GRMFBS CH10

“‘Approaching Science’ still hasn’t replied to the private message?”

The atmosphere of work suddenly permeated the meal.

“No reply,” Nie Yu said. “I guess their private message inbox must be completely flooded by now.”

This morning, the private message inbox of Approaching Science was opened, but there had been no response. However, her message would definitely be seen—administrator messages have a pin-to-top privilege.

This was mainly because Zhan Yan was still at work. He really wanted to check out the Chaofan Forum, but logging in relied on his gossip system. His view would be flooded with streams of information, with the forum interface floating in the middle. It wasn’t like looking at a regular screen; it required his full attention, making it less safe to browse at the news agency.

He decided to wait until he got home to log in from the safety of his room. Meanwhile, he could browse gossip threads and accumulate keywords to upgrade his system. Tomorrow was the weekend, so he wanted to make the most of today!

“Users complained about Immoral Maps guiding them into a sewage ditch, forcing them to swim across. Immoral Maps stated it would recheck the route, but all navigation routes were based on paths that had been traversed before.”

[A Steller’s sea eagle demon, having not migrated in years, forgot the route and flew directly according to Immoral Maps. The AI recorded this bizarre route.]

Zhan Yan: Pfft.

What could anyone do? The creature was a nationally protected species.

…

Zhan Yan spared another glance at the gossip about the film crew.

By the afternoon, Ling Yuteng couldn’t hold back and went to the set.

This guy had neither acting skills nor good character, but his instincts were sharp. He could recognize roles that attracted fans—this was how he had risen to fame with mediocre acting, relying on a decent face.

Although Xia Yuexian was a tough producer, her standards for creating dramas were high. The internet often said, “A production by Mingtang is guaranteed to be a masterpiece.”

Masterpieces were more likely to produce iconic roles, and a memorable, iconic character was undoubtedly a great asset for an actor.

Mingtang’s productions had delivered many classics, which Ling Yuteng had his eye on. Recently, he had been the lead in a historical drama, but it was critically panned. Now, he urgently needed a role to stabilize his popularity and traffic. This character had a great setup, but it had too few scenes. For someone like him, taking on such a small role was a downgrade, so he had claimed it was a “cameo” to his fans. Yet now, asking for additional scenes was met with hesitation.

After waiting all morning without a response, Ling Yuteng finally caved and went to the set. What he saw left him stunned. The crew was already filming his role with full enthusiasm.

Ling Yuteng was shocked.

How dare they replace him without a word?! Didn’t they know he had investors backing him?

Shocked and outraged, Ling Yuteng stormed toward the set when he saw someone wearing his costume from behind. He strode over with large steps.

He wanted to see who dared to steal his role!

The crew hadn’t expected someone to barge in, and before they could react, he had already reached the set.

Ling Yuteng raised his chin and said, “You—”

Zhan Yunkai turned around. Ling Yuteng was momentarily stunned by his face.

Zhan Yunkai glanced at him indifferently and commanded, “Leave.”

“Y-Yes!” Ling Yuteng obediently backed out.

Director Liu, standing nearby, wiped his face in frustration. Turning to the assistant director, he sighed, “Did you see that aura when he ordered Ling Yuteng to leave? It was perfect! Why does he turn into an AI bot when reciting lines?”

After leaving the set, Ling Yuteng snapped back to his senses.

“Wait a minute! Why did I leave?”

He had come to negotiate the role!

His assistant remained silent.

Who knew why you suddenly lost your mind and walked out? In any case, they weren’t letting you back in now.

Zhan Yan was thoroughly entertained and finished enjoying his father’s “power fantasy” storyline.

[Congratulations on successfully slacking off at work for another full day.]

Tsk. Zhan Yan closed the gossip system, went home after work, and reheated the braised pork. He steamed a pot of rice, poured rich pork sauce over it, and added some crisp, refreshing side dishes he had picked up from the supermarket.

Ah, life…

Zhan Yan left enough food in the pot for his brother and sister, then prepared to log into the Chaofan Forum in his room. Just then, his mother called again.

“Yanyan, tomorrow, pack some buns and braised pork in a thermal box and bring them to the company for your sister Luoluo. She’s coming on a business trip, and I’ll have her bring it to me.”

“Okay,” Zhan Yan agreed.

Luoluo-jie, full name Luo Luoluo, was his mother’s assistant. Whenever Zhan Yan delivered items or helped out at her office, he interacted with her.

Zhan Yan asked, “Mom, when will you be back?”

“Not sure,” Ji Yueming sighed.

Aside from the “Youth’s Grudge” in hand, the Wan Yao Alliance also had a growth-type anomaly of an evil god nature. Discussions about collaboration were inevitable. While it wasn’t her job to handle the negotiations, she still needed to take a look at the anomaly in the hands of the Wan Yao Alliance.

Luo Luoluo, officially her company’s assistant, was actually a member of the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau. With her around, there would be an excuse to have Yan Yan deliver food from home.

“Then I’ll pack extra,” Zhan Yan said.

“Yan Yan is such a good boy! Mommy kisses you!”

After hanging up the phone, Zhan Yan rubbed his reddened ears and began searching for the largest thermal container at home.

*

Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau.

Ji Yueming hung up the phone, feeling a twinge of regret.

Kids grew up too fast. When they were little, you could hug and kiss them all you wanted. But as they grew older, they no longer liked to act spoiled with their mom.

Jinli and Suiru had both been mature beyond their years, not particularly clingy even as children. Only Yan Yan had been sweet and soft, sitting in her lap to let her dress him up, calling her “Mommy” in a soft voice, with a head full of little curls. But now that Yanyan had grown up, she couldn’t hold him like she used to, and even a kiss over the phone made him shy…

Setting the phone down, Ji Yueming picked up a report and quickly refocused.

They were tracing the origins of the anomaly “Youth’s Grudge” as it spread online, trying to figure out why it had become a growth-type anomaly. But the internet was vast and chaotic, making it extremely difficult to sort through. Nie Yu had gone to investigate the platform rules mentioned in the Approaching Science post, and sure enough, traces of anomalies were found in the creation of those rules.

The information from Approaching Science was accurate. He might have even more clues. If they could get his help, the subsequent work would be much easier.

Of course, it was also possible he was connected to “Youth’s Grudge.” He seemed to be orchestrating events to achieve certain goals.

Either way, they needed to contact this mysterious Approaching Science first.

So why wasn’t he online yet?!

*

Zhan Yan cleaned the thermal container, separated the steamed buns and braised pork he planned to bring for his mom tomorrow, and stored them in a separate section of the fridge. Then he returned to his bedroom, found a comfortable position on his bed, and closed his eyes to log into the Chaofan Forum.

And then he froze at the sight of 99+ private messages.

Was yesterday’s post really that impactful?

At the top of the list was a private message from “Administrator Lingyu,” bolded, enlarged, and adorned with rainbow text and sparkling gold effects, as if afraid it wouldn’t be noticed.

Who knew the administrator liked such a flashy style?

—Actually, it was a misunderstanding. Nie Yu had been waiting all day without a reply and added a new attention-grabbing effect every hour, resulting in this over-the-top display.

Zhan Yan clicked on the message. Its content, in contrast to the title’s flamboyance, was concise and clear, asking if he had more clues about “Youth’s Grudge.”

Zhan Yan read the message several times but didn’t reply immediately. The situation was better than he had expected.

His main goal in interacting with the Extraordinary world was to protect his family. However, his gossip system had zero combat capabilities, meaning he had to rely on others’ strength. The Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau was a good ally in this regard—they were powerful and shared his goal of eliminating anomalies to maintain stability. But Zhan Yan had no intention of joining them; their overly controlling nature was off-putting.

The Bureau’s philosophy was “anything extraordinary falls under our jurisdiction.” They wanted to manage not only anomalous individuals but also anomalous creatures like demons and ghosts. Unlike them, the Wan Yao Alliance embraced a more laissez-faire attitude, which was one of the reasons the two organizations didn’t get along.

The Bureau’s heavy-handedness extended to everything. For instance, when a merman caused a massive water bill anomaly, they apprehended him, conducted their own criticism and punishment measures, and didn’t even notify his kin.

While it made sense for humans to manage misbehaving demons on their turf, the Bureau also insisted on managing humans who caused trouble in demon territories, demanding their extradition. This naturally upset the Wan Yao Alliance.

Do you humans have no sense of boundaries? Is the whole world your jurisdiction?

Moreover, when the Bureau captured a Class-1 Steller’s sea eagle demon, they studied its recent diet, revised its menu to prevent Class-1 from attacking Class-2 entities, and even pressured it into wearing a wildlife tracking anklet.

That was just plain creepy.

Zhan Yan couldn’t accept such methods and didn’t want to get caught up in the conflict between the two organizations. He didn’t need the Bureau to see him as one of their own or trust him. He just needed them to value his information. Maintaining a mysterious, cooperative relationship was ideal.

“What kind of clues do you need?” Zhan Yan replied.

The administrator responded quickly: “Everything you can provide.”

“Not all of it is necessary.”

“I’ll give you a few key points.”

Zhan Yan searched his gossip threads, compiled a few posts about “Youth’s Grudge” before its attack on the Chaofan Forum and during its transition from C-level to B-level, and sent them over.

There was no way he’d send everything. The anomaly had caused a lot of trouble online, and revealing everything he knew would expose the capabilities of his gossip system.

The information he provided was just enough to confirm its authenticity while keeping his own abilities ambiguous.

After a while, the administrator replied: “Do you have clues about its origin?”

“No,” Zhan Yan quickly responded.

His gossip system could only trace back so far. Generally, the more he knew about a person or thing, the further back he could go. For example, he could trace his own history back over a decade. But with “Youth’s Grudge,” he could only go back less than a year, even though it had likely been around online for several years.

After another pause—probably to verify the authenticity of his information—the administrator replied again:

“Thank you. Your clues are very helpful.”

“If you encounter any other advanced anomalies in the future, please notify me.”

“You may request compensation.”

Zhan Yan exhaled in relief.

Now, it was time to discuss that garbled anomaly.