Gangye Yoshiko finally agreed to allocate most of her personnel to Beichuan Huili.
But no matter what Beichuan Si said, she insisted on stationing someone near him.
After all, Beichuan Si could also receive protection at home with his sister, while the four stationed officers would take turns keeping an eye out seamlessly.
"It's just that the police protection is ultimately temporary," Beichuan Si rubbed his temples.
At most, it would be a week before the fruitless officers would retreat.
By then, he would still be the one to turn back to protect Beichuan Huili.
But this played right into the criminal's hands, leaving Beichuan Si tied up and unable to confront him.
"A week, huh," Beichuan Si tapped on the computer desk, a faint direction forming in his mind.
Though it was late now, not the right time to implement that idea.
"Let's first post those photos on the community homepage," Beichuan Si casually opened his simple homepage.
It was black-themed, like a message board with a font size of twelve.
The centrally placed headline was quite simple—Urban Legend Agency.
Upon a rough glance, there were detailed categories under the main heading, showing Beichuan Si's experiences with each exorcism.
To enhance credibility, Beichuan Si had uploaded some short videos and vivid photos of himself with spirits below.
The twenty-first century is the age of the internet!
Living in a world of Wi-Fi and smartphone social apps, Beichuan Si obviously understood this well.
LINE, social networking services, Twitter—
Although soliciting opinions from foolish netizens online wasn't too reliable, there were unexpected gains.
For instance, Ando's haunted house from the ghost in the mirror investigation was due to a message someone sent him privately on the homepage.
"The number of views on the homepage is increasing," Beichuan Si murmured.
Through his genuine experiences captured in photos and various eerie videos, Beichuan Si's homepage recently gained a wide following among young people. The last time he saw Beichuan Huili browsing his personal homepage video while she played with her phone.
Of course, he never uploaded pictures of his full face; most were in dark settings with smartphone pixel quality. Even if people could see his profile, it was barely blurred, making it hard for anyone to associate it with him.
The younger generation always seeks unique thrills, with many leaving comments on Beichuan Si's homepage.
"High energy ahead!"
"Whoa! What appeared at one minute thirty seconds?! Can someone tell me what scared me to jump?!"
"Amitabha, forgive me if there are monsters."
"This blogger's video is extremely worldview-shattering; watch at your own risk!"
"Is this what the blogger photoshopped using basic PS synthesis techniques? Making it like this is quite novel."
"Not scary at all!"
There were many comments, but most were about being startled or accusing Beichuan Si of trickery.
Yet Beichuan Si noticed those claiming to be fooled reappeared in the comments later.
The classic sweet irony in the end.
This was why Beichuan Si's private message box usually had seventy to eighty messages a day.
Recently, Beichuan Si was so busy with various matters that he had no time to clear his inbox, so over time, he accumulated quite a bit of 'inventory'.
Some people asked for Beichuan Si's identity and name.
Some wanted to inquire about the locations of these scary supernatural sites.
Others, justice warriors, accused Beichuan Si of doctoring photos to generate profit and attract attention.
And quite a number came to spectate, to see if Beichuan Si would respond.
There were even professional teams or investment companies seeking Beichuan Si, hoping he would join them.
Scanning through these diverse comments, one message caught Beichuan Si's attention.
"I have something I hope the blogger can help with. If you see this, please contact me through this email."
Below was a long email address, and the private message was sent the night before last.
Beichuan Si's gaze continued down.
"Blogger, this is really important! Please respond quickly! My email is—"
This message was sent the previous night.
Just as Beichuan Si released the mouse intending to use the bathroom, a new message popped in.
"Blogger, are you wary of my identity? Rest assured, I am not suspicious. Just that a friend recently encountered something inexplicable—travel and lodging expenses are on us. Compensation afterward is guaranteed not to disappoint. My email…"
"..." Beichuan Si.
Beichuan Si closed the message box and exhaled.
If there were time to help, he would naturally not refuse.
But Beichuan Si simply had neither the mood nor time to handle others' affairs lately.
However, he could at least send an email to offer some insight.
Beichuan Si casually drafted an email, indicating he was busy with something else lately and couldn't spare time. If the friend could detail their issue in an email, he might be able to offer advice.
Upon composing this email, Beichuan Si sent it and shut off his computer.
"Time for bed, school starts tomorrow."
Mumbling, Beichuan Si took out his winter uniform for Kyubei High School and hung it on the door frame before getting into bed.
...
At 7:30 a.m., Beichuan Si had a quick breakfast and set off for Kyubei High School.
While walking, Beichuan Si keenly sensed someone trailing him.
It must have been someone Gangye Yoshiko assigned to him.
Beichuan Si shook his head, carrying his school bag, ignoring the person, and continued walking.
The sun came out for a change today, but with melting snow, there was still a hint of early spring chill.
Beichuan Si breathed through the cold air as he walked.
It was still early, aside from club members who had to be there early; most students were still indulging in the warm embrace of winter vacation, in a battle to the death with getting out of bed.
Beichuan Si had good reason to arrive early.
He had no memory of his fellow students.
To avoid unnecessary misunderstandings, Beichuan Si decided to come early and check his seat in the classroom.
"Too bad it's not the spring term; otherwise, transferring to a new class would be better than now."
Beichuan Si opened his notebook, glancing at the information.
"First-year, class one. Ah... soon it'll be spring break, and I'll be in sophomore year."
Following the school's guide map, Beichuan Si confidently found and entered his classroom.
"It's really obvious."
Seeing the desk in front of him, which looked charred, Beichuan Si's expression didn't change much. Just after he placed his school bag down, someone tapped him on the shoulder.
"Yo, Beichuan, long time no see. How about we step out to chat?"
Seeing the playfulness in his eyes, Beichuan Si remained silent for a while and nodded.