Deities Are All Just My Food-Chapter 28 Mantra Buddha Resound_1

28: Chapter 28 Mantra Buddha Resound_1

28 -28 Mantra Buddha Resound_1

The morning sunlight was just right.

Under the two big banyan trees on the east side of the residential area, the sounds of old ladies playing mahjong floated over.

Lin Baici took a diary and looked through it seriously.

It was filled with words.

These were notes he summarized from watching various videos on websites during his free time, capturing the hottest content at the moment.

“Sister Fish are so tempting, as long as they’re not ugly, any casual video will not do too poorly in terms of views.”

Unfortunately, Lin Baici was a man, inherently.

Food videos were very popular, including cooking, big eaters, and food exploration as the three main categories.

Because Mother Lin was often busy at work and had to work overtime, Lin Baici, who lived by himself, could also cook, but only to the extent that it was edible.

If it was for the camera, it would definitely be lacking a lot, plus he didn’t have spare cash to purchase various ingredients.

Not to mention that the old, rundown kitchen at home wasn’t suitable for filming.

Making big eater videos was something Lin Baici could actually do because of the Eater God, without needing to force vomiting like some other creators, but the problem was that Lin Baici didn’t have the money to buy the food.

And he didn’t want to ruin his stomach either.

Food exploration was also not an option; Guangqing city was a food desert, with chicken stew and Sha County snacks littering the streets, what was there to explore?

Besides, exploring restaurants really costs money!

As a poor student, Lin Baici couldn’t afford it.

Funny videos were another big category, but besides creative ideas, it also required filming techniques, script design, and accurate gestures and facial expressions of the characters involved.

Lin Baici’s language scores were excellent, and he could write beautiful copy, but that was pretty much the only highlight.

“Give it up!”

Lin Baici crossed out this category with his pen—mainly because he was not good at being humorous.

Street fitness was the same; it wasn’t doable.

With his thin skin, asking him to work out in a park, only to be surrounded by old men and women, would lead to instant social death.

“What strengths do I have left?”

Lin Baici pondered.

Why not sing?

During the three years of high school, Lin Baici always sang at the class’s New Year’s parties, and the feedback was good.

His voice was very distinctive; it was smooth and cool like a spring flowing over pebbles in a mountain brook and he had a full lung capacity, capable of belting out high notes!

“It’s you!”

Lin Baici immediately opened NetEase Cloud Music and began to select a song.

The brightest star in the night sky!

This song was good, with a nice melody and an uplifting theme.

Lin Baici listened to it seriously for one round.

He hadn’t learned vocal music and didn’t understand music scores, but with the aid of “Passing Ears Recitation” from Divine Grace, after listening to it once, he was able to hum the melody correctly.

But that wasn’t enough!

All day long, Lin Baici didn’t even go to the bathroom; he continuously played the song on loop, singing along with it.

At dusk,

Next door, with a sizzle, the sound of stir-frying vegetables arose.

Lin Baici felt that his practice was about right and found the instrumental version of the song, and began to record with his phone.

The brightest star in the night sky, can you hear clearly,

The loneliness and sighs in the heart of the one looking up,

…

The song, at 4 minutes and 12 seconds, was quickly recorded.

Lin Baici took a sip of water and listened to it.

Compared to the original singer, because he had “Passing Ears Recitation,” he was not off-key, and the lyrics were correct; it could be said to be a decent cover, but the problem was,

it lacked distinctiveness.

To think he could gather a million fans with such a video was pure fantasy!

“I need to add a personal style!”

Lin Baici thought it over; singing style, stage presence—he had none of that, just a recognizable voice, but he wasn’t sure if the audience would like it.

Wait!

Why don’t I sing with Divine Grace?

After consuming God’s Bones, Lin Baici gained two Divine Graces, one of which was named “Mantra Buddha Resound,”

When this Divine Grace was activated, it could make the voices of God Hunters full of Zen spirit, turning their words into something that could cleanse and calm the mind, dispel fear, sever thousands of worries, and make listeners feel purified and transparent.

Although it couldn’t bring about great enlightenment, it would give a sense of profound insight.

Lin Baici decided to act on the idea!

He replayed the instrumental and activated “Mantra Buddha Resound.”

This time when he began to sing, his voice immediately became melodious, distant, and ethereal, reminiscent of early morning sutra chanting in a cold mountain temple, with fishing lanterns and chime sounds, exuding an air of serene non-action.

After the song ended, a few minutes passed, and next door, suddenly, Auntie’s roar was heard.

“Lao Zhang, what are you daydreaming about?

The vegetables are burnt!”

“Oh!

Oh!”

The man looked at the burnt pot, and while hurriedly cleaning up, he listened with curiosity, “Wife, did you hear the song our neighbor just played?”

Sound insulation in these old residential buildings was very poor.

“No, why?”

“It was really nice!” The man chuckled, “I think, between children, there should be no grudges that last overnight.

Since our daughter wants to get married, let her marry.

We can do without the dowry; why fight over such a thing?”

“Have you lost your mind?”

Auntie snapped back, “Eighteen thousand, not one yuan less!”

“Money, you can’t take it with you when you’re born or when you die, why let it spoil the happiness of a family?”

After the man spoke, he was spat on by his wife.

Normally, this couple would definitely start arguing, but today, the man had absolutely no intention of arguing.

After cleaning the kitchen, amidst his wife’s curse words, he went out.

To have a drink, watch the sunset, feel the evening breeze, and watch the ups and downs of the city’s populace,

Life isn’t easy,

It’s time to be more open-minded!

Lin Baici had no idea that his singing had changed the neighbor’s thoughts.

He felt that this take was great, with its distinctive personal touch, and so he excitedly turned on his computer, imported the video, and started editing.

Busy until ten o’clock at night, Lin Baici had finished the song and was about to upload it to Bilibili when he paused and decided to register a new account instead.

“With a new account comes a new atmosphere!”

Lin Baici stroked his chin, staring at the screen, wondering what nickname to use.

Eater God?

Forget it, let’s just call him Lin Da Hungry Man!

Fifteen minutes later, Lin Baici finished uploading the video.

He leaned back in his chair, eagerly anticipating the moment the video would become a hit.

Gurgle!

His stomach growled with hunger.

Lin Baici cooked a bowl of instant noodles, ate, and went to bed.

…

The next morning at 7 o’clock, Lin Baici got up on time.

After washing up, he put the soaked soybeans into the soy milk maker and turned it on.

Then he went downstairs to the breakfast stall outside the residential area and bought a three-yuan youtiao.

Once home, he boiled water and cooked two eggs.

He then served a small plate of pickles his mother had made before finally having the time to check his phone for the performance of last night’s video.

The play count was 98, not yet reaching a hundred, but there were one hundred and twenty bullet comments and over ten messages.

“Is that considered not bad?”

Lin Baici was somewhat discouraged after reading the bullet comments.

“Is this a cover sung by the UP master?

Your voice is distinct, but it doesn’t sound good!”

“It doesn’t have the same flavor as the original singer!”

“Is this supposed to be an inspirational song?

Why do I feel like I’m listening to Buddhist chants?

It’s like entering a temple!”

There were eleven messages, five of which were from a user called ‘Flowers Blooming on the Path’.

‘It’s supposed to be an inspirational song, but after listening to you sing it, I feel like giving up on everything and lying down!’

‘Actually, lying flat isn’t that bad.

Why struggle so hard to live?

In a few decades, we’re all just going to the crematorium and leaving behind nothing but ash!’

‘I shared your song, hoping you’ll become one of the top UP masters!’

This Flowers Blooming on the Path user liked it, tossed coins, and added it to favorites—a trifecta.

“Does this count as gaining my first fan?”

Lin Baici replied with a thank you, lay down on the bed, and contemplated the information revealed in these bullet comments and messages.

Click-clack, click-clack!

It was the sound of the door unlocking.

Mother Lin was back!

Lin Baici immediately got out of bed and headed for the kitchen.

Watching her son bring the breakfast to the table, Mother Lin’s eyes crinkled with a smile, feeling sentimental, “Once you go to college in Haijing, you won’t get to eat the breakfasts you make anymore!”

Mother Lin was in her forties, and because of overwork, she looked worn out with some white hair showing.

However, her features were still delicate, and one could tell she must have been a beauty when she was young.

“I plan to save a big amount of money before graduating from college so I can buy a big house in Haijing.

Then we can settle in that city!”

If it were before, Lin Baici would not have dared to make such bold claims, but things were different now.

As a God Hunter, he had the qualifications.

Selling the four Taboo things he had now would be a loss.

Instead, he planned to rely on them to break into another God’s Ruins.

He would gather a few more Taboo things and Meteorites, then sell them to Kim Myungjin for a big profit.

Lin Baici was not afraid of the dangers within the God’s Ruins, but he didn’t want to take risks.

If something happened to him, who would take care of his mother?

Besides, Mother Lin would definitely be heartbroken and might even commit suicide.

After all, he was her only reason to live.

But seeing the exhausted look on his mother’s face, Lin Baici felt heartache.

“Good, I’ll follow you to Hajing to enjoy the good life!”

Mother Lin took a sip of the soy milk and responded nonchalantly.

Haijing is a super first-tier city, and a small apartment of several dozen square meters could cost seven to eight million yuan—so expensive that most people didn’t even dare to think about it.

Even if her son had an annual salary of a million yuan, it would take almost a decade of saving without spending on anything else.

After breakfast, Lin Baici told Mother Lin to hurry and get some sleep.

He washed the dishes, then returned to his room.

This time, he chose a currently very popular folk song to cover and started singing.

By evening, after recording “Idealized Youth,” Lin Baici logged into the Lin Da Hungry Man account and uploaded it.

The first video had already exceeded five hundred views; the increase wasn’t slow, but the reception wasn’t great either.

Most bullet comments and messages said it felt off and strange.

Ding-dong!

A message from Hua Yue Yu popped up on WeChat.

Little Merperson: Sister Fish is doing a room check, hands on your head, squat by the wall!

“…”

Lin Baici laughed, a curve forming on his lips.

There was a sense of familiarity in Hua Yue Yu’s words.

Lin Xia Dai Yue Gui: Haven’t seen you for two days and you’ve become a ‘sister’?

Little Merperson: It’s just a title, don’t mind it.

I could even call you daddy!

“…”

Lin Baici was baffled; he didn’t know how to respond to this.

Little Merperson: Daddy, did you release a video?

If you did, remember to send it to me!

Hua Yue Yu was ready to mobilize her million fans to like, share, and favor Lin Baici’s videos.

She was eager to repay the favor.

Uh-huh!

Little Merperson, never owing anyone anything.

Lin Baici thought about his few pitiful views and felt too embarrassed to send them to Hua Yue Yu.

Lin Xia Dai Yue Gui: I appreciate it!

Little Merperson: In this life, we’re like brothers, what’s there to thank for?

The two chatted for over half an hour.

Hua Yue Yu had to start her livestream, so they ended the conversation.

Throughout, it was Hua Yue Yu who actively brought up topics, which made Lin Baici feel flattered.

If it had been any other girl, she surely wouldn’t have the leisure to do so and would end the conversation with a ‘I’m going to take a shower.’

Ding-dong!

Lin Baici had just put down his phone when he received another WeChat message.

Upon opening it,

A pair of fair collarbones immediately met his eyes.

Keeping up with the Bears!

It was a selfie from Kim Myungjin.

Ding-dong!

Princess of Monte Cristo: Oppa, I can’t sleep on the second day after parting with you!