154: Chapter 154 A Humble Company

L is clearly County Magistrate Lin Ruohan...

Xiao Bei showed the text message to Team Leader Zhang Yining: "Are you ready? We are going to sneak into the tiger's den tonight."

Team Leader Zhang Yining took a deep breath and nodded heavily. She picked up a comb, then suddenly thought of something:

"County Magistrate Xiao, we need to come up with a stage name for you. We can't really use 'Xiao Bei', right?"

Xiao Bei pondered for a moment, his gaze falling on the medical aesthetics advertisement on the table:

"Let's call it... Director Chen Mo."

"Director Chen Mo?"

Team Leader Zhang Yining was stunned, "That's the same as Chen Mo in our office..."

"Same pronunciation, different characters."

Xiao Bei wrote down the two characters, "The Chen from Chen Zhiming, the Mo from silence."

Team Leader Zhang Yining's eyes widened: "You mean..."

"To remind us at all times why we are doing this."

Xiao Bei said softly, carefully folding the medical aesthetics advertisement and putting it into his pocket,

"For those girls and boys who can't get out, for Chen Zhiming, and for families who have been bullied like Zhang Laosan's."

Outside the window, a dark cloud drifted by, obscuring the noon sun. The shadow of the County Government building quietly expanded, covering a wider expanse of land.

As dusk fell, Xiao Bei drove the small sports car that Bai Yunmo had arranged for them toward Hongxiang Town.

The car windows were slightly open, and the early summer breeze, carrying the scent of the fields, poured into the car, yet it could not blow away the heaviness in their hearts.

"County Magistrate Xiao, look."

Team Leader Zhang Yining pointed outside the window, "The road is still very clean, but the volunteers who used to sweep the fallen leaves every day are gone."

Xiao Bei scanned the street.

Indeed, it seemed that Hongxiang Town had reined itself in significantly after he had rectified the formalism last time. The road surface was tidy but not spotless; this was the normal state. But at this moment, this normalcy made his heart tighten—the dirt hidden beneath a normal and cooperative facade might be even deeper.

"From now on, call me Director Chen Mo. Don't make a mistake once we're inside."

Xiao Bei reminded, his fingers tapping lightly on the steering wheel,

"Remember our backstory: You are Zhang Ning, a college student who just graduated, and I am Director Chen Mo, a gym coach. We met at Bai Yunmo's nightclub."

Team Leader Zhang Yining nodded and took a makeup mirror from her bag to check her makeup again. Usually, she was a nine-to-five worker who went bare-faced, but now she wore exquisite internet celebrity makeup, and the false eyelashes made her eyes look somewhat unreal.

"I still don't understand, why would County Magistrate Lin help us?"

She asked in a low voice, "Her sister Bai Yunmo is so rich and powerful, she could have investigated it herself..."

"She looks so much like Bai Yunmo, would she go to investigate with that face? Even if she investigated personally, she would still have to arrange for someone else, wouldn't she?"

Xiao Bei responded patiently to Team Leader Zhang Yining.

The car drove past a field of freshly harvested wheat, the straw stacked neatly in the fields like rows of silent sentinels.

"The greater the power, the more constraints there are."

He continued, "Bai Yunmo's businesses are spread across the entire province, and people are watching her every move. And us..."

He gave a bitter smile, "Although I am a Deputy County Magistrate, in the eyes of some powerful people, I am just a small official in a small county, which makes it easier to take action instead."

In the distance, the outline of the old industrial zone of Hongxiang Town gradually became clear. Most of the factory buildings from the 70s and 80s of the last century had been abandoned, and only a few renovated buildings had lights on. Starry Media was hidden among them.

The car stopped in front of a four-story gray-white building. There were no signs outside the building, only two security guards in black suits standing at the entrance, looking out of place in the dilapidated surroundings.

"Remember,"

Xiao Bei warned one last time before getting out of the car, "No matter what you see, stay calm. Our goal is to find evidence, not to save people on the spot."

Team Leader Zhang Yining took a deep breath, her nails digging into her palms unconsciously.

Pushing open the glass door, the luxurious decoration she had imagined did not appear. The front hall was simple to the point of being crude: white walls, gray floor tiles, and a few second-hand office desks. The only thing that stood out was the "Monthly Anchor Leaderboard" plastered all over the wall, where the young people in the photos all had bright smiles, but their eyes were terrifyingly hollow.

"You are the people introduced by Bai Yunmo?"

A greasy, pot-bellied middle-aged man walked out from the inner room, his suit stretched tight over his beer belly, and a gold chain faintly visible at his neckline. He looked Xiao Bei up and down, his gaze lingering on the other man's solid chest muscles for a few seconds.

"I am Director Ma, the Operations Director here."

He reached out, his ring flashing gaudily in the light,

"Come with me, let me show you around."

Passing through the front hall, the scene changed abruptly. On both sides of the spacious corridor were small rooms of about ten square meters, each decorated into different scenes: some looked like college dormitories, some like hospital wards, and there were also offices, kitchens, and even prison cells.

"This is..."

Team Leader Zhang Yining couldn't help but speak up.

"Live streaming rooms! They can also be used to shoot skits. We are even more comprehensive than the Hengdian World Studios where movie stars go!"

Director Ma triumphantly pushed open a door. Inside, there was a pink-themed boudoir setup, and a girl wearing a sailor suit was touching up her makeup on the bed,

"Audiences nowadays love to watch real scenes; we have everything here."

Xiao Bei noticed the girl shrink back noticeably when she saw Director Ma.

"Little Sweetie, did you make it into the top ten on the gift leaderboard today?"

Director Ma patted the girl's face, not gently.

"I... I'm still a little short..."

The girl's voice was as thin as a mosquito's buzz.

"Useless trash!"

Director Ma's expression changed suddenly, "Give you three more days. If you can't get into the top ten, get out and go to the 'Special Small' room!"

The girl's face turned pale instantly. Director Ma had already turned to walk toward the next room, a smile piling up on his face again, as if the outburst of rage just now had never happened.

"This side is the Mukbang area."

He pointed to a row of rooms fitted with transparent glass, each with an anchor gorging themselves in front of the camera,

"One of our most profitable sectors."

Through the glass, Xiao Bei saw a skinny boy mechanically stuffing hamburgers into his mouth, grease already seeping from the corners of his mouth, his eyes as dull as a walking corpse. On the table were a dozen boxes of leftover food, and the trash can was full of vomit.

"How long has he been eating?"

Team Leader Zhang Yining couldn't help but ask.

"Twelve-hour continuous broadcast, breaking the company record!"

Director Ma laughed loudly,

"The audience loves to watch this, and the tips come pouring in. If he can't hold it, he induces vomiting, and after vomiting, he continues to eat—this kid has already earned fifty thousand today!"

Xiao Bei's stomach gave a spasm.

When the tour ended, Director Ma took them back to the front hall and pulled two contracts from a drawer.

"Since you were recommended by Bai Yunmo's company, we won't beat around the bush."

He rubbed his hands together, "Sign the contract and you can start working tonight. With your qualifications, making one hundred thousand a month will be easy."

Xiao Bei took the contract and quickly scanned the terms. On the surface, it looked like a standard anchor contract, but when he turned to the seventh page, a line of small print caught his attention:

[Signing this contract is deemed as agreeing to accept the Beauty Loan related services. For specific terms, see the attachment]

"What is Beauty Loan?"

He asked, feigning innocence.