There were several statues in a kneeling position, with a grim white and rough texture. Their forms didn’t resemble menacing creatures but rather prisoners awaiting execution, each kneeling on the ground with bound hands.
Covering their heads was a bag, concealing their faces. However, just by observing their twisted body postures, one could imagine the expressions of agony hidden beneath those hoods. The pain and struggle depicted were so vivid, almost as if they could come to life in the next second.
Xu Yintang blinked, then blinked again.
But those statues didn’t come to life; they stood motionless. Even the butterflies that fluttered into the shadows at their appearance didn’t notice anything amiss, only tasting the resentment and pain clinging to the surface of the statues, just a tiny bit, enough for one butterfly’s mouthful.
However, this “tiny bit” was specific to Third Flora, considering the population scale of the butterflies after their significant expansion—similar to the massive volume Third Flora now possessed, fed by the super-sized city where several tens of millions lived.
Seemingly, only Xu Yintang noticed the existence of those statues. The few remaining people in the square didn’t shift their gaze towards them. A waiter from the tavern ended his shift, crossing the square with oblivious steps, skirting past the statues, humming a tune, seemingly inhabiting two different dimensions from the statues.
Drunken souls, oblivious to distinctions between reality and the unreal, could see blurred, ghostly figures. However, in their inebriated haze, they couldn’t discern anything clearly. One of them, hiccupping, slumped onto the contorted, pain-ridden back of a statue, like dozing off on a park bench.
The twisted, stiff statues and the oblivious passersby, half shrouded in the darkness of the night and half illuminated by the warm flickering lights of the tavern, created a stark contrast that endowed the scene with an absurd and eerie yet peculiar beauty. Perhaps, influenced by Xiao Qing’s excessive photo-taking today, Xu Yintang found himself infected by the urge to snap pictures. He discreetly opened his phone and captured the scene.
What appeared indistinct to others on the statues became glaringly visible through the lens. However, as the flash suddenly went off in night mode, it seemed to startle them. The statues began to blur and fade like a mirage, sinking into the cement ground of the square.
The drunkard lying on the statue rolled onto the ground, and scratched his belly, completely unaware of his close encounter. A shadow butterfly sniffed around him, tasting a bit of the pain and resentment from the statue.
This time, there was truly a minuscule amount. A casual lick from the butterfly made it disappear entirely. But it was enough to haunt an ordinary person’s dreams for days; for someone with a weak constitution, it could lead to a severe illness.
Second Treasure and his older brother had waited under the covers for their mother for a while but, unable to contain their impatience, they climbed out, perching on the windowsill, curious about what enchanting creature had captured their mother’s attention.
To the naked eye, the square appeared ordinary, but when viewed through the filter of a dream world and projected onto the countless eyeballs composing Second Treasure’s reflection, it became a landscape crowded with monstrous and horrifying souls embedded within the cement. Witnessing this, Second Treasure quickly buried himself in his mother’s embrace, weakly whimpering that he was frightened and needing kisses and hugs from his mother to feel better.
Xu Yintang shook his head in resignation at this spoiled child’s antics, sending the photo he took and the information sensed by the little ones to Xiao Qing before pulling the covers over himself to rest. Having spent a whole hour on the train, the moment he completely lay down and intimately connected with the comfortable mattress of Little Darling, Xu Yintang couldn’t help but emit a satisfied sigh.
“It’s so good to have Little Darling.”
He had given birth to Little Obedient.
Little Darling gently touched Xu Yintang’s cheek with its tentacle tips, subtly expressing its joy at its mother’s praise.
It felt more accustomed now to those positive emotions representing love and warmth, despite still instinctively feeling discomfort and repulsion. Yet, it was also instinctively experiencing increasingly intense feelings of happiness and joy.
“Little Darling, Little Darling, wants to snuggle with Mommy too…”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
…
We Tlcajcu ofii jriffq, jcv Wljb Hlcu olclrtfv j mjii klat atf jufca yfobgf lcrqfmalcu atf Gebilc mbeqif’r kjii mbgcfg. Lf rewwjglhfv atf mbcafca, fvlafv j rtbga wfrrjuf, jcv rtjgfv la klat We Tlcajcu. Coafg mjrejiis wbmxlcu atf qtbabr bo rajaefr We Tlcajcu rfca tlw jkjs, tf abb ofii jriffq.
“Great job on the photos, but let’s not take any more next time.”
Outside the window, the night was deep. By the time Xiao Qing tucked himself in and closed his eyes, even the tavern had completely shut down. The entire town lay cradled in the embrace of the night and starlight, seemingly frozen in time.
But in reality, the clock showed just past midnight, the most bustling and noisy time in the city at night. For the workers summoned by a single call from their agents, it was just the beginning of an all-nighter. Coffee and Red Bull flowed, and they committed to working three times more for the promised overtime pay.
The agent was also wide awake, appearing to be in high spirits.
He multitasked like an octopus, chatting with several clients while attentively monitoring the progress of the copywriting, image editing, and fan management teams. He didn’t forget to praise his foresight, “Good thing I convinced Green to go on vacation.”
Looking at the collective effect, a surefire chart-topping image was now in the making.
And surprisingly, the anchor who had been lethargic for nearly half a year had voluntarily decided to work, even on a live theme that he had always been averse to. For the first time, he doubted his own ears.
The agent efficiently organized the preparation work for the upcoming live session, while the sounds of dividing shares resonated in his ears.
Fan groups one, two, three, and five were already buzzing due to the spoilers planted by the studio’s group management. After all, the absence of the “spoiler” for almost half a month made every day feel like a year. But the anticipation of seeing the latest beautiful images and even having an interactive and animated appearance tomorrow brought back all the good virtues they had lost.
[Who’s wriggling in bed like a worm over a live preview image?]
[Oh, it’s just me. That’s okay then.]
[Wahh, unbuttoning the shirt, Wife is so fragrant, spicy, and beautiful. Wife is the shiniest star among all the stars!]
The calls for “Wife” gradually grew more confident.
…
Regardless of how many fans stayed up all night waiting in the live room, Xu Yintang slept soundly. Although the bedding and pillows were not as plush and silky as those in a top-tier hotel, they were soft, thick, and extremely comfortable, exuding a faint scent of warmth from the sun.
In Xiao Qing’s words, sleeping on it gave a feeling of warmth similar to returning home.
“If only they served breakfast like soy milk, fried dough sticks, and tofu pudding, it would enhance that feeling. Unfortunately, the setting of this location is obviously overseas, and the Old Duolin family doesn’t provide breakfast service.”
Xiao Qing was more enthusiastic about the live broadcast than Xu Yintang. It could also be labeled as the idol baggage that almost formed a group. Early in the morning, he dragged Xu Yintang out for skincare, selecting clothes, and styling, even though Xu Yintang had no idea why he had to start the day with a pot of bitter black coffee poured down his throat as soon as he woke up.
“Yesterday, you slept too late. Black coffee can reduce puffiness,” Xiao Qing exclaimed as he smeared a mask on Xu Yintang’s face from his luggage. “Maintaining an on-screen appearance is the least respect we can offer to our fans.”
With the damp mask uncomfortably pasted on his face, Xu Yintang simply closed his eyes and lay down, letting Xiao Qing fuss around. The difference between a V-neck T-shirt and a round-neck T-shirt was now knowledge he didn’t particularly care to know.
Of course, they didn’t forget to discuss the “instance report” they received last night—
The root cause of those statues appearing was in the square, or rather, something hidden underground in the square that caused the statues to appear. Currently, apart from their ability to disappear, the statues haven’t shown any signs of aggression. Whether people saw them or not, they remained as ordinary statues.
Initially, based on the forum gamers’ revealed characteristics of the statues, Xu Yintang and Xiao Qing speculated on the possible type of monster attack on the train. But according to what Third Flora smelled and what Second Treasure “saw” last night, they now felt that the likelihood of ghostly entities or spirits was higher.
“I’ll try summoning Yu Kongyou tonight,” Xu Yintang muffled under the face mask, “he’s more specialized in dealing with spirits.”
Additionally, Xiao Qing inferred from the Old Duolin couple’s argument at the wall corner that they had a child, but due to “demonic possession,” the child was killed by the townsfolk three years ago. During this time, an outsider staying with them tried to rescue the child but was discovered by the townsfolk and fell off a cliff while fleeing into the forest.
“That outsider who was killed should be related to the missing person investigations conducted by the other two players. Their paths will ultimately converge on the ‘demonic possession’ incident here.”
Based on the existing reports, “Isa has a stronger belief and firmly believes in the demonic possession, considering the possessed child not their own and advocating for killing the child from birth. Isa blames Old Duolin for being influenced by demons and believes they are trying to save their family. However, Old Duolin has deeper feelings for the child and secretly helped the outsider who wanted to rescue the child.”
In summary, the first place they unquestionably need to visit next—
The neighboring tavern.
Ahem, don’t forget they haven’t had breakfast yet.
Isa strongly recommended the tavern’s signature sandwich set, rumored to be the best sandwich in town.
“And there’s no place more gossip-filled than a tavern in this world. There’s simply no non-gossip tavern board!” Xiao Qing confidently stated, “Let’s just walk in with our selfie stick and livestream for five minutes, guaranteed the whole town will know about it by noon!”
Xu Yintang adjusted his sunglasses and checked his watch, playing the role of a cold celebrity as planned. Meanwhile, Xiao Qing, carrying their belongings in one hand and filming equipment in the other, looked like a busy assistant as he approached the tavern board to inquire about shooting in the establishment.
The tavern board barely owned a non-smartphone and had never heard of live streaming, but after being bewildered by Xiao Qing, they hesitantly agreed.
Watching Xiao Qing skillfully set up the phone and various devices that appeared complex, Xu Yintang, with sunglasses on, sat next to him, attempting to look cool and exude an air of sophistication.
People couldn’t help but ask in confusion, “Is he really a big star?”
“This is something you can find out with a simple internet search. Look here, on LJJ alone, our Sugar has eighty million followers. Before the live stream even begins, tens of thousands of people are waiting. Isn’t that a big star?”
As it was too early for students to stay up late for the live stream, the number of viewers waiting might be a bit higher.
“Several tens of thousands of people waiting to watch him? That’s amazing?!!!” exclaimed the tavern board, astonished. “Can I watch it later?”
Xiao Qing didn’t directly agree but symbolically looked at Xu Yintang for approval, and Xu Yintang also symbolically nodded. He took off his sunglasses, revealing a faint smile to the tavern board, “Thank you for your help today.”
The tavern board, after catching a glimpse of that face, immediately lost all suspicions. They felt as if they had just spoken to someone who had conversed with a big star, a story they could boast about for a lifetime in their small town.
After adjusting the equipment, Xiao Qing felt the image of Xu Yintang in front of a sandwich and salad seemed too healthy, which didn’t match the carefully crafted appearance he had prepared for the fans. So, he added a cup of iced cola to enrich the scene.
He felt Xu Yintang’s role skills were maximized to the fullest. The camera magically captured the sense of joy he felt while sipping the iced cola—a happiness one might feel when tasting something they’ve longed for.
The cola company should really pay us, Sugar, for this.
Xiao Qing called over the curious tavern board to show them the backstage admin view, giving Xu Yintang a countdown. “Three, two, one—”
“Good morning, welcome to my channel.”
[Look!]
[My Wife just greeted me with “good morning”!]
[He has my heart!]
Author’s Note –
Mother Xu Yingtang: Goodnight, sleep early, you will have what you wish in your dreams.
The positioning of the anchors in this instance will be adjusted according to the details of the players holding the anchor cards.
For instance, Sugar Daddy’s fans are more likely to call him “wife” while if it were Blueon, there would be a higher proportion of career fans and girlfriend fans.
As for Xiao Qing… There might be many fans shouting “Mom loves you!” and loudly expressing their desire to become Xiao Qing’s mother fans, creating a wonderfully diverse fanbase with flexible generational switches.
Thank you for the chapter!! I wonder if any of the babies will make a surprise appearance 🤔
Well this will be a fun set of livestreams
This seems like it’ll be a pretty fun instance!Thanks for the chapter!
All other fan types in the author’s note are honestly so true!! 😆
Thanks for the update 🤣❤️🤣❤️
Thank you for your translation 💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚
These fans better not run away forever in disgust after seeing our cute babies, otherwise they were already fake fans 😤