Shortly after Wen Shichun started his livestream.
In District 10, outside the instance.
Inside a detached villa near the district border.
"Old Xie."
A young voice sounded from the edge of the third-floor balcony.
As he spoke, the man looked toward the interior of the room. On the coffee table inside was a multicolored game board with interlocking glass marbles, designed for multiple players. Sitting on either side of the coffee table were three adult men.
One of them appeared quite young, looking like a student.
When the voice came, the man called "Old Xie" raised his head.
He was the oldest among the group—precisely the District 10 player [Huai Xieli] who had just been named by the new streamer.
By now, the attention of the people on the two sofas was no longer on the game on the table.
Before the person by the balcony could say anything else,
"The streamer asked about your sponsorship,"
The man opposite Xie Huai spoke first with a laugh.
"Hurry up."
The young man by the balcony also urged with a smile. It seemed what he had intended to say earlier was the same thing.
Then, he walked back inside.
"Finished getting some air?" The man opposite Xie Huai looked at Ge Baiyuan as he returned to the coffee table.
"Yeah."
Ge Baiyuan responded and sat down on another sofa.
"You just wanted to escape this losing game."
The person speaking now was Gu Heng, the same one who had mentioned the sponsorship earlier. Next to Gu Heng sat a slightly younger man with curly hair.
This curly-haired young man, who still looked like a student, was named Xiao Qi. He had just entered university when he arrived in the Eleven Dimensions and was now just over 20 years old. At the moment, he was watching the live stream on his panel and said, "This streamer is also from our District 10."
Xiao Qi finished speaking and looked up at Xie Huai across from him: “Brother Xie, don’t you think you should sponsor a bit more? 100 points seems a little too stingy. This streamer is only E-rank, and not only did an E-rank enter a B-rank dungeon, but he also encountered a dungeon upgrade. That’s way too tough.”
“I was just casually mentioning it earlier.”
Xie Huai laughed.
And he had said it in their District 10’s channel.
Who would have thought there really was a player from their District 10 in a District 5 dungeon.
But after he spoke in the District 10’s communication channel just now, a lot of people indeed started egging him on.
Probably because of that, the streamer noticed.
Xie Huai watched the main view in the stream.
E-rank, huh…
***
Inside the dungeon.
Wen Shichun leaned back in his chair. After he spoke, a group of people in the bullet comments began clamoring for him to say more. Along with these comments came the continuous streams of ‘+1’, ‘+1’, ‘+1’, ‘+2’, ‘+2’, ‘+5’, ‘+10’… points displayed before his eyes.
The constant increase in points gave him a renewed understanding of their value.
The system said coldly at that moment: [There are a lot of mentally unstable people in this game.]
It wouldn’t admit that it hadn’t expected this to happen either.
Although it knew… the host’s voice really was pleasant to hear.
Meanwhile, the people in the live stream kept saying:
[Streamer, streamer, quickly tell us what’s happening inside the dungeon. How did your dungeon upgrade? We need an explanation!]
[This is the first time this live stream has been activated!]
[Streamer, switch the perspective first, please. Let me see you, get familiar with your face, so I don’t get lost next time. (Sent a flower +1 point)]
[What’s with streamers these days, trying to get points for free without performing? (Threw an egg +1 point)]
[Is this a live stream of an E-rank lamb exploring a high-level dungeon? Interesting.]
[Shi? Xiao Shi? Who brought you into this dungeon? Where are your friends!]
[Judging by the feed, it seems the streamer is alone right now?]
[I want to hear that voice again… Don't get me wrong, no particular reason, really. It's just… the voice is so soothing. Want to hear it.]
[……?]
…
In the dungeon, Wen Shichun glanced at the sources of his increasing points, thinking this live stream system was quite amusing.
Sending flowers and throwing eggs both added to his points.
Wasn't this essentially getting points from both supporters and haters?
Just as the thought crossed his mind, the system's prompt tone sounded in his ear.
Maybe it was his imagination, but the system's voice this time felt a bit off.
Seemed even more icy.
[Another issue with the live stream is that it exposes the player's game codename. Luckily, you still have one chance to rename it.]
The system reminded him, its tone cold as it stared at the barrage of comments calling him 'Xiao Shi' on the panel.
If it had eyes.
But it didn't matter. It had noted every codename from the barrage that dared to jest about 'Shi'.
Hearing the system's reminder, Wen Shichun gave an almost imperceptible nod. At that moment, a message appeared in the barrage:
[Player <Huai Xieli> sponsored 500 points]
"Hmm?"
The moment he made a sound, the barrage was instantly flooded with strange comments.
[He hmm'd! He hmm'd! He spoke again!]
[That voice… it really is pleasant!!! (Sponsored Points +10)]
[Points! A sponsorship of five hundred points! (Leans back) Truly an S-rank big shot, so generous with the gifts!]
[That's right, when the stream just opened, didn't the streamer say someone promised to sponsor it? I didn't listen carefully when I first joined...]
[Yeah, yeah! The streamer specifically mentioned this big shot from District 10. I was stunned when I heard it... and then I got distracted by the streamer's voice.]
[Um... streamer... Shi... Shi! Can we chat for a bit? If you're having any difficulties, tell us! I'll help you figure it out!]
...
Ignoring the scrolling comments on the right, Wen Shichun glanced at his point balance. In just a few minutes, it had already reached nearly 600 points.
"Thank you."
Wen Shichun said. Although he was speaking into the air, his tone was sincere.
Earlier, when browsing the District 10 chat channel, he felt that the player named [Huai Xieli] seemed like a reliable, good person who kept their word.
It seems he was right.
System: [...]
***
Outside the instance, upon hearing this thank you, Gu Heng was the first among the few in the villa to speak up. "This kid is quite polite."
After saying that, he looked with interest at the scene from the streamer's perspective.
"A detective instance upgrading to a supernatural one," Gu Heng said, glancing up at the two across from him. "With this type of upgrade, any deceased from the original instance might revive, right?"
"Not necessarily," Xie Huai also glanced at the stream and said casually, "The feng shui in his room is poor. There's probably a lot hidden inside."
Like the spaces within the walls and under the floorboards.
"Impressive, Brother Xie! How can you tell?"
Hearing Xie Huai's speculation, Xiao Qi took another close look at the bedroom in the stream. He couldn't see anything special about it, aside from the striking whiteness all over the floor.
However, as Xiao Qi's gaze swept over the comments, his eyebrows furrowed deeply. "Why are there so many joking and irrelevant comments in the chat? Just hearing the streamer's pleasant voice, and they start acting weird."
"Kids these days don't understand," Gu Heng seemed unfazed by this. "People here have a hard time living, and it's a mixed crowd. Don't assume the commenters are just teasing the little streamer. For all you know, the person behind the comment might be putting on a bitter, hopeless face, just using the stream to find a bit of amusement."
At the same time, the barrage in Shi's live stream room gradually transformed into:
[Shi, if we tip enough, can we chat with you? (Sponsorship points +10)]
[I don't believe it. Voice and appearance are usually inversely proportional. The streamer doesn't dare show their face, so it must be because their face isn't great. They're trying to deceive us with their voice! Unless you let me have a look! (Sponsorship points +10)]
[I'm different. I just want to know what's going on in this instance right now. Streamer, streamer, can you tell us about the situation inside the instance? I'll help you analyze it. More people, more strength!]
[The sound of your abacus beads seems to have hit me in the face... I want to hear it too.]
[Is Shi running low on points? (Sponsorship points +20)]
[Of course they're low on points if they're live streaming! Streamer, tell us what props you need. (Sponsorship points +10)]
[Tell us about it.]
***
In the instance, Wen Shichun watched these barrages expressionlessly. Although most of it was useless information, seeing the live stream's points steadily increasing... the flicker of joy this sparked didn't show on his face, but the light in his beautiful ice-blue eyes grew a bit brighter.
He could easily forget useless barrage information after a glance.
After all, many people were paying to speak.
[...]
The system, sensing its host's emotions, seemed to catch a glimpse of another side of this host.
Afterward, the white-haired youth in the room took another look at the prop he had glimpsed earlier in the panel space, an item that held great attraction for him:
[Specter Detector x1]
[Function: Automatically warns when ghosts approach]
[Usage Duration: Seven hours]
[Purchase Price: 5000 points]
[This item is a one-time consumable.]
[Item Rating: A]
...
Wen Shichun's gaze landed precisely on this Specter Detector.
Previously, with his meager balance, he had only glanced at this item before silently looking away. But now—Wen Shichun looked at his steadily increasing points—maybe... perhaps he could give it a try?
However, the moment this thought crossed the white-haired young man's mind, the system sensed imminent trouble.
[...You...]
Just as the hesitant mechanical voice sounded, its host had already cleared his throat.
A standard pre-speech action.
"Indeed, my points aren't enough to purchase any item," Wen Shichun said.
He was answering a question from the live-stream viewers.
The System: [...]
Listening to that calm voice stating facts, the system seemed to once again sense its host's... flexible and adaptable side.
No, the host was simply because... he was afraid of ghosts...
But were live-stream points really that easy to earn?
Those other players weren't fools.
Yet, watching the increasingly fast-scrolling comments in the live stream and Wen Shichun's slowly but steadily rising points...
The system fell silent.
On the panel, once Wen Shichun had saved enough points, he first invested three hundred into the roulette wheel. Before this, the wheel already contained three hundred from Chang Zhao, one hundred from Shen Jing, and three hundred from Xun Yi, totaling seven hundred points.
Yue Cheng and He Yi showed no movement, which didn't surprise Wen Shichun. After his three hundred points were also injected into the wheel, the spinning lights of the Fate Roulette Wheel lit up in his eyes.
Simultaneously, the other players in the instance received the prompt that the roulette wheel could now be activated.
Team Channel:
After the turntable was activated, Chang Zhao was the most excited: [Xiao Shi!!! Let your bro give you a hug.]
After typing this, he couldn't stop himself from exhaling and rubbing his hands together.
Good luck is coming!
Shen Jing was sitting in Bo Ya's room at that moment. Seeing that the points had been gathered, she now felt somewhat resigned to fate: [Thank you, Xiao E. Now, it's all about luck.]
Meanwhile, Xun Yi, who was sharing a room with Chang Zhao, had been frowning tightly. He had noticed another phenomenon and was typing in the team chat channel: [After the sky outside turned completely dark, the flow of time seems to have returned to normal.]
He wasn't the only one; the others had also noticed this significant change.
It seemed that the dungeon was not only shortening their daytime but also trying to keep the players in a constant state of exhaustion throughout the night.
Veteran players knew that dangers in horror dungeons usually multiplied at night. Now, not only was the time left for them to search for clues to clear the dungeon during the day reduced, but they also had to fend off multiplied dangers at night while adhering to the rules set by the ghosts and monsters.
They couldn't afford to drag this out, Xun Yi thought.
So, he opened the private chat box for players in the dungeon and typed a string of information.
He sent it to the person he had contacted earlier.
It seemed like he was seeking help.
