Chương 8: went viral across the internet!

He closed his eyes.

In the last second before falling asleep, a thought flashed through my mind—I still have to go to Crescent Moon to change the lock cylinder tomorrow.

Then he fell asleep.

Unbeknownst to him, something was happening on the internet during the hours he slept.

It all started with a video clip edited by a fan.

At 12: 14 AM, a user with the ID "Today's Famous Scenes bot" uploaded a video that was two minutes and thirty-seven seconds long.

The title of the video is...

A locksmith was providing door-to-door service when he accidentally stumbled upon a group of people gathering. After calling the police, he went to a foot massage parlor to have his lock repaired, but was then arrested in a prostitution raid on the same day.

The title is long, but every word is true.

The video begins with Lin Zhou standing at the door of the homeowner's house.

He took the wire and inserted it into the keyhole.

His voice came through the screen: "This lock is really good. The pins are arranged in a double-row curved pattern, and there are three fake slots—" Then, with a click, the lock opened.

A timer pops up in the lower left corner of the screen: 2. 87 seconds.

Then the camera shakes, and the sound of the female homeowner's high heels clattering away into the distance.

A man's voice came from under the door.

The scene shifts to the crack in the door—on the living room sofa, a woman in a bathrobe is holding a glass of red wine, with three black men beside her.

The live chat exploded with comments at that moment.

Then the scene cuts to the police station.

Old Zhou held his enamel mug and looked at Lin Zhou across the table.

The subtitles included the dialogue: "You mean, you're a locksmith who stumbled upon a scene of group sex?"

"right."

"A lock that opens in three seconds?"

"right."

Then the scene cuts to the entrance of the crescent moon.

A pink neon sign. Lin Zhou pushed open the door and entered. A girl in a black dress approached him, while a girl in a white tank top went to the other side. Comments scrolled across the screen: "The streamer's eyes are about to pop out."

Then the scene cuts to inside the hidden door.

The woman in the dark green velvet dress crossed her legs, her toes lightly touching the ground, and the editor added subtitles to her voice.

"Young master, do my legs look good?"

Lin Zhou glanced down at the safe, then looked up at her legs, and said, "It's alright."

The barrage of comments exploded once again at this moment.

Then the police broke down the door.

High-powered flashlight.

Old Zhou's face emerged from behind the beam of light, his expression frozen. Lin Zhou blurted out, "Officer, you're here for a massage too?"

The final scene of the video shows Lin Zhou squatting against the wall in the lobby of a foot massage parlor, with the blond-haired man next to him raising his hands and protesting, "I came here to learn photography!"

The man in the plaid shirt pushed up his glasses: "I'm here to conduct market research."

The image then freezes on Lin Zhou's face, accompanied by a caption: "I'm here to fix the lock."

The video ends.

The video had surpassed 500, 000 views by 2 a. m.

At 3 a. m., the number of views exceeded one million.

The comment section was completely flooded with comments.

The top-rated comment reads: "I checked three times, this isn't scripted. This person's live stream replay was completely unedited; he really did stumble upon two prostitution raids in one day."

The second most popular comment reads: "The most outrageous thing is that he was genuinely innocent both times. The first time, he was the one who called the police, and the second time, he was really fixing the lock."

The third most popular comment: "I laughed for a full five minutes at that 'not bad' answer. When faced with a question like 'Do my legs look good?', he thought for two seconds and said 'not bad.' This man is made of steel."

The fourth most popular comment reads: "When the police officer said, 'Do you think the platform has allowed him to continue broadcasting until now,' I suddenly understood. This is the most logical statement I've heard all year."

The fifth most popular comment: "The blond guy said he came to learn photography. When the police asked him what was in his camera bag, he said the lubricant was for lens maintenance. I've never laughed so hard in my life."

At four in the morning, the second video clip appeared.

This edit is even shorter, at one minute and twelve seconds, and it specifically includes a scene of people crying out for justice in the lobby of a foot massage parlor.

The title is "A Grand Appreciation of the Art of Human Sophistry at the Scene of a Prostitution Crackdown".

The video edited together the cries of four people—a blond man, a man in a plaid shirt, a man with tattooed arms, and a middle-aged man in overalls—together, with each person accompanied by subtitles and titles.

"Photographer," "Market Research Expert," "Plumbing Repair Engineer," "Lost Passerby A."

The final shot focuses on Lin Zhou, whose title reads—"Locksmith."

The video reached 800, 000 views by 5 a. m.

The comments section erupted in another round of celebration.

"The Locksmith King was the only one in the room who told the truth."

"Hilarious! There were over twenty people squatting by the wall, and he was the only one who was actually there to work."

"I could laugh for a year at that 'lens maintenance' thing from the blond guy."

"I read the questionnaire for the plaid shirt carefully. The third question is 'Would you like to upgrade to a VIP member?' The options are A. Yes, B. Very much so, C. It depends on the price. So professional, so very professional."

At 6 a. m., the third video appeared.

This isn't a funny edit.

It was an analysis video posted by an account called "Event Observer," and the title was very serious.

"Recap of the first day of the professional peak competition: The unexpected rise of locksmiths."

The video provides a detailed analysis of Lin Zhou's income composition on his first day.

With a lock-picking income of 700 yuan, his ranking has soared from 97th to 68th, a jump of 29 places.