Under the influence of the C-level anomaly 'Evil God·Primary', Shengmaotong conducted a sacrificial ritual in the basement of the Celestial Grand Assembly Hall.
Wow! That bizarre statue is truly extraordinary! He exclaimed, 'How could a statue be so twisted?'
Zhan Yan continued flipping through the pages. The ground fissure at the Celestial Assembly Hall wasn't accidental—it was the basement shaken open by Chongming, the Demon King of the Ten Thousand Demons Alliance. The anomalies in the divine statue had already been removed by the Demon King, leaving only an empty shell.
What a badass! He not only fixed the malfunction but also demolished the basement in the process.
It was the first time Yan Zhan had encountered the title 'Chongming Demon King' in the gossip system. He casually dragged the term into his information panel and added a tag to save it.
The 'chigu' system primarily relies on keyword searches to discover chigu content, functioning like a recommendation-free search engine where relevant information only appears when actively searched.
The title 'Tian Shi' (Celestial Master) was first discovered by him while searching for a location. Though he later encountered other supernatural beings, none could rival the legendary 'Tian Shi' titan.
In addition, there is an information disk area, which functions as a collection system.
The information panel resembles an endless universe, where words of information sparkle like stars against a dark background. Each word displays varying colors and brightness: white is the dimmest, green slightly brighter, blue in between, purple more luminous, and the most radiant golden words.
"Tianshi" and "Chongming Demon King" are both golden information words.
The present information landscape remains profoundly dim, with only scattered sparks of light.
Zhan Yan had a hunch that once the number of activated information terms hit a certain threshold, the gossip system would get upgraded. Who knows what new features might pop up then.
Zhan Yan typed "Chongming Demon King" as the keyword for retrieval.
The Demon King Chongming combed through every single feather of his body with great care.
The Chongming Demon King flew over the city's polluted air and took a refreshing dip in the hot springs.
Chongming Demon King tried Flying Brand Feather Protection Ointment but found it ineffective, so he decided to switch to a different brand next time.
...
The demon king is a beauty-obsessed perfectionist.
The phone suddenly rang. Zhan Yan turned off the 'chewing gum' mode and answered it.
The call came from the news agency where Zhan Yan had previously applied—a small team with competitive compensation. Having joined the university's journalism club during college, he was somewhat aligned with the field. With no particular commitments during his vacation, he decided to try a short-term job. After reviewing the requirements, he submitted his resume.
When the candidate introduced himself, Zhan Yan was reminded of that day's job interview. The written test and interview were held on the same day. The written test was somewhat unusual—it didn't test theoretical knowledge, common error correction, or current hot news. Instead, it provided three passages, each requiring a news report and a commentary.
Zhan Yan still remembers these three sections, each containing images, photographs, and plain text.
The image is a blurry scene, capturing a mirage-like sky. The quotation marks are used because the mirage reveals bizarre and ever-changing phenomena.
The photo is taken from above, showing a fishing boat on the water, with a massive shadow beneath it in stark contrast.
The story follows a group of students who go missing while hiking in the mountains. Three months later, they reappear unharmed, yet claim to have only been there for three days.
The news agency president called to inform him of his acceptance and asked when he could come to cover the story.
Since there was nothing to do, Zhan Yan tidied up and headed straight off.
On the way there, a new message popped up in the class group. Zhan Yan checked it and saw it was from his dorm mate Duan Hong, who had stayed on campus during the break to prepare for the postgraduate entrance exam.
Duan Hong snapped several photos of the English test paper, where all the questions were answered, with a 50-50 accuracy rate.
Others joked:
What's wrong with you, Brother Duan?
"Just a few days off and you're already down?"
Duan Hong: "This is not my doing, sir!"
I left my test paper in the study room last night to reserve a spot, but this morning I found my questions had already been answered.
The group buzzed with activity:
"True or false, hahahaha!"
Nowadays, people still steal exam questions.
What a weird thing! I'm laughing my head off.
Jian Yan teased with a chuckle, and right away a private chat popped up.
When Yan Zhan clicked the link, it was no surprise—it was his handsome and charismatic boyfriend, Gu Jiancheng.
"Yan Yan, I want to see you."
I got a super cute sticker.
Zhan Yan coldly refused, "No."
Gu Jiancheng was perfect in every way, except for being too clingy. Zhan Yan had been stuck with him all semester, and he wanted to relive the freedom of space during the break.
Gu Jiancheng: "Why? [Crying loudly]"
Zhan Yan: "I have to go to work."
"It's here."
"Respectfully."
Determined to improve himself, Zhan Yan shut down WeChat, smoothed his messy curly hair, and walked into the newsroom.
In the mountainous area of Yutang City, Gu Jiancheng stepped on something so bizarre it should have been pixelated. With a gloomy expression, he logged out of WeChat and dialed a number: "Hey? Send me a few more weird messages."
"Boss!" The man on the other end of the line was practically on his knees. "What do you call this abnormality? Leeks? A bunch that keeps sprouting after being cut?"
A blood-stained mosaïc-like vein stealthily emerged, trying to slip into Gu Jiancheng's trouser leg.
Gu Jiancheng stomped down hard, and the object quivered twice before finally locking in place.
He grunted impatiently, "Why don't you change your name? Don't call yourself the All-Knowing—why not the All-Not-Knowing?"
Boss, you're still on the wanted list for handling irregularities. Why don't we focus on sustainable development? Go find your boyfriend if you're feeling stressed.
Gu Jiancheng grunted.
Oh... your boyfriend hasn't seen you? You can go find him! Hey, let me tell you, in a relationship, you gotta...
Wanshi Tong was still rambling on. Gu Jiancheng just left a 'Let me know' and hung up.
The abnormality under the soles and the soil you have me.
Gu Jiancheng squinted irritably. "Yanyan has to go to work. What's the point of going to work? Is he even there? He'd rather see what kind of little demon that job is!"
Shinkei News Agency.
Zhan Yan was being guided through his new role by the company president. His initial tasks were straightforward—like a written test, he had to draft news articles from provided materials. After some time, he was required to conduct on-site investigations to gather real news stories.
The president, Zhen Hua, is a middle-aged woman with thick glasses who smiles warmly: "Our organization has a small team, so we keep things casual. You'll graduate in a year, right? What are your plans after graduation? Our permanent staff enjoy better benefits—why not consider joining us?"
This is way too enthusiastic. Zhan Yan remained silent, his eyes sharp with caution.
"Oh, I'm really impressed with you," Zhen Hua said approvingly. "Your news reporting is both swift and accurate—after all, speed is the lifeblood of journalism. What's more, I could tell during the interview that you're a staunch materialist, never letting information skew your perspective."
Zhan Yan:...During the interview, he hadn't yet hooked up to the social media monitoring system.
But it's not a big deal—he can be a staunch materialist at work.
"I will consider it," said Zhan Yan.
Zhen Hua smiled and didn't dwell on it. After getting him to collect the office supplies, she sent him back to his workstation.
As the door closed, Zhan Yan heard the man say to Zhen Hua, "Sister Zhen, those files we've been piling up are starting to rot. When are we supposed to hire a document organizer?"
It's hard to recruit people...
Document processing? These tedious tasks are usually assigned to new hires. Yet Zhen Yan waited all morning without anyone calling him. No news assignments were given yet—Zhen Hua said he'd only get them when needed, otherwise it was just idle work. So... was he really sitting around for free?
Zhan Yan felt something was off. With such easy conditions, how could they not attract people?
He turned on the gossip mode.
After three consecutive failed recruitment attempts, Zhen Hua finally succeeded in hiring a candidate who passed the mental stability test. Overwhelmed with emotion, she ate eighteen bowls of rice in one sitting.
Zhan Yan:???
Forget the eighteen bowls of rice—what the hell is that mental stability test? When did he ever do that?
President's Office.
Zhen Hua removed her thick camouflage glasses, her eyes revealing a mysterious pattern. She took out Zhan Yan's written test and interview records, and the more she read, the more delighted she became.
We've finally found a reliable candidate! We must do everything to keep this young talent on board!
She was genuinely impressed by Zhan Yan. While his news writing was swift and logically sound, the real strength lay in his unwavering stability—unaffected by any erratic information. That's what makes him truly exceptional in this field.
Some abnormalities affect people through information perception. When exposed to such abnormal information for a prolonged period, individuals may gradually develop mental disorders. Therefore, it is essential to identify sufficiently stable individuals.
These young folks these days are all into mysticism, sharing lucky koi fish, and chanting 'left eye luck, right eye misfortune' —that old-fashioned superstition. While they're not superstitious, they're equally unscientific. If she keeps this up, she might end up with a mental breakdown someday.
Their staff undergo regular psychological assessments, but those with unstable mental states experience rapid cognitive decline, often becoming unable to perform adequately after just three months.
Yan Zhan was different. During the test, he remained completely calm, even more stable than many of the superpowered individuals in the Abnormal Affairs Bureau.
The data processing is still lagging behind, so we'll have to handle a flood of abnormal data first. Let's observe and let Zhan Yan adjust gradually. If he adapts well, we'll give him a raise!
At his workstation, Zhan Yan spent hours poring over the gossip, piecing together clues and making guesses until he finally figured out how this news agency actually operated.
The True Science Press is a small branch of the Abnormal Affairs Administration Bureau, which is responsible for explaining the abnormal phenomena exposed to the public in a scientific and reasonable way.
The mental stability assessment leverages subtle hints embedded in the test paper's texture and the abilities demonstrated by the CEO during interviews. Certain bizarre anomalies can influence human consciousness, gaining power by eroding others' perceptions and beliefs. This explains why the Abnormality Bureau keeps the truth hidden from the public.
Since it was a proper job, Zhan Yan had no worries.
This is the front line of gossip! Who knows, maybe I'll even get to meet my idol someday. He typed the keywords into the gossip system.
In the mission log for 'Tian Shi' on Yitao Mountain, it was recorded: 'That damn A-level anomaly "Gap" was too stealthy to track down, so I just used the group attack ultimate to take it out.' A teammate then burst into tears, clutching the team leader's arm and wailing,' Captain! This mission log can't be written like that, Captain!'