"In a little garden, I dig and I dig..."
Facing the phone's camera, Qiao An skillfully dug at the dirt with a shovel. A headlamp was strapped to her forehead; if she weren't live-streaming, you'd think she was up to no good.
Huffing and puffing, Qiao An finally stopped her work, wiped the sweat from her brow, and pulled out a treasure map to show the camera.
"Hey, babies. Based on my new survey map, there's bound to be a huge score here today!"
The number of viewers in her stream was pitifully low, with only a few bored, die-hard fans supporting Qiao An's grand treasure-hunting enterprise.
[An'an, wifey, take my advice. The odds of digging up treasure on the outskirts of the city are lower than winning the lottery...]
[My girl, you're working so hard! Mommy will wipe your sweat for you. Mommy believes you'll find your very own treasure sooner or later!]
[What kind of stream is this? Digging in the middle of the night? Do you have a permit?]
Seeing a few familiar usernames made Qiao An flash a sweet smile. She shouldered her shovel, full of energy, and said, "Don't you worry, everyone. I spent the day going through all sorts of documents, using divination and mapping to determine that there's definitely something good here. Go ahead and click that follow button! A Treasure Hunter, live and online, looking for treasure. The real deal, guaranteed!"
In reality, Qiao An didn't know the first thing about drawing survey maps or the arts of feng shui. The only reason she was here today, digging a hole for treasure, was because of her identity as an interstellar beast tamer—she could understand the language of all species.
She had been sleeping soundly when a group of mice knocked on her window, squeaking excitedly—'Big score, come quick!'
Qiao An hadn't yet dug up what this "big score" was, but according to a clue from a certain big, fat mouse, someone had buried something good here yesterday. They had all seen it with their own eyes, rushed to the city overnight to deliver the message, and guaranteed it was true!
Overjoyed, Qiao An had grabbed her phone, shouldered her shovel, and come right over. What else could she do? Other than having brute strength and the ability to understand Beast Language, she was all alone and flat broke on this strange planet, Blue Star.
Relying on her brute strength, Qiao An kept digging, occasionally looking up to interact with the viewers in her live chat. The moment she paused to take a break, the chat exploded, and a flood of new viewers poured into the stream.
[WTF, WTF, what did I just see...]
[My girl, my girl, stop digging! I think I see two fingers!]
[What kind of stream is this? You'd dare to live-stream burying a body? Are criminals this brazen nowadays?]
[Just chasing clout. I've already called the police!]
[This streamer took it too far. She probably wanted to put on a little show but didn't expect someone to take it seriously and actually call the cops...]
As Qiao An wondered what everyone was talking about, she glanced down into the deep pit, and her heart sank.
"Damn! What the hell is this?"
Outside the range of the phone's camera, a group of small mice was discussing excitedly.
"Master, this is the big score! It's delicious. A few more days of fermenting, and it'll be enough to feed us for months."
The fattest one, the Mouse King, couldn't wait and leaped into the pit. It started pawing at the dirt, ready to feast, only to be snatched up by Qiao An.
"Get lost! You'll eat anything, won't you? Do you have a death wish?!"
These wild mice lived in the wilderness, mostly surviving on carrion. In their eyes, there was no difference between a rotting human and a rotting animal—both were delicious.
At a loss for words, Qiao An looked at the Mouse King dangling from her hand, then at the non-stop flood of comments in her stream's chat, and felt even worse.
"Since you've already called the police, I'll just wait here quietly for them to show up. The specific address is XX District, about a mile off the national highway on the city's outskirts..."
After saying that, Qiao An, who was so exhausted she felt like a limp noodle, simply lay down on the ground and didn't move. Every now and then, she'd pull a small cracker from her pocket to nibble on, feeding the remaining crumbs to the Mouse King, who was still squeaking and cursing at her nonstop.
The rebellious Mouse King stood brazenly on Qiao An's stomach, sharing the cracker with her.
Qiao An, who just wanted to lie flat and give up, forgot to end her live stream. She didn't notice its rocketing popularity or the constant influx of new viewers.
[My girl, don't give up! At least you dug something up this time. That's worth encouraging!]
[Damn, isn't she scared? Just lying there next to it?]
[Did you guys notice? That big mouse is pretty fat...]
[Sigh, I've been single for too long. Even that mouse is starting to look handsome and intelligent.]
When the wailing police cars arrived, this was the scene that greeted them: under a high-hanging moon at the foot of a desolate mountain, a young woman with a round, girlish face lay beside a dirt pit. A huge mouse was standing on her flat stomach, nibbling on a cracker, while she chewed on something herself.
A closer look revealed a stiff finger sticking out from the pit, a pale accusation against the absurdity of the scene.
Standing by his police car, Mu Zimo, the captain of the criminal investigation team, watched for a moment before crooking his finger. An officer immediately came forward, helped Qiao An up, and began questioning her.
"Uh, I don't know anything. I'm just a streamer who came here to hunt for treasure, and then I dug... this up," Qiao An said, pointing to the guy in the pit. She tried her best to explain, "Officer, I'm a law-abiding citizen! Other than eating a bit too much, I'm completely normal."
'This young woman who "only eats a bit too much" seemed anything but normal. What kind of decent person digs a hole in the middle of nowhere at night?'
Mu Zimo didn't want to waste time. He stated his identity directly and said, "I'll have to ask you to come back to the station with us to give a statement. You'll need to explain the situation clearly to be cleared of suspicion. I hope you'll cooperate."
Cradling the Mouse King in her palm, Qiao An sighed but could only nod in agreement. Finally, she gave the Mouse King's ear a disgruntled pinch with her fingers before setting him down.
The Mouse King squeaked in displeasure, hopping up and down as it cursed, "You ungrateful woman! I shared this great score with you, and you called the police! How are we going to solve our food problem now? How are my subjects supposed to survive the winter?"
Not wanting to reveal her ability, Qiao An pulled various small snacks from her pockets. One by one, the little critters shouldered their provisions and marched away proudly in a long procession behind their Mouse King.
Qiao An, on the other hand, obediently got into the police car. She didn't forget to remind Mu Zimo, shouting, "Officer, please bring my streaming phone! That's the most valuable thing I own!"
Qiao An, a member of the Beast Taming Clan People from the N91 Nebula, had died during a wormhole crossing but had unexpectedly awoken on Blue Star. The original owner of this body was already dead, yet its genetic sequence was a perfect match for her own.
Deciding to make the best of her situation, Qiao An chose to continue living on Blue Star. However, she never expected that human life would be so difficult. With no formal education and no skills to speak of besides understanding Beast Language, she could only rely on live-streaming to earn meager donations and barely scrape by.
It was these kind-hearted little animals who, from time to time, passed on news and clues that had helped her make a small name for herself as a professional Treasure Hunter. At least for the past few years, she'd been able to eat her fill.
'Who knew that this time, on a live stream, she wouldn't dig up any RMB, but would dig up pieces of a person!'
'Tragic. This is just too tragic. Finding a job is too hard, and supporting myself is even harder...'