What else can you do with your golden finger? Just indulge it.
Jian Yan let him vent his frustration while casually estimating the speed.
Oh! You're almost up to the standard of a national athlete!
People can really burst out of their potential when they are in a state of high excitement!
After exiting the search and display panel, Zhan Yan opened the Favorites tab. This was the original section for tagged information, now expanded to include a Special Focus area corresponding to the 'Special Focus' column in the display panel.
After some research, Yan Zhan discovered that the special focus also has a limit of five people. He is currently fixed in the group, meaning he can still add four more members.
Without hesitation, Yan Zhan added his parents, siblings, and all his relatives to the list. He used to think respecting family privacy meant he'd rarely search for their names, but this incident made him realize that the gossip system could be a red flag.
Without the 'bystander alert' system, he wouldn't have known he was being watched by the Hungry Ghosts, dying without even realizing it. This special monitoring feature ensures that if his family members encounter danger, he can be notified even without phone communication.
But the biggest change is the information disk.
The deep universe becomes the background, with six columns floating in front. Two columns are at the top, three in the middle, and one at the bottom.
The top two columns are 'Spirit' and 'Domain', the middle three are 'Ability', 'Organization', and 'Things', while the bottom column is 'Abnormal'.
In the "Spirit" column, the top row displays two golden words: "Celestial Master" and "Chongming Demon King". Below them, the information words in purple, blue, green, and white are listed in sequence, representing humans, demons, and ghosts—all beings with souls.
The sub-sections of the domain list various place terms, while the remaining four sub-sections similarly categorize information terms.
The recent upgrade to the gossip-tracking system seems to have sorted out the various mixed-up information tags.
But Zhan Yan felt that it was not only that.
After a careful observation, he noticed a slender energy slot appearing on each category bar, with varying levels of energy stored in each slot. The 'Spirit' category bar displayed a glowing star above its energy slot, indicating full capacity, while the 'Ability' category bar showed a gray, unlit star symbol.
Zhan Yan touched the glowing star, and his screen instantly flooded with messages again.
Jian Yan covered his eyes, but the chaotic stream of information kept flowing before his eyes.
How did this information stream appear in front of him earlier?
He was terrified his brother might be eaten by hungry ghosts, clutching the phone with his heart racing for the connection signal, connection signal...
" bell ~~~~~"
A phone screen suddenly popped up in the feed, showing a call to Zhan Jinli.
In the room, Zhan Jinli stuffed the Hungry Ghosts into the metal box, then hesitantly answered the call from his phone: "...Hello?"
Jian Yan suddenly snapped back to reality: "It's okay, bro. I accidentally dialed the wrong number. Let's hang up."
He hung up the phone, blinked, and the stream of information before him faded away.
The phone had no record of him calling Zhan Jinli, but he had indeed called his brother earlier. Through... the gossip system.
A line of text appears below the star:
Times are evolving, technology is advancing. Stay ahead with your tools! A system built for life, no less powerful than humans!
Oh, the cow!
Zhan Yan's eyes lit up as he began to try.
He discovered this ability extends beyond phone calls, WeChat, web pages, or even radio. Guided by his will, he can connect to any platform in the world through information.
The prerequisite is knowing the other party's phone number—much like how he must think of calling his brother to reach Zhan Jinli's phone. Only by identifying a platform and searching specifically can he connect; otherwise, he'll be lost in the endless stream of information.
What he's most eager to connect with now is, of course, the' Super Forum'.
But Zhan Yan didn't attempt to connect directly. Instead, he rushed to Zhan Jinli's room and retrieved his brother's phone. When he checked the call logs, the system showed no record of the call he had just made.
"Bro, did you get my call just now?" He typed on his phone to show his brother.
Jian Jinli nodded, puzzled by his younger brother's perplexed behavior.
"No problem, it's my classmate's secret code program. Let me give it a try," Zhan Yan said nonchalantly.
The former Ghost King, who barely understood human technology, and the socially anxious brother who hadn't yet realized his younger sibling had mastered deception, were easily fooled.
Zhan Jinli nodded in agreement and typed a message to Zhan Yan: 'Feel free to try.'
Zhan Yan felt a little guilty.
This is the function of the little grey star.
A true gossip won't let themselves be turned into gossip! You're encrypted now!
This way, he won't fear being traced back.
He had come to understand that the key to this upgrade lay in information categorization. Before categorization, he would have had to accumulate enough information words indefinitely to unlock the upgrade capability. With categorization, the accumulation and upgrade capacity were split into six parts, allowing him to gain minor abilities early without needing to fully complete the process—a highly practical solution.
After Zhan Yan left, Zhan Jinli released the hungry ghost from the tin candy box.
He snapped his fingers. The unconscious hungry ghost awoke: "I'll never eat sweet again! Salt lovers are the best!"
Jian Jinli:?
Jian Yan, dragging his injured leg, returned to his room. In the hallway, he happened to meet his sister Jian Sui Ru, who was heading home.
Zhan Nairu stared at him with a grin, "What's wrong with you?"
"I accidentally strained my leg while running."
Zhan Sui Ru, who was not very fond of his younger brother, laughed at him.
Zhan Yan angrily accused her, "If I ever have a juicy story, I won't ask you to share it with me again!"
Zhan Nairu pulled out a bottle of medicinal oil and said, "This works better than the medicine we have at home."
Zhan Yan retreated to his room, deciding to first apply the ointment before delving into the melon-eating system. The herbal oil Zhan Sui Ru had given him carried a subtle grassy fragrance, warming his legs as he applied it. After a few gentle movements, the soreness eased, though the pain still lingered. What a remarkable medicine!
Now that he could access the Super Forum with his newfound abilities, he didn't need to rush to reveal his identity to Zhen Hua. He had neither leads nor evidence about the mysterious cryptic entity, and the gossip system's content couldn't be shared publicly. His account remained unverified, relying solely on his own words.
While applying medicine, Yan Jian glanced at the melon again. The Hungry Ghost label still glowed, proving it hadn't died—only temporarily knocked out by his brother's cake.
After waking up, the Hungry Ghost declared to the former Ghost King that he would never be a sweetie again, having become a staunch savory lover.
Zhan Yan: Is his brother's cake really that powerful?
But why would Hungry Ghost reveal his preference for salty food to the former Ghost King? Could it be that the former Ghost King himself is also a salty food lover?
What exactly is 'Former Ghost King'? This new purple term, like 'craftsman,' was dragged into the information disk by Zhan Yan, who also let his imagination run wild. Could this be the former Ghost King? Or is there a 'Future Ghost King'? If so, would they be a sweetie?
After applying the ointment, Zhan Yan tried to access the Chao Fan Forum. Direct access was tricky. He knew too little about the forum to pinpoint it accurately. But wasn't it easy to learn about the Chao Fan Forum?
Yan Yan exited the feed, opened the search bar, and typed the keyword "Chaofan Forum".
The internet celebrity 'Bai Mao Zui Shuai' (White Hair is the Cutest) was banned from posting for ten days after flooding the Super Forum's task board with ten marriage ads.
A high-activity forum user named 'Craftsman' resumed forum activity using a secondary account after being banned for three days by Chao Fan Forum. He was subsequently banned again for three days following a heated argument with 'Tianshi's haters'.
The user 'Not Happy Without CP' was permanently banned by the administrator for creating a 'Tian Shi' and 'Chongming Demon King' fanfiction in the spam section of Chao Fan Forum.
"Laozi just saved the world!" was forced to log out after being banned for over 2 hours on the Super Forum for using the youth mode without real-name verification.
...
Gu Jiancheng stared at the teen mode on his phone screen and couldn't help but glare at it, letting out a sharp scolding.
When did Super Forum launch its teen mode? Who's crazy for doing this?!
On the Super Forum, people often post about clearing abnormal tasks. Since the All-Knowing One isn't up to the task, Gu Jiancheng decides to go it alone.
However, as a fugitive wanted by the abnormal transaction management system, Gu Jiancheng was naturally unverified.
Pseudo-teen Gu Jiancheng glared fiercely at the forum interface. After a moment, he logged out and opened WeChat:
Yan Yan, you're off work now~
Zhan Yan turned off the gossip mode, opened WeChat, and replied: "Off work."
Gu Jiancheng stared at his phone, waiting for Zhan Yan to share his first day at work.
One minute passed, two minutes passed, three minutes passed...
Gu Jiancheng snapped at his phone, which remained completely silent.
Yanyan, it's your first day at work. How's it going? [Mao Mao peeks out]
Zhan Yan reflected on his day at Zhenke News Agency: The job was easy with good pay, and best of all, it was perfect for feeding the 'bystander system' with keywords—making it the ultimate training ground. The upgraded system's ability to connect information streams was thanks to the new keywords he'd gathered during work. Later, he got to experience being targeted by hungry ghosts, facing life-or-death challenges, and upgrading his golden finger.
Zhan Yan replied, "It was really exciting."
Gu Jiancheng:?
"What kind of job is that?"
After a moment's thought, Yan Jin replied, "What do you think?"
"If you guess right, you can find me."
Gu Jiancheng stared at the line of characters, his hair bristling and pupils widening with excitement.
Finding Zhan Yan's location was a piece of cake for him. Yet the young man had never disclosed his home address. Though appearing gentle and occasionally blunt, Zhan Yan was in fact a razor-sharp observer. Had Gu Jiancheng tried to act like a casual acquaintance after verifying the address, Zhan Yan would have seen through the ruse. That's why he'd always kept a low profile, posing as an ordinary person.
But now Yan Yan wants him to find himself.
Like... a hunting invitation.
Yayan wasn't exactly a target, but Gu Jiancheng couldn't help feeling excited about it.
The shadow beneath him undulated like a vast expanse of water. The creature, consumed by the force, struggled desperately yet could only stir faint ripples. The hunter had lost interest in it. Gu Jiancheng sat cross-legged on the shadow, his pale, slender fingers tapping the screen of his phone.
"Is this an invitation?"
The screen's dim light illuminated his face, his tiny pupils fixed intently on the reply.
Zhan Yan slumped lazily on the sofa, his freshly ointed legs resting on the armrest. The warm glow of the pendant lamp dispelled the darkness outside, casting his delicate features in a soft, almost luminous light.
"I give you the clue, you guess."
Jian Yan propped his face with one hand while tapping the screen with his thumb: "No cheating allowed."
Gu Jiancheng: "What's the clue for today?"
"This job is in short supply."
Zhan Yan smiled faintly and said, "There's only one month left in the summer vacation. Keep it up!"
Gu Jiancheng was considerate and measured in his presence, yet that was only part of him. Like a cake layered with secrets, the innermost layer held the most profound revelations, each layer offering unexpected delights.
Yan likes secrets.
As if sensing his desire to end the call, a message popped up in the chat window instantly.
Gu Jiancheng: "There's more!"
Zhan Yan sighed.
A clingy boyfriend.
He dialed the voice:
" good night ."
sing .