Chapter 10: ‘Ghost Blows Out the Light’ is Born!
Outside the office unit, the sky was completely dark.
It was past 11 at night, and they were just less than 30 minutes away from the live broadcast at midnight!
“Has it not been done?”
“Leader, I really can’t find one!”
“You have to find one, even if you can’t! Look at what time it is!”
“Yes. Then, then I’ll try again. I will do my best!”
Many people in the office worked overtime. More than ten people hurried about, trying to save the situation. If an idiom was used to describe the situation, it would be “all hell broke loose”!
“Leader.” Tian Bin asked carefully.
Zhao Guozhou waved his hand, “Go to the broadcasting studio and wait there first!”
Li Si ran inside the office and said, “There’s still no way. I have inquired about more than ten supernatural novels. Their audio rights have been sold to other websites or radio stations. I have also contacted the Beihe province’s radio station regarding some of their novels, hoping to broadcast them in a cooperative manner, but they refused. Also, there are some more common horror novels, but due to the tight time schedule, there is no way of contacting them. Some of them don’t even have a way of contacting them.”
Zhao Guozhou slammed the table, “There’s not a single book?”
Li Si said bitterly, “Supernatural novels are now in short supply. The market is still in its nascent stages and there are only just slightly more than ten books that are mature works. Radio stations from everywhere are snatching them up, too.”
An editor said, “The worst situation is for us to delay one to two episodes. We can then buy the copyright for them over these two days. Following that, we can resume broadcasting when we have the contract signed.”
Zhao Guozhou said fiercely, “This program has been ongoing for five years without a break. If it goes off the air, who will take up the responsibility? Besides, we have advertised the program over the past few days. Three of our channels have been continuously promoting the new novel for today’s “Late-night Ghost Stories”. Who doesn’t know that the most important day of a novel is its first day? Although people do not know what book is to be broadcast, with such widespread publicity, there would at least be four to five times the usual listenership waiting for the broadcast today. Halt the broadcast? Are you going to say it? Today’s program has to be broadcast, regardless of anything. Hurry and try to make contact! I don’t believe that we can’t sign a single supernatural novel!”
As “Recalling Spirits” was the hottest supernatural story today, the station had struck the iron while it was hot by promoting it. They had never expected that this large-scale promotional campaign had turned into a noose around their own necks!
Tian Bin said softly, “If we really can’t make it in time, then…”
Zhao Guozhou shouted, “Even if you can’t make it in time, you still have to make it! Since this trouble was caused by you, wipe your own ass!”
Tian Bin did not dare to make a sound as his forehead sweated profusely. He felt oppressed, but he could not release his anger. Who knew that such coincidences would happen? If he had not slipped due to that lunchbox lid, he would not have closed the message window with President Li and he would not have sent the message to the wrong person. If he had not fallen because of a colleague that brushed past him, he would not have chosen the wrong name. If the fluorescent light did not explode and cause Li Si to hit him, he would not have wrongly pressed the send button. Tian Bin had never bungled up so badly in his entire life. However, with all these coincidences happening at the same time, Tian Bin found it very odd! Now with the program on the brink of a major incident, Tian Bin might even be faced with disciplinary action. He did not know how he had offended the Heavens. Why was he being toyed with? Tian Bin looked at Zhang Ye, as if he had seen a ghost. Ever since he had an argument with Zhang Ye, he had been unlucky!
……
Midnight.
Number five live broadcast studio.
This was the Literature Channel’s dedicated broadcast studio that was very well-equipped.
Zhang Ye and another staff member entered to test the devices. The staff member checked the headset, while Zhang Ye tested the microphone. There were still ten minutes to go, before the live broadcast entered countdown. Without the novel’s copyrights, there was no way to proceed with the live broadcast. What was there to say? This was not some talk show, where one could talk anything under the sun. This was a ghost story program. People switched on their radios late at night just to listen to this. Without any material, there was no way of going through with it.
Across the studio was a transparent glass with a soundproof room on the other side. Typically, that was where the phone editor sat. After finishing his job, Zhang Ye went over. Zhao Guozhou, Tian Bin and company began to enter, one after the other.
A female assistant alerted them, “There are still three minutes remaining.”
Zhao Guozhou said to Tian Bin, “Go on up!”
Tian Bin’s intestines had turned green, “Leader. How, how can I go on up? I can’t say anything without a story!”
Zhao Guozhou, who was also experiencing tremendous amounts of pressure right now, bellowed, “Do you think that I don’t know you can’t say anything without a story!? But what can we do now? Eh! You tell me what I can do!” Pointing towards the studio, he said, “Quickly go in there! The program will be for an hour! I don’t care how you are going to hoodwink it, but just do it!”
“There’s no way to hoodwink for an hour.” Tian Bin refused to go on up.
His other colleagues looked at each other. Up until now, there was not a single solution!
The female assistant looked at the time, “There’s still another minute. 59 seconds…58 seconds…”
Wang Xiaomei, who was the Literature Channel’s top star and one of the backbones of the channel, had also stayed behind. Seeing that Tian Bin had not moved from his seat, she reprimanded him, “Quickly! If you don’t even go on air for your program, then it will be a broadcasting incident! Think carefully!”
A lesser leader of the Literature Channel also said, “Go on up first, before saying anything!”
Tian Bin still remained motionless. His expression was miserable!
The female assistant reported the time quickly, “There’s still ten seconds…nine seconds…”
At this moment, Zhang Ye suddenly clenched his teeth and made a decision. You can’t do it? You may not be able to do it, but I can! Wasn’t he still gloomy about not being able to have a program? Wasn’t this an opportunity for himself!? No novel’s copyright had been given to them? Zhang Ye still remembered a few tomb raiding stories from his world! Although he did not know if that world’s novels would work in this world, he had to at least try! Taking in a long, deep breath, he primed his expression. His entire aura changed. As the female assistant was counting down the time, Zhang Ye took three steps first and then two steps into the studio. With his ass on the seat, he pushed the button that controlled the audio volume as he wore the headset.
Everyone was stunned, with their mouths agape!
“Little Zhang!”
“What are you doing?”
“Why did you go on up?”
Everybody did not understand what Zhang Ye was doing. Without a single word of a novel’s script, how was he to do a program? Are you going to have a live broadcast just like this? Are you trying to pull something from thin air?
Only Tian Bin heaved a sigh of relief and felt lucky.
Three seconds. Two seconds. One second. The live broadcast began!
With it done, no one could pull Zhang Ye out. The hearts of Zhao Guozhou and many others were now in their throats. How was Zhang Ye, who was a rookie that had just started work a few days ago, going to resolve this situation that had such a huge mishap? Who knows if it would turn out even worse!?
Leaving it up to fate, Zhao Guozhou and company gave up!
On the other hand, Zhang Ye appeared calm and, in fact, seemed slightly excited. He calmly said, “Hello, everyone. This is the “Late-night Ghost Stories” program. I will be your DJ today, Zhang Ye. With the last novel that was highly appreciated coming to an end, we will usher in a new work today, ‘Ghost Blows Out the Light’!”
Ghost Blows Out the Light?
What was that?
Zhao Guozhou and company were stunned!
Zhang Ye adjusted his tone and said with a low, deep voice. “Introduction. Grave robbing is not like touring, composing poetry, or creating art; we can’t be that elegant, leisurely, adoring or respectful. Grave robbing is a technical skill, a skill for breaking…” Zhang Ye said it neither quickly, nor slowly as he narrated, “All of these stories began with an incomplete book my father left me. That book is the ‘Mystic Secret of Feng-Shui, Yin and Yang in Sixteen Characters’. However, no one knows what happened to the last part of the book; the only thing left is the first part. What’s in the book is mainly about the secrets of how to read geomancy and the structure of tombs.” The words and the tone used were very steady.
Zhang Ye had chosen this book firstly because “Ghost Blows Out the Light” did not exist in this world. Secondly, this book had been really popular. Be it in its sales and or its resounding response, it was number one in Zhang Ye’s world at the time it was published. Ignoring the comparison with other supernatural novels, it had led far ahead, when compared against the most mainstream romantic novels back then. Thirdly, it was because back when he was practicing how to go off script and recite, he had used this book. Thus, he could still faithfully recite the content at the beginning of the novel. Even if there were mistakes or errors in his memory, it would not matter too much, as it did not affect the plot.
*Ghost Blows out the Light is a famous novel in China. NomYummi on Gravity has actually translated the first chapter as a teaser! Check it out here! Portions of the translation was using NomYummi’s original translation. Thank you to NomYummi!