When Jiang Ye woke up, she was still a bit groggy. She got out of bed, casually put on a clean jacket, and walked out to wash her face and log into the game.
Just as she stood in front of the sink, watching the water drip pathetically, a earth-shattering scream came from Axing's room.
"Ahhhhhhhh!!!"
Jiang Ye, unmoved, swat a cockroach crawling in front of her with her slipper.
Axing ran out, still screaming as he ran.
"Jiang Ye!!! Boss!!!"
"This cockroach warrior has fulfilled his mission and slain the cockroach under my shoe!" Jiang Ye showed Axing the slipper in her hand. At the bottom of the slipper, the cockroach, flattened into a patty, still weakly twitched its legs.
"Don't be afraid," Jiang Ye's voice sounded reassuring.
"Okay, I'm not afraid." Axing replied.
"Wait, I wasn't afraid in the first place!!!" Axing reached out to rub his hair, realizing he had unconsciously been led into a strange scene by Jiang Ye again. He stomped his feet in place, agitated for a long time, and couldn't say a word.
"Are you in a hurry to use the bathroom?" Jiang Ye asked.
"No!!" Axing mustered his courage, grabbed Jiang Ye's shoulders, and said loudly with a sense of proud happiness, "Jiang Ye, you're famous!"
"Oh." Jiang Ye put down the slipper and put it on her feet, wiggling her toes nimbly.
"The temperature is just right, no fever." She reached out to touch Axing's forehead, frowning slightly, looking a bit confused.
"You're really famous!" Axing emphasized.
"Sigh, you haven't woken up yet, are you dreaming?" Jiang Ye teased him, "At such a young age, why do you dream of becoming famous overnight every day?"
Besides, she wasn't transmigrated into an entertainment drama, so why would she be famous?
At most, she could get an upset stomach, and didn't even have chrysanthemum tea to drink.
Axing saw Jiang Ye's mockery and was speechless. In the end, he simply swiped his hand and projected the message he had just seen into the air.
Jiang Ye looked up.
The screen was filled with trending search terms on the Star Network and various messy article titles.
#CarefreeWandererStreamer#
#SheHasAnIsland#
#GreatWhiteSharkAndOrca#
"The Island Live Stream That Exploded Overnight, What's Her Secret?"
"Even Matchstick Figures Can Go Interstellar! The Reason Is Actually This!"
"In the Post-Galactic Era, What Kind of Streamer Do We Truly Need."
Jiang Ye was a bit dazed for a moment.
"Boss, don't just look at these, look at the netizens' comments." Axing nudged her.
Jiang Ye obediently clicked in.
Bai Yang: Seeking clips of the Matchstick Man live stream throughout the galaxy, especially the cooking and eating segments! New fans are here to catch up!
Saturn Mars Are All Stars: Came late, came late, am I still an old fan if I follow now?
Succubus Arrives: My mom asked me why I'm calling a matchstick a goddess ORZ
Thousand Palaces Can't Escape: That... have you guys seen the official appointment news released by "Carefree Wanderer"?
"What news?" Axing was also curious and leaned over to ask.
"I don't know." Jiang Ye shook her head.
She reached out to pick at something that was still stuck in the corner of her eye after waking up, flicked it to the ground, slid the screen, and clicked on a link posted by a kind netizen.
This link led directly to an announcement from the game company.
The content, spanning nearly a thousand words, made Jiang Ye's eyes narrow as she skimmed through it. After reading, she realized something was amiss.
"So, from now on, we'll be live streaming while being paid?"
"It seems like it." Axing was also a bit lost.
After all, this current development was something he could never have imagined.
"Could this be a fake website?" Jiang Ye was very vigilant.
"It's not impossible." Axing was as fickle as a reed in the wind.
The two of them looked at each other, like a turtle staring at a green bean, not seeing eye to eye.
"Beep beep beep."
A prompt sound broke the awkwardness of their mutual gaze.
Jiang Ye answered.
"Hello? Who is this?"
"May I ask if this is Ms. Angelina·Yingxue·Ling?" A polite woman's voice came from the other end of the line.
"...You have the wrong number." Jiang Ye, just having woken up, hadn't fully processed things.
"Huh?" The other party was also a bit confused.
"Wait!" Jiang Ye sobered up, "I think I am that Ms. Angelina·Yingxue·Ling."
As she spoke this name, Jiang Ye instantly regretted her momentary boredom that led her to choose such a long name.
But at the same time, a trace of relief also welled up in her heart.
Fortunately, there wasn't enough time during the registration process, and the other party didn't give her the chance to make the name even longer.
After all, on Blue Star, a true Mary Sue would never have a name of only seven characters.
"Hello, Ms. Angelina·Yingxue·Ling..."
"You can call me Miss Ling."
"Alright, Miss Ling. I apologize for this abrupt interruption. Let me introduce myself first. I am an HR representative from Xie Group, the producer of 'Carefree Wanderer.' I'm contacting you now mainly to confirm your future live streaming work."
"Live streaming work?"
"Yes, our company would like to hire you as an exclusive streamer for our game, responsible for live streaming your game content on your island. Would you be willing?"
"Oh." Jiang Ye understood immediately, "May I ask about the salary?"
"Certainly. The offer we are giving is a monthly salary of 8,000 star coins. Are you satisfied with this amount?"
"8,000 star coins." Jiang Ye repeated the price.
Axing, listening from the side, his eyes lit up, and he held up eight fingers. He was clearly moved by this price.
But Jiang Ye was not satisfied.
Having experienced recruitment seasons, job hunting after graduation, and being poached by headhunters, Jiang Ye knew that a monthly salary of 8,000 star coins was merely the cheapest price for this company.
"I'm sorry." Jiang Ye smiled and refused, "I cannot accept the salary offered by your company."
"Then, Miss Ling, what is your psychological price range?" This answer was within the HR's expectations, so she remained calm.
"I'm not really familiar with the current streamer market, but I'll briefly explain my streaming situation. Generally speaking, excluding merchandise sales, my usual gift revenue is around 10,000 star coins. After deducting the platform's commission, I get about 8,000 in hand."
"If you offer me a monthly salary of 8,000, you'll likely set my streaming hours, right? I don't see the point of sacrificing my future plans for less than a day's income. After all, my original intention for playing games wasn't to be a streamer."
"Yes, Miss Ling, you have a point." The HR pursed her lips and pondered for a moment, "Then may I ask if you would accept a price of 12,000 star coins?"
"How many streaming hours would you like to set for me?"
"Ideally, you would stream for 210 hours."
"Heh heh." Jiang Ye chuckled, "Even the pigs in the factory aren't used like this."
The HR was stunned.
"It's like this, Ms. Ling, we've investigated your game data and found that you generally spend over 20 hours in the game per day, sometimes even 24 hours. Therefore, we believe that a 7-hour streaming duration per day wouldn't be difficult for you."
"Whether it's difficult or whether I'm willing isn't for you to decide, it's for me to decide." Jiang Ye shrugged, "Given your company's attitude, I don't think there's anything to discuss regarding live streaming."
"Since your company previously wanted me to delete my account, I will keep my promise and delete the account. I hope your company finds a more suitable streamer candidate in the future."
Jiang Ye hung up the phone with great confidence.
Axing stared at all of this, dumbfounded.
"Boss, by hanging up like that, aren't you missing out on an opportunity?"
"No." Jiang Ye was very composed, "Since they contacted me proactively, it means that others cannot access the bug map besides me. Moreover, as you saw, my popularity online is very high right now, so my value to them is definitely high."
"The conditions they offered just now were too harsh and unreasonable, there's no need to be nice to them." Jiang Ye chuckled, "Perhaps they thought people like us, from wasteland dwellers, would agree to anything if given a little incentive."
"But in reality, they don't know. People like us are precisely the ones who know how to seize every opportunity to turn the tables against the odds."
"If I finally have a chance to fleece the capitalists, why wouldn't I demand a higher price?" Jiang Ye's face washbasin was finally full. She scooped up some water, washed her face, and revealed a refreshed smile, "Just wait, they'll call back today."
Things unfolded as Jiang Ye predicted.
After the HR spoke with her superiors, she realized that Miss Ling wasn't someone to be easily fooled and chose to offer more sincere terms.
When she contacted Jiang Ye again half an hour later, she presented the best conditions they could offer.
"No commission, a guaranteed daily real-life salary of 8K, no fixed monthly broadcast hours. You must stream for at least 1 real-life hour per day to receive your daily salary. If you maintain full attendance, there will be a 10% bonus on your total daily salary for the month. Moving forward, we will do our best to cooperate with any needs you have during your live streams. We will also assign a dedicated person to manage your stream room, assist with promotion, and handle management. Additionally, we have reached an agreement with the game department that the company will not interfere with any matters on the island henceforth; all in-game ownership belongs to you, Miss. This map is bound to your account, and we hope Miss Ling can ensure the island's continued existence. Are these conditions satisfactory, Miss Ling?" the HR patiently explained.
"If you had said this earlier, there wouldn't have been so much trouble, would there?" Jiang Ye said with a smile, "Harmony brings wealth."
"Shall we sign the contract online?" Jiang Ye asked.
"Of course, we'll send you the contract immediately."
"Will your company guarantee my personal privacy?" Jiang Ye asked, "After all, you contacting my account directly like this is a bit unsettling."
"That is a given." The HR hadn't expected this person to be so difficult to deal with. She quickly wiped her sweat and explained, "The current situation is rather unique, and we had no other choice but to do it this way."
"Mm-hmm."
"The contract has been sent to you." The HR changed her tone, "Miss Ling, have you received it?"
"I have," Jiang Ye replied, "I'll send it back after signing. Thank you for your hard work."
"Not at all, not at all!"
"Miss Ling, is there anything else I can help you with?" the HR politely inquired.
"There is indeed one thing." Jiang Ye's mind moved, and she casually asked, "Is the 'Boss Yi' from your company very idle? Does he do nothing all day but stay in the game?"
As soon as she said this, the HR seemed a bit confused.
"Boss Yi? We don't have a Boss Yi in our company."
"That's not right? It's the NPC on the island, named Jing Lian."
"You mean the NPC?" The HR chuckled softly. The professional reaction she had upon hearing the word 'boss' instantly disappeared, and she said with relief, "It's like this, dear player. As our game's exclusive contracted streamer, I believe I can share this information with you."
"Currently, most of the NPCs in our game are AI, so there's no possibility of them being played by humans. I think there must have been some misunderstanding. It's also possible that you encountered an NPC bug. We may need to investigate and research this further. Would you like me to report this issue to our game's customer service department?"
"No need for that." Jiang Ye smiled, "Let's leave it at that for now. Goodbye, thank you."
"You're welcome."
After the call ended, Jiang Ye put away her surprise at what she had just heard and patiently reviewed each clause in the contract.
Axing, on the other hand, was still in a state of daze.
"Did I hear that right? It's 8K daily salary?" Axing couldn't help but ask again.
"You heard right." Jiang Ye said.
"Boss, before meeting you, I never knew money could be earned so easily." Axing sighed, "This is much more profitable than reselling junk and helping people with repairs."
"Why don't you think about how much revenue this game company makes in a day? Processing fees for top-ups, streaming commissions, ad views, item fees, etc. This daily salary of 8K is just a fraction of that."
"In short, this is just the beginning."
Jiang Ye smiled.
"From today onwards, we are officially recognized streamers. We no longer have to hide or worry about anything on the island being exposed. If we don't do something spectacular, it would be a disservice to the audience."
---
After a light melody, Jiang Ye opened her eyes.
Before her was still the island, and the person before her was still the same person, but everything had changed.
"What are you spacing out for?" Jing Lian asked softly, looking at the player before him.
"It's nothing." Jiang Ye shrugged slightly, "It's just that when I logged off last time, I felt like I was saying goodbye to this island forever, and now when I log back in, it has completely become my island."
This sea breeze was hers.
This sand softened by the waves was hers.
Even every blade of grass, every tree, every flower, and every person on this island was hers.
Including the one before her.
Jiang Ye leaned closer to Jing Lian.
Jing Lian instinctively took a step back.
Jiang Ye leaned closer again.
Jing Lian retreated again.
"What are they doing?" Fan Xiaoche watched blankly from the side.
"Shush, don't ask about grown-ups' business," He Xiaoshang replied, feigning maturity.
"I think this is probably a form of human sport," Xi Yan gently tapped her chin with her slender fingers, pondering, "It's a bit like fencing."
Shark Baby made a move as if to pounce on Jiang Ye, but Xi Yan grabbed its collar and lifted it up.
Blanket Octopus wasn't too afraid of Great White Shark, mainly because of its current size, Xi Yan could swallow Shark Baby in one gulp.
After all, in the deep sea, a giant octopus could kill a shark.
With Shark Baby restrained, it gave up its actions, only able to maintain its lifted posture, staring angrily at Jiang Ye and Jing Lian, baring its shark teeth.
As for Jing Lian, with nowhere else to retreat, he finally leaned against the trunk of a coconut tree.
Facing the woman before him who said nothing, but kept approaching him, Jing Lian's ears turned slightly red, but his expression remained calm and serene.
"Is something the matter?" Jing Lian asked in confusion, "Why are you doing this?"
"Doing what?" Jiang Ye smiled.
"Like this." Jing Lian glanced at the distance between himself and Jiang Ye, confused, "You usually dislike me getting too close to you, don't you?"
Because the pet egg hadn't fully hatched yet, Jing Lian had to stay within a five-meter radius of the egg.
Usually, he stood at the very edge of this circle.
He could tell that Jiang Ye didn't like him getting close.
Why did she change today?
Facing Jing Lian's confusion, Jiang Ye smiled without a word.
Her eyes stared at Jing Lian's face, and the more she looked, the more beautiful she found him. Everything she disliked about Jing Lian before now seemed like a data error.
It was only natural for an AI to identify and correct bugs in its program system, just as Jiang Ye, a perfectionist, couldn't stand to see unaligned books and would always straighten them.
Jiang Ye was now very curious about how AI in this world developed.
How were they trained?
If this technology were applied to virtual lovers or chat apps on Blue Star, would it gain immense attention?
Regardless, the current Jing Lian was nothing more than a paper figure to Jiang Ye.
A paper figure more real than the one-dimensional paper figures she saw through a screen on Blue Star, with a full-holographic, touchable body, a more free brain and way of thinking, and more research value.
Men and paper figures were treated differently in Jiang Ye's eyes.
Men, as a general rule, should not get too close to her, as it would affect her ability to navigate the world and the speed at which she drew her sword.
In the third dimension, Jiang Ye was a steadfast stone person, never moved by the opposite sex, her mind focused solely on making money, making money, and taking care of her sister.
But paper figures were different.
Paper figures wouldn't collapse or disappear. As long as she wanted, they could exist in her world forever. The only issue was that some paper figures required money to maintain the relationship.
For example, playing otome games.
If you didn't log in for half a month, your paper figure husband might call you, tempting you: "My dear, it's time to return to the game and spend some money."
At such times, Jiang Ye would usually just buy a monthly pass, nothing more.
Ever since Jiang Ye learned that Jing Lian was an NPC, her concept had changed.
Her brain took about ten minutes to accept that the technological advancement in interstellar civilization had reached such terrifying levels. Then, her thoughts drifted to horrifying scenarios of AI rebellion and human-machine apocalypse. Finally, a faint voice occupied Jiang Ye's entire mind.
It was the sound of Jing Lian humming "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" when Jiang Ye forced him to do so with the pet egg the first time she saw him.
In her past life as a game designer, one of Jiang Ye's trivial tasks was to savor various men's voices and select voice actors for male characters in games.
From normal speech to gasps and hums.
She thought her ears had become calloused from listening to sounds, but she never expected to encounter someone like Jing Lian in a game today.
Oh my.
She wondered if Jing Lian's favorability could be increased.
If it could, would it trigger some interesting or fun rewards? The fact that he could easily erase Chubby Bird's data indicated his high level of autonomy and control within the game.
He was valuable.
Therefore, Jiang Ye stared at Jing Lian, her smile deepening.
The teasing and covetousness in her eyes were all reflected in the curve of her lips.
This made Jing Lian feel a bit scared.
He averted his gaze.
"Little Lian ah."
"My name is Jing Lian."
"Mhm, Little Lian." Jiang Ye replied with a smile.
"..." Jing Lian was helpless, "Perhaps you should just call me Boss Yi."
That name felt more comfortable to him.
Calling him Little Lian was truly creepy.
"No, Little Lian is cute and sounds nice." Jiang Ye's eyes sparkled, "Before, due to some misunderstanding and my bad temper, I might have been a bit harsh towards you. Let's get to know each other again."
"My name is Yi Ye Zhou."
Jing Lian looked at the hand Jiang Ye extended. Her fingertips were beautiful, and her nails were glossy. Her hands looked easy to hold.
He hesitated for a moment before returning the handshake.
The moment their palms met, Jing Lian realized that even if thousands of players had hands with the same model as Jiang Ye's Yi Ye Zhou.
The temperature transmitted through their palms would undoubtedly be different.
His son was right.
Yi Ye Zhou's spiritual power, her very existence, made them feel comfortable.
"Please take care of me in the future." Sensing Jing Lian's slight daze, Jiang Ye squeezed his hand.
Her eyes conveyed an undeniable seriousness.
Jing Lian nodded, but said no more.
However, a faint question arose in his heart: Did Jiang Ye's change in attitude stem from learning about the salary from the human Xie Jue?
His son said Yi Ye Zhou disliked him.
But it didn't seem like it now.
Jing Lian fell into thought and then looked at Jiang Ye again.
Jiang Ye knew that she couldn't rush things with an NPC, especially an intelligent one, when it came to increasing favorability. Thus, after a brief interaction with Jing Lian and a communication establishing a peace treaty, she turned towards her babies.
She turned around, spread her arms, and the four, one large and three small, ran towards her.
Although it was merely a relationship between owner and pets, in that moment, bathed in sunlight, the four people hugging tightly on the island were depicted like a loving, supportive family.
Yes, four people.
The youngest Shark Baby, excited, had run forward and once again fallen face-first onto the ground.
She had already gotten up with no emotional reaction, rationally dusting off her clothes.
But as she looked up at the heartwarming scene of Xi Yan and the others hugging Jiang Ye tightly, and saw Jiang Ye embracing two of them happily, she gritted her teeth ferociously, a glint of sharpness in her eyes.
Shark Baby nimbly fell to the ground again, pouted, and wailed loudly.
Jiang Ye noticed, rubbed Fan Xiaoche who was startled by the crying, and got up to check on Shark Baby.
As she got closer, Jiang Ye squatted down.
"Mommy!" Shark Baby looked up at Jiang Ye, her face dusty, and a snot bubble popped out of her small nostrils.
Jiang Ye looked at her and smiled, shaking her head.
This little shark was mute in the sea, but on land, her crying was very loud. Unfortunately, her tears were inversely proportional to her volume.
There wasn't a single drop of water on her tender little face, clearly a fake cry.
Shark Baby, completely unaware that she had been seen through, continued to pretend to be wronged.
"Mommy, hug!"
Her shark teeth were uneven, and her voice was strange when she spoke, able to say "hug" as "bao bao."
Jiang Ye indulged her, scooped her up, and nuzzled her face.
From an angle the others couldn't see, Shark Baby gave the other two a triumphant look.
In Jiang Ye's backpack, the pet egg, which had eagerly written "bound" on itself, was wildly shaking in an unknown location.
Of everyone present, only Jing Lian understood the egg's emotions.
It was jealous.
It couldn't wait to hatch.
Jing Lian suppressed it, unwilling to see it form so quickly and come out to cause trouble. Just thinking about how this guy would shake its head at Jiang Ye when it appeared made Jing Lian, its father in a sense, feel a bit embarrassed.
And now wasn't the best time.
He hadn't fully finished hatching this egg.
Jing Lian subtly prevented the Silver Python from emerging.
"By the way, Little Lian."
Sudden calling by Jiang Ye made Jing Lian's hand, which was hidden while operating, tremble slightly, almost causing a mishap.
"What?" He looked up at Jiang Ye and replied calmly.
"It's like this, I don't need to delete my account anymore, right? So, do I need to return the item you gave me for creating a new account?"
"No need." Jing Lian slightly lowered his gaze, "There's no reason to take back something I've given away."
What he didn't say was that he had also found many treasures in the deep sea, originally intending to bribe Jiang Ye into giving up the pet egg.
But now, it seemed unnecessary.
Fate dictated that she wouldn't have her account deleted, so it was also fate that brought her to this island.
How far she could go from here would depend on herself.
With Jing Lian's words, Jiang Ye conceived a plan.
She decided to live stream on the island during the day and level up her alternate account in the novice village at night.
Multiple alts meant multiple income streams.
Jiang Ye created the alt account without a word, naming it Half River Moon.
To differentiate it from Yi Ye Zhou's image, Jiang Ye made drastic changes to her appearance while creating the character, not only enhancing her beauty but also dyeing her hair and changing her eye color.
The final result was a holy and noble beauty.
Looking at this face, Jiang Ye felt it bore some resemblance to Jing Lian. It was more feminine than Jing Lian, with softer facial lines, but the silver eyes held the same indifference.
Tsk, Jiang Ye thought, her aesthetic preferences seemed to be quite fixed.
After creating the alt account, Jiang Ye also gave Shark Baby a name.
"Nata Shark."
Jiang Ye pinched the little round face, "Do you like this name?"
"I like it!"
Shark Baby's upgrade prompt also declared to Jiang Ye that she truly loved this name.
After finishing these tasks, Jiang Ye adjusted her live stream settings and then started the broadcast.
She looked at the camera and waved to everyone.
"Hello everyone, your streamer is back!"
After Jiang Ye said this, there was not a single message in the barrage.
Jiang Ye frowned, feeling strange. She looked up and saw that the viewer count was 0.
...No way?
Did it freeze?
Jiang Ye raised her hand and patted her head twice.
She found this to be quite effective.
It was like hitting an old TV set that was malfunctioning.
Not long after this, a flicker appeared before Jiang Ye's eyes.
Then...
The dense barrage of messages surged towards her with an unprecedented intensity!