The Novelist Forced to Become Famous

He tried again, "Could it be..."0

"It's definitely not an illusion."0

Ji Feng paused, unwilling to give up, "Why..."0

"Just consider it intuition."0

After three quick defeats, Ji Feng completely gave up.0

He stopped asking and waited for her to speak.0

However, Jian Jing showed no pride in her triple victory, and was quite irritated: "You think I want to ask for your help? If I... in my current state, any adult man out there could solve my problem."0

This point made her increasingly angry.0

She admitted she couldn't use cards, as those were obtained without effort, so the ban was acceptable. Fortunately, while using cards, she had also been learning, so without the cards, her knowledge was just not as readily accessible.0

It was only the physiological enhancements that she truly regretted losing.0

Although the cards had played a role, her years of effort in the gym weren't fake.0

Even if she only had her own training to rely on, she shouldn't be this helpless.0

Jian Jing was extremely frustrated, almost lashing out at Ji Feng, but she managed to hold back.0

She still remembered that the person before her was Ji Feng, not the one she was familiar with. If she angered him, she might not benefit from it.0

This realization made her both melancholic and clearheaded.0

Whether it was solving cases or relationships between men and women, all games were only fun when played on an equal footing.0

Jian Jing had never been so eager to finish a case.0

Perhaps it was because she no longer had her acting cards or composure cards, but her emotions were somewhat visible, and Ji Feng seemed to see through something.0

But strangely, he comforted her: "Don't rush, take your time. What do you want me to help you with?"0

"First, of course, is the victim's identity," she sighed and said, "The head can't be found for now, but it will appear soon."0

Ji Feng: "Oh, it's already been found."0

Jian Jing raised an eyebrow: "Discovered last night?"0

He nodded.0

"I've got it figured out," she immediately calmed down and sat down to open the fried chicken bag. "You can go now. By tomorrow morning at the latest, you'll know whether I'm right or not."0

She was as familiar with finding people as she was with sending them away.0

Ji Feng quickly searched his memory, wondering if there was any chance he had known her during his school days.0

The result, of course, was negative.0

If there had been such a beautiful girl at school, he would have definitely heard her name, and besides, the age didn't match up. After much thought, he only said: "I'll be in touch."0

Jian Jing nodded briefly, staring at the golden, fragrant fried chicken, lost in thought.0

Ji Feng closed the door and left with a mind full of questions.0

The evening breeze was cool, and under the spring night, the fragrance of unknown flowers wafted over. He left as usual, but after twenty minutes, he quietly returned and circled the area.0

There was a car in the corner, with someone inside, who had been there all along.0

He noted down the license plate and returned to the precinct to work overtime.0

The next day.0

The victim's identity was confirmed. Her name was Mai Jia, a somewhat famous game streamer, or internet celebrity, with the ID MaiMai.0

Once the identity was known, the rest became easier to investigate.0

In this world, the crime rate was low, and such a sensational dismemberment case prompted the police to mobilize all resources for investigation after filing the case, with impressive efficiency.0

By 10 AM, Ji Feng had already obtained MaiMai's communication records and her schedule for the past few days.0

These days, internet celebrities were all signed to companies, and MaiMai was no exception. Therefore, it wasn't difficult to understand her schedule through her manager.0

The manager said: "MaiMai was recently transitioning, so her schedule wasn't very packed. She streamed on Mondays, Wednesdays, and weekends, with the rest of the time at her disposal."0

"What did she usually do?"0

For such a big case, he didn't dare lie and told the truth.0

"If she wasn't shopping, she was out with friends," fearing the police might not understand, he explained further, "She had to share streaming income with the company, but whatever she earned on her own outings was all hers, so she was always quite enthusiastic about such activities."0

Through WeChat chat records, a list of her friends quickly emerged.0

On Thursday night, MaiMai attended a gathering. The host was Zhang Feng, a very wealthy second-generation rich, and Thursday was his birthday, so he invited a group of friends and internet celebrities to celebrate.0

MaiMai wasn't the only one attending the party; there were several other internet celebrities and socialites.0

The police questioned them separately and quickly pieced together the guest list.0

The number of people was much larger than imagined, probably twenty to thirty, including young masters like Zhang Feng, their sycophantic followers, and of course, plenty of attractive women to liven up the atmosphere.0

Ji Feng didn't find the man in the checkered shirt that Jian Jing mentioned—his name was Wang Qi, but among the guests was someone named Wang Tan, who was Wang Qi's elder brother.0

Jian Jing's account undoubtedly became more credible.0

He called her and asked if she remembered the license plate number of that car.0

She reported it very promptly and asked, "Do you have any suspects?"0

"Hehe," Ji Feng kept tight-lipped, muttered a couple of vague responses, and quickly hung up.0

With the license plate number, they could trace the car's ownership.0

The car was registered under Wang Qi's name, but he hadn't attended the party, so there was no reason to call him in. Moreover, the urgent matter at hand was to determine MaiMai's last whereabouts.0

The party took place at Zhang Feng's villa. MaiMai went with a friend but didn't leave with her.0

The friend was also an internet celebrity, with a pointy chin and big eyes. She was very honest when facing the police and explained in a coquettish voice: "Brother Zhang is mine and MaiMai's diamond fan—the one who gives the most donations. It was his birthday, so we definitely had to go and show our support."0

In fact, anyone slightly familiar with the streaming industry would know that the relationship between big fans and streamers is quite ambiguous.0

Big fans are usually wealthy, and when they suddenly drop hundreds of thousands in gifts for a streamer, it's certainly not just for the sound of a virtual rocket. Besides helping the streamer boost their status, it's also a form of implicit illegal transaction.0

Streamers would chat privately with big fans, video call them, and even meet in person. Whether or not inappropriate things happened, everyone had their own ideas.0

MaiMai was twenty-four this year, young and beautiful, striving hard to climb up the ladder, and very eager to please big fans.0

According to her friend, she "stuck by Brother Zhang's side all night."0

The police summoned Zhang Feng for questioning.0

At first, everyone was polite, but it was Young Master Zhang who had the big attitude, looking impatient: "Yes, MaiMai was with me that night. The last time I saw her? I forgot, maybe in the morning."0

The police politely asked him to be more respectful.0

After some friendly communication, Zhang Feng became a bit more serious and explained: The birthday party at the villa lasted all night, but he left around 11 PM to catch the second half of another event. MaiMai went with him to his apartment.0

At the apartment, they partied for a while longer (he said he sang with friends), and then did what adult men and women inevitably do.0

When he woke up in the morning, MaiMai was still asleep, and he left early because he had something to attend to.0

As for when she left and where she went, sorry, he didn't know and wasn't aware.0

"She's not my girlfriend," Zhang Feng said nonchalantly. "Can I go now?"0

Of course, the police had to verify his statement.0

The apartment's parking lot had surveillance cameras. Just before midnight on Friday, they captured Zhang Feng's car. Then at 7:40 AM, he was seen walking out of the main entrance and getting into a friend's car.0

Ji Feng keenly asked, "Why didn't you drive yourself?"0

Zhang Feng glanced at him and said lazily, "Someone threw up in my car yesterday, I didn't want to drive it. Is that not allowed?"0

Ji Feng smiled, "I thought you surely had more than one car."0

"Not all of them are there," Zhang Feng retorted. "Why are you asking this?"0

Ji Feng remained calm: "Just asking. Are you concerned about it?"0

With this response, Zhang Feng naturally didn't dare to pursue the question further. He drummed his fingers on the armrest of the chair and asked, "Can I leave now? I'm busy, don't waste my time."0

"Don't be in a hurry, there are still some things we'd like to confirm with you," the police, of course, were unwilling to let him go.0

But then, things took an unexpected turn.0

Zhang Feng left at 7:40 AM, then went to a friend's house, hanging out with a group of people until around 3 PM, after which he headed straight to the airport and spent two days out of town before returning.0

Meanwhile, a sports car parked in front of the apartment building's dash cam captured footage of MaiMai leaving at 8:10 AM.0

The sports car belonged to Wang Tan.0

He had also been at the apartment the previous night.0

The police called him in for a talk.0

Wang Tan said, "I drank too much last night and fell asleep soon after the party started. When I woke up in the morning, I was hungry, so I left quickly. I didn't pay attention to where that girl went."0

The police asked, "What about your car's dash cam footage?"0

Wang Tan said, "My car was parked at the entrance. I heard you were looking for that girl, so I checked if I had captured anything yesterday, and I found this quickly."0

Ji Feng flipped through the documents in his hand: "The dash cam started recording at 8:08. Did you start driving then?"0

Wang Tan nodded.0

"Then you drove towards the main gate and happened to capture MaiMai in the sightseeing elevator?" he asked, "Why is Zhang Feng's car parked below, and yours above?"0

Wang Tan replied, "There are only two parking spots in the underground garage. One is occupied by Zhang's own car, and the other is borrowed by a friend. Officer, is there a problem with parking above?"0

Ji Feng brushed it off: "Just asking."0

The dash cam footage provided by Wang Tan was complete, starting the route at 8:08 and recording until 9:45, when he arrived at his destination - Wang Tan's father's company.0

For the rest of the day, Wang Tan was busy at the company, entertained his father's business associates in the evening, and stayed at the club. Everyone could testify that he only left at 9 AM the next day.0

Ji Feng asked, "Was it just the three of you who went to the apartment?"0

Wang Tan: "There was one more."0

The third person was called Tian Mo, also one of Zhang Feng's core group. That night, he drove the others to the apartment.0

Tian Mo said, "I went to bed quite early that day, at 2 AM."0

Ji Feng: "Didn't sing karaoke?"0

"What karaoke." Tian Mo was surprisingly honest, "We just played, you can guess what kind of play, but I didn't participate. I don't like internet celebrities."0

"When did you leave?"0

"6 AM," Tian Mo answered, "Is there a problem?"0

Ji Feng: "So early?"0

He shrugged: "I'm used to it, catching flights."0

Indeed, this was easy to prove. At around 7 AM, Tian Mo checked in at the airport, boarded a flight at 8 AM to Beijing, landed after 10 AM, and only returned yesterday.0

In other words, all three men who were in the same room as MaiMai left the apartment earlier than her.0

The last one, Wang Tan, his dash cam captured her still alive at 8:10 AM. After that, they all had alibis.0

And from then on, MaiMai vanished without a trace.0

Ji Feng looked at his watch; it was already 6 PM. He thought for a moment and called Jian Jing, telling her that Wang Qi wasn't involved.0

Jian Jing asked, "What about his friends and relatives?"0

Sharp, he thought, and said, "One of his buddies was there."0

"Tell me more," she said, "Don't try to brush me off with 'can't disclose to outsiders'. I'm not an outsider; I'm at least a witness."0

Ji Feng asked in return, "Why did you think earlier that the head was found last?"0

Jian Jing: "Dismemberment must have a purpose, right? Does someone have an alibi?"0

Ji Feng took out his cigarette box, thought again, and put it back, making up his mind: "All three have alibis."0

He briefly explained the timeline.0

She made an "Oh" sound, very calmly: "Do you have time? Let's go to the apartment and take a look. I already know what happened, but I need to see which of the three is the murderer."0

Ji Feng was surprised: "Now?"0

"I don't have much time," she sighed, "Within 6 hours, I must know who the killer is. Tsk, want to play something exciting?"0