106: Chapter 106 Jiang Ling

Puddles of all sizes gathered on the bluestone pavement of Jiangzhou Old Street, reflecting the rising morning sun.

At the dining table in the living room of the Funeral Shop, Lin Ye was unhurriedly peeling a boiled egg.

The peeled eggshell landed in the porcelain plate with a crisp clatter, while the smooth, white egg white glowed with a warm luster in the morning light.

Leng Yue sat nearby with a peach wood comb in her hand, gently and slowly combing through her ankle-length silver hair.

The phone on the table suddenly vibrated violently, its buzzing shattering the quiet of the early morning.

Lin Ye took a bite of the egg white and pressed speakerphone to answer the call.

Deputy Captain Chu Hongyan's voice came through the speaker.

This iron-willed female captain of The Ninth Bureau sounded hoarse and dry, filled with unprecedented urgency and anxiety.

The background was filled with harsh clattering of keyboards and the reports of operators.

"Mr. Lin, a major mess has broken out."

Deputy Captain Chu Hongyan took a deep breath and got straight to the point at a rapid pace.

"Last night, that exploration streamer named Big A-Wei sneaked into Jiangda Affiliated Elementary School to do a midnight livestream."

"The Ninth Bureau's cyber-monitoring department forcibly cut off the signal within three minutes of the incident, claiming to the public that it was a regional blackout caused by a power grid failure. The problem is that screen recordings had already been downloaded by a massive number of netizens and have now spread across major foreign forums."

"These recordings triggered severe social panic. The Jiangzhou City mayor's hotline has been busy since midnight last night, and parents of elementary school students across the entire city are demanding the truth."

Lin Ye swallowed the egg in his mouth, picked up the warm water beside him, and took a sip, his expression entirely unruffled.

"This falls under the jurisdiction of The Ninth Bureau."

"Isn't Division Four the department specifically responsible for public opinion control and cleanup? Issue a few debunking announcements, wipe some memories, and get a few self-proclaimed experts on TV to explain the principles of light refraction. Public attention will shift in a few days."

Deputy Captain Chu Hongyan let out a bitter laugh on the other end of the line.

"The footage this time was too clear, and too many people saw it. Public opinion can't be suppressed at all."

"The bureau's top brass held an overnight meeting and decided on a reverse PR strategy—we need to conduct an on-site debunking stream."

Deputy Captain Chu Hongyan paused for half a second before revealing The Ninth Bureau's plan.

"The official authorities reached out to the top streamer in the domestic outdoor exploration sector. Her name is Ms. Jiang, a staunch materialist streamer with over twenty million followers across the web."

"At midnight tonight, The Ninth Bureau will secretly arrange for her to return to Class 3-2 at Jiangda Affiliated Elementary School and host an HD livestream synchronized across the entire internet."

"We need a knowledgeable expert from the Daoist sects to accompany Ms. Jiang deep into the ruins. This person must disguise themselves as a physics expert in front of the camera."

"They need to secretly suppress the evil spirits in that building while also using all kinds of profound scientific terms to provide rationalized physics explanations for any supernatural phenomena that occur during the stream."

Hearing this, the corners of Lin Ye's mouth twitched.

He tossed the remaining half of his egg back onto the plate and sneered directly into the phone.

"Captain Chu, are you kidding with me?"

"I'm just a shopkeeper running a Funeral Shop with a pile of paper figurines under my command. You want me to be a scientific consultant? You want me to preach materialist values in front of tens of millions of netizens?"

Lin Ye's tone exuded complete resistance.

"You're not only insulting my Daoist arts, but you're also trampling on my professional ethics. I'm not taking this job. The Ninth Bureau had better find someone else."

Deputy Captain Chu Hongyan on the other end seemed to have anticipated that Lin Ye would refuse.

Gritting her back teeth, her voice squeezed through the gaps in her teeth.

"Ten million appearance fee, fully covered by The Ninth Bureau, transferred immediately after the stream ends."

The air in the living room fell into a brief silence.

Lin Ye, who had been leaning back, instantly sat up straight, the disdain and resistance on his face vanishing without a trace.

"Captain Chu, look at what you're saying."

Lin Ye spoke into the phone, his tone becoming exceptionally grave and deep.

"Actually, I've loved physics since I was a child. Darwin and Newton have always been the guiding lights of my life."

"We must believe in science. Dispelling feudal superstition is a legal duty that every citizen of Great Xia should fulfill. For such a grand cause benefiting the country and its people, I, Lin, will not shirk my duty. What time do we head out tonight?"

Leng Yue, who was combing her hair nearby, paused slightly at this completely unprincipled speech.

She tilted her head, the corner of her lips curving into a tiny arc.

On the other end of the phone, Deputy Captain Chu Hongyan was rendered speechless for a good while by the shameless speed of Lin Ye's face-turn.

"At two o'clock this afternoon, Ms. Jiang will visit your shop to go over the livestream process. At ten tonight, meet at the school entrance."

Deputy Captain Chu Hongyan decisively hung up the phone.

At exactly two o'clock in the afternoon.

The security door on the first floor of the Funeral Shop was knocked on right on schedule.

The door opened, and an imposing woman strode into the living room.

She was wearing black high-top combat boots, the soles striking the wooden floor with sharp, decisive sounds.

The woman's name was Ms. Jiang, the very outdoor exploration top streamer boasting twenty million followers.

Ms. Jiang was twenty-eight years old this year, at the peak of a woman's mature charm after shedding her youthful naivety.

She wore a black high-collared tight quick-dry shirt, paired with army green multi-pocket tactical cargo pants on her lower half.

The quick-dry shirt had excellent elasticity, outlining her plump, firm bust curves to perfection.

With a narrow waist, full hips, and a tall figure.

Her long black hair was tied into a high ponytail behind her head, swaying neatly with her steps.

Ms. Jiang took off her aviator sunglasses, revealing a face with exquisite light makeup.

Her facial features were sharp and striking, exuding the confidence and bold aura of a strong woman.

She scanned the living room, her gaze finally resting on Lin Ye sitting on the sofa.

In Ms. Jiang's eyes, this so-called 'officially appointed scientific consultant'...

...was likely some wealthy young master with a powerful background trying to make his debut off her multi-million follower traffic.

She walked to the coffee table and casually leaned against the solid wood edge, her right leg slightly bent, displaying fantastic body flexibility.

"Little brother, you look pretty sharp."

Ms. Jiang raised an eyebrow at Lin Ye, her tone laced with playful flirtation and teasing.

She reached out her right hand, painted with black nail polish, and patted Lin Ye on the shoulder.

"Tonight in the stream room, you just focus on acting cool and looking handsome. My PR team has already written all your lines for you."

"If you run into any weird noises, just recite those lines about anomalous electromagnetic fluctuations or hot air currents causing clothes to levitate. Big sister here will help you gain a massive wave of followers tonight."

As she patted Lin Ye's shoulder, a rich scent of rose perfume drifted over.

Lin Ye sat upright on the sofa, not even having had time to respond.

Leng Yue, sitting on the side single-seater sofa, turned her head with an indifferent expression.

*Crack.*

A faint freezing sound echoed through the living room.

On the coffee table, the surface of the cup containing freshly brewed, steaming Dahongpao tea instantly formed a thick layer of white frost.

In the blink of an eye, the hot tea froze into a solid block of ice.

The indoor temperature plummeted below freezing in an instant.

The red digits on the electronic thermometer hanging on the wall dropped sharply by ten degrees.

Ms. Jiang froze completely, feeling a bone-chilling cold rush from the soles of her feet straight to her crown, as if even her blood were freezing.

Terrified, she pulled her hand back, wrapping her arms tightly around herself and shuddering several times.

"Th-this... is your air conditioner broken? It's as cold as a freezer in here."

Ms. Jiang's face turned pale as she looked around, trying to find the source of the cold draft.

Leng Yue calmly withdrew her gaze.

She extended a fair hand clad in a black silk glove, picked up the cup of tea frozen solid into ice, and gently sipped at it near her red lips, her stance so elegant as if untainted by worldly dust.

With the sense of danger dissipated, the room temperature slowly rose back up.

Rubbing her arms, Ms. Jiang fished out a palm-sized black plastic instrument with an antenna on top from her tactical pants pocket.

"This is an electromagnetic detector provided by a sponsor. It's actually just a light-up toy that flashes red when it gets near a magnet."

"Clip this to your chest, and once we get inside, press the switch a few times to add some scientific atmosphere."

As Ms. Jiang spoke, she leaned forward, holding the plastic device to clip it onto the lapel of Lin Ye's chest.

The distance between the two instantly closed.

Ms. Jiang's warm breath almost brushed against Lin Ye's jawline.