Rebirth 09: Starting from taking charge of Running Man on CCTV

The Huxin Pavilion is located in the northwest corner of the Zhuque Tower complex, right in the center of a small artificial lake.

A narrow stone slab bridge connects the riverbank to the pavilion; the bridge is only wide enough for two people to walk side by side.

The pavilion has a hexagonal pyramidal roof with upturned eaves and is open on all four sides. Inside, there is a stone table, two stone benches, and a guzheng (a traditional Chinese zither).

Yang Mi ran across the arched bridge and rushed into the pavilion.

She first overturned the stone table.

The area under the desktop is empty.

The space under the stone bench is empty.

The gaps between the pavilion pillars are empty.

She squatted down and tapped every single brick on the ground.

Solid, without any hidden compartments.

"That's not right..."

Yang Mi stood up, put her hands on her hips, and looked around.

His gaze fell on the guzheng.

She walked over and turned the guzheng over.

The bottom of the zither is smooth and has nothing on it.

She then plucked each string to check, but found nothing hidden underneath.

"Nothing at all?"

Yang Mi's brows were so furrowed they could trap a mosquito.

She clearly felt that her reasoning was correct.

The character is composed of the radicals for water, pavilion, and heart; it is called the Lake Heart Pavilion.

The solution is too obvious; it can't be a coincidence.

But where is the item?

Yang Mi walked around the pavilion three times, turning over every part that could be turned over.

Got nothing.

She stood in front of the guzheng and stared at it for five seconds.

Then he plopped down on the piano bench.

"never mind."

She gave a wry smile to the camera that was filming her.

"I can't find it. Let me play a piece to calm down."

She reached out her hand, her fingertips landing on the strings.

"Ding...dong..."

The two notes, one high and one low, were completely out of order.

Yang Mi herself laughed.

"I can actually play, but I've forgotten how."

She winked at the camera, then started strumming the strings haphazardly.

"Ding-dong...whoosh..."

The sound was intermittent, like a cat stepping on a piano string.

Yang Mi played more and more freely, her fingers tracing wildly across the strings, occasionally producing one or two reasonably pleasant notes, but most of the time it was just noise.

She played the instrument while talking to herself.

"I think I'm quite talented, and I play pretty well!"

The cameraman was trying so hard not to laugh that his shoulders were shaking.

At the end of the arched bridge, twenty meters away, Huo Jianhua stood behind the pillar.

He saw clearly.

Yang Mi sat in the pavilion in the middle of the lake playing the guzheng.

Playing the guzheng.

In the two-hour timed name tag ripping and token-finding game.

Playing the guzheng.

Wallace Huo's brows furrowed into a tight knot.

He had only one thought in his mind...

At such a critical moment, instead of looking for a token, he ran outside to play the piano?

No normal person would do such a thing.

Unless she doesn't want to win at all.

Unless she's an undercover agent.

Huo Jianhua took a deep breath and went over the judgment in his mind.

Yang Mi's performance was truly outstanding from the very first round.

She was the key player when playing shuttlecock, and she was also the most active in the mud pit.

But those are all public knowledge.

If she is an undercover agent, the more proactive she is on the surface, the less likely she is to be suspected.

And now, she's gone outside all by herself, wasting time at a crucial moment...

This is the real flaw.

Wallace Huo made a decision.

Don't alert the enemy.

Go back and tell Brother Hu and Yuan Hong to keep an eye on her.

He turned around, lowered his pace, and walked back the way he came.

Inside the pavilion in the middle of the lake.

Yang Mi finished playing the last note and withdrew her fingers from the strings.

"Alright, I've calmed down."

She stood up, preparing to search the pavilion again.

As soon as I took a step out, I caught a glimpse of the area under the guzheng.

The guzheng was placed on a wooden stand with four legs, each with a pad underneath to prevent it from slipping on the stone floor.

The three legs are placed on ordinary rubber mats.

But under the fourth leg.

Yang Mi squatted down.

That's not a rubber pad.

It was a piece of copper.

She reached out and gently lifted the guzheng stand, pulling out the copper plate.

It's about the size of a palm, with irregular edges, as if it had been broken in half.

She turned over.

The front is carved with half a tiger's head, with sharp lines and lifelike appearance.

The reverse side bears three small seal characters: White Tiger Order.

Yang Mi's eyes widened instantly.

"Half a White Tiger Token!"

She almost cried out, then quickly covered her mouth and looked around.

The surroundings were quiet, with only the sound of the wind on the lake and the faint sound of footsteps in the distance.

Yang Mi held the token in her hand, stuffed it into the inside pocket of her sweatpants, and pressed it down to make sure it wouldn't fall out.

Her heart was pounding like a drum.

Happiness came so suddenly!

The first real token.

Half a white tiger.

The other half was nowhere to be found, but at least she had a bargaining chip in her hand.

Yang Mi took two deep breaths to restore her expression to normal.

Then she stood up and walked back along the curved bridge.

His steps were neither fast nor slow, and his face showed a hint of disappointment at "not finding anything".

There was a feeling of elation.

But the cold copper piece in her pocket made her smile involuntarily.

The side gate of Zhuque Tower.

Just as Huo Jianhua reached the door, he saw Yang Mi walking back from the direction of the arched bridge.

Their eyes met briefly in the darkness.

"Brother Hua?"

Yang Mi tilted her head. "What are you doing here?"

Huo Jianhua remained unfazed.

"I came out for some fresh air; it's too stuffy inside."

"Did you find anything?"

"They're all bull heads. What about you?"

Yang Mi shrugged, looking innocent.

"I thought there might be a clue outside, so I ran out to check, but there was nothing. What a wasted trip."

Huo Jianhua nodded without saying anything more.

The two entered the Vermilion Bird Tower one after the other.

Huo Jianhua walked behind, his gaze fixed on Yang Mi's back.

She said she couldn't find it no matter what she said.

But she had been in the pavilion in the middle of the lake for so long.

Did you really find nothing?

Huo Jianhua kept this question to himself and quickened his pace upstairs.

He needs to find Brother Hu.

The Vermilion Bird Tower has three stories, with a corner tower on the east side.

Brother Hu was leaning against the window, idly flipping through the drawers.

His movements were so slow that they could almost be described as "dawdling."

Anyway, he's an undercover agent for the Running Man team, so the slower we find him, the better.

Footsteps came from the stairwell.

Wallace Huo appeared at the door.

"Brother Hu."

Brother Hu turned his head and smiled.

"Brother Hua, what did you find?"

Huo Jianhua walked in and closed the door.

His voice was very low.

"Yang Mi just ran outside by herself."

Brother Hu raised an eyebrow.

"Outside?"

"The pavilion in the middle of the lake. She stayed there for almost ten minutes and even played a piece on the guzheng."

"...Playing the guzheng?"

"right."

Huo Jianhua's tone was calm, but his eyes showed obvious vigilance.

"Don't you find it strange to go out and play the piano at a time like this?"

Brother Hu was silent for two seconds.

He was actually relieved; if Huo Jianhua suspected Yang Mi, he wouldn't suspect him.

But on the surface, he had to cooperate.

"That is a bit strange."

Brother Hu frowned. "But it's also possible she discovered some clues outside?"