I Do Science Popularization Live Streams in the Supernatural World - Chapter 8

By the time Wang Qi woke up, it was already evening, and his stomach was growling with hunger. He quickly washed up and went outside to find a place to eat. There was a kitchen in his rental place, but Wang Qi had no talent for cooking and preferred to eat out.

When he left, the building was quiet. The landlord’s wife didn’t seem to be at home.

While eating at a nearby restaurant, Wang Qi took out his phone and opened the streaming app. The private message notifications started dinging relentlessly, and his phone almost crashed.

“Looks like a lot of people have watched my stream.” Wang Qi smiled and clicked on the first message.

‘‘Host, are you still alive?’’

Wang Qi:  “…”

Were you worried after I finished my stream I’d be stalked by the ghost and killed?

He deleted it and looked at the next one.

“Buddha-blessed rosaries, God-blessed crosses, amulets crafted by the Celestial Lord, our store has everything you need. Perfect for those who like to tempt fate! Currently on sale for only 998! Don’t miss out, dear host!”

Are you trying to scam me?

He deleted it and moved to the next one.

“Host, I see darkness on your forehead! I’m afraid you’ve provoked evil spirits. I have a family-inherited method of exorcism. Seeing your pitiful state, I’ve decided to go against my ancestors’ wishes and help you get rid of the evil. The price is not high!”

Brother, this meme is too old! 

Wang Qi’s face darkened with each message he read. Is there not a single normal message? He continued to scroll through them one by one.

In between, he received a private message saying that his last stream had been recorded and uploaded on a certain video site. They urged him to watch it quickly. The person also left a separate message, “Ghosts truly exist in this world. Please don’t tempt fate by continuing to stream!”

But when Wang Qi checked the video and watched it, he found nothing out of ordinary except that he looked exceptionally dashing. Where was the ghost?

There were similar comments under the video.

[What are you talking about? I watched the video from beginning to end. There was no trace of ghosts at all.]

[Which platform is this atheist Xiaoqi on? I must keep an eye on it. There aren’t many conscientious hosts like him who speak the truth responsibly these days.]

[I was in the livestream last night, and I did see a ghost… Could I have seen it wrong?]

[Awesome host! I’ll definitely follow your streams from now!]

Wang Qi read through the comments and enjoyed his meal. Spreading scientific values ​​of atheism to everyone was the true meaning of his livestreams. And, of course, the donations!

Wang Qi wasn’t aware that the video on the internet had already been processed by the Spirit Management Bureau and the ghost’s appearance on it had been removed. Even normal citizens with spirit sight found nothing wrong with the video.

Wang Qi continued to browse through private messages.

“Recently, many girls have been having nightmares. They become sick after passing through a corner street at night. Rumor has it that there’s a ghost haunting the area, and the ghost would follow them home…”

Dozens of messages mentioned Horn Street.

Linlin and the other two not only sent private messages to Wang Qi from their real accounts but also created many fake accounts to send messages in hopes of getting Wang Qi interested.

“I’ll go here for the next stream,” Wang Qi decided. But there was no rush. He still needs to investigate the matter of Horn Street in detail and find out the whole story. At last, Wang Qi decided to do his stream the next night.

After dinner, Wang Qi returned to the detached house. It was already dark. Usually, he would be leaving for work around this time, but now he didn’t have to be so busy.

As he continued to scroll through the private messages, Wang Qi heard noises coming from the staircase just as he entered the small building. Without the lights on, the stairway was dim.

Wang Qi vaguely saw a small figure playing with a ball in the open space at the top of the stairs. It was a little boy.

Suddenly, the ball slipped out of the little boy’s hand and rolled down the stairs. It stopped right at Wang Qi’s feet. The boy’s clear voice rang out, “Uncle, can you pick up the ball for me?”

Wang Qi paused, bent down to pick up the ball, stepped onto the stairs, and approached the little boy. This must be the landlady’s son, whom he had only heard the landlady mention before. It was his first time seeing him.

The boy had a bowl cut, and, perhaps because he rarely went outside, his skin was abnormally pale. A pair of large eyes was looking up at him quietly; the pupils were so big that those eyes seemed to be completely black.

Hey, this little guy is cute! Wang Qi couldn’t help but chuckle. The little boy also grinned and reached out with small hands to take the ball. Unexpectedly, Wang Qi turned his body at the last moment and threw the ball away.

“Why are you playing with a ball inside? What if you break something? I kept being woken up while I was sleeping during the day—was that you?” Wang Qi said sternly.

The times he had been woken up by weird noises were too many to count. At first, he didn’t know what was going on, but now he understood. It was this little menace playing football in the house!

The little boy looked aggrieved. Wang Qi was not one to be polite with a naughty kid and said fiercely, “If you play ball inside again, I won’t be so nice to you. Got it?”

Seeing the boy about to cry, Wang Qi felt refreshed in his heart. However, he was not a devil, so he squatted down to comfort him. “If you want to play with the ball later, Uncle will accompany you to play outside, okay?” He lovingly ruffled the little boy’s watermelon-shaped hair.

Unexpectedly, the little boy opened his pursed mouth, grabbed Wang Qi’s hand fiercely, and bit it!

What the heck, this naughty kid bites people!

There was a cracking sound. But Wang Qi didn’t feel anything on his arm. But when the little boy opened his mouth again, he spat out a few broken teeth in confusion.

This naughty kid knocked out his own teeth!

The boy stared at his broken teeth in confusion for a hot minute. Then his small body twitched. He opened his mouth, where front teeth were now missing, and burst into wails. The sound of his crying was very sad.

Wang Qi was at a loss when the landlady rushed over. Seeing the scene, she was momentarily stunned, then quickly rushed over to check on the boy’s injuries. “Xiao Sen, are you okay?”

It could be seen that the landlady doted her son very much.

“This… I didn’t mean it. He might just be losing his baby teeth…” Wang Qi hurriedly explained.

The landlady held her son in her arms and looked at Wang Qi with fear. Xiao Sen’s teeth could even bite through wood easily. But this… What kind of monster was this man?!

“Is Xiao Sen okay?” Wang Qi approached with concern and reached out to touch the little boy’s head.

But the landlady hugged her child tightly and shrank to the side. “It’s nothing serious.”

“Okay…” Wang Qi withdrew his hand awkwardly, feeling a little embarrassed. “Then I’ll go back to my room.”

He felt helpless. This will probably make the landlady hate me.

—More than hate!

Up on the stairs, the landlady held Xiao Sen and watched Wang Qi’s retreating back. Her eyes were extremely cold and glowed red in the darkness. Her mind was now made.

Back in his room, Wang Qi sighed again, pulled out his phone, and began investigating Horn Street. Having slept all day, he was full of energy.

It was 2 a.m. by the time he had a good understanding of the incidents and urban legends surrounding Horn Street. Feeling a little tired, he turned off the lights and lay on the bed. He scrolled through his socials and watched reels until he fell asleep.

This was his first time sleeping here at night since he moved into this small building.

The snoring gradually became louder, and the night grew darker. The cool moonlight shone in through the window. In the dim room, a faint shadow passed through the wall and appeared beside the bed. It was the landlady.

She moved closer to the sleeping figure. Under the shine of the moonlight, her pale skin glowed. Her brown curls danced around her figure, and her red eyes were filled with resentment.

In the darkness, the ghost bared its teeth and floated above Wang Qi. It slowly pressed its body against the sleeping figure. When people slept, ghosts would press on them and absorb the essence in their bodies. This was what caused sleep paralysis.

People who experienced sleep paralysis were often conscious, but they wouldn’t be able to move at all, nor did they retain control of their body. Even breathing becomes difficult at one point. It was like being trapped underwater, feeling you’ll drown any minute, which made people panic involuntarily.

Even if a person had high spiritual energy, once they were pressed down by a ghost, they would lose all power to resist and would be at the mercy of others. This was one of the ghosts’ most terrifying abilities.

The landlady sneered, her expression was grim. This kid was truly annoying. The tricks that worked on ordinary people were useless on him. But once she hits him with sleep paralysis, he wouldn’t be able to do shit!

Her body pressed heavily on Wang Qi, and she felt the vigorous vitality thrumming just under his skin. By the time he realizes something is wrong, it will be too late! She couldn’t help but lick her bright red lips.

But the next moment, Wang Qi, who should have been unable to move, suddenly turned over. He hugged the ghost snuggly and hooked one leg over its body. He even smacked his lips like he was having a sweet dream and continued to sleep soundly.

Landlady: “????”

She found herself unable to move. It felt as if she was the one drowning instead.

This…how did sleep paralysis turn into a person oppressing a ghost?