The Black Hawk Empire.
Within the empire existed hundreds of well-known security bureaus.
Their usual duties could be inferred from their names.
However, people were unaware of the immensely vast organization hidden behind these security bureaus.
It was named: The High Security Bureau.
And today, an emergency roundtable meeting was being held within the High Security Bureau.
The Director of the High Security Bureau and all its members were present.
The subject of this roundtable meeting was something none of the members had anticipated.
For as the meeting began, the Director showed them a live stream.
"???" all members.
...
Similar events were happening in special sectors of almost every country.
And all of this was because of one name.
Gu Taiyi.
As events unfolded, the already highly watched Nian Gong Qianyu's livestream saw another surge in viewership.
Gu Taiyi himself had not expected to inadvertently boost the livestream's popularity so significantly.
The number of fans in the livestream had already surpassed four hundred million.
But this was just the beginning; it was highly likely to break five hundred million again by the time the stream ended.
Of course, that was assuming the livestream channel remained accessible.
...
Nian Gong Qianyu's livestream.
"Guild Leader Gu! I didn't expect someone of your age to be doing livestreams. Your health seems quite robust!"
Ye Ming looked at the old man on the screen and couldn't help but tease him.
These words shocked the viewers in the livestream.
"Th-that! Teacher Ye, perhaps we should be a bit more subtle! This is a major figure!"
"Uh! That's right! Teacher Ye! Actually, you could lower your voice a little!"
"Hey! Do you guys have any backbone! This is Teacher Ye's livestream, he's the boss here, why... Brother! What are you pulling me for? I... Mmph!"
"Uh! Good thing there's a kind brother upstairs! Otherwise, his ID might have already entered the Blacklist of the Ancient Martial Arts Association!"
"Right! Right! Be cautious with your words and actions! Be cautious!"
"..."
Gu Taiyi's appearance had terrified the usually "arrogant" viewers into silence.
They were afraid of saying something wrong and attracting attention.
Some even stopped posting comments, trembling before the screen.
"Young friend Ye! There's no need to tease this old man!" Gu Taiyi, though smiling, exuded an aura of authority that commanded respect. "I believe you are not surprised by my appearance here today! So, why don't we be direct?"
Clearly, Gu Taiyi did not want to waste time with pleasantries with Ye Ming.
But Ye Ming played dumb, pretending not to know what the other was implying. "Guild Leader Gu! I don't understand what you mean! How could a humble streamer like myself guess your intentions?"
Humble streamer?
Upon hearing this, most netizens rolled their eyes in unison.
You have over four hundred million fans, and you dare call yourself a "humble streamer."
That's incredibly shameless.
How are other streamers supposed to make a living?
Gu Taiyi naturally paid no mind to these "complaints" and was somewhat displeased by Ye Ming's deliberate attempt to sidetrack the conversation.
As the Grand President of the Ancient Martial Arts Association, he wouldn't engage in idle chatter.
"Ye Ming! Don't be ungrateful! It is already a great honor for Guild Leader Gu to personally meet with you. And now you dare to play dumb, are you showing disrespect to the Ancient Martial Arts Association?"
At this moment, a branch president standing behind Gu Taiyi loudly reprimanded Ye Ming.
His outburst instantly chilled the atmosphere in the livestream to an extreme.
The viewers dared not make a sound.
They had all vaguely realized that this did not seem to be a surprise prepared for them by Teacher Ye.
"Oh! Qianyu! Did you hear some animal barking?" Ye Ming glanced at the man and then completely ignored him, instead asking Nian Gong Qianyu beside him.
"I heard it!"
Hearing this, Nian Gong Qianyu boldly replied, "I think I also heard a hint of deliberate flattery."
Deliberate flattery!
Upon hearing these four words, the face of the man who had spoken earlier turned ashen.
He had done so naturally to impress Gu Taiyi and make a good impression.
But to have it so directly exposed by the other party, how could he maintain his composure?
"Hahaha! Qianyu! Your ears are truly sharp! Come to think of it, it reminds me of a very special animal. Do you know what it's called?" Ye Ming asked with a half-smile.
"What?"
Nian Gong Qianyu gently shook his head, playing along with Ye Ming's performance.
"Let me tell you! The name of that type of special animal is... a lapdog!" Ye Ming looked at the man on the screen, his mockery evident.
"You..."
Upon hearing these words, the man's face turned green. He clenched his fists, his eyes filled with malice as he looked at Ye Ming.
This was undoubtedly the greatest humiliation of his life, bar none.
"Don't look at me like that!"
When Ye Ming saw the malice in the man's eyes, his tone turned cold, and he spoke softly, "Otherwise, I will get angry!"
If one observed carefully while he spoke, they would notice a flash of deep sapphire blue in Ye Ming's profound eyes, appearing extremely sinister and strange.
And the man happened to notice it.
When he saw that sinister glint, Ye Ming seemed to appear before him entirely, exuding a suffocating pressure.
It was like a gaze from a higher-dimensional being, making the man feel the presence of death.
"Ah! No!"
At this moment, the man, terrified by the preceding moment, collapsed to his knees, his entire body drenched in cold sweat.
His face was covered in panic, looking utterly pathetic!
And no one knew what had happened.
Including Gu Taiyi.
"Oh! What's wrong? If your health isn't good, why not try the exercises I taught you before? They are very effective!" Ye Ming said indifferently, as if he had nothing to do with it.
"Wh-what happened to that person! Why did he suddenly kneel?"
"Perhaps he's just old!"
"Uh! I don't know if it's just me, but I feel like he was scared stiff!"
"Yes! Exactly! He must have been awed by Teacher Ye's overpowering charisma."
"The one upstairs! Why don't you pick a different word! I'm afraid Teacher Ye will beat you up!"
"???"
"..."
Although Gu Taiyi did not know what had happened to cause the man to suddenly kneel, he could sense that a very strange power had appeared in their space just moments ago.
But... could that be possible?
Gu Taiyi looked at the young man on the screen, his cloudy pupils showing a trace of confusion.
Was this a coincidence or a premeditated plan?
If it was the former, Gu Taiyi was reluctant to believe it.
If it was premeditated, then who could act under his nose?
But no matter how he thought about it, he did not consider Ye Ming as a suspect.
Because his understanding had limited his imagination.