Lin Cimian: “…”
The ID truly matched the person. It looked extremely rich. No wonder he could shower Lin Cimian with so many gifts.
Lin Cimian knew greeting strangers made him nervous, so he did not make things difficult for himself. He selected a universally useful reaction image and sent it over.
He assumed the message would sink like a stone into the sea and was about to distract himself with the game, but unexpectedly, the other person replied almost immediately.
Big Brother Loves Driving Ferraris: Hello.
Big Brother Loves Driving Ferraris: Is something the matter?
Concise, steady, and even punctuated with meticulous correctness. The style was completely different from the ID.
Lin Cimian stared blankly for several seconds before continuing.
Sleepless Tonight: Thank you for the gift just now.
Big Brother Loves Driving Ferraris: You’re welcome.
When Yan Shiyue sent the message, he had just finished showering. Wearing a white T-shirt and long pants, he sat relaxed on the edge of his bed, one leg slightly bent while the other stretched naturally forward. A tablet lay on the black bedsheet, and beside it crouched a sweet-looking cat.
The cat sniffed Yan Shiyue’s lowered hand, purred loudly, rubbed its head against him, then flopped dramatically onto its side like an insurance scammer, exposing a soft belly.
Yan Shiyue casually scratched beneath its chin. Meeting the kitten’s clear, innocent gaze, he smiled helplessly.
A cat capable of sending gifts to people—there might be only one in the entire world.
The cat tilted its head, meowed in a sugary voice, then tilted again to rub Yan Shiyue’s fingers, so cute it was impossible to hold anything against it.
Yan Shiyue stroked the cat until it purred while replying one-handed.
Sleepless Tonight: Thank you for the gift. Otherwise I would’ve lost the PK.
Sleepless Tonight: I want to return the money to you, but I haven’t signed a streaming contract yet. I still have to wait two months.
Sleepless Tonight: Is there a convenient way for me to transfer it back?
Big Brother Loves Driving Ferraris: No need.
Lin Cimian had not expected such an immediate refusal, with no reason given. The other person seemed to have no desire to continue chatting.
Lin Cimian had never been good at talking with aloof people. He worried at his fingers in distress.
If he kept the money, he probably would not sleep well tonight. But if he continued asking, would he be bothering the other person?
He typed a few words into the chat box, deleted them, typed again, and spent three or four minutes without sending anything.
Even through the screen, Yan Shiyue sensed the other person’s unease. Faced with a complete stranger with whom he had no relationship, he inexplicably sent a sentence of reassurance.
Big Brother Loves Driving Ferraris: Don’t overthink it. The money is already yours.
Sleepless Tonight: Thank you. This is the first meteor shower I’ve ever received. I’m genuinely very grateful.
Sleepless Tonight: By the way, do you play games?
Big Brother Loves Driving Ferraris: No.
Sleepless Tonight: I can give you some equipment and high-level medicine.
The two messages appeared almost simultaneously, and the second was immediately recalled. If Yan Shiyue had not been looking at the tablet the whole time, he would have missed it.
Although Yan Shiyue did not play games, he knew that equipment and medicine could be traded for real money. The other person wanted to compensate him this way.
Nothing could actually be seen through the screen, yet Yan Shiyue imagined a blurry little figure nervously laying out every possession he owned one by one, looking at him eagerly and hoping he would choose something.
The cat happened to meow sweetly, lazily stretched, then rolled carefree across the bed, completely unaware that what it had done had created a burden for someone else.
Yan Shiyue tapped the cat lightly on the head and slowly lowered his eyes.
In recent years, he had taken over the family businesses and entered a semi-retired state from acting, though he would still try for an excellent role when one appeared.
The script sent to him this time was a science-fiction film.
The protagonist could move between reality and a game. This blurred his perceptions, causing his moral reasoning, ethics, and understanding of legal rules to shift. Mundane daily life became a field of dangerous thorns.
What moved Yan Shiyue was that although it was a science-fiction film, what it truly discussed was human nature. The protagonist’s cognitive confusion and gradual changes also made Yan Shiyue want to challenge the role.
But the biggest problem was that he had never encountered games before.
So Yan Shiyue opened several gaming streams to try to understand them. Halfway through, he went to shower and left the iPad on the bed without turning it off. The cat had probably jumped onto the bed and stepped on the screen several times, accidentally sending gifts.
The word “perfunctory” did not exist in Yan Shiyue’s dictionary. He understood very clearly that if he wanted to grasp the role, he absolutely could not remain someone who had never touched a game.
Yet he personally had no interest in games and no broad concept of how they worked. If he explored everything alone from the beginning, the time cost would be too high.
After thinking for several seconds, Yan Shiyue sent another message.
Big Brother Loves Driving Ferraris: This is my first time trying a game. Can you take me along?
Sleepless Tonight: Of course!
Sleepless Tonight: When do you usually play? I’m available all day.
Sleepless Tonight: If you need it, I can also recommend a suitable class. I’m pretty good at character creation too. Tell me whatever you need, and please don’t be polite about it.
Sleepless Tonight: Little fox sitting obediently.jpg
He was even using reaction images now. It seemed he had relaxed.
The corner of Yan Shiyue’s mouth lifted almost imperceptibly. His hand hung loosely as he typed, fingertips slightly curved, knuckles clearly defined, faint blue veins visible across the back of his hand.
Big Brother Loves Driving Ferraris: Is there a class with assassination abilities?
Sleepless Tonight: Two. The first is Parting Sorrow, an assassin class that specializes in hidden weapons. The second is Ghost Gate. Its cultivation method is unusual; it can transform into black smoke and take a life in an instant, and its attack methods are more varied. The second class is more popular.
Big Brother Loves Driving Ferraris: Why is it more popular?
Sleepless Tonight: Because the character model is good-looking and it looks cooler in fights.
Big Brother Loves Driving Ferraris: Which do you recommend?
Sleepless Tonight: Ghost Gate gives a better gameplay experience.
Big Brother Loves Driving Ferraris: All right. I’ll choose Ghost Gate. I don’t need custom character creation for now.
Only after searching online for what “custom character creation” meant did Yan Shiyue send that message.
Sleepless Tonight: Okay. Since this is your first game, I’ll send you a beginner guide later.
Big Brother Loves Driving Ferraris: Thank you for the trouble.
Sleepless Tonight: Um, may I ask what I should call you?
“Big Brother Loves Driving Ferraris” had been automatically generated by the system when Yan Shiyue registered. He had not planned to use the streaming app regularly and had never cared, but the situation was different now.
While thinking, Yan Shiyue unconsciously tapped the tablet twice with his finger.
Good Day: My in-game name is this too.
Sleepless Tonight: Okay.
By tacit agreement, neither continued the conversation. Yan Shiyue casually reached over and petted the cat, which had fallen asleep beside him like a flattened pancake, then tapped the tablet twice and powered it off.
Lin Cimian put down his phone, reopened the game, and continued clearing beginner quests.
He chopped firewood, carried water, and mediated village disputes before finally completing the beginner sequence.
Because it was so boring, his stream’s viewer count dropped by a third. The people who remained complained continuously.
[These are beginner quests, not toddler lessons. Can we get something that requires intelligence?]
[+1. I almost fell asleep when I did the beginner quests.]
[Finally out of the beginner village. What’s the streamer planning to do?]
Lin Cimian already had a plan and was just about to type when his friends panel shook.
[Private Chat] Some Unruly Subject Is Always Trying to Harm This Emperor: Want to run a dungeon together?
[Private Chat] Sleepless Tonight: I want to escort a caravan.
[Private Chat] Some Unruly Subject Is Always Trying to Harm This Emperor: I’ll come too!
Whether an escort caravan encountered bandits depended mainly on luck. It was impossible to know who in the party had terrible fortune, but they had barely set out when bandits appeared.
Some Unruly Subject Is Always Trying to Harm This Emperor had a much higher level and dramatically better weapons and equipment. He originally planned to protect the beginner like a senior player, but Lin Cimian charged even farther ahead than he did.
Unruly Subject: “…”
Lin Cimian’s crowd-control accuracy was as high as eighty percent, but his attack power was astonishingly low. He used up the sickles and daggers he had obtained in the beginner village, yet barely shaved any health off the bandits. Unruly Subject followed behind and delivered finishing blows, enjoying his soft meal very comfortably.
After the system displayed the message that the caravan escort had succeeded, Unruly Subject leisurely followed behind, still savoring the feeling of having food delivered directly to his mouth.
[Private Chat] Some Unruly Subject Is Always Trying to Harm This Emperor: Your mechanics are really good. By the way, I forgot to ask—what role are you building your Joyous Union for? Support?
Given Joyous Union’s current reputation, experts did not want to play the class. Most Joyous Union players were online-romance types with low competitive skill, causing Joyous Union to drift toward the healer lane as well.
[Private Chat] Sleepless Tonight: My goal is the stars and the sea. I plan to get onto the expert rankings.
[Private Chat] Some Unruly Subject Is Always Trying to Harm This Emperor: …
[Private Chat] Some Unruly Subject Is Always Trying to Harm This Emperor: One by one our dreams fly out the window—no, I mean, where there’s a will there’s a way. Good luck!
[Private Chat] Sleepless Tonight: By the way, are there any relatively easy dungeons?
[Private Chat] Some Unruly Subject Is Always Trying to Harm This Emperor: Let me think. There’s a Thousand-Silk Cave that isn’t too hard, and the forum has guides. I’m free tomorrow night too. Want me to take you through it?
[Private Chat] Sleepless Tonight: Thanks, but no need. I’m taking someone else. He’s a beginner.
[Private Chat] Some Unruly Subject Is Always Trying to Harm This Emperor: Damn, you just got out of the beginner village and you’re already carrying a girl? Thumbs-up.jpg
Lin Cimian: “…”
The viewers: “…”
[Hahaha, Unruly Subject, you really know how to talk.]
[Crude words, accurate truth. Mianmian, how dare you?!]
[Imagining two of them running the dungeon together… probably two baby chicks pecking each other to death.]
Lin Cimian choked for a moment before continuing.
[Private Chat] Sleepless Tonight: I’m not carrying a girl. He sent me a lot of gifts and this is his first time playing a game. I at least have some experience, so I wanted to take him along.
[Private Chat] Some Unruly Subject Is Always Trying to Harm This Emperor: I understand~~~ You definitely have to take good care of your number-one patron. Flirty wink.jpg
Lin Cimian: “…” This was even worse than carrying a girl! (へ)
The viewers burst into laughter, and the viewer count quietly increased again. Unruly Subject truly was Lin Cimian’s lucky star; every time he appeared, the stream became entertaining.
The two chatted a while longer. Lin Cimian was accustomed to sleeping and waking early. After saying goodbye to Unruly Subject and his viewers, he shut down the computer.
He did not begin streaming until the afternoon, so the next morning he finished reading the forum guides and organized a beginner guide and class introduction.
The streaming platform could not send documents, so Lin Cimian had no choice but to take screenshots one by one and privately send them to his “number-one patron.”
When he began streaming that afternoon, he completed his personal tasks early and reached the agreed meeting point to wait.
There were quite a few people around the dungeon entrance. Lin Cimian searched the screen several times before finally spotting a black-clothed swordsman standing at the very edge with the words “Good Day” above his head.
Someone who could drop a meteor shower in one go obviously had plenty of money. Lin Cimian had assumed Good Day would be a heavy spender. Unexpectedly, he was using the default official face without a single alteration, and his outfit was the plainest disciple robe.
Lin Cimian walked over. Before he could decide how to greet him, the other person sent a message first.
[Nearby] Good Day: You’re here.
Lin Cimian sent a friend request, waited until it was accepted, then replied.
[Private Chat] Sleepless Tonight: Have you been waiting long?
[Private Chat] Good Day: No. I just arrived too.
[Private Chat] Sleepless Tonight: Shall we enter the dungeon now?
[Private Chat] Good Day: Mm.
After the two entered, all the other players disappeared. The surroundings were pitch-black, with occasional glimmers of light. Strange-shaped rocks lay underfoot, and the sound of water echoed continuously around them.
Lin Cimian had read the guide and knew there was no danger yet, so he boldly controlled his character forward.
“Squish.”
It sounded like stepping on a rotten tomato, juice splashing outward.
Lin Cimian moved the mouse and zoomed in, revealing a spider as large as a palm. Its abdomen was round and swollen, and green fluid had burst from it where he stepped.
…Did the graphics really need to be this realistic?
Even knowing it was fake, Lin Cimian still broke out in goosebumps. The mixture of dripping water and wind in the sound design was creepy too.
At that moment, the black-clothed swordsman walking beside him spoke.
[Private Chat] Good Day: I saw the images you sent. Thank you.
The message distracted Lin Cimian, and the creepy feeling gradually faded.
[Private Chat] Sleepless Tonight: I’m glad they helped.
[Private Chat] Good Day: Did organizing them take long?
[Private Chat] Sleepless Tonight: Not very long. If you have questions after reading, you can ask me.
[Private Chat] Good Day: All right.
The two chatted intermittently. Lin Cimian was always a little restrained around people he did not know well, even through a screen, but interacting with Yan Shiyue felt unexpectedly comfortable.
He did not talk much, but he answered every message. He maintained distance without seeming cold. Perhaps Lin Cimian was flattering himself, but he felt the other person was taking care of his emotions and would initiate a topic whenever the conversation fell silent.
Time passed second by second, and the surroundings changed dramatically.
In the dim green light, dense spiderwebs could be seen across the cave ceiling, with spiders hanging in midair.
Their legs bore dense white markings, their abdomens absurdly swollen and twitching from time to time, as though something alive inside was about to crawl out.
[Private Chat] Sleepless Tonight: I think we’re almost at the quest location.
[Private Chat] Good Day: Mm.
At the end of the stone path was a natural cavern. Pale glowing specks drifted like fireflies. In front of a pool stood a delicate woman with a beautiful character model.
Lin Cimian had read the guide and knew this dungeon focused on exploration and treasure hunting.
Players first needed to speak with the non-player character. Once the story triggered, the treasure would appear. After defeating the woman’s transformed spider form and her colony, players could claim it.
Lin Cimian controlled his character forward and experimentally circled the woman once. The dungeon boss did not react at all. After standing there for several seconds, he suddenly punched the green-robed woman.
The viewers froze for several seconds, then almost laughed themselves stupid.
[??? What is the streamer doing?!]
[Hahahahahaha, can you show the dungeon boss even a little respect?]
[Dead laughing. What kind of development is this?]
[It really is kind of stupid. Before the story triggers, the dungeon boss is basically decoration.]
Lin Cimian had been thinking the same thing. He often encountered this type of boss and had always wanted to try something, but had never found a good opportunity.
The idea stirred restlessly in his heart. But this time, he was taking someone through a dungeon. Doing unnecessary things would waste time and might drag Good Day down.
Lin Cimian stood there hesitating for several seconds. As though Yan Shiyue could see his dilemma through the screen, he took the initiative to send a message.
[Private Chat] Good Day: I don’t mind.
[Private Chat] Sleepless Tonight: Then wait for me a moment.
Lin Cimian closed the chat box, narrowed his eyes at the pitiful green-robed woman, and controlled his character forward with a swagger that acknowledged neither kin nor reason. Every inch of the beautiful face seemed to announce two words: malicious intent.
For a moment, it was impossible to tell which one of them was actually the dungeon boss.
