Chapter Twenty-Six: I’ll Send You to the Police Station

Cheng Ziqiu calmly adjusted the angle of his camera, bringing the police cruiser into the background behind the bearded man.

The bearded man didn't notice at first, still immersed in the excitement of "locating the dragon's vein." It wasn't until the police car pulled up behind him and several officers stepped out that he suddenly snapped back to reality.

"Police? What are you doing?" The bearded man stared at the officers in front of him, dazed, still clutching his shovel.

"What are we doing? Someone reported you for grave robbing!" an officer stated sternly.

The bearded man panicked instantly, rushing to explain, "I didn't! I was... I was looking for my ancestral tomb!"

"Looking for your ancestral tomb? With a shovel? And asking a streamer about Feng Shui?" The officer clearly didn't buy his nonsense.

It was only then that the bearded man realized he had been played by Cheng Ziqiu. He whipped his head toward the screen, grinding his teeth as he cursed, "You brat! You actually dared to set me up!"

Cheng Ziqiu shrugged, looking completely innocent. "My friend, that’s not fair. I’m a law-abiding citizen; of course I’m going to report illegal activities when I see them! Besides, your method of 'finding an ancestral tomb' is, well... quite unique."

The audience in the livestream burst into laughter.

[Hahaha! Serves you right! That’ll teach you to rob graves!]
[The streamer’s move was genius!]
[That slap in the face came faster than a tornado!]

The bearded man was so furious his face turned green. He tried to continue cursing, but the police pinned him down. "Behave yourself! You’re coming with us!"

As the police hauled him away, the bearded man kept shouting obscenities: "You little brat! You just wait! When I get out, I'm going to kill you!"

Cheng Ziqiu smiled at the camera, flashing his white teeth. "Did you see that, everyone? That is the fate of a grave robber! Obeying the law is everyone's responsibility!" He even playfully made a heart sign with his hands.

[The streamer is a legend! That counter-attack was beautiful!]
[The bearded guy must be exploding with rage, hahaha!]
[Streamer, do more exciting streams like this! I love it!]
[He deserves it! Who told him to try and rob graves?]
[By the way, was the streamer really a grave robber in the past?]

Cheng Ziqiu looked at the last comment and gave a mysterious smile. "As for that... I have no comment." He paused intentionally, leaving the audience hanging. "However, what I can tell you is that my past is... far more fascinating than you can imagine."

The chat room exploded.

[Holy crap! What does the streamer mean? Could he have actually robbed graves before?]
[This is terrifying to think about! With that tone and expression, he’s definitely not joking!]

[Streamer, tell us! Don't keep us in suspense!]
[I'm ready to hear the story! Hurry up, streamer!]

Cheng Ziqiu watched the flood of comments, his lips curling slightly. "You want to hear stories? That depends on your performance." He rubbed his fingers together. "Let’s see some gifts! Send out the rockets and planes! Show me your passion!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than various gifts began to shower across the screen—rockets, planes, yachts, and even a carnival. Cheng Ziqiu watched the total value climb, his eyes narrowing into slits with delight.

Meanwhile, Han Lishan watched the popularity of Cheng Ziqiu’s stream skyrocket like a rocket, his face turning an sickly shade of green. He had expected his own carefully planned stream to attract a wave of traffic, but instead, this brat Cheng Ziqiu had stolen it all.

"Damn it! What kind of blind luck did this kid have?" Han Lishan slammed his desk. The teacup on the table jumped, splashing tea everywhere and scalding him, causing him to let out a howl.

"Professor Han, what should we do? The number of people in that kid's livestream is ten times ours!" his assistant asked cautiously, terrified of provoking him further.

"Report him! Report him relentlessly! Say he’s promoting feudal superstition! Say he’s inciting grave robbing!" Han Lishan hissed through gritted teeth. "I don't believe I can't take him down!"

The assistant nodded quickly, pulling out his phone to start reporting frantically. He even mobilized all the employees in the studio and paid for a "water army" of bots to report Cheng Ziqiu’s stream together. In an instant, a flurry of reports flooded the platform.

Xiao Zhang, a platform administrator, was chewing on a popsicle, idly scrolling through the reports. He recognized Han Lishan’s name by heart—the old man was constantly reporting someone, either calling a streamer a shaman or accusing others of feudal superstition. Today, he had set his sights on someone named Cheng Ziqiu.

"Promoting feudal superstition? Inciting grave robbing?" Xiao Zhang chuckled and clicked on Cheng Ziqiu’s stream. On screen, Cheng Ziqiu was winking at the camera.

"My friends, double-tap that screen!" Cheng Ziqiu picked up a crudely made pottery figurine. "Your support is my greatest motivation!"

The chat was filled with "hahaha" emojis. Xiao Zhang checked the content of the reports again. "Inappropriate behavior," "spreading harmful information"... it was all vague, cookie-cutter jargon.

"That's it?" Xiao Zhang curled his lip. "This kid’s stream is actually quite good; he’s way more interesting than that Han Lishan." With that, he dismissed the reports and casually followed Cheng Ziqiu’s channel.

On the other end, Han Lishan watched as his reports failed and Cheng Ziqiu’s popularity continued to rise. He was livid. "Useless! A bunch of useless trash!" he pointed at his assistant’s nose. "I spent so much money, and this is the result?"

The assistant shrank away, whispering in defense, "Professor Han, someone on the platform must be protecting him..."

"Protecting him? Who would dare? I am an authority in the field of archaeology!" Han Lishan slammed the table again. "Get me the platform's customer service! I want to complain! I want to expose this!"

The assistant tremblingly dialed the number, embellishing Han Lishan’s accusations as he repeated them. The customer service representative was sweet-toned but strictly official: "Sir, we will verify the situation you reported. Please be patient and wait..."

Han Lishan hung up with a bang, nearly crushing his phone. "Customer service? They’re just a bunch of robots who only know how to read scripts!" he roared, spraying the assistant with spit.

The assistant wiped his face, not daring to let out a breath.

"Call the police! Call them right now!" Han Lishan roared at the assistant. "Tell them this kid is promoting feudal superstition and inciting grave robbing! Make sure he rots in jail!"

The assistant scrambled out, pulled out his phone, and dialed 110. Once connected, he took a deep breath, mimicked Han Lishan’s tone, and gave an exaggerated account of the story, adding at the end: "This kid has millions of viewers; the influence is extremely negative! He must be severely punished!"

However, there was a moment of silence on the other end, followed by a confused voice: "Cheng Ziqiu? The guy streaming about grave robbing?"

The assistant felt a surge of secret joy. *So, the police are paying attention to this case too!* He quickly replied, "Yes, that's him! This kid is too arrogant; you have to arrest him!"

"Arrest him?" A light chuckle came from the other end. "Young man, are you mistaken? We’re actually preparing to present him with a banner of honor!"

The assistant was stunned. A banner of honor? Presenting a banner? To whom? Cheng Ziqiu?