24: Chapter 24 They've gone mad, the netizens have all gone mad!

Yan Yu sat on a plastic chair at Kunming Station.

4:30 AM.

The waiting hall was empty.

The faint light from her phone screen shone on her face.

The red dot for direct messages in the backend had already turned into "999+".

The highest offer was 500,000 yuan from an MCN agency, just begging to buy the coordinates in her hands.

Yan Yu scrolled past these disgusting numbers and stopped at the direct message from Brother Cai of the Buqi Dance Troupe.

"Offering 100,000 to buy the coordinates."

Yan Yu's fingers hovered over the keyboard, pausing for two seconds.

Over these past three days, she had seen through it all.

Su Chen was too eye-catching, and this traffic storm couldn't be stopped. Instead of letting those internet celebrities who only knew how to shake their asses and skirt the rules find him, it was better to let people who truly understood dance go see him.

Yan Yu typed out a line of text and clicked send.

"No money needed. Dali, Xiaguan. If you really want to learn something, keep your people in line and don't bring any of that messy livestreaming equipment. Once we arrive in Dali, we'll share information. If you dare to start a livestream to make money off him, I, Yan Yu, will fight you to the death for the rest of my life."

At a four-star hotel in Kunming.

Brother Cai leaned against the headboard, smoking cigarette after cigarette.

The ashtray was stuffed full of cigarette butts.

His phone vibrated.

"Dali!"

Brother Cai threw off the quilt and kicked open the door to the next room.

Assistant Xiao Liu and several team members were sleeping soundly in all directions.

"All of you, get your asses up!" Brother Cai roared with a voice that shook the heavens, "Get dressed! Pack your things!"

Xiao Liu sat up, rubbing his eyes, looking completely bewildered. "Brother Cai, it's not even dawn yet. Where are we going?"

"To Dali!" Brother Cai threw his phone onto the bed. "We've got the coordinates! Quickly check for the earliest transport to Dali—high-speed rail, buses, unlicensed cabs, anything works! We're leaving immediately!"

A-Li pulled on his pants while asking, "Brother Cai, how much did we pay to buy it?"

"No money was asked." Brother Cai put on his motorcycle jacket and zipped it all the way up. "That young lady has laid down the rules for us. This time, all livestreaming equipment stays at the hotel. Whoever the fuck dares to secretly photograph Su Chen and post it online, I'll rip up his contract on the spot and kick him out of the Buqi Dance Troupe!"

Several team members exchanged glances, instantly wide awake.

A tens-of-millions-level label was having rules laid down for it by a dance student who hadn't even graduated yet.

Yet Brother Cai had to hold his nose and accept it.

This was the suppression of absolute strength.

As long as they could see Su Chen, let alone being banned from livestreaming, even if they were asked to do handstands all the way to Dali, they would do it.

Dawn broke.

The internet ushered in a new round of madness.

After a night of fermentation, Yan Yu's post, "He finds it noisy, I'll take my leave first," surged directly to third place on Douyin's trending searches.

Tens of millions of pairs of eyes across the entire internet stared at these ten characters, beginning to frantically do reading comprehension.

Traffic was a piece of juicy meat, and ferocious wolves smelling the scent pounced on it.

...

At 8:00 AM.

An outdoor streamer with a million followers started broadcasting in Sifang Street, Lijiang.

"Brothers! I can guarantee that Su Chen is definitely in Lijiang! His comment about finding it noisy is actually reverse psychology! Do you understand what it means to hide in plain sight? Everyone look at the back of the person in the gray short-sleeved shirt behind me, is that him? Once the likes break 100,000, I'll rush up and film his face!"

...

At 10:00 AM.

Another travel blogger posted a video with the location set in Shangri-La.

"Family members, internal news! Su Chen has gone to spin the prayer wheels! A person of his realm must have gone to cleanse his soul! Trust me, buy a ticket and come to Shangri-La!"

...

At 12:00 PM.

By Erhai Lake in Dali.

Dozens of internet celebrities rode shared electric bikes, wandering all over the streets, sticking their cameras right into the faces of anyone wearing a gray short-sleeved shirt and curly hair.

In just half a day, the "same gray old man's shirt as Su Chen's" on Taobao sold out completely, directly exploding with 300,000 orders.

True and false news were mixed together.

Some said he went to Xishuangbanna, while others said he returned to his hometown.

The entire internet was in utter chaos, everyone trying to latch onto this wave of overwhelming wealth.

...

Douyin streamers saw how enduring Su Chen's popularity was.

They were also dumbfounded.

Normally, when someone became popular, it was just a flash in the pan.

But this flash had happened how many times now.

Why was it still Su Chen?

And just any random topic hits third place on the trending list???

"Brothers, have you all seen it lately?"

"Su Chen's popularity is truly exaggerated! Originally it was just a casual video taken by a dance student, which fermented online, and now any random video about Su Chen gets hundreds of thousands of views, it's too exaggerated!"

Wang Wenjian opened his livestream.

The livestream room instantly flooded with 10,000 people.

[Old Wang, you still love jumping on bandwagons so much.]

[Exactly, to this day I still don't know what kind of streamer you are. It feels like you can latch onto any topic, aren't you bored?]

[You didn't speak up the last couple of days, and I thought you changed your style, but I didn't expect you to still love latching onto trends so much!~]

[However, Su Chen dances really well!~]

[Even professional dance teachers have praised him, and even the top sister of dance wants to become his student. With this kind of popularity, it's hard not to get famous!]

[...]

"Hey!~ Someone finally hit the nail on the head."

"The reason Su Chen is so popular is simply because he dances well! Not only does he dance well, but in just over a dozen seconds, he can make a five-person disciple combination blow up!~"

Wang Wenjian grinned broadly: "I specifically checked it back then; those five people are biological brothers. Now BigBang can't even scrape together five members themselves, yet one mother directly gave birth to five people, and each of them has very distinct characteristics. It's truly invincible!"

[I went to watch it too, feels like their dancing is just average!~]

[Just average? It's currently third on the Yunnan popularity ranking, what do you think?]

[With such high popularity, I thought it was first!]

[Damn, brother, do you not know how hard it is to get on the Yunnan livestream ranking?]

[How so?]

[Let's put it this way, the number one ranking is someone without a protective suit livestreaming poking a hornet's nest, and the second is single-handedly fighting a wild boar with a spear...]

[Holy shit, that hardcore???]

[My apologies!~]

"What the fuck? Is Yunnan this hardcore?"

Wang Wenjian was also learning this for the first time.

He opened the livestream room and took a glance.

It really fucking was!!!

"Holy grass, the Yunnan BigBang is awesome! To be able to rank third in livestreaming in a place like this, this Su Chen is truly awesome!"

"But I still have to say, the internet's hype over Su Chen is just too exaggerated. Spending 100,000 yuan just to find his location is simply too ridiculous."

"Is this even worth it???"

Wang Wenjian had seen plenty of rich people, but spending 100,000 yuan just to buy someone's location—

wasn't it a bit too exaggerated?

Even for a missing person notice, you'd have to find the person and bring them back first before getting paid, right?

Just reporting a set of coordinates is enough???

He thought his attitude aligned with most people's values, but this time he was completely wrong.

[What? 100,000 yuan? It's already risen to 500,000 yuan now!]

[If anyone knows, I want it even for 500,000!]

[Damn it, nobody fight me for it, I want it for 500,000!]

[Old Wang, you really don't understand. Right now, Su Chen is the traffic password; any random video gets hundreds of thousands of views. If someone is the first to find him in person, they can directly build a million-follower account, and that value is way more than 500,000.]

[Hurry, someone else is saying they found Su Chen's location!]

[...]

Just one sentence.

The livestream room that originally still had 30,000 people instantly lost 5,000, and everyone else was leaving rapidly.

Wang Wenjian was completely dumbfounded.

"What the heck is all this?"

"Don't you all know it's fake? What are you running for???"

The netizens ignored him, leaving only one sentence behind.

[What if it's real?]

...

At 2:00 PM.

Dali Station.

The wind in Xiaguan truly lived up to its reputation.

Yan Yu clutched the straps of her backpack as she walked out of the exit.

A black Buick GL8 was parked by the roadside.

The car door opened, and Brother Cai stepped out with four members of the Buqi Dance Troupe.

The two groups met up once again.

Gone was the swords-drawn tension from Nanping Street.

Brother Cai stepped forward and proactively extended his hand toward Yan Yu.

"Sister Yan Yu, thanks."

Yan Yu didn't shake his hand.

"Remember what you promised me. Where is the equipment?"

Brother Cai patted his empty pockets and unzipped his jacket to show her.

"It's all left in Kunming. Didn't even bring a DSLR. We're grasshoppers on the same string now. You're a young lady, it's not safe to look for someone alone in Dali. From now on, transportation and accommodation are covered by us, and we'll split up to search."

Yan Yu nodded; this was precisely why she gave the clue to Brother Cai.

Dali was so huge that relying solely on her two legs, she wouldn't find him even if she walked herself to death.

"Get in the car." Brother Cai opened the car door.

The Buick drove out of the station and merged into the traffic.

Xiao Liu sat in the passenger seat, holding his phone and scrolling through online news.

"Brother Cai, the internet is in total chaos. Right now, in Dali alone, there are hundreds of streamers broadcasting while searching for Su Chen. The cafes by Erhai Lake and the bar street in the ancient city have all been occupied by this bunch. Where are we going to look?"

Yan Yu looked at the retreating street view outside the window.

"Don't go to the ancient city. Don't go by Erhai Lake." Yan Yu's voice was very calm. "Go to the old urban area of Xiaguan. Go to those places where even tourists won't go."

Brother Cai turned head to look at her.

"He isn't here to travel." Yan Yu recalled Shen Yun's words, a trace of heartache flashing in the depths of her eyes, "He's here to escape. The more crowded a place is, the less likely he is to go there."

Brother Cai understood.

"Liu'er, navigate to the Xiaguan Second-hand Market," Brother Cai ordered.

The wind in Dali blew so hard it ached down to one's bones.

For a whole afternoon, the Buick shuttled through the alleys of Xiaguan's old urban area.

Yan Yu, Brother Cai, and their group walked past dilapidated agricultural markets, abandoned repair shops, and even checked underneath bridge arches.

They found nothing.

The sky gradually darkened.

The setting sun stretched the shadow of Cangshan Mountain very long.

The car stopped by a remote street. Both sides of the street were shops selling second-hand hardware and groceries.

Several team members were exhausted and slumped in their seats. A-Li rubbed his sore calves. "Brother Cai, did we head in the wrong direction? What if he's just sleeping in a hotel?"

Brother Cai didn't speak; he lit a cigarette and lowered the car window.

Yan Yu leaned against the back seat, staring at her phone screen.

Discussions about Su Chen online were still continuing, with messy sighting videos coming one after another.

Those fraudulent bloggers were making a fortune.

Yet the people who truly understood him and wanted to see him were standing on this broken street blowing in the cold wind.

A sense of anxiety spread inside the carriage.

Yan Yu took a deep breath and pushed open the car door.

"You guys wait in the car, I'll go check that alley ahead again."

Brother Cai stubbed out his cigarette butt.

"A-Li, follow her."