27: Chapter 27 The Myth Buster and a Poolside Interlude

The success of "Lost and Found" gave Alex a taste of success. The dual satisfaction of exchanging sincere creation for the genuine emotional resonance of the audience, while simultaneously receiving generous Core Influence rewards from the system, was more invigorating than anything else.

But he didn't intend to cling to just one successful model. A healthy channel needs rhythm, just like cooking needs a balance of meat and vegetables. After doing something tear-jerking and nostalgic, he felt it was time to change things up and offer something light, stress-relieving, and capable of making people laugh out loud.

Inspiration came suddenly. That day, while scrolling through his phone, he saw the internet going crazy over "life hack" videos like "creating a fountain with Coke and mints" or "powering a lightbulb with bananas and oranges." They looked impressive, but the comments were a mess—some claimed they were tested and effective, while others cursed them as clickbait.

Alex's mind clicked, and an idea was born: "Mythbusters: Los Angeles Branch."

He would use his camera and a bit of creativity to verify whether these bizarre "life hacks" circulating online were actually reliable! He could make it both funny and have a tiny bit of "scientific" spirit (though, primarily for the laughs). It was low-cost, relatable, highly interactive, and the audience would definitely love it.

For the first episode's topic, he chose a classic: "Does heating a grape in the microwave really produce 'plasma fire'?"

He got straight to work. He ran to the supermarket to buy a bunch of the most ordinary seedless red grapes, went home, and set up his camera on the kitchen island. For safety (and also for the show's effect), he specifically dug out a pair of goggles he used to wear when playing with paints and put them on, looking like an absurd amateur scientist.

"Hello everyone, welcome to the first installment of the not-so-serious 'Mythbusters'." He faced the camera, starting with a straight face, and then picked up a grape, "Today, we are going to verify a long-circulating claim: heating a grape in the microwave will produce strange 'plasma,' and even... spit fire."

He explained in detail the steps circulating online (it needs to be cut in half but with the skin still connected), then carefully placed the prepared grape in the center of the microwave's glass tray.

"Safety first, let's step back and observe." He set the shortest time, pressed the start button, and then "hid" with the camera by the kitchen door, only poking out half his body and his goggle-wearing face, his expression a mix of seriousness, anticipation, and a hint of comedy.

The microwave began to run. A few seconds later, at the connection point of the grape, extremely faint, crackling blue electrical arcs indeed began to emerge, clearly visible in the dimly lit kitchen!

"Whoa! It's real!" Alex exclaimed in a low voice, and the camera zoomed in for a close-up. The sight was indeed quite magical, like miniature lightning. But the legendary "fire spitting" or "violent explosion" did not happen; there were only continuous electrical arcs and a slight burnt smell.

Time was up. He opened the microwave, used tongs to take out the grape with its slightly charred skin and clearly carbonized connection point, and placed it on a plate. "Conclusion: The arcing phenomenon does exist. The principle is that the size of the grape and the electrolytes form a 'dipole antenna' in the microwave field... (brief scientific explanation here) but 'fire spitting' or 'dangerous explosions' are exaggerations. The rumor is half-true, half-false! Please do not imitate this at home, safety first!"

Finally, he gave the charred grape a close-up, accompanied by "Martyred in the Line of Duty" subtitles and tragic sound effects. The entire video was less than three minutes long, with a brisk pace, suspense, humor, and a tiny bit of educational value.

The video was released on Friday night, and the title included the hashtags: #Mythbusters #DoNotImitate.

The effect was immediate. The view count soared, easily breaking 600,000.

The comment section was once again occupied by "Hahaha":

"The way the creator wears goggles cracked me up! Strangely handsome and funny!"

"He actually tried it! And explained the principle! What a conscientious creator!"

"What are you testing next? Is 'fixing phone screen scratches with toothpaste' real?"

"My mom used to never let me microwave grapes, turns out there was scientific reasoning! Even though it didn't spit fire..."

"I could watch a hundred episodes of this! Perfect for watching while eating!"

Once again, solid entertainment content brought considerable growth in popularity and audience engagement. Alex was very satisfied. He casually flipped through the "rumor" submissions in his private messages and comment section, noting down a few of the most popular ones, such as "making a WiFi signal booster with a potato chip can," "using a coin in the freezer to determine power outage duration," etc., preparing them as future material.

Saturday afternoon, the weather was exceptionally good. Alex decided to treat his overworked self by going to the apartment complex's outdoor pool to sunbathe and read a book. He changed into beach shorts, grabbed a casual book and a glass of ice water, and lay down in a quiet corner.

The sun was warm, a few children were splashing in the pool, and soft music was playing in the distance. A rare moment of relaxation.

Not long after, a gust of fragrance wafted over, accompanied by the sound of high heels gently tapping the ground, stopping at the lounge chair next to him. Alex looked up and saw a blonde woman with a slender figure, wearing a very skimpy bikini with a light, sheer sarong over it, looking at him with a confident and seductive smile.

"Hi, here alone?" The woman's voice had a lazy, raspy quality, very sexy. She took off her sunglasses, revealing a pair of blue eyes with exquisite makeup, her gaze roaming unreservedly over Alex's well-defined abs and arms. "I'm Megan, I just moved into this building. You... are that Alex who makes YouTube videos, right? My best friend is your fan; she showed me your Parkour videos. Very... powerful."

Her intentions were as direct as the California sunshine. Alex could feel several subtle gazes directed their way—some envious, some curious.

He maintained basic politeness, sat up, and nodded: "Hello, Megan. I'm Alex." His attitude was friendly but carried a clear sense of distance. His Mental Pillar made him completely immune to such situations, and he even felt like laughing. He knew his physical appearance and current fame were attractive to some, but he had no interest in playing these fast-food games, especially when the other person was clearly only interested in his looks and fame.

"I saw the sun was nice today, so I came down to relax." He shook the book in his hand, signaling that he had something to do.

Megan didn't seem to expect him to be so indifferent, but she quickly adjusted, taking the opportunity to sit on the lounge chair next to him, close enough to be somewhat suggestive. "I like sunbathing too. But it's so boring doing it alone, want to chat?" She leaned forward slightly, showing off her impressive curves.

Just as Alex was thinking about how to politely let her know he didn't want to be disturbed, his savior appeared.

"Alex! What a coincidence, you're here to swim too?" Sarah's voice rang out with just the right amount of surprise. She was wearing a relatively conservative one-piece swimsuit, carrying a towel and water, and walked over naturally, sitting down on the lounge chair on Alex's other side as if she didn't see Megan, saying to Alex: "I just finished swimming two laps, I'm exhausted. I watched your new 'Mythbusters' video, I cracked up. The arc in that microwave grape thing was actually pretty cool."

Megan's expression stiffened for a moment. Sarah's appearance, and the natural, familiar interaction between her and Alex (even though they were just neighbors and friends), invisibly shattered the ambiguous, private atmosphere Megan was trying to create.

Alex gave Sarah a mental thumbs-up and took the cue: "Yeah, almost 'sacrificed' myself for science. Next time I'll have to find safer rumors to verify."

Sarah giggled and chatted a bit more about the details of the video. Megan couldn't get a word in edgewise, her expression became awkward, and she soon made an excuse: "The water's a bit cold, I'm going to sunbathe over there," and left dejectedly.

Once she was far away, Sarah lowered her voice, teasing: "Not bad, your charm is growing; you can attract a 'Bikini Warrior' even while dressed so modestly."

Alex smiled helplessly: "Spare me. Neighborly relations are peaceful enough." He genuinely felt that, like Sarah right now, maintaining a friendly and clear neighborly boundary, respecting each other, was much more comfortable than any ambiguity or fleeting romance.

Sarah heard the sincerity in his words, smiled, didn't continue the topic, and turned to chat about some recent interesting news in the community.

The little incident by the pool soon passed. But Alex knew that as his fame grew, these kinds of goal-oriented approaches based on appearance and fame would only increase. He needed to get used to it, and he also needed clearer boundaries.

Returning home in the evening, he received a work email. "Harmony Bridge" notified him that the initial rough cut of the complete "echo gallery" short film had been submitted to Taylor's team for the first round of internal viewing, and preliminary feedback was expected in about a week.

At the same time, Allison mentioned in the email that her tone was slightly more casual than usual: "Taylor's recording work in Los Angeles recently seems to be going very smoothly, and the team atmosphere is good. If your filming requires an extremely special quiet environment, such as in the early morning, it might be a window period worth considering."

This seemed like pure work advice, but Alex's Perception Sharpening allowed him to taste something different. It was more like a subtle hint of "doing a favor"—the other team was in a good state and might be more tolerant of some non-intrusive collaboration (such as coordinating the guarantee of quiet for early morning filming).

He replied to the email, expressing his gratitude, and said he would evaluate his filming plan and would submit a formal request in advance if needed.

After dealing with the emails, he opened the system. His popularity was growing continuously, and his golden Core Influence, after the 22 points brought by "Lost and Found," had quietly increased by another 5 points due to the widespread joy and discussion triggered by "Mythbusters," reaching 70 points.

It seems that as long as one can truly touch people's hearts, whether through deep nostalgia or pure joy, one can bit by bit solidify this more essential "influence." This made him more certain about his future creative direction.

He looked at the darkening sky outside the window. Next week, the feedback for "echo gallery" would arrive; that would be a critical moment to test his hard skills in artistic creation. And his channel would continue to shuttle freely between high-end art and common joy, using one solid work after another to build an increasingly vast "wonderful world."

The bikini incident by the pool was just a trivial splash of background noise in this world.