Chen Shan looked around the twenty-something square meter room but couldn't find any place where someone could be hiding. He turned to Gao Yiyang and said, "Yiyang, there's no one here!"
Gao Yiyang couldn't help but glance at the livestream. The viewers quickly started chiming in: "The streamer said there's a cellar. Of course you won't find anything looking on the surface!"
At that moment, it seemed Gao Chenggen realized everyone wasn't completely sure he'd hidden anyone. A smug smile appeared on his face. "You're all overthinking it. You've got it wrong!"
"Could we really have gotten it wrong?"
"Absolutely not! That bald guy's eyes are sharp. We, as students who deal with criminal investigations all the time, see this relaxed attitude in suspects before the crucial evidence is found. They always act cocky, thinking you can't do anything to them."
"I'm really grossed out. Shen Ning is so beautiful and innocent in her photos. If he harmed her, I'd really feel like killing someone."
"Even killing him wouldn't solve anything. You know what this shows us? Never let your guard down, even with the people around you. Spouses and partners are often at the center of these kinds of cases. Seriously, how can people be so evil?"
"Aren't we getting off-topic here? The main issue isn't human nature right now. It's why this small-time streamer and the villagers haven't found any sign of a cellar yet."
"Check under the bed, in the cabinets, under the table! I'm dying from anxiety here."
But it turned out Gao Yiyang and the villagers had already searched all the places the viewers suggested. They didn't find a single clue, let alone an entrance to a cellar.
This doesn't make any sense. If this bald guy really is the killer, where could he have hidden the cellar? It'd be a huge hassle if it were up in the mountains—this area's undeveloped, and you see wolves and wild boars all the time. What if one of those animals ate whoever's locked up in the cellar?
After all, she's a woman he bought, a valuable asset. He wouldn't keep her in the wild, right? She's got to be somewhere in the house.
Zhou Yun and Feng Zhizhi were getting anxious. In such a small space, they'd already pointed out every suspicious spot. Xiang Wan took a closer look at Gao Chenggen's face and said, "Open the back door."
The smug smile on Gao Chenggen's face suddenly disappeared, and his face twitched.
"There's something going on here!"
"He's scared! He's scared!"
Gao Chenggen's house was built under a large boulder, and the back door faced right towards it. The ground beneath the door was soft soil.
Everyone followed Xiang Wan's instruction and opened the back door. The area outside was empty, and the ground was flat—nothing that suggested a cellar could be dug there.
"The entrance is right under your feet," Xiang Wan said urgently. "Move the stone steps, and you'll see the cellar entrance. Hurry up! She can't hold on much longer!"
The air circulation in the cellar was already poor, and normally, Shen Ning could have handled it without serious injury. But the wounds she suffered today were nearly fatal. Her breathing was rapid, and she couldn't control it, which was causing her to suffocate.
Gao Yiyang tossed his phone aside, and together with Grandpa Xiao Yun, Gao Yunfeng, they lifted the stone steps. Sure enough, there was a cellar handle underneath.
Gao Chenggen was truly cunning, hiding the cellar so well. How many people would think to move such a heavy step just to check underneath?
"There it is! It's really a cellar!"
"Huh? What happened to the livestream?"
Just as things were getting intense, Gao Yiyang's livestream went black.
Xiang Wan had used her streamer privileges to cut off Gao Yiyang's broadcast. Shen Ning's condition wasn't something that should be shown to the public. It could cause her additional harm. The physical pain she had endured was already enough to destroy her. If she were to face the weight of public scrutiny, Xiang Wan worried she might not be able to handle it.
This brave girl had survived despite the torment she suffered at the hands of her captor. Xiang Wan couldn't allow public opinion to ruin her further. Shen Ning was a victim, and society should be condemning the perpetrator, not criticizing her.
The livestream had gone far enough. It was enough for Zhou Yun, Feng Zhizhi, and the concerned viewers to know that Shen Ning had been found and rescued. From here on, the police would take over, and Shen Ning's future would be her decision to make.
Xiang Wan spoke: "The woman found in the cellar is indeed Shen Ning. She wasn't the first one trafficked to these mountains—two other women of similar age died before her. Fortunately, Shen Ning survived. She'll be transported out of the mountains once the ambulance arrives. Let's all keep her in our thoughts."
Zhou Yun and Feng Zhizhi, who had been holding back their emotions, finally broke down, their eyes filled with tears as they asked, "Butterfly streamer, Ning Ning is going to be okay, right?"
Xiang Wan nodded firmly. "She's not meant to die."
"That's all that matters, that's all that matters." For Zhou Yun and Feng Zhizhi, her survival was more important than anything else. Everything else was just like being bitten by a dog. Now, that dog was about to be put down by the police. It wasn't enough to ease their anger—someone as evil as him deserved a harsher punishment—but at least justice would be served.
"Streamer, we..." Feng Zhizhi began to say something more.
Xiang Wan smiled and said, "I've already sent you the previous streamer's contact info through the backend. You can privately contact them to find out which hospital she's being transferred to."
The weight in their hearts finally lifted. Zhou Yun and Feng Zhizhi cried and laughed as they thanked her. "Thank you, streamer! Thank you so much!"
"True friendships will always bring tears to your eyes!"
"Shen Ning may not have had good parents, but she had friends who treated her like family. The bond between girls is everlasting."
"The streamer shut down the rest of the broadcast to protect Shen Ning, didn't they? I hope she can pull through."
"You always have to assume the worst about human nature. Who would've thought that an ordinary-looking middle-aged man walking down the street could have two lives on his hands?"
"We really have to thank that guy who joined the call earlier!"
"I hope girls continue to help one another. Shen Ning could be any of us—her today, us tomorrow."
The livestream about finding Shen Ning had come to an end, and now a crowd had gathered on the mountainside of Tengyun Village. Because it was such a poor area, the police and medical team had to trek through two mountains overnight to reach the location where the report was made.
Earlier, Gao Yiyang and Grandpa Xiao Yun, Gao Yunfeng, had gone down into the cellar and couldn't bear to look at Shen Ning's condition. She was naked, her abdomen swollen, her body covered in bruises, and her arms grotesquely twisted from torture. Zhuang Zhou Mengdie was right—she was hanging by a thread. Even now, she was barely breathing.
Perhaps the rush of fresh air into the cellar had triggered Shen Ning's strong will to survive. She took a deep breath. Gao Yiyang quickly removed his jacket and wrapped it around her body. He and Grandpa Xiao Yun carefully lifted her and passed her out of the cellar.
"It's a tragedy. Such a bright young girl, ruined like this!"
"Gao Chenggen, are you even human?"