GRMFBS CH14

The Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau’s control over the area near Qixia Mountain was indeed weaker, mainly because the Chongming Demon King had settled there and brought the surrounding cities under his protection.

The Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau and the Wan Yao Alliance were not on good terms, but neither side wanted to break ties and start a fight. Therefore, the bureau stepped back in this area. After all, with the Chongming Demon King’s strength, it was unlikely that anything would go wrong here.

With two growth-type anomalies appearing consecutively, the three parties would inevitably have to cooperate to handle the matter. The main conflict lay between the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau and the Wan Yao Alliance, while Chaofu Mountain didn’t need much consideration. That group of ghosts was always laid-back about external matters—after all, everyone would die sooner or later, so why rush into a fight now? Their underworld territory didn’t conflict much with the mortal realm, so they adopted a “work together when necessary, leave me alone otherwise” approach.

The Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau wanted to study the “Evil God•Beginner” anomaly in the hands of the Wan Yao Alliance, but they didn’t have much leverage. While they did have a “Youth’s Grudge” anomaly, it couldn’t really be counted as theirs.

That anomaly was captured by Nie Yu, but it was considered part of the forum’s cooperative efforts. If things were to be calculated that precisely, wouldn’t the bureau also need to compensate for every attack intercepted by King Mingkong or every spell countered by Ghost King Wanyan in maintaining the forum?

Thus, the “Youth’s Grudge” anomaly needed to be shared among the three parties. Since Nie Yu was a member of the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau, they could take advantage of it by studying it first, but they couldn’t use it as a bargaining chip to negotiate with the Wan Yao Alliance.

The current problem was that the Chongming Demon King wanted them to pay a heavy price, while the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau didn’t want to.

So, negotiation was the only option.

The negotiation experts argued from principles to specifics, talking until their mouths were dry, only to be countered by Zhan Yunkai, who left them metaphorically full of knives.

At this point, the bureau sent them some new information to use as leverage.

The negotiation expert was overjoyed: “Lord Chongming, you might not know this, but there’s an unnamed anomaly hidden in Yunjin City, under your protection.”

This was a mistake on your part, wasn’t it?

“How come I didn’t know Yunjin City was my territory? Did Yunjin City’s taxes get paid to me?” Zhan Yunkai retorted sarcastically. “I thought this was supposed to be unpaid labor.”

Ji Yueming, who was eavesdropping via surveillance, burst out laughing.

“What were they thinking? Didn’t they previously say Yunjin City was a human city and wanted the Chongming Demon King to share that anomaly?”

Ji Yueming hadn’t interacted much with the Chongming Demon King before, so there was no direct conflict between them. However, she did have some old grievances with the Foreign Affairs Department.

When she had planned to get married, her special status led the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau to investigate her fiancé inside and out. The bureau wasn’t keen on letting their top combatant get married, especially during such a busy period.

The Foreign Affairs Department kept trying to persuade Ji Yueming, and when they couldn’t find any other reasons, they resorted to saying that Zhan Yunkai’s appearance didn’t seem like that of a decent person…

Ning Xi was also listening in. It was clear that the negotiators were already overwhelmed by the Chongming Demon King.

Negotiating with the Chongming Demon King was indeed more challenging than with others, not just because of his strength and sharp tongue. The negotiation experts were trained to handle pressure; they wouldn’t have been so flustered with other demon kings.

But the Chongming Bird was no ordinary demon. It was a divine bird revered and worshipped by countless people since ancient times, offering protection to countless others. This deep bond left humanity with an inherited reverence and affection for the divine bird.

Negotiating under such a “buff” was already quite an achievement for the experts.

Ning Xi wasn’t too concerned. The news about the “Unnamed Anomaly” would work as long as it reached the Chongming Demon King. The Chongming Bird was naturally brave and intolerant of imperfection. Once he knew an anomaly was hiding in his protected territory, he would inevitably act.

Ning Xi was a meticulous person. He understood that the Wan Yao Alliance had sent the Chongming Demon King to negotiate not only because of his advantages in negotiation but also as a gesture of cooperation. Ning Xi approved a range of concessions for the negotiation team and then noticed Ji Yueming staring at the screen, captivated by the majestic divine bird.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“His feathers are so beautiful,” Ji Yueming said, fixated on the Chongming Bird’s radiant gold-and-red plumage.

“What are you planning to do?” Ning Xi asked warily.

“Relax, I wouldn’t pluck them,” Ji Yueming replied, still staring. “I just want to ask if he sells the ones he sheds.”

For some reason, when Ji Yueming saw the Chongming Demon King’s magnificent feathers, she immediately thought they’d suit her husband. Her hands itched to get some and make an accessory.

Ning Xi sighed. “…Hold on. Once the cooperation is settled, I’ll ask for you.”

“Relax, I’m not that reckless,” Ji Yueming said with a wave of her hand. “You keep an eye on things; I’m going to eat.”

Negotiation wasn’t her responsibility. She was just curious and came to watch.

Ji Yueming pulled out some braised meat from the fridge, a gift from Luo Luoluo, and placed it over rice. One of her team members eagerly used a Yang-Warming Technique to heat her meal.

The braised meat sauce, rich with melted pork skin, turned into a glossy, fragrant liquid under the heat, slowly soaking into the rice and coating every grain in a shiny, savory layer. Large pieces of braised meat sat on top, their aroma wafting through the cracks in the lid.

The team member swallowed hard. “Captain, what are you eating? It smells amazing!”

How could it smell better than the cafeteria food?

Ji Yueming smiled sweetly and showed off. “Want some? Too bad. This is my husband’s lovingly prepared lunch.”

Her teammates swallowed their envy. When they first heard the captain was marrying an ordinary man, they couldn’t understand why. A man who only had good looks—how could he be worthy of their strong, skilled, and reliable captain?

But now, they had to admit that this man had one unmatched talent besides his looks—he could make ordinary dishes taste better than the gourmet food at the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau’s cafeteria! It was a pity he wasn’t running a restaurant or joining the entertainment industry.

Zhan Yunkai’s new fans also sighed: Why was someone with a face like his wasting it on cooking every day? Sure, his food photos looked delicious, but the world didn’t need another food blogger—it needed his face!

[Why isn’t he focusing on acting properly?!]

The old fans remained calm: [Lao Zhan’s acting is bad. He always plays vase roles, and someone else dubs his lines. It seems like his dialogue skills are also poor.]

[Lao Zhan knows this himself. You see, he doesn’t take other roles, only those where his looks are enough.]

But not all of the people flooding into Zhan Yunkai’s Weibo were just face-chasing bystanders. A large number of Ling Yuteng’s fans also joined in. Some of the face fans immediately switched sides, but many still expressed righteous indignation for Ling Yuteng.

[Seriously, you guys can still support someone with such poor character who steals roles?!]

[Ling Yuteng’s fans should just stop. Aren’t you all just chasing faces? Why not chase someone who looks better?]

[Heh, you all only care about looks when chasing stars. Ling Yuteng’s character is much better than his!]

[And his own fans admit his acting is bad.]

[Ha, is Ling Yuteng’s acting good?]

[Take whatever job you’re capable of, isn’t that more responsible than your brother?]

…

The fans were tearing each other apart while Ling Yuteng was trying to figure out how to take down that photo and trending topic. Xia Yuexian was investigating where that photo had come from. She managed the production team, and no one was allowed to secretly take photos and post them.

[The hawk demon Sun Feifei became a fan and followed Zhan Yunkai to the set.]

[The hawk demon Sun Feifei was furious when he saw Ling Yuteng rush into the set.]

[The hawk demon Sun Feifei successfully combined his clairvoyant spell with video technology.]

[The hawk demon Sun Feifei used a long-distance high-definition camera and clairvoyant spell to record the situation at the time.]

Zhan Yan: His dad actually has demon fans…

High-end beauty really knows no racial boundaries!

He secretly liked Sun Feifei’s Weibo with a fake account!

In WeChat, Zhan Suiru was still eating melons in real-time with him.

Zhan Suiru: [I knew that Lao Zhan’s beauty is unstoppable once it’s out.]

Zhan Yan: [Hahaha, I forwarded this sentence to Dad.]

Zhan Suiru: [You dare!]

[Sister love was in vain!

[Cat angry]

Zhan Yan: [I was wrong]

Zhan Suiru: [But Old Zhan is going to be famous now, right?]

Zhan Yan: [Dad probably will just fond it annoying.]

[He didn’t even need to wear a mask when going out before. The most that happened was people staring at him because he’s good-looking.]

Zhan Suiru: [Hahaha, then I’ll get him a pair of sunglasses.]

[Ling Yuteng’s fans are really annoying.]

[They’ve already started making up Lao Zhan’s dark history.]

[They say he’s not famous because of hidden rules and cheating, so his boss suppressed him.]

[They’re still holding on to the crew switching roles.]

Zhan Yan: [Heh.]

They’re finished. Ling Yuteng hasn’t even cleaned up his own mess!

Zhan Yan: [Who are the ones spreading these rumors? Can you help me keep track?]

Zhan Suiru: [No need.]

[I’ll handle these few rumor-mongers.]

[Hmph, don’t underestimate my connections!]

Black market.

Zhan Suiru was in her private room, which was simple but comfortable. Soft fabric cushions piled on a sofa, with a light and soft blanket draped over the backrest. Zhan Suiru lazily half-lay on the sofa, one long leg resting on a small stool, fiddling with her phone.

A humanoid butler in a tailcoat stood beside the sofa: “Mistress, ‘Tequila’ has scheduled a meeting with you at 1:40 PM to deliver the order materials.”

Zhan Suiru put down her phone: “Is ‘The Sorcerer’ available? Tell him I need a few curses that make people feel unbearable pain whenever they lie, and they should work through the internet.”

“The message has been passed along. There are twelve minutes left before your appointment,” the humanoid butler said.

“Got it, got it.” Zhan Suiru lazily climbed off the sofa, threw on a black windbreaker, put on a wide-brimmed hat, and grumbled as she walked into the meeting room. “I don’t join any organization because I hate being rushed for work, but after making you, I’ve found the feeling of going to work again…”

The humanoid butler calmly patted his chest: “It’s my honor.”