Chapter 268: An Accidental Death

Uncle Geng clenched his microphone in anger but couldn’t react on camera. The TV reporter snickered nearby.

The reporter stepped up and said, “Mr. Ma, the police are here, and the girl’s parents are here too. Your way of handling this is very immature. Every adult has faced emotional setbacks…”

Mr. Ma coldly replied, “Mind your own business!”

“I’m warning you, if you don’t open the door, the police will take compulsory measures.”

“Police?” Mr. Ma laughed. “I haven’t broken any laws. Let’s see them try. I’ll say it again: tell her to contact me, or nothing will change.”

“Is this how you solve problems?”

Mr. Ma erupted in anger, “Why don’t you ask her why she cheated? Society is rotten because of shameless women like her. Reporter, didn’t you have some nasty rumors about you? Heard you slept with the station manager to climb the ranks quickly!”

“I…” The reporter wanted to lash out but held back.

“I despise you reporters. You broadcast whatever the audience wants. Three years ago, you exposed a meatpacking plant, causing it to shut down and thousands to lose their jobs. The plant was legally licensed, but because one customer got sick, you filmed the dirtiest parts and twisted the facts. What you call ‘legal news’ and ‘social updates’ are just big shows!”

“Can we just focus on the issue at hand…” The reporter said helplessly.

Mr. Ma walked away. Both cameramen raised their cameras, but the room was dark, capturing nothing.

Then the reporters and Uncle Geng began their summary speeches. Suddenly, a stream of water sprayed from the window, causing chaos. People screamed and ran, and the reporter twisted her ankle.

She exploded, “What a jerk! Ms. Dong was unlucky to date you. I hope your next girlfriend cheats on you a hundred times!”

The response was a window slam.

After the farce, Lin Dongxue said, “Journalists have it tough too… Officer Luo, let’s go!”

“Okay!”

As they were about to enter the building, a cameraman rushed over, “Wait, let us set up the equipment first.”

Luo checked his watch, “Can you hurry up? It’s been six hours.”

“Almost done!”

Xu Xiaodong nudged Lin Dongxue, pointing to a direction where the reporter was crying, comforted by Uncle Geng.

Luckily, the equipment wasn’t severely damaged. After half an hour, the group was ready again. Luo took the key, but it wouldn’t fit. Shining a light on the lock, they saw it was filled with metal wire.

“Did he do this himself?” Lin Dongxue wondered.

“Break the lock!” Xu Xiaodong suggested.

Luo disagreed, “We can’t break the door. It’s against the law. We’re here to enforce the law, not break it.”

“But the cat…”

“Killing a cat isn’t illegal.”

“This is so frustrating… Hey, are you still filming?” Xu Xiaodong glanced at the camera.

“Let’s redo the scene. Speak louder; we couldn’t capture the audio,” Uncle Geng suggested.

“I won’t do this again! I’m leaving!” Lin Dongxue said impatiently.

“Come on, Dongxue, you’re still on probation. Mind your image… Hey, this wasn’t recorded, right?”

“We’ll cut it out! Promise!” Uncle Geng assured.

Reluctantly, they redid the scene. Lin Dongxue felt like she was acting, not doing police work. But maybe this was the “reality” people wanted to see.

After finishing, Lin Dongxue checked her watch, “It’s 12:01.”

Everyone checked their phones for updates. Suddenly, someone exclaimed, “What’s this?”

“Is that a cat?”

“No, it’s a person!”

Lin Dongxue refreshed her feed and was stunned to see a blurry photo of Mr. Ma lying on the floor, head covered in blood.

“Break the door! Someone call 120!” Lin Dongxue ordered.

“I’ll contact the platform to delete the post,” Luo said.

Without proper tools, Xu Xiaodong fetched a lock breaker from Luo’s car. He smashed the lock until it broke, and as they pushed the door open, reporters rushed in, cameras held high, eager for the scoop.

“Stop filming! Preserve the scene!” Lin Dongxue shouted, trying to push them out.

But there were too many. Xu Xiaodong held down two cameras and used his body to block the crowd, yelling, “No filming!”

“Just one shot, and we’ll leave.”

“Just ten minutes!”

The reporters and Uncle Geng pleaded. Lin Dongxue insisted, “No filming. This is a criminal case. Without approval, no recording!”

Pushed by the crowd, the journalists were in the living room. Xu Xiaodong said, “Dongxue, they won’t leave if we don’t let them film.”

“Smash their equipment! I’ll take responsibility!” Lin Dongxue gritted her teeth.

“Hey, these are reporters. Don’t do anything rash!”

“Listen! Everyone, listen!” Luo shouted, “Calm down. I have a suggestion.”

The crowd quieted. Luo said, “Officer Lin, with this happening under the reporters’ eyes, we can’t cover it up. Let’s let them film a bit.”

The reporters were thrilled. Luo added, “But only one cameraman, and the footage must be approved by the police.”

Uncle Geng protested, “Only one cameraman? What about both networks?”

“Are you even a real network?” the TV reporter scoffed.

Luo said, “You can share the footage. One person is already bending the rules. Disturbing the scene is a huge hassle.”

The crowd disagreed. Lin Dongxue pointed to the location on the social media post, “Look, the photo was posted using this house’s Wi-Fi. If it’s a murder, the killer might still be here.”

This statement doused the crowd’s enthusiasm. One cameraman immediately quit, “I won’t do it! I don’t want to die!”

After much convincing, a young TV cameraman reluctantly agreed to be the temporary cameraman.