"What do you mean? Is he cosplaying? Could he possibly be a high school student?"
"F*ck! What the hell? Even a professional explorer encountered trouble in the same graveyard. Where did this high school student come from?"
"This joke isn't funny at all. High school students participating in these kinds of explorations don't appreciate life! Does anyone care to explain?"
"That's right. Who allowed this high school student to participate? Is there an official staff member who can elaborate?"
Negative sentiment gradually started building up in the comments after realizing Blake was in a school uniform, and were starting to overwhelm the entire comment section.
The staff in charge of the livestream did not anticipate such a reaction to happen. They became so anxious and frantic that their palms were covered in sweat, and did not know how to deal with the frenzy going on.
Panning to the members of the expedition team, they gaped at Blake, clearly flabbergasted at the revelation. They knew that Blake had joined as a temporary member, but they had no idea that he was actually a high school student!
John Jones, who was standing at the side, kept silent during the whole ordeal. He only decided to start explaining when everyone began to question Blake's identity impatiently.
"Everyone, don't panic. Here's the thing..." explained John, with a nervous smile as he stood in front of the camera.
"This student is just like everyone else. He's also very curious about the haunted cemetery, so he approached us and signed up to join the expedition team.
"He has already told me that he will definitely not be a burden to the team. As for how he managed to join us, I don't know. Perhaps he has an exceptional background that proves himself worthy..."
John's reasoning was meant to help Blake get off the hook, but it also implied that Blake was accepted through dubious ways. The netizens that noticed his underlying meaning were not going to let this slide so easily.
"I knew it. How can a high school student join an exploration team? So there's someone behind this ... interesting. Hehe."
"I really didn't expect that there would be people pulling the strings behind the scenes in these kinds of life-and-death situations. I guess we're never going to understand the minds of the rich and powerful..."
"Isn't that so? I'd like to see how long this kid manages to survive. Don't be reduced to tears the moment you step into a cemetery..."
"Haha, who knows? I've heard rumors that that cemetery is very unusual..."
Another barrage of comments erupted, the majority of them not optimistic about Blake's involvement with the case
Of course, Blake's classmates were also present in the livestream. When they saw that Blake had actually joined the expedition team, they were prepared to come to his defense.
They wanted to protest that he was just an ordinary high school student and that he did not have any special, advantageous background whatsoever.
However, their words were, after all, without definite proof. Even if they did send their statements into the comments, it would probably be overlooked or ignored. No one would believe them at all.
Moreover, in a sense, it seemed as if Blake really didn't care about his safety as he insisted on joining.
This was something that they could not deny.
Therefore, in the end, the students decided to stay silent instead.
"..."
However, despite the negativity and the attacks towards Blake in the livestream, John Jones' popularity and focus were unwavering as two-thirds of the comments were generally directed towards him.
There was a whole range of different types of questions being thrown at John.
Some asked him about his knowledge about exploration, whilst some asked him about the ability to see supernatural beings. A handful even wondered if he ever had the experience of catching ghosts.
On the other side of the spectrum, a huge number of female fans flirtingly asked if they could join on an expedition with him.
As a professional blogger, John Jones obviously enjoyed the feeling of being the center of attention. With his gaze fixed directly into the center of the livestream view, he answered the questions one by one with certainty.
After listening to his humorous and entertaining answers, everyone in the expedition team seemed more relaxed and were able to slowly adapt comfortably to the atmosphere of the livestream.
Well, as for Blake?
A high school student who seemed to have an odd desire of chasing death?
"It's better not to drag everyone down together with him," the netizens scorned with contempt.
...
Soon, it was eight o'clock in the evening.
Well-equipped and ready, the expedition team set off in an off-road vehicle specially designated to them by the military.
The city hall square was bustling with people. Everyone was cheering and looking forward to the triumphant return of the expedition team.
The huge broadcasting apparatus was set up in a way where all angles of the view would be captured.
30 minutes later, the team arrived at the cemetery.
The number of people in the livestream had already climbed to 150,000!
Looking at the number of people which seemed to never cease increasing, John Jones's mouth gaped in awe and disbelief.
He was seeing money waving at him!
He could already see the huge pile of money within his grasp, so close yet so far.
With the number of views boosting his mood, he willingly acted as a commentator and described the current situation to the audience in the livestream.
"From the distribution of the graves at the scene, we can clearly deduce that this cemetery should have been the burial site of a large family many years ago.
"The graves on the south should be the graves of the nobles in the family, while the ones on the north should be the graves of some lower-ranking family members, or even servants."
John Jones declared confidently.
Upon hearing all this, the audience in the livestream was instantly bewildered by this discovery and his amazing deduction!
"F*ck! How could you tell with just a glance? Master John, please teach me!"
"I'm speechless! Is this the difference between a professional and an amateur? You can tell that this used to be the cemetery of a large family with just a glance? Master John, how much smarter can you get?"
Many people were astonished at his ability, and they had no idea how he was able to arrive at his conclusion.
Seeing that everyone was shocked, John smiled and explained, "Actually, it's really just that simple. Everyone, follow the direction of my finger. Did you find that the tombs in the south are denser in numbers, and the tombstones are tall?
"And the tombs in the north are pretty sparse, the tombstones short and sporadic?"
When the audience in the livestream heard of this, they were stunned for a moment. Then, they looked over to the tombs in the north and south, and found that it was indeed so!
However, what did this have to do with the identity of the person buried?
Could it be...
When they thought of this, everything finally clicked and they understood what John meant!
"Ah! I understand! Only people with high social standing and prestige would have their tombs built in a grand and dignified manner. As for the servants, their tombs are more casual; some don't even have tombstones."
"I see! F*ck! Once explained, it seems so simple. Why didn't I think of it before? I feel so dumb!"
"As expected of Master John. His observational skills are amazing!"
The netizens exclaimed in admiration, while the members of the team also stared at him in adoration
After seeing everyone's praise, John beamed and waved his hand proudly.
Did he really know all of this?
Of course not!
In fact, he was completely making it up!
Before arriving at the cemetery, he had already looked up information about this cemetery on the internet. Therefore, he was familiar with its history.
However, at this moment, he was purely making wild guesses.
As an outdoor adventure streamer, he knew that the key to attracting viewers towards his platform was not about how professional he was, but whether he knew how to speak with confidence, even about topics he had completely no knowledge about!
The moment Blake entered the cemetery, he activated the Yin-Yang Eye that had been given to him by the Spirit Treasure Guide!
The eye had two sides to it.
The Yin part of the eye had the ability to detect the movements of mountains and rivers, and its sensory ability extended even deep into the Earth's core.
On the other hand, the Yang part of the eye could detect the five elements of Feng Shui, and the Yin-Yang Qi, which is the vital energy that circulated throughout the body.
Blake first activated the Yin Eye as he looked around the cemetery.
Soon after, the world in his eyes began to turn strange.
The whole world, in Blake's eyes, morphed into flowing lines.
Blake clearly saw that the place where John had claimed was a servant's grave, was actually a magnificent, underground grave made up of complex passages buried more than ten meters below the ground!
This large grave, judging from its construction, was probably over a thousand years old.
This meant that those small, scattered graves were simply just a distraction to keep the attention away from this grave!
Blake felt a chill run down his spine.
This place... was indeed strange!
With this thought in mind, he switched to his Yang Eye and looked over the graveyard again.
A world blanketed in white slowly took over his sight. In the direction of the large tomb, round balls of black, ghostly qi lingered underground, exuding a haunting aura.
Ghostly qi!
Such dense ghostly qi!
Under this tomb... There was definitely a ghost corpse at least a thousand years old!
Blake shut his eyes.
'I can't get close!'
This was the only thought echoing in his mind.
At this moment, after being praised by everyone, John Jones puffed out his chest, pointed in the direction where the ghostly qi was gathering and said, "I heard that this scattered cemetery is the place where Jack London met his death, am I right?"
"I don't think that's all there is to it. Let's go. We'll be stationed here tonight. Let's see what strange abnormalities we can find!"
As soon as he finished speaking, John took the lead and headed north.
The audience in the livestream followed suit, maintaining their enthusiastic cheers of support and excitement in the comment section.