Volume One, Chapter 12: A Million Games

“I’ll count to three, Huazi! Carnival!”

“Okay, is there anyone in the live stream who wants to gain followers, or maybe wants to help their own little star grow their fanbase? Everyone gets a carnival! Didi will put you on the mic and boost your numbers fiercely!”

“Are there any streamer friends here who want to get to know me, Didi? One carnival, mutual follow.”

“Come on, Mengmeng, get on the mic! Our people will help Mengmeng reach ten thousand followers! Hit the follow button! Great! Six thousand now, keep going! Keep going! Ten thousand!”

What kind of vote-pulling tactic was this? Yu Yansui was stunned again. She hadn’t seen this method when she searched earlier.

But whenever Didi did PK battles, she usually used this approach. Some streamers wanted to increase their follower counts to make their profiles look better; buying followers was too obvious, but this was indeed a good method—very tempting to participate in.

Some big brothers and sisters supported newcomers with low follower counts and poor traffic, so they would also boost their streams.

Others were driven by vanity. Having a large fanbase gave them the illusion of being the center of attention, which deeply satisfied their egos.

No doubt, Didi was very skilled at reading the audience’s psychology. The number of carnivals in her live room kept climbing; it was estimated there were already 400 carnivals.

Seeing that Yu Suisui had only managed about 90 carnivals in the live room, Didi breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down.

The entire PK was flooded with big gifts, the screen covered with floating effects one after another, instantly shooting to first place on the Qimao hourly and popular charts.

Endless users flowed into the live room, drawn by the floating effects, watching the spectacle, including some big guild accounts and streamers.

Yu Yansui’s live room had already risen to ten thousand viewers.

Upon entering, she saw big brothers continuously sending carnivals, the screen completely blocked by the carnival effects, barely able to see the streamer’s face.

“What newcomer? Big brother sending ten carnivals nonstop in a PK.”

“Too many special effects, can’t see their face.”

“Crazy, 450 carnivals in just six minutes.”

“Guild hype.”

“Which guild hypes like this? Are they insane?”

“Fake, right? Playing that big? Could this be money laundering?”

“Wake up, brothers. The top spots belong to Emperor Li and Late Dad; both have been verified with legitimate funding sources.”

“What’s wrong with having one more rich person in the world?”

“Laughing at my own poverty.”

“Thanks to Qimao for letting this country bumpkin see the world.”

Many people took this chance to follow Yu Yansui and got their name boards pinned.

Watching her health bar being suppressed again, Didi’s expression darkened and turned ugly.

Left with no choice, she picked up her phone and opened the big brother group chat, preparing to call all of them over. She had to win this round. She wanted this brash newcomer to quit streaming to vent her pent-up rage!

“Didi: Brothers and sisters, if you have time, can you come help Didi? Didi really doesn’t want to lose.”

“Didi: Please help Didi, I need you.”

***

Didi was Qimao’s top streamer. After so many years, she was well-known and had countless wealthy fans in her live room.

If she couldn’t even beat a new streamer now, she’d have a hard time in the Qimao streamer community for a while, making it difficult to earn money. She couldn’t accept that; even losing a single penny would make her uneasy.

“Diyun: I still have 1 million cat coins here, can chip in a bit. Don’t rush, sneak the tower in the last 20 seconds.”

“Bailu: I’m out of funds, 100,000 cat coins. Can’t recharge today, limit reached.”

“Cat: About 500,000 here, that’s the limit. After this, no more for half a month.”

Everyone in the group who could help had spoken, except for the biggest spender, Tongyu, who hadn’t said a word.

Just thinking about him made Didi shiver, but she had no choice. She opened Tongyu’s contact and sent a private message.

“Didi: Yuge, are you there?”

“Tongyu: ?”

“Didi: I’m in a PK, can you help me with the carnival count?”

The man took a moment before replying.

“Tongyu: Can you stay with me for a few days?”

Didi steeled herself. “Brother, how much can you send?”

“Tongyu: 600 carnivals, seven days. If you agree, I’ll come back in the last minute.”

“Didi: Okay.”

With her big brothers and sisters backing her, Didi decided to go all out. With over 600 carnivals, sneaking the tower should be more than enough. She just didn’t believe a new streamer who had only been live for two days would have such a generous supporter.

She returned to the live room, pulling in casual viewers with her follower-increasing and vote-pulling tactics, typical of dragging in anyone passing by to grab a few votes. Finally, she surpassed Yu Yansui slightly.

Qiaojia Ren and Lin Hang watched the spectacle the whole time; Didi was truly crazy!

Later, there would be hometown competitions, annual carnival battles, talent shows—all requiring votes. She was using up all the big brothers and sisters’s resources, risking everything?

Or was she somehow cultivating a new group of devoted wealthy fans in just a month? That was obviously a fantasy.

“(Moderator) Wan Feng: Defend the tower, defend the tower, let’s finish the welfare votes today and see what you do.”

“(Moderator) King: .”

“Jiuli: I’m ready.”

In the final minute, everyone’s heart was in their throat.

Suddenly, a high-level account entered Didi’s live room and sent 600 carnivals, causing the health bar to surge sharply.

Didi excitedly played her victory BGM, her features fluttering wildly. “Got it!”

But the live stream did not show her victory icon. Instead, a little kitten with tears streamed down its face appeared on the PK bar. Didi’s smile vanished, replaced by a tearless expression of despair.

She had lost—how could this be?!

Yu Yansui excitedly hugged her little black cat plush and spun around, “Woohoo~ We won!”

***

“They’re amazing!”

Though they hadn’t known each other long, she always felt Brother Feng and Brother King were very reliable, so she wasn’t too worried. But winning still made her thrilled!

“Thanks to our brothers, throwing flowers!! Brother Jiuli, Suisui will give you admin too, okay?” Yu Yansui said, then immediately gave Jiuli a super admin badge.

“(Moderator) Jiuli: My ‘Dawn’.”

“Suisui will pull you in later!”

Watching the carnival count under the PK bar at 1,398 to 1,148, Didi felt utterly crushed, lifeless, sitting in the live room like a walking corpse, lost in thought.

“Didi’s expression, tsk tsk.”

“Didi’s numbers were impressive too, but her opponent is Suisui.”

“No way, the big brothers are just too strong.”

“Who understands? I’m starting to ship them.”

“I’ve been shipping for a while—I ship the prince and princess.”

“King and the princess are so ship-worthy too, daddy and baby.”

“Emperor Li hasn’t found a ship yet.”

“We little Wheat Ears have too much strength.”

“Kicking the princess is like hitting a steel plate, the big brothers are golden thighs.”

“Didi is my only love streamer: as I always say, without the big brothers, you are nothing.”

“Didi·Lolo: Look at the mess your rankings are in.”

“Didi’s Fat Tiger: Time to get off and accompany the big brothers to sleep, our family really can’t compare.”

“Hua Hua: Love votes are just different, unlike Didi who only earns clean money.”

“We eat from many tables; accompanying big brothers to sleep is just different.”

The provocateurs were quickly kicked out, and the chat returned to order.

Qiaojia Ren: “I’m Qiao! Didi, you’re so strong. Suisui, your family really has the power.”

Lin Hang gave a thumbs up. No matter what happened to Didi, her carnival count was amazing. He admitted defeat.

“Awesome! Haha, Qiao and I feel embarrassed, so we’ll leave you to play,” Lin Hang said before exiting the live room. Qiaojia Ren sighed and followed.

Didi forced out a smile more painful than tears. “I lost. How do you want to punish me?”