GRMFBS CH3

“Aiya, just write it casually, the report is just like that,” Ji Yueming said, sitting steadily while drinking tea. Seeing the young girl clinging to her arm, she raised her hand to rest her forehead, adopting a weak and delicate pose. “Ah, I’m so tired. I just finished a mission; it was so exhausting, I need to rest.”

Nie Yu, with tears in her eyes, hugged her arm tightly. “Then please don’t casually use your big moves! Why not wait until the search team finds the anomaly before acting?”

As they were arguing, a tall young man in combat attire walked in. “Captain, this morning, an anomaly trace was exposed in the underground of the TianSheng Club. The detection department suspects it’s a growth-type anomaly.”

The two immediately became serious.

Ji Yueming asked, “Where is the anomaly?”

“It’s not in our hands. There’s the scent of the Chongming Demon King at the scene. The anomaly is suspected to have been taken by him,” the young man replied.

“Nie Yu, go get all the related data about the TianSheng Club and its owner. Nie Ling, come with me to the detection department,” Ji Yueming said, standing up and striding forward.

“Yes,” Nie Yu quickly jumped up and ran off to check the data.

Nie Ling followed Ji Yueming, speaking rapidly and clearly as she walked:

“The report from the detection department isn’t out yet. The anomaly trace is a twisted statue, which has been inhabited by the anomaly for at least four months. Traces of anomalies from D to C level were detected. The detection department suspects that the anomaly leveled up during the possession of the statue. But the anomaly itself isn’t present, so it’s temporarily uncertain.

“On-site investigation and questioning show that the anomaly lured others into performing a sacrificial ritual, which might be its method of promotion.

“The Foreign Affairs Department is urgently contacting the Wan Yao Alliance…”

Ji Yueming listened intently, not missing a word.

Since the Chongming Demon King had acted, the anomaly would certainly be captured, and she didn’t need to worry about that.

The Chongming Demon King, whose true form was the Chongming Divine Bird, was fierce and flamboyant by nature. It resided on Qixia Mountain, claiming the nearby cities as its territory. It would often make rounds, releasing its aura to intimidate all kinds of demons, ghosts, and anomalies, preventing them from causing trouble.

Ji Yueming lived in Yunjin City, backed by Qixia Mountain, and enjoyed the protection of this idle, showy demon king, which allowed her family to live in peace.

Unfortunately, the relationship between the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau and the Wan Yao Alliance wasn’t good, so obtaining the anomaly from the Chongming Demon King wouldn’t be easy.

The appearance of a growth-type anomaly was not a good omen.

In theory, growth-type anomalies should have ceased to appear since twenty-six years ago.

…

Deep in the Shennongjia, the dense forest was shrouded in mist year-round. An ancient giant tree emerged from the mist, its lush green leaves tinged with soft, bright golden sunlight.

The Chongming Divine Bird landed on the tree, its golden-black claws firmly gripping the branch.

The giant tree trembled, its voice old and slow: “Chongming, why have you returned?”

Zhan Yunkai spread his wings and shook off a few feathers. “Lao Xun, I caught a suspicious anomaly. Take a look.”

The Xunmu Demon King extended a branch and caught the feather.

The golden-red feather had intricate, mysterious patterns that sealed the anomaly within without a trace leaking out.

“Oh, it’s this one,” Xunmu Demon King said slowly. “The Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau contacted me just now, saying they want to study this anomaly too.”

Zhan Yunkai snorted. “That little broken organization wants to manage everything, but can they actually do anything?”

Xunmu chuckled leisurely.

The brilliant bird adjusted its red-golden feathers. “Once we’re done studying it, I’ll talk to them.”

“You caught it; you decide,” Xunmu said languidly. “Remember to visit Xia Yuexian. She’s waiting for you to shoot the film.”

Xia Yuexian was a Heart Moon Fox Demon who now disguised herself as a human in the entertainment industry. Zhan Yunkai’s human identity was registered under the agency she ran.

“Got it.” Zhan Yunkai stretched his wings.

Finish the work quickly, then go home to accompany his wife and children.

…

At the Zhenke News Agency, Zhan Yan continued to enjoy his paid “gossiping” time. 

[The ‘Craftsman,’ after someone insulted their idol ‘Tianshi,’ started a verbal battle on the Chaofan (Extraordinary) Forum. After winning, they wasn’t satisfied and spent 100 points to post a task, asking for help to continue insulting, resulting in a 3-day ban.]

Hmm? Something new popped up?

Forget about the Craftsman; it’s clearly another code name for a superpowered individual, and like him, a “Tianshi” fan. It was shown when he searched for the “Tianshi” keyword. Most of the extraordinary entries Zhan Yan had accumulated so far were like this—connected through related terms.

The key point was the “Chaofan Forum.” It sounded like a great place to get in touch with the extraordinary world while eating melons!

However, the gossip system only provided the gossip and didn’t give out detailed information like the forum address. Zhan Yan had no idea where to start and decided to give up for now.

It wasn’t good to keep slacking off with paid time, so Zhan Yan opened the office computer. It had news and materials previously written by Zhenke News Agency. He opened the materials, cross-referenced them with the gossip system, and continued his paid “gossiping.”

“A resident in Green Source New City had an astronomical water bill. After inspection, it was found that the water meter was malfunctioning.”

[A merman rented a house in Green Source New City and bathed every day. The landlord discovered the sky-high water bill. The merman has been arrested and educated.]

…

“A woman in Jianping District discovered that the food in her fridge was glowing. After testing, it was found to be infected with glowing bacteria. Experts remind people to separate raw and cooked food.”

[A hungry ghost in Jianping District entered someone’s house in the middle of the night, tasted the fish fillets in the fridge, and said, ‘This fish can still swim two laps in water.’]

[A hungry ghost in Jianping District entered someone’s house in the middle of the night, tasted the leftover tomato scrambled eggs on the table, and said, ‘It actually has salt! Heresy! The real delicious tomato scrambled eggs should have sugar!’]

[A hungry ghost in Jianping District entered a restaurant in Jianping District in the middle of the night, tasted the leftover food in the kitchen, and said, ‘Soy milk with salt, even a ghost wouldn’t come.’]

Zhan Yan found the story of a sweet food-loving hungry ghost interesting and kept reading.

[The hungry ghost felt that Jianping District had nothing good to eat, so it wandered to Wenhai District.]

[A hungry ghost in Wenhai District entered the Three-Flavor Pot restaurant in the middle of the night, tasted the soup base in the kitchen, and said, ‘The taste is pretty good.’]

Wow, finally, a positive review. Zhan Yan took note of the restaurant’s name, planning to try it out. The food in his family had been “trained” by Zhan Yunkai. When Zhan Yunkai wasn’t around, eating takeout was painful, and eating what he cooked was even worse.

If this restaurant really tasted good, it would be a lifesaver for their meals.

“A couple in Wenhai District had a quarrel. The husband said the wife’s cooking was too bad and was chased into the corridor with durian.”

[A hungry ghost in Wenhai District entered someone’s house in the middle of the night, heard the husband say that the wife’s cooking was something even ghosts wouldn’t eat, and got curious. After tasting it, it said, ‘Ugh!’]

How bad could it be? Zhan Yan was curious. Was it worse than the cake his brother made?

……

Sweet Cake Shop.

The sweet, fragrant smell of cake wafted from the warm, white-colored cake shop, entering the noses of passersby. The scent combined with millions of olfactory receptors, sending electrical signals to the brain, awakening memories of dopamine and cravings for sweets. Their steps slowed, and their gazes turned toward the cake shop…

“Mom! I want to eat cake!” A child passing by grabbed his mother’s hand and refused to move.

An elegant and fashionable woman glanced at the cake shop and subconsciously swallowed: “Sweetie, we’ll go to another cake shop later. This one’s cakes aren’t good.”

“Why? It smells so good.” The child lingered, swallowing saliva.

The woman grimaced in pain: “Because I’ve eaten them before.”

“They’re too bad!” she added.

The mother quickly pulled the reluctant child away from the shop. A little less sniffing, a little less torture.

Inside the shop, Zhan Jinli was mixing cake batter, and the conversation outside was clearly audible.

The little ghost who had been pestering him since morning stood at the door, indignant: “How tasteless! Too much! King, should I go teach them a lesson?”

Zhan Jinli glanced at him without expression. The little ghost immediately stopped looking angry, shrank back, and gazed at Zhan Jinli with puppy eyes: “King, you can’t ignore this. That hungry ghost has already taken over half of our territory…”

“It took over half of your territory,” Zhan Jinli replied indifferently, adding half a can of powdered sugar into the batter.

The little ghost began sobbing at Zhan Jinli’s feet.

Zhan Jinli pushed the cake into the oven, set the time and temperature, and then poked the crying little ghost, sending him tumbling: “Feel that?”

The little ghost sat dazed on the floor: “Huh?”

Zhan Jinli squatted down and pinched the little ghost’s cheek: “I have body temperature, warmth, softness; I’m a living person.” He shoved a piece of egg tart into the little ghost’s mouth.

“I’m not the Ghost King anymore; I’ve reincarnated; now I’m just an ordinary person.” He said amidst the sweet scent of the cake, “If you want to handle this, go to the Abnormal Affairs Bureau; stop crying.”

“But,” the little ghost mumbled with his mouth full of egg tart, “You used the Five Ghosts Transporting Technique yesterday to unload flour, butter, sugar, and chocolate…”

“Cough.” Zhan Jinli’s gaze shifted, “That’s different.”

*

After a day of “paid gossiping,” Zhan Yan had accumulated a lot of new information and filled up his data disk. Most of it was white or green, with the occasional blue word popping up, adding a bit to his sparse information universe.

By 4 PM, it was time to leave the Zhenke News Agency. Zhen Hua had said that their work was busy when it was busy and quiet when it was quiet. Zhan Yan was currently clocking in at the news agency for a few days, but once he got familiar with the workflow, he could work from home. The perks were truly enviable to any office worker.

On the bus ride home, Zhan Yan, feeling bored, opened the gossip system and continued scrolling through the hungry ghost’s food recommendations.

[In Wenhai District, a hungry ghost saw an anomaly and, unable to endure its hunger, ate the anomaly.]

Zhan Yan: ???

It was the first time he had seen such a garbled message in the gossip system.

He had seen anomalies in the gossip system several times before, and these anomalies usually had a level and name, like the A-level anomaly “Crack” that Tianshi had dealt with or the C-level anomaly “Evil God•Beginner” caught by the Chongming Demon King. But what was this anomaly without a name or level? And could it even be eaten?

He kept scrolling.

[In Wenhai District, the hungry ghost felt unbearable hunger and entered someone’s home, eating everything in sight.]

[In Wenhai District, the hungry ghost felt unbearable hunger and entered Xiao Liu’s fried noodle shop, eating everything in sight.]

…

[In Wenhai District, the hungry ghost ate a lot of things but still felt unbearable hunger and turned its gaze to the people around it.]

[In Wenhai District, the hungry ghost thought that a gourmet should not eat uncooked food; it was too barbaric, and shifted its gaze away from the person.]

Zhan Yan tensed up. The garbled anomaly was a serious problem. Before its appearance, the hungry ghost had only been tasting food, with no description of hunger. It seemed more like a gourmet. But after the garbled anomaly appeared, the hungry ghost started feeling unbearable hunger and, when unsatisfied, began eyeing humans.

The following gossip updates showed the hungry ghost repeatedly switching between “turning its gaze to the people around it” and “gourmets shouldn’t eat uncooked food,” as if the gossip system had bugged out. But the garbled anomaly between the words “hungry ghost” kept changing, meaning this was happening repeatedly.

The hungry ghost wanted to eat people. It could still endure for now.

But what if it couldn’t endure anymore?

The gossip feed updated again:

[In Wenhai District, the hungry ghost decided to choose a sufficiently delicious natural food.]

The gossip system refreshed again:

[In Wenhai District, the hungry ghost smelled a faint trace of shrimp dumpling fragrance on you, and it thought you were very delicious.]

Zhan Yan: …

What kind of dog nose does this hungry ghost have? He had eaten shrimp dumplings in the morning, and it was already afternoon!

Dad, do you know your cooking is so good it’s attracting ghosts?!