I was just telling a story, why is the whole internet urging me to turn myself in?

"Friends from Harbin? I don't have a single friend from Harbin!"

In his spacious office on the 68th floor of the Shanghai World Financial Center, Shen Feng stared at the WeChat message Su Qing had sent him on his phone screen, feeling like his CPU was about to overheat.

He deliberately moved the story's setting 3,000 kilometers to the north just to prove that it doesn't snow in Jiangzhou and couldn't possibly be the same as reality, and yet he still managed to perfectly avoid making a mistake?!

Shen Feng took a deep breath, his fingers hovering above the screen, and lightly tapped the screen to reply with a message:

Shen Feng: Captain Su, you're too kind. See you at Starbucks downstairs tomorrow at 3 PM. As for Ice City… it's too cold there. I prefer sitting indoors in a warm place, listening to the sound of snow falling.

Click to send.

Shen Feng tossed his phone onto the table and rubbed his temples.

Who cares? Anyway, I'm talking about fiction the whole time. Even the methods of the crime are based on junior high school physics. I didn't steal, rob, or leak any secrets. Even if the King of Heaven came, I would still be a law-abiding citizen!

With this "dead pig doesn't fear boiling water" mentality, Shen Feng returned to Cloud Peak First Grade under the escort of Grizzly Bear and fell asleep immediately.

……

The next morning, when Shen Feng held a cup of hand-drip coffee and turned on his computer, he realized that his understanding of the word "explosive popularity" was still too conservative.

He has once again topped the trending searches across the entire internet!

Last night's live stream clip of "ice cube strangulation" has been wildly parodied by content creators on various platforms.

The top trending topic on Bilibili: "Physical Reincarnation! The Grandmaster Teaches Online, Hardcore 3D Recreation of an Ice Cube Chamber!" 1200 million+ views.

The top three trending topics on Weibo are: #ShenfengBaofengxueshanzhuang#, #BingchengDefenseDepartmentWorkingOvernight#, and #TheGrandmaster'sDimensionalReductionStrike#.

The most outrageous thing is that several of the most authoritative legal bloggers with millions of followers on the entire internet actually released frame-by-frame analysis videos overnight.

In the video, Lawyer Luo, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, confidently pounded on the blackboard in front of the camera: "Dear netizens, please don't blindly follow the trend. Mr. Shen has been using 'fictional narratives' from beginning to end."

"He did not name names, did not disclose the original official files, and even added a disclaimer stating that 'any resemblance is purely coincidental.'"

"From a legal standpoint, his actions constitute a 100% legally permissible closed loop! What do you call that? It means even Luo Xiang would have to offer him a cigarette, and Zhang San would have to call him 'Master'!"

The comments section erupted in a frenzy:

"The Closed Loop of Legal Boundaries"

"Grandmaster: I'm just telling a story. As for why it's the same as reality, you'll have to ask the murderer."

"Got it. The ultimate level of an outlaw is to completely humiliate the Defense Agency, and then the Defense Agency has to praise him for obeying the law!"

Looking at the official account of "Hidden Culture Media Studio" which had gained three million followers overnight, and the email inbox overflowing with invitations from major publishing groups to sign S-level copyrights for "Falling Snow Manor," Shen Feng silently took a sip of coffee.

Just then, the personal cell phone on the table rang, and the caller ID showed: Zhao Haibo.

"Mr. Shen! Good morning!" On the other end of the phone, Jiangzhou real estate tycoon Zhao Haibo's voice carried an undisguised awe. "The five million consulting fee has been transferred to your company's official account. Have you received it?"

"Received, Mr. Zhao, you're too kind." Shen Feng replied calmly.

"No, no, no, you're being too modest!" Zhao Haibo took a deep breath and lowered his voice, "Yesterday, following your instructions, our legal and internal audit departments raided Lao Lin's office overnight. Guess what? We found fragments of Xingqi Capital's betting agreement hidden in a compartment at the bottom of the shredder! If it weren't for your amazing ability to 'recognize people in ten seconds,' I, Zhao, would have been bankrupt this time!"

"I'm just doing my job, taking their money to solve their problems."

"Mr. Shen," Zhao Haibo's tone became extremely serious, "I would like to hire you as the chief strategic security advisor for Haibo Group, with an annual fee of twelve million. You don't need to be in the office; you just need to 'give me your opinion' on key decisions. What do you think..."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Zhao," Shen Feng interrupted him without hesitation. "I'm just a novelist who tells stories and occasionally does some legitimate business consulting. Strategic consulting is too tiring. We can just stick to external collaborations."

After hanging up the phone, Shen Feng nodded in satisfaction.

While 12 million might seem tempting, getting too deeply involved with such financial giants can easily lead to trouble; keeping your distance is the best approach.

On the other end of the phone, Zhao Haibo, instead of getting angry when he heard the dial tone, gasped in shock.

"Twelve million without batting an eye... 'I'm just a storyteller'..." Zhao Haibo muttered to himself, his eyes filled with awe. "To consider manipulating people's hearts and playing with rules as 'storytelling'—this gentleman's level of understanding has transcended that of ordinary people!"

……

Meanwhile, at the Jiangzhou Defense Headquarters, in the first conference room.

The atmosphere was so heavy it seemed like it could drip water.

All members of the "Hunter" special case monitoring team, including Director Zhou Weiguo, were staring intently at the forty-page top-secret report on the big screen.

The report's heading, written in bright red font, reads: "In-depth Psychological Profiling and Behavioral Logic Analysis of Target S-01 (Shen Feng)".

"Gentlemen," Su Qing said, dressed in a crisp police uniform, his eyes bloodshot from staying up all night, but his expression sharp, "last night's 'Red Plum Manor Case' in Bingcheng has completely confirmed our deductions. Shen Feng is definitely not a simple 'insider' or 'leaker'."

She pressed the laser pointer, and a screenshot of Shen Feng's ambiguous smile during the live stream appeared on the screen.

"He possesses extremely strong psychological manipulation abilities, a terrifying ability to observe micro-expressions, and master-level knowledge in interdisciplinary fields such as physics, architecture, and toxicology. What's most frightening is his behavior pattern—he always stays within the absolute safety zone of the law."

Su Qing placed her hands on the conference table, her gaze sweeping across the room: "He used legal royalties to rent a top-tier office building, used legal consulting fees to co-opt social capital, hired retired special forces soldiers at high salaries, and even all his 'criminal guidance' was disguised as 'fictional novels'!"

"In criminal psychology, this is known as the 'Moriarty-style criminal consultant' model!" Su Qing's voice echoed in the conference room. "He doesn't directly participate in the crimes, but rather acts as the mastermind behind them, radiating his rules outwards! If we continue to use traditional investigative methods to deal with him, we'll only be forever led by the nose!"

Zhou Weiguo rubbed his throbbing temples and sighed deeply: "Captain Su, you're right. But the problem is... he hasn't left even the slightest evidence of wrongdoing! They searched all night in Bingcheng, but couldn't even find out how he obtained the case file information! We can't just arrest a major taxpayer for 'telling a story that's too realistic,' can we?"

"Therefore, I request an adjustment to the strategy." Su Qing straightened up, her eyes resolute. "Director, I request that the surveillance level on Shen Feng be officially upgraded to SS level, and that two more national-level cyber psychology analysts be added to decipher the 'hidden commands' in his live stream frame by frame."

"Furthermore, I have a special request," Su Qing took a deep breath. "Yesterday, I invited him to coffee this afternoon as a neighbor. I request to approach him in a private capacity and establish an informal social relationship. Since I can't find any fault with him within the rules, I'll peel back his facade by observing his daily life!"

Zhou Weiguo remained silent for a full half minute before finally nodding heavily: "Approved! But Su Qing, remember, when facing a mind manipulator of this level, avoid excessive empathy and protect your own psychological defenses!"