Chapter 144: Donkey Trek Youth Hostel (4)-Deadly Detective(Plain barley wine)

Li Jie, who had not encountered any attacks thus far, assumed that the two five-star peak-level Awakeners had already intimidated the malevolent entities within the hostel.

At this moment, he could not help feeling a bit full of himself.

Of course, Li Jie had no intention of fighting the spirits here to the death; his sole objective was to complete the live broadcast and make a tidy sum.

"Since everyone is so enthusiastic, we'll head out and take a look in a moment! If we run into any ghosts, we'll just deal with it on the spot! For now, my esteemed viewers, take a brief rest and give me a moment to organize the equipment I brought along!"

Li Jie signaled the cameraman, and the live stream was temporarily cut.

Confirming that the broadcast was off for the moment, the cameraman walked straight up to Li Jie and said, "Brother Jie, something is not right here! The rest of our guys didn't even come inside. Even if Erzi got scared and switched sides, there's no way he wouldn't come in and give us a heads-up!"

"...You're right, but now the audience expects to see us go outside. If we don't go, not only will we lose followers, but the tips they've already given might be reclaimed due to complaints. When that happens, what will we use to pay for joining the six-star Awakener experiment?"

Li Jie's expression turned rather grim as he spoke.

Had they not been in desperate need of money, they would never have ventured into such a forbidden zone. After all, quite a few five-star spirit hunters had perished right here. If not for a few individuals who managed to escape using space-piercing bullets, the danger level of this place would be no lower than any other death zone.

"This..." The cameraman fell silent at that.

Although the Hua Nation poured all its resources into the Cataclysmic Black Fog, the research institute naturally employed people unsuited for that specific field of study. Once their research funding dried up, they had no choice but to seek external financial backing, and the two men had targeted precisely them.

One of the research groups was working on a project concerning how Awakeners could break through to the six-star level and control a domain field. Following the ancient texts left behind by Jingqing and Wuxiang regarding their cultivation methods, the research direction was relatively clear, but it required a massive amount of experiments to substantiate.

Those who provided the funds would naturally share in the research group's findings, even though the sum required was by no means small.

"Fine! But we'd better prepare to escape using the space-piercing bullets. This wretched place is somewhat ominous! Ever since we stepped inside, I've had this persistent feeling that something has been watching me the entire time." The cameraman said this to Li Jie while casting another glance around the surroundings.

In the dim light, they could make out the interior of the room they were in. It was quite large, a suite with two bedrooms. Framed paintings hung on the walls—mostly landscapes and still lifes, with no portraits among them.

The furnishings inside were very simple, consisting only of a bed and a television set, and the entire space could be inspected at a glance.

"Right! The spirits here haven't attacked us yet, and who knows why. But the moment we start wandering around, they will definitely attack us.

When we leave the room later, if it directly provokes an attack from the entities here, we'll each use a space-piercing bullet to escape. If not, we'll explore just one more room and then leave. I'm sure those fans won't have anything to complain about then."

Li Jie glanced at the heavy door of the room, as if it were some ferocious beast. Then he took out the space-piercing bullet from his inner pocket and clutched it tightly in his hand. The moment trouble arose, he would flee immediately.

Following Li Jie's example, the cameraman clutched his own space-piercing bullet in his hand.

The live stream resumed.

"Welcome back, everyone! I am your streamer—Brother Jie! Next, we're going to open the door and take a look outside. I wonder where the little fellows here are hiding? If I run into one, hehe~"

As the broadcast restarted, Li Jie adopted his usual comedic persona once more.

When Li Jie reached out for the doorknob, the atmosphere in the live chat room grew heavy.

Click, click.

"What kind of junk is this! It won't even open!"

Li Jie twisted the doorknob a couple more times, but aside from the clicking sounds, the heavy door made no other movement whatsoever.

Seeing that the door refused to budge, Li Jie breathed a sigh of relief, then spoke to the live stream audience: "My esteemed viewers, is there anyone here skilled in picking locks? Care to give me some pointers on how to open this thing? I'm waiting to go out and toy with a ghost!"

Naturally, there was no shortage of idle onlookers watching the stream, and many immediately began offering suggestions. Everything from smashing the door down with a weapon, to picking the lock with a paperclip or a hairpin, was suggested.

Li Jie was certainly not foolish enough to actually try those methods and open the door. Wearing a look of exaggerated regret, he said, "Too bad I didn't bring my tools! Once I go back and fetch some lock-picking gear, we'll come back and deal with it!"

Before the viewers in the chat could flood the screen with accusations of the streamer being shameless, a creaking sound came from the front door.

That heavy door, which Li Jie had struggled to open for quite a while, was now swinging open by itself. Beyond the narrow crack of darkness lay an endless pitch black that resembled the gaping maw of a devourer of men; the place felt intensely terrifying!

***

Deep inside, Li Jie was already unleashing a torrent of curses. If this wretched door couldn't be opened, it would be the absolute best outcome. He could take his payout and run, and who knew when he'd ever return—by the time he came back, he might already be a six-star Awakened.

Yet, the door had opened. No matter what, he had to give the audience an explanation.

Otherwise... followers? Money? He wouldn't get a single thing!

At that moment, a figure flashed in from outside the doorway.

Erzi first glanced at the cameraman's lens, then smiled warmly at Li Jie and the camera, saying, "Brother Jie, we've all been looking for you! We've wiped out quite a few ghost thralls in this hostel, but we haven't seen the big boss yet. We need you to step in personally!"

Seeing that it was Erzi, Li Jie relaxed slightly.

"You can't even handle a simple task like this? Watch how this Celestial Master leads you all to wipe out the freaks here in one fell swoop! You, take the lead!" Li Jie cast a quick glance at the camera, then waved his hand at Erzi with an air of absolute authority.

"You got it!"

Erzi eagerly threw the partially open door wide open and took the lead, acting like a devoted flunkey.

Putting on a brave face under the gaze of the camera, Li Jie stepped out through the doorway one step at a time. Outside the door was another room, and the rest of the crew were all gathered inside. In the dim light, they could be seen wearing Daoist robes, standing as straight as ramrods, projecting an aura of immense prestige.

"Greetings, Brother Jie!"

Aside from the cameraman, the ten individuals chorused in unison the moment they laid eyes on Li Jie.

*Greetings my ass!*

Though he was cursing inwardly, Li Jie had no choice but to greet them back, struggling to maintain his persona. With a face full of smiles, he said, "Alright, alright, alright! You're all here? Let's go, Brother Jie will lead you to clean this place out!"

"Brother Jie is mighty!"

...

The others naturally started chiming in with flattery. Their relaxed demeanor made it seem as though this wasn't a deadly forbidden zone infested with malevolent entities, but rather a dance floor in a nightclub.

Another wave of tips instantly lit up the live chat room.

"It's so dark! Streamer, didn't you guys bring any lighting equipment?"

"Yeah! Fill in the light! What's the point of watching infrared footage?"

...

Following the tips, the viewers in the chat put forward their demands.

"You two in charge of lighting, hurry up and turn the lights on!" Seeing the bullet comments in the chat, Li Jie instructed his subordinates.

With two sharp snaps, a pair of small floodlights illuminated the vicinity, and the live broadcast instantly became much brighter.

"There, see? Much clearer!"

At this point, Erzi hid himself just outside the camera's field of view, pointed toward the distance at Li Jie, and then held up his index and middle fingers together, bending them at a 90-degree angle. Then, using his right hand like a blade, he made a slashing motion across his own neck.

This gesture meant that there was a half-crippled ghost thrall ahead, and he was inviting Li Jie to finish it off directly to put on a show for the audience. The group had done this sort of thing plenty of times before, so Li Jie naturally understood the gesture.

Li Jie nodded slightly and walked toward the location Erzi had pointed out.

The cameraman following closely behind Li Jie, however, sensed that something was amiss. He cast a subtle, untraceable glance behind himself. During past live streams, he had never been guarded by so many people at his back.

Although having people protect his rear was common since he had to operate the camera, five people might be a bit excessive. Their usual formation consisted of Li Jie leading the vanguard, Erzi right behind him, and Lao Zhao the cameraman handling the broadcast.

The others typically consisted of three individuals stationed behind Lao Zhao, occasionally handling lighting and rear defense, while the remaining members guarded the flanks of the formation. Yet today, there were a full five people behind him, and their posture didn't look like protection at all—it looked more as though they were preventing him from escaping.

Realizing this, the cameraman quietly kept his guard up.

Soon, Li Jie spotted the half-crippled ghost thrall that Erzi had mentioned.

It was a humanoid, blood-red ghost thrall, currently cowering in a corner, baring its fangs and clawing the air at Li Jie. Bright red liquid poured from the corners of its mouth, hissing and emitting corrosive sounds as it dripped onto the ground.

Although this ghost thrall looked extremely aggressive, magnetic sensing revealed that the vast amount of grievance energy within its body had already been completely exhausted. Its remaining strength was merely equivalent to a paltry three-star entity.

"Come, come, come! Watch this Celestial Master annihilate the enemy in a single strike using a spatial singularity!" Li Jie shouted as he swung the magnetic blade in his hand forward. Within the confined space, the power of space was forcefully stirred to form a tiny vortex, which directly shredded the ghost thrall to pieces.

The grievance energy within the ghost thrall exploded violently, forming a shockwave composed of resentment. The shockwave freakishly blasted the camera right out of Lao Zhao's hands. As the camera slammed into the ground, several internal components popped out directly.

The destructive power of this grievance shockwave was clearly far beyond what a mere three-star spirit could possess.

With the camera damaged, the live broadcast was abruptly cut off.

"Erzi, what the hell are you playing at! How did this thing still have the capacity to fight back?" Seeing the camera shattered with parts spilling out and realizing the stream was cut, Li Jie dropped his comedic smile, his face chilling as he barked at Erzi.

"Brother Jie, don't be mad! Maybe the spirits in here are just special! Didn't Brother Wang bring spare parts? We can just fix it and resume the live stream." Erzi offered with a flattering smile.