A single divination predicts life and death; the entire internet begs me to start a live stream.

"Northwest corner of the basement."

"Under the third floor tile."

"There's one more."

"Still alive."

As Chen Bufan uttered his last three words, the live stream seemed to freeze.

The color drained from Zhao Qiming's face little by little.

He sat in his study.

White shirt.

Black-rimmed glasses.

Behind me were neat bookshelves.

Everything was just like he always appears in his videos.

Rational, clean, and restrained.

But at this moment, the panic in his eyes could no longer be concealed.

After a brief pause in the chat, it exploded.

Still alive?!

What's still alive? A cat?

[Under the third floor tile in the basement?]

[Holy crap, call the police!]

[Zhao Qiming, say something!]

[Go to the basement! Now!]

His face looked off; he was genuinely panicked!

[Science Debunking King, you wanted evidence? Go down and see!]

Zhao Qiming suddenly reached out and turned off the camera.

Snapped.

The live stream screen went black.

But his voice still lingers.

"Chen Bufan!"

"Stop spouting nonsense!"

This voice was completely different from the gentle and rational voice he usually spoke in his videos.

irritable.

Ruthless.

It even carried a hint of barely concealed fear.

The live stream chat exploded even more.

He turned off the camera!

He's panicking! He's panicking!

[Don't shut it off! Go to the basement if you dare!]

[They were just talking about using science to debunk fraud, and now they're afraid to even turn on their cameras?]

[Zhao Qiming, what exactly is in your basement?]

[Call the police! Call the police immediately!]

Chen Bufan stared at the blacked-out live stream screen, his expression completely unchanged.

"Turning off the camera won't help."

Zhao Qiming gritted his teeth and said:

"That's slander!"

"Do you know?"

"I will sue you for every single word you say right now!"

Chen Bufan said calmly:

"Save lives before filing a lawsuit."

Zhao Qiming sneered.

"Help?"

"Don't be ridiculous."

"My basement is spotless, there's nothing there!"

"You just want to portray me as a bad person who abuses cats and scams donations, right?"

"Let me tell you, Chen Bufan, that's a really low-level trick!"

The comments section paused for a moment.

Then it completely exploded.

[Cat abuse?]

[Did he admit to abusing cats himself?]

[Before the master even said what it was, he rushed to deny abusing cats?]

[Would this be considered self-destruction?]

Wait a minute, didn't the "Fake Cat King" make a lot of videos about rescuing stray cats before?

I'll go look it up!

I'm going too!

[Brothers, let's dig up some old videos!]

Zhao Qiming clearly realized that he had let something slip.

There was a half-second silence on his end.

Then his tone became even more aggressive.

"Don't let him lead you astray!"

"He's deliberately using these vague statements to mislead you!"

"Basement, cage, cat, fundraising scam—he wouldn't say anything specific!"

Chen Bufan looked up.

"Do you need more specific details?"

Zhao Qiming's breath hitched.

Chen Bufan's voice was very flat.

"You used to keep twenty-seven stray cats in your basement."

"Twelve of them were sick cats that your team acquired from a rescue center at a low price."

"These six were arrested by you in the neighborhood."

"There are nine more that fans brought to your studio after watching your videos, saying they believed you could save them."

Suddenly, the sound of a chair scraping against the floor came from Zhao Qiming's side.

"Shut up!"

Chen Bufan did not stop.

"When you're filming, wash them clean, feed them a good meal, and film a before-and-after comparison of the rescue."

"In front of the camera, you said you felt sorry for stray animals."

"Behind the scenes, those who are incurable, those who don't have any online following, and those who are not good-looking are all thrown into the basement."

The comments section was so crowded that they were impossible to read.

【brute!】

【real or fake? 】

[I remember now, he had a video of rescuing an orange cat before, but he hasn't appeared since!]

[And that lame calico cat!]

He always says he's been adopted, but he never reveals the adoptive parents!

I've always found this strange!

[Call the police immediately!]

Zhao Qiming roared:

"Chen Bufan!"

Do you have any evidence?

"You're spreading rumors without evidence!"

"The entire internet can see how many cats and dogs I've rescued!"

"I've also donated hundreds of thousands!"

"I have a certificate for public service!"

"Who do you think you are, daring to slander me?"

Chen Bufan stared at the black screen.

"The certificate was bought."

"The donations were made through a shell account opened by your own team."

Zhao Qiming's voice abruptly stopped.

Chen Bufan continued:

The account name is "Qiming Stray Animal Rescue Project".

"You are not the account holder."

"It's your assistant, Sun Tao."

"Some of the money donated by fans was used to buy cat food, medicine, and filming props."

"The remainder will be split monthly."

"You take 60%."

"Sun Tao will take 20%."

"The operations and editing teams get the remaining 20%."

There was a moment of silence in the live stream.

Then the barrage of comments came crashing down like a tsunami.

[Fundraising scam?!]

I've donated to the Qiming Stray Animal Rescue Fund!

I also donated 200!

Holy crap, I always thought that was a genuine charity account.

Who is Sun Tao? Is he the chubby assistant on his team?

I remember seeing this in one of the videos!

Check your account now!

If this is true, the "King of Exposing Counterfeits" is completely finished!

A series of rapid breaths came from Zhao Qiming's side.

There were also angry curses in hushed tones.

"Turn off your microphone!"

"I told you to turn your mic off!"

But the more panicked he became, the more it seemed to confirm his suspicions.

The viewers in the live chat have already started digging up evidence themselves.

Some people went to look up Zhao Qiming's past rescue videos.

Someone has dug up his studio address.

Someone checked the background of his videos.

Soon, a comment was copied by countless people.

[Found it! Video from November 12th last year, 3 minutes and 17 seconds, shows a basement staircase behind him!]

Another one.

[In a video from February 6th of this year, the sound of the cat cage is very clear; he said it was from his neighbor's renovations!]

Some people even took screenshots and posted them in the comments.

[This door! Is this the entrance to the basement? He's photographed it more than once!]

[The location of his villa complex can be found; he took photos of the entrance himself before.]

Don't trespass! Call the police immediately!

I've already called the police, reporting suspected animal abuse and fundraising fraud in the basement.

【I signed up too!】

[I'm in the same city, the police have already taken my case!]

Finally, another man's voice came from Zhao Qiming's side.

"Brother Zhao, the address might have been leaked."

"What do we do now?"

Zhao Qiming cursed in a low voice:

"waste!"

"Didn't I tell you to clean the basement?"

"Why is there still something there?"

Another voice panicked.

"We don't know what's under those floor tiles..."

The moment those words leaked from the microphone, the entire live stream exploded.

I heard you!

He said they didn't know what was under those floor tiles!

[It's confirmed!]

[The microphone is on! The microphone is on!]

[Record your screen! Record your screen now!]

Zhao Qiming is completely finished!

Zhao Qiming obviously heard it too.

The next second, the audio from the live stream abruptly cut off.

In Chen Bufan's live stream, only his solo image remained.

The backend shows: The other party has disconnected from the live stream.

The comments section was flooded with messages like crazy.

He ran away!

[My microphone's cut out!]

[Feeling guilty!]

[That last sentence was recorded!]

There really is something under the floor tiles!

【Master Chen, what should we do?】

Chen Bufan glanced at the backstage area.

Although Zhao Qiming disconnected his microphone, his live stream was still running.

Because the platform is running two streams simultaneously, the feed on his own account is still lit up.

However, the camera was turned off, and the sound stopped as well.

black screen.

The screen was filled with a chaotic battle between his fans and bystanders.

Chen Bufan wasn't in a hurry.

He picked up the copper coin on the table and gently twirled it between his fingertips.

The copper coin stopped.

He looked up at the camera.

"Call the police."

The screen immediately filled with comments.

[It's been reported!]

[It's already been reported!]

[Local police have taken the call!]

I sent the screen recording to the police!

[And there are screenshots from his old videos!]

[A screenshot of the basement entrance has also been posted!]

Chen Bufan continued:

"Don't go to his house and surround him."

"Do not trespass."

"Save all the screen recordings, screenshots, and donation records."

"Especially those who donated to that so-called relief account."

"Keep the transfer receipt."

He paused for a moment after speaking.

The voice turned colder.

"The one still alive in the basement won't last much longer."

As soon as these words were spoken, the comments section, which had been filled with casual observation, instantly turned into a flurry of activity.

[Police, hurry!]

What exactly is the address?

【Save the cat! Save the cat first! 】

Damn, even I, a grown man, got teary-eyed watching this.

Zhao Qiming deserves to die!

[They scam donations from stray cats and then torture them; they're beasts.]

Just then, Zhao Qiming's own live stream suddenly regained its sound.

Someone forwarded the screen recording to me.

On the black screen, Zhao Qiming's voice was low but full of anger.

"Never mind the third brick."

"Move the freezer away first."

"And those syringes and medicine bottles."

"hurry up!"

Another voice asked, trembling:

"Brother Zhao, someone's knocking on the door."

"Are they police officers?"

Zhao Qiming angrily said:

"Don't open it!"

"Just say I'm not home!"

"The basement door is locked!"

The sound was very short.

It only lasted a dozen seconds.

But enough.

The entire internet is in an uproar.

[Freezer! Syringes! Medicine bottles!]

[Is this a rescue? This looks like a crime scene!]

He even tried to move the evidence!

[Get the police to break down the door!]

I donated money, and now I'm shaking with anger.

[The king of science fraud exposé has ended up exposing his own frauds.]

He used to be so righteous and outspoken when exposing others, but now he's so dirty-minded?

Chen Bufan's expression turned completely cold.

"Zhao Qiming".

He spoke to the camera.

"You can hear me."

I'll only say it once.

"The one in the northwest corner of the basement is still alive."

"If you open the door now, you'll be committing a crime at worst."

"If you don't open the door, it will die, and that will be another debt."

There was no response from the black screen.

A few seconds later, Zhao Qiming reconnected to the live stream.

The screen is still black.

But the sound came back.

This time, he could no longer keep up the act.

"Chen Bufan!"

"What the hell do you want?"

Did I dig up your ancestral grave?

"Are you determined to destroy me?"

Chen Bufan's eyes were cold.

"You're exposing a fraud."

"I am dead."

"Everyone does their own thing."

Zhao Qiming launched into a tirade:

Stop pretending!

"You just want to climb over me to get ahead, don't you?"

"You think you're clean?"

"Didn't you also gain popularity by associating with the dead, the wealthy, and women?"

"What's the difference between you and me?"

Chen Bufan said calmly:

"the difference?"

He stared at the black screen.

"Your life is in front of you."

"I will save them."

"You'll use it to make videos."

Zhao Qiming's side went silent instantly.

This sentence is harsher than cursing him a thousand times.

The screen was flooded with comments.

Well said!

That's the difference!

[Master Chen, please help! He's using his life to elicit sympathy and scam money.]

The king of exposing counterfeits has completely collapsed.

[Stop arguing, have the police arrived yet?]

next second.

Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps came from Zhao Qiming's side.

Then came the knocking on the door.

thump.

thump.

thump.

The sound wasn't loud.

But this silenced the entire live stream.

A stern voice rang out from outside the door.

"Zhao Qiming".

"We are Haicheng Public Security Bureau."

"Please open the door immediately."