The Cyber Queen of Deception - Chapter 40

As soon as the audience recognized the place, the live broadcast room’s chat exploded with comments.

“Damn, I’ve never been to this restaurant. So it looks like an old European banquet hall inside… I bet even the silverware could be solid gold.”

“I’m floored, I used to be one of the entertainers here…”

“A lot of these folks are celebrities from the news. I even see a council member who’s running for election.”

“The target of this murder live broadcast couldn’t possibly be these people, right? This is way too big!”

…

As viewers recognized the identities of those in the live streaming, they flocked to the stream, eagerly glimpsing into the lives of the upper echelon, much like sewer rats peering into a luxurious world.

Being born is a tricky business, and the biggest turning point in life is the amniotic fluid, so while the audience saw the revelry inside, their feelings were mixed with novelty and curiosity, nothing more.

This was an extraordinary situation.

They were fascinated by the lives of the elite and curious about how the murder live broadcast intended to act.

Given that these prominent figures were usually flanked by bodyguards…

Though not visible in the stream, these bodyguards were undoubtedly lurking in shadowy corners, ready to spring into action to protect their charges.

With so many VIPs and their bodyguards combined, at least fifty, if not a hundred, could one person in the murder live broadcast really handle them all?

But as the audience watched, something seemed off-the camera in the live broadcast room roamed freely among the crowd, unobstructed.

It even spilled expensive red wine, blood-like, onto a lady’s limited-edition dress, which caused her to curse under her breath before she left the banquet hall mid-event to change.

“This is tonight’s lucky girl,” the murder live broadcast announced to the viewers, as she, having left to change, would be the sole survivor of tonight’s impending massacre.

“What does that mean?? Is he planning to kill everyone here?”

“The police have been alerted!”

“This is horrifying, the death of these people would bring the Cyber World to a halt!”

“And why doesn’t anyone notice the camera from the murder live broadcast? Or is he a well-known figure in these upper circles, or perhaps the most powerful one, so no one dares to stop him?”

The more they speculated, the more fantastical it seemed.

Who would have guessed that the live broadcast room wasn’t just one person, but a pollutant? And that the world people were currently living in had become a point of evolution for these pollutants.

Luckily, the faces appearing on the screen were well-known, so the public’s reaction was unanimous: to stop them.

Until…

“These low-lifers take themselves too seriously, trying to advise me on my social media account!” exclaimed a newly prominent charity foundation director, under scrutiny for his lavish fundraising events.

The advice from his critics, who were supporters of the charity and made regular automatic donations, was merely, “Please don’t host so many expensive fundraisers.”

“They suggested trying street fundraising to save costs and focus more resources on actual causes without facing criticism…”

Such good advice, yet the director viciously rebuked his supporters.

“The money they donate doesn’t even cover the cost of one of my apartments in the City Center. Why should they advise me?”

“They should spend more time fixing their own pathetic lives. If not for laundering New Currency, who would want to do charity?”

My God.

What had they heard? Was this the same man who always appeared so genteel in the media?

Instantly, the live chat filled with harsh criticisms.

Unfortunately, the audience could only vent online; they couldn’t confront the boss in person.

But the murder live broadcast could.

It slowly approached the loudly speaking director, with a thin violin string wrapping around his neck multiple times, yet he remained oblivious, merely scratching his neck as it began to itch.

Then suddenly, the string tightened.

The thin but sturdy violin string choked the director’s thick neck, cutting off his air and his cries for help.

He reached out to the nearby crowd, trying to speak, but no sound came out.

No one noticed the presence of the murder live broadcast, so they couldn’t understand why the director, who had been fine moments ago, suddenly turned red-faced and wobbly.

The audience watched helplessly as the violin string dug deep into the director’s throat, ending his life.

As the director’s body hit the floor, the chat room, which had been silent for minutes, erupted into chaos, slowly trickling in a comment: “That feels so good.”

The murder live broadcast had learned well from its first encounter with Yao Na-it knew how to exploit moral dilemmas.

Choosing only those who deserved to die, and in sufficient numbers, there wouldn’t be a repeat of the last broadcast’s abrupt end.

The violin string could have easily decapitated the foundation director, making his head roll like a ball, but Su Wu wisely held back.

He didn’t want to turn the banquet hall into a chaotic mess before Yao Na arrived-that wouldn’t be fun.

Let the first victim die with dignity.

Then Yao Na appeared. In front of a global audience, she launched into a breathtaking chase, and in a bathroom encounter, she stabbed Su Wu’s eyes with a dessert fork, igniting the audience’s fervor.

“The Queen of Justice has arrived!”

“Damn, Yao Na is so cool. Just with a dessert fork, she saved Wen Qingqiu from being strangled to death!”

“Hasn’t anyone told me why they can’t see the murder live broadcast? Isn’t anyone curious about that?”

…

Wen Qingqiu huddled in a corner, her face pale with fright. She saw her disheveled reflection in the gleaming bathroom tiles.

Her bob cut halved her delicate beauty, blood speckled her clean makeup, and her clothes were torn in several places.

What was happening? What was attacking her?

Thanks to Yao Na’s quick actions, Wen Qingqiu soon realized that the answer lay within the murder live broadcast room. She turned on her screen just in time to see Yao Na’s slender, pale neck appear in the live feed.

Wen Qingqiu looked up to see only Yao Na standing there, checking the live broadcast screen.

Then looking down, she saw in the screen the murder live broadcast’s violin string inching closer, ready to strike her.

Before Wen Qingqiu could react, the vulnerable neck, as if it had eyes, dodged swiftly to the side while the other hand thrust a dessert fork straight into the camera lens.

Such agility! With such capabilities, Yao Na could handle the monster alone, right?

Wen Qingqiu confirmed the scene in the live broadcast room again.

-Su Wu was entirely focused on Yao Na, paying no attention to her. So Wen Qingqiu seized the opportunity, rushed to the bathroom door, and casually locked it from the outside.

“Click.”

She locked the bathroom door from the outside.

The restaurant used smart locks that could be programmed from either side.

Wen Qingqiu watched the live broadcast, making sure both Yao Na and the murder live broadcast were locked inside before she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

If only the two things she feared could be locked up together, if only they would die together…

Passing guests were startled by Wen Qingqiu’s disheveled appearance: “Qingqiu, what happened inside? Why is your hair like this?”

Wen Qingqiu didn’t mention the turmoil in the bathroom or the murder live broadcast.

She simply asked, “Where are my parents? I need to find them.”

…

Yao Na and Su Wu fiercely grappled, and she wasn’t always accurate, like when her backward stab missed, allowing Su Wu to escape into a bathroom stall.

Yao Na found no one. She looked at the live broadcast room again, seeing nothing but the stall doors.

“Come out.”

Yao Na kicked at the first stall, finding it empty, not where Su Wu was hiding.

Without a word, she moved to the second and third stalls, not bothering to kick the doors down but instead pulling out her handgun and firing into the stalls.

The violent gunfire erupted like raindrops in the bathroom, but the high-end restaurant’s soundproofing was too effective. The symphony orchestra in the hall played too vigorously, completely drowning out the intense gunfire.

Su Wu leapt to the ceiling, and the live broadcast’s perspective shifted like a spider, looking down at Yao Na from above.

Suddenly, Yao Na realized something was wrong-the sound of bullets hitting the floor didn’t match the number she had fired. Could it be… Su Wu had swallowed all the bullets?!

He was perched at the highest point of the ceiling, his mouth stuffed with a whole pack of bullets, ready to spit them back at Yao Na.

-Faster than a handgun could manage.

Flesh and blood couldn’t withstand a pollutant, and the wise don’t love battle. Yao Na decided to make a quick exit. She rushed to the bathroom door and pressed the open button, but nothing happened.

?

Yao Na looked up to see the door lock asking for a password.

The door was locked?! The woman earlier had locked the bathroom door?

Yao Na couldn’t open the door, and the screen showing the door lock’s password prompt was visible through Su Wu’s eyes to the outside audience.

They hadn’t forgotten that the last person to leave the bathroom was Wen Qingqiu, the famous daughter of the Wen Family.

“What’s going on? Wen Qingqiu locked the bathroom door after escaping. Did she forget there was someone else inside?”

“Lol, maybe she didn’t forget but locked it to escape, sacrificing Yao Na’s life. Just look at that boastful charity foundation director to know how these top-tier people consider our lives.”

“But Wen Qingqiu is different from that director; she’s famously kind and friendly among those brash tycoons’ children. There’s not a single bad comment about her online…”

…

By the way, Wen Qingqiu is also an Internet Celebrity.

Unlike Wen Na’s fake persona and Yao Na’s impersonation, she genuinely became famous on her own.

Her social media only showed everyday photos, appearing very low-key, no different from a normal college student. Through these photos, her followers could sense her relaxed demeanor due to being loved and wealthy, and her presence, rarely seen online but focused on her own life, gave a sense of reality.

Her occasional posts about charity work, helping stray animals, or hanging out with friends of varying social classes also contributed to her fame for being “low-key, kind, and easy-going.” Everyone knew she was genuinely kind and easy-going.

Most people couldn’t believe she would lock the bathroom door, still making excuses for Wen Qingqiu.

“Maybe it wasn’t her, maybe it was the restaurant staff, or maybe the police locked it, prioritizing the protection of many over the sacrifice of one.”

“Man, isn’t Yao Na’s life worth anything? Are we the lower class that worthless? I’m heartbroken!”

“No matter who locked the door, please let Yao Na escape safely. She’s the only hope in this entire banquet!”

…

However, Yao Na, seen as a savior, had no intentions of playing the saint. Discovering the bathroom door was locked, her first thought was that none of the people at this banquet deserved to live-all of them could go to hell!

Su Wu, with a mouthful of bullets, gave a slight smile.

The next second, bullets poured down like rain, hitting every corner of the bathroom.

Fortunately, the bullets were something Yao Na had shot out, visible objects. She dodged the bullets with several agile movements, then broke apart the door panel to use as a shield against the barrage of bullets and kicked at the bathroom door.

One kick.

Two kicks.

Three kicks.

The thudding sounds finally caught the attention of the blissful guests at the banquet.

The symphony orchestra stopped their performance, and everyone ceased their conversations, turning their heads towards the bathroom.

“What’s that noise?”

“It sounds like construction, all messy.”

The sounds of Yao Na kicking the door and Su Wu spraying bullets mingled and emerged from the cracked door, forming another kind of symphony.

Among the crowd, only Wen Qingqiu’s face turned pale as she urged her parents to leave quickly: “Let’s go now!”

Especially realizing the noise came from the bathroom, recalling the door she had locked, she felt uneasy as if delaying even a moment would mean death at Yao Na’s hands.

“I really don’t feel well, I think I’m hallucinating, I want to go to the hospital right now.”

Although Wen Qingqiu’s parents were curious about the noise, their concern for their daughter took precedence.

“I’ll go get the car.”

Wen’s Father walked ahead while Wen’s Mother, wearing high heels and not used to walking, moved slowly despite her anxiety.

Wen Qingqiu, as anxious as she was, couldn’t rush her mother and could only silently pray that Yao Na wouldn’t emerge too quickly, or better yet, die inside.

But then…

“Bang!”

A loud noise and the blast of air that followed announced that Yao Na had blasted open the bathroom door!

She emerged from the now-ruined bathroom, her first action not to flee but to scan everyone present with a murderous gaze sweeping across the shocked but clueless faces, finally resting on Wen Qingqiu.

“Found you, bad woman.”

Yao Na rushed towards Wen Qingqiu, grabbing the frightened girl and using her as a shield against Su Wu.