American variety show world begins with subduing Jason

When my mother was alive, I thought that house was my hell; now that she's gone, I realize that even that hell didn't belong to me.

"The will states that all my property will go to my sister. Therefore, I urgently need money to find a new place to stay. It would be even better if you could increase the amount of the reward just a little bit."

She spent half her life working hard to be filial to her parents, only to end up with nothing and being kicked out of the house. Even though she seemed to have no complaints, everyone could hear the endless bitterness hidden in her words.

Apart from one teenager, everyone present had experienced the hardships of life and witnessed the coldness and warmth of human relationships. Even so, they felt a sense of sympathy for Anna's tragic experience.

Even Professor Maro, who was only focused on producing academic results, didn't know how to offer any advice. He could only secretly add a small amount to the experimental expense report in his mind.

Seona tossed her long, black, glossy hair, stood up abruptly, and pulled a bottle of wine from a box beside her.

"What happened before today is history, what happens after today is the future. Let's have a drink, this is some good wine I brought from Miami!" She said, her red lips slightly upturned, and she smiled gently at Anna.

"Yes, yes, yes, we should have a drink to warm up. Let me go light that big fireplace. Damn it, it's already March, and this empty house is still so cold. I really don't understand the taste of those rich people." Luke also stood up and rubbed his hands together exaggeratedly.

Zhu Mingyao, in a serious tone, chimed in, "Miss Saiona, whose poem was the author of those two philosophical quotes you just mentioned?"

Seona placed one hand on her hip, tilting her delicate chin to the side. "That poet's name is Seona Rowling!"

"Hahaha!" Everyone laughed knowingly, and the lively atmosphere dispelled the awkwardness from before.

At this moment, the setting sun finally disappeared below the distant horizon, and darkness gradually swallowed up the remaining light inch by inch, plunging the manor into the deep night.

As night fell, in Zhu Mingyao's spiritual perception, the entire manor building began to emit an extremely subtle, dark aura. The aura was hazy and indistinct, yet it suppressed his senses to a considerable extent, giving him the feeling of looking through frosted glass when he used his spiritual perception.

He activated his aura-gazing technique and discreetly surveyed his surroundings. He saw that the aura permeated every visible corner of the room—the tables, chairs, decorations, and even the fireplace that had just been lit and was now burning fiercely.

A strange feeling flashed through the boy's mind.

Is this some kind of maze? No, my sense of spatial orientation doesn't seem to have changed.

Still a ghost realm? Don't be ridiculous. This isn't some ancient battlefield. The dead ghost Hugh Corinne who's entrenched here is just a heartless factory owner, not some Black Mountain Demon.

But with this little bit of power, could a large number of decorative statues really come to life, just like in the original story? Zhu Mingyao had deep doubts about this.

Infusing energy into inanimate objects to temporarily animate them and make them move according to the manipulator's will is not a particularly rare spell. Both Eastern enchantment techniques and wizards' puppet-making can achieve this.

However, ordinary practitioners can only choose light and soft objects as objects for their spells. For example, in ancient times, folk sorcerers in India and the Middle East liked to use specially made flutes to make sounds, manipulate ropes to move flexibly like snakes, or make tapestries fly up and down to perform for nobles and earn some money to spend.

To make statues of hard, heavy metal and stone move like real living beings and even attack and fight, involves changes in physical properties, which immediately raises the difficulty of the spell several levels.

Although Zhu Mingyao had secretly discovered during his inspection that most of the metal statues here were hollow castings, they still weighed anywhere from tens to over a hundred kilograms.

Zhu Mingyao knew that if he wanted these clumsy creatures to attack people like they did in the movies, he would have to wait until he had mastered the Five Organs Chapter of the Yellow Court Classic and used the Metal and Earth Escape techniques from the Five Elements Arts to make them work. He couldn't do that now.

I've added this to my favorites 5000 times. I'm one step closer to my goal of receiving welfare (￣.￣)

Is Chapter 69 about to begin?

Over the dishes on the table, while enjoying fine wine and chatting, the group gradually became acquainted.

Seemingly not a big drinker, after two glasses, Professor Marlowe's female assistant, Mary, blushed. She exhaled a breath of alcohol, stood up somewhat excitedly, and slowly walked back and forth, touching the surrounding furnishings, and began to tell the experimental volunteers about the legend of Corinne Manor.

"...Why are there so many sculptures with children as their subject? Good question, Mr. Luke."

The builders of this estate, Hugh and Mrs. Corrian, loved children very much, but sadly, they never had any children of their own before their deaths…

Such a large fireplace isn't very practical in modern architecture, but in an era without air conditioning, people didn't have many options. However, such an exaggerated size is truly rare. I'm not saying anything bad about the ancients; during my travels in Europe, I didn't see fireplaces of this size in any of the aristocratic estates…”

She picked up the fire hook, untied the thin iron chain hanging over the fireplace to block out the smoke, tossed in a piece of split pine, watched the fire crackle and pop, and turned to say:

"Compared to those true noble families, they seem rather like nouveau riche."

"However, the other furniture and decorations here look quite nice. Although they were made by ordinary craftsmen and are not works of art, they are very well maintained." Saiona picked up her wine glass and gave her comments from her professional perspective.

“That’s true. Although they are slightly damaged, they are mostly intact. Take this harpsichord, for example. It’s over a hundred years old and can still be played with difficulty.” Mary nodded and pressed the keys a few times. The copper strings vibrated and produced a slightly dull sound.

"It's fortunate that the town wasn't in decline before, and its finances were still relatively good. Otherwise, these things would have been sold off by the town government long ago, and we wouldn't be able to gather here..."

As everyone listened intently to Mary recounting the history of the manor, no one noticed that one of the pegs on the wooden harpsichord, which was wrapped around the strings, was slowly and silently unwinding.

With a sharp "clang," the copper wire strings snapped, leaving a blur as they swept towards Mary's face with a delicate yet sharp whistling sound!

A single string on a modern piano can have a tension of up to 90 kilograms. If it were to suddenly strike exposed skin, the damage would be no less than a knife cut.

Even though an old-fashioned harpsichord has less power, if it hits hard, it will still tear the skin and cause blood to flow.

If there are no accidents...

How could there be no accidents!

These past few days, Zhu Mingyao had carefully reviewed the movie The Haunting of Hill House over and over again. He knew every detail he could recall by heart, so he was well-prepared for the haunted manor house scene at the beginning of the original story.

Just as the string was about to strike Mary's face, it suddenly veered off course, as if it had hit something transparent and resilient, and slid diagonally to the ground.

The event happened so fast, and the string was so thin that everyone, including Mary herself, was stunned for a moment. After a few breaths, they reacted, then stood up abruptly and rushed over to check.

Everyone hurriedly helped Mary to a sofa to sit down. Two ladies came forward to carefully check her over, and only after confirming that she was unharmed did everyone feel relieved.

“This house is really, really strange.” Mary took the wine that Seona handed her, took two big gulps to calm herself down, and looked at the strings on the ground that were still gleaming with metallic light, and said with lingering fear.

“What the locals are saying is true! It must be, it must be the spirits of Hugh Crane and his wife still wandering here.”

"Don't panic, Mary, it was just an accident." Professor Marlowe leaned down to comfort her, supporting himself on the sofa, but his eyes secretly glanced at Zhu Mingyao.

In the past, he might have just thought it was an accident, but this time, wasn't there a so-called exorcist with him?

He hadn't forgotten why he invited them along – it was because he'd heard his disciple Klein's vivid description and, with a "better safe than sorry" attitude towards haunted houses, that's why he'd asked them to come along.

Feeling Professor Marlowe's gaze, the boy hesitated for a moment, then nodded slightly to him.

Professor Marlow swallowed hard, maintaining his composure, and forced a smile at the crowd:

"Alright, alright, since everything's alright, let's hurry up and continue with our meal. I'll explain the details of this experiment later."

Back at the table, everyone was lost in their own thoughts, and the atmosphere was noticeably somber. Maro, noticing their mood, told a few jokes, which gradually lifted their spirits, and they began to chat quietly.

While everyone was chatting and laughing, Professor Marlowe apologized and said he was going to the restroom, but secretly gave Zhu Mingyao a wink.

After his figure disappeared around the corner, Zhu Mingyao muttered a few words to himself, then hid his hands under the table and made a few hand gestures. An invisible wave emanated and enveloped the surroundings.

After silently setting up a protective barrier for everyone, the boy pretended to go to the restroom as well, and stood up to follow them.

Turning the corner, Professor Marlowe was indeed waiting not far away. Seeing Zhu Mingyao appear, his eyes lit up, and he stepped forward, asking in a slightly anxious low voice:

"What exactly happened just now? Mr. Milyo, could it really be..." He hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to say.

Zhu Mingyao remained silent, first taking out a black leather ID from his pocket and placing it in Maro's hand, before speaking:

“There are indeed some issues here, Professor. I know you don’t really believe in the supernatural, but this should be able to convince you to some extent.”

Opening the document, I saw this line of small print below the gleaming FBI metal shield:

[Special Advisor]!

Professor Marlowe pondered the term, half believing and half doubting. Did the FBI even have such a position?

The boy shrugged. “You don’t think I’m forging documents, do you? You have your phone with you. You can call Professor Charlie Dalton right now. He’ll be willing to vouch for me. Or if you know someone in the relevant system, you can ask them to check the number on the document.”

Zhu Mingyao's frank expression and words dispelled many of Professor Maro's doubts. He handed the documents back and asked hesitantly, "Well, so who is this 'Special Advisor'?"

"It's just what you think. This refers to those of us who assist government agencies in investigating these 'special incidents.' I'm afraid we'll need your cooperation today. Let me explain it to you quickly..."

Chapter 70 Our Door-Kicking Team Never Skips the Plot!

This certificate was sent to me by Bai Ziyuan a few days ago after the matter with Venerable Hongri was resolved.

Holding this certificate means that the certified superhuman is officially registered. As long as they do not break the law, they have many advantages when moving freely within the Federation. They can also receive certain rewards by assisting government agencies, similar to the adventurer's certificate in fantasy novels.

As for why it says FBI above, it's because most people have no idea about the Special Events Investigation Bureau, this secret agency.

When dealing with laypeople, the FBI's prestigious name is more intimidating, while insiders can immediately recognize the holder's true identity by looking at the small print of "Special Advisor" and the hidden magical mark next to it, without wasting any words.

The serial numbers on the documents are all genuine; they can be verified by checking.

The FBI and the Special Investigations Bureau are, to some extent, two sides of the same coin, one in the open and one in the shadows. The Director of the Special Investigations Bureau is, in name, a deputy director of the FBI, and the Special Investigations Bureau personnel use FBI credentials for the convenience of their operations.

Zhu Mingyao pulled out this ID not on a whim or to show off, but as a result of careful consideration.

In this day and age, people have been exposed to all kinds of special effects in movies and TV shows. They are already seasoned veterans. Many people believe that hearing is unreliable and seeing is not necessarily believing. Rather than showing off some fancy tricks like a magician, it is more credible to directly use the official's name.

……

"Given the current situation, for safety's sake, I suggest you evacuate to town for the night. I will stay here to perform the exorcism ritual. If we're lucky, it won't take too long and affect your subsequent experimental plans."

Zhu Mingyao briefly described the potential dangers, and seeing Professor Marlow's somewhat troubled expression, he pressed on, offering further advice:

"Professor, I know this experiment is very important to you, but please think about it calmly. If an accident occurs during the experiment, and someone is injured or even dies, then forget about obtaining any experimental results. As the organizer of the event, you will probably also have to bear corresponding legal responsibilities! You should understand which is more important."

"Just that snap of the string just now—if I hadn't secretly intervened, your assistant, Miss Mary, would already be in the hospital. You don't really think that was just an accident, do you?"

"You've convinced me."

Marlow pinched his brow and sighed. As a psychology professor with extensive social experience, his IQ and EQ were both online. He wouldn't take extra risks just to meet the experimental schedule. In particular, the bizarre scene of the strings almost injuring someone just now made him feel a little uneasy.

"Okay, let's think of a reason, and how to say it later..."

……

The persuasion went much more smoothly than expected. Professor Marlowe, being a psychology professional, could come up with lies on the spot, directly fabricating a reason to go to town for a night's stay in order to conduct a control experiment.

Then, a whole bunch of academic terms were thrown out, leaving the experimental volunteers dizzy and unable to remember to question why they didn't go to the town first.

As for the two assistants, they weren't stupid either. They knew their boss must have a reason for saying that, so they obediently shut their mouths.

"Aren't you coming with us?" A sullen-looking Seona came down the stairs carrying a small suitcase, making a loud thumping sound as she looked at the boy who showed no intention of moving.

"Someone has to watch the luggage."

"You're all alone here, how about I lend you my phone?"

"Thank you for your concern, Miss Saiona. I brought my phone, and don't forget, all Chinese people know 'kung fu'." Zhu Mingyao winked playfully and deftly twirled the cane he had taken from the room.

I watched as the group of people, carrying a few changes of clothes, got into their car and drove away.

The boy squinted as he watched the taillights of the van carrying the group gradually fade into a few faint lights in the night before disappearing into the distance. He then turned and stood in front of the main gate of the manor.

"You're really keeping your composure. I thought you would step in to stop them from leaving. After all, Anna is your wife's descendant, and she's your real target this time," Zhu Mingyao sneered and muttered to himself.

There was no response from any direction, only the lights inside the house flickering. Seeing this, Zhu Mingyao picked up his peach wood cane, waved his hand to release several faint shadows that surrounded him, and strode into the hall with his head held high.

Once he realized that there were indeed evil spirits lurking in the manor, he had no intention of continuing along the original storyline!

Who has the time to follow the original plot, spend several days, and follow the protagonist to discover a hundred-year-old ledger in a secret room, then find the remains of a murdered child laborer hidden in the fireplace, then transform into a high school detective to deduce the crimes of the original owner of the manor, Corinne, and finally save everyone from the appearance of evil spirits, winning gasps of amazement...