Behind the scenes of the show.
Chief Director Guo Tao listened to Nie Junfeng's analysis, his eyes fixed on the Coin of Whimsy lying still on the screen, as if silently mocking them.
His vision blurred, and he collapsed limply into his chair, utterly defeated.
"The cat... is... gone... again..." he muttered, his voice thick with despair and a dull ache of frustration.
After barking orders for so long, he felt mentally and physically exhausted. But he knew he couldn't afford to wallow; as Chief Director, he had to pull himself together!
He slapped his cheeks, immediately straightened up, and resumed issuing instructions:
"Technical staff, continue searching for Cifera's location.
"Mobile team, find Nie Bing and Lin Zhiyuan. Confirm their status and attach 'Status Alert Tags' to them.
"Cut the live stream to the Pursuit Team. Let the audience see how Old Liu and the Pursuit Team react now that they know Lei Gang is real."
The camera abruptly shifted to the surveillance center, where a crisis seemed to be unfolding. Liu Shanhe was already there!
In that instant, Guo Tao's mind raced:
Could Old Liu have reacted so quickly and caught the cat in time?
-
A few minutes earlier, at the Press Conference.
Liu Shanhe sat on a chair, his fingers drumming unconsciously against his knee.
Originally, he had been discussing security arrangements for the evening with the relevant security personnel.
However, when he received the Production Team's notification that the contestants had identified Lei Gang and that the arrest had failed, the seasoned Criminal Investigator was genuinely shocked.
To be honest, after witnessing Cifera's flawless disguise as Chen Luo, he had harbored doubts but still allowed for the possibility that she could also impersonate Lei Gang.
Combined with the surveillance footage provided by Nie Bing and confirmation of the 5D Projector's existence, Liu Shanhe had become almost certain that Lei Gang was Cifera in disguise.
Yet he never imagined that, despite such overwhelming evidence, this Lei Gang was indeed the real person, not an impostor...
He had genuinely wronged Lei Gang, unjustly locking him in the "black room."
Though Liu Shanhe couldn't see the live stream's Bullet Comments, he could easily guess what some viewers were thinking: Isn't it simple to verify if Lei Gang is the real deal? Just have someone follow him to the bathroom, make him drop his pants, and check.
After all, disguise techniques couldn't possibly extend to "that area," right?
If they'd used this method earlier, wouldn't they have known the truth all along? Why complicate things so much?
In truth, Liu Shanhe wasn't opposed to using this method. However, this was ultimately a variety show, not a real criminal investigation.
Consider this: if Liu Shanhe were to employ such a verification method, should he send a man or a woman?
If he sent a man, and Lei Gang was indeed Cifera in disguise, wouldn't that constitute sexual harassment?
If he sent a woman, and Lei Gang was indeed himself, wouldn't that still be sexual harassment?
The method was simply impractical.
Moreover, Liu Shanhe had already largely convinced himself that Lei Gang was Cifera in disguise, making such a potentially scandalous method even more unnecessary.
However, Liu Shanhe was a seasoned criminal investigator with decades of experience. His shock and frustration lasted only a brief moment before he shifted into a state of focused deduction.
He needed to discard his previous conclusions and re-evaluate all the clues and evidence in light of the current situation.
First and foremost, the critical surveillance footage showing "Lei Gang emerging from the women's restroom" had to be overturned!
The footage Nie Bing had restored and presented as core evidence was undoubtedly forged.
Lei Gang's earlier rebuttal had been correct: Nie Bing had indeed been manipulated by Cifera. The footage she believed she had recovered through her own skills were merely "toys" Cifera had deliberately left behind.
The purpose? To firmly pin suspicion on Lei Gang and muddy the waters.
This deduction should be sound.
Since all the "restored footage" Nie Bing had recovered had been deliberately made accessible to her by Cifera, it was clear that the surveillance footage showing Cifera disguised as the female reporter Chen Luo had also been intentionally exposed.
Crucially, unlike the fabricated footage of Lei Gang emerging from the women's restroom, the footage of Cifera disguised as Chen Luo was genuine.
Why would Cifera deliberately allow Nie Bing to find this authentic footage, which exposed her identity at the venue?
The answer was obvious: to lay the groundwork for the misleading conclusion that "Lei Gang is Cifera in disguise."
Firstly, because of Chen Luo's existence, Liu Shanhe would inevitably obtain intelligence about Cifera's remarkable disguise skills from her.
Secondly, since the "disguised reporter" footage restored by Nie Bing was authentic, Liu Shanhe would naturally assume that the other footage she restored—the fabricated clip of Lei Gang exiting the women's restroom—was also genuine.
Combined with the demonstration using the 5D Projector, these three points essentially solidified the conclusion that "Lei Gang is Cifera in disguise."
Originally, the only flaw in this scheme was the Production Team's contestant testimonies, but Cifera had anticipated this and shaken off the Heaven's Eye System in advance.
Thus, Lei Gang, like a dead cat, had no choice but to swallow the blame, whether he wanted to or not.
Reflecting on this, Liu Shanhe couldn't help but marvel at the terrifying cunning and ruthlessness of Cifera's mind.
But now a new problem had emerged: why could the Production Team suddenly confirm Lei Gang's identity again?
The answer was obvious—the Production Team had located Cifera's position.
Liu Shanhe was certain that this was the crucial information the Pursuit Team needed to find Cifera.
Before proceeding, they needed to re-evaluate Cifera's possible locations.
Based on eyewitness accounts, it was confirmed that Cifera, disguised as Chen Luo, had indeed entered the women's restroom. After that, no one had seen her on-site again.
This meant Cifera had changed her disguise again inside the restroom.
There were only two possibilities:
1. She had disguised herself as someone else besides Lei Gang. 2. She had reverted to her true identity.
If it was the first scenario, she likely disguised herself as a venue staff member, using her assumed position to place the 5D Projector on stage and manipulate the projection covertly.
In this case, she was likely still within the venue, as the Pursuit Team had temporarily sealed off the area and hadn't allowed staff to leave.
If it was the second scenario, then the "Cifera" on stage earlier might have been the real person, not a projection.
The recorded footage of the projection vanishing would also be fake.
As initially hypothesized, she had evaded security personnel with her agility and quickly changed her disguise in the darkness.
In this situation, the best disguise would be one as close as possible to her original location.
Lei Gang would have been the perfect choice, but he was already ruled out. The most likely alternative was other security personnel!
As Liu Shanhe's deduction progressed, he could feel the answer drawing near.
Now, combining this with the Production Team's sudden discovery of Cifera's location, he could infer that she was no longer in the convention hall.
Something unexpected must have occurred on Cifera's side, or the Production Team wouldn't have found her so abruptly.
But the venue was under constant surveillance by the Pursuit Team. If anything unusual had occurred, they would have noticed it immediately.
That ruled out the first possibility.
Which left only one possibility for the second scenario:
Most likely security guard identity + not in the venue...
!!!
It was him!
A figure suddenly flashed through Liu Shanhe's mind—
The young security guard who seemed inexperienced, nervous, even a bit clumsy!
The sole security guard Lei Gang had casually assigned to escort Nie Bing and Lin Zhiyuan out of the venue and to the security monitoring center!
Suddenly, everything clicked into place! It was like parting dense fog to reveal the only path forward!
After Cifera "disappeared" from the stage, she immediately disguised herself as this young security guard.
Then, while Lei Gang was frantically searching the venue, she had, under the guise of a "security" official, proactively taken on the task of escorting Nie Bing and Lin Zhiyuan away.
And Nie Bing and Lin Zhiyuan... The thought of them being taken by Cifera sent a chill of foreboding down Liu Shanhe's spine.
Combining Cifera's past record of "kidnappings," her uncanny voice-mimicking ability... and the fact that after Nie Bing and Lin Zhiyuan left, they were only heard, never seen, with even the 5D projector demonstration showing only the security guard's face...
Nie Bing and Lin Zhiyuan might truly be "under control." The "Nie Bing" who had been speaking earlier? That mischievous spirit, Cifera, must have been the one impersonating her all along!
Realizing he might have been unwittingly manipulated by his opponent yet again, Liu Shanhe felt a sharp, gut-wrenching pain.
But...
When Liu Shanhe spotted Wang Lei nearby, just finishing a call with "Nie Bing," a sudden realization struck him:
Could it be that Cifera doesn't know she's been discovered by the Production Team?
Though it bordered on cheating, the Production Team hadn't directly revealed her location; he had deduced it entirely through his own reasoning!
Seize the opportunity! No more hesitation!
With this epiphany, Liu Shanhe maintained a calm demeanor despite the excitement surging within him.
He rose silently, acting as if nothing were amiss, and approached the security guard once more to engage in casual conversation.
Liu Shanhe was putting on an act!
He feared Cifera might be observing him through the surveillance cameras, looking for any signs of suspicion. That's why, after receiving the Production Team's message, he had simply sat down calmly to ponder, behaving as if nothing had changed.
He was now doing the same, intending to secretly alert Starry's monitoring center and order them to lock down the entrance. Then he would lead his team to trap her like a rat in a cage!
No, wait—like a cat in a cage!