A rare thunderstorm occurred in Yitao Mountain, where tourists claimed to have spotted a flying human-shaped object. Experts attributed the phenomenon to dust accumulation on the camera lens.
The news was accompanied by a high-fidelity video. Lightning bolts split the darkness, illuminating the night like daylight, with the screen flickering between light and shadow. Even after the video and audio were degraded, the thunderous roar still resonated powerfully.
Amidst the dense, web-like thunder, a faint shadow could be discerned—somewhat human-like, yet utterly indistinct.
Zhan Yan activated the news feed feature and typed 'Yitao Mountain' into the search bar.
The system quickly displays entries covering the keywords:
Yesterday, the anomaly management expert Yu Yitao Mountain was clearing a Level A anomaly 'Gap' when, in a rush to get home, he overexerted himself during the task.
Zhan Yan had once firmly embraced the materialist worldview, but after joining the 'chewing melon' system, his perspective was completely transformed.
Zhan Yan watched the blurry video of a figure flickering in the lightning, his lips curling in envy. The Celestial Master was simply too handsome. His 'bystander mode' system, however, only let him observe the scene from the sidelines—unable to see the actual image, he could only occasionally catch glimpses of accidentally captured footage through news reports. To this day, Zhan Yan had never seen the person clearly, nor even known their name. Perhaps due to the Master's extraordinary abilities or some secret protocol in handling unusual matters, the system only displayed the code name instead of the real name.
Zhan Yan scanned the comment section, where half the comments were meme-based and half were lighthearted banter.
"Where are the fellow practitioners here to endure the tribulation?"
Why didn't the divine artifact cast a protective barrier when it appeared?
That's just a tiny black dot! Calling it human is an overstatement—this is clearly our clan's divine beast!
"Let the lens get dusty and die of laughter—what kind of science is that?"
...
Only I know the truth but can't say it—what a bittersweet feeling. Zhan Yan kept scrolling.
At Xinlianxin Kindergarten, children were caught secretly petting a wild cat. The teacher later discovered the 'wild cat' was actually a red fox, a second-class nationally protected species, which has since been sent to a zoo.
The little fox in the picture has big, pained eyes, its red fur all over the place from the kids' playful tugging.
When Yan Zhan searched for 'Xin Lian Xin Kindergarten' in the system, she quickly found something different:
Hu Shanpao, the fox spirit father, mistakenly sent his cub to the human heart-to-heart kindergarten. The cub replied, 'This isn't my kindergarten. Mine is called Heart-to-Heart Kindergarten.'
Hu Shan Pao didn't believe it and said, "Are you not wanting to go to kindergarten?"
This father is too careless.
Zhan Yan flipped through the pages again. When the fox spirit mother received a call from the spirit clan kindergarten and realized her cub had been sent to the wrong place, she immediately went to the zoo to retrieve the child. Hu Shanpao is now hanging from the eaves with clothespins wedged between his ears.
Oh! I really want to see it live!
After browsing through the trending topics, Zhan Yan found nothing that piqued his interest. He then searched for 'Tianheng Event Venue Owner' and 'Shengmao Tong,' but still couldn't find the information he was looking for.
Ji Yueming, Zhan Yan's mother and a small business owner, had recently done business with Sheng Maotong, the owner of Tianhui Entertainment. However, Sheng Maotong had been selling inferior products to deceive customers. Although he didn't succeed, Zhan Yan had already noted him in her notebook. Using the 'chewing melon' system (a Chinese slang for gossiping), Zhan Yan scoured Sheng Maotong's shady records, compiled them into a report, and filed it. Why hasn't there been any news yet? This efficiency is seriously lacking!
As Zhan Yan was descending the stairs, he happened to see his father Zhan Yun returning from morning exercise.
Jian Yun smiled and said, "Yanyan, come help me serve the porridge."
Zhan Yun had made the porridge before his morning workout. Now, as the rice grains had fully popped and the porridge thickened, he lifted the lid to let the aroma of preserved eggs and marinated lean meat fill the air.
Zhan Yan swallowed hard and started ladling out the porridge. His father's cooking skills were truly extraordinary! But Zhan Yunkai was an actor, and he was about to embark on a closed-door filming project, which meant he wouldn't be able to eat for quite some time.
Zhan Yun Kai had washed his hands and changed into an apron, then made a dish of cucumber slices—fresh and tasty, perfect with porridge. In the pot were steamed shrimp dumplings, their translucent wrappers revealing whole shrimp.
Zhan Yan served four bowls of porridge for his father, brother, sister, and himself. His mother, Ji Yueming, was still away on a business trip.
As soon as the meal was served, the main door opened and Ji Yueming entered, looking utterly worn out from the journey.
Zhan Yan was startled. "Mom? Why did you come back so late?"
When they called last night, Ji Yueming said he was still busy. Was this a last-minute flight?
"Got it sorted tonight. With tickets ready, I'll head back first. Still got a few things to wrap up, so I'll need to drop by the office later." Ji Yueming stroked his son's curly hair.
"This is exhausting," said Zhan Yun, his face etched with concern as he placed a shrimp dumpling in Ji Yueming's mouth.
Ji Yueming was so moved by the scene that she almost cried while biting into the shrimp dumplings.
She rushed back so desperately just for this meal. If not for that damn abnormal being being so evasive, she wouldn't have delayed completing the mission until now.
Old Zhan is about to start a closed-shoot production. I don't know how long it'll take, but I won't be able to eat for a long time after that... ugh...
Elder sister Zhan Suiyu rushed downstairs with her phone in hand, spotting Ji Yueming. "Mom, you're home! That shady boss who tried to pull you off the hook is going to jail!"
Zhan Yan's eyes lit up as he leaned in,' Let me see! Let me see!'
The news article featured a lengthy headline: "A high-end club suddenly shook, with no casualties, unexpectedly revealing a mysterious basement. The club owner, naked, performed a ritual to curse competitors, using stolen and smuggled cultural relics as ritual objects, potentially facing imprisonment."
Zhan Yan was taken aback. Sheng Maotong was indeed headed for jail, but the process didn't quite match his expectations.
"When did this happen? I just checked the trending topics and haven't seen it yet," asked Zhan Yan.
"Just an hour ago. It's just breaking news," said Zhan Sui Ru.
As fellow gossip enthusiasts, the siblings quickly locked eyes.
"What a bizarre real business war!" Zhan Sui Ru remarked. "When the police questioned him about smuggling, he claimed ancient statues were believed to possess supernatural powers."
What kind of deity is this? It looks downright creepy. Does it have five arms? And its lower body looks like an octopus!
The basement split open in broad daylight, with passersby snapping photos and recording footage of the scene. The floor was covered with bizarre runes, and the same markings adorned Sheng Maotong's body. His face flushed with terror as he stared at the camera, shouting, "Stop filming! No one is allowed to film!"
Unfortunately, nobody paid him any attention.
"Blinding, blinding!" Zhan Suiyu quickly slid to the next scene. "This isn't even an earthquake zone—how could it suddenly split?"
They say it's a construction defect, but this crack is perfectly timed," Zhan Yan remarked.
With so much evidence, this guy can't get away with it.
Jian Yun Kai had a hearty breakfast with a smile, then discreetly slipped his wife a shrimp dumpling, keeping all the credit to himself.
He just did it casually during his morning workout. Don't even think about harassing his wife!
The siblings happily continued their gossip. The elder brother, Zhan Jinli, drifted over like a wandering spirit, took his seat, nodded in greeting, and then quietly began eating. Zhan Jinli is an extremely socially anxious person who doesn't like to talk or listen to others, but he's perfectly fine chatting on his phone.
Yan Yan forwarded the news to her older brother and started typing away, sharing her joy.
With years of experience in 'chewing on gossip,' Zhan Yan instinctively sensed this news was unusual and decided to check it later using the gossip-chewing system.
After breakfast, the family bid farewell at the door. Ji Yueming was heading to the office, while Zhan Yunkai was off to a closed-door shoot. The eldest brother Zhan Jinli had opened his own cake shop, and the second sister Zhan Suiru was off to her art studio. Only the college student Zhan Yan stayed home for the holiday.
Zhan Yan and everyone hugged each other.
The family members went in different directions.
In the deserted underground garage, Ji Yueming spread her palm, her fingers pressing against the rough cement wall. A blue light strip illuminated her from head to toe. The door silently slid open, revealing an inner alloy corridor. As Ji Yueming stepped inside, the door closed behind her with perfect precision, becoming an unremarkable wall of cement.
Soft AI voice:
Welcome back to the Abnormal Affairs Bureau, Celestial Master.
In the depths of the desolate forest on the western outskirts, Zhan Yunkai concealed his figure. The next moment, a divine bird with double eyes, adorned in vibrant feathers and radiating a luminous glow, took flight, casting an invisible crimson gold light along its path.
In the cake shop, Zhan Jinli saw shadows crawling in the dim light. He took off his hat and mask, then began changing into his chef's uniform. A little boy in the corner timidly approached, tugging at his trouser leg.
Jian Jinli squatted down and sighed, "They say I'm no longer the Ghost King."
In the mall's elevator, Zhan Suiyu had unknowingly donned a black trench coat, gloves, and a wide-brimmed hat. The shadow beneath her hat seemed to possess a mysterious aura, obscuring most of her face. She pressed the elevator buttons as if entering a code, descending into the fifth underground level—a level that didn't exist on the buttons.
The elevator doors opened, and a masked employee outside bowed and gently patted her chest, saying, "Master Craftsman, welcome to your visit."
At home, Zhan Yan lounged comfortably on the sofa, turned on his social media feed, and typed in the search term: "Tianhui Grand Event Venue".