Insights Chapter 122: Confrontation

Chapter 122: Confrontation

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

Late at night, on a live streaming app, a live broadcast suddenly began. Upon entering, it was a room with white walls as the background. A man sat across from the camera, with a handsome face, slightly red eyes, bandages on his hands, and adhesive plasters on his face.

The man faced the camera with a script in front of him. In the first few minutes of the broadcast, he sat motionless at the table, waiting for the audience to gather gradually. Because of his good looks, many viewers were curious about what he was going to broadcast, so they stayed.

When the number of viewers exceeded a thousand, he finally began to speak. Rather than a live broadcast, it seemed more like a public testimony. The live stream seemed to have paid for traffic, quickly appearing on the homepage recommendations.

“My name is Yan Chi, and my ID number is… Today, I guarantee that everything I say is true. I am going to expose a crime in this city…” The person conducting the live stream was indeed Yan Chi. He tightly held the script in front of him, seemingly prepared to break through any obstacles. “Over the past few years, I have been aiding and abetting. It’s hard for ordinary people to imagine that there are many rooms in the city like fish tanks, filled with surveillance cameras. Some target renting girls, and their every move is under surveillance by those people…During these years, I have been pursuing young girls according to their requirements. And their purpose is to secretly film our interactions…”

He began to recount the entire process of the events, “Those people even deceive the girls they have targeted. They commit atrocities against them…”

Although it was late at night, the number of people in the live stream room quickly increased and then soared.

“What is this? Is he telling a story?”

“I’m getting goosebumps. I think of those rooms…”

“I know there are hidden cameras in hotels and dressing rooms.”

“Penang actually has such a thing?”

“Sensational, is it fake?”

Soon, the news spread to various platforms.

Detectives working overtime in the City Bureau quickly discovered this.

Yu Shen was the first to notice. “Look at the internet quickly, Yan Chi started a live stream.”

Lu Ying said, “Exposing Mansion 13 to the public, this move is a bit harsh.”

Bai Meng said, “Gao Shixuan is probably in a hurry.”

Yan Chi made a denunciation and used live streaming on the internet, which was not illegal. Gu Yanchen understood this choice very well and believed it was the best way to handle the current situation. If this case continued to be enforced by the City Bureau, it would likely encounter heavy resistance, and countless people would want to stop them from investigating further. Only by making it public could they gain greater enforcement power and possibly reach the people behind the scenes.

Gu Yanchen had already spoken with Shen Junci before and knew that this was just the first step of the plan. He even looked forward to the subsequent developments.

Captain Gu arranged, “Yu Shen, record the screen and keep an eye on the website’s movements. Bai Meng, hurry up and write the police notice. Also, Lu Ying, contact the on-duty detectives and be ready to respond at any time.”

Lu Ying said, “I’ll contact them immediately.”

The live stream lasted for about ten minutes. Just as Yan Chi was about to reveal crucial information, everyone’s screens suddenly went black. Then a line of text appeared, “This broadcast violates regulations and is temporarily unavailable.”

The live stream disappeared. Some netizens were disappointed but still lingered in the live stream room unwilling to leave.

“I came late and didn’t hear anything!”

“What a nuisance, he talked a lot but didn’t make things clear.”

“What regulation violation? Was he silenced? I’ve seen similar posts before, and they were deleted shortly after.”

Tonight, news of the app being inspected had already spread. Just now, in Mansion 13, Gao Shixuan had been frantically dealing with matters using his connections. He also informed Sheng Qiancheng of the news, and Sheng Qiancheng simply acknowledged it without giving him any other instructions.

Gao Shixuan remembered what Luo Xiaoxi said yesterday. Could his own uncle really be planning to shift the blame onto him?  Even if disaster loomed, he wanted to struggle a bit before succumbing.

Just then, someone online saw the news of Yan Chi’s live stream. In the quiet of the night, the live stream room quickly rose to the top of the Penang hot list. Subordinates were clearly panicking and reported hastily.

Gao Shixuan said, “What’s with the panic?! Quickly contact the website!”

Mansion 13 had existed for many years, and this wasn’t the first time it had been posted online. Fortunately, the Sheng family had been in Penang for many years and had established good relationships with various online platforms. They knew the upper management of each platform, and many executives were their honored guests and members of Mansion 13.

Gao Shixuan also had the best marketing company at his disposal, with tens of thousands of fake accounts. In the past, they had manipulated the internet platforms at will. If they wanted something shut down, it was just a phone call away.

Li Yiyang hurriedly made a call, “Yes, he’s just talking nonsense, it’s slander! Mr. Li, you’ve visited our mansion before, you know there’s no way such a thing could happen…If anything gets reported, it won’t be good for you either. It’s best to stop the live stream immediately! We hope the live stream room to be shut down is…”

After the phone call, the other party immediately cut off the live stream. The ongoing live broadcast went black.

Li Yiyang’s heart finally calmed down. He put down his phone, hands trembling.

Gao Shixuan asked, “Can they find out where the live stream was?”

Li Yiyang said, “I asked, it’s untraceable.”

Gao Shixuan said, “As long as the live stream is stopped, it’s good.”

Now that the police were closing in and the website had just been taken down, if Yan Chi revealed more, it would undoubtedly be even worse for them.

Gao Shixuan breathed a sigh of relief, sat down on the nearby sofa, took a few sips of water, and some well-informed members had already heard the news and contacted him. Among these members were those who had paid high annual fees and were worried they might run away, as well as those afraid of being implicated if the matter was discovered.

Gao Shixuan reassured them, “Don’t worry, it won’t have any impact. We’re handling it, and we won’t let him say anything…”

“Is it about the website? Our servers are undergoing maintenance tonight. Don’t worry. Once this blows over, we’ll reopen.”

The live stream being cut off was naturally first noticed by Yan Chi and Li Zhongnan, who were in the midst of the broadcast.

Li Zhongnan picked up his phone, tapped a few buttons, and then looked up at Shen Junci. “The account’s been suspended…”

Yan Chi was at a loss, clutching the script, unsure what to do.

Shen Junci was prepared long ago, without any panic. He immediately provided another account, registered with a virtual phone number and email, untraceable. “Switch websites and continue the live stream.”

A few minutes later, Li Zhongnan operated and entered the new platform. The account had already passed verification, and the live stream was quickly ready to resume; it was just a matter of pressing the start button.

“Let’s wait a moment…” Yan Chi looked nervously at Shen Junci and stuttered, “Wh-where should I start? Should I continue from where I left off?”

He had an outline in his hand, and he had just covered about two-thirds of it. He didn’t understand why he had to save the crucial information about ‘Mansion 13’ until the end.

Shen Junci shook his head, “Newcomers won’t understand. Start from the beginning.”

Yan Chi asked, “But… what if the live stream gets shut down again?”

Shen Junci calmly replied, “If it gets shut down again, we’ll reopen.”

Yan Chi said, “I know… They know a lot of people in the media. Once the live streaming platform finds out it’s exposing these things, they’ll definitely shut it down.”

He felt a bit disheartened. There was no way to outmaneuver them, especially since those people were all in cahoots.

Shen Junci’s gaze was steady, “Don’t worry, they can’t shut down all the channels. And besides, I’m not afraid of them shutting it down; I’m afraid of them not shutting it down.”

For some reason, Yan Chi, who was previously full of anxiety, felt calmer after getting Shen Junci’s response.

Xie Yuna also stood up and said, “Continue, even if they shut down your account, there’s me. I’m willing to share my experience to warn other girls.”

Upon hearing this, Yan Chi turned to face the camera. Li Zhongnan gestured to him, and the live stream officially began. He started reading the confession from the beginning again, “My name is Yan Chi, and my ID number is… Today, I guarantee that everything I say is true. I am going to expose a crime…”

Inside Mansion 13, Gao Shixuan had barely sat down for a few minutes when, slightly out of breath, his subordinate in charge of monitoring reported more bad news, “The live stream is back on, this time on another website!”

With so many live streaming platforms now, shutting one down meant it would just pop up again. This time, the platform chosen was even bigger than the previous one.

Gao Shixuan frowned, “Call Mr. Wang, the shareholder of this company! And inform the district leaders! This person must be shut down tonight!”

Li Yiyang hurriedly made another call. Fortunately, this video platform acted even more swiftly. Five minutes later, the live stream was taken down again. But then, there was a third live streaming website…

Gao Shixuan was driven to his wits’ end by the successive live streams. After being shut down again, they decided to take preemptive action.

Gao Shixuan proactively contacted the heads of several live streaming platforms, demanding strict monitoring. He also circulated Yan Chi’s photo, instructing all platforms to ban him if he started live streaming. It took two minutes for the fourth shutdown. The fifth time lasted only a few seconds before it was shut down.

After that, Gao Shixuan ordered his subordinates to monitor all major platforms, fearing that someone might discuss these matters.

The tycoons and officials who had frequented Mansion 13 were also frightened. They immediately joined forces, with each company blacklisting Yan Chi. They even contacted all the public relations and internet companies they knew to silence Yan Chi.

After everything was finally arranged, Gao Shixuan asked his subordinate, “Did Yan Chi mention Mansion 13?”

His subordinate had just reviewed the content of several live streams, “Not yet.”

“And the recent cases?”

“Also not mentioned.”

Gao Shixuan immediately relaxed, “It’s good he didn’t mention it. This kid might be trying to negotiate with me.”

But Li Yiyang’s brows furrowed even tighter. Bringing up that case, mentioning the ultimate culprit, which was just a few words, seemed like a simple matter. Yet, this Yan Chi was acting strangely. Despite being interrupted several times, he would calmly read his script from the beginning and narrate his experiences.

This resulted in several live streams being cut off, yet he hadn’t reached the latter part of his script. When things went awry, there must be a reason behind it. Although Li Yiyang couldn’t figure out the reason, he had a vague feeling of unease. He had broken into a cold sweat just now, and his clothes clung uncomfortably to his back.

Thinking about this, Li Yiyang spoke up to Gao Shixuan, “Mr. Gao, I think tonight’s events are a bit strange…”

Every time the live stream was shut down, the attention grew. After being shut down several times in a row, what originally wasn’t getting much attention now had a compounded effect. Some people even began guessing which platform the next live stream would be on, lurking on websites for Yan Chi’s latest broadcast.

Li Yiyang considered a possibility: Was Yan Chi deliberately doing this to attract attention? Was all of this orchestrated?

But before he could finish, Gao Shixuan interrupted him, “What’s strange about it? The CEOs of those companies and several leaders have already been alerted. Now it’s a collective siege against Yan Chi. If I wanted to, I could even cut off the entire network of Penang! You monitor all the live streaming platforms, seal all his related accounts, I refuse to believe we can’t deal with this guy!”

Gao Shixuan leaned back on the sofa as he spoke, taking a few sips of red wine. Tonight’s developments had initially infuriated Gao Shixuan completely. After a few shutdowns, he felt the crisis had passed and began to feel arrogant again.

Li Yiyang saw through this, sighed, and shook his head.

Gao Shixuan continued, “I’ll contact the cleaning company later. At any cost, we must eliminate him to prevent future trouble!”

As long as Yan Chi remained alive, he felt like a thorn in his side.

Li Yiyang added, “I asked Boss Mu, they said they’re being closely watched recently and aren’t taking any jobs.”

Gao Shixuan’s gaze turned sinister, “After spending so much money on them, they’re all useless!”

The live stream was shut down once again. Shen Junci provided several more accounts, but either these accounts couldn’t be accessed, or they were immediately banned upon access. All major live streaming platforms intensified their scrutiny, and with rumors flying, they collectively began to block Yan Chi. This trick of live streaming seemed to have run its course. Their mouths were tightly sealed by countless hands.

Yet Shen Junci remained calm and composed. “Wait a moment, let things ferment a bit.”

With each successive shutdown of the live stream, the audience grew larger.

After being shut down seven times in a row, about a thousand people listened the first time, three thousand the second time, and by the seventh time, the audience had surpassed ten thousand shortly after the broadcast began.

Li Zhongnan stopped controlling the live stream and started checking online messages. Various platforms, Weibo, and major forums quickly posted related threads. Some even posted comparison videos of several platforms before they were shut down. At this point, with just a little guidance, the topic escalated. Countless people began discussing the matter in various groups and social media platforms.

“Did you see that strange live stream? It got shut down several times, the guy’s pretty persistent.”

“I saw it on the recommended list in my city. What was he talking about?”

“In a society under the rule of law, can such things still exist? Could it be fabricated for attention?”

“Reported with real names, it shouldn’t be fake, right?”

“I work at a certain live streaming platform. Just now, our work group received a notification of censorship.”

“I got a notice of being banned too. Ridiculously, the reason given was spreading rumors. Let the police investigate if it’s true or not.”

“I heard that discussing this matter could get your account banned? How powerful are the forces behind this? Has anyone dug into it?”

“Damn, can’t the big guy just finish his broadcast? If I don’t hear the whole story, I won’t be able to sleep tonight…”

If the live stream had been shut down on just one platform, the matter might have quickly settled down. But now, Yan Chi had been shut down on all major platforms in succession. The magnitude of the forces behind it could be imagined.

The more they tried to suppress discussion, the more curious people became.

At this point, the plan entered its second phase. Shen Junci anonymously handed over the pictures of Yan Chi and several public figures entering the Mansion 13, as well as a blurred screenshot of the Fishing Masters interface, to several marketing accounts.

If Yan Chi’s words had only caused a small stir before, now the entire internet was exploding. Speculation, fermentation, discussion… online media began to report, marketing accounts and influencers joined in, accounts were banned, and sparks flew. This was a process familiar to everyone. Some marketing accounts dare not post, but others fearlessly spread some photos. Such actions quickly sparked a nationwide discussion frenzy.

“Is this place really the one mentioned in the live stream just now?”

“Am I seeing this right? Is that person in picture three?!”

“Why is this scandal getting bigger and bigger?”

“Can’t believe there’s really an app like this?”

At this moment, a police notice from the City Bureau was issued. With a blue background and white text, the notice explained the situation.

“Today, the Penang police have cracked down on an illegal video company. The company’s video app has long been engaged in illegal activities, making illegal profits by selling privacy. Several servers have been seized by the police, and several main suspects have been arrested. Further details of this case are under investigation.”

Like a stone thrown into a calm pond, the whole internet erupted.

“Did you see the police notice?! What the live stream said was actually true!!”

“Did everyone see what the marketing accounts posted?!”

“Goosebumps all over, it’s like a surreal nightmare!”

“Oh my god, things are connecting now. Where is this place exactly?!”

“So scary, those poor girls, those who did these things deserve severe punishment!”

Ordinary people began to express their anger.

The men who usually logged into such apps began to panic, one after another, tucking their tails between their legs. Seeing that things had escalated enough, Shen Junci sent a message. The recipient was someone introduced by He Ju, whom he had added before starting the live stream, “Is everything ready on your end?”

The reply came, “All set, we can start anytime.”

Shen Junci turned to Li Zhongnan, “We can start again. I’ll give you the new address.”

Li Zhongnan complied and logged in. The live stream began once more. But this time, their platform was no longer the various online platforms but the 24-hour advertisement screen at the Tianjie Intersection in Penang.

Justice never dies. The wildfire may be suppressed, but it will always reignite with the blowing of the spring breeze. No matter how many times the truth is silenced, the sins will eventually be exposed before the people.