Lin Jingyun usually loves keeping things clean. No matter how busy she is, she always finds time to manage the household chores.
But recently, she has been in a state of constant tension and unease. The living room has accumulated a thick layer of dust.
Lin Jingyun wore a thick coat, sweating profusely but not caring, as if it was the only thing that gave her a sense of security.
She didn’t care how strangers felt about the mess in her house. “Sorry, I really don’t have the energy to clean up. If you’re thirsty, you can get water from the dispenser over there.”
She pointed to the water dispenser not far away and then quickly returned to the main topic, “You said you’re special officers, but what exactly do you handle?”
She still hadn’t fully believed what these two strangers were saying.
But she didn’t know what else to do.
Tian Ze, familiar with the procedure, said to Lin Jingyun, “Here’s the situation: a month ago, you called the police saying you heard a doll laughing, but no one else heard it. You even recorded it, right?”
Lin Jingyun nodded silently, recalling the incident with fear. She answered with difficulty, “Yes, but no one else could hear the laughter.”
“Do you still have that recording?” Xu Dongyou asked quietly.
Lin Jingyun looked up, her pale and haggard face still full of fear, and nodded, “Yes.”
She went to her bedroom, took out her phone, found the recording, and played it. In the quiet room, only the muffled voices of store staff could be heard.
Xu Dongyou and Tian Ze both used their spiritual energy to heighten their sensitivity to the unknown, though it wasn’t very effective.
At the same time, Xu Dongyou activated his heightened senses, listening carefully to the faint sounds in the recording.
Suddenly, a strange, abrupt laugh echoed: “Hehehe.”
Lin Jingyun’s hands trembled, and she looked at Xu Dongyou and Tian Ze in terror, “Did you hear it? That’s the laugh.”
Her breathing was rapid, her mind seemed to return to that moment. It was broad daylight, and besides the staff, there were other customers in the store. Yet, no one else could see the doll dressed in red, with blood-red eyes staring at her!!
She felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar, her fingertips cold, fear engulfing her reason and thoughts like darkness.
As the recording ended, Lin Jingyun clutched her phone, her fingertips white, desperately seeking a lifeline, “Did you hear it?”
She was eager to know that she wasn’t the only one in the world who could hear this sound.
Tian Ze didn’t speak and instead looked at Xu Dongyou.
This wasn’t his area of expertise.
Lin Jingyun followed Tian Ze’s gaze to Xu Dongyou, her eyes full of hope and anxiety.
Xu Dongyou nodded, his expression serious, “I heard the laugh.”
But all he heard was the laugh.
Unlike the previous encounter with that resentful spirit, which made him feel extremely uncomfortable as if his very soul was rejecting it, Xu Dongyou only heard the laugh in this recording without any additional feelings.
When it came to ghosts, Xu Dongyou would feel a chill throughout his body, while strange fish would give him an instant sense of danger and a feeling of disgust.
However, this audio only contained the laughter and nothing else. He wasn’t sure if this was because it was recorded through a phone, or if the audio itself didn’t carry any malice.
Lin Jingyun didn’t know how to describe her feelings at this moment. First, she felt disbelief, then excitement, and finally, fear.
This meant she had indeed encountered something strange, which explained why only she could see and hear it.
“Does this mean the doll is haunting me?” Lin Jingyun asked, terrified and at a loss, pinning her hopes on the two who claimed to be special officers.
Tian Ze’s expression remained calm, though he still looked intimidating. He said briefly, “We are here specifically to deal with this matter. Don’t be too nervous.”
Lin Jingyun took a deep breath, trying to calm herself before saying, “As long as you can solve this problem, I will fully cooperate with you. By the way, I have a few more videos. I recorded the doll bear at the time.”
She showed the videos to the two men.
Tian Ze couldn’t see the doll bear in the video, so Xu Dongyou described it to him.
Lin Jingyun nodded beside them, no longer doubting their identities. After all, they could claim to hear the laugh, but they couldn’t fabricate the contents of the video out of thin air, especially the part where the doll bear turned its head.
Tian Ze frowned after hearing the description but said nothing.
At first glance, it seemed like the work of a resentful spirit, but it didn’t quite fit. And it didn’t fully align with a paranormal event either.
Interesting.
Lin Jingyun felt even more anxious seeing Tian Ze frowning without speaking.
Xu Dongyou quickly reassured her, “Ms. Lin, don’t be too nervous. We have something we want to discuss with you.”
Lin Jingyun responded quickly, “Go ahead.”
Xu Dongyou recited, “We are part of the Anomaly Handling Bureau, an official organization that handles all abnormal events.”
This impressive-sounding statement left Lin Jingyun momentarily stunned. “So?”
Xu Dongyou continued, “Our department aims to educate the public about unusual events through live broadcasts. Don’t worry, your identity and all information will be kept confidential during the broadcast.”
He then explained the functionality of the cameras developed by their department, trying to ease Lin Jingyun’s concerns as much as possible.
After hearing everything, Lin Jingyun felt that the possibility of these two being scammers had increased. However, she also thought that they had no reason to deceive her under the pretense of a live broadcast, so she gritted her teeth and nodded in agreement.
Xu Dongyou secretly breathed a sigh of relief and looked at her sincerely, saying, “Thank you for your cooperation.”
His eyes were pure and filled with goodwill, which slightly eased Lin Jingyun’s tension.
Next, Xu Dongyou took a small box out of his pocket, pulled out a live streaming camera from it, and pressed the switch to start it.
The silver camera looked small and delicate. Under the gaze of the three, it slowly rose and then suddenly disappeared from sight.
Lin Jingyun was stunned and couldn’t help but look around the living room several times, still seeing nothing. There wasn’t even the typical buzzing sound of a machine.
It all seemed like an illusion.
The live broadcast began.
Immediately, the staff of the Anomaly Handling Bureau, who were always monitoring the official live channel, started working and notified the platform’s CEO.
Upon receiving the notification, the CEO quickly instructed the person in charge to announce the live broadcast on Weibo.
【The official live channel is now live! Those following can join the live stream at www.xxxx.com】
The first reaction of the netizens following the platform’s official Weibo account was to comment, and then enter the live room.
【Is the official channel finally going to start broadcasting?】
【I’m going to watch the live stream. If it’s a scam, I’m unfollowing!】
【Seriously, it took half a month to start promoting this? Your company’s PR department isn’t doing a good job!】
【Lol, they should have started the live channel when it was trending. It seems a bit late now.】
【Whatever it is, I’m going to watch the live stream. Bye.】
【I’m going to check it out too.】
The comments quickly quieted down.
The CEO wiped the sweat off his forehead and clicked on the official live link.
He was also curious about what would appear in this official live channel.
Within just a minute, hundreds of viewers flooded into the quiet official live channel. The background of the live broadcast was a living room, with two men and one woman sitting separately.
The viewers were momentarily stunned.
Then, one viewer suddenly noticed something very strange and immediately posted the first comment.
【Hey, take a closer look at the faces of these three people. It’s so scary; it feels like I’ve seen their faces, but I can’t remember what they look like.】
【That’s true! What’s going on? How did they do this? Is there an admin who can explain?】
【This is creepy.】
【Maybe it’s some new technology. Didn’t they have hyper-realistic effects in a live stream recently?】
【I’m more curious about what this live stream is about. Why does it feel so bizarre?】
【Curious+ 1】
Living room.
Although the live streaming camera had become invisible, Xu Dongyou, who was connected to it, could still sense its location.
He took a deep breath, trying to perform well for his first live broadcast, and then spoke to the camera, “Hello everyone, welcome to the live stream brought to you by the Anomaly Handling Bureau in collaboration with the government. The purpose is to educate the public about abnormal events. Please watch the live stream civilly and avoid spreading rumors or panic.”
After delivering his lines, Xu Dongyou pointed to Tian Ze next to him, saying, “This is the captain of our squad, and I am one of the team members.”
The camera slightly adjusted to focus on Tian Ze.
However, viewers noticed that they still couldn’t clearly see the faces of the people in the broadcast. It was as if they could perceive every expression, including the movement of the eyes and eyebrows, but couldn’t make out their appearances.
What confused and intrigued the audience the most was the long explanation Xu Dongyou had just given.
【Anomaly Handling Bureau in collaboration with the government? Isn’t that a bit over the top? Aren’t you afraid the authorities will come after your platform?】
【This might be the shortest live stream I’ve watched because it’s probably going to get shut down soon.】
【But I still don’t get why we can’t clearly see the host’s face or the others’ faces.】
【Does ‘educating the public about abnormal events’ mean something like that weird fish attacking a boat on your platform a few days ago? Are you trying to make a series out of it?】
【Lol, maybe it is a series. They’ve got movie-level special effects; it could be like watching a movie.】
【But what if ordinary people take this seriously? Wouldn’t that cause public panic?】
【Yeah, some people who don’t follow the news might really believe these live streams. Seriously, this isn’t the way to go if you’re trying to get famous.】
Xu Dongyou couldn’t see the live comments, which might only be possible in the upcoming version 3.0.
Lin Jingyun was still in shock and struggled to find her voice, “Just now, how did that thing suddenly disappear? And are you really live-streaming right now?”
Xu Dongyou thought for a moment before answering, “This is a technology developed by the Bureau. As for whether we’re live, you should be able to see it on Weibo.”
He fiddled with his phone, found the latest post from the platform’s official Weibo account, and clicked on the link, where the screen showed himself and Tian Ze sitting on the couch.
Comments were scrolling across the screen.
【I’m watching the streamer watch himself in the live stream.】
【This passerby is so realistic. Another actor with excellent skills, it’s a shame he’s not in movies.】
Tian Ze glanced at the comments and couldn’t help but click his tongue but said nothing.
Xu Dongyou handed the phone to Lin Jingyun and said, “See, this is our live streaming platform in collaboration with the government.”
Lin Jingyun glanced at the comments and suddenly felt that these two might actually be scammers. However, remembering that Xu Dongyou could see the doll bear in the video, she pretended not to see the comments suggesting it was fake. Meanwhile, a few new viewers joined, bewildered and commenting on why they couldn’t remember the streamer’s face.
Lin Jingyun was stunned and looked closely at Xu Dongyou and herself in the live stream, realizing it was true. Although she could see their expressions, she couldn’t remember their faces.
The comments continued.
【But seriously, that guy in the green jacket is really good-looking, even though I’ll forget what he looks like in a second.】
【+1】
【The other guy looks a bit scary; casting him was a mistake.】
【Agreed.】
【The girl is also quite pretty.】
Tian Ze: “???”
What did he do to deserve that!
