INHA Chapter 59

This time, no matter how much Tian Haomiao didn’t want to believe it, he had to admit one thing: the woman who had once captivated him was very likely not human!

At this moment, he didn’t dare get off the bed. He quickly pulled his legs back and tried to maintain his composure as he asked, “What do you want?”

She had already sat up from her lying position, gripping the bedsheet, her eerie gaze still locked onto Tian Haomiao. Her pale hand slowly moved to her phone, and she began typing again.

Immediately after, Tian Haomiao’s phone chimed once more.

By now, even he wasn’t too slow to realize what was happening. It seemed this woman couldn’t speak and could only communicate with him through the phone. Trembling, he picked up his phone and glanced at the message.

【First Meeting】: When… will you start releasing songs so more people can hear them?

Tian Haomiao, shaking, hurriedly replied, “I’ll do it as soon as possible, just give me a month—I promise—”

Her expression grew even more malevolent as she slowly crawled forward, her movements accompanied by the unsettling sound of bones creaking.

The sound instantly reminded Tian Haomiao of a terrifying movie he had once seen. Panicking, he quickly said, “Two weeks!”

She continued crawling closer.

Desperate, Tian Haomiao shouted, “One week! One week! I really only need one week!”

The bone-creaking movements suddenly stopped. Summoning all his courage, Tian Haomiao lifted his head and saw her still staring intently at him. Her body, defying all logic, began slowly retracting under the bed until she disappeared completely.

Ding.

The phone chimed again, startling Tian Haomiao into a scream. He quickly grabbed his phone. Fortunately, this time the message wasn’t from her. It was from his assistant, Xiao Fei.

【Xiao Fei】: Brother Tian, why didn’t you lock your door? Where are you?

Tian Haomiao let out a huge sigh of relief. He didn’t dare look under the bed again, fearing he might see her, and quickly sent a message to Xiao Fei, saying he’d be back home right away.

He didn’t want to stay in that hotel any longer.

After quickly checking out, he drove back home. Xiao Fei was tidying up the house. When he saw Tian Haomiao return, he was about to greet him, but the sight of Tian Haomiao’s pale and tired face startled him. Worried, he asked, “Brother Tian, you look terrible. Are you feeling unwell?”

Tian Haomiao couldn’t possibly admit that he might have been haunted by a ghost, who was now forcing him to release an album. What kind of crazy situation was that?

He didn’t know if “she” was still under the bed, so he was too scared to sleep alone. Wiping his face in exhaustion, he said to Xiao Fei, “It’s nothing, just didn’t sleep well last night. After you’re done cleaning, just stay in the guest room tonight. Don’t go home.”

Xiao Fei, being a male assistant, had no issue staying over. Besides, this wasn’t his first time spending the night at Tian Haomiao’s place, so he didn’t find it strange and nodded, “Alright.”

It was a sleepless night.

Tian Haomiao didn’t manage to fall asleep until near dawn. He didn’t dare close his bedroom door or even turn over, fearing that the woman under the bed might get upset and crawl out again.

When Xiao Fei glanced into the bedroom the next morning, he tiptoed downstairs to buy breakfast. Upon returning, he was almost startled out of his wits because Tian Haomiao was standing at the doorway, staring straight ahead with dark circles under his eyes.

“Brother Tian, what are you doing standing there? You scared me.”

Tian Haomiao asked, “Where did you go?”

Xiao Fei raised his hand, showing the breakfast he’d brought. “I just went to get some breakfast. Brother Tian, you need to eat something for your stomach.”

Tian Haomiao quietly exhaled in relief. He found a spot to sit down, his head pounding from lack of sleep, leaving him with little energy to talk. But he forced himself to stay alert. “You’ll be staying here with me for a while. I need to write songs, and I won’t have time to take care of myself.”

“Of course, Brother Tian.” Xiao Fei nodded, feeling secretly pleased. This meant that Brother Tian trusted him more, otherwise, why wouldn’t he ask any of the other assistants?

Plus, staying over meant extra pay for overtime, so it was a win-win.

After finishing his meal, Tian Haomiao headed to his music room to start writing songs. He knew he had to find a way to write the lead single within three days, record it, and finish producing the entire album within seven days to release it on the music app.

He hoped that once he completed the task, that woman would leave him alone for good.

All the feelings he once had for her were completely gone now; he only wished she would disappear from his life forever. He deeply regretted ever approaching her in the first place.

If he hadn’t, none of this would have happened.

But it was too late for regrets. The only thing he could do now was to release the album as quickly as possible and put an end to this nightmare.

Strangely enough, perhaps because of the pressure and the ominous presence of the woman under his bed, Tian Haomiao ended up writing several high-quality songs in those three days. One of them, inspired by the events he was experiencing, was a dark song that seemed to carry a mysterious power. After it was produced, it had an almost magical quality that resonated deeply, touching both the heart and soul of anyone who listened to it.

The company was highly optimistic about this song and decided to make it the lead single of the album. Keeping the seven-day deadline in mind, Tian Haomiao urged the company to quickly upload some of the songs for early public listening.

This would help generate interest in the album and attract attention to the other tracks.

The company agreed that Tian Haomiao’s suggestion was practical. Soon, three songs, including the lead single, were uploaded to the most prominent domestic music platform. After just one day of promotion, the lead single skyrocketed into the top ten of the best-selling charts at an astonishing speed.

Many companies and artists were stunned. Initially, the song seemed ordinary, but it had an addictive quality that made listeners want to hear it again. On the second listen, it revealed a uniquely captivating depth.

This song resonated with the inner worlds of its listeners.

It was an unusual yet extraordinary song, and it was no wonder it climbed the charts so quickly. With a little more time, it could even break into the top three.

Perhaps it might even reach the number one spot.

Other artists, relieved that they hadn’t started promoting their own work yet, hurriedly had their companies adjust their release schedules to avoid clashing with this month.

On the seventh day after the song’s release, Tian Haomiao dismissed the other assistants from the room. Summoning all his courage, he sent a message to the woman, informing her that the song had been released and that many people were now listening to it.

He then cautiously asked if she could leave.

A few seconds later, she replied.

【First Meeting】: Okay.

Tian Haomiao let out a sigh of relief, nearly brought to tears. But he still felt uneasy, so he slowly approached the bed. Gathering all his courage, he lifted the bed sheet, revealing nothing but an empty, pitch-black space underneath.

She wasn’t under the bed.

It seemed she had really left!

Tian Haomiao finally relaxed, sinking onto the floor with relief. After sitting for about half an hour, he stood up and decided to order a big meal to celebrate. All the setbacks he had faced before seemed insignificant now—he was looking forward to a bright future.

Success, the status of a top-tier singer—it was all within his reach.

He had never felt as happy as he did that day. He even gave the other assistants a bonus, and everyone was thrilled, congratulating him with cheerful words.

They all thought Tian Haomiao was celebrating because his song had made it into the top ten.

Time passed quietly, and he gradually started to forget about the whole ordeal. However, he developed a small habit—he couldn’t sleep alone anymore. He needed someone in the room next to him to feel safe.

Now, however, these people were coming to him with strange occurrences, even demonstrating something that looked like magic.

The fear and unease that had once faded away began to creep back. Trembling, Tian Haomiao asked, “Is this really not some kind of magic trick?”

He still couldn’t believe it, and he didn’t want to believe it.

After all, he had fulfilled his agreement with her, and she hadn’t appeared in a long time. Tian Haomiao didn’t want to bring up the issue again, fearing it might draw her back.

Xu Dongyou thought for a moment and decided to reveal part of what he knew. “Actually, we came to you because of that song you released. It seems to possess a very strange power.”

Tian Haomiao steadied himself and responded, “That’s not some strange power. It’s simply because the song resonates deeply with people, creating a unique reaction. That’s perfectly normal. Some songs can make people cry when they hear them; mine touches the soul. What’s wrong with that?”

His reasoning was logical and made perfect sense, leaving no room for argument.

“But no matter how moving a song is, it shouldn’t make over ninety percent of listeners cry. Yet your song has done just that. Doesn’t that indicate there’s something more to it?” Yan Jingnan added, providing data to back up his point.

Tian Haomiao was at a loss for words. He had noticed this phenomenon himself—everyone who heard the song seemed to be deeply affected. The percentage was indeed unusually high.

“But what does that prove?” Tian Haomiao asked.

Xu Dongyou realized it might be time to lay all the cards on the table with Mr. Tian.

Given the scope of the situation, it was urgent to address the malevolent force before more people were harmed. Based on current estimates, tens of thousands of people might have already listened to Tian Haomiao’s song.

Moreover, in just the past few minutes, Xu Dongyou noticed that the gray mist shrouding Tian Haomiao—the one that seemed to be connected to the malevolent entity—had thickened.

This led Xu Dongyou to a troubling suspicion. He quickly stood up and, under the curious and puzzled gazes of the others, walked over to Yan Jingnan, whispering a few words to him.

Yan Jingnan looked shocked and uncertain, but then nodded and quickly pulled out his phone, working on it for a moment. Finally, with a grave expression, he said to Xu Dongyou, “Your suspicion was correct. Just now, three people listened to the song. I traced their location to a nearby music program where they were testing the song. At the time, only the director and two other staff members were in the room.”

He even pulled up a video to show Xu Dongyou.

“Is there a way to handle this?” Xu Dongyou asked quietly.

Tian Haomiao’s hit song was restricted from downloading and could only be streamed online. The website had already been temporarily shut down, leaving the music program as the only place with the complete song for editing and broadcasting to the audience.

Yan Jingnan didn’t respond verbally, but a confident smile crept onto his face, which Xu Dongyou understood as a positive answer.

“What are you two whispering about?” Tian Haomiao began to lose patience.

Xu Dongyou sat back down and said to Tian Haomiao with great seriousness, “Mr. Tian, I didn’t want to tell you this at first because I was afraid it might scare you, but the situation has become quite troublesome, and I need your cooperation.”

“What are you talking about? I’m only listening to you because of Feng Ge, but isn’t this a bit too much?” Tian Haomiao was already considering having his assistants ask these people to leave. However, he was reluctant to give up the opportunity to work with Zhang Feng, such a top-notch manager.

Zhang Feng remained silent, curious about what Xu Dongyou would say next that might convince Tian Haomiao to cooperate with them.

Xu Dongyou glanced at the resentful spirit behind Tian Haomiao. It was still in its previous position, lying on top of him. The black mist around it swirled, making it hard to see anything clearly except for the head. However, it seemed like it was holding something, possibly a phone?

Xu Dongyou hesitated, then looked back at the ghost’s face. Unfortunately, it was obscured by hair, only parts of its eyes were visible—eyes filled with a bizarre, inhuman emotion and bloodshot veins.

Just looking at it made his skin crawl.

Xu Dongyou was puzzled as to why the ghost gave him a feeling of both disgust and coldness. It was quite strange.

Tian Haomiao noticed Xu Dongyou’s gaze and, with obvious impatience, snapped, “What are you staring at?”

Xu Dongyou replied softly, “I’m looking at the person lying behind you.”

Tian Haomiao was startled and quickly turned around, but the space behind him was still empty. His frustration boiled over, and he stood up angrily, his face flushed with rage. “Is it fun to scare me?”

Tian Ze and the others didn’t think Xu Dongyou was joking, but the thought of the resentful spirit being on Tian Haomiao made their backs feel uneasy.

This spirit was more terrifying than an ordinary ghost; it was something even exorcists feared.

Yan Jingnan secretly recorded a video of Tian Haomiao using his abilities. Unfortunately, the video showed nothing. His abilities only worked on ghosts and lower-level resentful spirits, and couldn’t capture more powerful ones. He looked slightly troubled, realizing why this spirit could affect so many people.

Tian Ze glanced at Yan Jingnan and immediately understood, his expression growing serious.

This is not good.

Xu Dongyou knew that Tian Haomiao didn’t believe him, so he added, “She has long hair and is wearing a dress. I couldn’t make out the color clearly. Also, she’s holding a phone with a red phone case.”

Hearing the mention of the phone, Tian Haomiao couldn’t help but scream in terror. His face turned extremely pale. “You’re not lying to me?!!! Did you really see her?!”

Xu Dongyou nodded seriously. “Yes, I saw her.”

Tian Haomiao screamed and kept turning around to check behind him, but he still saw nothing.

“Don’t panic, Mr. Tian. She’s just lying on you and hasn’t moved. We came to find you because of this issue,” Xu Dongyou said, trying to calm him down. His expression was very serious. Despite his youthful appearance, his ethereal demeanor gave a sense of reassurance and trust.

Tian Haomiao finally quieted down and regained a bit of his composure. He instinctively didn’t want to believe what was being said, but the descriptions did match the girl he had seen, especially the phone with the red case and the dress.

But that wasn’t enough.

Tian Haomiao gasped, “What else did you see? With just this information, it’s still hard for me to believe you.”

Although he said he didn’t believe it, he was already half convinced, though he still held onto a sliver of hope.

Tian Ze remained silent. In fact, if they had come to Tian Haomiao at a better time, he would have been begging for help rather than needing proof.

Xu Dongyou was a bit frustrated. He had already shared everything he could, and he was unsure what further evidence he could provide to prove the existence of the female ghost.

The resentful spirit in the stairwell was initially invisible to Hou Mingjun, revealing itself only when it was close to its destination.

Now, since everyone couldn’t see this entity, it might mean that the situation hasn’t reached a critical point yet. So it was even more urgent to deal with the malevolent presence.

Xu Dongyou recalled that Yan Jingnan seemed to be able to capture ghosts and resentful spirits, so he turned to him. Yan Jingnan replied, “Don’t look at me. I can’t capture entities stronger than myself.”

Xu Dongyou asked, “What if you use your ability, and I handle the filming? That way, it would be my energy being used.”

Yan Jingnan was momentarily stunned. Could it work like that?

He wasn’t sure if it would, but it was worth a try. He handed his phone to Xu Dongyou. “I’ve already linked my ability with the phone. You can give it a try.”

Xu Dongyou nodded, took the phone, and said to Tian Haomiao, “Mr. Tian, since you don’t believe us, let’s do an experiment. It might help you see the resentful spirit behind you.”

Resentful spirit?

Just hearing the name made Tian Haomiao uneasy, but he forced himself to remain calm and nodded, “Go ahead and take the picture. But if it doesn’t work, don’t blame me for asking you to leave.”

Xu Dongyou agreed and used his spiritual energy and demon power, along with his enhanced senses, to press the camera button toward Tian Haomiao.

Tian Ze and Zhang Feng were both curious, uncertain whether this method would work. If it did, it would mean another way to detect resentful spirits for the handling bureau.

Xu Dongyou could clearly feel the demon energy being absorbed by the phone. As the photo was taken, the energy continued to be absorbed.

Gradually, a strange figure began to materialize behind Tian Haomiao—a face obscured by black hair, with only sinister eyes visible, surrounded by dense gray mist that evoked an immediate sense of aversion and discomfort.

At the same time, she was holding a phone.

When the figure was fully manifested, Xu Dongyou stopped his supernatural energy absorption. He quickly turned off his spiritual and demon powers. Yan Jingnan, who had been watching from the side, couldn’t help but gasp when he saw the spirit gradually appear in the photo. “It really did show up.”

Tian Ze quickly pushed Yan Jingnan aside, glanced at the screen, and with a serious expression, asked Xu Dongyou, “Does this spirit have the same thing when seen with the naked eye?”

He was referring to the gray mist.

Xu Dongyou was taken aback and asked in confusion, “Doesn’t the handling bureau know about this?”

Tian Ze replied firmly, “No one except you knows about it.”

This was the first time Tian Ze had seen such a thing on a spirit. However, the more he looked at it, the less clear it became, and it even made him feel a bit nauseous.

Then, Tian Ze thought about Tian Haomiao’s song. It had the same unsettling feeling as the photo.

Was this a characteristic of the spirit?

Why had no one noticed this before? If this information were reported, the handling bureau might be able to analyze more details.

Tian Ze patted Xu Dongyou on the shoulder. “You’ve done great this time!”

Xu Dongyou was puzzled and didn’t ask what great achievement he had accomplished. He handed the phone to Tian Haomiao, saying, “Mr. Tian, please take a look.”

Tian Haomiao walked over step by step. When his eyes landed on the woman enveloped in gray mist on the screen, his pupils contracted instantly, and he screamed, “Impossible! How could it be her!”

Even though her long hair covered her face, he could recognize her at a glance.

Then, Tian Haomiao thought of something even more horrifying: this woman had been lying behind him the whole time!

Like a shadow.

“Ah, ah, ah, don’t lie on me!” Tian Haomiao screamed wildly, desperately looking back. The more he couldn’t see, the more terrifying his imagination became, picturing her staring directly at his face.

The image drove him to greater madness and fear. Tian Ze and the others quickly rushed over to restrain Tian Haomiao, while Xu Dongyou also hurried over, trying to calm him down. “Mr. Tian, don’t be afraid. She’s just lying on you and watching you. She hasn’t done anything.”

Tian Haomiao was even more terrified, his screams becoming more desperate and pained. “Make her leave me. Get her away from me!”

“That’s not an option, Mr. Tian,” Xu Dongyou replied seriously.

Tian Ze looked at Xu Dongyou in disbelief, realizing for the first time that this seemingly pure and beautiful young man was quite heartless.

The comforting words not only failed to soothe Tian Haomiao but only pushed him further into despair.

But Tian Ze couldn’t bring himself to reprimand Xu Dongyou, as the kid’s eyes were exceptionally sincere, and it was clear that he genuinely meant what he said.

This was a problem.

Rather than making his own team members upset, it seemed better to let Tian Haomiao suffer a bit. After all, it was just a spirit lying on him and staring at him with its direct gaze.

Just a small issue!

Under the combined efforts of calming and threatening, Tian Haomiao finally calmed down, sitting on the sofa drenched in cold sweat, unable to hide his fear. “You… you must help me.”

As he spoke, he couldn’t help but turn his head to look behind him.

Xu Dongyou kindly reminded him, “Mr. Tian, it’s better not to look back.”

Tian Haomiao’s fear intensified, trembling as he asked, “W-why?”

Xu Dongyou explained, “The more you look back, the more frightened you’ll become. It’s better to cooperate with us to resolve this issue quickly.”

“Y-yes, I will cooperate with you,” Tian Haomiao said hesitantly. “But, what do you need me to do?”

Xu Dongyou immediately recited his prepared lines. “We have launched a live broadcast to educate the public about spirits, ghosts, and other unusual occurrences. The spirit behind you is part of this event.”

“No way!” Tian Haomiao blurted out without thinking, then quickly added, “I’m a public figure. If people find out that I’m being haunted by this… spirit, they might think it’s bad luck. How would I survive in this industry then?”

“Mr. Tian, don’t worry. We can completely obscure your appearance and voice in the live broadcast. Once the spirit is dealt with, there will be no further impact on your song,” Xu Dongyou said.

Tian Haomiao still refused to cooperate with the broadcast. He wasn’t willing to risk even the slightest danger. “I can give you money. Can you solve this issue for me? No matter how much it costs.”

“This isn’t about money,” Xu Dongyou shook his head and said softly, “No amount of money will change this. We’re an official live broadcast. You understand, Mr. Tian.”

He thought for a moment. If the other party truly refused to cooperate, then perhaps it would be better to skip the live broadcast and just resolve the issue first.

Tian Ze felt that Tian Haomiao was being so unreasonable because he saw Xu Dongyou as young and easy to bully. He glanced at Zhang Feng.

It was Zhang Feng’s turn to step in.

Zhang Feng nodded with resignation and stood up. “Mr. Tian, may I have a word with you?”

Zhang Feng and Tian Haomiao went to the adjacent bedroom. Out of respect, Xu Dongyou did not activate his five senses but sat quietly waiting.

About five minutes later, Tian Haomiao came out, immediately forcing a smile and saying, “I’m willing to cooperate!”

Xu Dongyou blinked, confused. “Huh?”

What did Mr. Zhang say to change Mr. Tian’s attitude so drastically?

Tian Ze also smiled and said, “It’s your willingness to cooperate, not us forcing you.”

Tian Haomiao showed no sign of being coerced, and firmly stated, “I’m not at all unhappy about this. I’m more than willing to cooperate.”

Tian Ze glanced at Zhang Feng. Impressive. It was clear that Tian Haomiao was genuinely willing to cooperate without feeling wronged.

What did Zhang Feng say?

Tian Ze was also curious.

However, the priority was to resolve the issue. Xu Dongyou took out and activated the live broadcast equipment only after Tian Haomiao felt prepared.

The live broadcast equipment was palm-sized and rose into the air without any assistance before vanishing out of sight.

Tian Haomiao’s eyes widened in shock. He stammered, “How did that thing just disappear all of a sudden?”

If it wasn’t magic, then how was it done?

“This is a shadow model camera live broadcast device produced by the Anomaly Handling Bureau,” Xu Dongyou explained. “The live broadcast is now up and running. If Mr. Tian wants to see it, you can search for the official live broadcast room directly.”

Tian Haomiao seemed to suddenly realize, “I… I’ve seen your live broadcast room before.”

Xu Dongyou nodded and then, with a smile toward the camera, said, “Hello everyone, welcome to the live broadcast room launched in collaboration between the Anomaly Handling Bureau and the official channel. Our goal is to educate the public about abnormal events. We hope everyone will watch the live stream with civility, avoid spreading rumors, and not panic.”

After finishing the introduction, Xu Dongyou turned to introduce the others, “This is my captain, this is one of our team’s handlers, and this is a representative from another handling bureau. And this person here is the main subject of today’s task, Mr. Tian.”

Before the broadcast started, Xu Dongyou had asked Tian Haomiao if he wanted to use a pseudonym, such as Zhang, to be addressed as Mr. Zhang. This was to reduce the chances of his identity being discovered.

Unexpectedly, Tian Haomiao firmly refused, “It’s fine, just call me Mr. Tian.”

Everyone looked at Zhang Feng in unison.

What had Zhang Feng said to Tian Haomiao to make him so willing to go along with this when he had been completely different before?

Xu Dongyou suppressed his curiosity and briefly explained the task, “Yesterday, I found a song that was very unusual while listening, so I asked the captain to help me listen to it.”

The official live broadcast room had already gained significant popularity from previous incidents. As soon as Xu Dongyou’s live stream started, everyone who followed the room tuned in and started sending bullet comments.

【First!】

【Here it is, finally live! Wow, there are quite a few more people this time. Besides the host, the person sitting next to him is also quite handsome!】

【Yes, yes, really handsome, but the host is still a bit more charming.】

【Agreed. But what’s the content of this live broadcast? Why are there so many people all of a sudden? The background looks like it’s in a high-end hotel, definitely seems very expensive.】

【As everyone knows, the owner of this live broadcast room is very wealthy! A mere hotel background is nothing!】

【23333 Makes sense. After all, the owner is rich enough to hire a special effects team, and it’s a super impressive one at that.】

【Hahahaha, thinking about it makes me remember a popular phrase online recently: ‘He’s giving too much!’】

【I’m going to post on Weibo to let everyone know this live broadcast has started.】

The Anomaly Handling Bureau was also closely monitoring the live broadcast room. They immediately contacted the live streaming platform’s owner, asking them to post a Weibo notification.

The live streaming platform owner, who had been following the broadcast closely, tuned in as soon as it started. He knew that all the abnormal content appearing in the live stream was real, even as viewers were laughing and making jokes.

He was eager to watch every episode to avoid being caught off guard if he ever encountered such incidents himself. He didn’t want to be in a panic and end up in a dire situation.

Thus, he had been waiting for the official notification and didn’t dare post anything on Weibo on his own. Once he received the notification, he immediately posted the pre-prepared content.

【The official live broadcast room is live again! Strange fish attacking boats, doll shop teddy bears—if you remember the two bizarre incidents, the live stream is back. Click to watch now, here’s the link: WWW.XXXXX.COM】

The official Weibo account of the live streaming platform had many followers, and there were also many who had not followed the official platform. Upon seeing the Weibo post, curiosity drove them to click through. Some who didn’t frequently browse the internet were asking what the strange fish attack and doll shop meant.

There’s always this feeling that if you don’t go online for three days, you’re out of touch with the times.

Others quickly explained and praised the official live broadcast room, saying it was top-notch with impressive special effects and amazing post-production. They insisted that not following was a mistake!

These people were so awed that they quickly searched for the keywords and, after watching the video, returned to exclaim: Awesome!!!!!!!

A large number of viewers flooded into the live stream room, and the bullet comments refreshed at a rapid pace. Most were cheering for the new broadcast, while a few disgruntled viewers criticized the live stream for trying to gain fame and predicted it would be shut down for riding on the official’s popularity.

Other viewers ignored these comments and continued to enjoy the stream. After a few seconds of hesitation, the Anomaly Handling Bureau staff decided not to ban the troll accounts to avoid disrupting the broadcast.

The best approach was to ignore them; eventually, they would quiet down once their comments were buried under the flood of other messages.

As expected, the barrage of comments quickly buried the disruptive ones. After a few rounds of being pushed down, the troublemakers eventually ceased.

The staff breathed a sigh of relief and focused intently on the broadcast. Not only the staff but also the chief watched the stream with keen interest.

The demon clan was not very adept with human technology, but given that their cub was live streaming, they resolved to learn how to use smartphones and at least figure out how to watch live broadcasts after their internal meeting.

The youngest, Jiu Chao, was the first to pick it up. Having already mastered older phones, he quickly got the hang of the basics of a smartphone within a month.

Elder Chen, still confused by the smartphone, boldly knocked on Jiu Chao’s door and said, “I’m coming in.”

Jiu Chao: “…”

He hadn’t even agreed yet.

Well, considering Elder Chen’s age, Jiu Chao decided to be patient as a younger one, only a few thousand years old.

Elder Chen pushed open the door and said, “Xiao Jiu, do you know that our cub is currently live streaming?”

His sharp ears had already caught the discussion about it downstairs among the Bureau staff.

Jiu Chao nodded silently and then said, “Elder Chen, just say it—are you here to watch the live stream with me?”

The elders of their demon clan were not fond of mingling with humans and were even less willing to seek help from them, making it quite challenging for them to learn how to use smart devices, except for Elder Bai.

Elder Chen smiled and nodded.

Jiu Chao muttered to himself but eventually gave in, picking up the phone and opening the official live stream.

The two ancient demons, whose combined age exceeded ten thousand years, leaned in closely and focused intently on the phone screen, nodding and shaking their heads in turns.

“The devices made by humans are indeed quite impressive. However, our demon clan is even more amazing. Without the technology we provided, they would still be researching for hundreds of years!” Elder Chen said with a click of his tongue.

Jiu Chao couldn’t hold back and reminded Elder Chen, “Humans entered the technological era in less than a few hundred years. I believe they would have developed this kind of technology within two hundred years at most.”

It was something even the demon clan found difficult to achieve. Despite their short lifespans and perceived frailty, humans advanced their technology at an astonishing rate.

No wonder the Dao of Heaven favors humans the most.

Elder Chen puffed out his cheeks and said angrily, “You little rascal, why are you defending the humans? Our demon clan has our strengths too.”

After scolding Jiu Chao, Elder Chen sighed and shook his head, “Sigh.”

Jiu Chao was right about that.

However, Elder Chen still struggled with the fact that the humans, who had almost been annihilated by them in the past and once needed their protection, had grown so rapidly in just a few hundred years to a level that even he found alarming.

Had Lord Zhulong already realized this and thus advised the demon clan to learn to cooperate with humans? Only through cooperation could the demon clan continue to exist for the long term.

Now, after enduring hardships, they had finally welcomed a new life for the demon clan.

A well-behaved and adorable cub.

Even Lord Zhulong, who had gone mad, had a fondness for cubs. Once he woke up, he would surely adore this cub even more.

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