100: Chapter 100: The whole internet watches the police get their comeuppance.

"Don't panic, I can finally show off."

The phone was on speaker, and the young man's voice came through, clearly pouring into the ears of the fifteen million people in the live stream.

The police officer in the white shirt leading the team stopped in his tracks.

He glanced at the phone Li Li was holding with the screen facing outward. In the video call, a man wearing gold-rimmed glasses was dressed in a sharp suit, with a whole wall of law books behind him.

The mere display of that bookcase was enough to spell out the words "I am very expensive."

"Hang up the phone," the white-shirted officer said. "You are not allowed to communicate with the outside world while cooperating with the investigation."

The man on the other end of the phone held up an A4 sheet of paper right in front of the camera.

"Hello, I am Li Li's defense attorney, Han Shubai. This is my letter of authorization; the date of entrustment is—yesterday."

The red seal on the paper was stamped neatly, and the law firm's header was in four gold-embossed characters.

The white-shirted officer stopped where he was.

Yesterday?

This kid was eating Hotpot yesterday, and today he's live-streaming, fighting everyone and everything. How did he find the time to hire a lawyer in between?

Li Li raised his phone a bit higher, allowing the camera to capture both the letter of authorization and the officer.

"Attorney Han, go ahead."

Han Shubai sat in his leather office chair, hands folded on the desk.

"Comrade Officer, may I ask, do you have an arrest warrant for my client?"

The white-shirted officer didn't take the bait.

"Currently, this is a summons—"

"A summons also requires legal procedure," Han Shubai interrupted, his speech unhurried but his enunciation sharp. "What is the alleged crime my client is suspected of? Illegal fundraising? Tax evasion? May I ask where the substantive evidence is?"

"We are here precisely to take him back to cooperate with the investigation."

"Cooperating with an investigation and a forced summons are two different things," Han Shubai said, tapping the desk with his index finger. "If there were substantive evidence, you should be holding an arrest warrant, not a verbal summons. Since it is a verbal summons, my client has the right to refuse to go, and the police can conduct the questioning right here on the scene."

The white-shirted officer stared at the phone screen, silent.

Han Shubai didn't give him a chance to breathe.

"Also, I have a small question."

He leaned back in his chair.

"An unverified real-name report, no substantive evidence, no arrest warrant—yet, an officer at or above the division director level arrives in person?"

Han Shubai tilted his head.

"As far as I know, the Dujiangyan Municipal Bureau does not have officers of this rank; you must be from the Chengdu Municipal Bureau, right?"

He paused for a beat.

"The Municipal Bureau specifically sent a leader to handle an unverified report case? How big of a deal is this?"

The live stream comments exploded.

[Holy sh*t, what is this lawyer's background?! His mouth is like a machine gun!]

[Han Shubai! Remember this name! Hire him for lawsuits in the future!]

[Lawyer: You have no evidence → Your procedure is flawed → Your rank is wrong → There's someone behind you. A four-hit combo!]

[What kind of Zhuge Liang of the legal world is this???]

[Holy crap, don't you guys watch the Dating Reality Show? Attorney Han is back!!!!]

[Shen Yu: Finally, he let him speak.]

The white-shirted officer scanned the live stream comments still scrolling wildly on Li Li's phone screen.

Fifteen million people online.

Fifteen million pairs of eyes staring at him.

He had been a police officer for twenty years and had interrogated over a thousand suspects, but this was the first time he had encountered such a situation—at the suspect's doorstep, in front of a national audience, being put on "trial" by a lawyer holding a phone screen.

He was silent for three seconds.

The white-shirted officer took a half-step forward.

"Attorney Han, let me introduce myself."

He pulled out his police ID and held it up to the phone camera.

"Deputy Director of the Chengdu Municipal Bureau, in charge of economic investigation."

The comments surged again.

[Deputy Director??? How big is this case exactly?!]

Han Shubai nodded on the other end of the video, waiting for him to continue.

The white-shirted officer put his police ID away.

"This case involves an amount exceeding ten million yuan, a huge sum. I am supervising it personally, and the procedure is compliant."

He put his hands behind his back.

"The report materials indicate—Mr. Li Li, as a new streamer who has been live-streaming for less than ten days, with no other fixed assets or sources of income, transferred ten million yuan to the bank in a single transaction to repay the loan for Qingcheng Orphanage."

"And according to a rough calculation of the platform's public data, his streaming revenue is approximately sixteen million yuan. After deducting the platform's cut, personal income tax, and other items, the net amount received after tax is far less than ten million yuan."

He looked at Li Li.

"Where did the money come from? Either it's illegal fundraising from netizens, or it's tax evasion. Either one of these, if proven, is enough for a conviction."

The courtyard went quiet.

A few older children hiding behind the pillars didn't dare to move.

Zhang Qiang clenched his fists at the canteen entrance, held back tightly by Li Hong.

"Let go—"

"Let go of your head! Don't make things worse!"

Teacher Wang stood three steps behind Li Li, almost dropping her phone.

Everyone was looking at Li Li.

Li Li looked at the white-shirted officer, saying nothing for a long time.

His left wrist turned half a circle unconsciously.

His knuckles didn't crack.

He forced himself to suppress the movement.

Han Shubai spoke up.

"Comrade Officer, since you have already introduced yourself, let me ask on behalf of my client—who submitted this report material?"

Just as the white-shirted officer was about to open his mouth, Han Shubai added another sentence immediately.

"If it involves the whistleblower's privacy and is inconvenient to disclose, then I will change the question. In the report material, who provided the data of Mr. Li Li's streaming revenue being 'roughly calculated at sixteen million yuan'? Was it issued officially by the platform? Or did the whistleblower estimate it themselves?"

The white-shirted officer didn't answer.

Han Shubai smiled. He took off his glasses, wiped them, and put them back on.

"If even the core data has not been verified by the platform officially, then the credibility of this report material is, I'm afraid, questionable. Of course, my client respects the law and is willing to cooperate to explain the situation."

Han Shubai looked at the phone camera.

"But since the live stream is already on, I suggest—if there are any questions, ask them right here on the spot. With over ten million viewers as witnesses, is our sincerity in cooperating with the investigation not great enough?"

The white-shirted officer was silent.

Take him away? The lawyer is online, the live stream is online, there's a forced summons without an arrest warrant—if he goes back and the higher-ups ask, the compliance can't be explained.

Don't take him? He wouldn't be able to complete the task assigned by the higher-ups.

He made a compromise decision.

"Fine. Since the client is willing to cooperate, on-site questioning is acceptable."

The white-shirted officer turned to Li Li.

"Mr. Li Li, you've been streaming for less than ten days, and your net income after tax is less than ten million, yet you transferred ten million to the orphanage. Where did the money come from?"

Li Li gave an admiring glance at Han Shubai on the phone screen.

This guy was truly consistent; he talked so much on the show that he drove Shen Yu crazy. His professional logic was also flawless.

He sighed, flipped the phone to face himself.

The live stream screen returned to his expressionless face.

"Fine, I'll clarify this on the live stream."

Li Li cleared his throat.

"The streaming money really doesn't reach ten million."

The comments froze for a beat, then started scrolling wildly.

[Wait??? Didn't he say he paid off the eight million yuan loan plus employee wages? He transferred ten million in total! If the money isn't enough—]

[He admitted it himself???]

[It's over, it's over, it's over. Did he really commit tax evasion?!]

The white-shirted officer's shoulders relaxed an inch. This case finally had a breakthrough.

Han Shubai, on the other end of the phone, picked up a cup of tea and took a sip.

He wasn't panicked at all.

He knew Li Li too well. This guy's tone was like setting a trap even when he said, "I'll treat you to dinner," let alone admitting to something in public. There was always a "but" waiting ahead.

Li Li held up a finger.

"Regarding streaming revenue, the platform can issue official data; you can check it at any time. But I can tell everyone now—"

He counted on his fingers.

"TikTok streaming income, after tax, is about a little over six million. Furthermore, the 6.66 million in donations from Ala Country that I promised to donate has not been touched, so I only withdrew the streaming revenue."

Several police officers frowned simultaneously. Six million? That's still four million short.

"But besides streaming income—"

Li Li reached out to the table, picked up his phone, and pulled up his chat history with Director Pei Zhao.

"I have another source of legitimate income."

He handed the phone to the police officer.

"There are two upcoming variety shows. The guest contract fees paid to me in advance by Byte Group, the total amount including tax—you can just take a look. The program names and amounts are confidential; you can confirm the details with Director Pei Zhao of Byte Group."

The white-shirted officer read the number.

The live stream couldn't see the amount or the program names, but the officer stared at the screen for a full five seconds.

Han Shubai, in his office in Chengdu, put down his teacup and tapped the desk with his index finger. He smiled.

"So, Comrade Officer," Han Shubai leaned back in his chair.

"My client's total income, added together, completely covers that ten million. Bank transfer records, tax payment vouchers, original contracts—I have backups for everything here. Do you need me to send them to your bureau's economic investigation department for filing right now?"

The white-shirted officer stood there, the notebook in his hand slowly dropping.

He turned his head and glanced at his subordinates behind him.

The subordinates all lowered their heads in unison.

The comments from the fifteen million people in the live stream finally recovered from the suffocation and began to scroll at a speed of several hundred messages per second.

Li Li put the file folder back on the table and patted the dust off his hands.

"Deputy Director, anything else you want to ask?"

At the entrance of the main building not far away, Teacher Wang covered her face with her hands.

Zhang Qiang punched the wall behind the canteen door frame, grinning silently.

Yaya didn't know when she had run out again; she was clinging to the side of a pillar, standing on tiptoe to look over.

The white-shirted officer closed his notebook.

"That's all for today. If we need supplementary materials later, we will contact your lawyer through formal channels."

He turned around and strode toward the police car.

His leather shoes clicked on the concrete, his steps twice as fast as when he arrived.

The car door opened, he sat inside, and it slammed shut with a bang.

The red and blue police lights went out.

The convoy turned around and drove out of the dirt road at the orphanage gate.

The dust raised hadn't even settled when the phone in Li Li's pocket vibrated again.

Han Shubai's video call was still on.

"Brother Li, how did I perform?"

Li Li looked down at him.

"Passable."

"Passable?! That part I just did was textbook-level—"

Li Li reached out and hung up the video.

He turned around, facing the live stream camera.

Fifteen million people were still online.

The comments scrolled from bottom to top, a sea of green [Sorry] and [Brother Li is awesome].

He didn't look at the comments. He took the phone off the stand and held it in his hand.

"That's it for today's live stream."

He paused.

"As for that article claiming I 'forcibly swallowed a hundred acres of public welfare land,' the author and the publishing platform have already been documented by my famous internet lawyer friend. The indictments for defamation and picking quarrels and provoking trouble will be mailed tomorrow. President Liu of Hengtai Construction—the people you sent, the hot searches you bought, the little essays you had people write, I remember every single one."

He pressed the button to end the live stream.

The screen went black.

The courtyard quieted down again.

The wind blew down from Mount Qingcheng, carrying the scent of pine trees.

Li Li put his phone back in his pocket and turned his head.

On the steps of the main building, more than thirty children were huddled together, staring at him.

Yaya was the first to rush down and throw herself onto his legs.

"Brother Li Li! Those uncles in uniforms are gone!"

Li Li looked down at her.

"They're gone."

"Then we don't have to move anymore!"

"No moving."

He ruffled Yaya's hair.

Behind him, the phone in his pocket vibrated again.

He took it out and glanced at it.

It was a WeChat message from Jiang Rumu. Just three words.

[Well done.]

Below it was a voice message. He tapped it.

Jiang Rumu's voice popped out of the earpiece, with the distinct muffled sound of potato chip crumbs.

"Lend me Han Shubai for two days too; I still have a score to settle with Company."

Li Li stared at the screen for two seconds, just about to type.

Several black official cars turned in from the mountain road and slowly stopped at the gate of the orphanage.

The car doors opened, and a group of people walked over, including a photographer.

At the very front, Minister Xu Jianguo was wearing a jacket he hadn't had time to button up. He bent down and climbed out from the back seat, holding a red-covered file folder in his hand, his forehead covered in sweat.

He scanned the mottled outer walls of the orphanage, then looked at Li Li, who was standing in the center of the courtyard.

Minister Xu Jianguo snapped his jacket hem straight. He strode inside.

"Li Li."

Li Li looked up, observing the man who looked somewhat familiar.

Minister Xu Jianguo held out the red file folder in his hand.

"Let me introduce myself. I am the father of Yaya, the girl you saved the other day, and I am also the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Minister Xu Jianguo."