Chapter Nine: Carrot and Stick

The two of them kept grinning and bantering back and forth, infuriating the two patrol officers stationed at the entrance to maintain order. It was obvious they had been harassing everyone here for quite some time.

Ning Shuyi understood perfectly well what they were after: attention. Whether it was catching even the faintest glimpse of the crime scene to stir up curiosity, or provoking the police with their mocking, taunting words until tempers flared and a conflict broke out, either outcome would bring them a surge of traffic.

Compared with that, a reprimand, criticism, or even detention meant nothing to them. If they could trade any of it for fame, they would likely accept it without hesitation. After all, with a little manipulation of public opinion and a bit of hype, there would always be people eager to watch the spectacle and others ready to seize the opportunity to settle private grudges.

By then, any reprimand they received would be far less troublesome than the police officers themselves being thrust into the public eye and criticized for it.

Especially now, when it was plainly a major case of a serious nature, who would want to see trouble stirred up at a time like this?

The two officers were both young, each having only been on the job for a little over half a year. Clearly because of that concern, they could only keep forcing down their anger and trying to persuade the pair, but to no avail. Not only did they fail to gain any cooperation or understanding, their effort only made the officers’ frustration harder and harder to suppress.

Huo Yan had been walking ahead of Ning Shuyi. Seeing the situation clearly now, he no longer hesitated. Using the advantage of his build, he pushed past the livestreaming man and woman and positioned himself between them and the entrance to the crime scene.

Before the two could react, he stretched out both arms and swiftly gripped the phones clamped to their selfie sticks. His palms covered the cameras completely, leaving not a sliver visible.

Then, with a twist of his wrists, he removed both phones from their mounts. Freed from the man and woman’s control, they landed in his hands.

“Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing?” The female streamer likely never dreamed that Huo Yan would suddenly appear as such an unruly, direct man of action. In the blink of an eye, before she could even protest that he had jostled her into stumbling, her phone had already been seized. “Why are you stealing people’s things?”

“This is a crime scene. Unrelated persons are not permitted to approach, and no one is allowed to take photos or record video,” Huo Yan said sternly, his face dark as thunder. He stared coldly at the pair. “You insist on livestreaming here. I have reason to suspect that you are connected to the killer, and that you are using this method to pass information and obstruct our investigation.”

“Nonsense!” The male streamer panicked the moment he heard Huo Yan’s words. He knew very well that Huo Yan had merely covered the camera and taken the phones away; the livestream was still running. Any of the “dear viewers” in his room who had not left would still be able to hear their exchange through the darkened stream.

As someone who made money by drawing attention and stirring up popularity, he knew all too well how dangerous public opinion could be. If anyone took Huo Yan’s words seriously and spread them around, it would damage his reputation.

“If you don’t have evidence, don’t talk nonsense! Can you take responsibility if you ruin our reputation?” he stammered back. “We’re just enthusiastic netizens!”

“Then use your enthusiasm in the right place,” Huo Yan said with a snort. “There are so many good deeds and kind acts out there for you to film, so many places where the public is allowed to shoot freely, and yet you insist on making trouble here and deliberately provoking everyone for your own convenience!

“If I take apart your phones and they’re damaged, I can compensate you. But if you keep entangling yourselves here and it affects the investigation, can you bear that responsibility or not?

“Enthusiastic citizens? To me, you’re nothing but flies drawn by the smell of blood!

“Right now I can return your phones. Take them and leave immediately. If I see you lingering here again with your cameras pointed at the entrance, I will take action at once. Any consequences that follow will be yours to bear!”

With that, he did exactly as he said. He held out both hands and handed the phones back.

The two streamers had assumed the young officers at the door were too constrained to do much, so they had planned to keep pestering them a few more times, then withdraw once the situation looked unfavorable. They never expected a killing god to burst in from nowhere, seize their phones without a word, and make it clear in no uncertain terms, with that chilling look of his, that there would be no room for negotiation.

They hurriedly took back their phones, not even caring whether the livestream had already ended, and shoved their way through the crowd toward the exit, terrified that any delay would make people suspect they still meant to linger and force them into actual action.

Once the pair left, the rest of the onlookers at the entrance began to waver as well, though not many of them followed immediately.

Ning Shuyi patted Huo Yan, signaling that he could go in first.

The two troublemakers had already been driven off by him. If the remaining onlookers were confronted with a stern face and sharp words, it would not look good and would hardly be appropriate.

So it would be better for her to handle it.

Huo Yan nodded at her and turned to enter the house.

With a faint smile on her face, Ning Shuyi addressed the onlookers who had not yet left. “You all live in this building, or somewhere nearby, right? Did you hear that a criminal case occurred here, and because you happen to know the family involved, you came especially to provide us with leads?

“We really appreciate how supportive everyone is of our work. It will still take a little time to finish processing the scene, though, so please stay calm and wait a bit longer at the entrance.

“Once we’re done here, we can arrange transportation to take everyone to the Public Security Bureau to give statements. Thank you again for your support and understanding!”

At her words, the people who had been standing below the half-landing, craning their necks to watch the commotion, began to turn around and head downstairs.

The onlookers who had been blocking the doorway and had been unwilling to leave even after the two streamers went off quickly tried to follow.

“Where is everyone going? Please wait a moment. We’ll really be done very soon!” Ning Shuyi said earnestly.

As the people outside kept moving, someone in the crowd said that they did not know the family, knew nothing about the matter, and had simply come to watch the excitement. They could not be of any help, so they should not make a mess here.

Ning Shuyi stood at the doorway without moving, still gently persuading them. “It’s all right. Even if you can only provide us with a little information, that would still be helpful!”

The more she said that, the faster they left.

However, she also noticed one old man in the crowd who seemed to want to say something but held back. While everyone else hurried to leave, he had not moved at first. Only after his wife tugged at him several times did he finally lower his head and follow the others out in silence.