Chapter 29: Publish it

Chisheng and Xunren

Xia Yuxin stared into Yu Song’s eyes as if harboring a deep, bitter grudge.

She refused to cooperate at all. “I’m not only going to report you, I’m going to sue you. My face still hurts, and it’s getting worse. You’re the one who injured me.”

She started crying again. “Why did you hit me?”

Yu Song smiled and said, “You want to know why I hit you? Haven’t you been online? Netizens all say I did the right thing, that I hit you well. Besides, weren’t you the one who called me over? What did you want me to do when I came? I don’t even know you. I thought maybe you wanted me to scold you awake or hit some sense into you. Of course, I couldn’t disappoint you, so you should be thanking me.”

Xia Yuxin screamed in anger, “You don’t know me, but it’s because of you that I was exposed. If not you, then who else would I look for?”

Yu Song gave her a cold look. “You got recorded bullying others because of your own actions. Stop making excuses.”

“I was forced! If you don’t believe me, go ask He Zilu.”

After saying that, Xia Yuxin collapsed onto the table pretending to be dead.

But her face was swollen, and as soon as she laid her head down, she let out a low groan of pain.

Yu Song laughed, “Feeling the pain now, huh? When you were hitting those classmates, did you think they wouldn’t hurt? And you even excitedly went over to hold their waists so He Zilu could hit them more easily. You really are good at being a lackey.”

Xia Yuxin repeated stubbornly, “She forced me. If you don’t believe me, just go ask her.”

Yu Song slammed the table. “Even if you go ask her, you went first. Police Uncle won’t say this to your face, but you and Qu Xiaoyun are already being watched. Sooner or later, you’ll end up like He Zilu. And yet, you still want to be an internet celebrity?”

Xia Yuxin jumped in fright. “Who’s watching me? What nonsense are you talking about?”

“Do you know how He Zilu died?”

“She jumped off a building, didn’t she?”

“Both you and Qu Xiaoyun know very well she didn’t jump by herself.”

“That’s because you forced her!”

Yu Song whispered coldly, “You even believe your own lies, huh? I’ve already cleared it up—her death has nothing to do with me. She was the second victim. I wonder if you’ll be the third? If Qu Xiaoyun is telling the truth, she probably won’t be the fourth.”

Xia Yuxin was confused.

“What are you talking about? One, two, three?”

“I’m talking about lives. Two people are already dead, both bullies. You might be the third. I wanted to save you, but look at you—unrepentant and still trying to sue me.”

Yu Song gave her a disdainful glare and stood to leave.

Xia Yuxin, who had already refused to communicate, suddenly blurted out, “Stop! I didn’t understand. Who died? Wasn’t it He Zilu who jumped? Who was the first? Who’s killing people? Are you trying to scare me?”

Yu Song said, “Fine, believe I’m just scaring you!”

She didn’t stay any longer and walked straight out of the interrogation room.

In the office, Gu Zhi frowned at her.

“You’re quite good at playing hard to get.”

Yu Song shrugged.

“What else can I do? If these people kill her, she won’t admit she was wrong. Besides, I didn’t lie. You can’t find the truth, so you can’t confirm whether Zhou Yaohui’s and He Zilu’s deaths are connected or done by the same person. Anyway, I received two calls and those two are dead. The third call exposed Xia Yuxin. Saying she’ll be the third killed fits perfectly logically.”

Ji Jiang had reviewed all the cases in his mind over and over, but he still couldn’t figure out the mysterious person’s ultimate goal or why Yu Song was targeted.

Apart from her messy family, Yu Song’s record had no highlights or stains.

Why call her?

“Xiao Yu, the first victim, Zhou Yaohui, bullied you. The second, He Zilu, bullied you too. But Xia Yuxin didn’t. I don’t think she’ll be the third.”

Gu Zhi sighed. “If those three calls were from the same person, it means their plan has changed.”

“Yeah. He probably knows I reported it to the police. He’s so elusive we can’t find any info on him. We’re just being led around by the nose.”

Ji Jiang was about to say something when Huo Anran knocked and said, “Team Leader Ji, Team Leader Gu, Xia Yuxin wants to see Xiao Yu.”

Yu Song smiled proudly and said to them, “See? You can’t just talk nicely to this kind of person. Otherwise, she’d think you’re begging her.”

Huo Anran quietly gave her a thumbs up.

With her status, being able to get into the interrogation room to talk face-to-face with the person involved, and in just five minutes changing Xia Yuxin’s attitude, was impressive.

Yu Song didn’t expect to be praised by the female lead and felt quite pleased.

This heroine was destined to shine in the criminal investigation team and rapidly rise through the ranks.

Look at her realization—never doubting Yu Song, even generous with compliments.

Unlike Gu Zhi and Ji Jiang, especially Ji Jiang, who seemed to be doubting whether the third call was really from the mysterious person.

Xia Yuxin was scared stiff by Yu Song.

She sobbed with her swollen face, “What exactly did you mean just now? Why did you say I’m the third? Who wants to kill me?”

“If I knew, would I waste time talking to you? I’d have caught them and earned merit by now.”

Yu Song simply told her about the previous two cases.

“Basically, you should have died as soon as I took the call. The only reason you’re alive is because the firefighter saved you and I woke you up. But he won’t give up. Understand?”

Seeing Xia Yuxin still confused, Yu Song bluntly said, “To put it simply, this mysterious person is playing a Death Game, and you’re next. Got it?”

Xia Yuxin no longer shouted but her voice trembled, clearly terrified. “I don’t want to die. Why kill me? Did I offend him? Why pick me?”

Yu Song impatiently said, “What do you think? You don’t even remember what you did. Always whining about why, why. Can’t you reflect for once?”

“Because I helped He Zilu bully others? But she forced me…”

Before she finished, Yu Song was already getting up to leave.

Xia Yuxin hurriedly called out, “Don’t go! Can’t I say something? I’m not a good person, but I haven’t done anything really bad. I haven’t killed or set fires. I don’t even dare bully others when I’m alone. You think I’m lying, but I’m not. It’s He Zilu’s fault—she brought out the evil in me.”

Yu Song was already at the interrogation room door but turned around to look at her.

“No one cares about your feelings. First, tell me about the group He Zilu joined.”

“What group? I don’t know…”

Before Xia Yuxin could finish, Yu Song had already opened the door and was leaving.

“I’m in a hurry to go film videos and be an internet celebrity. I don’t have time to waste here with you. When you die someday, I’ll mention you on my livestream.”

Yu Song never wanted to be an internet celebrity.

Even though the online world was buzzing with news about her, with many digging up her information, she knew being an internet celebrity was like walking a tightrope—it could be made or broken by netizens.

Of course, the main reason was that she had no interest in it, but she knew this would provoke Xia Yuxin.

Xia Yuxin flushed with anger.

Why was Yu Song allowed to be an internet celebrity, but she risked her life by jumping from the rooftop and ended up getting scolded by everyone—even threatened with death?

It wasn’t fair!

“I know about that group. Qu Xiaoyun knows too. He Zilu and the two of us bragged about how hard it was to get into the Core Group and asked for help. She said we needed to do something thrilling to reach the highest level.”

Yu Song returned and sat down at the table.

“Go on. What else do you know? The group’s name, the leader, anything memorable.”

“The group’s called Chisheng and Xunren. I never joined, so I don’t know who the leader is.”

Xia Yuxin saw Yu Song frown and hurried to explain, “I’m not lying, it’s true. I thought the name sounded cool, didn’t think much of it. He Zilu said the people in the group were all big bosses and very generous.”

“Generous? Those big bosses gave He Zilu money so she could bully others in videos?”

Xia Yuxin shook her head.

“I don’t know. Anyway, Qu Xiaoyun and I thought He Zilu was amazing. Her money seemed endless, but her parents’ allowance was limited.”

Since it was a paid group, Yu Song was a little surprised.

He Zilu’s family was well off.

How did she get into such a group?

“Go on. Anything else?”

Xia Yuxin shook her head. “Nothing else. He Zilu said she’d invite us in once her rank was high enough, but later she told us not to mention the group anymore. I asked if she was kicked out, and she got mad and said no, then intensified the bullying. I only targeted people I didn’t like, but she went crazy. That period, she was really off.”

“When exactly?”

“Before we graduated high school. I already thought she was crazy then. That summer vacation, she called again saying her rank was high enough and asked if we wanted to join.”

“Did you join?”

“No.” Xia Yuxin said awkwardly, “I just wanted to go to university to find a handsome boyfriend. I didn’t want to follow He Zilu to beat people up, so I refused. She said I was ungrateful and scolded me harshly.”

Yu Song could tell Xia Yuxin was genuinely not lying this time.

She was flustered and scared, clearly aware of how evil He Zilu was and how many perverts were in that group.

She was afraid to die.

“Who exactly wants to kill me, Yu Song? Say it. I don’t want to die. Is there anyone here who means what they say? I demand 24/7 protection.”

Yu Song ignored her.

Xia Yuxin realized she’d been fooled and screamed angrily.

A paid group existing for three years with organization and levels.

Even Gu Zhi was baffled—how do you investigate that?

Yu Song asked, “Do you think this group still exists?”

Ji Jiang: “Definitely. And they must have code words; otherwise, it would have been discovered by now.”

Yu Song said, “Team Leader Ji, Team Leader Gu, I think we should just publicly reveal the group.”