Chapter 52: The Discussion of the Cup's Peculiarity

The speed at which something spreads on the internet can truly be described as the speed of light. After the first viewer watched the video posted by Liss and was scared into a cold sweat, they didn’t hesitate to share it on their OwnBook, adding a catchy title: “If there’s nothing hidden here, you can kill me.”

In this era of advanced internet, such a video without an obvious hook would normally fail to attract attention. But the thumbnail showed a beautiful woman lying in bed, her blanket kicked aside. Although many people had been fooled by videos like this before, they couldn’t help but indulge in a bit of hope—what if the beauty in the video really…?

Imagination led to clicks. Much like the first viewer, many didn’t notice what was truly noteworthy about the video, their eyes fixated on the woman in bed, and concluded yet again they’d been duped by a clickbait thumbnail and title.

Yet the internet is never short of eccentric talents. Quite a few viewers, during their viewing, discovered the truly chilling detail.

It was like pouring water into hot oil—the reaction was instantaneous and explosive.

Some viewers were so frightened they couldn’t sleep at night. Others claimed it was just a low-budget prank: the door opened and closed automatically because someone was pulling invisible strings, the television switched on and off because someone was using a remote from the camera’s blind spot.

Regardless, the video went viral, and as a result, Liss's OwnBook followers skyrocketed once more.

At this moment, Douglas also posted a video on his OwnBook. Since Douglas’s recent updates were closely tied to Liss’s, many people following the supernatural event were also following Douglas online.

This newest video was instantly watched by tens of thousands of netizens.

The clip was short—only two minutes—and unlike before, it wasn’t played at eight times speed. It began in the living room, with Liss holding a glass, drinking water.

“Why are you filming me?” she asked.

A voice off-camera replied, “I’m testing if this camera works properly. It’s recording now.”

Liss set her glass on the table. “Let’s go out to eat first.”

“Alright, I’ll leave the camera in the room,” the off-screen voice responded.

The camera was then set down on the table, and Liss’s fair legs passed by the lens as she walked out, followed by someone in black casual pants.

At the doorway, now at a distance, the camera captured both their full figures.

“My wallet!” exclaimed the man following Liss, smacking his forehead. He went back, grabbed a wallet from the table, and headed out again.

Sharp-eyed viewers immediately recognized the man as Douglas.

By the time Liss and Douglas closed the door, seventy seconds of the two-minute video had passed.

For the next forty seconds, everything in the frame remained perfectly still. As the video neared its last ten seconds, many viewers started to wonder if, like the previous video, there was something they’d missed.

With five seconds left, many had already placed their hands on their mouse—some ready to close the video, dismissing it as meaningless, others preparing to rewatch, suspecting they’d overlooked something.

Just as everyone’s attention was about to drift, the glass on the table suddenly moved, gliding a short distance, then leaped off the edge, landing more than a meter away and shattering on the floor.

Everyone who saw that shot was startled. Not because it looked especially terrifying, but because after so much stillness, the abrupt movement and the crash of glass naturally gave them a fright.

As they recovered, netizens laughed at their own foolishness—how could they be so startled by a glass breaking?

But before the laughter could settle, they realized something was amiss: how did the glass move by itself? Was it tired of being used for water and decided to end it all?

What a joke! How could a glass move on its own?

Many chose to replay the last five seconds, scrutinizing every detail.

Just as before, nothing and no one touched the glass. It simply fell from the table, as if an invisible hand had swept across the surface at tremendous speed and knocked it off.

Where was that invisible hand?

The immediate reaction for many was to search for the mechanism. This video was even more outrageous than the last, so skepticism was natural. After all, the world is governed by materialist values and scientific reasoning.

Yet, even professionals on the internet who analyzed the footage with all their expertise found no sign of editing or special effects. No cuts, no effects—only the possibility of a practical trick.

But no matter how they enlarged and examined screenshots from various moments, they found nothing to suggest the use of props. The glass was an ordinary tumbler, with no transparent wires attached—since the world has yet to invent a wire invisible even at pixel-level magnification.

For true professionals, even if they couldn’t find a flaw, they refused to believe it was supernatural. In their view, a magician’s trick could achieve this effect, even if no magician had yet created such a flawless video.

But rational skeptics like these were a minority. Most netizens, whose beliefs weren’t so steadfast, were driven by emotion.

So, in the absence of any reasonable explanation, most were thoroughly spooked. On the internet, nothing—good or bad—prevents people from sharing, and so the video began to spread virally, spurring countless discussions, even catching the attention of online media.

Meanwhile, far away in Tuvalu, Li Danew finally finished editing. His first movie was now complete, and all that remained was to find a distributor and it could hit theaters.

“Boss, you’ve finally surfaced! The two hottest topics on the American internet right now both involve you. You need to give us some guidance,” Douglas said eagerly upon seeing Li Danew.

“Involve me?”

Douglas nodded. “First, your novel 'The Lord of the Rings' is sold out everywhere and receiving rave reviews—it’s the talk of the internet. Second, the updates and videos you had Liss and me post have drawn massive online attention for two days now. People are bombarding our OwnBook pages with questions, but we haven’t dared reply or post anything else.”

Because Li Danew had instructed not to disturb him during editing unless there was an emergency, Douglas had waited until now to bring this up.

“The plan is already completed. You two should do nothing—no posts, no replies, and don’t appear in public for the time being. Go off the grid for a while.”

Originally, Li Danew hadn’t thought of these publicity stunts for the film, but just as he was about to start shooting, he realized he’d underestimated things. The reason the original movie was such a box office phenomenon was because of Lionsgate’s internet campaign, which led many to believe it was a real home video. Though the hoax didn’t last long, it drew a huge audience in the film’s early days.

Those initial viewers were genuinely frightened by the rough original. For a horror film, scaring people is the point, and the resulting word of mouth made the movie a miracle.

To achieve that, Li Danew knew he had to stir up buzz. Otherwise, it would be hard to find a distributor, and even if he did, the number of screens would be limited. With few showings, no matter how many people wanted to see it, he’d never achieve a high box office.

“Boss, how long do I have to avoid the public?” Douglas asked, face as long as a wet week. He had no desire to spend his days on Tuvalu living like a hermit.

“Preferably until after the movie’s released,” Li Danew replied, watching Douglas’s impending breakdown. “It’s not like you’re getting any acting gigs anyway. Don’t be so upset. Besides, I’ll make sure the two of you get some compensation.”

At the mention of compensation, Douglas knew it meant a bonus. But that wasn’t his main concern right now. What he cared about—even more so these past few days—was the burning question that had been on his mind.

“Boss, what was up with that glass?” Douglas asked, genuinely curious. Li Danew had previously brushed him off, claiming it was a magic trick or a prop. But after spending days online, Douglas hadn’t seen any expert give a satisfactory explanation.

“I know martial arts,” Li Danew replied with a mysterious smile.

“Martial arts? Chinese kung fu?” Douglas was unconvinced. “Boss, you might as well say you have supernatural abilities. I know Chinese kung fu can’t do that.”

Watching Douglas’s desperate plea for an answer, Li Danew couldn’t help but sigh inwardly: “Why is it that no one ever believes the truth?”