Jiang Yin originally intended to refuse, but the program team offered too much.
A hundred thousand yuan, just to participate in two days of recording—this price was enough to make Jiang Yin, who had never earned quick money in her life and only had a savings of 170,000, feel insanely tempted.
But she still calmly called Ning Rong to ask if it was allowed.
After learning that the Bureau allowed Magical Girls to have side jobs as long as they didn’t reveal their identities, she happily signed her name, only adding a Personal Information Confidentiality Agreement to the contract.
Fifty thousand yuan a day!
Accompany this silly girl to eat and drink, then explore a Ghost House at night.
How easy is that!
She just didn’t know why she kept feeling that Ning Rong’s voice on the phone sounded like she was holding back laughter…
***
“Ling Ling, what type of Ghost House are you exploring? Is it a Scripted Escape Room?”
Since she had accepted the job, Jiang Yin planned to do it well.
Now that she was also part of the system, she didn’t want to leave any black marks on her record.
She thought that this kind of variety show couldn’t possibly go too far.
Most likely, it was some newly opened Scripted Escape Room, maybe using a renovated abandoned building for effect.
But…
“Hmm? It’s a legendary Ghost House! Don’t you know, Wei? It’s very popular in Guairen Bar this month!”
“Guairen Bar…”
Jiang Yin felt uneasy.
There were many experts in forums, but the ones in Guairen Bar were not just keyboard warriors—they were a group of wealthy, idle enthusiasts truly interested in Monsters, running around searching for their traces.
—And they actually found quite a few.
These Monster enthusiasts were as famous on the internet as South Sea Fishermen and Chaoyang Residents.
There were stories of them bravely fighting Monsters, and sometimes, a few of them really discovered hidden Monsters ahead of time and contacted the Bureau, earning themselves a Citizen Award and then writing a five-hundred-word self-critique.
In essence, it was the power of the vast sea of the people.
As long as there were enough people, statistically, even a blind cat could stumble upon a dead mouse.
Of course, there were true professionals among these enthusiasts, like retired Investigators.
They were generally trained and had connections with official Investigators from the Bureau.
With them leading, even if they encountered real threats, they could call for support in time.
So nothing serious ever happened.
Basically, it was the same as those ghost-hunting live streams—a popular genre in the streaming industry for years.
And the ‘Ghost House’ their program team was going to explore this time was a place rumored in Guairen Bar to harbor Monsters.
‘This location…’
“Aren’t you afraid of really running into a Monster?”
Jiang Yin slid her thumb across the Magic Bracelet on her right hand, very curious about how these people thought.
“If that happens, I might not be able to protect you with this small body, you know?”
“We invited Professionals!”
Wen Ling wasn’t scared at all.
Instead, she mysteriously kept up the suspense.
“You’ll find out then!”
“What kind of Professionals could they be?”
Jiang Yin sighed helplessly.
How could anyone be more professional than her, a Magical Girl?
Even though she hadn’t Awakened yet, few had more experience dealing with high-risk Monster incidents than someone who had participated firsthand.
She’d already cut down double-digit numbers of Monsters.
In the end, the person who showed up was actually more professional than her…
“Hello, I’m Zhang Feng, a level two Investigator from the J City Bureau. Tonight, I’ll provide professional guidance for your operation.”
The newcomer was tall and thin, rather handsome—more like a celebrity than those chisel-faced actors in period dramas.
Clearly, he had dressed up for the camera, but couldn’t hide the strong aura of a worn-out middle-aged man.
He looked at the two girls in front of him—so beautiful it was almost ridiculous, and probably not much older than his own daughter.
Using the gentle tone he used at home to coax children, but still unable to hide a sense of sternness, he said, “Everything else is negotiable, but once we’re inside, you must follow my instructions at all times. No one leaves my five-meter radius without permission. Understood?”
“Okay!”
“I have no problem.”
Wen Ling responded cheerfully like a schoolgirl with an o(^▽^)┛, while Jiang Yin shrugged and nodded calmly.
“Don’t worry, I have experience too.”
“Those who think they’re experienced are the easiest to screw up.”
Zhang Feng didn’t argue with Jiang Yin.
He just gave a simple reminder and opened the door to the ‘Ghost House’.
Although to his colleagues, this kind of science popularization program with little danger was a light, pleasant task—plus a chance to see celebrities in person—Zhang Feng actually didn’t like it much.
Only after doing this work did he realize how hard celebrities were to deal with.
Not that their attitudes were terrible—no celebrity would dare throw their weight around in front of official staff on camera.
They were just disobedient.
Maybe for the sake of program effect, or maybe because they trusted the show wouldn’t send them to a real Monster hideout, every one of these celebrities was more troublesome than a class of elementary students.
As an official representative, he couldn’t scold them too harshly.
But this was a publicity mission, meant to use celebrity influence to teach the correct response to Monsters—so someone had to do it.
Because of his good image and steady character, he was often assigned these jobs.
And this time, it was two young girls…
Zhang Feng glanced at them again.
“Remember, stay on my heels. If I say run, drop everything and run back.”
“Understood!”
Wen Ling nodded seriously.
Jiang Yin said nothing—her Magic Bracelet emitted such a faint warmth it was barely noticeable.
What could she say?
Compared to these Investigators, magic was still too overpowered.
For some reason, Zhang Feng felt this white-haired girl looked familiar.
‘I heard the Bureau’s new Magical Girl has white hair too… ha, I’m overthinking it.’
What Magical Girl would come to a program where the chance of encountering a Monster is near zero?
Shaking his head, Zhang Feng entered the room and took a tablet from his toolkit—a device five centimeters thick, wrapped in a plastic shell for protection.
“This is standard Investigator equipment—the Resentment Detector. With it, you can clearly see the traces of lingering resentment.”
He swept it around, then signaled the two to come look at a spot.
To the naked eye, there was nothing.
But on the tablet, a faint black stain was clearly visible, marked with a red frame—very eye-catching.
[This is resentment?]
[If you hadn’t told me, I’d think it was ink!]
[It really can’t be seen with the naked eye!]
As the camera moved, the comments in the Live Broadcast Room were captivated by the scene.
Although traces of resentment were not a secret online, seeing it on screen in real time was still very appealing to viewers.