Chapter 33: Can You Even Afford the Consequences?

Li Fan avoided Chen Ah-Liu’s sharp gaze. Suddenly, a shadow loomed in front of her. She looked up and saw Ji Yin Xun stepping in front of her.

His broad shoulders completely blocked her from view, cutting off Chen Ah-Liu’s line of sight.

[We have the show crew here. Chen Ah-Liu probably wouldn’t dare make a move in front of so many people, right?]

006: [Once you go down to the vineyard, it’s their village’s territory. Do you think you outnumber them or they outnumber you?]

Li Fan opened her mouth to speak but then heard Ren Xuan shout, “What’s going on? Why did the stream cut off?”

“No signal. The network’s bad.”

“Hurry up and fix it. Post a notice on the official account!”

[Could this be Chen Ah-Liu’s doing too?]

006: [No, that’s not him. He doesn’t have that kind of ability. The signal up here in the mountains is naturally poor.]

Seizing the moment, Li Fan called out to Shen Yuwan and the others, “The stream’s down. Let’s go back for now.”

Shen Yuwan wasn’t having it. “So what if the stream’s down? We can still continue the activity. Picking fruit isn’t just for show. I’m going to the vineyard.”

Li Fan glanced at the sickle in Chen Ah-Liu’s hand and felt a chill run down her spine.

“That vineyard’s a bit far. Let’s not go.”

In her mind, she had already envisioned a horror scene where a sickle-wielding maniac went on a murderous rampage.

Scarier than any horror story.

But no one was listening to her.

Especially Liang Kang, who sneered, “With me here, what danger could there be?”

Li Fan: “…” With all due respect, you wouldn’t even last one strike from his sickle.

006: [You don’t seriously think Chen Ah-Liu is going to kill someone with that sickle, do you?]

Li Fan: [Isn’t he?]

006: [He’s a psycho, yes, but they send people to the border and let others do the dirty work. Organs are no good if the person is dead, after all. He’s twisted, but his hands haven’t actually taken a life. That blood on the sickle? From slaughtering chickens. What are you imagining?]

Li Fan: [I thought he was a sickle-wielding serial killer.]

The system didn’t even want to respond to her anymore.

Li Fan watched helplessly as Shen Yuwan and the others followed Chen Ah-Liu down another path.

A few crew members tagged along, but Li Fan had no confidence in their ability to protect anyone.

Ruan Li whispered, “Li Fan, did you notice something?”

Li Fan nodded solemnly. “That old man is suspicious. Did you see the blood on his sickle?”

Ruan Li covered her mouth, stifling a gasp.

“Blood?”

Li Fan nodded seriously. “Blood! He’s got death on his hands.”

After all, who’s to say a chicken’s life isn’t still a life?

Ji Yin Xun looked at her, feeling like she was bluffing.

Ruan Li was horrified, screamed, spun in place a few times, then bolted down the mountain.

Just then, the crew finally got the equipment working again and reconnected the stream.

Viewers flooded into the live broadcast just in time to see a close-up of Ruan Li’s terrified face.

“Call the cops! Save them! Shen Yuwan and the others went down to pick grapes, and that old man with them is holding a sickle—one that just killed several people! It still has blood on it!”

Live chat:

【!!!】
Is it always this intense as soon as I enter the stream?

【Shen Yuwan went grape-picking?】
【What? Shen Yuwan got taken by a serial killer?】
【WHAT?! Shen Yuwan’s been murdered by a psycho?!】

Ren Xuan was utterly confused, listening to Ruan Li’s panic and not reacting for a moment.

Ji Yin Xun stepped up. “Call the police. We suspect that man is a human trafficker with accomplices. Shen Yuwan and the others followed him to the vineyard. We’ll head down first—let the police handle the rest.”

Ren Xuan let out a wail. Is this show even salvageable anymore?!

With things like this, there was no way the crew would let Li Fan and the others go down as well.

The top priority was ensuring the guests’ safety.

Especially since Ji Yin Xun and Ruan Li were among them. If anything happened to them, the fans’ backlash could drown the entire production team.

Ruan Li’s imagination spiraled into overdrive, playing out scenes from Saw and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre on repeat in her head.

She was utterly consumed by her thoughts, growing more and more terrified.

The calmest of them all was Li Fan. Through 006, she knew Shen Yuwan and the others weren’t in any real danger, so she wasn’t worried.

006: [They reached the vineyard and were surrounded by local villagers. Liang Kang had talked so big earlier, acting like he was fearless, but the moment things turned south, he hid behind Shen Yuwan like a coward.]

006: [Holy crap, he and Shen Yuwan even pushed Gu Lanyi forward, saying she was pretty and could fetch a high price—and she’s a big celebrity!]

006: [Unbelievable! They even shoved Bai Yaya out, saying she’s young and could be sold for a good price! Do they not realize the crew’s live camera is back online? Everyone’s watching!]

[Seriously? Let me see!]

Naturally, Li Fan wasn’t going to miss this drama. She quickly pulled out her phone and found that the stream following Shen Yuwan’s group was back up—and trending.

A live broadcast of human traffickers at work—absolutely thrilling!

Though the camera was tilted and only caught glimpses of feet, not faces.

As soon as she clicked in, she heard Chen Ah-Liu’s voice:
“You think you’re not worth much? Then off to the kidney harvesters with you! I’d like to see just how black your hearts really are!”

It was a little morbid, but Li Fan couldn’t help laughing.

Even the viewers in the live chat couldn’t hold back their laughter.

【It’s terrible, but also hilarious.】
【Liang Kang and Shen Yuwan are truly despicable. It’s only in adversity that true colors show.】
【They should’ve united against the bad guys, but instead, Liang Kang shoved women and kids forward. Shameful.】

Ruan Li leaned over, “What are you watching?”

Li Fan still smiling, replied, “The stream from Shen Yuwan’s group is back.”

Ruan Li’s eyes widened. “They’re live-streaming a murder?! So bold!”

Li Fan pushed her head away. “What nonsense are you thinking? They haven’t even made a move yet. The police should be arriving soon, right?”

Ji Yin Xun responded with a grunt, “There won’t be an issue.”

Ruan Li was still convinced the blood on the sickle came from humans and was certain Shen Yuwan’s group had already met a gruesome end. She imagined their bodies lying in pieces.

A shiver ran down her spine. That sickle was now seared into her nightmares.

Just then, the furious roar of Cheng Huan’s father erupted beside them:
“Why aren’t they back yet? If something happens to my daughter, what about tomorrow’s audition? Do you know how much the paycheck for that film is? If she misses the audition, can you afford to pay the price?!”

In a moment like this, his concern wasn’t her safety, but whether she could attend the audition or collect her paycheck.

With a snap, Li Fan threw down her phone and stood up angrily.

“Your daughter’s life is hanging by a thread, and all you care about is an audition?!”

Cheng Tianhua sneered, giving her a disdainful look.

“You’re just a D-list actress—what do you know?”