I Do Science Popularization Live Streams in the Supernatural World - Chapter 1

It was late at night, and the sky was a little cloudy.

The dilapidated old building was filled with a gloomy atmosphere.

This was a four-story apartment building that had been abandoned for many years. The walls were scrawled all over with graffiti, and the floor was piled with trash.

“We’re stuck in a ghost maze…we can’t get out…” In the corridor of the third floor, a stubble-faced man said in despair, his voice trembling. Under the shaky glow of his flashlight, his face had turned deathly pale with fear.

Beside him were his partners, a man and a woman.

The woman with long black hair said in a deep voice, “Old Chen, stop talking nonsense!”

“I don’t want to say it either, Linlin, but we’ve already been trapped for three hours…” Old Chen said helplessly, but at Linlin’s warning look, he quickly added, “Alright, alright, I’ll shut up!”

“Both of you, cut it out.” The last of the trio, a handsome man with an even temperament, calmly pushed his glasses up his nose, saying, “Let’s try heading down one more time. Focus your minds. We might be able to break this illusion.”

“Xiao Gao, you are always the calmest. We will listen to you,” Old Chen and Linlin said together.

With their flashlights cutting through the darkness, the three continued forward. Soon they reached the stairwell at the end of the corridor. Holding their breath, they carefully descended step by step.

The three of them were professional exorcists.

Ghost maze was a trick created by spirits to confuse the minds. It was an illusion that could be broken if one’s will was strong enough, but having sufficient spiritual energy, which could affect spirits to some level, was the most important factor. Unfortunately, the yin energy in this place was way beyond their limits. They had to be cautious and take every step carefully.

The three-person team walked down the stairs, and Linlin shone her flashlight on the wall next to her. On the mottled wall, there was a tattered ‘3’ painted on it.

They were still on the third floor. Now, even Xiao Gao’s voice trembled, “…Still no way out.”

They had walked up and down these stairs countless times, but each time they returned to the third floor. Their psychological defenses were about to collapse.

Just then, a sound came from below. It was a set of footsteps followed by a man’s voice, which sounded surprisingly lively and too cheerful for the place they were in.

“As you see, this is the famous haunted place, the Hongqi Apartments. I’ve already explored the first and second floors. I’m heading towards the third floor now. Friends, don’t forget to smash that follow button…”

The voice grew closer, accompanied by a bouncing flashlight beam.

The three-person team looked at each other in confusion. What’s going on? Eyes wide, they stared at the stairwell. Soon, the figure of a young man appeared. On one hand he held a selfie stick, the other a flashlight, his mouth running non-stop.

A streamer? Coming here for thrills?

While the three were stunned, the streamer paused when something caught on his periphery, and then he pointed his flashlight upwards.

“What the hell?!”

Wang Qi had to admit he jumped a little. But after a closer look at the three figures on the stairs, he relaxed right away. He then glanced at his live chat barrage.

The audience in the broadcast room was also frightened.

[Holy crap, ghosts!!!]

[Host, run!]

[There really are ghosts in this damn place!]

Seeing these comments, Wang Qi chuckled and said into the microphone clipped to his ear, “Calm down, friends, there are no ghosts. Look carefully, they are just fellow colleagues…” As he spoke, he walked up to the three people. “Hello there! Come and say hi to my viewers.”

Old Chen raised a stiff hand in a daze while Linlin and Xiao Gao were frozen and too shocked to move.

“Haha, didn’t expect this place to be so lively tonight.” Wang Qi turned his camera elsewhere, laughing.

Seriously? These guys have no stage presence at all. Bumping into a fellow streamer and not even playing along? Their channel must have no traffic!

Up close, Wang Qi could see their outfits clearly. They were wearing form-fitting black overalls and carried strange high-tech-looking gear. Though they looked pretty professional, they stood there stiff as boards and scared out of their wits.

Is this your paranormal streaming? Pathetic.

Wang Qi shook his head secretly.

He had been a staunch atheist since childhood. Sure, he had seen plenty of “haunted news” online. Even locally, there were murmurs of endless supernatural incidents. But he never believed in the supernatural.

Of course, his reason for doing paranormal livestreams wasn’t just his atheism. Recently, he had awakened a system. Its full name was System for Promoting Science and Atheism by Busting Feudal Superstition Through Livestreams. Let’s just call it system.

The system required Wang Qi to become a paranormal streamer, explore haunted sites, and debunk cases while livestreaming the whole thing. Subsequently, by gaining popularity points, he could also unlock rewards.

So, after a week of preparation, rookie streamer Wang Qi had officially gone live. Tonight’s trip to Hongqi Apartment was his first broadcast. Since this was one of Qingling City’s most famous haunted spots, it was a great chance to ride the trend. After only about two hours on air, he had already drawn quite a crowd.

Still, this industry was so competitive! Who would have thought he’d bump into three colleagues here?

While Wang Qi was sizing them up, the trio was also secretly studying him.

The boy looked to be in his twenties and was very handsome. Even in such a scary and gloomy place, he still looked at ease and cracked lame jokes while streaming in a literal ghost house. Most importantly, he kept claiming there were no ghosts here. He really didn’t take ghosts seriously!

This overwhelming sense of contradiction made the three wonder if they were dreaming. But no, the boy was real. They could feel the vibrant life force on him, and he did say they were colleagues… so, was he a professional exorcist doing a livestream?

The three didn’t realize that Wang Qi’s “colleagues” and their idea of “colleagues” were two entirely different things.

They exchanged glances.

Right now, they were trapped in a ghost maze with no way out, and all their connection to the outside world was cut off. Technically speaking, no outsider should even be able to reach them. Yet this boy had strolled right in with a livestream going.

Maybe he could get them out of here?

“This big brother…” Xiao Gao spoke up, “Could we trouble you to lead us downstairs?”

“Huh?”

Wang Qi, who had been chatting with his audience and planning to explore further, blinked at the trembling trio.

What, too scared to go down by yourselves? What kind of streamers are you supposed to be?! But he didn’t say it out loud. He just tilted his head and said, “Sure. Follow me, I’ll take you down.”

After all, being helpful was part of his personality.

So, with Wang Qi leading the way, the three exorcists trailed behind nervously. Soon enough, they reached the next landing.

“We’re out of the ghost maze!” Linlin’s flashlight hit the wall. Seeing the painted number ‘2,’ she was ecstatic and felt like kissing the wall itself.

“He really led us out, just like that!” Old Chen was awestruck. “And he didn’t even use any ability…”

“Old Chen, test his spiritual level.” Xiao Gao thought of something and adjusted his glasses. “I suspect his spiritual power is so immense that illusions don’t affect him at all. He doesn’t even need to lift a finger to dispel them.”

“Then how terrifying must his spiritual force be?” Old Chen was somewhat surprised but still activated the spiritual energy measuring device on his body and secretly aimed it at Wang Qi.

Suddenly, his body trembled.

“What’s wrong?” Xiao Gao asked.

“It’s… 3023!” Old Chen whispered.

Wang Qi, who was walking in front, ignored the mutterings of the people behind him. He thought about something, and a dialog box appeared before his eyes.

[Current Popularity Points: 3023!]

This popularity value was a numerical figure comprehensively calculated by the system based on his livestream performance, follower count, and other attributes.

“Not bad… once I finish exploring the fourth floor, I should hit 5000.” Wang Qi was delighted in his heart.