Unable to see the hungry ghost, Yan Zhan could only sense its presence through the melon-eating system. Whether it was a psychological effect or not, the air around him grew cold and sticky, as if veiled in a damp mist.
As an ordinary person, he had no way to deal with hungry ghosts. Since they disrupted the surrounding magnetic field, he couldn't even use his phone to send messages.
So... I have to rely on myself.
Zhan Yan swiftly turned to the person beside him and asked, "Do you add salt or sugar to your tomato and egg stir-fry?"
"Huh?" The passenger beside him paused for a moment, then replied cheerfully, "Add some candy."
"I think salt makes it tastier," said Zhan Yan. "Though I haven't tried the sugar version yet."
[Wenhai District Hungry Ghost (·へ·╬) hears your words and seizes the opportunity to make you taste sweet tomato and egg stir-fry—admit it, this is the ultimate flavor!]
Wenhai District Hungry? The ghost, fed up with salty food, even thinks you're not so tasty anymore.
Zhan Yan's eyes lit up.
Burn! The belief of sweet foodies!
"The same is true of soy milk. The best soy milk is salty."
"Too sweet and greasy, and you can't stand it if you eat too much."
"Salted pork soup dumplings are fragrant, smooth and delicate."
...
In the gossip scene, Hungry Ghost's' Saltie' manifesto finally snapped him up—his sanity has mostly returned. The random text he posted has now become a meme lol!
While delivering his manifesto to the Xian Party, Yan Zhen kept tapping away on his phone.
He had the hungry ghost's hatred value locked onto himself. When the train arrived at the station, he would get off and dash to the news agency. Once the train's passenger signal was restored, he could make the call. He could have someone nearby help him contact the editor-in-chief.
As the bus was about to stop, Zhan Yan finished typing and was about to show it to a passenger beside him when the gossip system suddenly popped up with another message:
[The ghost in Wenhai District suddenly caught a whiff of an irresistibly sweet cake aroma and decided to ditch your tasteless salt addict for a delicious dessert chef.]
cake ?
Zhan Yan's face turned pale. His brother's Sweet Cake Shop was right nearby!
Without pausing to speak with the passenger beside him, Zhan Yan leapt up and dashed out of the car, frantically dialing Zhan Jinli's phone.
The number you dialed is not in service...
Why's the signal still bad? Could it be his brother's side has no signal?!
Answer the phone! Answer quickly!
Zhan Yan was frantically anxious. The station was just a stone's throw from the cake shop, and even if he called Zhen Hua now, she wouldn't make it in time. He had to get Zhan Jinli out of the shop first.
Yan Zhan knew a side path led to the cake shop's kitchen. He sprinted along it, clutching the phone's heavy dial, his chest throbbing and his mouth burning with saltiness. Never before had he felt such terror.
Answer the call! Connect to the signal!
Suddenly, a deep darkness enveloped my vision, as if I were plunged into the vast, boundless expanse of the cosmos. Within this boundless darkness, scattered starlight flickered—like supernova explosions or cosmic rays bursting forth. White, green, blue, and purple hues danced and collided, ultimately converging beneath two golden stars.
Zhan Yan stumbled, suddenly overwhelmed by a flood of information flashing before his eyes.
Through the layers of information, he spotted a half-open glass window. He had already made his way to the bakery's kitchen.
The Hungry @OεO@ Ghost from Wenhai District Visits Sweet Cake Shop...
Without hesitation, Zhan Yan climbed through the window.
The gossip system flashed before his eyes:
[...] Tasting the freshly baked experimental cake by Zhan Jinli.
[Wenhai District's Hungry Ghost (@﹏@=) starts vomiting.]
Abnormal%&* (% was vomited by the Hungry Ghost in Wenhai District.)
[A Hungry Ghost in Wenhai District Left a Last Word Before Fainting: "Too... Sweet..."]
Zhan Yan:...?
When Zhan Jinli heard commotion in the kitchen, she rushed over only to find her younger brother leaning against the wall, seemingly unsteady.
The usually quiet eldest brother hesitated, then asked hesitantly, "You... are you hypoglycemic?"
"Would you like a piece of cake?"
Zhan Yan:...!
"No, no!"
Big Brother's cake is so sweet it's almost addictive! What kind of sweetener did he use?!
Zhan Yan ran so fast that all the physical reactions he had ignored earlier—fearing something might happen to Zhan Jinli—now resurfaced.
Seeing her younger brother's lifeless appearance, Zhan Jinli silently poured half a cup of warm water into his cup. Then she took out honey, hesitantly preparing to pour it.
"Just a spoonful!" Zhan Yan gasped, struggling to speak as he stopped Zhan Jinli from filling the cup with honey. "A teaspoon!"
You have received a cup of honey water with normal sweetness.
While sipping honey water, Yan Zhan rolled her eyes at the gossip system.
The big brother thoughtfully brought him a chair.
Jian Yan slumped into the chair, gasping for breath. The 'Shang Chigua' system (a Chinese term for gossiping) automatically searched for the ghost's message. The final gossip piece lingered on the haunting words'...too...sweet,' but the bizarre content that had been spat out vanished without a trace.
The Hungry Ghost may seem harmless for now, but the real danger lies not in it, but in that cryptic error. Before encountering this glitch, it was merely a sweet tooth gourmet who enjoyed wandering around and sampling leftovers.
However, Zhan Yan couldn't search for the "abnormality" because it was a string of garbled characters. Keywords cannot be typed directly as "abnormality". For example, while "Tianshi" and "Chongming Demon King" can be typed as keywords, "human" and "demon" cannot. Similarly, "Jianping District" and "Wenhai District" work, but "district" and "earth" don't. Keywords require more specific descriptors rather than broad category terms.
In fact, if Zhan Yan hadn't previously tagged Hungry Ghost as a recommended food item and inserted garbled text into its content, he wouldn't have been able to search for it.
The garbled text cannot be searched or tagged.
It was terrifying to see such a thing roaming around nearby. Zhan Yan's sense of crisis reached its peak.
They are all ordinary people. Only he has bound himself to a system—a powerless spectator system. He must immerse himself more deeply in that extraordinary world; only then can he protect his family!
Jian Yan had barely recovered from the aftereffects of his intense running when he looked up to see his socially anxious brother staring at him with concern.
Zhan Yan gave a reassuring smile, typing quickly on his phone to show his older brother: "I'm fine."
"It was just a sudden urge to test my physical limits."
The quiet elder brother nodded slowly and typed on his phone: "I'll take you home."
Zhan Yan didn't refuse. He watched Zhan Jinli shut down the oven, gather the ingredients, and tidy the kitchen before turning off the lights. The warm, bright bakery gradually grew cold and dim, yet the cake's sweet aroma still gently enveloped him.
Zhan Yan had been running too hard earlier, and now his legs were still weak, even aching. Zhan Jinli quietly followed him, slowing down their pace until they walked as if taking a leisurely stroll.
They reached a staircase, and Zhan Yan stepped up, his face contorting slightly.
My legs are a little shaky.
Jian Jinli silently walked up to him and squatted down with her back to him.
Zhan Yan whispered softly, "No need, brother. I can walk on my own."
Jian Jinli didn't get up, but turned around and pinched his calf.
Zhan Yan cried out in pain. He had injured his running gear!
No choice, Zhan Yan lay on Zhan Jinli's back and obediently let his elder brother carry him.
Zhan Jinli's broad, sturdy back and cool body temperature stirred memories in Zhan Yan.
He was carried by Zhan Jinli when he was a child.
When he was adopted, he was still very afraid of his silent and aloof older brother. Once, when his parents and sister were away, only he and his brother Zhan Jinli remained, each staying in their own room without disturbing the other.
Zhan Yan couldn't recall the exact circumstances later. All he remembered was hiding in the wardrobe, feeling feverish and ill for no apparent reason. Meanwhile, Zhan Jinli in another room somehow found him, pulled the feverish man out of the closet, and carried him to a nearby hospital.
A fever is unbearable, but my brother's temperature remains cool. The teenager's back is gaunt, with a bone that feels like a sharp edge against your skin.
From then on, Zhan Yan never feared that taciturn elder brother again.
But it's so embarrassing to have to carry it around at this size!
Yan Zhan buried his head in his brother's back, only to be mistaken for feeling uncomfortable and lifted up again.
Zhan Yan:...
Ah ah ah, he must pick up his fitness routine after the college entrance exam PE test!
When he got home, Zhan Jinli placed his younger brother on the sofa and gently stroked his head with concern.
"I'm not running a fever," said Zhan Yan, his teeth bared in pain from a strained muscle.
Jian Jinli nodded.
His younger brother was just an ordinary person, yet he was born with an acute sensitivity to the supernatural and yin energy. As a child, he once caught a fever from a ghostly aura.
Later, Zhan Jinli secretly crafted a pendant with the Ghost King's seal for him, and once he got a mobile phone, she transformed it into a phone pendant.
When Zhan Yan burst into his cake shop, two ghosts were inside. His former subordinate, Little Ghost, was no problem—the guy had mastered the art of ghostly demeanor. But that peculiar Hungry Ghost was a different story.
After checking Zhan Yan's condition, Zhan Jinli confirmed he wasn't affected by the ghostly energy and handed him a bottle of medicinal oil.
After returning to his room, Zhan Jinli pulled out a small tin candy box from his pocket, which was filled with the hungry ghost that had broken into his cake shop.
This is the hungry ghost who was fighting for territory when the little devil came to talk to him.
It was truly bizarre. The hungry ghost took a bite of his custom-made cake and spat it out. The bizarre creature darted away so swiftly that Zhan Jinli only caught a glimpse of a mosaicism, but failed to grab it. Few creatures could escape his grasp, and this made Zhan Jinli sense an impending danger.
Under the protection of the Chongming Demon King, Yun Jinshi had lived in peace with himself. But now, for the sake of his family's safety, he might have to abandon his old ways and recruit his former followers...
But first, we must uncover the bizarre clue from this hungry ghost.
...
After his brother returned to the room, Zhan Yan activated the gossip mode.
As he was in a hurry rushing to the cake shop, the gossip system seemed to have changed. But he was too anxious to check.
The 'Gua System' is his only extraordinary ability, and protecting his family starts with this very skill.
When you reopen the Chigua system, the most noticeable change is the redesigned interface. A new 'Special Follow' section has been added next to the search bar, designed to display trending topics related to the keywords you're particularly interested in. The key benefit is that it automatically shows relevant content without requiring manual searches.
Since I haven't had time to highlight other words, this section is currently just his own gossip.
...
You have received a cup of honey water with normal sweetness.
...
Congratulations on your outstanding performance of 12 minutes and 35 seconds in the 3542.13-meter cross-window obstacle!
Well, the first feature after the upgrade is learning to tease me, right?