Chapter Forty: Streamer, You’re in Big Trouble! (Please Add to Favorites!!)

For the moment, Catherine decided to set the matter aside. She was thrilled, fully aware that her actions had caused a sensation, though she had no idea just how far the shockwaves had spread.

In less than an hour, the complete video of her regenerated left hand had soared to the top spot on Twitt, amassing an astonishing thirty million views. Countless people were leaving comments beneath it, questioning whether it was real, and debating the credibility of the entire affair.

The Twitt officials themselves were gripped by anxiety. They urgently reached out to seven of the world’s top universities, including the Ivy League, and three of the most renowned natural research institutes across the continents, seeking verification of the video’s authenticity and whether the heart of the male butcherbird truly had such effects. Alongside Twitt, major news outlets—Continental Observer, Penguin Media, Kabul National Broadcasting—also sought confirmation from various institutes, but without exception, none received a reply. However, sharp-eyed reporters noticed that at the very same time, all five great empires convened emergency meetings, and the United Nations Headquarters in Old Covenant City initiated multilateral discussions.

Many in the media sensed that a major news event was about to erupt.

A few hours later, in a conference room at UN Headquarters, the foreign ministers of the continent’s five largest nations gathered, each with a face-down dossier before them. The room was silent, the atmosphere grave.

Liu Yi, Foreign Minister of the Chana Empire, cleared his throat and broke the silence first. “If we’re all here, it means our governments have authorized us and we each have reports from our respective research institutions. As everyone knows, Chana’s biotechnology is relatively advanced. I’ll share our researchers’ conclusions first.”

He picked up his dossier, turned to the final summary, and read, “In summary, after live testing, we have determined that the unique crystalline structure in the butcherbird’s heart, when ground below 0.7 microns, has a universal regenerative effect on highly active cells taken from magical beasts of level five and above. It is ineffective for beasts above level seven, and only partially effective for certain level six specimens. Among beasts below level four, effectiveness is rare, and seventy-four percent showed malignant transformation.”

Liu Yi set down the dossier and looked around. “Does this conclusion match your own research?”

Tillerson, Foreign Minister of the Meijan Empire, nodded. “It’s basically identical. All three of our top institutes confirmed the butcherbird’s heart has these properties, though the side effects are severe, and human cell activity is wholly insufficient.”

The other representatives nodded in agreement. Kurt, representative of the Farandon Empire, spoke up, “Let’s set aside for the moment the man calling himself Ling Mo. That little girl, Catherine—her background is clear. She’s a pure human. Are you telling me that ‘martial arts’ can strengthen the human body to match a level five magical beast? Even the term ‘martial arts’ itself is a Chana neologism, clearly rooted in your ancient culture. Minister Liu, care to elaborate?”

“In truth, I know as much about martial arts as you do,” Liu Yi sidestepped the topic. “Now that we’ve confirmed the efficacy and the presence of this crucial component in the magical beast, it becomes a strategic resource. According to our Academy of Social Sciences, as the world’s most populous nation, we have 7.42 million patients with limb disabilities—no amount of this resource would ever suffice. And clearly, public sentiment is running high; many will be tempted to experiment. Given the butcherbird’s heart is extremely toxic, without strict control, disaster would be inevitable.”

“Hah, which great power doesn’t have millions of disabled citizens? How long has it even been since the Second World War?” scoffed the chief diplomat from the Farandon Empire. “Let’s be blunt: treating the disabled is one thing, but during our research, we also discovered that the butcherbird’s heart, while causing cellular regression, inhibits telomere shortening, meaning it can potentially extend lifespan. That’s mentioned in all your reports as well, isn’t it?”

Barbossa, Foreign Secretary of the Engrazi Empire, spoke with leisurely arrogance, the pride of British nobility evident in his tone. “The most significant butcherbird habitats are in Weiwaila and Weimiibia, two tiny nations—are they truly fit to possess such a resource? I propose we immediately designate the butcherbird as a Level One—no, Special Level—protected species. All private poaching is to be strictly forbidden, and all killing or trade outside the Five Permanent Members’ nations or organizations is prohibited. We should form a dedicated international research body, each major power sending several dozen experts, focused on detoxifying the butcherbird’s heart.”

After his sweeping proposal, the other nations conferred briefly and signaled agreement—except for the representative of the Ottler Empire, who spoke with a chilling tone: “I support banning poaching, but not within the Eight Great Deadlands. In fact, individuals and organizations should be encouraged to hunt male butcherbirds in the Deadlands—especially the Magical Beast Rainforest and the Plains of Despair—since state power is hard to project into these magic-suppressed zones. At the same time, all Five Powers should establish dedicated procurement offices and provide honor and compensation to those who successfully capture a butcherbird.”

This too was accepted.

——— I am the line of grievance ———

Li Tong was a magical medicine surgeon as well as a technical researcher at the pharmaceutical institute. Young as he was, his profound knowledge and solid skills had already earned him the title of chief physician—markedly precocious and riding high in his career. Yet, he harbored a lifelong regret.

At nineteen, he had taken his younger sister Li Ting to the movies. Pressed for time, he kept urging her to hurry, since the film was one of his favorites. In their rush at a busy intersection, his sister was struck by a medium-sized magic-powered vehicle, losing her left leg forever.

Watching his once lively, adorable sister grow more silent by the day, erupting into hysterical screams when alone, he felt as if his heart were bleeding, consumed by guilt. After their family thwarted her second suicide attempt, Li Tong could no longer endure it. He gave up a promising career in biotechnology at Tsinghua-Beijing University and chose instead to become a magical medicine surgeon.

Once in the field, as his expertise and knowledge grew, Li Tong became increasingly despairing—modern magical medicine was nowhere near solving the problem of limb regeneration, not in decades to come. Fortunately, as time passed, his sister gradually regained her composure, and in the past two years, had even started to smile and joke again. Li Tong slowly let go of his obsession.

Then, by chance, while watching a livestream, he witnessed Catherine’s severed hand regrow before his very eyes! Overwhelmed with excitement, he quickly judged the scene as genuine, even while others hesitated. Every detail—the position and layering of bone, muscle, skin—was perfectly consistent with anatomical reality. Even if someone tried to fake it, modern magical medicine couldn’t produce such convincing footage!

His heart surged with hope, his long-buried dream flaring to life. With a last trace of doubt, he opened Twitt and repeatedly refreshed the comments and official announcements beneath Catherine’s video, hoping for confirmation. He scoured every major portal, eager for breaking news.

Refresh after refresh, the content remained unchanged. Just as Li Tong was about to doze off, a bold line of red text suddenly blazed across the homepage of Penguin Media:

“United Nations Announcement

1. Effective immediately, the male butcherbird is designated a World Special-Level Protected Species.
2. The male butcherbird is classified as a continental strategic reserve resource. All individual or organizational hunting outside the Eight Great Deadlands is strictly prohibited.
3. Any transaction involving male butcherbirds by individuals, organizations, or nations outside the Five Permanent Members is strictly forbidden in any form or under any pretext. The Five Permanent Members’ governments will each establish official procurement departments.
4. Special nature reserves will be established in Weiwaila and Weimiibia, with UN peacekeepers stationed therein.
5. According to current experimental data, the butcherbird’s heart is extremely toxic; any individual or organization using it does so at their own risk.

This announcement is jointly signed by the Ottler Empire, the Farandon Empire, the Meijan Empire, the Engrazi Empire, and the Chana Empire. All nations and individuals in the continent are obliged to comply.”

Li Tong rubbed his eyes as he read the names beneath the announcement. Was this really happening? Could a mere butcherbird cause such an international sensation?

He checked every major portal in turn—the headline was everywhere. Even the television interrupted its programming to air the same bulletin. When the anchor from Central Television read the announcement with grave sincerity, Li Tong could no longer deny it.

Now, no further proof was needed. Everyone understood: this was the real thing.

After a stunned moment, Li Tong burst out laughing, then dashed from his home straight to the utility room. His sister, Li Ting, watched him rush about, soon emerging in outdoor gear with a large backpack. Startled, she called, “Brother, where are you going?”

Li Tong turned and smiled at her. “Traveling.”