Chapter 31
Luo Xiaohei had long golden hair braided into a loose pigtail hanging on one side. He was blowing bubble gum and looking at Luo Hua's computer expressionlessly. His fingers were typing on the keyboard quickly and he soon cracked Luo Hua's computer.
"Wow, Sister Xiaohei, you are simply my god!" The intern boy next to her was stunned and wanted to kneel down to Luo Xiaohei on the spot.
The others present were already accustomed to the techniques of "Shenzhen and Hong Kong's No. 1 Hacker." Next came the task of sifting through the massive amount of data.
Luo Hua is obviously not an organized person. His computer desktop is covered with various folders, most of which are for teaching purposes, and some of them have no idea what is inside unless they are opened.
Luo Xiaohei was overwhelmed and burst a bubble: "I hate people who like to create information and data garbage."
The screen reflected Lu Chengtian's deep facial features: "Xiao Hei, don't be anxious, first see if there are any websites he often visits."
The black shirt accentuated his slender neck and sharp jawline, while the dark circles and stubble under his eyes added a touch of mature charm to him.
Unfortunately, Luo Xiaohei, a beautiful girl who has loved two-dimensional paper people all her life, has no interest in three-dimensional humans. Facing this great face, she suddenly thought of the couple that the little policewoman had been shipping him and the editor-in-chief of the newspaper during the meeting. At this moment, she couldn't help but sigh that they were a perfect match.
Lu Chengtian had no idea what his subordinate was thinking. He only heard her briefly reply, "Yes, boss," and then started the Internet surfing mode on Luo Hua's computer.
Looking at the lines of white data codes popping up on the black page, most people present lost interest, only the intern continued to worship with starry eyes.
"Why don't you check the storage files in his computer first, but instead check the web pages he likes to browse? Did you find out anything?" Zhao Yiqing pulled him to a corner of the room, lit a cigarette, and asked in a low voice.
Lu Chengtian couldn't tell him about Zhou Mubai and Lin Xian's conversation about the "dark web," so he replied earnestly, "Intuition."
"Oh, this is the first time I've heard Captain Lu say that you rely on intuition when handling cases. I remember that you always put a lot of emphasis on evidence and logic." Zhao Yiqing exhaled a puff of smoke lightly, looked at the dispersing mist and fell into deep thought. He then looked at Lu Chengtian intently, and lowered his voice to a level that was almost undetectable: "The falling case, the Galanxiang, the Yulong KTV explosion, Luo Hua's disappearance - your Editor-in-Chief Lin seems to be deeply involved in each of these cases. There are some things I can keep secret for you for a while, but that's out of my personal feelings and my trust in you. If you keep hiding it, I might have to use my own power to investigate further."
Before Lu Chengtian could answer, Zhao Yiqing ignored the growing, almost burnt-out ash between his fingers and moved a little closer to him. He could almost see the bloodshot in his eyes. "You found Lin Xian, right? Don't be so quick to deny it. I can tell by your expression. After all, I've had a crush on you for so many years, and I can roughly guess your every move. If you weren't sure if he was still alive or where he was, you wouldn't have appeared at the crime scene so calmly - because you're always too sentimental."
Lu Chengtian lowered his thick, black eyelashes, which were as black as crow feathers: "Yiqing, thank you. Don't worry, if he really has a problem, I will never be soft-hearted."
His dark and calm eyes looked at Zhao Yiqing, like an ancient well that had been calm for thousands of years.
Zhao Yiqing chuckled softly: "Okay, as long as you still remember your responsibilities, I certainly have nothing to say, after all -"
Luo Xiaohei interrupted him with a slightly excited voice: "Boss, we found it! Luo Hua has a website he frequently visits, but it's not just any website. Ordinary website names are usually concise and clear to make it easy for users to find them, but this URL is made up of a bunch of gibberish to prevent unauthorized users from logging in. In short, it's a dark web."
Lu Chengtian patted Zhao Yiqing on the shoulder, looked at him deeply, and the two walked behind Luo Xiaohei.
The website that popped up was a completely black interface, an encrypted section that required an invitation code. Luo Xiaohei tried all the usual methods, but couldn't "hack" Luo Hua's account. She popped another piece of bubble gum into her mouth, chewing it while thinking about a solution.
After a while, she snapped her fingers: "Got it, we can track the payment flow of Luo Hua's Bitcoin account, and there must be a code loophole in this forum. As long as I can simulate Luo Hua's identity to enter, it will be fine." As if talking to herself, she clattered on the keyboard, as if she was playing piano keys - but the final chapter she played was a bit horrifying. After deciphering the forum interface, there were several bloody Gothic words on the top: Paradise for the Lost.
The large and small sections are similar to the forums in the early days of the Internet, except that the posts here are full of negativity and nihilism, and just a quick glance at them makes people feel depressed.
Luo Xiaohei slid the mouse, and Lu Chengtian quickly scanned the text on the page, his eyes quickly locked on an inconspicuous corner: "Stop, right here, the purification live broadcast preview, click in."
This is a live broadcast preview link. The cover shows a statue of an angel crying under a gray sky, and in the upper left corner is a black countdown - 36 hours left.
Lu Chengtian checked the time. It was 2 p.m. This meant that the next live broadcast would be the day after tomorrow, March 28th at 10 p.m.
"Can Luo Hua's simulated identity click into the live broadcast?" he asked.
Luo Xiaohei tried it and said, "Yes, but you need to pay at least 0.1 Bitcoin."
"Well, that's not easy. Just transfer a few dollars to his account and it's done." The criminal police officer on the side laughed.
Luo Xiaohei's gaze swept over him coldly. "According to the current market conditions, one Bitcoin is worth approximately US$116,511, which is equivalent to RMB 820,630. Even 0.1 Bitcoin would cost over 80,000. Will you pay?"
The young detective touched the cuff of his sweater, which was pilling like crazy but he was reluctant to throw away, and chuckled, "I've really broadened my horizons following you guys in technical investigations. Our salary wouldn't be enough to cover even if we didn't eat or drink for half a year."
"Is there anything special about this live broadcast?" Zhao Yiqing looked at the interface thoughtfully, as if as long as the live broadcast was confirmed to be valuable, a mere 80,000 would be no problem.
Lu Chengtian took the mouse from Luo Xiaohei and flipped through the comments in various languages below the trailer. From the English and Traditional Chinese, he could almost feel the excitement of these people who couldn't wait.
His expression was so serious that the atmosphere around him dropped a few degrees. They dared not even breathe, staring at the screen. He exited the preview interface and scrolled through the forum, looking back at posts from over a month ago. A post with a garbled title caught his eye, and he clicked on it.
Everyone was confused, but Zhao Yiqing and Luo Xiaohei just took a look at the date at the back and instantly understood that it was the date when Liu Yaoyao fell from the building.
As expected, there were changes within the interface. The title was no longer the deliberately concealed garbled code, but "Purification Live Broadcast - Angel's Death".
The cover of the video shows Liu Yaoyao standing on the top floor of Jinyuan Building!
The photographer was obviously in the building opposite Liu Yaoyao, not shooting from an upward angle, but from a level angle. Moreover, the shooting equipment was extremely high-definition, so the distance could not have been too far.
Everyone held their breath, watching Liu Yaoyao's every move in the video. With her oval face and large eyes, she was naturally pretty and lovely, but for some reason, she would occasionally and unconsciously stare at the camera. Her empty eyes and pale face gave her a sinister look that sent chills down her spine.
She was seen wandering around the rooftop for a long time, checking her phone from time to time. The livestream was filled with impatient comments, such as "Why haven't you jumped yet?", "What the hell are you doing?", and "Give me back!" These words terrified the criminal police and technical investigators present, and were followed by anger at being powerless to stop these people behind the scenes.
An hour passed on the progress bar, but Liu Yaoyao was still wandering on the rooftop, or standing behind the concrete wall, looking down at the countless people 78 floors below.
After a while, she made a call, which lasted less than a minute. After hanging up, she shed two lines of tears.
Lu Chengtian, Zhao Yiqing and Luo Xiaohei looked at each other. The call was made to Qi Huan, and the timeline matched perfectly.
The investigators present had skipped lunch, staring intently until now, but their attention was riveted by the livestream—an unexpected breakthrough. Luo Xiaohei downloaded translation software, and numerous messages on the livestream were translated into Chinese. The offensive language provoked angry curse words from the investigators.
"Fuck, are these people even human?" A young criminal police officer's eyes were red with anger. "It's not like I haven't seen perverts before, but this is rare to see so many at once. If I could catch these bastards, I would castrate them one by one!"
"The world we see is just the tip of the iceberg. This world still hides many evils. Fortunately, we live in a safe country, but in places we cannot see, evil is constantly happening. Take people like Luo Hua. Who would have thought that he would be linked to drug trafficking, cults, and student rape? Unmasking the devil and making them receive the corresponding punishment may be the meaning of our existence." Lu Chengtian stared at Liu Yaoyao's movements on the screen, slightly tilting his head to look at the young detective: "Put away your useless emotions, do what you should do, and the law will prevail."
The young detective looked at Lu Chengtian's profile nervously and stood up straight involuntarily: "Yes, Captain Lu!"
"Is she going to take out the Galan incense?" Luo Xiaohei took a breath as he watched Liu Yaoyao impatiently put her schoolbag on the concrete wall of the rooftop.
No one answered, and everyone stared at the display screen nervously.
Liu Yaoyao took out a few blue incense sticks and an ordinary plastic lighter, then bent down and disappeared behind the wall.
"She's taking shelter behind the wall. She might be taking drugs," Zhao Yiqing speculated.
As expected, relevant content appeared in the live broadcast comments.
Many people began to ask her what she was doing and what she was holding in her hands.
A user named "Z" responded: "A new type of drug, like incense sticks, you can light it and inhale it directly. It's not as addictive as 'Blue Flame', but it can take you and your friends straight to heaven."
"New stuff? How much?" "Give me some." "Let's chat privately after the livestream."
It’s like a live streaming sales event.
"Xiao Hei, check this Z." Lu Chengtian paused the progress bar.
Luo Xiaohei took the mouse, and after some operations, he clicked into Z's personal interface, but it was empty.
"At least he's a seller, so he's obviously very cautious." Lu Chengtian said, "Wait until the live broadcast is over, and try chatting with him privately pretending to be a buyer."
The progress bar continued to advance. About ten minutes later, Liu Yaoyao reappeared on the live broadcast screen, looking somewhat confused and crazed, with a strange smile on her lips.
She climbed up the concrete wall lightly, showing no fear at all, her expression relaxed as if she was playing a little game. On the concrete wall, which was only an adult's palm wide, she stood upright, arms raised high, like a flying bird.
Then, she suddenly stared at the people in front of the screen, her lips curled up, and she fell rapidly. The camera changed from a close-up to a long shot, recording the entire process of Liu Yaoyao falling from the sky to the ground - a full eight seconds.
Lu Chengtian felt his heart being gripped by a giant, withered hand. Eight seconds later, the vibrant girl blossomed into a decaying rose on the cold concrete floor.
Luo Xiaohei closed his eyes.
What was strange was that when the high-precision camera was aimed at the pool of flesh and blood on the ground to take a close-up shot, the entire live broadcast room went crazy, the amount of reward soared, and obscene words filled the screen.
The screen suddenly turned into a black background, and an isosceles triangle with a blazing fire inside gradually appeared in an animated form. The blood-red color and heavy muffled sound struck everyone's heart.
Only then did they realize that a desperate girl didn't even have the right to choose her own life or death - even death was controlled by invisible forces, and even became a tool for some people to vent their desires and for others to make money.
The afternoon sun was blazing, yet the investigators felt a chill run down their spines. Amidst the suffocating silence, Lu Chengtian's clear, steady voice shattered the ice. "Liu Yaoyao's death can essentially be ruled a homicide. We have three potential breakthroughs. Thoroughly investigate the cult organization called 'The Great Light of the Gospel of Christ'; investigate all suspicious individuals who have entered or exited Luohua Community, seeking to find them alive or dead; and contact 'Z'."
He returned to the latest "Purification Live" preview interface, and the countdown showed that the live broadcast would start in 34 hours and 5 minutes.
"This filming location across from the Jinyuan Building requires a focused investigation, especially any suspicious individuals who entered the upper floors of the building that day. We must not let any of them go undetected. We are running out of time. We must find the next victim before she dies."
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