and spread the news with headlines like 'Suspected Liu Li is not dead, pointing to the real culprit!' But keep it vague, don't be certain! And be quick!"
"Captain Cheng, this... Director Yang is right here, she won't agree! And we're preparing for a full-scale attack..." Chen Ming's voice was full of hesitation.
"Then don't let her know! Use your personal connections, a secondary account, and post it anonymously! Say it's 'a live stream viewer's recording has been leaked!'" Cheng Jing said decisively. "Our chance has come! The murderer—or the mastermind—designed everything, including Liu Li's 'death.' If he finds out now that Liu Li might not be dead, and might even be testifying against him… what will he do?"
"He'll... panic?" Chen Ming answered instinctively.
"Not entirely." A cold glint flashed in Cheng Jing's eyes. "A criminal with such meticulous planning and an extremely strong desire for control would find it most intolerable that the script goes awry, that the 'pawns' escape his control, especially... a 'pawn' that should have died comes back to life and becomes a 'witness' to him! He will definitely try every means to confirm it! He might even... be unable to resist coming back to see for himself!"
She took a deep breath, the glow of her cigarette flickering in the night: "This is the best chance to catch him! When he's most unexpected and most unsettled! So, we must spread the news that 'Liu Li is not dead,' the wider the better, let public opinion force him to react! At the same time, tell Yang Hong that a strong attack is possible, but we must leave an opening, leave room for 'observation' and 'reaction'! Don't block all the avenues!"
"I...I'll try!" Chen Ming's voice was still trembling.
"Be careful. And be safe." Cheng Jing said before hanging up the phone.
She threw the half-smoked cigarette on the ground and crushed it out with her foot.
The raindrops fell on her face and felt so cold.
She looked up towards Anpingli, but couldn't see anything because of the tall buildings.
Cheng Tan, Lin Qian, Li Kai, and everyone else in the room... what are you all doing?
Did you come up with this idea of faking your death?
That's incredibly bold!
But... perhaps, this is the only way to break the deadlock in this desperate situation.
She turned around, opened the car door, and sat back in the back seat.
The two inspectors glanced at her but said nothing.
The cars were still stuck in the long line of traffic, moving slowly.
Cheng Jing leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes, but the storm raging in her mind was more intense than the rain outside the window.
She had to trust Chen Ming, and trust those strangers in the room who were fighting to the death.
At the same time, she must also be prepared to find a way to... return to the battlefield once the opportunity arises.
Even if one is suspended from their job.
……
Almost at the same time that Cheng Jing gave the order to Chen Ming.
On the other side of the city, a Jeep Wrangler without any license plates was driving on a highway leading to the suburbs.
Inside the car, the atmosphere was heavy and tense.
The square-faced man driving the car had fine beads of sweat on his forehead.
In the passenger seat, a middle-aged man wearing glasses had a face so gloomy it could drip water, and he was staring intently at a reinforced tablet computer in his hand.
The screen was divided into several windows, one of which was the live stream management interface, where the live stream screen had been turned off but the background data was still jumping wildly.
The other window is an encrypted communication software, with new information constantly pouring in.
"Professor," the square-faced man driving finally couldn't help but say, "you...you seem to have messed up."
The professor's fingers tapped unconsciously on the edge of the tablet, the force of which sounded quite strong.
He did not answer immediately.
His gaze was fixed on a pop-up notification on the tablet.
That was a specific keyword alert he set.
The alarm was triggered just a dozen seconds ago.
The keywords are: "Liu Li is not dead", "evidence", and "live broadcast clip".
Immediately afterwards, sporadic but rapidly spreading posts appeared on several major social media platforms and local forums he was monitoring, with sensational titles:
[Shocking twist! Liu Li, a key witness in the Anpingli cold case, may still be alive! Live broadcast recording leaked!]
[Liu Li is still alive! She's identifying the real killer! Is the killer at the scene?!]
[Breaking News: The woman in room 402 is not dead! Is the police covering up the truth?]
The posts were vague, but each one included a "screen recording clip".
In the clip, in a dimly lit corner of a room, a woman with a pale profile is struggling to speak, her finger trembling as she points in a certain direction.
The image quality was so poor that the face was not clearly recognizable, but the figure, the clothes, the desperate and terrified expression... looked exactly like Liu Li!
In particular, the scene of Liu Li hanging herself and the accusation that "you murdered her" creates a strong dramatic contrast and suspense!
"I don't believe it," the professor finally managed to squeeze out through clenched teeth.
His hands trembled slightly as he clicked on a video clip attached to one of the posts, zoomed in, slowed it down, and watched it frame by frame.
The light was too dim and there was too much noise, so most of the woman's face was hidden in shadow, with only her chin and lips flashing in the occasional glimpses of light.
The lips were moving, the shapes indistinct... as if saying, "He... is back... evidence..."
"This is a fake!" The professor looked up abruptly, his eyes bloodshot. "Liu Li is definitely dead! I checked! Body temperature, pulse, ligature marks... she definitely just died recently! The woman in this video... is fake! Someone is impersonating her!"
"But netizens believed it!" The woman in the back seat said coldly, turning her tablet forward. The screen displayed a public opinion monitoring curve and a graph showing the surge in keyword popularity.
"The topic of 'Liu Li is not dead' is gaining popularity exponentially! The discussion has started to shift from 'who is the murderer' to 'who did Liu Li accuse' and 'where is the evidence'. Professor, your performance... has failed."