Li Fan was deeply annoyed about getting reported.
He summoned his newbie guide, Chubby Bird, to talk back.
"What does this mean?" Li Fan couldn’t hide his anger.
"Dear player, it is exactly as it says," Chubby Bird answered gently, its voice as soft as sweet water.
"So just because of what I said, I get muted? Does your game have any sense of justice left?" Li Fan protested.
"Dear player, there is no justice in the game, only rules," Chubby Bird stayed unfailingly gentle.
"Fine, you win." Li Fan felt as if he’d punched a cloud. He changed the subject. "Can you at least give me the food I won on the lucky draw earlier?"
"Of course not." Chubby Bird explained, "Dear player, you are currently banned from using any Live stream related features."
Li Fan used to think this little bird was pretty well-behaved and cute. Every time it called him "dear player," it made him feel all warm inside. But for some reason, now when he heard it talk, he just wanted to smack it.
He resisted the urge.
"Is your system's lucky wheel really working correctly?" He was still hung up on the results of that last spin. "You're not just messing with me, are you?"
"Dear player, all draws in this game are completely random."
"Stop calling me that!!!" Li Fan couldn’t take it anymore. He grabbed Chubby Bird, clenching his palm and making several feathers fall out, squishing its chubby little body all out of shape.
Even then, Chubby Bird still dutifully replied, "Okay, dear player."
Li Fan was losing his mind.
He slammed the bird onto the ground. Chubby Bird bounced a few times like a rubber ball, then fluttered back up into the air.
"Dear player, do you have any other questions?"
"No! Get lost, get lost, get lost!" Li Fan couldn't stand hearing another word from this bird.
"Okay, dear player. Please rest assured, for the sake of fairness and to guarantee every player’s rights, we’ll be investigating the incident in the Stream room as well." With those last, watered-down words, Chubby Bird shot away and vanished.
Back in its workspace, it casually opened the Live stream, and as it plucked at its own feathers, its bird face scrunched up tighter and tighter.
It hurried to contact a coworker.
"Guide #233, are you there? This is your player, right? Just what is going on?!"
"Did you report this to the Prime God??"
Guide #233 almost fainted from fright when it saw this message.
It had only taken a break from handling this hot potato and now this guy was actually streaming again?
It was over. Completely over.
It wouldn’t be long before the Prime God came to settle accounts.
Jiang Ye, meanwhile, was oblivious to the commotion caused by Li Fan.
Right now, she was busy ending her Live stream.
Four dishes, each completed and set on the table. Every one of them looked, smelled, and tasted fantastic—completely irresistible.
Jiang Ye also enabled Taste and Touch Sharing, so all her viewers could smell the aroma of the four dishes, and also feel the warmth in her palm when she cupped her bowl.
"After this meal, I’ll be logging off," Jiang Ye said to the camera.
She picked up the crab roe noodles, gave it a good stir, mixing the plump crab roe and tender crab meat with the noodles. When she picked up a bite, you could see the crab roe and crab meat wrapped around the noodles. She leaned closer, took a mouthful, and her taste buds bloomed with a crab-centered feast.
The rich and savory oiliness of the crab roe, the fresh flavor blending with the sweet crab meat, the chewy noodles, and the crisp sauce all mixed together.
Jiang Ye couldn’t help herself and took another bite.
[This is killing me! Am I crazy, or is the world crazy? I’m actually watching a stick figure mukbang in a game!]
[I want to cry, boohoo! I haven’t felt the warmth of real food in so long. When the Streamer held the bowl, I swear my palm felt almost hot. Is this what home feels like?]
[I want a bite so badly.]
The last comment echoed what every viewer was thinking.
Even Chun Dengluan, who had always been silent and unmoved, spoke up: [Streamer, are you selling this dish?]
I'm Super Fierce: [ME! WANT! TO EAT!]
Jiang Ye figured she’d made enough for today, so she had no intention of selling more food for now and shook her head to refuse.
I'm Super Fierce: [Why not!]
I'm Super Fierce: [Is it because I didn't send you the Ultimate Torpedo gift!]
I'm Super Fierce: [Ugh! Why can everyone else send Ultimate Torpedoes, but I can't!]
[Bro, maybe it’s because you didn’t scroll down when sending gifts.]
I'm Super Fierce: [Huh?]
I'm Super Fierce blinked blankly, withdrew her paws, and scrolled down the streaming interface, only to discover a whole row of gifts she’d never seen before beneath the hand-grenade.
She froze for a moment, and her first instinct was to send ten Ultimate Torpedoes to Jiang Ye all at once, bumping the ID of [This User Has Been Muted] out of the top spot on the Gift Leaderboard.
I'm Super Fierce stood with paws on hips, meow-laughing with satisfaction as she saw her name and cat-avatar at the top, closest to the Streamer. She felt a lot better.
"Fierce, really, I’m not selling anymore, so stop sending me gifts, it’s a waste of money," Jiang Ye said, pained, looking at the pile of gold coins she’d just received. She couldn’t help being tempted by all that money, but she couldn’t take back her words right after saying them—that would be too embarrassing.
I'm Super Fierce: [Hmph! Bad Streamer! See? Now you know who your best viewer is!]
I'm Super Fierce: [I’m not like that bald guy. If I want to give gifts, I do! But next time you sell food, you better sell to me first!]
Jiang Ye felt guilty, ate only a little more, and after ending the stream, she messaged I'm Super Fierce.
Once she logged off, the System had already automatically delivered the food to Chun Dengluan. The other nine portions, because I Have a Lot of Hair had an accident and couldn’t receive them, were returned by the System and now sat in Jiang Ye’s backpack.
Jiang Ye packed everything up and sent it all to I'm Super Fierce.
Seeing her cat avatar, and remembering her reactions during previous streams, Jiang Ye added one more portion of tuna fried rice as a bonus.
"Streamer, what’s the meaning of this?" Suddenly being fed via Private Chat, I'm Super Fierce was left utterly dumbfounded, her entire cat-self frozen.
"I—I don't condone streamers privately contacting their fans!" This cat was still slightly vigilant, warning Jiang Ye with fierce words. "Don’t think you can tempt me with this!"
After hearing her voice message, Jiang Ye realized the viewer was a girl—and her voice sounded oddly familiar, as if she had heard it somewhere before.
"What are you talking about?" Jiang Ye couldn’t help laughing, using her sweet old-lady voice. "The person who ordered this food can’t receive it, and I don’t want it all rotting in my backpack, so I just sent it to you. If you don’t want it, you can return it."
"Who says I don’t want it!" I'm Super Fierce immediately contradicted Jiang Ye, hesitated for a long moment, then finally typed two words: "Thank you."
"Enjoy your meal." Jiang Ye left her with those words and logged off.
I'm Super Fierce looked at the Streamer’s now-dark stick-figure avatar, then at the sudden pile of dishes in front of her, and licked her paws in satisfaction.
Good kitties get good rewards!
It was so worth reporting that bald guy so many times just now!
On the other side of the game, Chun Dengluan also received his food.
He eyed the tuna fried rice warily, checking and re-checking the item’s information, but didn’t see any mention of the producer.
He sat up straight and stared at his food for a while, then sent it to another player named Jin Luyi.
Chun Dengluan: "Senior, I checked it—there’s nothing unusual."
Jin Luyi: "Got it, I’ll double-check."
Chun Dengluan: "Oh. Senior, why do you suspect that Streamer is connected to the top of the Leaderboard?"
Jin Luyi: "None of your business."
Chun Dengluan pressed his lips together and said nothing more.
After a while—
"Senior, this food…" Chun Dengluan couldn’t hold back and asked.
"It restores HP, gives a buff, it’s good for dungeons. But the price is high, not worth it."
"Uh." Chun Dengluan tightened his grip on his sword and hopefully asked, "I mean… does it taste good?"
Jin Luyi was silent for a moment, then answered, "It’s delicious."
With that answer, Chun Dengluan decided to keep camping in the Stream room next time.
"Oh, do you know anything about that seafood stall she mentioned?" Jin Luyi asked.
"Not sure yet, I’ll check it out tomorrow," Chun Dengluan replied obediently.
"Okay, thanks," Jin Luyi’s tone brightened.
Just before the chat ended, Chun Dengluan hesitated, then asked, "Senior, if the Guild opens in the future, will that person show up too?"
"Of course," Jin Luyi replied firmly, "You’ll meet him."
"Mm!"
Chun Dengluan was already looking forward to that moment.
The legendary Galactic Empire’s Blade who crashed, Lu Jingsui—Major Lu.
Even though after the ten-year war, he was accused of being an imperial traitor and blamed for the crown prince’s assassination, in Chun Dengluan’s heart, Lu Jingsui was still his idol, his light.
Chun Dengluan never imagined that idly playing a game after military school classes would actually give him a chance to encounter his idol.
He stood up, gripped his sword, and walked out the door, ready to continue leveling up—and obediently started looking through the novice village for news of the stall vendors.
Meanwhile, A-Xing, the very person Chun Dengluan was searching for, was staring dejectedly at yet another "Challenge the Dungeon: Hunt the Deep Mountain Wolf" failure notice.
His Stamina was steadily dropping, meaning he probably wouldn’t be able to challenge dungeons again in the short term.
He sat down on the grass outdoors, ran a hand through his hair, and finally clicked open Yuchi Xi’s chat window.
"Yuchi, bro, big bro, can you do me a favor?"
When Yuchi Xi heard his request and learned it was to farm clothes for Jiang Ye, he agreed without hesitation.
For once, A-Xing spent money on a Stamina-replenishing item, and teamed up with Yuchi Xi to clear the dungeon. But they failed.
"Are we really not going to get through this dungeon?" A-Xing was falling apart.
"Actually, there is a way," Yuchi Xi said gravely.
"What way?"
[System: Captain Yuchi Xi has sent a team invite to player A Leaf Boat. Awaiting acceptance, please be patient.]
[System: Player A Leaf Boat has joined the team.]
"What’s going on here?" Jiang Ye was suddenly added to the party and grew a bit worried. "Is Scar Tiger out to get us, or has the bald guy finally realized I scammed him?"
"Neither," Yuchi Xi replied. "Pro gamer, got time to run a dungeon with us?"