I Do Science Popularization Live Streams in the Supernatural World - Chapter 6

Wang Qi sped down the highway on his electric scooter, wind whipping past him like he was starring in his own action movie. Behind him, the female ghost fluttered helplessly—up and down, side to side, and sometimes even dragged along the road.

Wang Qi was unaware of this. He just vaguely wondered why he kept hearing the sound of pitiful wails and furious roars in his ears. Must be exhaustion speaking after a long night of streaming. I really need some sleep.

The place where Wang Qi lived was not far from the Hongqi Apartment. It was a small, detached house in the suburbs. The main reason he lived there was the cheap rent.

The house was rumored to be haunted and had become an infamous spot in the locality. He had heard that the previous few tenants disappeared mysteriously and caused widespread panic, making the rent plummet to just three hundred yuan a month.

But Wang Qi was a firm atheist. Ghosts? No such thing. Feudal superstition is unacceptable. When he heard from the realtor about such a cheap place, he quickly snapped it up!

He couldn’t help but marvel at his great luck for snagging such an inexpensive place.

“Ah, I forgot to ask what streaming platform those three guys are on…” Wang Qi remembered this as he parked his scooter outside the yard. “Well, we’re all supernatural streamers anyway. I’ll probably bump into them again.”

It was now six in the morning, and it was still dark. The nearby streetlights had been broken for a long time, so Wang Qi took out his phone to light the way.

Humming a song, he walked into the gloomy entrance of the small building, took out his key, and opened the door.

This building had two floors. Besides Wang Qi, the only other residents were the landlady and her five-year-old son. They lived on the second floor, and Wang Qi occupied the few rooms on the first floor.

Wang Qi had only met the landlady a few times. When he first rented this place, he thought he would be living alone. Only after moving in did he discover there were other people living here. However, the several rooms on the first floor were enough for him to live undisturbed.

Back in his room, he flipped on the light and couldn’t wait to open his system panel. His popularity value had reached five thousand, which meant a new tier of rewards. Wang Qi couldn’t wait to get his hands on it.

“I shouldn’t get my hopes up too much,” Wang Qi reminded himself.

When he first got the system, the beginner’s gift package contained a manual with a grand title—Great Bodhisattva Golden Body Art. At the time, Wang Qi was incredibly excited.

The name sounded awesome, and the description had been highly enthusiastic. It even vowed that continued practice could sculpt a Bodhisattva’s Golden Body and make him invulnerable to ten thousand demons.

Although Wang Qi didn’t believe in ghosts or gods, since he had awakened a system, he figured he should try it, just in case it was real. So, the next day, he happily ran to a nearby park, ready to diligently practice the technique.

The routine wasn’t complicated, just a few strange-looking postures. Facing the morning sun, Wang Qi practiced those postures one by one. Just as he was feeling good about himself, he noticed a few elderly people doing morning exercises nearby staring at him with odd expressions.

What happened? Just as he felt puzzled, an old man walked over with a face full of sincerity. “Are you practicing military boxing?”

Huh? My dignified Great Bodhisattva Golden Body Art, and you call it military boxing?

This, this… Come to think of it, it does look quite similar to the military boxing I learned during my military training!

The old man shook his head with a tsk. “Don’t practice this thing anymore. Come practice Tai Chi with us.”

Wang Qi realized the old man pitied him. Glancing back at the elderlies standing not too far, he could now see the air of concern thrumming palpably amongst them, as if saying: Who does military boxing for morning exercise?

Wang Qi was furious at the time. You lousy system, trying to fool me with a set of military boxing!

However, Wang Qi hadn’t given up completely. It came from the system. It can’t be that much of a scam, right? Although he didn’t actually go learn Tai Chi from the old man, he was too embarrassed to practice in the park anymore. Now he just practiced in his room every day.

But tonight, he almost caught a cold while streaming… It was absolutely useless!

From this he concluded: do not expect too much from the stuff this dog system gives you!

After psyching himself up, Wang Qi mentally controlled the system panel and opened the reward.

An antique wooden box appeared in front of him. Accompanied by dazzling special effects, the box opened, and an object popped out, landing in Wang Qi’s hand.

It was a solid black rod, about eight inches long and as thick as a child’s forearm. It felt distinctly high-tech.

[Thousand Mechanisms Rod: A mysterious creation that can assume different forms and possesses multiple functions. It can automatically upgrade under the right circumstances. The host must figure out the specific usage methods!]

As Wang Qi read the information, his eyes lit up, and he examined it closely. Just by the name, this thing sounded very domineering.

At this moment, unnoticed by Wang Qi, the red cloth he had stuffed in his pocket suddenly fell out and floated in the air like a living thing.

The figure of the female ghost in a red dress faintly materialized. Her long hair was disheveled, and her inch-long nails were sharp-looking. Her half-a-foot-long tongue lashed about in the air. Her face was full of anger.

Have you ever been flown around like a damn kite for half an hour?!

You’ve gone too far in bullying the devil. I am going to kill you!

The female ghost hovered behind Wang Qi, and slowly approached. She knew there was something weird about this guy, but she wasn’t a pushover. She decided to launch a powerful sneak attack and suck this hateful man dry.

Just as the ghost’s sharp claws were about to touch Wang Qi’s neck…

“There’s a button here.” Wang Qi was studying the Thousand Mechanisms Rod in his hand and pressed a button he saw.

The short rod had a telescopic design, and one end suddenly extended, reaching nearly two meters. However, Wang Qi was holding the rod the wrong way. The extended part of the Thousand Mechanisms Rod passed under his armpit and stretched out behind him.

“Hmm? I’m holding it backwards,” Wang Qi mumbled, startled.

Unbeknownst to him, the Thousand Mechanisms Rod had perfectly pierced the ghost’s abdomen.

Ghosts were spirits in essence and were immune to physical damage. But the Thousand Mechanisms Rod in Wang Qi’s hand was special; it had actually penetrated her body and caused her harm.

When she broke free with a look of extreme ferocity, a terrifyingly large hole was left behind on her abdomen.

“Hiss…the thing in his hand is a spiritual weapon!”

Having been a ghost for quite a few years, the female ghost immediately recognized it. The retractable rod was a weapon forged with spiritual energy. It was similar to the ritual objects used by Taoists to cause harm to ghosts and monsters.

Gritting her teeth, she retreated till her back was pressed against the wall. Her expression grew even more ferocious. Clawing her way along the wall, she climbed up to the ceiling. Like a wild beast, her body pounced on Wang Qi from above.

“It should be used like this.” Wang Qi retracted the Thousand Mechanisms Rod, pointed the telescopic end upwards, and pressed the button again.

The rod extended, once again penetrating the female ghost’s body, piercing right through her chest.

The female ghost: “…”

“This reward isn’t bad.”

Wang Qi happily swung the Thousand Mechanisms Rod, satisfied with how this thing could be used as a weapon in dangerous situations.

The ghost was thrown away. Pierced twice in a row, she had become incredibly weak. She pressed herself tightly against the wall again. The resentment that she felt towards humans was, in this moment, completely replaced by fear.

She wanted to go home, back to the Hongqi Apartment, to play with the unfortunate who foolishly stepped into the building. She wanted to revel in their fear and despair and absorb their nourishing life force…

The ghost’s eyes snapped towards the window of the room, and the red cloth she was attached to twisted and floated towards it the next second.

“There’s another button here.” Wang Qi pressed a different button on the rod in his hand.

Instantly, the extended section of the Thousand Mechanisms Rod began to flash with a kaleidoscope of colorful lights. The lights illuminated the entire room, making it look cool and vibrant. It was just like the upbeat atmosphere of a nightclub.

The female ghost’s face, however, was filled with pain and terror. The lights seemed to pierce her body like a rapid succession of bullets, leaving her riddled with holes. She was already gravely wounded and could no longer sustain herself. Barely half a meter from the window, she began to disintegrate.

Unwilling till the very end, she let out a shrill scream as her body turned into tiny specks of blood-red fluorescent spots that drifted in the air.

“Whoa, it even has this function!” Wang Qi exclaimed with awe. Imagine during a live when the tension was too high, he’d go BAM, and BOOM, party lights!

The chat would go wild!

Wait, I think I heard a scream just now? Amazing! This thing not only had atmospheric light but also came with built-in sound effects! It would be a huge help to his streaming career.

Wang Qi fiddled with the Thousand Mechanisms Rod in his hand and was about to put it away when he received a prompt from the system.

[Alert! Suitable conditions detected. The Thousand Mechanisms Rod will now begin its upgrade.]

“Huh? Already?” Wang Qi was stunned.

He didn’t notice that the blood-red fluorescence spots left behind when the female ghost dissipated floated over and attached itself to the Thousand Mechanisms Rod, merging into it.

The form of the Thousand Mechanisms Rod then began to change.