Chapter 18

As the future heir of the family, Jiang Suliu’s actions were naturally extraordinary.

With a prize pool reaching millions, a professional PR team was brought in to manage the operation. Alongside Jiang Suliu, many second-generation heirs of wealthy families joined in to support the campaign, all collectively sharing and reposting a single Weibo post.

—“Please follow @ThousandFacedMoon123.”

A simple line of text was accompanied by a picture of the million-dollar prize deposited in a bank account.

With millions in prize money, and numerous influencers and heirs promoting it, the giveaway event quickly gained traction and went viral.

“Follow ThousandFacedMoon123.”

“Who is ThousandFacedMoon123?”

“How many years of jail time for promoting superstitions?”

In just a few hours, these phrases shot up the trending list, even taking the top spots.

—“Whoa, why are so many people reposting this account selling fake medicine?”

—“It’s not fake medicine I don’t even know what it’s selling.”

—“I looked at this ThousandFacedMoon’s account, and it’s full of mystical ramblings. It’s either claiming to be a god or praising how great ThousandFacedMoon is.”

With the buzz, people finally started paying attention to Yue Yin.

—“What’s going on? Even Xiao Ayin and Doudou reposted this. Aren’t they rich kids? Why are they sharing this kind of post? Isn’t it tacky?”

—“They must have been paid a lot.”

—“You’re underestimating how rich these people are. There’s definitely something more going on.”

—“What’s the big deal? It’s just a marketing account trying to get famous by paying big influencers to promote it.”

—“I’ll just say this, Jiang Suliu is one of the people who reposted it.”

—“Jiang Suliu? Who’s that?”

—“The crown prince of the family—you know, the actual son of the tycoon you all keep calling ‘Daddy’ online.”

—“What’s the deal with this ThousandFacedMoon? Could it be that their accounts were hacked?!”

…

When Jiang Suliu posted the tweet, Yue Yin and Shen Xiaodi were sitting next to him, peeking over to see how he communicated with the PR team.

After seeing the content of Jiang Suliu’s tweet, Yue Yin rubbed her chin, “Why ask them to follow my account? Why not just make them directly believe in our Moon Cult?”

Jiang Suliu frowned, “But you said only those who genuinely believe in you can be considered true followers.”

Previously, he had paid a few people to join, but they didn’t genuinely believe in Yue Yin. She insisted that only those with true faith, who possessed ‘power of belief,’ could be considered followers. Those who just paid lip service for money didn’t count.

Jiang Suliu thought Yue Yin would give up on the idea, but after a moment of calm thought, she said, “It doesn’t matter. Once they join, we can start by paying them wages, nurturing their loyalty to our Moon Cult.”

Yue Yin, hands in her pockets, spoke casually, “We’ll slowly brainwash them, turning them into our real followers.”

“As long as there are benefits, they’ll stay loyal to our cult.”

Standing tall, she outlined her vision, “First, we gather a group of followers, then appoint a few as bishops and managers, and let them recruit more members… I just sit back and collect money, occasionally brainwashing them.”

Yue Yin spoke so fluently about the process, as if she’d done it a thousand times, that it sent shivers down the spines of those listening. The PR manager’s smile stiffened, and his face turned pale. If they really went through with Yue Yin’s plan, he’d end up spending years behind bars!

Even Shen Xiaodi, despite his age, could sense the legal troubles this would bring.

He gulped, “Sis, we can’t do illegal stuff.” Yue Yin was confused, “Huh? This is illegal?”

Jiang Suliu took a deep breath, “Yes. Plus, doing this will get your account banned.” She wouldn’t even get to brainwash anyone before finding herself behind bars for New Year’s.

“Oh, alright.” Yue Yin didn’t push further.

It was just a passing thought to her, and seeing she wasn’t serious, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

In the background, the number of followers was rising rapidly, soon surpassing a thousand and quickly heading toward five thousand.

Yue Yin couldn’t help but daydream, “If all these people joined the Moon Cult and each paid the 998 yuan membership fee, I’d have a million! Then I could use that money for more giveaways, to attract even more people…”

At that moment, the way everyone looked at her changed.

Shen Xiaodi stared at Yue Yin, both shocked and speechless, “Sis, you’re really something.”

Did his second sister want to spend New Year’s in prison? Why else would she keep coming up with these terrible ideas, flirting with the criminal code?

Jiang Suliu wanted to say something but remained silent. At this moment, he was finally certain—Yue Yin was definitely some kind of evil deity.

Otherwise, how could she keep finding new ways to dance right on the edge of the law?

The PR manager wiped the sweat off his forehead, even contemplating quitting for a moment!

He leaned closer to Jiang Suliu, gently warning, “Young Master Jiang, your friend’s idea is absolutely a no-go.” That would be illegal fundraising!

He couldn’t quite grasp where Young Master Jiang’s friend came from, but she sure seemed to have a knack for thinking up illegal schemes.

Even Yue Yin began to understand, scratching her head in frustration, “Why is this illegal too?”

The laws humans had made on Earth were truly thorough—there wasn’t a single loophole for her to exploit.

Ignoring Yue Yin’s constant bad ideas, Jiang Suliu and the PR team started discussing the next steps to promote Yue Yin’s public image.

The giveaways were just the beginning, the goal was to make the masses aware of ThousandFacedMoon, the deity.

But relying solely on giveaways wasn’t enough to attract true believers to Yue Yin. Even if Jiang Suliu had the funds to hold million-yuan giveaways every week, it wasn’t efficient.

To convert casual followers, drawn in by the giveaways, into devoted fans, and eventually have them join the Moon Cult as followers of ThousandFacedMoon, they needed more strategies.

The simplest method was marketing.

At the very least, they needed to make people believe that Yue Yin was truly capable, not the fraud she was currently being seen as online.

Yue Yin’s account continued to grow in popularity, and she was brimming with confidence, believing she would soon surpass Zhou Huai’an’s followers!

Yue Yin was still reveling in her success when, before the next day even arrived, her account was suspended for false advertising!!!

——

After the Paranormal Incident Management Department in City A, even though the investigations were swift, there were still a few who slipped through the cracks, posting related content online.

Combined with the efforts of false god organizations, the incident of the natural gas explosion took on a supernatural twist, sparking a wave of sensational stories across the internet.

Some stories were true, while others were the inventions of scammers trying to muddy the waters.

A slew of so-called “masters” appeared online, claiming to be all sorts of things—experts in mysticism, incredible fortune-tellers, reincarnations of famous historical figures like Qin Shi Huang and Wu Zetian… basically, a parade of extraordinary claims.

Several days ago, the Cyber Security Department received orders from above to crack down on this unhealthy trend, to prevent widespread panic and exploitation.

It was against this backdrop that Yue Yin made her grand, sensational entrance, going viral across the internet. Without hesitation, the network administration swiftly shut her account down. Yue Yin’s account had been promoting the Moon Cult, filled with wild claims of being a deity.

While netizens gossiped and laughed, insiders took a serious interest in Yue Yin, suspecting she was a follower of a false god.

Since this involved a special ability user, the Security Department handed the case over to the Paranormal Incident Management Department.

Captain Li, upon receiving orders, quickly led a team to investigate.

And so, when Yue Yin woke up, before she could even come to terms with the fact that her account had been banned and her followers reset to zero, she found herself being taken to the police station for questioning.

In front of the Shen family’s house.

Captain Li stared at Yue Yin, and the group exchanged puzzled glances.

“You’re the one on the internet calling yourself the supreme, all-powerful, mother-of-all ‘ThousandFacedMoon Hydra’?”

After being the captain of the Paranormal Incidents Squad for so many years, even Captain Li felt awkward reciting that long title.

Yue Yin, however, showed no embarrassment, scratching her head as she replied, “Yep, that’s me.”

Special Incident Management Office.

Yue Yin sat in the interrogation room, honestly explaining her motives: “I’m not a scammer. I just wanted to get more followers and make some money…”

She hesitated and asked, “This isn’t illegal, right? Zhou Huai’an openly claims to be part of the Metaphysical Society. He has lots of followers and even sells charms online.”

As a true evil deity, Yue Yin’s mindset and actions often flirted with the legal limits. Many of her usual schemes had been explained to her as illegal.

So much so that Yue Yin herself wasn’t even sure if she’d broken the law this time.

Driven by a mindset that “if I’m not doing well, others shouldn’t either,” she quickly suggested, “So, will I be locked up for a long time? Why not arrest Zhou Huai’an too? His fans insulted me.”

Everyone: …What kind of nonsense is this?

After hearing the full story, Captain Li and his team realized it was a complete misunderstanding.

“Ahem, you won’t be locked up.”

Yu Yu reassured the irritated Yue Yin saying, “I understand you. When you mentioned last time that no one knew about Hydra, we should have anticipated that you might try to spread your faith.”

Ability users are all chosen by gods, and while their goals may vary, they invariably hold a deep reverence for the deities they worship. So, it was not unusual for Yue Yin to want to promote the god she believed in.

Yue Yin blinked, “So I won’t be locked up?”

Yu Yu found her quite endearing, not at all like the usual aloof A-level ability users. She nodded affirmatively, “Yes, we won’t lock you up.”

Yue Yin was visibly pleased at this response, entirely missing the skeptical glances from the other officers.

According to the rules of the Paranormal Incident Management Department, Yue Yin should actually be detained for ten days for privately promoting her church without permission.

But her case was a bit special.

Although she appeared to be an ordinary high school girl, with a relatively mild temperament and cooperative throughout the investigation, she did not display any signs of defiance.

However, no one could forget the night when this seemingly gentle girl casually wielded a blade and sliced through an A-level malevolent entity. One command to “clear the area” had brought every creature to its knees in submission.

A crisis that could have decimated half a city was effortlessly averted by her alone, demonstrating the might of an S-level ability user.

Captain Li and the others sat across from her, listening as she calmly explained her motives. It appeared as if the Paranormal Incident Management Department had the upper hand, but deep down, they were all keenly aware that this was simply because Yue Yin didn’t care to resist.

If she ever decided to flip the table, none of them would be able to walk away unscathed.

Even though their abilities were decent, with Captain Li being at a B+ level, they still couldn’t compare to the containment unit A87, which was already contained.

If A87 couldn’t last a second against Yue Yin, how long could they hold out?

So it was better to let things slide and turn a blind eye where needed.

Until they could confirm whether or not Yue Yin was a follower of a false god, Captain Li and his team had no intention of pushing her to the other side, turning her into an enemy.

Captain Li rubbed his nose and said, “We’ll have your account unblocked, but for now, you can’t continue promoting your Mooncult. It doesn’t comply with the rules.”

“If you want to promote your cult, you’ll need to complete the tasks posted by the authorities on the special forum, earn points, and obtain an official qualification certificate.”

In simple terms, if an ability user wanted to express certain views online or spread their faith, they had to do some good deeds and gain official recognition. This ensured that the deity they promoted wasn’t some anti-social, malevolent being.

This was also a way to encourage ability users to solve issues in the community, helping to eliminate malevolent entities and reduce social instability.

…

With Yu Yu’s assistance, Yue Yin successfully registered on the Divine Descent Forum. It was said that on this forum, ability users could accept tasks in exchange for rewards.

The forum was encrypted, and the first few lines that greeted new users were:

[Content from the forum is strictly prohibited from being shared or leaked. Violators will be held accountable.]

[Beware of scammers in the forum. Be cautious when engaging in transactions.]

The forum was bustling, constantly refreshing with various posts. On her way out of the Paranormal Incident Management Department, Yue Yin was engrossed in exploring the forum on her phone.

[Ghost sightings at D City Lakeside Apartments, suspected B-level malevolent entity. Looking for two more teammates, 9,000 each.]

[Looking for missing persons in the mountains of B City. Deposit 3,000. Final payment based on whether the person is found alive or dead.]

[Direct descendant of the Zhou family selling two talismans for peace. 5,000 each. First come, first served. Serious buyers only.]

…

Posts like these were everywhere. Some ability users were there to make money, while others, like Yue Yin, were aiming to accumulate points to get certified.

Some posts had ordinary black titles, meaning they were posted by regular ability users. Others were marked in red, indicating that they had been verified by the Paranormal Incident Management Department as containing confirmed reports of malevolent entities that required intervention.

If an ability user wanted to gather points and earn a certificate, they would have to take on the tasks marked in red.

Yue Yin thought it over and decided to start by uploading a picture of a flyer she had designed earlier.

“Do you want to become the ruler of the world?”

“Do you wish to fulfill your desires and gain the power of immortality?”

“Do you want to amass endless wealth?”

“I am Hydra, the Thousand-faced Moon, currently recruiting followers. For just 998, you can become a disciple of my divine self. Once I reconnect with my cosmic form and restore my divine seat, I shall grant you eternal life and limitless riches…”

“Contact: xxxx”

After posting it, there was unsurprisingly no response, and it quickly sank into obscurity.

Yue Yin didn’t expect anyone to immediately recognize her greatness anyway. After all, the world was still full of fools.

She scrolled for a while, and eventually, her attention was drawn to a specific post:

[Mysterious luminous fog sighted at City A No. 1 High School at night, suspected to be linked to a high-level malevolent entity.]

The post was in black, signifying that it was just a suspicion from a regular ability user and had not yet been verified by the authorities.