GRMFBS CH17

Gu Jiancheng, with deep resentment, forcefully opened Zhan Yan’s chat window:

[Yanyan, why didn’t you come to school today?]

Zhan Yan, while writing a draft and eating melon seeds, had both the writing interface and the melon-eating interface open on his computer. He had a pile of materials on hand and replied to Gu Jiancheng in his busy moments: “I’m working overtime today.”

Gu Jiancheng: …What a terrible job!

[Are you coming back to school later?]

Zhan Yan: [Not sure.]

[The clues for today are considered given.]

Gu Jiancheng received more bad news: [How can your overtime be considered a clue!]

[You’re brushing me off with work!]

Zhan Yan:

[Be good.]

[I’m really busy right now.]

[I’m still replying to you.]

[Doesn’t this prove you’re more important than work?]

[I’m getting back to work.]

[You can play by yourself for now.]

Gu Jiancheng looked at the still chat window, fuming, and opened the dial interface to call the “All-Knowing-One”: “Any sudden incidents in these places from yesterday to today?”

He listed a few addresses of cities near Beifeng University.

Zhan Yan had said he finished work early, so this job wasn’t usually busy. But today, on a Sunday, he suddenly had overtime, which meant the job was highly influenced by other events, and it wasn’t like work with fixed seasons or cycles, such as tourism seasons or exhibition setups. The past few days had been quiet, and today it suddenly became busy, suggesting that a sudden event was impacting the work.

The “All-Knowing-One” yawned: “Who called you? Why are you so full of killing intent so early in the morning?”

Even through the phone, he felt a chill.

“Wait a minute, boss, I stayed up all night. You just mentioned Wuyu City, Dianning City, and Yunjin City…” The “All-Knowing-One” paused.

“What’s wrong?” Gu Jiancheng asked sharply.

“You gave me too many addresses. It’ll take me a while to sort them out for you. But Yunjin City did have a big event last night. I stayed up for that.” The “All-Knowing-One” spoke more seriously, “Last night, the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau cleaned up Yunjin City, and the leader was the ‘Tianshi’.”

Gu Jiancheng’s heart stirred, as if an electric current had suddenly passed through his nerves, and in that moment, he had a strange feeling.

He had called for Zhan Yan’s clue, but the information he received was related to the Abnormal Affairs Bureau.

Zhan Yan was an ordinary person, and Gu Jiancheng was certain of that. The only special thing about him was that his soul contained auspicious energy, which should have been accumulated from his childhood or perhaps from a past life.

Zhan Yan and the extraordinary were two completely unrelated terms. But when these two terms collided… Gu Jiancheng lightly flicked his tongue. The electric current seemed to have passed over his tongue, leaving a faint metallic taste.

The voice on the other end of the phone continued: “Boss, you mustn’t go to Yunjin City for the time being. The Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau doesn’t know what they’re investigating, but Qixia Mountain has always been the domain of the Chongming Demon King. The Tianshi led a team to stir things up all night, but the Chongming Demon King didn’t react at all. They must have reached an agreement with the Wan Yao Alliance.”

“The two organizations have been at odds for a long time, and them cooperating means it’s a big deal. Moreover, the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau has been trying to capture you. The Tianshi is in Yunjin City, and she’s very powerful, leading a support team. If you get spotted, it’ll be hard to escape.”

The “All-Knowing-One” warned through the phone, his voice mixed with a faint electric hum, vibrating Gu Jiancheng’s eardrum, but Gu Jiancheng couldn’t help but repeatedly rub his tongue against the roof of his mouth, savoring that subtle metallic taste.

In the Infinite World, he had relied on this kind of premonition to avoid countless crises.

“I understand,” he said to the “All-Knowing-One.” “Send me all the materials.”

After hanging up, Gu Jiancheng stood under the scorching summer sun and slowly, slowly raised the corner of his mouth.

When he was still trapped in the Infinite World, Gu Jiancheng had never been able to figure out one thing.

Was his premonition of danger, or was it excitement?

Zhan Yan was still sorting materials.

The various incidents that broke out in Yunjin City last night could be categorized. There was no need to write a separate news story for each one. Many similar incidents could be explained with one reason, such as the strange electrical lights appearing in different places—this was clearly because the Tianshi couldn’t be bothered to hide while fighting monsters. They could just attribute it to abnormal weather causing electrical faults.

After a busy morning, during the lunch break, Zhen Hua ordered takeout: “You’ve worked hard. You’re very efficient; no need to rush at lunch; take a good rest.”

She was very satisfied with Zhan Yan’s progress in the morning.

The action team was busy enjoying themselves, but they didn’t know how many brain cells she had to burn to cover up lies here. Luckily, she had recruited Zhan Yan.

Zhan Yan was a newcomer, so Zhen Hua didn’t dare to give him direct information involving abnormal issues. The tasks assigned to him were all related to extraordinary phenomena exposed by the action team, which wouldn’t affect his mind. Even so, Zhan Yan had a pile of materials in his hands. Fortunately, the kid was quick-witted, and by categorizing, he had reduced the workload by more than half. Indeed, recruiting him was the right choice!

Zhen Hua was generous with his treatment and ordered a lavish meal.

“How’s the food?” She asked with a smile, “I didn’t know your taste, so I ordered randomly. Let me know next time if you have any food preferences.”

“I don’t have any particular dislikes. It’s delicious,” Zhan Yan was also satisfied.

Although the food wasn’t as good as his father’s cooking, it was still edible, which was already impressive.

“How do you feel about today’s work?” Zhen Hua asked again.

“It’s good,” Zhan Yan replied.

He was enjoying his melon seeds, and with a pile of new information words accumulated, Zhan Yan felt that it wouldn’t be long before the energy bar on his information panel would fill up a little more, and he didn’t know what new ability would unlock.

“After seeing so many messages, don’t you think it’s amazing?” Zhen Hua asked again.

Zhan Yan understood. The president was worried that if he saw a large amount of extraordinary news at once, it might shake his firm materialist beliefs.

No worries, he was the most steadfast materialist when working!

“It looks pretty amazing, but science can explain it. I’ve seen even more unscientific things before, but once they were debunked, they turned out to be nothing. It’s like how ancient people used alum to make oil boil, which seemed magical back then, but now science has explained it,” Zhan Yan said.

Zhen Hua felt relieved: “I see you’re quick to get the hang of the work. I’ll give you more tasks in the afternoon. These news items are urgent, so work hard, and I’ll send you a red envelope when you’re done.”

Since Zhan Yan’s mental state seemed stable, she could start assigning him tasks related to some abnormal issues.

She was worried about the situation from last night escalating.

Zhan Yan’s phone rang, and the screen lit up, showing a Weibo push notification.

He glanced down: “President, I think we don’t need to rush so much.”

The gossip he posted about Ling Yuteng exploded.

The first trending topic:

#Ling Yuteng Octopus#

The public was bewildered.

What was going on with Ling Yuteng? Yesterday, he was arguing with a food blogger, and today he’s associated with an octopus. Is he at odds with food now?

“What happened?” Zhen Hua leaned over to ask.

Then she saw the news about Ling Yuteng with eight legs, occupying four spots in the top ten trending topics.

“I think everyone is too busy with this big story to pay attention to the news we wrote,” Zhan Yan turned the phone screen towards her.

Zhen Hua looked at the eight partners of Ling Yuteng, both male and female and was greatly shocked. She took out her phone and started reading the trending news.

The Abnormal Affairs ManagementBureau picked a good time to take action. Now all the news was overshadowed by this big melon.

A person who could simultaneously cheat on their boss, co-stars, director, and fans… and still never get caught. Before criticizing Ling Yuteng’s character, people were first stunned by his time management skills.

Among these eight people, some were introverted, some didn’t want to believe it, some were furious but wanted to save face, and others were so angry they wanted to burn all bridges.

As for the ones who hadn’t responded yet, they were temporarily left aside. The ones who had responded all claimed they didn’t know about the others and always thought they were Ling Yuteng’s one true love. They had kept their relationships underground for the sake of his career as an idol.

After some of Ling Yuteng’s girlfriends communicated with each other, they shared part of their chat records. A comparison revealed that Ling Yuteng often ordered gifts for his partners, including pastries, snacks, bouquets, and more. What’s more, he didn’t order the same things for everyone!

Soon, the chat records between Ling Yuteng and the shop owners he frequently ordered from were exposed online:

—”Give [name censored] half sugar, she doesn’t like sweet.”

—”Change [name censored] to strawberry, she doesn’t eat durian.”

—”Replace the lily for [name censored] with a variety without pollen, she doesn’t like pollen.”

—”Remove the carnation for [name censored], add more forget-me-nots.”

—”[Name censored] likes it a bit spicy, she can’t eat too much spice.”

—”Add more Sichuan pepper for [name censored].”

…

The onlookers were shocked.

—”My feelings are mixed, but I’m kind of touched. He even remembers everyone’s tastes and preferences!”

—”Are you kidding me? He’s cheating with eight people and you’re touched?”

—”I have to say, being a ‘sea king’ isn’t something just anyone can do.”

—”No wonder everyone thinks they’re the one true love.”

—”Laughing to death, my boyfriend is the only one for me, but he can’t even remember that I’m allergic to seafood.”

—”Now I just want to know what the ones who haven’t spoken up think @Lu Jiandong @Director-Xue Hongbo @Yin Zhiwei.”

These people all had their own big V accounts. There were also some victims who hadn’t spoken up, and their names and information weren’t included in any of the various versions of the exposé, so they couldn’t be @-ed.

—”Ling Yuteng is something else. He dares to cheat on his sugar daddy while still talking to him.”

—”Maybe his boss knows? Ling Yuteng works for him, so he must know what events are coming up and when he’s available. I don’t believe he doesn’t know. His sugar daddy definitely knows, and might even be happy about it.”

—”The entertainment industry is so messy…”

—”I don’t understand the world of the rich…”

…

Zhan Yan was also curious about the mindset of Ling Yuteng’s sugar daddy, Lu Jiandong. He opened the gossip system to search.

[Lu Jiandong, heartbroken and with no one to talk to, called his foreign friend Matthias, who doesn’t understand Chinese, to complain.]

Lu Jiandong spoke in Chinese, holding a bottle of Wuliangye while crying: “I really didn’t expect this. I thought he was just maintaining connections with the director, but it turns out he’s maintaining a romantic relationship. I thought he was visiting his parents, but he rented a room next to his parents’ house with his girlfriend. I thought…”

Matthias, speaking in Spanish, poured brandy into his wine glass with a sympathetic expression: “Lu, you sound really sad. I’m sorry I don’t understand what you’re saying, but I can drink with you.”

He swirled his wine glass and drank it.