Chapter 86: On-Site Information Discrepancy

Afterward, Jiang Ruolan glared at Lin Haoren.

"You’re teasing me, Little Brother Lin. Aren’t you afraid of incurring more wrath from my fans?" Jiang Ruolan asked with a stern look, her hands resting on her hips.

She couldn’t understand how this younger brother, six years her junior, could break her defense and make her lose composure twice.

"Not at all. I can thrive on their anger, Sister Jiang."

Lin Haoren really wasn’t concerned about Jiang Ruolan’s angry fans or the negative Primordial Energy they could provide him.

After all, he had the system to convert their negative Primordial Energy into system currency.

As such, his mental state wouldn’t be affected.

Moreover, he had also picked up a new skill from verbally sparring with Jiang Ruolan’s angry fans.

=====

[Intermediate-Level Barbed Speech]

[Proficiency: 280/1,000.]

[Next Level: Advanced]

=====

If the Production Team did not stop him, he would have been more than happy to continue his verbal spar with Jiang Ruolan’s angry fans.

After all, not only could he farm proficiency points for his new skill, but he could also attract more infamy to increase his live viewer count and create more entertainment value.

Even if most of them were his haters, some bystanders could also be converted into his fans.

If he wanted to complete the Side Quest: Center of Attention with stellar results, he couldn’t use conventional methods.

Borrowing Jiang Ruolan’s massive influence was his best choice.

Lin Haoren just wasn’t sure how many of Jiang Ruolan’s 60 million followers he had attracted to flame him on his live channel.

He had a quick look on his phone.

Live viewers — 4.12M

Lin Haoren was immediately shocked by this number. He didn’t expect to attract so many haters.

As expected, there was a reason why nameless people in the entertainment industry would willingly create fake scandals with top stars.

Clout-chasing was a shortcut to getting recognized.

Although Lin Haoren was aware that he was using Jiang Ruolan’s name for his own benefit, he also believed it was a fair exchange—a win-win situation.

He took away her toxic fans, and she gave him rapid fame.

’What about Jiang Ruolan’s live channel?’ He wondered.

Jiang Ruolan’s live viewers — 5.35M

Lin Haoren was immediately dumbfounded after checking out Jiang Ruolan’s live viewer count.

It was one thing for his live viewer count to soar since he was stealing her viewers.

However, why did her live viewer count soar as well? Did her fans call for reinforcement from the Jiang army?

Lin Haoren quickly realized his clout-chasing strategy wouldn’t work. At the very least, it wouldn’t help surpass Jiang Ruolan’s live viewer count so easily.

He could attack, but the other side could also defend.

The resistance was actually so strong.

Jiang Ruolan’s fans were actually protecting her indisputable top ranking.

’Sister Jiang’s fans are so passionate and cute. When will I have such fans?’ Lin Haoren smiled wryly.

...

While Team Retirement Home was taking its time loitering outside the Qingshan Warehouse No.13, Team Youth Squad had taken the lead in entering under Fang Ning’s lead.

"Is it fine for us to charge in without a solid plan?" Xu Kaichen asked, questioning Fang Ning’s decision.

"It’s not too late to refine the plan after we scout the location and get a grasp of the situation. Early birds get the worm, no?" Fang Ning said.

Meanwhile, Wei Xinya, holding Oreo in her arms, directed, "C’mon, Oreo! Let’s find the Ironpaw Duchess! Can you tell where she is? Can you smell her?"

’What am I? A Dog?’ Oreo’s expression darkened.

His heart surged with an unwillingness to cooperate. He couldn’t be bothered with Wei Xinya. They weren’t on the same wavelength.

Furthermore, he could hardly understand what she was saying.

"Is it just me, or does it feel like we are being watched by many eyes?" Xu Kaichen suddenly mentioned, feeling a little spooked.

"Brother Xu, your perception is so sharp? You can sense the Ironpaw Duchess’s gaze?" Lu Chengxi uttered in surprise, then urged him, "Quickly tell us where you are sensing it."

"Around there..."

Xu Kaichen pointed to a mountain of crates with noticeable cracks large enough for small animals to slip through.

Just as Xu Kaichen was about to point to several more locations, Wei Xinya had already moved to the first spot with Oreo.

"Quick, Oreo! See if you can call your buddy out for us!" Wei Xinya cried excitedly, shaking Oreo irritably.

Meow!

Damn, Hoo-man! Would it kill you not to shake me so much?!

Oreo had the urge to scratch Wei Xinya, but he managed to suppress his primal instinct with inner peace breathing.

’I’ll let you off this time, Hoo-man,’ Oreo said to himself.

He might be small, but he has a bigger heart. He wouldn’t stoop so low as to pick a fight with stupid humans.

Nevertheless, his little commotion attracted the attention of the kitten in question.

A black furball emerged from the darkness of the crack in the crates. The black kitten was certainly cute, but Wei Xinya and the others wore a look of confusion.

"Is this the Ironpaw Duchess? Didn’t the Production Team say her fur was silver/grey? How did it become black?"

Fang Ning checked with her team to see if she had remembered incorrectly.

However, it wasn’t long before she realized that she did remember correctly; it was the Production Team that provided the wrong information.

Very wrong information.

"This..."

Fang Ning and the rest of her team were stunned to discover that they were surrounded by at least a dozen kittens.

"So, uh... Which one of these kittens is the Ironpaw Duchess?" Lu Chengxi sheepishly sought an answer.

"Is that even a question you should be asking right now?" Wei Xinya wore a look of exasperation and concern.

She loved cats, but these adorable kittens arrived with sharpened claws; they didn’t look friendly at all. On the contrary, they seemed quite hostile.

...

Meanwhile, Team Retirement Home faced the exact same situation after entering Qingshan Warehouse No. 13.

Lin Haoren and the others were also surrounded by a dozen or so kittens and cats.

"Wasn’t there supposed to be only one kitten to save? There’s a whole clan here!" He Yuxin expressed her confusion.

Guo Zhenyu frowned, then suspected, "Could this be a surprise that the Production Team purposely hid from us?"