Fate's Choice: Livestream at the Start Summoning Billions of Ravens

Jiang Ming opened the system notification on Douyin.

The light from the phone screen illuminated his calm and composed face.

His 15-second, somewhat crudely produced teaser video saw an unusual surge in likes and comments within just a few hours of its release.

Jiang Ming scrolled through the comments section and was immediately met with a barrage of sarcastic and questioning remarks.

"Are they desperate for fame? Are these kinds of outrageous tactics used by teenagers these days to grab attention?"

"Summoning a flock of crows? Do you think you're Itachi Uchiha? Amadeus, huh? That's hilarious."

"I guess it's a photoshopped live stream, or they'll find a few people in the square to throw black pigeons beforehand. I've already come up with the script."

"The anchor probably hasn't even graduated from junior high school yet, right? If he had studied for two more years, he wouldn't have said something like that."

"I've followed you, and I'm just curious to see how you'll handle this in three days."

These comments were full of amusement, mixed with contempt and mockery.

The meme "Amadeus," originating from Naruto, successfully attracted a large number of casual viewers who were just there for the spectacle.

Just then, Jiang Ming clearly sensed that on the invisible system interface deep in his mind, a number that was originally 0 was slowly jumping.

Negative sentiment score: 327

Really useful.

Jiang Ming followed the notification bar and clicked into the homepage of the ID called "Science Iron Fist".

This is a science popularization blogger with millions of followers. The verified information states that he is a "Master of Physics and a well-known creator in the field of science".

This person just shared Jiang Ming's video with a caption brimming with a sense of superiority:

"Another attention-seeking clown. I will also be going live in three days to show everyone how this kind of low-level scam is exposed on the spot using science and facts."

Li Hao, known as the "Iron Fist of Science," personally intervened, like pouring cold water into a pot of boiling oil, instantly igniting the entire incident's popularity.

His million-strong fan base received the clearest "charge" signal and immediately flooded the comments section of Jiang Ming's lonely video, launching an organized and "theoretically justified" attack.

"Iron Fist Bro's fans are here to check in! Waiting for the Joker to reveal himself!"

"I've taken a screenshot. If you can't summon it in three days, deleting your account during the live stream isn't unreasonable, is it?"

"If any streamer had attended nine years of compulsory education, they wouldn't say something as anti-intellectual as 'summoning a flock of crows.' They've really lost all sense of shame for the sake of traffic."

"Hey upstairs, stop cursing. What if they graduated from Hogwarts?"

The comment section was completely overrun, and the level of mockery escalated from casual banter by passersby to a collective attack by "professional fan groups."

The level of negative emotions in Jiang Ming's mind began to rise rapidly at a visible speed.

561 ...

788 ...

952 ...

Soon, the number easily broke through the 1000 mark, and the upward momentum showed no signs of abating.

Faced with a screen full of profanities and personal attacks on his phone, Jiang Ming's face remained completely expressionless.

He simply and calmly pinned a very concise reply to the top of his comment section.

"Don't rush."

……

Meanwhile, at the home of science popularization blogger Li Hao.

Li Hao felt extremely pleased as he watched the number of likes and supportive comments on his phone steadily increase.

Debunking these pretentious "pseudosciences" is what he excels at and is most passionate about.

This will not only solidify his "defender of science" persona, but also bring in huge traffic and the adoration of fans.

However, when he refreshed the page and saw Jiang Ming's pinned reply, "Don't rush," Li Hao's sense of pleasure vanished instantly.

A feeling of being looked down upon welled up inside me.

This fraudster, this clown, faced with the "righteous attack" from his millions of followers, and with himself, a physics master's graduate, personally taking action, he only replied with two words?

Why is he so calm?

Anger began to burn in Li Hao's chest. He decided to give this arrogant young man a science lesson he would never forget.

Li Hao immediately turned on the filming equipment and uploaded a brand new video.

The video's title is highly provocative: "From a biological perspective, let me tell you how absurd 'summoning crows' can be."

In the footage, Li Hao, wearing a pair of elegant black-rimmed glasses, sits in his study with a serious expression. Behind him is a wall full of professional books, creating an authoritative academic atmosphere.

"Hello everyone, this is Science Fist. Today we're going to talk about that farce of 'summoning crows'."

He cleared his throat and began his "science popularization".

"I reviewed three papers from core international journals in avian behavior, and here is the detailed data." He showed the printed charts to the camera.

"Data shows that ravens, scientifically known as Corvus corax, are typical solitary or small-group birds. They only circle in large numbers and in an organized manner in the same location under two extreme circumstances: first, when encountering extreme weather such as super typhoons; and second, when undertaking large-scale seasonal migrations. Neither of these circumstances can be controlled by humans."

Li Hao tapped the table with his finger, emphasizing his words.

"Therefore, I can assert here that the streamer's so-called 'live broadcast' is nothing more than the following three low-level scams: First, using a swarm of drones to disguise a flock of crows, which requires extremely high costs and operating skills; second, purely computer-generated CG effects, also known as 'photoshopped live broadcast'; third, and most likely, he would hire a few people to release dozens of pre-prepared crows nearby to create a small scene, and then claim that he 'succeeded,' which is a very low-level magic trick."

This video is logically rigorous, the evidence is conclusive, and it is full of the "power" of science.

After the video was released, it quickly garnered over 10,000 views, and the comments section was filled with praise.

"As expected of Iron Fist Bro, so professional!"

"We've exposed the swindler completely!"

"Looking forward to seeing the scammers exposed in three days!"

Immediately following up, Li Hao released a second video.

This time, he analyzed it from the perspective of social psychology: "In psychology, this behavior is called a typical 'cyber-performative personality.' They are extremely eager to gain public attention by creating absurd and exaggerated gimmicks in order to satisfy their inner emptiness. People just need to treat it as a joke and don't need to invest too much emotion."

The two videos present two arguments: one scientifically refutes the possibility of this, while the other psychologically denigrates the person's character.

By employing a two-pronged approach, the ID "Jiang Lai" was thoroughly branded as a "liar" and a "clown."

The entire online public opinion was completely swayed, and everyone was waiting for three days later, on that sunny noon, to watch a grand clown embarrassment show.

Meanwhile, inside the rented room, Jiang Ming looked at the latest data displayed on his phone, his heart completely unmoved.

Negative sentiment score: 4500

We've already reached nearly halfway to our goal of 10,000.

This "scientific iron fist" is truly a good person.

……

At the same time, Douyin's content review center.

Inside the huge office area, hundreds of employees sat quietly at their workstations, monitoring the live stream that kept scrolling on their screens.

Zhao Lin, employee number 073, yawned and took a sip of iced coffee to perk herself up.

She's become accustomed to all sorts of attention-grabbing livestream content, and feels somewhat numb and weary of her work.

Suddenly, a high-profile event warning popped up in the backend system.

Zhao Lin opened the report and saw "Jiang Lai's" account and the "Amaterasu" live stream announcement.

Data analysis shows that the event's popularity is rising at an abnormal rate, involving influential figures with millions of followers, and there is a risk of a large-scale online confrontation.

As a qualified auditor, Zhao Lin immediately marked the incident and wrote a note in the backend system.

"ID: Jiang Lai, Event: Announcement of a live broadcast 'Summoning Crows' in the city center square, Risk Assessment: Potential risks of vulgar hype or mass incidents involving offline onlookers, requiring close monitoring on the day of the broadcast."

Having done all that, she put the little incident behind her and moved on to the next warning message.