The scene shifted to the Pursuit Team.
After dealing with the anomaly, the Pursuit Team members outside gathered at Lin Zhiyuan's request.
Upon seeing Liu Shanhe, Lin Zhiyuan recounted how Cifera had used her powerful vocal mimicry ability to assist him in solving the case, and shared his analysis of her true identity.
After hearing the full account, Liu Shanhe froze as if struck by a petrification spell, remaining completely still for over a minute.
Recovering, he collapsed onto the ground with a long sigh, lamenting:
"So, when Cifera introduced herself this morning, everything she showed me was deliberately staged. Beneath layers of subtle microexpressions lay depths I couldn't fathom.
"How arrogant of me to boast that no one could deceive me with microexpressions! Now my face is thoroughly slapped. I bet the audience who knew the truth were all laughing at this old fool."
"Truly, the student has surpassed the master! This young Cifera has completely defeated this old man!"
"Old Liu, you're already incredibly skilled. Didn't the rest of us get tricked by Cifera too? It's just that she's too... too absurd."
Wang Lei quickly comforted Liu Shanhe, initially wanting to say "freak," but remembering they were live-streaming, he carefully chose his words.
Though Wang Lei didn't say "freak" outright, the Bullet Comments immediately guessed his intended meaning:
[Teacher Wang Lei, stop pretending! We all know you wanted to call Cifera a freak.]
[That's a fair assessment. Cifera's strength is indeed freakishly strong.]
[I'm delivering congratulatory telegrams from the Nie Family Patriarch: "Master, you got played too?"]
["Old Liu's breakdown moment.JPG" has been successfully archived!]
[Rather than a breakdown, I think Old Liu is genuinely impressed, his eyes shining with pride as he watches the younger generation surpass him.]
As if to prove the Bullet Comments right, Liu Shanhe immediately stood up again, brushed the dust off his pants, and burst into hearty laughter:
"This is outrageous! Outrageously good! For China to have such an outrageously talented individual is a tremendous boon, a great blessing!"
After his exclamation, Liu Shanhe turned to Lin Zhiyuan and asked, "Little Lin, you seem so certain. Have you already confirmed this with the Production Team?"
"Yes," Lin Zhiyuan explained. "I just contacted the staff member responsible for issuing wanted notices and asked a crucial question: 'As a victim, can I report Cifera for stealing intelligence from our Pursuit Team?'"
"The affirmative reply proves conclusively that Cifera is indeed one of the contestants."
"However, I didn't immediately ask the Production Team to issue a warrant. We need to discuss the exact timing with everyone first—that's the main reason I called this meeting."
Liu Shanhe gave Lin Zhiyuan an appreciative look and took over the conversation. "You did the right thing, Little Lin. Issuing a warrant for Cifera right now would make us seem utterly heartless."
"Cifera exposed her identity to save lives. We can't take advantage of that—it would be utterly unethical!
"I propose we give Cifera ample time to escape. We'll officially issue the warrant for her arrest at 9:00 AM tomorrow.
"Any objections?"
"None!"
Everyone agreed, their thoughts clearly aligning with Liu Shanhe's.
Next, Liu Shanhe personally intervened, instructing the Production Team to officially issue Cifera's arrest warrant at 9:00 AM the following day. He also insisted they inform Cifera of this exact timing in advance.
After Liu Shanhe emphasized that this was compensation for the sacrifices Cifera had made while handling the crisis, the Production Team relented.
Shortly after, everyone's phones simultaneously received a message from Cifera:
"Hey, I've been feeding you intel for ages! Why haven't you caught anyone yet? Slacking off here, huh? Get to work! Don't waste my efforts, you hear me~?!"
The message left everyone stunned for a moment, then they smiled knowingly.
Yeah, time to get back to work. For the rest of today, at least, Cifera remained their comrade in arms.
-
Studio.
Host Qiu Qiu, sensing the deep camaraderie between Cifera and the Pursuit Team, couldn't help but sigh, "At least until 9 AM tomorrow, they'll remain a perfectly coordinated team. I truly wish they could keep working together forever."
"Ha! Once Contestant Cifera gets eliminated and joins the Police Force, the Production Team might actually invite her to be a real member of the Pursuit Team next season," Nie Junfeng joked, rare for him. "Though I doubt the new contestants would welcome her."
Nie Junfeng was in high spirits, cracking jokes for a change.
In the two real-life cases they'd covered, he had witnessed firsthand just how incredibly efficient having a super intelligence operative like Cifera on the team could be—it was like having a cheat code.
He desperately wanted to rush to Cifera right then and there, kneel before her, and beg her to stop playing this pretend game show. Wouldn't it be better to come back and catch real criminals with him? Staying on the show to play a petty thief was such a waste of her talent!
"Inspector Nie, let's save this topic for after Contestant Cifera is actually eliminated," Host Qiu Qiu interjected.
Seeing Nie Junfeng's renewed conviction that Cifera would be eliminated, Qiu Qiu knew the next round of his "Poison Milk" predictions was about to begin. Her role was simply to set the stage for his pronouncements.
"Next, we'll have Inspector Nie answer a question from the audience. This one comes from a viewer named Little Ya:
[Contestant Cifera waited for the Pursuit Team members to return and bid them a formal farewell before escaping. What do you believe her true motive was? Could you provide a brief analysis?]
Upon hearing the question, the smile on Nie Junfeng's face visibly tightened.
A new storm was brewing, but this time he was determined not to be caught off guard again.
"Hmm, regarding this question, before we analyze it, we need to understand the key point: Contestant Cifera's identity has been exposed, making her escape inevitable.
"Logically, she should have left the Pursuit Team's base as quickly as possible. But why didn't she leave immediately? The Pursuit Team has already provided the answer.
"That's right. Contestant Cifera had predicted in advance that the Pursuit Team would give her ample time to leave, and that this grace period would extend until tomorrow.
"As a master of deception, she possesses an uncanny ability to grasp others' intentions with remarkable accuracy.
"Therefore, knowing exactly when she would be wanted, her decision to bid farewell to the entire Pursuit Team is understandable. If we were to pinpoint her true motives, I'd say there are two:
"First, emphasize reciprocity. Since the Pursuit Team allowed her to leave early, it's only natural and reasonable for her to bid them farewell as a sign of gratitude.
"Second, bidding farewell to everyone about to arrest her before fleeing clearly carries a provocative undertone. This would inevitably affect the pursuers' mental state, perfectly aligning with Contestant Cifera's consistent modus operandi.
"Contestant Cifera only needs to meticulously plan her escape route after the farewell and ensure a sufficiently secure departure window to prevent the Pursuit Team from locating her immediately.
"Though the Pursuit Team has computer expert Police Officer Nie Bing, let's not forget that she's 'unconscious' and won't wake up until noon tomorrow. Even if she were awake, her investigative efficiency would inevitably fall short of Cifera's.
"Therefore, Contestant Cifera's success rate in escaping after the farewell approaches 100%, making her extremely difficult to track. It's likely the Pursuit Team won't truly discover her whereabouts until she commits another crime and is reported."
"Thank you, Inspector Nie, for your insightful explanation. I wonder if our viewer, Little Ya, is satisfied? Hmm? It seems she has a different opinion on Inspector Nie's analysis!"
Host Qiu Qiu's face lit up with the telltale expression of a gossip enthusiast.
"Oh? What did she say?"
"Her exact words were: 'Cifera would never play it safe. The end of the farewell will be the beginning of the hunt.'"
"Heh, I get it now. This netizen is clearly a devoted fan of Contestant Cifera. According to her, Cifera will only leave the Pursuit Team's base after the global manhunt begins, right?"
Nie Junfeng rubbed his forehead and shook his head, his face wearing an awkward yet polite smile. He clearly disagreed strongly with Little Ya's assessment.
"I respect different opinions, but from a professional standpoint, I must reject this netizen's theory.
"Contestant Cifera is an exceptionally clever individual. She would never attempt anything without a high degree of certainty. While you may be her fan, I'm afraid you're not quite up to par. You still have much to learn from your idol.
"I can guarantee this based on my nearly thirty years of law enforcement experience: if Contestant Cifera dares to leave the Pursuit Team's base after the global manhunt begins, she will be captured and eliminated almost immediately.
"If I'm wrong, I will personally apologize to netizen Little Ya."
At that moment, Nie Junfeng was going all-in.
Against absolute strength, the curse of "Poison Milk" has no power!