Wait, Don't Eat This (GL) - Chapter 2

Before Xie Chi could get a reply to her letter, her disciple’s son realized she didn’t even have a phone and bought one for her. Xie Chi immediately became obsessed with playing the game Connect the Dots.

The head of the streaming website came by on the third day after Xie Chi got her phone. With the green light from higher-ups, both sides quickly reached a partnership agreement, and they were ready to start working at any time.

Getting started wasn’t so fast, though. First, they had to buy equipment and choose a location for the live stream. Her disciple’s son took care of all of that, so Xie Chi just had to wait.

When the time and location for the first live stream were finalized, Xie Chi was wiping her box. To be honest, the box had only been on the offering table for a couple of days and wasn’t dusty, but she was like a new pet owner who couldn’t stop thinking about keeping their animals sparkling clean. She wanted to wipe the box three to five times a day.

Her disciple’s son stood by her, trying to reason with her. “I’ve decided on the location for your first stream, Little Junior Uncle. You have to remember this: even if the viewers see a ghost, you must deny it. You have to insist that there are no ghosts in this world and that it’s all just superstition. Got it?”

Xie Chi tilted her head, not quite understanding why they had to do it this way, but it was a task given to her by her sect, so she had to do it.

“Okay.”

“Before it’s time, Little Junior Uncle, watch a few more episodes of Approaching Science to gain some experience.” The boy specifically chose a few episodes with a strong supernatural vibe for Xie Chi to watch.

Xie Chi held her box and watched, earnestly absorbing the knowledge. She couldn’t help but ask, “It was clearly an infant spirit at work, so why did they say a catfish was making noise in the sewer?”

The boy wiped some sweat off his brow. “To prove that there are really no ghosts in this world…”

“Then, did they later transcend that infant spirit?”

“They did. The production crew for this show has our people on their team. They usually handle things on the same day.”

Xie Chi nodded and continued watching. She vaguely understood that to maintain a harmonious society, some things shouldn’t be known to ordinary people. But the excuses the show came up with were so fake, she wondered if anyone would actually believe them.

Xie Chi had already figured out how to use her phone. In her free time, she searched for reviews of Approaching Science online and found that everyone’s attitude towards the show was similar:

They made the last episode so supernatural, scarier than any horror movie, and then you’re going to tell me it was just the wind blowing through a crack in the house?

This episode is also hilarious, okay? Someone can suck blood from their arm without any wounds, and the conclusion is that they had bleeding gums… lol.

It’s a well-known fact that Approaching Science is a comedy show.

What do you all know? Approaching Science is actually a show specially used by a secret government department to cover up supernatural phenomena. They use science to explain everything unscientific, hide the truth, and then secretly handle it behind the scenes. They’re working so hard, okay? I’m sorry, I can’t keep this act up…

Xie Chi: “…”

You’ve hit the nail on the head.

Considering the show’s original purpose, it seemed to be a success. I might as well learn from it. It might come in handy.

After two days of watching Approaching Science, Xie Chi was starting to feel a bit brainwashed. Her disciple’s son finally had everything ready, and they could start their first live stream at any moment.

The location for the first stream was a hospital.

This place was originally a maternity hospital, but after two or three pregnant women mysteriously died on the operating table, despite their conditions being normal and the surgeries going smoothly, it was shut down due to the families’ extreme dissatisfaction and other issues.

Later, the land was bought and converted into a general hospital. At night, people would often report seeing strange things, such as odd bloodstains in the elevator, shadowy figures standing next to beds in the dead of night, and a woman in a red dress carrying a child, pacing the hallways.

Some people even claimed to hear a strange cry, like that of an infant.

Xie Chi packed up, putting the box into her bag. Speaking of her gear, her disciple’s son had originally prepared a tiny button camera, but later, considering she’d be on camera, he switched to a regular cell phone.

He had a look on his face like he wished he could do more for his junior uncle, expressing his regret.

After they were ready, her disciple’s son drove Xie Chi to their destination.

“Junior Uncle, just call me when you’re done. I’ll be waiting for you outside.”

“Okay.” Xie Chi stood outside the hospital and looked up. Because of the recent incidents and the many ghost sightings, the hospital had been closed for nearly a week. The lights were off, and the place looked a bit eerie.

Xie Chi first adjusted her phone. Following her disciple’s son’s instructions, she opened the streaming app, logged into her account, entered her streaming channel, and set a title. Done.

Her disciple’s son told her it was okay to be aloof and not interact with the audience. After all, she was pretty.

He said this was a “face-value world” and that looks-obsessed fans would be happy just by looking at her.

Although she didn’t quite understand, she vaguely got it. For example, the pretty senior sister who doted on her most back on the mountain had a sharp tongue and a sarcastic way of speaking, but because she was so beautiful, no one ever got angry at her.

Xie Chi entered the hospital, and as soon as she did, she could feel a cold energy flowing through the lobby. It seemed the ghost stories were true.

The streaming platform, following their orders, had already given her a prime spot on the front page. It was so prominent that anyone who visited the website could see it immediately, so people started flooding in as soon as she went live.

Just as her disciple’s son predicted, the people who came in were mostly fans of her appearance, mixed with a few doubters.

‘How did a newcomer get a front-page recommendation on their first day?’

‘Does anyone know if she’s a big streamer from another platform they’ve poached?’

‘Never seen her before, but she’s pretty…’

Xie Chi remembered from the notes that the worst haunting was on the third floor. The hospital was temporarily closed, but the power hadn’t been completely shut off, so the elevator was still working. After walking around a bit, she headed straight for the elevator.

‘In horror movies, anyone who chooses the elevator at this point is a goner…’

Xie Chi glanced at the screen and remembered her disciple’s son’s advice. She said earnestly, “But there are no ghosts in this world, so that sort of thing only happens in horror movies. Don’t be afraid.”

She probably didn’t realize that saying that only made her sound more like a character in a horror movie who was about to die.

Xie Chi, who gave off “about to die” vibes, opened the elevator and pressed the button for the third floor. Just as the elevator doors were closing, a vague face appeared in the shiny, almost reflective, elevator wall next to her.

Her disciple’s son had said, “No ghosts.”

Xie Chi slapped the wall without expression, batting the female ghost who was trying to get out back inside.

The female ghost: “???”

Her actions were seen by many in the live stream. Some of them vaguely caught a glimpse of the ghost. ‘I think I just saw a face…’

“It was the reflection of the elevator,” Xie Chi said earnestly.

The live stream audience: “…”

The ride from the first floor to the third floor was quick. With a ding, Xie Chi officially arrived at the notoriously haunted third floor. For some reason, the windows on the third floor were open. The wind blew through, causing the curtains to flutter and making the already dark and deep hallway even more eerie.

Xie Chi frowned slightly. The Yin energy on the third floor was extremely heavy, and she could even vaguely see a thin, misty layer of something flowing across the floor. It didn’t look like a hospital that had only been built for a few years; it looked more like a mass grave.

It was so inconvenient to not have the Demon-Slaying Sword. She instinctively reached behind her to draw it, but her hand came up empty.

The feeling of having an empty hand was uncomfortable, especially when so many ghosts were lurking.

She could feel many pairs of eyes watching her with ill intent. To be honest, this feeling wasn’t bad. Xie Chi was too famous in her hometown. Anyone who dared to look at her like this was usually skewered by her Demon-Slaying Sword. As time went on, ghosts and spirits learned to steer clear of her.

This was probably the benefit of being in a new place. The ghosts here didn’t know her and were bolder.

Xie Chi’s hands were getting a little itchy, and her eyes, fixed on the dark hallway, were sparkling. The box in her backpack was also stirring. Thin, black, tentacle-like wisps of mist squeezed out of the zipper and stretched down towards the ground.

Xie Chi quietly grabbed them and stuffed them back in.

The misty tentacles wrapped around Xie Chi’s finger pitifully, soft and clingy like a cat begging for food.

Xie Chi felt her heart itch. If she weren’t on camera, she would have taken the box out and petted it properly.

After stroking the black misty tentacles—which were actually just Yin energy—a few times, Xie Chi continued deeper into the hallway. Based on her years of experience, there was something slightly off about this hospital.

She had seen quite a few lone ghosts and spirits in the hospital. They were all small ghosts, stuck in the human world, but without much power to harm people. At most, they could scare ordinary people, but they couldn’t even injure them.

This didn’t match the heavy Yin energy at all.

Xie Chi couldn’t figure out the problem right away, probably because it wasn’t her area of expertise. Her job was to fight.

The deeper she went, the heavier the Yin energy became. If this continued, the audience would probably notice something was wrong, which would go against the purpose of the live stream. Luckily, the hallway was almost at its end. The doors to all the patient rooms were closed. When the phone’s light hit a specific spot, the live stream chat exploded.

‘There’s a person! Someone’s in the corner!’

‘Holy crap, at a time like this, shouldn’t you be saying there’s a ghost?’

‘Seriously?! I saw it too! Is this a setup by the streamer?’

‘… Front page + this stunt… it’s probably a publicity stunt. She must be sleeping with a higher-up at the website.’

Their fear and doubt didn’t last long. A hand suddenly reached out from the window next to them! And it was from outside the window, on the third floor!