I, the screenwriter, have experienced a resurgence of inspiration.

……

The phone screen's notification bar is densely packed with related push notifications.

Push notifications from Lingjing App, Weibo trending topics, WeChat messages, SMS notifications, browser trending topics...

Dozens of push notifications kept refreshing, piling up together like a wall of text.

At the end of the Song Dynasty, when the Lingjing APP was opened, the top item was an official announcement from the Special Investigation Bureau:

[Preliminary investigation report on the recent online public opinion regarding the "examination of the City God".]

A notification popped up in the background that the Shen Nanshan task she was following had been completed, as well as a message from the Jiangcheng District volunteer cleaning task group.

Yu Songmian and Qian Fang had already sent dozens of messages in the group chat. Song Mo didn't rush to read them, but instead opened Weibo first.

Unsurprisingly, the top trending topic on Weibo was followed by a very prominent "Explosive" word.

This was already the umpteenth time she had seen this word.

I feel like everyone's gotten used to the constant barrage of trending topics on Weibo ever since the resurgence of Reiki.

—Programmer: Who will speak up for me?

The hashtag #ExaminationoftheCityGod# has garnered over 3 billion views and nearly 20 million discussions.

[Multiple netizens reported dreaming of deceased relatives "taking the City God's exam"; experts say this is a collective psychological phenomenon.]

[A centenarian claimed before his death that he had "passed the political review for the City God's examination"; his family said he passed away peacefully.]

[The first large-scale folk custom event since the revival of spiritual energy—the topic of "City God Examination" has surpassed two billion views.]

The top few trending Weibo posts came from different bloggers, some were paranormal influencers, and some were ordinary users. The posts were published from yesterday evening until the early hours of this morning.

Song Mo scrolled down slowly while browsing his phone:

[@SilverHornKingIsNotRefiningAlchemyToday: My grandma suddenly sat up the night before last and said she dreamed that a person in a black robe was calling her to take an exam.]

Our whole family thought she had gone mad, but the next morning she was so energetic that she could go out and fry dough sticks, saying that she was now the landowner of our village.

I was stunned when I saw this trending topic today. Can anyone tell me what's going on? Can a living person be used as land deity? I need an answer urgently. [Likes: 12.4; Comments: 1.1]

[@EverydayWantToSleepUntilNaturalWakeUpZzz: My dad has been gone for three years since he saved someone. Last night I dreamed that someone drove by our village entrance. The person in the car turned around and looked at me. He was wearing ancient official robes. I recognized him immediately. It was my dad.]

I checked today, and the place he said he was going to is a town, and there really is such a place on the map.

In short, I'm very confused right now. I hope this is true, but it also feels a bit absurd. [Likes: 9.8; Comments: 8677]

[@Old Mantis Shrimp in the Mountains: I am a forest ranger in the Northeast forest area. These past few days, while I was on night duty in the cabin, I heard people talking outside. They said that a new official would be taking office soon, and that the several wild ghosts that were causing trouble in the surrounding area had all run away.]

I went outside to check, but there was nothing there. In the end, I found two grasshoppers talking under the bed board... [Likes: 17.2; Comments: 1.4]

[@StrawberryPuff: My great-grandfather is over ninety years old. He used to say that his descendants were not up to par and had done bad things outside, which caused him to fail his political review.]

Upon further investigation, I discovered that one of my cousins ​​was having an affair and had even been arrested once for having sex, but no one except his parents knew about it.

So how did the old man know? Does the underworld really have political vetting? This sends chills down my spine. [Likes: 8.9; Comments: 6512]

[@My name is Wang Tietou's mom: Hehehe, you might not believe it, but my cat also received an exam notice.]

Seriously. The Special Investigation Bureau even sent people to check it out. Cats, the City God exam—the world has gone so crazy I don't recognize it anymore. [Likes: 5.1; Comments: 6630]

[@Reborn to Take the Civil Service Exam in the Underworld: So I couldn't pass the civil service exam while I was alive, and I have to take it again after I'm dead? What's the point?] Likes: 22.7 Comments: 1.9

[@Jinlingchengbeixugongmeiwomei: I have a question. Does the City God exam require a political background check? My great-grandfather was a village head; does that count as a historical issue? Can I still take the exam? Waiting for an answer online.] Likes: 3.4 Comments: 5128

[@DaoFaZiNaturalOldZhangTou: There have been exams in the underworld for a long time. It's mentioned in *Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio*, in the story "The Examination of the City God"—haven't you all read that? This system existed back then, it's not a recent invention.] Likes: 6.8 Comments: 4800

[@TodayIsAlsoCrazyThursday: So what level is the City God? And what level is the Land God? Can anyone explain? What's the system in the underworld all about?] Likes: 15.3 Comments: 2.3

[@ScienceEndsToMetaphysics: Replying to the comment above, my personal understanding is that the City God is equivalent to the court in a certain area of ​​the underworld. The Land God is like the police station.]

There's a post next door where someone who knows the stuff explains it really clearly. If you search "underworld administrative divisions," there's a hardcore science guru who drew a diagram. [Likes: 3.2]

[@The Moon Is So Round Tonight: I used to think burning paper money was superstition, but now it's all good, the spiritual energy has been restored. A couple of days ago I burned a bag of paper ingots for my grandma, and yesterday I dreamt that she was wearing new clothes and smiling at me. My grandma said that the underworld's currency system is chaotic, and told me to burn more food and clothes...] Likes: 4.9 Comments: 7454

[@WantToEatHotPotButDontGoToWork: So from now on, we really can't just burn any kind of money when visiting graves during Qingming Festival; we have to pay by the face value. Will people burn counterfeit money? Are there money detectors in the underworld?] Likes: 2.5 Comments: 4801

[@This account doesn't post GG: What I'm more concerned about is, if rich people can do whatever they want in the mortal world, can they also use money to settle things in the underworld?]

My boss has invited three groups of Taoist priests to the company to perform rituals since yesterday. It's hilarious! Why aren't they afraid of retribution when they're cutting overtime pay? [Likes: 11.2; Comments: 1.5]

[@LifeIsLikeADramaItAllDependsOnActingSkills: My cousin died in a car accident last year. Recently, I keep dreaming that he is queuing in a very dark place, saying that he is registering his household registration.]

He said I had to report to the local earth god temple first, and then go to the city god temple to cancel my registration. I didn't take it seriously at first, but when I saw it trending on social media today, it gave me goosebumps. [Likes: 7.6; Comments: 6912]

[@OldWangSays: The police have already arrested several scammers who impersonated underworld officials to help people register for the City God exam. What kind of era is this? Even the dead are being scammed by the living. Ghosts have rights too, you know.] Likes: 19.8 Comments: 1.3

[@Wind Gently Blows Over the Hill: So there really is an underworld, then does our country care about it?]

Don't tell me the underworld is under the jurisdiction of the netherworld. We are Chinese, and even in death we are Chinese ghosts. There has to be some explanation. [Likes: 14.5; Comments: 2.1]

[@EatingMelonNetizenID89757: Am I the only one wondering what the salary and benefits are like after passing the exam? Are there social insurances and housing fund? Are ghost messengers considered civil servants?] Likes: 9.6 Comments: 1.2

[@LittleOrangeAndLittlePear: Although, I still can't quite believe that the underworld really exists.]

[@A Kitty Named Cat Jar: I almost burst out laughing! A 90-year-old man failed his political background check because his grandson was unfilial and committed to prostitution. Who would believe that? Hahahaha!]

[@Blue and White British Shorthair Big Dumpling: I can't believe it, cat owners have won this round! After all, the worst thing my kitten has ever done is pee in the wrong place.]

[@LabradorBigBlackPigBobo: Someone has already shared this on foreign websites. It seems foreigners can't understand "City God" and "Land God." They think they're elves like dwarves or banshees!]

[@GrapeGrapeIamWatermelon: Foreigners probably don't understand the concept of "righteous gods," right?]

[@刁民黑土豆: Laughing like they're getting rich! Am I the only one still concerned about how the wall is being repaired in Tokyo? Is their president really planning to make a live-action Attack on Titan movie?]

……