A single divination predicts life and death; the entire internet begs me to start a live stream.

It was exactly 8 p.m.

Chen Bufan started the broadcast on time.

As soon as the live stream turned on, the number of viewers jumped in as if a valve had been turned on.

One hundred thousand.

Three hundred thousand.

Seven hundred thousand.

One million.

The screen was almost instantly filled with comments.

But this time, it was different from the previous two nights.

This is not a divination.

It's not an apology.

It's not about calling someone a master.

Instead, it was an overwhelming barrage of insults.

[The scammer has been exposed!]

[Chen Bufan, don't play dead tonight!]

[Fan report from the Science Debunking King!]

[The number one script-writing streamer on the entire internet, come out and confront me!]

[Dare we invite the anti-counterfeiting king to join us on a live stream?]

Today we're not talking about metaphysics, we're talking about evidence!

[Shen Qingyue and the Wang family are all part of the script; don't try to act all high and mighty using the police report!]

[Feudal superstitions get out of live streaming platforms!]

Chen Bufan sat in front of the camera.

On the table were still the same old copper coin, a vermilion pen, and a yellowed booklet.

He glanced at the comments, his expression unchanged.

Last night, millions of people called him a master.

Millions of people are calling him a liar tonight.

For him, it made no difference.

Cursing won't save anyone.

Praise can't stop disaster.

He raised his hand and turned off the tipping feature.

Then he opened his mouth.

"Three divinations tonight."

"The rules remain the same."

"Half price for good karma".

"The number of bad people has doubled."

The barrage of comments exploded instantly.

Still pretending?

[You'll have to get past the "King of Exposing Counterfeits" first today!]

[Stop talking about good and evil, are you willing to accept scientific scrutiny?]

[Hilarious, these scammers even go through the motions.]

Teacher Zhao is coming soon!

[Fans of the "Fake Exposing King," charge!]

Just then, a request to connect via live stream popped up in the background.

The profile picture is of a man wearing black-rimmed glasses.

Gold Certification.

The King of Science Fraud Debunking.

Chen Bufan glanced at it.

I clicked "accept".

The live stream screen was split in two.

On the other side, Zhao Qiming sat in his study.

A white shirt, black-rimmed glasses, and a neat bookshelf behind him.

There were several documents and a tablet on the table.

The lights are very bright.

The camera was also very steady.

He had a professional smile on his face, as if he were recording a serious interview.

"Good evening, Mr. Chen."

The moment he opened his mouth, the live stream chat went wild.

Teacher Zhao is here!

[Exposing the Fake News! Wang Chong!]

Expose him!

Long live science!

Tonight, we'll expose these scammers!

Zhao Qiming looked at Chen Bufan on the screen, his smile undiminished.

Let me explain first.

"I'm not here to argue tonight."

"I'm not here to ride on your coattails."

"I am asking you a few public questions as a science popularization blogger and a debunking blogger."

"If you can answer that, everyone will naturally judge."

"If you can't answer, please admit in front of the entire internet that your so-called fortune telling is just a script and an information gap."

The comments section was filled with praise.

Teacher Zhao is a professional!

Now that's what rationality looks like!

[Chen Bufan should take note: don't jump to conclusions about cause and effect, fate, and destiny.]

Don't let him escape tonight.

Chen Bufan leaned back in his chair.

"What's so special about it?"

Zhao Qiming was taken aback.

He had clearly prepared a lot of opening remarks, but Chen Bufan only replied with three words.

He smiled quickly.

"Mr. Chen, don't rush to steer the conversation back to the metaphysical framework you're familiar with."

"Let's talk about logic first."

Chen Bufan looked at him.

"You're on a live stream, not asking for a divination?"

Zhao Qiming pushed up his glasses.

"Of course I'm not seeking divination."

"I just want to prove that your so-called divination cannot stand up to scrutiny at all."

Chen Bufan said calmly:

"Then ask."

Zhao Qiming smiled.

"it is good."

He leaned back and placed his hands folded on the table.

"Since you say you can tell fortunes..."

"Let's start with the simplest one."

"Don't talk about life, death, calamity, or disaster, and don't talk about cause and effect or fate."

"You calculate what I ate tonight."

After saying that, he looked at the camera, his tone tinged with mockery.

"Isn't this a fair question?"

"No danger, no ambiguous space."

"Only I and my staff know what I ate today."

"If you're really good at calculations, just say it out loud."

"If you can't say it, then everything you said before was just rhetoric."

The fans of the "Fake Exposing King" instantly went wild.

【pretty!】

Ask for specifics!

Don't let him spout nonsense!

What I ate today shouldn't be kept secret, right?

【Chen Bufan, speak up!】

[His mind is definitely starting to fog up, like when he eats whole grains.]

Hahaha, maybe you've tasted the flavors of human life.

Chen Bufan didn't read the comments.

He just stared at Zhao Qiming's face.

Eyebrow bone.

Bridge of the nose.

Lip color.

There are bruises under my eyes.

There was also the suffocating black aura behind his left shoulder.

Zhao Qiming still had a smile on his face.

But his right index finger kept tapping lightly on the table.

a bit.

Two times.

Three times.

This is not composure.

It's anxiety.

Chen Bufan looked at him for a few seconds.

He opened his mouth and said:

"You didn't eat today."

The live stream room fell silent.

Zhao Qiming's smile deepened.

"Didn't you eat?"

"Mr. Chen, are you sure?"

Chen Bufan nodded.

"Sure."

Zhao Qiming lowered his head and smiled.

"Did everyone hear that?"

"This is what's known as the number one gossip on the entire internet."

"He can even get it wrong whether I've eaten today or not."

The live chat exploded with comments.

[Did it backfire?]

Teacher Zhao definitely ate today!

[How could you get something so simple wrong?]

[Hahaha, the scammer's been exposed.]

Where are Master Chen's fans? Come out and explain!

[No rush, I feel there's a second half to the sentence.]

[The same thing happened the first two times; at first, I thought it was a mistake, but then it exploded.]

Zhao Qiming raised his hand to signal the chat to quiet down, a confident smile on his face.

"Mr. Chen, let me remind you of something."

"I had a light meal with my team at four o'clock this afternoon."

"Salad, chicken breast, coffee."

"The studio has CCTV footage and delivery records."

"Isn't it a bit too hasty to say that I haven't eaten?"

Chen Bufan spoke calmly.

That's not food.

Zhao Qiming raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Oh?"

"What is that?"

Chen Bufan looked at him.

"It's a prop you deliberately placed on the table so that others would see that you ate it."

Zhao Qiming's smile faltered for a moment.

very short.

But the camera was too close.

Too many people are watching the live stream.

Everyone saw it.

The direction of the comments changed instantly.

【etc.】

[Teacher Zhao paused for a moment just now.]

[Props? What does that mean?]

[You really didn't eat it?]

[Staged photos of takeout food?]

Something's not right.

Zhao Qiming recovered quickly.

He shook his head and smiled.

"Mr. Chen, your words are very clever."

"I said I ate it, and you said it wasn't food, it was a prop."

"Wouldn't that mean you'd never be wrong?"

"This is what I mean by vague language."

The comments section started flooding again.

【right!】

This is the art of persuasion!

What's the difference between not having eaten and having props?

Chen Bufan has started going in circles again.

Don't let him sway you!

Chen Bufan did not refute.

She just kept watching him.

"You didn't eat today."

"Because you're busy burying things."

The smile on Zhao Qiming's face froze completely for a moment.

This time, it wasn't a half-beat.

It was a full second.

The live stream felt like someone had grabbed it by the throat.

The live chat went silent for a moment.

The next second, a dense barrage of question marks filled the screen.

【? ? ? ? 】

Busy burying things?

What are we burying?

Holy crap, a basement?!

[That "basement" line from earlier in the day is back again!]

[Was Chen Bufan just saying that offhand?]

Teacher Zhao's expression changed!

He was really panicked!

Zhao Qiming's hand, which was hanging under the table, suddenly clenched.

But he is, after all, a social media influencer with millions of followers.

His years of live streaming experience allowed him to quickly control his emotions.

He looked up and looked at the camera again.

"Bury something?"

"Mr. Chen, do you know what you're saying?"

You mentioned the basement this morning.

"They said I buried things again last night."

"What are you implying?"

His voice turned cold.

Are you publicly defaming me in front of millions of people?

Chen Bufan said calmly:

"You can call the police."

Zhao Qiming sneered.

"Of course I will call the police."

"But before calling the police, I'd like you to make yourself clear."

"What did I bury?"

"Where should we bury him?"

"When was it buried?"

"If you can't answer, don't blame me for ruining your reputation tonight."

Fans of the "Fake Exposing King" immediately flooded the screen with comments.

Speak up!

Stop being sarcastic and sarcastic!

[Give me specifics if you dare!]

What's buried? Where?

[If you can't explain it, then it's a rumor!]

[Support Teacher Zhao in reporting the incident to the police!]

Chen Bufan picked up his water glass and took a sip.

Then put it down.

The sound was very flat.

"1:27 PM today."

"You went back to the suburban villa."

"They came in through the back door."

"I didn't bring an assistant."

"You turned off the security camera at the basement entrance beforehand."

Zhao Qiming's eyes darkened slightly.

Chen Bufan continued:

"You were in the basement for forty-six minutes."

"When I came out, I had changed into a gray coat."

"My right sleeve was covered in mud."

"You threw that coat into the third used clothing recycling bin outside the villa area."

"You washed the mud off the soles of your shoes with the water in the basement pool."

The number of comments in the live stream is decreasing.

It's not that nobody watches it.

Instead, everyone was stunned by the minute-by-minute detail.

[1:27?]

Forty-six minutes?

[A third used clothing recycling bin?]

Holy crap, that's incredibly detailed.

Why isn't Teacher Zhao saying anything?

Wasn't he quite talkative just now?

If it's fake, it'll be exposed immediately upon investigation.

Zhao Qiming took a deep breath.

"Mr. Chen."

"You're good at making things up."

"But I will have my lawyer record every word you say."

You'd better think carefully about the consequences.

Chen Bufan ignored his threat.

"There used to be twelve cages in your basement."

Zhao Qiming's pupils suddenly contracted.

The live chat exploded instantly.

【cage?!】

What kind of cage?

Why put twelve cages in the basement?

[Holy crap, I have a bad feeling about this.]

[Could it be an animal?]

Didn't the "Fake News King" previously make videos about rescuing stray animals?

Wait, he also exposed the cat abuse industry chain before.

Chen Bufan looked at Zhao Qiming.

"You cleared out eight people today."

"There are four left."

Zhao Qiming slammed his hand on the table.

"That's enough!"

That sound was too urgent.

That's too loud.

His assistant behind him was startled.

The live stream chat exploded with comments.

[My defenses have been broken!]

He's getting anxious!

[He was rational just now, but now he's panicking.]

[Of the twelve cages, eight were removed, leaving four?]

What exactly is in a basement?

Zhao Qiming realized he had lost his composure and immediately adjusted his breathing.

He sat down again, his face now grim.

"Chen Bufan".

"That's the most vicious rumor you've ever spread."

"Are you trying to say that I'm keeping something locked in my basement?"

Are you implying that I'm abusing animals?

"Let me tell you, I've made so many animal protection videos."

"I have donated money and rescued stray cats and dogs."

"Don't you think it's despicable of you to slander me in this way?"

The barrage of comments began to split.

Teacher Zhao is right; he has rescued stray animals before.

But his slamming of the table just now really seemed like he was right.

[Don't rush, let the master finish speaking.]

If Chen Bufan were to falsely accuse someone of cat abuse, that would be truly malicious.

The problem is that he was too specific.

If there's nothing in the basement, why doesn't Teacher Zhao just do a live stream and show us?

Yeah! Let's go to the basement now!

Soon, the screen was filled with the following messages:

[Go to the basement!]

[Go to the basement!]

[Go to the basement!]

Zhao Qiming's expression grew increasingly grim.

Of course he couldn't go.

I can't go, at least not now.

The basement was indeed cleaned today.

But it's impossible to get it completely clean.

Some smells just won't go away.

Some stains cannot be washed off.

Some things, there's no time to deal with them.

He suppressed his anger and said coldly:

"My private residence is not going to be opened to the entire internet just because of a few words from a liar."

"This is a basic right to privacy."

Chen Bufan said calmly:

"privacy?"

"Is that old freezer on the west wall of the basement also considered privacy?"

Zhao Qiming's hand clenched tightly.

"Is the drain next to the freezer also considered privacy?"

Zhao Qiming pursed his lips into a straight line.

"Is that bloodstained pair of scissors in the corner also considered privacy?"

The live chat exploded.

[Bloodstained scissors?!]

Holy crap!

This is a huge problem!

[Call the police immediately!]

Stop arguing and call the police!

If this is true, this isn't debunking a fake, it's a crime!

Zhao Qiming finally couldn't hold back any longer.

"Chen Bufan!"

"Have you said enough?"

His voice was no longer steady.

The veins on his forehead were bulging.

Chen Bufan looked at him.

"no."

Zhao Qiming stared intently at the screen.

Chen Bufan said, word by word:

"Northwest corner of the basement."

"Under the third floor tile."

"There's one more."

The live stream went silent instantly.

Everyone seemed frozen in place by that sentence.

Zhao Qiming's face gradually turned pale under the camera's lens.

Chen Bufan's voice was low, yet it clearly reached the ears of millions of people.

"Still alive."