MM Racing Chapter 50: You Murdered Her
Chapter 50: You Murdered Her
Before all eyes, silence is the darkness that devours everything.
This isn't the blackness of a screen going out, but rather the void created by the interruption of data flow after the signal source is lost.
In the live stream room, a bizarre window that once attracted nearly 800,000 people online simultaneously and generated countless topics is now just a still image, like a gaping mouth that has suddenly closed.
The small real-time online user count in the upper right corner was still fluctuating, and the number began to slowly decline—753,421…752,988…751,203…
In the lower left corner of the bullet comment section, there are still a few scattered words, like a few dying fish futilely leaping out of the water:
"??????"
"Where's the video?!"
"No signal?!"
"They choked me?!"
"The police must have gotten involved!"
"How is the person in the room?!"
"Is Liu Li really dead?!"
"Has the murderer been caught?!"
Are these questions useful? They are quickly swallowed by silence.
The internet is our home; it's not just about suspense, but also soap operas and time travel spanning 480 million years!
Is your room 403 trying to discourage our enthusiastic netizens?
Many of us who stayed up all night to stay on the line couldn't hold on any longer after several hours of intense heart-pounding and mental strain, when faced with this sudden "blackout"!
The accumulated fatigue and the frustration of being played well surged up layer by layer.
"Damn it, I'm not watching anymore, I'm going to sleep!"
"It's definitely a publicity stunt! It's a complete disaster!"
"What a waste of my feelings!"
"Let's disperse!"
"This is boring, just making things unnecessarily mysterious!"
One after another, bloodshot eyes turned away from the screen in disappointment, clicking to close the page or simply shutting down the laptop. Lights in the room were switched on one by one, and people rubbed their aching necks and eyes as they headed for the bathroom or their beds.
Inside the command vehicle at the scene in Anpingli.
The atmosphere was even more somber than before.
Yang Hong did not order a full-scale assault. Instead, she ordered Special Police Team A to remain on standby and mobilized more technical resources to conduct a more thorough electronic scan and thermal imaging survey of Building 7 and its surroundings.
She stood in front of the large screen in the command vehicle, which was divided into multiple images: a 3D structural diagram of Building 7 and its surroundings, infrared thermal images from various angles, communication signal monitoring images, and... the small live broadcast window that had turned completely black.
The live stream room was shrunk and placed in the upper right corner of the screen, like an ugly scar.
"Why are there so many people?"
Yang Hong's brows were furrowed, and her fingers unconsciously tapped the edge of the control panel.
Her composure and Cheng Jing's decisiveness are two different styles. Cheng Jing is like a drawn sword, while she focuses more on planning, control, and waiting for the best "opportunity".
"Director Yang," a technician reported, "we found no abnormal heat sources in the pipe shafts, rooftop, or spaces we previously suspected might have mezzanines or secret rooms in Building 7. There shouldn't be any other people hiding in the building besides our own."
Just as the technician was reporting, a red, secure internal telephone inside the command vehicle rang.
Yang Hong glanced at the caller ID, her eyes flickered slightly, signaling the others to continue working. She then picked up the receiver and walked to a slightly secluded corner of the command vehicle.
"I am Yang Hong."
A frantic voice came from the other end of the phone: "Director Yang, this is Wang Bin from the Internet Monitoring Team. Regarding the 'Anpingli Live' account, we've received numerous complaints from netizens reporting that it spreads graphic violence, creates panic, and is suspected of illegal and criminal activities. According to the emergency response plan and platform management rules, we should immediately permanently ban this account, trace the source of the signal, and apprehend the responsible parties. Do you think... we should proceed with the account banning now?"
Yang Hong remained silent for a few seconds before turning her gaze to the dark live stream window on the screen.
Banning an account means completely severing this window, preventing any information that might continue to flow out from it, whether true or false, clues or traps.
This is standard procedure and can quickly quell public opinion online.
but……
She recalled Cheng Jing's cold words before she was taken away: "If anything happens to anyone inside, you will be held responsible."
This livestream room is both bait and hook. If it's shut down, the fish might disappear into the deep waters and never resurface.
"Captain Wang," Yang Hong said slowly, "wait a little longer."
"Wait a minute?" The person on the other end of the phone sounded puzzled. "Director Yang, the public pressure is immense, and the content of this live stream is indeed..."
"I know," Yang Hong interrupted him, "but this live stream might be the only 'tentacle' that the culprit—or the mastermind—is still actively exposing. If we shut it down, we'll lose a channel for observation and tracking. Notify the platform to technically limit the account's reach and block its content, reducing its spread and popularity, but don't completely shut down the signal interface. I want it... still to 'breathe'."
She paused, then added, "In addition, mobilize your most elite technical team to monitor all backend data, access logs, and signal redirection paths of this account 24/7. I need to know the real IP addresses and possible geographical locations of everyone who enters this live stream, especially those IDs that are unusually active and have a tendency to lead conversations. Also, if the live stream shows any visuals or sounds again, I need to know immediately and try to trace the source of the signal."
"Understood, Director Yang. I'll arrange it immediately. However... if there's any more extremely bloody or inflammatory content..."
"Then immediately cut off the video and audio, but keep the signal connection intact," Yang Hong said decisively. "We're dealing with real criminals, not just a piece of virtual data."
"yes!"
Yang Hong walked back to the main screen. The black live stream window remained lifeless.
She glanced at the time: 3:28 a.m.
Nearly half an hour had passed since Liu Li's presumed time of death.
More than twenty minutes had passed since Cheng Jing was taken away.
This silence was more unsettling than any of the previous commotion and conflict.
"Director Yang," Chen Ming couldn't help but whisper, his face filled with anxiety, "It's so quiet inside... Could something have happened? Shouldn't we go in? Team Leader Cheng...?"
"Just do your job, Officer Chen." Yang Hong glanced at him. "Your task is to assist me in monitoring the scene and analyzing intelligence, not to question commands."
Chen Ming opened his mouth, but ultimately swallowed his words.
Just then!
"Sizzle—!"
A sharp noise suddenly burst from the audio equipment of the command vehicle!
The piercing sound startled everyone inside the command vehicle, causing them to instinctively cover their ears!
The noise lasted for about two seconds.
"Hehehehe..." A twisted laugh came from the speakers!
All eyes instantly focused on the source of the sound—
It was that small, previously completely black live stream window on the screen!
The small window was no longer pure darkness.
It turned into a chaotic image with jumping black and white noise, like an old videotape that had been severely damaged and was being played.
Amidst a dazzling array of noisy, snowy particles, a blurry image is struggling to emerge.
The image was extremely unstable, sometimes stretched, sometimes compressed, with distorted colors, but it was still barely recognizable.
It was a corner of a room.
Dim lighting.
And... a figure with its legs dangling off the ground!
The figure was facing away from the "camera" and swayed slightly.
Although the image quality is poor and distorted, the drooping arms, the dark outline of the ligature marks on the neck, and the familiar clothing... it is Liu Li!
It's room 402, the body of Liu Li who hanged herself!
This horrifying photo appeared out of nowhere in front of hundreds of thousands of viewers who had not yet left!
"Ah—!" Inside the command vehicle, a young female clerk couldn't help but let out a short scream.
Yang Hong's pupils suddenly contracted, and Chen Ming and the other police officers also gasped.
What's even more terrifying is yet to come.
This bizarre image of Liu Li's suspended corpse lasted for less than five seconds.
Then, all the noise and images on the screen were wiped away as if by an invisible hand!
The photo disappeared.
The entire live stream screen was completely covered by a line of large, bold, scarlet text:
"You murdered her!"