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

Black trench coat.

Two lawyers behind him.

Four media teams.

There are also several journalist accounts that are already broadcasting live.

Shen Qingyue has arrived.

He was holding a transparent bag of evidence.

Hengtai Security immediately went to meet them.

A Hengtai event manager wearing a nameplate with the name "Zhang Yuxiang" on his chest greeted him.

"Ms. Shen."

There are no media interviews scheduled for today.

Please do not disrupt the event.

Shen Qingyue didn't stop.

"I'm looking for Jiang Mingxu."

"Teacher Jiang is preparing for the performance."

"Perfect."

The lawyer immediately unfolded the documents.

"We have authorization from Jiang Mingxu himself."

"and raised objections to today's performance of obligations."

Zhang Yuxiang's expression was visibly unpleasant.

"Contract dispute".

"Please proceed with legal proceedings."

Shen Qingyue stopped.

Dozens of cameras were positioned around the perimeter.

At the same time, aim at the other party.

"Can."

"Now call Jiang Mingxu out."

"Let him say to the camera whether he came here voluntarily today."

The other person didn't speak.

Shen Qingyue took a step forward.

"What's wrong?"

"inconvenient?"

"The artist is preparing."

"What are you preparing?"

Shen Qingyue raised her hand.

The first document, the contract.

"High default rate".

The second document is a guarantee.

"Family debts".

The third document is a letter of claim for compensation.

"Joint compensation for film and television projects."

At last.

Transparent evidence bag.

The charred red talisman inside.

"And this too."

The surrounding media erupted instantly.

"Is this what Jiang Mingxu left behind after his backstage attack?"

"Did Hengtai force performance of its contract?"

Where is Jiang Mingxu now?

"Should their personal freedom be restricted?"

Hengtai Security immediately formed a line to block the way.

Zhang Yuxiang was clearly unhappy.

"No comment."

Shen Qingyue smiled.

"You issued eight announcements yesterday."

"We invited hundreds of live streamers today."

"Now you're telling me 'no comment'?"

"Miss Shen, please leave. Hengtai does not welcome you today."

"Can."

Shen Qingyue nodded.

"Jiang Mingxu, come with me."

The person in charge, surnamed Zhang, remained silent.

"So people can't come out?"

The scene fell silent.

Dozens of phones that were broadcasting live were all held up even higher.

9:11.

Backstage.

Jiang Mingxu sat in front of the vanity mirror.

On the neck.

A dark red mark had already circled halfway around, like a red-hot rope.

The agent stood behind.

"Mingxu, sing three songs on stage today, and the company can discuss the rest."

Jiang Mingxu looked in the mirror.

"What if I don't go?"

"The performance breach, along with pursuing three film and television projects simultaneously, commercial compensation, and debt guarantees for the family, have all been initiated."

Jiang Mingxu gave a wry smile.

"and then?"

The agent remained silent.

Jiang Mingxu stood up.

"Then I quit!"

He turned and left.

Just got to the door.

The red marks on my neck suddenly lit up.

Sizzle—!

It feels like a red-hot wire digging into the skin.

Jiang Mingxu groaned and braced himself against the door frame.

But his shadow on the ground did not follow him.

He himself had already arrived at the door.

shadow.

Still standing in front of the makeup mirror.

The next second, it was suddenly pulled.

Jiang Mingxu staggered backward and crashed heavily into the back of the chair.

The agent's face turned pale, but he still gritted his teeth.

"Look, Mingxu."

"It's not that we don't want you to leave, it's that you can't leave on your own. We all have our reasons."

In the VIP area, Chen Bufan's phone suddenly rang.

The call was connected.

"Mr. Chen."

Jiang Mingxu's voice was very soft, and he was still panting.

"explain."

"I...can't get out."

"I tried twice just now."

Jiang Mingxu stared at the doorway, his hand trembling as he held his phone.

"It felt like my neck was on fire for the first time."

"He ran to the door a second time..."

He swallowed hard.

"My shadow didn't follow me."

In the mirror.

Jiang Mingxu sat down, but his shadow on the ground stood straight up, facing the stage.

"Mr. Chen."

"I'm actually a little scared."

"I was just thinking, at worst I'll breach the contract and quit being a celebrity."

"I'll sell my house and car, and I'll even deliver food to pay off my debts."

He twitched the corner of his mouth.

"It's better than death, isn't it?"

Chen Bufan remained silent.

"Mr. Chen, are you listening?"

Jiang Mingxu's voice was even lower.

"They want me to go on stage at ten o'clock."

"Am I really going to die today?"

"Possibly."

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

A few seconds later.

"Well."

Jiang Mingxu wiped his face.

"Can't you lie to me just this once?"

"Trying to run away?"

"Definitely."

"Now that the door can be opened, I don't even need my shoes."

Jiang Mingxu glanced at his own shadow.

"But I can't leave."

"Is there any other way?"

Chen Bufan said:

"If we force you to leave now, it will backfire. If you don't comply, they will replace you."

Jiang Mingxu was stunned.

"Who should we replace them with?"

"Whoever can replace you, that's who we'll replace."

"Will I end up like this too?"

"meeting."

Jiang Mingxu fell silent.

After a long while, he muttered a curse under his breath.

"That's really despicable."

His legs were still a little weak, but he slowly stood up while holding onto the table.

"Then I'll take the job."

After saying that, he swallowed hard.

"Let's make this clear first."

"It's not that I'm not afraid."

"I'm terrified right now."

"Please don't let me actually die on stage."

Chen Bufan said:

"Remember your own name."

"Jiang Mingxu?"

"right."

"No matter who calls you."

"No matter how many versions of yourself appear in the mirror."

"Remember it all."

"Your name is Jiang Mingxu."

Jiang Mingxu took a deep breath.

"OK."

far away.

The first drumbeat has sounded.

thump—

His shoulder visibly twitched.

"Mr. Chen."

"The rest is up to you."

Chen Bufan looked up at the central courtyard.

"Get on your stage."

"life."

"I'll vouch for you."

9:18.

Wang Tianhao's phone vibrated more than a dozen times in a row.

He was originally watching the flow of people at the entrance.

Looking down, his expression suddenly changed.

"The money is wrong."

Lin Wanqing turned around.

"What?"

"Hengtai's funds last night."

Wang Tianhao immediately brought up the tablet.

Six companies made payments to the South District project at almost the same time.

Twelve million.

Rent waived for merchants.

Eight million.

Consumption vouchers.

Fifteen million.

lottery.

Nine million.

Platform traffic acquisition.

Seven million.

Final payment for overseas performances.

Six million.

Stage equipment.

Security.

Costs of temporary activities.

It's still increasing.

Wang Tianhao scrolled down further.

The uglier the expression.

"madman."

Luo Tiancheng walked over.

"What's wrong?"

"Hengtai's normal cash flow is about to dry up."

"The most important thing to do now."

"It's to protect the bank."

"Protect the debt."

"Protect wages."

"Protect core projects."

Wang Tianhao turned the screen around.

"But none of them were saved."

"The last bit of money."

"Everything was smashed today."

Lin Wanqing looked at the source of the funds.

"These six companies..."

"They are all on Shi Zhiyuan's special project account chain."

Wang Tianhao nodded.

"Empty shell".

"It's specifically for transferring money to those projects."

Luo Tiancheng asked:

"so what?"

Wang Tianhao looked towards the shopping mall.

Even if 100,000 people make a purchase today.

"It won't save Hengtai either."

"The bigger the event, the better."

"The faster they die."

Chen Bufan looked up, thought for a moment, and said.

"They never intended to turn things around through a trial operation."

"There is something."

"We have to wait until today, until we have enough people, before we can finish."

The eye in the courtyard.

It brightened up even more.

9:24.

Number of people at the entrance.

【8017】

Twelve turnstiles.

All of them turned green again.

The broadcast started.

[Second round of streamer subsidies is now open]

[Top-rated videos on-site can receive a reward of up to 100,000 yuan]

The crowd surged again.

The young people who were originally at the back of the line started running forward.

"One hundred thousand!"

"quick!"

"First come, first served!"

Upon seeing this, Lin Wanqing went directly to the operations manager.

"Stop adding new entries."

The other party greeted him with a smile.

"Officer Lin, the number of people in the mall is still far below the approved capacity."

"I demand that you close at least half of the entrances."

"Then we'll need Officer Lin to provide the relevant departmental decision regarding the closure or flow restriction."

"The risks on site have clearly increased."

"We have a fire emergency plan."

The person in charge's smile remained unchanged as they continued to add.

"Even if Officer Lin has this concern because five skeletons were just unearthed yesterday, that was an old project and has nothing to do with normal operations today. Moreover, regarding the matter of the third basement level you mentioned, Hengtai's people are cooperating with the investigation."

The company has submitted an explanation for all of this.

His words were perfectly watertight.

Where is Jiang Mingxu?

The person in charge's smile froze for a moment, but quickly recovered.

"This is an artist fulfilling their contractual obligations normally."

Lin Wanqing stared at him and pointed to the recording device on her collar.

"very good."

I hope you will remember every word I said today.

The person in charge nodded.

"Of course, rest assured, the police and the people are one family, and we will fully cooperate."

After saying that, he turned around and raised his hand.

"Continue to allow passage."

Twelve turnstiles.

The message came at the same time.

drop.

drop.

One face after another flashed by.

One by one, the phones connected.

Red wires were laid underground.

Nine thirty-two.

East side.

On Qin Ruoxue's side.

The two engineers have pieced together the old lightning protection diagram of the Qin family and the publicly released construction diagram of Hengtai.

At first glance, there was no apparent connection between them.

Until one of the photos was rotated ninety degrees by Luo Tiancheng.

"etc."

He squatted down, ran his fingers along the eight bronze pillars of the Qin residence, and then connected the grounding line of Hengtai District 12.

One.

Two.

Three.

At last.

All lines.

They were pieced together to form an even larger structure.

The Qin family's formation.

It wasn't closed at all.

It's missing a corner.

And here at Hengtai.

Just in time to fill the gap.

Qin Ruoxue also squatted down and looked in the direction Luo Tiancheng was pointing.

"Isn't the Qin family an independent agency?"

Luo Tiancheng looked up.

"No, your Qin family is just one piece of this network."

Qin Ruoxue stared at the power line.

"The incense offerings the Qin family has consumed over the past twenty years..."

Luo Tiancheng's finger moved downwards.

At last.

Stop at one location.

The third basement level.

No one spoke.

Chen Bufan glanced at it.

"I'm afraid a considerable portion of it also flowed into here."

9:38.

The conflict at the South Gate is escalating.

Shen Qingyue had already forced her way to the backstage passage.

Hengtai security set up a second human wall.

"Miss Shen!"

"Please step back!"

"Jiang Mingxu is preparing for his performance!"

Shen Qingyue didn't back down; she simply held the contract up to the camera.

Hengtai said he was fulfilling the contract voluntarily.

"Then let him come out now."

The security chief's face turned ashen.

"Artists need to be prepared."

"What preparations? No access to lawyers or authorized representatives? Not even free use of a mobile phone?"

More and more reporters gathered around, bombarding them with questions.

Is Jiang Mingxu's freedom being restricted?

"Was someone forced to take the stage by threatening family debt?"

"Is there any connection between borrowing the red talisman and Hengtai?"

Was the incident that happened backstage last time related to today's event?

The security chief has finally become famous.

"Everyone, stand back!"

"This is not a press conference!"

He shoved the reporter at the front of the group towards him.

The hand had just been extended.

More than forty cameras were shoved into his face.

The hand abruptly stopped.

Shen Qingyue looked at him.

"push."

"Why did you stop pushing?"

The other party gritted their teeth.

"Shen Qingyue."

"Don't push things to the extreme."

Shen Qingyue smiled.

"You locked him up in the backstage area."

"They used his parents' debts to force him to perform on stage."

"Now you're telling me not to push things too far?"

She took a step forward.

"Get out of the way."

"You can't go in."

Say it again.

"cannot--"

boom!

In the backend.

Suddenly, a loud bang was heard.

Shen Qingyue's expression changed drastically.

"Jiang Mingxu!"

She rushed straight in.

The security guard instinctively reached out.

The lawyer behind Shen Qingyue spoke sternly:

"You dare touch her!"

The media cameras were all following them.

Dozens of livestreamers also gathered around.

The human wall broke down.

9:41.

The screen on the third basement level displays this.

Real-time entry.

【9361】

The person in charge wiped away sweat.

"President Zhou."

"Almost ten thousand."

Zhou Heng, however, stared at another set of numbers.

Total number of viewers online during the live stream.

683

741

806

It's still jumping.

Zhou Heng squinted, took a deep drag on his cigar, and slowly exhaled, clearly in a much better mood.

"The scene is still a bit lacking."

A man in white lay on a grand chair nearby, resting with his eyes closed.

"That's enough mirrors."

Zhou Heng turned around and looked at the countless phones in the surveillance footage.

"Ten thousand people were present."

"Ten million external lenses."

"More than originally planned."

Ayako Kamishiro gently opened the black fan.

"Mr. Zhou".

"Everyone today."

"They're all actively trying to broaden your horizons."