Chapter 234
Chapter 234
Come to think of it, had their brains stopped working before? Why had none of them thought of livestreaming? If Liu Ye became popular, the money would come pouring in!
They now knew he could not return to the village, but that did not mean he could stop earning money. Their goal remained the same: make Liu Ye enough money to move out of Rose Apartment!
“There’s one problem. I don’t have a phone. Big Brother, could you lend me one?”
“Don’t call it borrowing.”
The Driver slapped several dozen phones onto the table.
“Take them! If that’s not enough, ask your big brother for more.”
Liu Ye fell silent.
“Big Brother, aren’t you a driver? When did you start dealing in phones?”
“Your big brother is a triple-VIP customer of some Strawberry phone company. The company was almost bankrupt, but ever since he discovered that their phones are cheap and break easily, he’s been obsessed with them. Now the whole company survives on his purchases. These are sample units they sent him. Just take one,” the Old Man explained while jabbing a finger into the Shadow Fiend’s nostril.
“Big Brother, do you really go through phones that quickly? I’ve seen the Old Man use the same one for ages,” Liu Ye said in confusion.
“That old bastard is hated by dogs and humans alike. He doesn’t have as many friends as I do,” the Shadow Fiend replied, rubbing his nose.
The moment the words left his mouth, the Old Man stared at him ominously.
Soon, the Shadow Fiend’s screams sounded from the back of the room. Yellow Hair pulled Liu Ye aside and began teaching him how to use the phone.
“By the way, Old Man, which platform should we stream on?” Yellow Hair asked.
“The one I always watch!”
“The one you always watch…”
Yellow Hair opened an app on the phone.
“Big brothers, hurry into my private room…”
Thump!
The Driver punched Yellow Hair straight to the floor.
A few minutes later…
“Big Brother, why couldn’t we use that platform?” Liu Ye asked curiously.
“Children shouldn’t ask so many questions.”
The Driver glared viciously at the three disasters. The Shadow Fiend sat ramrod straight. The Old Man lowered his head with his face covered. Yellow Hair, meanwhile, wept beneath the enormous lump on his head.
I’m innocent!
In the end, the Driver chose Shark Live, the most popular streaming platform on the market. Once they had set everything up, they opened a paranormal livestream to see how such broadcasts worked.
“My friends, we’re trying something exciting tonight. You’ve all heard of the Bloody Mary game that’s been popular lately, right? They say plenty of people have already died, but I, Gangzi, was born with a hard fate. So I’m going to challenge the game! If you want to watch, send a few free gifts in the chat. Tonight, we challenge one of this world’s taboos!”
“What kind of game is that?” Liu Ye asked curiously.
“It’s a spirit-summoning game invented by people with too much time on their hands. At midnight, you light two candles beside a mirror and say ‘Bloody Mary’ three times. A woman named Bloody Mary will appear. You can ask her a question, and she will answer, but you must offer a sacrifice. I heard many people who played recently went insane.”
“It’s that powerful?” Liu Ye exclaimed.
The Fiends fell silent.
“Of course, it’s really just feudal superstition,” the Driver explained hurriedly. “In a dark and frightening environment, people constantly feed themselves psychological suggestions. The extreme mental pressure then produces hallucinations, both visual and auditory.”
“Exactly. Science can explain all of it,” Yellow Hair added. “These people are only using the game to scam money. Just follow the rules once and prove to the viewers that it’s fake.”
When Liu Ye appeared convinced, the Driver and the others sighed in relief.
On-screen, the streamer began his performance.
Gangzi entered the bathroom, closed the door, and lit two candles beside the mirror. He took out his watch. When midnight arrived, he slowly spoke to the mirror.
“Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary.”
After the third invocation, the flames of the candles beside the glass suddenly flickered.
The bathroom should have been sealed. Where had the wind come from?
“Big Brother, th-this…”
“Special effects. He may look like he entered alone, but there are actually two people inside. The other person just fanned the air. The camera simply didn’t catch him.”
“Oh, I see.”
On-screen, Gangzi’s expression changed. Comments flooded the chat, telling him to stop. He swallowed hard.
“My friends, I… I suddenly feel a little cold. I don’t know whether I should continue. Help me decide. Gangzi’s life is in your hands! If my dear viewers want me to go on, send some Rockets. Please, my family!”
Rockets streaked across the screen and exploded one after another.
Liu Ye’s mouth fell open. He had checked earlier-a single Rocket cost three thousand yuan! How many had appeared just now?
He suddenly felt that livestreaming offered excellent career prospects.
Seeing the Rockets, Gangzi chuckled inwardly. All his preparation had been worthwhile. His expression remained grave as he continued.
“My friends, since you support me this much, I’ll venture forward even if a dragon’s pool and tiger’s den await me!”
He produced a cross.
“My friends, I obtained this cross from the Great Vatican. I have a personal relationship with one of the priests there, so he gave me a batch of crosses blessed by the Lord. If any of you want one, click the link below. A Great Vatican-blessed cross can be yours for only ninety-nine yuan! First come, first served. There are only three thousand. I’m counting down-three, two, one!”
As he counted down, a pair of eyes suddenly appeared in the mirror and stared at him.
“Big Brother, that’s…”
“The principle of a two-way mirror. It’s actually one-way glass. From our current angle, we can’t see what’s behind it, but change the angle and the other side becomes visible.”
“Oh. But it’s bleeding now.”
“He sprayed colorless phenolphthalein on the mirror ahead of time. It turns red when it comes into contact with an alkaline solution.”
Liu Ye gazed at the Driver with admiration.
“Big Brother, you’re incredible.”
The Driver waved a hand, signaling Liu Ye to keep a low profile.
Under the contemptuous gazes of the Shadow Fiend and the others, he quietly closed the search-results page on the phone beneath the table.
Meanwhile, Gangzi was dumbfounded.
He had not arranged the scene before him. His plan was to finish selling the crosses, play a hidden recording of terrifying noises, then pretend to drive away the evil with his cross. That would boost sales again.
He had never expected events to take this turn.
“Xiaojun, open… open the door.”
Gangzi spoke softly to the friend behind him.
No answer came.
“Xiaojun! Xiaojun, don’t scare me!”
He no longer cared about the livestream and shouted at the top of his lungs.
Still, there was no response. He spun around, only to discover no one behind him.
At that moment, his phone rang.
The caller was Xiaojun.
“Brother Gang, where are you? Didn’t we agree to stream tonight? I’ve been waiting forever. Why haven’t you come over?”
Gangzi froze. Xiaojun had never accompanied him. Then who had entered the bathroom with him?