I Rule Fortune-Telling Livestreams

Chapter 187: Sister Xiao Xiao, Please Come Back

"See? When they went to the first sublevel, they didn’t even notice the crack in the floor. Crawl down that crack, and you reach the second sublevel. The fact that they didn’t find it just proves how well our hidden layer is made, doesn’t it? They’ll never find it, so you can rest easy!"

Gu Shi looked at Meng Xiaoxiao, who was shackled to the wall, his thoughts in turmoil.

A perfectly fine demon beast, just shackled to a wall like this to become a source for their Cultivation and for making Chi Ling.

His conscience told him that this was wrong!

"Qin Feng, forget about whether she’s a hybrid or not. What we’re doing is wrong. Aren’t you afraid of divine retribution for treating her like this?"

"Divine retribution? Does such a thing even exist in this world? Just think of her as a common animal. When humans kill animals, do they ask for the animal’s consent? When they killed our kin to take their pelts and make clothes, did they ask for our consent? She’s just like us, an animal with a bit more intelligence, that’s all. Otherwise, she’s no different from any other animal!"

Qin Feng clapped Gu Shi on the shoulder. "As long as you don’t say anything, no one will ever know. Didn’t you want to use tourism to make the country rich? Why take the long way around with tourism? We have the raw materials right here! Opportunity’s knocking, and it’d be a waste not to take it!"

"Once we mass-produce Chi Ling, which of those rich men and government officials wouldn’t be fighting to get their hands on it?"

"Officials who want to get promoted and get rich? Our Chi Ling can give them the push they need."

"Those tycoons who want to stay rich forever? Chi Ling will be their one and only choice. When that time comes, once we sell these to them, do you think... we’ll still be short on cash?"

"With this Peacock here, they’ll all have to beg us!"

"Then, getting promoted and rich will be as easy as saying the word. Or how about this: once the pendants are made, we’ll give you the first one. Let you experience what it feels like to have your Cultivation soar!"

Just then, the raw Chi Ling stone was fashioned into an exquisite pendant. A young girl ran over holding it. "Look! The raw Chi Ling stone pendant is finished! It can be sold now! This one is brighter and more beautiful than the previous stones, don’t you see?"

The other young men gathered around, their faces alight with joy.

Qin Feng was also delighted. He took the Chi Ling in his hand, unable to put it down. "We’re the ones who brought her back, so we’ll share the first pendant. Let’s feel the fluctuations of Spiritual Power together! Let’s all raise our Cultivation!"

Qin Feng balanced the Chi Ling on his fingertip and gave it a light jolt, causing the raw stone to spin rapidly.

As the stone spun, a turbulent, pure Spiritual Power gushed out all at once.

The men greedily absorbed the Spiritual Energy, hoping that one day they could achieve Ascension and become immortals.

Qin Feng was thrilled and shouted, "Absorb it quickly! The Spiritual Power will dissipate soon!"

The Chi Ling spun faster and faster on his fingertip until the entire bead was spinning uncontrollably, but no one noticed anything was wrong.

The Spiritual Power spread outwards at an increasing speed, emitting a blue mist. The mist was refreshing and gave off a very pleasant sensation.

The men closed their eyes and sat cross-legged on the ground, looking like they were greatly enjoying themselves.

This Spiritual Energy was purer than any other, and far denser than the Spiritual Energy of the End of Dharma Era. Gradually, the men felt a slight burning sensation in their Dantian.

But they merely thought it was a sign of their Spiritual Power increasing and didn’t give it a second thought.

With the exception of Gu Shi, everyone else present was mesmerized by the Spiritual Power, their expressions growing more and more entranced.

Some giggled foolishly, some stared with wide, shocked eyes, and others sobbed quietly.

At the same time, the sound of breaking iron chains echoed through the room.

Meng Xiaoxiao’s limbs were all freed, and the wounds on her body healed rapidly.

The moment she stood on the ground, her face was filled with venomous hatred. She stared hatefully at the villagers who were trapped in the illusion, a cold sneer on her lips.

’Sixty years. Sixty years have passed, and I’ve returned for my revenge!’

’None of these people will escape!’

’Every single one of them must die!’

...

That evening, when Shen Zhiyao started her live stream, the chat was flooded with insults:

[What do we do? Xiao Xiao still hasn’t been found. I’m so, so worried about Meng Xiaoxiao! Streamer, can you send your location? I want to go find her!]

[Why are you wasting your breath on her?! Just curse her out!]

[Exactly! This woman is so cold-blooded! She doesn’t care about our Xiao Xiao at all!]

[Didn’t our streamer already say? Meng Xiaoxiao is fine, she’ll definitely come back safely! Why are you all still flaming our streamer?]

[Our streamer always goes live at this time every day, what are you all cursing about? Meng Xiaoxiao is missing, what’s that got to do with our streamer? Does the world stop turning without Meng Xiaoxiao?]

[I could understand if it were anyone else, but Meng Xiaoxiao and Shen Zhiyao spent so much time together on the show. How can she be so indifferent?]

[The other guests are all out with the rescue team looking for Meng Xiaoxiao, but look at her, just lying around like a king, not even trying to help!]

[Exactly! It’s one thing not to search, but she even has the nerve to live stream!]

Shen Zhiyao directly retorted to the haters, "If you want to watch the search and rescue, go watch the production team’s stream. Don’t watch mine."

Many netizens immediately switched over to Zhao Jing and Zhou Ye’s live streams.

Night had fallen, and the rescue team had suspended their search.

Meanwhile, Zhao Jing stood on the edge of the sea cliff, shouting over and over, "Xiao Xiao, please come back! Come back! We’re all waiting for you! We’re all worried about you! Please come back!"

Her only reply was the sound of the crashing waves.

In truth, she and Meng Xiaoxiao didn’t really have a relationship, nor did she genuinely care.

But right now, hundreds of millions of people across the country were worried about Meng Xiaoxiao.

Shen Zhiyao’s current lukewarm attitude had gotten her flamed to the top of the trending charts.

Therefore, Zhao Jing had no choice but to take the opposite approach to Shen Zhiyao.

By crying and searching for Meng Xiaoxiao on camera, netizens would only see her as a deeply loyal and caring person.

Meng Xiaoxiao had a huge fanbase, so the sadder Zhao Jing appeared, the more sympathy she could milk from those fans, thereby winning over the audience’s affection.

Although profiting from someone else’s tragedy was a bit tasteless, who told Meng Xiaoxiao to be so careless and jump into the sea?

Meng Xiaoxiao had left behind so many fans; it would be a waste not to poach them!

Zhou Ye, standing nearby, had the exact same idea as Zhao Jing.

After that scandal, Zhou Ye’s popularity had been in steady decline. It was time for him to attract a new wave of traffic.

After learning of Meng Xiaoxiao’s disappearance, he had been crying and acting panicked on camera, all to capture a large chunk of Meng Xiaoxiao’s traffic.

Zhou Ye wasn’t very smart, but his desire for fame had never wavered.

It wasn’t until Meng Xiaoxiao fell into the sea that he realized this was a golden opportunity to grab the spotlight.

So, he copied Zhao Jing, diving into the water to "search" for Meng Xiaoxiao and pretending to care deeply about her.

Naturally, the production team wouldn’t miss out on this wave of traffic either. They sent people to constantly search for Meng Xiaoxiao on camera, but it was all just for show.

At this moment, Zhao Jing walked step by step toward the ocean, not caring in the slightest that the hem of her dress was getting soaked by the waves.

Her body trembling, she shouted at the sea, "Xiao Xiao, please come back! I’ve learned how to cook, I’ll cook for you, okay? Xiao Xiao, come back! Sister Zhao misses you!"

Zhou Ye also walked toward the sea. A powerful wave knocked him onto the sand, but he paid it no mind. He joined Zhao Jing in shouting at the shore, "Sister Xiao Xiao, please come back! I want to act in a show with you! I miss you, Sister Xiao Xiao, please come back!"

The two met up and hugged, crying their eyes out.