GRMFBS CH46

Ji Yueming: ???

Nie Yu: “Captain, what’s up?”

Ji Yueming, half-annoyed, half-amused: “That guy called me a scammer!”

Nie Yu, realizing: “Captain, I’ll get your account verified.”

“Once it’s verified, it’ll blow his mind!”

It made sense—her captain was using a new account, so skepticism was natural.

Ji Yueming scrolled through Approaching Science’s forum posts: “Is this guy really my fan? He’s defended the Chongmong Demon King several times but barely mentioned Tianshis.”

Nie Yu: “…”

“Because I’m your fan! I already deleted the posts slandering you!!”

No room for Approaching Science to shine!

…

Zhan Yan and his roommates were in their dorm, watching the clock. Half an hour until curfew, and Bao Qingshan still wasn’t back. He messaged them, saying he’d stay out tonight and not return to the dorm.

Sweetwater Lane.

Once a famous spot in Beiling City, named after an ancient well with clear, sweet water, rumored to be thousands of years old. Decades ago, the well collapsed, and the underground spring—whether blocked or gone—stopped flowing despite digging. The place gradually fell into ruin.

Bao Qingshan sighed, grimacing: “Granny, I’m gonna fail my finals if I keep skipping class.”

Kusong Stream’s Matriarch, dressed in blue-and-white floral cotton clothes, sat cross-legged on the restored well’s edge: “I reckon you can’t just hole up in school. Comin’ out for a stroll’s good for ya.”

Bao Qingshan’s phone buzzed.

Duan Hong: “Lao Bao, what’s been going on with you these days? You in some kind of trouble?”

Bao Qingshan: “I’m fine. Well, sorta—got some stuff to handle, but I got it. Don’t worry.”

Zhan Yan’s voice drifted faintly through the receiver: “Lao Bao, if you’re in a jam, call the cops. Don’t go down the path of crime…”

Duan Hong jumped in: “If something’s up, spit it out. We’ll figure it out together.”

Bao Qingshan, half-laughing, half-exasperated: “Where’re you guys getting these ideas? I’m fine!”

His heart warmed a bit. Their friendship wasn’t for nothing. Gu Jiancheng hadn’t spoken, but he was probably listening nearby.

After explaining for ages, Duan Hong gave up, unable to pry more, and said faintly: “Alright. You missed roll call again today. Lao Han said one more, and you’re failing.”

Bao Qingshan: !!!

No! Hold up!!

The call ended.

Bao Qingshan, clutching his phone, turned to the Matriarch, his round face streaming with noodle-wide tears.

See! He knew he was gonna fail!

The Matriarch sat steady on the well’s edge, unmoved: “I reckon this here’s more important for ya!”

Bao Qingshan: “But failing’s important too…”

Matriarch: “Whose reckonin’s better—yours or mine?”

Bao Qingshan caved: “Yours, yours.”

The Matriarch, satisfied, tapped the well: “You’re a stubborn one! Why not sneak out at night? Gotta skip class in broad daylight?”

Bao Qingshan, bitter-faced: “I feel like sneaking out at night would get me caught.”

The Matriarch mused: “Well, then, keep skippin’ class. I won’t snitch to your folks.”

Fine. What else could he do?

Bao Qingshan dragged a small stool over, plopped down beside her, and joined her in stargazing.

Others thought their “intuition” method was badass, but its flaw was you had to wait for it to hit—you couldn’t chase it.

No intuition? Observe the cosmos, blend with nature, and wait.

His roommates probably imagined him as some delinquent. Who’d guess he’d just been wandering the city hunting for intuition? His legs were worn thin!

He suspected the Matriarch’s intuition was about making him lose weight!

Out of nowhere, she said: “I reckon you’re bellyachin’ about me in your head.”

Bao Qingshan: …Her intuition’s still scary sharp!

By today, they’d scoured all of Beiling City, nabbing six human troublemakers, seven pesky demons, and eight lurking anomalies—but no sign of the Unnamed Anomaly. So tonight, they picked a spot to stargaze.

Bao Qingshan was sore and exhausted; the Matriarch was unfazed.

Back at their hermitage, she lived in a cliffside cave with no path, just a few toeholds chiseled into the rock. She still climbed it herself. Her agility was ten times his, at least.

“Got any intuition tonight?” Bao Qingshan asked.

“Dunno. I reckon that thing ain’t left the city yet,” the Matriarch said.

“I feel like we won’t catch any more anomalies here.”

“Same.”

The night was deep, stars thick overhead.

Under the sky, an old woman and a young man sat in the lane, gazing up, waiting for intuition. A slew of superhumans hunted anomalies in the shadows, the sixth-ranked points leader cleared anomalies per intel, and the intel provider slept soundly in his dorm.

Zzzzz… Zzzzz…

Waking up, his system was back online—another king of the gossip fields!

Today was a practical class, visiting the school’s affiliated veterinary hospital to observe animals.

Their school was top-notch, with its own vet hospital housing cats, dogs, hamsters, parrots, cows, sheep, pigs, and chickens. Whether aiming for pet care or livestock industries, the school offered a solid foundation. Zoo work? Not yet—the school couldn’t swing that.

Lao Bao didn’t skip this class. He dragged himself back at dawn, yawning, eyes ringed with dark circles.

Duan Hong, concerned: “What were you doing last night?”

Zhan Yan turned to stare alongside him.

Bao Qingshan: “Stargazing.”

Duan Hong burst out laughing: “All night?”

Even Gu Jiancheng glanced over at that answer.

Since Lao Bao wasn’t being straight, Zhan Yan decided to check the gossip system. His gossip energy was low lately, so he had to use it sparingly. He refined his search with multiple keywords.

[Bao Qingshan spent last night stargazing in Sweetwater Lane.]

This guy actually stargazed all night?

Zhan Yan’s look at Bao Qingshan turned odd.

“What’s up?” Gu Jiancheng asked.

“I think Lao Bao’s telling the truth,” Zhan Yan said.

Duan Hong stared, speechless: “You buy that? He spent the whole night looking at stars? Is he nuts?”

“What do you think?” Duan Hong nudged Gu Jiancheng, hoping to team up and pry the truth out of Bao Qingshan.

Gu Jiancheng: “I think he’s not lying.”

Yan Yan’s instincts were spot-on.

Duan Hong: …If I keep humoring this couple, I’m a dog!

Duan Hong couldn’t crack Bao Qingshan alone.

Knowing Bao Qingshan wasn’t up to anything dangerous, Zhan Yan dropped it. Can’t a guy have a quirky hobby? His brother liked staying solo in couple’s hotels, after all.

They entered the veterinary hospital. The class was taught by their vice dean, a strict old professor who never went easy on failures. Everyone was on their best behavior.

Mid-lecture, Zhan Yan heard an abrupt voice:

“Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?”

Who was bold enough to interrupt?

Zhan Yan whipped his head around.

On the nearby hospital bed, a dog lay with its tongue out, eyes rolling goofily, tongue still dangling.

Professor: “Look, the anesthesia’s wearing off. At this stage…”

Everyone gathered to watch the dog, ignoring the odd voice.

Was he hallucinating?

“Did you just hear someone talk?” he whispered to Gu Jiancheng.

Gu Jiancheng leaned in: “Nope. What’d you hear?”

“I heard…”

The professor’s stern gaze swept over. Zhan Yan shut up.

The dog’s hind leg twitched, and Zhan Yan heard another voice.

“So many big heads, so scary…”

Great. He was definitely hallucinating. He was hearing the dog talk…

By the end of class, Zhan Yan was dazed. It wasn’t just the dog—other animals were talking too, some chattier than others. He heard a Norwegian Forest Cat rant that the professor was a pervert, burying his face in its belly when no one was around, cooing “little baby” in a high-pitched voice!

After class, Zhan Yan coughed and sidled up to the professor: “Sir, do you have cats at home?”

He’d heard the cat say the professor had a Ragdoll and a British Shorthair.

“Sure do,” the professor said, amiable off the clock.

He knew Zhan Yan, a student with a natural affinity for animals. When a grad student’s research rabbit escaped, Zhan Yan found it. It had hidden in bushes, ignored by others, but ran to rub against Zhan Yan’s feet.

Since then, Zhan Yan was on the radar of the big shots. No one wanted their research animals escaping, wasting years of work.

Talking about his cats, the professor’s eyes gleamed behind his glasses. He pulled out his phone’s photo album: “Look, this is Xingxing, and this is Wangwang.”

One Ragdoll, one British Shorthair.

Confirmed—not a hallucination. He could really understand animals!

During a break, Zhan Yan checked the gossip system and noticed he’d unknowingly earned another small star in the “Spirit” category.

[A qualified gossiper must gather info from multiple channels! Your golden finger’s activated. Just bond with animals, and you’re set, right?]

Zhan Yan: …

Before, he’d have confidently said yes.

It was a useful ability, but now, seeing animals panic around him, what should he do?

Smile politely and say, “Hello, don’t be scared. You’re afraid because I’ve assisted in a few neutering surgeries, but don’t worry, I won’t do that to you”?

That wouldn’t go over well…

On solving his unintended intimidation of animals, Zhan Yan tried soft words, food bribes, and toy playtime—none worked great.

He gave up for now. Fine, even without bonding, just listening to them was enough.

That night, he logged into the supernatural forum. That “Tianshi” scammer had the gall to reply to his DM! The real Tianshi was too busy to register, and now they’d joined just for him? “I’m Qin Shihuang, send money” supernatural edition?

Wasn’t this begging for a roast?

Zhan Yan opened the DM, ready to clap back, but froze. The account now had a verification badge.

?!!

[Nervous? Surprised? If only you’d checked the system more closely, huh?]

Zhan Yan: …Stop butting in!