Chapter 193

What the heck? What do they mean by “they“?”

“Not the God of Nature, nor it, but “they…

“Suddenly, ! am really worried about the production crew. What are they gonna do?

“What in the world are ‘they? Surely, Winnie isn’t planning to stake out tonight, right? That is way too dangerous.”

“What about the live stream? What if something happens to Winnie and the others if we don’t go live?”

“But would going live to prevent anything from happening?”

“If we go live and something does happen, we can call 911.”

“It’s too risky though. They say ‘they‘ haven’t hurt anyone, but what if?”

“If Winnie and her team insist on staking out the real culprit tonight, then I strongly demand we don’t cut the live stream.”

Bagot, monitoring the live stream and reading the viewers‘ comments, felt his head was about to explode.

“Winnie isn’t seriously considering a midnight stakeout to catch the perp, is she?”

“Although it’s part of the show, it sounds downright dangerous.”

“If anything happens to her on the show, it wouldn’t just be Ghostly Guidance that would suffer, the whole LimeLightVideos would be in hot water.”

But before the director could reach out to Winnie to discuss this plan, on camera, Winnie’s group ran into Mervin’s team.

Winnie casually shared her findings and her plans for the evening with Mervin, who, after hearing her out, said, “I’m planning to spend the night at the Mandrake Guardians‘ cabin halfway up the mountain to see what kind of spook’s causing trouble.”

This idea was more than twice as bold as Winnie’s.

Bagot suddenly felt like he might pass out.

“I mean, do all you folks always take such bold actions? Going into the mountains in the dead of night, are you all out of your minds? You might as well just kill me now.” That was his thought.

Afraid that the two of them would agree on a dangerous plan, Bagot urgently sent orders to the camera crew following them.

Tell Winnie and Mervin their plans are denied by the production crew. They are not allowed to proceed with any personal actions that can’t guarantee their safety.”

His tone was unusually stern.

The cameraman quickly relayed Bagot’s stance to the two of them.

Mervin frowned subtly upon hearing he wasn’t allowed to go into the mountains, feeling the director’s restrictions were too confining.

After all, to investigate the truth, spending the night in the mountains seemed like the fastest way.

Mervin had completely forgotten this was a variety show and was simply determined to find the source of the villagers‘ troubles and deal with it.

Seeing Mervin still unconvinced, Bagot, fearing he might ignore the warnings and leave the crew behind, raced towards Winnie and Mervin’s location..

He had to intervene personally.

Gentry and Joseph had been wandering around the village looking for clues when they suddenly saw Bagot running off in a hurry, so they followed at a brisk pace with their cameraman in tow.

Somehow, all six guests ended up gathering together.

Bagot, forgetting his image for once, warned them with a serious and sharp tone, “The production has safety protocols. No private actions are allowed after the live stream is off, especially not going into the mountains.”

Gentry and Joseph, initially baffled, upon hearing that Mervin intended to spend the night in the mountains hunting for the cause, looked at him with admiration.

Were modern–day mystics this bold?”

“Isn’t he afraid?”

And hearing that Winnie planned to stake out the real culprit at night, they were even more dumbfounded.

These two were so proactive, and it was making them look bad.

Winnie initially thought the director was only rejecting Mervin’s plan to spend the night in the mountains, but then she heard the rest and realized her own plan was denied too.

She frowned and said, “We can agree not to go into the mountains at night, but forbidding night actions. altogether is impossible.”

Before Bagot could respond, Winnie spoke again, earnestly, 12:22 “Most creatures of the night prefer the darkness, and the disturbances in the village and mountain happen at night. If night actions are forbidden, catching the real culprit would be nearly impossible.”

Bagot almost wanted to kneel before her.

At first, the production crew’s request was just to uncover the truth, not to catch a criminal That was a job for the police, and how could he possibly let these guests do it?

Finding out the truth with credible evidence was supposed to be enough to complete the show’s mission, but Winnie and Mervin obviously had more complicated ideas.

Seeming to know what Bagot was thinking, Mervin explained, “To confirm whether it’s the work of mountain spirits, we must catch them to understand the reasons behind their actions.”

Neither of them would budge, and Bagot was at a loss, consoling himself that even if they did stake out at night, it might not go as Winnie predicted, with the culprit showing up to cause trouble.

And with so many crew members around, they could keep an extra eye out, so hopefully nothing would happen.

This matter was thus settled.

Winnie and Mervin started discussing what they needed to prepare for the night.

Candace and Kane stood on the side, unable to get a word in “Are we supposed to join the vigil tonight too?”

Candace asked timidly. Although the production had given out Protection Charms, being part of such an action was still exhilarating and frightening.

Winnie glanced at her and simply said, “You get some rest. I’ll watch over you.

That casual remark sent a thrill through Candace, and the live–stream viewers screamed in excitement.

“Why did I feel my heart skip a beat just now? Winnie’s supposed to be the younger one.”

“She’s so cool. I’m in love.”

“My Candy looks so helpless, lol”

1 wish I had Winnie to watch over me all night.”

Meanwhile, Gentry and Joseph stood aside, looking like abandoned puppies, having been out of the conversation since the beginning.

Hearing Winnie’s words, Joseph seemed to glance over her face before stepping forward and saying “You know, it’s pretty sketchy for a girl to be all by herself in this neighborhood.”

Joseph said, “How about i keep you company? I’m a guy, and I hit the gym regularly, and if things get hairy, I can hold my own.”

There was a self–assured glint in Joseph’s eyes, one that hinted at more than just a protective streak.

From the sidelines, Kane furrowed his brow, watching the scene unfold. The viewers in the live stream started picking up on Joseph’s particular brand of attention toward Winnie.

Speculations began to surface. Maybe Joseph had a thing for Winnie, and he was trying to make a move.

Winnie, unfazed by Joseph’s chivalrous offer, maintained her cool composure. It was as if she was completely oblivious to the subtext in his words. She simply declined, her voice tinged with a hint of disdain, “No need. You’d just cramp my style.”

The remark came off a touch arrogant, and Joseph’s fans in the chat were quick to voice. their displeasure. They thought Winnie was ungrateful and quite rude, to say the least.

But Winnie was oblivious to the chatter. As darkness fell, she stuck to the plan she had arranged with Mervin, guarding their respective borrowed homes as midnight. approached.

Bagot, although not entirely on board, had considered various factors and, unlike the previous episodes, decided not to end the live stream. Instead, he instructed the cameraman to stand by, ready to capture whatever unfolded.

Everything was in place.

But as the clock neared twelve, a figure crept out from a nearby house. It was Joseph, the very guy Winnie had turned down earlier.

He moved stealthily toward the house where Winnie was staying.

Determined, he resolved to secretly stand guard with her through the night, convinced that by dawn, he’d have Winnie seeing him in a whole new light..