The Ghost Stories Were All About Business
"It's just a legend, a legend that if you peel an apple in front of a mirror at midnight and accidentally break the peel, you'll see a ghost. Today, the host will show you how to peel an apple at midnight!"
As midnight approached, the most reckless ghost-hunting Live Broadcast Room on the entire internet started up again. Mr. Burrlett, who was 1.95 meters tall, muscular, and had the look of an Iron-Blooded Tough Guy, was sitting in front of a mirror, talking to himself about a plan that sounded incredibly dangerous, while lighting White Candle, making the mirror even more eerie with the two dim yellow flames.
[Hey streamer, don't be reckless!]
[Yeah, we're not arguing with you anymore, don't do this kind of thing!]
Ghosts really exist, why can't you understand?
The Live Broadcast Room was noisy, but Feng Xue sat on a soft stool, holding a slightly bent knife, and began to peel an apple, saying as she did so:
"To avoid accidentally breaking the apple peel and making it impossible to see through, and also to increase the probability of accidentally breaking it, I will limit the width of the apple peel to three millimeters. This will both increase the difficulty of peeling the apple and showcase my Martial Arts Streamer."
As Feng Xue spoke, the knife began to slice across the apple, the thin, narrow peel separating from the apple in wisps. Within minutes, many viewers had even forgotten that this was Ghost Encounter live stream, their attention completely focused on the apple peel that seemed ready to snap at any moment.
But just then, the clock struck twelve. While telling a slightly risqué ghost story and peeling skin, Feng Xue "completely failed" to notice that in the mirror in front of him, illuminated by candlelight, an arm was slowly reaching out.
[Damn, streamer, look up! Mirror! Mirror!]
[What's going on? The apple peel hasn't even been cut off yet and the ghost has already appeared?!]
We're about to meet! We're about to meet!
However, none of these reminders seemed to affect Feng Xue, who was focused on peeling the skin. The audience could only watch as the hand reaching out from the mirror slowly approached Feng Xue's head.
Just then, a gust of Yin Wind blew by, causing the apple peel in Feng Xue's hand to sway slightly. As if in a stress response, Feng Xue suddenly shuddered, and the apple peel snapped in two.
Not only the apple peel, but the knife also accidentally cut his finger. As drops of blood fell onto the table and the apple, Feng Xue immediately dropped the blood-stained knife in pain, stood up, and turned around in one swift motion. The hand that was about to touch Feng Xue missed its target.
Not only that, the ghostly hand that suddenly swung down landed right on the blood that Feng Xue had dripped onto the table, and then, as if electrocuted, abruptly withdrew into the mirror.
"Hiss--Is there something wrong with this air conditioner? I suddenly feel a bit cold..." Feng Xue rummaged through the air conditioner and sprayed it all over her injured finger, complaining incessantly about how unreliable the appliance was. However, the viewers in the Live Broadcast Room were too exhausted to complain anymore; they were all searching for slides, trying to find evidence to convince the streamer that something was amiss.
However, everyone failed; neither recordings nor screen captures yielded any evidence of the ghostly hand.
Of course they couldn't stay, because that ghostly hand was actually White Ghost Hand controlled by an invisible Gu Poison Body.
As for the mirror... it wasn't a mirror at all, but a layer of "demonic energy." To be precise, it was demonic energy controlled using the "Demon Capturing Evil Restraining Method Technique" from the Xuanjun Secret Scripture.
Using the assimilation and mimicry functions of demonic energy, he simulated a mirror-like texture. He was indeed very focused before, but not on peeling the apple. Instead, he was focused on using tacit understanding to construct the "image" in the mirror to coordinate with the movement of the ghost hand.
In short, it's a double act.
After busying herself for a while and bandaging her hand, Feng Xue returned to the "mirror," and like a mime artist, touched the mirror surface, which actually had no real tactile sensation, and said with an expression that said, "I knew it."
"Now you should believe that there are no ghosts in this world, right?"
[That's right, we now truly believe in ghosts!]
[I'm curious now, it seems like that ghost was injured by the streamer's blood.]
[Legend has it that ghosts are afraid of black dog blood, could the streamer be a dog demon?]
[That dog demon is going too far!]
"Hey, hey, please play role-playing games in the role-playing group. If you tease the streamer like this, I'll get angry too!" Feng Xue pretended to be angry, put her hands on her hips, and warned seriously, while the audience kept typing "[Why don't you believe in ghosts]" on the screen.
Seeing this, Feng Xue rolled her eyes and said:
"Ghosts? I've been known for being unafraid of ghosts for miles around since I was a child! I often made bets with people to earn some pocket money. But guess what happened?"
"When I was ten years old, the entire family of my next-door neighbor died overnight. Everyone said that it was a Claim Life was taking lives. I made a bet with someone that I lived in that haunted house for seven days and nothing happened. Only after it was over did I find out that the person who made the bet with me was a real estate agent who tricked me into moving in in order to clear the name of the haunted house!"
"When I was thirteen, I made a bet with someone that I would spend a month guarding the morgue of a supposedly haunted hospital, but I didn't see a single ghost. Later I found out that the grandson of the person I bet with had made a deal to work as a morgue guard, and the pay was much higher than the bet!"
"When I was sixteen, I heard that a female ghost in the factory had drained the life out of more than a dozen Strong Man. I worked in that factory for half a year, but I never saw a female ghost come to my door, and I didn't even have sex with Chunlinxi! Later I realized that it was just a scam to trick me into working for a basic salary!"
"I want to warn everyone here: don't believe in ghosts or demons. Nine times out of ten, those things are just a way to get your money."
"For example, if a place is rumored to be haunted, that's called a haunted house, and property prices will probably drop, right?"
"Investors buy the property, hire a so-called Ghost Catching Master, do a shoddy job, and then claim they spent a fortune exorcising the ghost, and now it's no longer a haunted house, so the property value goes back up, right?"
How much do you think you can earn from this?
"Not to mention hyping up things like talismans for warding off evil spirits or idols. You can buy a whole truckload of those things for just a few Credit Point. Just package them up as a master, hold a consecration ceremony, and they can sell thousands of times more! Isn't that way of making money faster than training idols to promote products?"
"So, there's no such thing as a ghost in this world! They talk about the supernatural, but all they care about is business! Do you even understand business?!"
[Damn, I think I'm convinced...]
Be rational! Think about that hand!
[Seriously, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I almost would have believed it!]
[Hey, is it possible that those places are actually haunted, and the streamer just had a lucky streak?]
Now that you mention it, it's actually quite possible!
[So, am I the only one curious about where that factory with the haunted woman is? No offense, just looking for odd jobs to earn some pocket money...]
As the comments section veered further and further off course, Feng Xue forcibly suppressed the urge to smile, because at that moment, another Tag was added to his persona—
[Tough luck!]