In the middle of the conference, the Director's phone suddenly rang, drawing the attention of the other officials who were watching Andy's live broadcast on the projection screen.
Seeing the contact name displayed on his phone screen, Director Huang turned to the other officials.
"It seems the report from the team I sent has finally come in."
Hearing the ringtone and Director Huang's words, the other officials grew excited.
"Director, then what are you waiting for? Answer the call quickly!"
"Yeah, yeah, hurry! We also want to know the results."
"That's right, after all, this report is crucial to us."
"Alright, I'll step outside to take the call," said Director Huang as he grabbed his phone and walked out of the conference room.
Once the call connected:
"Hello, Director Huang, we can confirm that Andy is a superpowered individual."
"I personally saw the state of the forest that had been burned, it was completely devastated. The trees are still radiating extreme heat due to the high-temperature attack."
"Additionally, after a rough calculation by our team, the massive trench caused by the lightning wave is estimated to be 20 meters wide, 5 meters deep, and stretching up to 10 kilometers in length!"
"With our rough calculations, the total economic, ecological, and social damage caused by Andy's lightning wave is around $100 million."
"Director, in my opinion, with such massive damages, we must immediately arrest Andy and bring him to justice!"
On the other end of the line, Director Huang was shocked and upset after hearing the investigation team's report.
Even though he had already suspected that Andy's powers were real, hearing a direct report from the investigation team still surprised him.
After all, seeing something in person and watching it on a screen are two completely different things.
As for the damages caused by the attack, he was extremely frustrated.
At any other time, he might have immediately dispatched law enforcement to arrest someone who inflicted such enormous losses on the country.
Let alone such a huge amount, illegal logging alone in China can bring heavy punishment.
But now, he dared not take any reckless action, especially after learning about Andy's power.
He truly couldn't afford to act rashly, especially with the world currently heading toward crisis, he dared not provoke a terrifying individual like Andy.
No matter what happens, unless absolutely necessary, China must not offend Andy!
Only God knows what would happen if Andy went mad and began attacking their country.
Right now, someone like Andy only needed to be closely monitored!
"Alright, I understand the general picture. As for arresting Andy...forget about it."
"Regarding the damages we've suffered, I'll discuss it with the higher-ups."
Director Huang couldn't help but let out a sigh.
On the other end of the line, Qianwei gave a bitter smile when she heard this, but moments later her eyes reignited with determination.
"Director Huang, if we have no intention of arresting him, would you like to take the initiative to contact Andy instead?"
"Especially after seeing the video clips circulating online, Andy seems to know a lot about the powers of various treasures and otherworldly realms."
"With his extensive knowledge, I believe that if he were to join our country, it would bring great benefits to us."
Hearing Qianwei's enthusiastic suggestion, Director Huang was silent for a moment, then shook his head and replied.
"Don't disturb him for now. With such knowledge about another world, he may be holding onto some secrets."
"Moreover, with the power he has displayed, our country cannot afford to get caught up in a storm due to provoking him."
After hearing Director Huang's response, Qianwei nodded.
She had a point, if they were to offend a powerful figure like Andy, the country might suffer major losses.
Although Andy didn't make them feel fear, still, if they pushed too hard and provoked him, even if they managed to subdue or capture him, it would certainly come at a great cost.
Moreover, judging by Andy's actions, intentionally spreading information about the supernatural, there were clearly secrets he was keeping.
At this point, Qianwei grew even more curious about Andy's true identity.
"Director, is there anything else you need me to do?". Qianwei asked.
"No need, for now it's better for you to go home and see your family. After all, your team has been out on mission for a long time," Director Huang replied casually.
"I see... very well then. If there are no further orders, I'll end the call now."
After ending the phone call, Qianwei turned her gaze back to the scorched forest before her, sighing repeatedly in her heart.
At this moment, she was certain, the world had changed!
At the same time, after hearing Qianwei's report, Director Huang hurried back to the conference room to inform the other officials.
----
Elsewhere, Andy was still walking and exploring various places, but he still hadn't found another treasure.
[Looks like your luck's run out for the day, boss!]
[Boy, my advice? Better continue the search tomorrow. After all, you've just found a very powerful Logia-type Devil Fruit today.]
[Let's go, let's go, looks like this guy won't be finding any more treasures today!]
[Ouhh, I was still hoping to see what other treasures look like or even another Devil Fruit!]
[Exactly! It would be such a thrill to see another Devil Fruit today!]
[Boss, it's already getting late. Why don't you go home and rest? Let's continue tomorrow!]
Seeing the stream of comments in the live chat, Andy thought they made sense.
After all, he had already found the strongest Logia Fruit on his first day, it was only natural that he wouldn't find another treasure so soon.
Besides, the sky was starting to grow dim, and chances of finding another treasure were slim.
Might as well go back and continue tomorrow!
Andy stopped. He reached into his pocket and, for some reason, found a pack of cigarettes.
He took one and placed it between his lips.
Then, under the watchful eyes of his fans in the livestream, he snapped his fingers.
A spark of blue lightning danced from his fingertip.
Andy used it like a lighter and lit the cigarette in his mouth.
[Fuck! That scene was pure swagger overload!]
[So cold, so cocky...I can't take it anymore!]
[Lighting a cigarette with lightning? Boss, you're insane! I'll worship you from today on!]
[Boss, from now on, you're officially the most handsome man in the world!]
[Did no one else think that move was just too damn cool? He looked like such a badass!]
[Fuck, that was dope! Even Thomas Shelby lighting a cigarette didn't look that cool!]
[What more can I say? He's one of a kind!]
Seeing the awe and admiration from the viewers, Andy was speechless.
They really had no idea how absurd that act just now was.
Theoretically, lighting a cigarette with lightning could be done, but practically, it was totally unrealistic.
It's like trying to fry an egg using a nuclear bomb. Sure, the goal might technically be reached, but the result? The egg would be completely obliterated, no ashes left behind!
Of course, this worked only because Andy had learned to control the heat output from his lightning. Otherwise, the whole cigarette would've exploded and turned to dust.
Yeah...being able to adjust lightning's temperature that low was just nonsense. In fact, if lightning's temperature was that low, could it even still be called lightning?
Ah, whatever. From the start, everything happening in this world already defied logic.
After taking a puff, Andy blew the smoke out gently.
"Pheww... friends, looks like today's treasure hunt ends here."
"Let's continue the treasure hunt tomorrow!"
"Thank you to everyone who joined and accompanied me on this journey today."
"Goodbye, see you all again tomorrow!"
After saying that, Andy immediately ended his livestream.
Right after he ended the live broadcast, a notification popped up from TikTok:
[Live Gift Settlement: 10.455.900 diamonds]
"More than ten million?"
Seeing that number, Andy was stunned.
From what he knew, according to TikTok's rules, streamers only get 50% of the total gifts received, after TikTok takes its cut.
In other words, from today's livestream alone, he had received gifts worth over 20 million diamonds.
You know, 1 diamond = $0.005... So, 10.455.900 diamonds = $52.279
Just from one day of streaming, he didn't expect to earn that much money.
But after thinking it over carefully, he felt it was fair.
After all, when he first started the stream, some people sent small gifts because of how dumb he looked eating that rotten fruit.
Especially after showcasing the power of the Lightning Fruit and the devastated forest, the rich ladies and small bosses went crazy, throwing gifts like they weren't afraid of going broke.
"Pheww... turns out being a streamer is seriously profitable." Andy exhaled a stream of smoke and checked the rest of the report summary.
Feeling he had seen enough of the reports, he burned his cigarette into ashes with a spark of lightning, then turned into lightning himself and flew into the sky toward his apartment.
Within just a few breaths, he had arrived at the door of his modest apartment.
As he looked at the apartment, a strange feeling crept into his heart again.
When did he even rent this apartment? According to Chinese government regulations, it's difficult for foreigners to get residence permits.
Only those with work visas or those married to Chinese citizens can stay in China for long periods.
Moreover, after entering his apartment and checking the drawer beside the bed, he clearly saw that his visa was just a regular tourist visa.
Even worse, it was set to expire in a month, meaning he would have to renew it or leave China immediately to avoid forced deportation by the authorities.
Stranger still, his documents didn't clearly state where he was from, yet somehow, he had still been able to get a passport and visa.
How strange!
"Ah, whatever. The more you think about it, the more pointless it seems. Might as well take a bath." Andy muttered softly as he walked into the bathroom and began soaking in warm, refreshing water.
As he was enjoying his warm bath, a voice echoed in his mind.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations on your first successful global popular science broadcast! You have earned 123.658 points!]
[Note: Points can be used for the system lottery!]
Seeing the number of points he received, Andy wasn't sure whether it was considered a lot.
"123.658 points... I wonder if that's enough for a lottery."
"System, open the lottery interface."
Andy gave the command to the system casually while quickly grabbing a towel and stepping out of the bathroom.
Once out, he sat on the couch and looked at the system interface.
[Basic Lottery: 1,000 points]
[Intermediate Lottery: 10,000 points]
[Advanced Lottery: 100,000 points]
[High-Tier Lottery: 1,000,000 points]
The lottery interface was simple, with four clear options.
"Hmm, not bad," Andy murmured as he looked at the numbers.
With over 120,000 points, he could do 12 Intermediate Lotteries or 1 Advanced Lottery.
Not bad at all, especially considering it was only his first live broadcast.
The supernatural event today was far too shocking.
If more people edited the video and re-uploaded it online, it would likely go viral and reach many more who hadn't seen it live.
Maybe tonight, news outlets would flood the internet with stories about him.
But one thing was certain, millions more people would likely tune into his next live stream.
With that, he could earn more chances at Advanced or even High-Tier Lotteries!
And besides, more supernatural events and monsters would surely appear in this world, so there would be no shortage of points.
After thinking it through, Andy decided to go for 10 Intermediate Lotteries, leaving the remaining points untouched.
"System, perform 10 Intermediate Lotteries."
[Lottery in progress]
[Congratulations! You've won $500!]
[Congratulations! You've won $1,500!]
[Congratulations! You've won $100!]
[Congratulations! You've won $200!]
[Congratulations! You've won $10!]
"Damn, am I really this unlucky?". Andy shook his head helplessly at the stream of cash rewards.
From this, he figured out that cash was probably the least valuable reward in any lottery tier.
Though the total amount was decent, he was sure that Intermediate Lotteries had far more valuable prizes than just money.
Still, the draw continued.
[Congratulations! You've won $200!]
[Congratulations! You've won a Super Live Broadcast Device!]
"Hmm, maybe today isn't so bad after all.". Andy murmured upon seeing something other than cash for once.
Though he wasn't sure of its exact function, just the name alone hinted that it was a very lucky pull.
[Congratulations! You've won $2,500!]
[Congratulations! You've won $5,000!]
[Congratulations! You've inherited All of Shanks' Haki abilities!]
"Holy shit!! All of Shanks' Haki abilities?". Andy leapt up from the couch in shock.
"Seems like Lady Luck is really on my side today!". He said with a clenched fist, filled with excitement.
From acquiring the Goro Goro no Mi, inheriting Whitebeard's physique, and now Shanks' Haki, he truly felt like the heavens were favoring him.
After the lottery ended, Andy sat back on the couch and reviewed the results.
First, the total cash he earned was over $10,000, more precisely, $10,110.
That was a huge amount!
After all, he had just been sitting comfortably and managed to earn the equivalent of someone's monthly if not multiple months'salary.
Next, he looked into the other prize descriptions.
[Super Live Broadcast Device]
[A transparent floating orb that can follow the host in full 360° view without blind spots, capturing from multiple angles simultaneously with no delay, all controlled through thought alone.
The device works perfectly, even in outer space with world-class image quality.
Note: The live stream space is directly connected to the system and can broadcast worldwide on any platform.
No one can shut down or block the stream without the host's permission.
Lastly, it recharges itself automatically.]
Reading the device description, Andy's eyes sparkled with excitement.
This was clearly a divine-level live stream tool, one that would save him from many problems.
If he had to fight monsters while holding his phone, the footage would be terrible and unable to capture everything properly.
But now, with this tool, he wouldn't need to worry about carrying his phone during battles or extreme activities.
After reading that, his attention turned to the final prize.
Shanks' Haki abilities!
Even without the description, Andy could already guess what this meant, but just to confirm, he checked the details anyway.
[Shanks' Haki Abilities: Upon use, the host inherits all of Shanks' peak Haki abilities!]
[Would you like to use it now?]
"Use it now!"
Andy didn't hesitate one bit.
Why hold on to something this good?
"...Wait, should I go outside first to an open area?" he suddenly hesitated, concerned it might cause massive damage to the surroundings.
The next moment, his body was surrounded by a thin layer of energy that isolated him from the environment.
Andy couldn't describe the overwhelming sensation, it felt like something mysterious was flowing through and into his body.
In a single breath, it was over.
"System, is it done? Have I inherited all of Shanks' Haki?" Andy asked, bewildered.
After all, this was very different from when he ate the Devil Fruit, where electricity coursed through him and changed his body.
It also felt different from when he inherited Whitebeard's physique, which involved bones cracking, muscles tightening, and his whole body transforming.
In fact, he had planned to go to a wide-open space, maybe a forest before using it.
He knew Shanks' Haki, especially his Haoshoku Haki, was capable of devastating destruction.
He was afraid his modest apartment and possibly the whole province would collapse from the shockwaves.
[Yes, please don't overreact, host.]
Seeing the message, Andy chuckled. Maybe he had been overly cautious for nothing.
But right now, he truly felt something extraordinary in his perception.
With his Kenbunshoku Haki, he could see the entire city even neighboring cities!
This range… was simply ridiculous.
Shanks' Kenbunshoku Haki definitely lived up to its name.
As for future-sight, observation-killing, and his other Haki types, Andy decided he would test them later.
There was no urgent situation for now.
Since night had fallen, he decided to head out and get something to eat.
Who knows? Maybe outside of live streaming, he could stumble across another Devil Fruit or some hidden treasure.
So, he quickly dressed, straightened himself up in front of the mirror, and satisfied with his handsome look, headed out to grab some food.
After inheriting Whitebeard's physique, his appetite had greatly increased, and he now needed massive portions to support his enhanced body.