Chapter 323: A Call for Help

"Red and white. You don't see that color combination on the market very often. Are you sure you didn't see it wrong?" I asked casually, trying to pry out more details.

"Absolutely impossible. I was so nervous, and she was acting so strange. Aside from keeping the car on the road, all my attention was focused entirely on her. How could I misremember?"

The young driver swore by his words, but my thoughts drifted to a darker possibility. "Is it possible it was a white dress, and the red was actually blood?"

The driver's face instantly paled, and his tone lost its certainty. "Probably not. Blood wouldn't be smeared that evenly across the clothes."

"Tell me exactly what the dress looked like. I'll help you analyze it." I took a drag from my cigarette, trying to sift his words for clues about the broadcast.

He gathered his thoughts. "A white dress as the base, with evenly spaced red circular lines. It didn't look like splattered blood, but more like something a kid would randomly doodle. Besides, if she was covered in blood, why would I have let her in my cab?"

"Circular red lines? Does that mean something?" I frowned in thought. Just as I was about to press the driver for more details, a faint glow shone from my pants pocket.

The light was faint; if I hadn't been looking down in thought, I probably wouldn't have noticed it. 'Is someone calling me?'

I reached for the phone in my pocket, but my hand stopped halfway.

Its pale, cold light illuminated the cab. The screen did indeed show an incoming call, but with no caller ID. I didn't know who it was. I could only see two options on the screen—answer or hang up.

'This shouldn't be happening. Nothing like this has ever happened during my first eight broadcasts. The Underworld Live Show Phone only rings at exactly eight o'clock on the night a broadcast begins. It's almost nine now. Who could be calling?' Going by my past experience, anyone who could call the Underworld Live Show phone was already dead. 'Could it be a wrong number?'

I let out a bitter smile, not daring to answer it rashly. A single broadcast task was already enough to make me wish I was dead; if another one dropped on me now...

My shifting expressions caught the young taxi driver's attention. He had just been through yesterday's ordeal and was already on edge. Now he had run into me again, and my destination was very close to where he had been.

He looked down at the heavy Black Leather Suitcase resting by my feet. Suddenly, his eyes went wide as he spotted the faint traces of blood lingering on the bottom of the case.

The suitcase had been with me through eight broadcasts, and I wasn't even sure when those bloodstains had gotten onto it. They were hard to clean and barely noticeable, so I had never paid them any mind. I certainly hadn't expected them to trigger a taxi driver's wild imagination at a time like this.

'Should I answer this call?' The pale cold light from the screen seemed to drop the temperature inside the taxi by a few degrees. 'what is a blessing is not a disaster, what is a disaster cannot be avoided.'

I picked up the phone and answered the call. "Hello?"

"Help call connected. Both parties are forbidden from revealing any personal information, forbidden from meeting if identities are confirmed, and forbidden from making private agreements that violate the existence of the Underworld Live Show! Time limit is one minute. Agreeing to help rewards five points. Countdown begins now..." The moment the call connected, a cold, emotionless synthesized voice rang out first.

'A help call? Is this the help call feature of the Underworld Live Show? Spending ten points for a one-minute call? And this person actually reached out to me for help? Wait! Does this mean there are other Underworld Live Show Streamers besides me?!' Suppressing the doubts in my heart, I maintained a tranquil state of mind. I didn't speak, quietly waiting for the other party to open their mouth.

After a one-second pause, a specially processed voice came through the receiver. One listen was enough to tell it was a fake voice. "I am currently in the underground morgue of Jiangcheng Central Hospital. There's a fox here stealing the corpses of children, and I'm no match for it. This fox must have cultivated into a fox immortal. Its entire body is full of treasures. If you come help me, the two of us can split the acquired treasures equally."

'A fox stealing the corpses of children? Why does that description sound like the Fox Immortal Corpse that Daoist Priest Xianqing lost?' I calculated in my head. If it really was that Fox Immortal Corpse, I would be burning high incense just to have it not come looking for me. How could I foolishly run over and throw myself into its net?

I was just about to refuse when I had another thought. This was a golden opportunity. Someone else had taken the initiative to contact me, giving me a chance to communicate with other live show streamers. I couldn't give that up. Besides, there was a five-point reward, which was already worth as much as an optional task.

After weighing it carefully, I opened my mouth. "How do you want me to help you?"

Hearing me speak, the other party let out a clear breath of relief. "Bring your magical artifacts and hurry to the underground morgue of Jiangcheng Central Hospital. The two of us will join forces and slay this demon together. We'll split the acquired merit and treasures equally, and consider it forging a good karmic bond."

"Run to a hospital morgue to help you? I have another task right now, so forgive me for declining." There hadn't been much sincerity in the other party's words. Even though it was a fake voice, I could still hear that it was weak and deliberately lowered. The caller had clearly been backed into a desperate corner. I had seen what that Fox Immortal Corpse was capable of with my own eyes. Daoist Priest Xianqing was two or three realms above me; he had invited his sect's patriarch to possess him and still couldn't do anything to it. Going there would just be seeking death.

"Where are you right now? I can go find you instead." The one-minute time limit was rapidly running out, and the caller quickened their pace.

"Now you know how to panic? If you want me to help you, show some sincerity. Slaying the fox and splitting the treasures on its body? You couldn't even trick a ghost with that." I prepared to hang up as I spoke. My own broadcast was about to start; I didn't have the time to go meddling with someone else.

Over the phone, the caller threw out a few more conditions, mentioning some things I hadn't even heard of. I couldn't make up my mind, but just as I was beginning to waver, the call was abruptly cut off.

"The one-minute call time has ended. Do you choose to help the caller?" A new text message appeared in the phone's inbox. I weighed the choice over and over, then chose to decline.

Discovering the truth didn't have to be done in a single moment. Putting myself in danger for five points was obviously not worth it. 'I'll have plenty of opportunities to find out the truth later. I have to take it slow. I can't rush.'

I put away the Underworld Live Show Phone and looked forward, only to find the young driver's face had instantly turned terrible. I asked him why, but he wouldn't tell me. He just floored the gas pedal, driving the car extremely fast.

"There's blood under the black box, and he's talking on the phone about hospitals and morgues... is this guy a human or a ghost? Could he be in league with that red-and-white dress from yesterday? Oh God, why is my luck so rotten? As soon as I get back to the city, I'd better call the cops." The taxi driver muttered to himself. With my exceptional hearing, I naturally caught every word. I gave a knowing smile, not paying it much mind.

Before we even reached the destination, the driver refused to go any further. The rural outskirts were desolate, and he was willing to take less money just so he wouldn't have to keep driving me.

Left with no choice, I had to grab my suitcase and get out early. By the time I walked all the way to the Qicun Maternity and Children’s Health Center, it was already pushing eleven o'clock.

Standing by the Route 14 Bus Stop, I looked out into the darkness at the blurry silhouettes of the buildings in the distance. This was already considered the suburbs. There were no lights around, and not a single car could be seen driving down the wide road for ten minutes at a time. 'That must be the Qicun Maternity and Children's Health Center. The director vanished, medical accidents kept happening, and now it has been temporarily shut down.'

I looked down at my watch. 'There's still some time before midnight. I said during my last broadcast that it might be my final one. I might as well start the stream early this time to explain things to everyone.'

I turned on the Underworld Live Show's camera function and plugged in the Portable Encoding Stick.

"Acquiring image..."

"Connecting to live chat..."

"Data stable. Start the livestream?"

"Yes."

"Welcome Teletubbies Died of Murder to the live broadcast room! Welcome Master Tieling Biao to the live broadcast room! Welcome..."

The broadcast feed stabilized, and my figure clearly appeared. Watching the rapidly growing popularity, I smiled. My livestream viewers hadn't abandoned me after all.

"Welcome, everyone, to the Super Thriller Live Broadcast Room. Before we start today's stream, I have to tell you—the midnight bell is about to toll. A red-and-white dress spins through a haunted hospital, and a madwoman searches for her missing child. No matter the final result, the horrors of this city will continue!"