A surge of hot blood rushed to Lei Gang's head, his face flushing crimson as he roared into Liu Shanhe's phone, his voice cracking with fury:
"Lies! Absolute slander! How could I possibly go to the women's restroom?! Officer Nie Bing! What... what do you mean by this?!"
"Nie Bing" ignored Lei Gang's furious outburst, her tone remaining terrifyingly calm:
"Words mean nothing without evidence. Observe the evidence! This is another surveillance video I've recovered."
The large screen flickered to life—
As the lights went out and the scene plunged into darkness, a figure wearing the Starry Security Department Chief's uniform, with a build eerily similar to Lei Gang's, emerged from the women's restroom, head bowed and footsteps hurried.
Once outside, the figure lifted its head. Though the footage was in black and white due to night vision, Starry used top-tier surveillance cameras with ultra-high resolution. Every person in the room could clearly see—it was Lei Gang himself!
Lei Gang's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets at the sight.
He pointed at the screen, his finger trembling, his voice distorted by panic:
"Fake! This is absolutely fake! A setup! I never went to that women's restroom! There's no way I could have come out of there!"
"It's Cifera! Cifera must be behind this!!!"
"This surveillance footage is fake too!!!"
Liu Shanhe, Zhang Hong, Feng Chiyu, and the others instantly grew grim upon seeing the shocking footage.
Liu Shanhe subtly signaled Zhang Hong with a glance, and the latter nodded in understanding, his muscular frame shifting slightly.
Feng Chiyu also moved with practiced coordination, subtly positioning himself to form a loose encirclement around Lei Gang.
Wang Lei stepped protectively in front of Liu Ruyan and Li Zhanting, silently gesturing for them to move away from Lei Gang.
The live stream chat exploded:
[???????????????????????]
[WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST SEE? BIG PECS COME OUT OF THE WOMEN'S BATHROOM?! ? ? ! ! !]
[HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT! Didn't catch Cifera, but snagged a pervert instead?!]
[So... the biggest vulnerability in Starry Security is the Security Chief himself?]
[If this footage is real, Lei Gang is socially dead, right?]
[Global Manhunt: Extra Episode: Starry Security Scandal!]
[Wait a minute! Didn't Nie Bing say earlier that this was surveillance footage Cifera had hidden? Why would Cifera cover up Lei Gang's dirty secret? Could it be...? Gasp! The more I think about it, the more terrifying it gets!]
[Holy shit?! You're not saying... Big Pecs is actually a woman?! Slurp~!]
[...Upstairs, bro, you're definitely jumping to conclusions! And what the hell is with that slurping?!]
[For those who still haven't caught on, didn't you see Old Liu and the others subtly encircling Big Pecs? The answer is practically staring us in the face!]
Hearing Lei Gang's "self-serving explanation," Nie Bing's voice cut through the hall like an icy verdict, clear and authoritative:
"Combining the previous evidence, I boldly hypothesize—the Minister Lei Gang present here is actually Cifera in disguise!"
[Gasp—!!!]
The revelation detonated like a bombshell, leaving everyone stunned except for Liu Shanhe and the others who had already suspected this possibility.
A sea of shocked, skeptical, terrified, and even eager eyes locked onto Lei Gang, whose face had turned ashen.
If the earlier revelation that Lei Gang was a pervert had been astonishing enough, this new claim that he was Cifera in disguise left everyone's jaws on the floor.
Lei Gang himself was among the jaw-droppers. He had already been furious at being framed for trespassing in the women's restroom, but now they were claiming he was Cifera in disguise?!
This is practically rubbing my IQ into the ground!
Does she think I don't know who I am?!
"Bullshit!!!"
Lei Gang completely lost his composure, waving his fists and his voice hoarse and distorted from extreme anger and injustice:
"Absurd! This is utterly absurd!
"If I were Cifera in disguise, then who was the Cifera who was just surrounded and vanished on stage?! Does she know how to clone herself?!
"Nie Bing! Explain yourself! Show me some goddamn ironclad evidence!!!"
Lei Gang's outburst instantly flooded the live stream with the same questions:
[Holy shit, he's right! Who was the Cifera who was surrounded on stage earlier? There can't be two Ciferas, right?!]
[This line of reasoning has a massive vulnerability! How is Nie Bing going to explain the clone problem?]
[LOL! If Cifera could clone herself, she'd have changed her name to Su Wukong ages ago!]
[Isn't Lord Lin right next to Nie Bing? Why doesn't he restrain her from spouting this nonsense?!]
[I suggest investigating whether Little Bingbing has been bribed by Cifera. (dog emoji)]
[I'll answer that: Cifera bribed her with love!]
[Goddess Nie Bing! Spill the evidence already! You're killing us with suspense!]
"Nie Bing" seemed to have anticipated Lei Gang's vehement skepticism, her voice remaining unwavering:
"Excellent question!
"The 'Cifera' on stage just now? Strictly speaking, she was indeed an avatar!
"Because she was never a physical entity! She was an extremely advanced 5D holographic projection!"
"What?! A projection?!"
A fresh wave of incredulous gasps swept through the crowd.
"That's right! Now, I'd like to ask Ms. Liu Ruyan a question: When Cifera posed for a photo with you earlier, did your bodies make any contact at all?"
Caught off guard by Nie Bing's sudden inquiry, Liu Ruyan paused briefly. Without hesitation, she shook her head, her voice resolute:
"No, we never made any physical contact whatsoever.
"At the time, I assumed she was wary of me due to her status as a 'wanted criminal.' But now it seems she was afraid I'd realize she was just a projection?"
Liu Ruyan's words ignited a fresh uproar among the audience. Murmurs rippled through the crowd:
"It checks out! Chairman Liu's details align perfectly with Nie Bing's claim about a 'projection'!"
"I had no idea the world already had such advanced projection technology!"
"Could Cifera have mastered the most cutting-edge scientific innovations?"
Unlike the others' excitement, Lei Gang grew even angrier!
What you're all saying makes sense, but goddamn it, I'm the real Lei Gang!
He continued his furious interrogation:
"This is all just speculation! There's no real evidence! Tell me, where's the projection equipment?
"If I were Cifera, I wouldn't have had time to hide the projection equipment. And just now, everyone, including your Pursuit Team, conducted a thorough search of the venue, yet no such equipment was found!
"How do you explain that?!"
"Explain? No problem!"
Contrary to Lei Gang's expectation of Nie Bing being stumped into silence, she responded with unwavering confidence:
"The projection equipment? We already found it. And you're the one who found it for us."
"Bullshit! When did I find it? Stop talking nonsense—"
Before Lei Gang could finish the word "nonsense," he suddenly froze.
He had just realized what Nie Bing was talking about.