Villain? No, I'll catch up with the protagonist after passing the civil service exam.

In a corner of the food area, at the booth of an elegantly decorated private restaurant, the atmosphere was tense.

"So, boss, have you made up your mind?"

A young man with smoky makeup, a lip piercing, and a sleazy look was sitting at a dining table with his legs crossed. He held a brand-new phone in his hand, and on the screen was his restaurant review account with millions of followers, which was currently live-streaming.

"I'm a very easy person to talk to."

The man, whose real name is "Trendy Guy Afei," is a recently popular restaurant review blogger. While picking his teeth, he issued an ultimatum to the gloomy-faced restaurant owner in front of him.

"You're waiving my meal today. And give me a 5,000 yuan red envelope as a 'service fee.' I'll put in a good word for you in the live stream, and I guarantee your shabby shop will become a viral sensation online tomorrow."

The boss was a middle-aged man in his fifties, with graying temples and a face full of the dilemma of an honest man.

"This...this teacher, we're just a small business, five thousand yuan is really...and you've ordered the most expensive dishes, this meal will cost almost three thousand..."

"Too expensive?"

Afei sneered, shoved his phone screen in front of the boss's face, and spoke in a low voice, but it was full of naked threat.

"Boss, do you believe that if I just say in my live stream that I found a huge, live cockroach in your food, your restaurant will have to close down tomorrow?"

"Look at my millions of followers, if each of them spat on me, I could drown you."

"I...you..."

The boss was so angry at this shameless threat that he trembled all over. His hand, which was pointing at Ah Fei, was shaking, but he couldn't say a word.

This is a typical example of "media violence," the dirtiest and most effective blackmail tactic in the influencer world.

In the live stream, Afei's fans thought it was just for the show and started making a fuss.

"Fei-ge is awesome! These unscrupulous merchants deserve to be taught a lesson!"

"Exactly! They won't even let us say the food is bad? They have to expose them!"

"Boss, my patience is limited."

Ah Fei glanced at his watch and said impatiently, "I'll give you ten seconds to think it over. You choose: spend five thousand dollars to avoid disaster, or wait for the business to close down."

Just as the boss turned ashen-faced and was about to give in.

A cold voice, as if from the deepest hell, suddenly rang out behind him.

"I choose the third one."

Afei paused for a moment, then suddenly turned around.

A man wearing a black jacket and gold-rimmed glasses had appeared behind him at some point.

The man was very tall, with a commanding presence and an incredibly powerful aura.

He was also holding a phone, but instead of a live stream, the screen showed a recording interface.

"Who...who are you?" Afei felt uneasy under that gaze and instinctively shrank back.

Who I am is not important.

Lu Jingyan slowly walked forward, waved the recording interface in front of Afei, and a playful smile appeared on his lips.

"The important thing is that I recorded everything you just said."

"So what if we record it?"

Afei, forcing a show of force, roared, his voice trembling with fear, "I'm a restaurant review blogger! I have the right to supervise public opinion! If I say there's a cockroach in his food, then there is! My fans believe me, not you!"

"The right to public opinion oversight?"

Lu Jingyan seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world.

"You call this public opinion supervision? This is extortion."

He pointed to Afei's phone, then to the terrified boss. His voice wasn't loud, but every word was piercing.

"With the intent of illegal possession, they extort public or private property by threatening to expose negative news and damage business reputation."

Lu Jingyan walked up to A Fei, leaned down slightly, and his eyes flashed with a sharp light that seemed to see through everything.

"Friend, do you know what this is called in the Criminal Law?"

Ah Fei's face turned deathly pale instantly.

"According to Article 274 of the Criminal Law, anyone who extorts public or private property in a relatively large amount or repeatedly commits extortion shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, or public surveillance, and may also be fined."

Lu Jingyan's voice was calm, yet it struck A Fei's heart like a heavy hammer.

"The amount you just requested was five thousand yuan, plus the three thousand yuan for the free meal, totaling eight thousand yuan. This has already reached the threshold for filing a case for 'a relatively large amount'."

"Furthermore," Lu Jingyan pointed to A Fei's live stream, "you made criminal threats in front of millions of people. What do you call that? That's called a serious offense."

"I……"

Ah Fei panicked completely. He never expected that the "industry rules" he was used to would become written charges against him in this man's mouth!

"No! I didn't! I was just joking with him!" he tried to deny.

"joke?"

Lu Jingyan straightened up and waved to Zhao Tiezhu, who was already waiting on the side.

"Captain Zhao, it seems this 'Teacher Afei' has a bad memory. Take him back and help him recall what he just said."

"Okay!"

Zhao Tiezhu grinned and grabbed A Fei by the back of his collar like he was picking up a chick.

"Let me go! What right do you have to arrest me! I'm an internet celebrity! I'm a big influencer!"

Afei struggled frantically, dropping his phone to the ground. The live stream spun around for a moment before finally settling on his face, contorted with fear, and... a cold silver bracelet slowly fastening.

The live stream chat exploded instantly.

Holy crap! Real police?!

[Was that handsome guy Lu Jingyan? Was he the real Officer Lu?!]

[A shocking plot twist! A food blogger extorting money from a restaurant was caught red-handed by Officer Lu who happened to be passing by?! This is too exciting!]

[Well done! I've been wanting to get rid of these restaurant-hunting bastards for ages! All they do is dine and dash and collect protection money! They deserve to be taught a lesson!]

As Ah Fei was taken away, the restaurant owner, who was quite frightened, walked up shakily, tears welling up in his eyes with emotion.

"Officer! Thank you! Thank you so much!"

He grasped Lu Jingyan's hand, speechless, "I...I want to present you with a banner!"

"No need for the banner."

Lu Jingyan patted him on the shoulder, his tone softening, "If you encounter something like this again, don't be afraid, just call the police. Remember, the law is your strongest backing."

After saying that, he turned around to deal with the next "red dot".

However, at that moment...

"ah--!!!"

A bloodcurdling scream, so piercing it was inhuman, suddenly came from the second floor of the convention center!

The sound was filled with endless fear and pain, like a sharp knife that instantly pierced through the noisy scene, making everyone tremble and subconsciously look up.

"Beep beep beep beep beep!"

At the same time, Lu Jingyan's cell phone in his pocket started ringing incessantly.

He picked it up and saw that it was an unfamiliar number, but the location was local.

Lu Jingyan frowned, pressed the answer button, and turned on speakerphone.

On the other end of the phone came a young girl's voice, trembling with fear and tears, accompanied by static from an electrical circuit.

"Huh?! Is...is that Officer Lu?! Help!"

"I'm a viewer in the 'Mist Theater' live stream! We...we think we saw...murder!"

The girl's voice was trembling.

"The streamer... the streamer... he really stabbed that NPC! Blood! So much blood! That's not a prop! It's real blood!!!"