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Chapter 9 - Chapter 9: Stop Working, You're About to Die of Overwork

"Streamer, you have to save me..."

Wu Ai Wo Fu looked like he was about to burst into tears, but Shen Zhiyao continued to sip her milk tea unhurriedly, showing no sign of panic.

The comment section exploded:

[OMG, you guys, look at his eyes! There are no pupils, just the whites. I've never seen anything like it.]

[Is he doing ballet? His limbs are twisting a full 360 degrees! So creepy! Oh my god, I'm so scared but I can't look away! What do I do, fam!]

[Don't be scared, little sis. Tell your big bro where you live, and I'll come protect you... hehehe!]

[Fuck off, you creep!]

Shen Zhiyao glanced at Wu Ai Wo Fu's condition. "Wang Jian Guo, your time is up tomorrow. Even now, are you still unwilling to tell the truth?"

"I'll talk! I'll talk, Streamer! As long as you save me, I'll confess to anything you want! Anything! Streamer, please, don't give up on me! Don't abandon me!"

Shen Zhiyao chanted an incantation, and a ray of golden light shot from her fingertips.

Wu Ai Wo Fu quickly returned to normal.

His legs gave out, and he collapsed limply to the floor.

"HUFF... HUFF..."

His face was a mask of pure terror. His eyes were wide, staring blankly ahead.

Once he caught his breath, he began to tell the story of him and his wife.

"My name is Wang Jian Guo. I was born in a mountain village. I already told the first part of the story yesterday, but... I lied about some of it."

"My wife wasn't killed by kidnappers. My current wife and I... we killed her together. A few years after I got married, I fell in love with the innocent and fair Zhang Yu. We had a son together. To give our child a legitimate name, I asked my wife for a divorce. But she refused, no matter what. So, in a fit of rage... I beat her to death. The wife who had been through thick and thin with me..."

As he spoke, a flicker of guilt crossed his face.

Shen Zhiyao listened, her expression completely unfazed.

Only her eyes held a hint of pity.

"Right after I killed my wife, strange things started happening at home. My mother and father died, one after the other. And even my beloved Zhang Yu... she died yesterday..."

Wu Ai Wo Fu wiped away his tears, his body trembling uncontrollably. "Streamer, what am I supposed to do? What can I do? My family... they're all dead... I know I'm a monster, but my family was innocent!"

"Innocent?"

A sarcastic smile touched Shen Zhiyao's lips. "Your mistress came up with the method to kill your wife. After she died, your parents destroyed all the evidence, dragged her body back to the village, and forced her into a ghost marriage! And you're still defending them, calling them innocent? Wang Jian Guo, did a dog eat your conscience?"

Shen Zhiyao cupped her chin, glaring at Wu Ai Wo Fu with indignation. She spoke with stern righteousness, "Wang Jian Guo, you abandoned your wife and daughter, murdered your wife, and imprisoned your daughter. Everything you have done is a heinous crime! Your karma is here!"

As her words fell, Shen Zhiyao gave Wu Ai Wo Fu a smug lift of her eyebrow, as if declaring her victory.

Soon, police sirens blared from all around Wu Ai Wo Fu. A group of officers kicked down his door and slapped handcuffs on him.

With a CLATTER, Wu Ai Wo Fu's phone fell to the floor, the screen going dark.

But Wu Ai Wo Fu's furious roars could still be heard. "AAAAAAH! You dared to call the cops, you bitch! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"

The video call disconnected. Shen Zhiyao sat there calmly, her expression unchanged.

[Streamer, is there a follow-up to this? I'm so excited for an update! Really!]

[Yeah, yeah! I also want to know who Susu was forced to marry in that ghost marriage! Can you save her? Susu is so pitiful! Streamer, you have to help her. Help her pass on so she can finally rest in peace!]

[That damn scumbag deserves to die by a thousand cuts! Poor Susu was so devoted, only to suffer such a horrible fate.]

[Men are so scary these days. What am I gonna do? I'm too scared to get married now. I'm telling my mom I don't want kids because I'm scared out of my wits...]

[This guy is terrifying. Marrying him was the worst luck Susu could have had in eight lifetimes. But by the way, Streamer, does this count as an official reading or after-sales service?]

Shen Zhiyao answered, "This counts as after-sales service, not the third call. I'll do the last reading now!"

The call-in line opened once more.

She quickly connected with a white-collar office worker who was still working overtime, even though it was almost midnight.

The office worker said, "Streamer, I've been working overtime for three months straight. I'm just so exhausted. Sometimes I wonder why I'm working myself to the bone. I think about just going back to my hometown, but I can't bear to give up my high-paying nine-to-nine job. Streamer, I'd like you to do a reading for me. Should I keep grinding it out at this corporate job in the big city, or would I be better off moving back home?"

Shen Zhiyao's expression immediately turned serious. "My advice to you is to put down your work and go to sleep. Right now."

"What did you say?"

Three straight months of overtime had clearly dulled the man's reflexes.

Shen Zhiyao said, "You've been working overtime for too long and you're exhausted. Stop working and rest right where you are. If you don't, you're going to die from overwork."

The office worker was stunned for a moment, then laughed. "Are you kidding me? People don't just drop dead from overwork. Stop working? Do you have any idea what tomorrow is? It's the final deadline for the proposal. If I don't get this done tonight, the entire department will suffer tomorrow. My boss will make sure everyone gets an equal share of the... urgh!"

Perhaps he got too worked up. As he spoke, his heart suddenly began to pound violently in his chest.

He scrambled for a nearby cup and GULPED down what was his tenth coffee of the day, only then feeling slightly better.

"I'd better just keep working, otherwise, the whole team will be dragged down with me."

With that, the office worker ended the call.

Shen Zhiyao addressed her viewers, "My phone is tied up with the stream, so I can't make a call. Can someone in the chat call an ambulance? In about ten minutes, he's going to have a heart attack. The address is the 21st floor of the East Building in the High-Tech District."

[The streamer predicted the office worker is going to die from overwork? For real?]

[She even gave the address! It must be real! This is a matter of life and death, I'll call an ambulance!]

[What a coincidence! I'm actually in the East Building in the High-Tech District. I'll go up to the 21st floor and check on that guy, see if he's really there.]

[Hey, dude who's going, start a stream! Let us see too! I'm also really curious if he's actually in the East Building.]

Eight minutes passed...

[Streamer, I'm back. That guy really is on the 21st floor of the East Building. I tried to talk him into taking a break for a long time, but he won't listen. He said instead of resting, he'd rather use the bits of free time to finish his work.]

That viewer requested to go on a call with Shen Zhiyao, and she agreed.

Soon enough, the office worker appeared on the screen.

Perhaps feeling his privacy had been invaded, the office worker became furious and stood up to throw the person out.

But just then, he suddenly clutched his chest and collapsed to the ground in agony.

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