Cannon Fodder 03

Zhao Manqi had just opened her mouth.

Fang Zhiyi continued speaking, "I need to remind you, we're in the middle of a story. If you have something to say, say it quickly. There are over a hundred people here. One minute you delay adds up to over a hundred minutes for everyone."

"You..." Zhao Manqi finally managed to get a word in.

"Eh? What's this? Is it frozen?" Fang Zhiyi's finger hovered over the disconnect button.

"My old teacher used to say that too. The streamer probably wasn't a Taoist priest before; he was a teacher."

"Hahahaha."

"Keep going!"

Zhao Manqi, seeing the "call ended" notification on her screen, was fuming. How could this man be so rude? Hanging up on her!

"Let's ignore that netizen named 'Two-Five-Zero' for now. I'll continue. I was walking inside the temple, one step, two steps. It was pitch dark all around, and then suddenly, a hand landed on my shoulder..."

"Ding ling ling!" The call request came again.

Just as everyone was listening intently, Fang Zhiyi said helplessly, "Miss Two-Five-Zero is calling again."

"Dammit!"

"Don't answer!"

"Just ignore her, streamer."

Fang Zhiyi sighed. "It's not good to just ignore someone." As he said this, he tapped to accept the call.

"Hello there."

"You're the two..."

"Oh dear, the signal really is terrible." Fang Zhiyi shook his head with a sigh, then plopped back down. "Let's continue. I turned around..."

Zhao Manqi was about to explode with anger. It was obvious he'd hung up on purpose! She hadn't even finished her insult!

Panting, she simply started typing.

But when she went to send the message, she found she'd been muted!

Now Zhao Manqi was truly livid. She had been ready to unleash a torrent of abuse, only to have it all bottled up inside. She was utterly furious.

Fang Zhiyi paid no mind to that. He pointed the camera at the quiet, desolate house and kept telling his story. Unnoticed, the live stream viewers had broken two hundred.

The barrage comments became much sparser. Everyone was listening with rapt attention. Zhao Manqi tried calling again, only to be disconnected again.

Zhao Manqi wanted to send Fang Zhiyi a private message to curse him out, but found she was already blocked. She gritted her teeth so hard they nearly shattered. How could this man treat a girl like her this way? It was only their first encounter, and he was already using such despicable tactics against her!

But angry as she was, there was truly nothing she could do. She could only smash two cups to vent her fury.

"And when I looked closely, that person turned out to be!" Fang Zhiyi suddenly cleared his throat. "Everyone, it's getting late. Let's continue tomorrow!"

"????????"

"?????????"

"Streamer, I like you. I specially bought you some local products. Please give me your address."

The stream ended. Fang Zhiyi looked at the backend data, quite satisfied.

"Little Hei, you see? I told you. Gold shines wherever it goes. The kind that sparkles." His storytelling today had gained the account two hundred followers.

Little Hei imitated him, stroking his chin.

"Hmm?" Fang Zhiyi looked at the private messages. One of them puzzled him.

"Are you Fang Zhiyi?"

Fang Zhiyi narrowed his eyes. "Little Hei?"

"I was going to tell you earlier, but you were so into your story," Little Hei said, poking his fingers together. "Besides, I also wanted to know how it ended."

Fang Zhiyi scoffed. "I haven't made up the ending yet."

Little Hei sighed.

"What's up with this person?"

"Probably been watching you for a while. After all, everyone knows your precise landing spot now."

Fang Zhiyi looked at that question, pondered for a moment, and typed back: "How much is the monthly pay? Is it worth risking your life?"

The message showed as read, but the other party didn't reply.

Fang Zhiyi knew this was a declaration of war.

However, nothing unusual happened in the following days. He figured the other side was probably waiting for an opportunity, though for what, Fang Zhiyi had no idea. Nonetheless, by telling supernatural stories in desolate, remote places, he managed to attract quite a few fans.

He just didn't expect the female lead to remain so tenacious. She called almost every day. But as soon as she connected to Fang Zhiyi's stream, he would hang up, always managing to get a dig in verbally.

"I always say fame changes people. Look how obsessed this fan named 'Two-Five-Zero' is, wanting to chat with me every single day. Ah, being too handsome is also a burden."

"Streamer, please have some shame."

"Actually, I think you're decent-looking, but could you please not be so narcissistic?"

"Hurry up and continue yesterday's story!"

Zhao Manqi was going insane. That bastard! That absolute bastard! He actually said she liked him! And some people actually believed it! Someone sent her a private message telling her to restrain herself. Zhao Manqi, already furious, cursed out the netizen who messaged her with every insult she could muster. The netizen wasn't about to take it either and started trading insults with her.

Fang Zhiyi naturally paid no attention to such matters. With people like the female lead, there's no point trying to reason with them.

But one barrage comment caught his attention.

"Streamer, since you talk such a big game, do you dare go to the Yuying Middle School in the west of the city and continue your story there?"

Fang Zhiyi gave a cold laugh. Seeing the female lead couldn't get a word in, they decided to step up themselves?

"Yuying Middle School? Isn't that place off-limits?"

"Yeah, I remember a streamer went there to broadcast once, then got seriously ill. Never heard from them again."

"Thrilling! Streamer, do you dare go? I'll send you a supercar gift if you do!"

Fang Zhiyi looked at the barrage, pretending to hesitate. "But..."

Some viewers advised against it, some egged him on, and others expressed concern.

Fang Zhiyi also noticed a fan named 'Little Peach Doesn't Eat Sugar'.

"Streamer, maybe don't go. Just telling stories is fine. That school is not only remote, but it's been abandoned for a long time. It might be dangerous."

Zhao Manqi also wanted to chime in. After all, she'd be happy to see Fang Zhiyi get his comeuppance. But to her surprise, this time he accepted her call request.

Zhao Manqi was caught off guard.

"Hello there, Zhao Manqi, Two-Five-Zero."

Zhao Manqi instantly saw red. "You're the Two-Five-Zero! Your whole family is Two-Five-Zero!"

This time, Fang Zhiyi didn't hang up. "What can I do for you?"

"You..." Zhao Manqi wanted to curse him out for last time, but it seemed silly to bring it up now. "Do you dare go to that school or not?"

"Oh?" Fang Zhiyi sounded troubled. "But that place seems a bit dangerous."

Zhao Manqi grew smug. "If you don't dare, just say so. What a joke for a grown man!"

Fang Zhiyi looked at her with a pitiful expression. "Do you really want me to go that badly?"

Zhao Manqi was a bit confused, but she didn't dwell on it. "Yes! So, do you dare or not?"

"If I go, will you stop pestering me?"

"When did I ever..."

"If it's to end this ill-fated connection, I'll go!" Fang Zhiyi declared solemnly.

Zhao Manqi opened her mouth, feeling something wasn't quite right. "If you don't go, you're a coward!"

"I'll go tomorrow, everyone. Let's meet tomorrow without fail!" Fang Zhiyi announced, then ended the live stream, leaving a crowd of onlookers staring at each other in bewilderment.