The Cyber Queen of Deception - Chapter 38

“Qingqiu, have you seen this show?”

A woman dressed as if she had stepped out of the early 20th century hurried over. This description wasn’t meant to imply she was old-fashioned, but rather that her entire outfit was made of rare, precious silk, not cheap synthetic fabrics that had been recycled multiple times.

Her jewelry wasn’t alloy but pure gold, mined to exhaustion and now exorbitantly priced, and it didn’t jangle as she walked.

Her every move matched the Cyber underclass’s image and imagination of the upper class. In her hand was a holographic projector playing last night’s murder live broadcast room content.

“What was that Internet Celebrity’s name… Yao Na! Yes, Yao Na.” The woman thrust the projector into Wen Qingqiu’s hands, her voice trembling. “She looks exactly like your grandmother. How could there be such a coincidence in the world?”

The lady’s tone was tinged with urgency, eager to seek Qingqiu’s opinion.

Wen Qingqiu silently turned off her own projection, pretending to see the murder live broadcast room for the first time, feigning surprise.

“Mom, today’s Internet Celebrities all undergo surgery. This is probably just someone who had surgery to look similar. How could anyone look exactly like Grandma?”

“Is that so?” Wen’s Mother, who didn’t understand the internet well and never paid attention to Internet Celebrities, listened to her daughter: “But she doesn’t seem like she’s had surgery. Her eyes, nose, mouth-they all look natural.”

“Maybe cosmetic surgery has advanced again. Besides, even if they really look alike, it’s just a coincidence.”

Wen Qingqiu tried to brush it off, but Wen’s Mother suddenly changed her expression, seriously refuting, “It’s not just looking alike. She looks exactly like your grandmother. I almost thought your grandmother was on TV. Such a degree of similarity, besides genes, seems to have no other explanation…”

Wen’s Mother paused, raising her voice, “Could it be the government sold our family’s uploaded genetic data?”

“How could it be?”

Wen Qingqiu smiled slightly, soothingly saying, “Grandma was just beautiful, not like those scientists or biologists who have genes that need national protection. And this Internet Celebrity’s age seems similar to mine; Grandma hadn’t passed away yet, right?”

“Oh right, Mom passed away ten years ago.”

Wen’s Mother suddenly realized.

Generally, wealthy people upload genetic data after death for archival and remembrance.

If Yao Na and Wen Qingqiu are of similar age, it couldn’t be a child naturally born from the Wen Family’s genes.

“Don’t overthink it. We won’t have any dealings with such lower-class Internet Celebrities in our lifetime. Instead of wasting time thinking about this and that, why not decide which restaurant to dine at tonight? Mom, today is my birthday.”

Wen Qingqiu gently acted spoiled. She understood her mother, a woman who doted on her daughter.

Sure enough, mentioning her daughter’s birthday immediately shifted Wen’s Mother’s attention. They discussed the evening’s birthday party plans, affectionately chatting for a while, and two hours later, she had forgotten about Yao Na, leaving Wen Qingqiu’s room.

After seeing her mother out, Wen Qingqiu’s gentle smile vanished instantly.

“Wen Na, what are you doing, letting this reach Mom’s ears?”

Wen Qingqiu’s face showed genuine anxiety, unlike her earlier performance. She pressed her temple to activate the Communication Device, calling Wen Na.

…

Beep beep beep.

In a small dark room, Wen Na was undergoing combat training when she suddenly received a call from Wen Qingqiu.

Distracted, she was punched by the virtual Yao Na. The full pain sensation made her dizzy, but she dared not rest, quickly exiting the free combat training Superdream.

Incoming call: 5791-8888.

Wen Qingqiu is going to make a fortune.

Though there was no note, Wen Na recognized the familiar number, the bold sequence of 8s, knowing it was Wen Qingqiu’s call.

“It’s Qingqiu. Why is she calling me…?”

Wen Na hesitated, staring at the number, not answering immediately.

Just then, a leisurely voice sounded at the door, asking, “Who is it?”

Wen Na jumped, instinctively hanging up Wen Qingqiu’s call. She turned to see Yao Na leaning casually against the doorframe, the backlight casting angelic glowing edges, yet the shadowed face was chilling.

Oh my, when did this devil arrive, without making a sound?

The devil… no, Yao Na’s gaze fell on the recently hung-up call, asking, “Why not answer?”

“Unknown number, probably selling insurance.”

“Now insurance sellers can use such bold 8888 sequences?” Yao Na directly exposed Wen Na’s lie, even showing interest in the number’s owner. “You actually have friends. What’s this, she saw the murder live broadcast, recognized me as a fake, and called to check on you?”

“I don’t have any friends…”

“If not friends, then enemies.”

Yao Na hit the nail on the head.

In Wen Na’s world, there were only two types of people-bystanders and enemies. Wen Qingqiu was an enemy, and so was Yao Na, who imprisoned her!

Without hesitation, Wen Na suddenly lifted her head, taking advantage of Yao Na’s inattention to charge at her, quickly switching to attack mode.

She thought after so much free combat training, coupled with the surprise attack during conversation, she could at least touch Yao Na’s clothes. But she still missed, falling flat on the ground.

Looking up, Yao Na was crouched in a corner of the ceiling, looking down at her with amused interest.

“Failed again.”

Yao Na’s smile was infuriatingly smug.

Damn it! Failed again. Wen Na was discouraged. She lay on the ground, letting the sweat from the combat training soak into the tatami-like synthetic floor, leaving a human-shaped mark.

Maybe she should train more, run a bit every day. If she were agile enough, she could have touched Yao Na’s ankle!

Wen Na didn’t give up, instead reviewing her shortcomings, secretly planning the next sneak attack.

She didn’t know.

Her thoughts and plans were all captured by Yao Na, making her chuckle.

Yao Na agilely jumped down from the ceiling, saying, “You don’t have to tell me who called, or confess to me. It’s okay, I can find out myself.”

Yao Na stepped over Wen Na’s body, heading out of the room. Halfway, she suddenly stopped, saying something seemingly unrelated, “Though it sounds sarcastic, you’re in a good state now.”

At least, better than hiding in a dark room, deceiving people through data manipulation.

After speaking, Yao Na closed the door.

Darkness enveloped Wen Na again, surrounding her in shadows.

Wen Na awkwardly got up, muttering to herself, “Tch, pretending to be a good person. Don’t think a compliment will make me forget you took my identity and imprisoned me!”

This woman was warm on the outside, cold on the inside, always saying sweet words. Truly a devil!

After leaving Wen Na’s room, Yao Na called Zhi Yi, asking him to gather more information about Wen Na-not out of sudden curiosity about the Original Host, but because the murder live broadcast room needed to kill more than one person to evolve.

One was her, the other was unknown.

Yao Na suspected, given Su Wu’s dislike for her, he might choose someone related to her.

And the murder live broadcast room only needed interesting people, so who would be chosen to maximize entertainment?

Yao Na pondered. As a teleportation traveler, she knew few people in Cyber, but the Original Host she replaced was different-a transparent person with advanced hacking skills, who chose to be an Internet Scam rather than steal from corporate safes. She herself was interesting enough.

And the person who knew Wen Na, who called after watching the broadcast, what role did they play in her life?

Yao Na focused on Wen Na-finding someone related to her was urgent.

In the group chat, Zhi Yi speculated, “So, the other death guest might be Wen Na?”

Song Lin immediately replied, “I can watch over her, prevent her from being taken by the murder live broadcast room!”

Compared to their tension, Yao Na’s reply was eerily calm: “If it’s her, even better.”

“If the murder live broadcast room can kill Wen Na for me, I won’t have to waste a room imprisoning her, nor worry about my identity being discovered.”

Zhi Yi: “…”

What a clever use of others, is this something a police officer should hear?

Song Lin could only silently reply, “…Don’t say it so loudly, you sound like a villain.”

Yao Na shrugged, indifferent.

She spoke ruthlessly, but she knew the murder live broadcast room wouldn’t choose Wen Na, because killing her would only benefit Yao Na, offering no advantage to him.

Pollutants were simple, not foolish, and wouldn’t do such unprofitable things.

“Anyway, let’s gather Wen Na’s information first. I feel she’s not that simple.”

After the chat ended, Zhi Yi went to gather Wen Na’s information, while Yao Na opened the browser, searching for murder live broadcast room keywords.

“Ding ding-”

The holographic projector issued an error message, indicating the inability to search related information.

In just a few hours, all murder live broadcast room content had been deleted, becoming a banned term across the internet.

Seeing this, Yao Na knew the Cyber government had intervened, unsurprised-the murder live broadcast room had hijacked TV signals, showing murder scenes to households, challenging government authority!

Today was live murder; tomorrow might be live rebellion, overthrowing the government, what then?

Thus, half a month after Yao Na teleported to Cyber, the pollutants’ disturbance reached not just the police, but government officials.

The Judgment Department stepped in to control the situation, instructing the police to privately contact major entertainment and public relations companies, banning accounts and silencing, then using the murder live broadcast room’s selection criteria as new internet regulations to prevent anyone from being chosen as the next death guest.

1. From today, all users must use real names for comments, tracing content back to themselves.
2. Content creators are prohibited from using sensationalism to attract traffic, with increased review intensity.
3. Discussion of murder live broadcast room matters is prohibited.

Those unaware of the truth felt their freedom of speech was controlled, causing an online uproar.

But those sensing something amiss, like the Internet Celebrities, dared not speak, fearing being chosen as the next death guest.

However, this time the pollutants were much stronger than before. The government could silence online, but couldn’t cover people’s mouths in reality; danger still arrived as expected.

By evening, the murder live broadcast room began broadcasting again.

Yao Na’s Communication Device suddenly lit up, projecting an inexplicable scene-a lavishly decorated top-tier restaurant, elegantly dressed ladies and gentlemen moving about, occasionally holding champagne, smiling and chatting, quite leisurely.

At first, she thought it was a live broadcast of corporate tycoons, but upon closer inspection, she saw Su Wu’s reflection in a glass.

Ah… interesting.

It’s practically a remote provocation.

This time, Su Wu didn’t appear in the camera but became the camera itself. The live broadcast room transformed into a more thrilling first-person perspective.

The camera slowly lowered, revealing the violin string in Su Wu’s hand, thin and almost invisible if not closely observed.

He slowly approached a gentleman speaking loudly, who seemed unable to see him, continuing to speak enthusiastically.

The next second, the violin string wrapped around the gentleman’s neck twice, tightening continuously.

In the camera, the gentleman appeared as if an invisible hand was strangling him, his eyes bulging, his face instantly reddening.

The wine glass in his hand fell in response, making a loud crash, attracting the attention of those nearby.

“What happened?”

“What happened?”

Two ladies standing not far from the gentleman exchanged glances, clearly unable to see Su Wu’s presence.

Su Wu withdrew his gaze from the two panicked women, continuing to apply force, the gentleman’s neck deeply indented.

“Thud.”

The gentleman finally lost consciousness, collapsing.

His body hit the floor with a dull thud, finally drawing the attention of the surrounding guests.

They didn’t know what had happened, thinking the gentleman had suddenly fallen ill, discussing calling the hospital.

These glamorous people gathered together, loudly discussing, while the gentleman was strangled to death in front of them, creating a strong contrast in the live broadcast’s visuals and sounds, making Yao Na’s expression more solemn.

One person was dead.

One more, and the murder live broadcast room would evolve.

Su Wu targeted others, continuing the harvest. Yao Na realized he intended to use this evolution to kill more people.

At that moment, Zhi Yi called, his first words were, “Something happened!”

“I know, where?”

“In the City Center Royal Banquet Hall…” Zhi Yi had already found the crime scene before the live broadcast began, discovering the murder live broadcast room’s pre-determined outcome.

This was a restaurant only serving upper-class individuals, the victims were family members controlling 90% of Cyber’s resources and wealth. Their misfortune would destabilize the Cyber system, possibly triggering an economic crisis!

Damn it.

Zhi Yi looked at the restaurant’s tragic scene, blood flowing, not a single intact corpse!

The once resplendent place had become a hell on earth.

Most unsettling was Yao Na’s corpse there. Her body was bizarrely stitched with another girl’s, creating an artificial twin-like illusion, both eerie and inexplicably poignant.

Fortunately, this was only a pre-determined outcome, not reality.

The voice of Yao Na in the microphone was reassuring.

She said, “My corpse is there too, alright, I’ll be right over.”

“And, tell Ran Bo, for every wealthy person I protect, I want a million protection fee, and after it’s over, a government position.”

Tap tap tap… What was that sound?

Listening closely, Zhi Yi realized, oh, it was Yao Na’s abacus sound reaching the crime scene.