Chapter 33: Chapter 31: Exploding the Live Broadcast Room Chapter 33: Chapter 31: Exploding the Live Broadcast Room Qi Cheng is a rural life video blogger with over a million followers on TikTok.
In the past two years, as the nation’s economy soared and entered the data era, the short video industry rapidly rose to prominence.
Keen on developing the impoverished village that raised him, Qi Cheng returned to the countryside after graduating from college, contracted fruit trees, and led the villagers to improve their economic wellbeing through labor.
It’s the peak season for lychees, and villagers get up at five or six in the morning to climb the mountain and pick the fruit. Qi Cheng also shoulders his equipment and heads up the mountain early to start his live stream.
Even though it’s early morning, there are still plenty of fans and internet viewers flocking into his live session.
“Good morning, good morning, why is everyone up so early?”
“I’m here today to help the villagers sell lychees, we’re almost at the lychee grove area.”
“Take a look at our mountains, the air here is exceptionally fresh, the water is pure mountain spring water, and the soil is so good, it’s indescribable—the lychees it produces are both large and sweet.”
“…”
As Qi Cheng slowly walks along the mountain path, he chats with his fans and turns his phone to show them the beautiful scenery of his hometown.
However, after he turns his phone around for a while, the live chat suddenly shifts in tone:
[Holy shit, what did I just see!]
[In that brief moment in the shot, I think I saw two people on top of a minivan?!]
[!!! Did everyone else see that? I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me!]
[That’s impossible, right?]
[Ah ah ah ah ah, host, turn the camera back!]
[Host! Turn the camera back!!]
[Quick, turn the camera back!]
The sudden surge of messages instantly flooded the comment section, and people were sending Qi Cheng virtual gifts demanding that he turn the camera back.
Confused by the barrage of messages, Qi Cheng starts turning the camera as he asks, “What do you want to see? Is this what you mean…” But the last word hadn’t quite left his mouth when he saw the image shown on his phone’s screen and incredulously lifted his head to look down the mountain.
Standing halfway up the hill, in a position that allowed an unobstructed view of the scenery below, he also saw the minivan that was speeding along the mountain road with two people bound on top!
“That can’t be possible.”
“Are my eyes deceiving me?”
Qi Cheng muttered to himself, almost disbelieving, and zoomed in with his phone’s camera.
This was his dedicated live-streaming phone, a domestic brand that was far ahead in facilities and functionality, capable of outclassing other imported products in the same category.
After zooming in, the image quality wasn’t blurred at all; it remained crystal clear.
It wasn’t just Qi Cheng, everyone watching the live stream could clearly see that on the minivan driving at the foot of the mountain, there were indeed two people tied up! Moreover, both were unconscious men!!!
[Ah ah ah ah ah! Quickly, call the police!]
[Is this a kidnapping? A murder?!]
[Holy shit, holy shit! That’s terrifying!]
[Call the police, call the police, aaaahhh!!]
[Broad daylight, it’s the 21st century and this kind of thing still happens! Does that killer think this is some mountain village where no one will notice?!]
[So horrible, so brazen! If it hadn’t been for the live stream catching it, no one would have even noticed!]
[Don’t even know if those two people are dead or not, but those are two living lives!]
[I’ve got a recording! This is all evidence!]
The barrage of comments in the live stream went crazy, filling the screen, and the number of viewers shot up from over nine thousand to twenty thousand in an instant!
Once Qi Cheng realized what was happening, he thought to himself, This is bad!
He pushed his assistant, who was also stunned, and said, “Quick, quick, take out your phone and call the police!”
Then addressed the viewers in the live stream, “Everyone, don’t panic, I’ve already asked Xiao Liu to make a police call. Also, I’m going to run down the mountain now. My motorcycle is at the bottom, I might be able to catch up if I ride it, to see what exactly is going on. Everyone just stay calm, I will update you all online later.”
After finishing in one breath, without looking at the live stream viewers’ comments anymore, Qi Cheng quickly turned off the live stream and grabbed his phone, running down the mountain.
The assistant making the emergency call couldn’t help but shout, “Brother Cheng, are you really going to chase?”
Qi Cheng, already running down the mountain, didn’t turn his head to answer; he simply proved his determination through his actions.
Although Qi Cheng had ended his live stream, many viewers had not left; the black screen was still full of rolling comments, everyone still reeling from the impact of what they’d just seen. Plus, many viewers, unsatisfied with just chatting in the live stream, had also sent the recordings or screenshots they had taken to other platforms.
The shock this event brought everyone was indeed too strong, too incredible.
Soon, hashtags like #RuralQiCheng and #RuralQiChengLiveStreamKidnapperIncident surged onto the trending searches, each followed by a black and red “Hot” icon, with view counts breaking hundreds of millions. At the same time, the public security phone lines of nearby districts and counties were nearly blown up by calls from netizens.
Of course, all that came later.
And it was normal because no matter how fast he ran, he was still on foot. Jiang Ning was driving, and with a press of the accelerator, she could immediately cover a good distance; four wheels were never something two legs could keep up with.
However, this was Qi Cheng’s hometown, and he knew every road in the village like the back of his hand. The direction at which the minivan drove was towards the village exit, with no other forks in the middle; Qi Cheng hopped on his motorcycle and quickly gave chase.
Jiang Ning had no idea that she had once again been captured on film. She was sitting at the wheel, driving attentively while the other girls were in the back of the van, the windows rolled down, allowing the fresh air of the mountains to dissipate the unpleasant smell inside. The girls sat in the back, occasionally looking up to take in the outdoor scenery.
The normally taken-for-granted views now seemed so precious and beautiful to them, to the point where even the freedom to breathe had felt like a luxury until this morning.
As Jiang Ning drove towards the village entrance, she soon heard the sound of police sirens in the distance.
“The police are coming!”
No one knew who shouted, but all the girls in the back rose to their feet, excitedly looking through the front windshield.
Jiang Ning also exhaled in relief.
Once she handed them over to the police, her task would be completely fulfilled.
It didn’t take more than two minutes for several police vehicles to appear in everyone’s sight, and Jiang Ning pulled the car over to the side of the road.