Chapter Eighty-Five: The Live Broadcast Begins

The next day, many viewers who had just logged onto the Stardust platform were instantly shocked. What? The Pure-hearted Little Angel has declared war on Yellow Shadow? This was big news—was it true or just a rumor? After repeatedly confirming that their eyes weren't playing tricks on them, the internet erupted into a tidal wave of chaos. Not only did fans from both sides hurl insults at each other, but a great number of bystanders joined the fray, making the situation even more chaotic.

What began as a war of words in the comment sections and homepages of both parties soon spread elsewhere; even streamers who were live at the time were caught in the crossfire, with their bullet chat screens turning into battlefields. Within just a few hours, the news had swept across the entire Stardust platform; no matter where one went, discussions could be found everywhere.

Zhang Xing was, after all, just a washed-up small-time streamer. Usually, only a few hundred viewers watched his streams. Today, suddenly, several thousand people poured in. Before he could even enjoy the boost, he realized these people weren't there for him at all—they were just here to chat.

"What Pure-hearted Little Angel dares challenge my Yellow Shadow? Courting death!"
"Yellow Shadow? Just a soon-to-be washed-up streamer."
"Washed-up? Yellow Shadow had nearly ten million fans at his peak. How many does that 'Demon King' have? Don't talk nonsense."
"Can Yellow Shadow go Platinum in one go? He's nowhere near my Little Angel."
...

Zhang Xing glanced at the chaotic barrage of messages, smiled wryly, and lost any mood to continue his stream—after all, not many people were here for him anyway.

But what was all this about Yellow Shadow and Pure-hearted Little Angel? Judging by the atmosphere, a real fight seemed imminent. Zhang Xing's curiosity was piqued, and he no longer cared about his interrupted stream. After hesitating for a while, he couldn't resist asking, "May I ask, what are you all talking about?"

Perhaps no one expected the streamer himself to raise this question. The bullet chat, previously full of bickering, suddenly fell silent. Other streamers either directly closed their streams or told people to leave, but Zhang Xing was the first to ask.

"You don't know? The headline on the front page is huge—how could you miss it?"
"It's just some newbie who doesn't know their place challenging a top dog."
"Who are you calling out of their depth?"
"You know exactly who."
...

Front page? Zhang Xing really hadn't paid attention to what announcements were on Stardust's homepage today. Usually, any good news had nothing to do with him—it was always about boosting someone else's popularity. Could today be different?

Amid the clamor, Zhang Xing closed his stream and returned to the Stardust homepage, where he was nearly blinded by the massive announcement:

"Assassin's Creed VS Assassin's Creed—New Rising Star Challenges Pillar Yellow Shadow. In terms of skill, who is the real assassin?"

Was Stardust intentionally stirring up drama by posting such an announcement?

Though he didn't fully understand, Zhang Xing didn't want to overthink it. It was rare to see something so interesting; how could he not take a look? He wasn't the only one—many other harassed streamers and content creators on Stardust were just as intrigued, declaring that they might join the fun if they had time.

The storm raging online naturally didn't escape Luo Chen, the person at the center of it all. He hadn't expected Stardust to promote this so vigorously, deliberately setting him up against Yellow Shadow. By then, the viewers wouldn't just be fans and the curious, but many of the platform's most popular streamers and content creators as well.

If he succeeded, it would be like stepping over Yellow Shadow to ascend, with his popularity skyrocketing. But if he failed... With Yellow Shadow's retaliation, it wouldn't just be a matter of losing fans—even Stardust itself might abandon him.

But if success was all that was needed, why worry about failure?

...

Two or three days passed in a flash. No matter how things unfolded, Stardust's publicity efforts were a complete success. On Wednesday evening, not a single popular streamer was live.

Who would dare go live knowing that today was the first broadcast of the new rising star, Pure-hearted Little Angel? Everyone wanted to watch the excitement. Who would watch their streams? It was better to join the crowd and watch together.

At that moment, in Stardust platform's headquarters, a large number of administrators and employees were working overtime. If nothing unexpected happened, there would be at least tens of millions crammed into a single live broadcast room. If anything went wrong, the consequences would be severe.

"Live Room 1566 is now open!"

After a long wait, the monitoring administrator urgently reported. Within seconds of the room opening, the waiting viewers surged in, with nearly a million entering in a short span—and alarmingly, the number was still climbing, already exceeding Stardust's estimated capacity.

"One million, one and a half, two and a half, four million, five million..."

The terrifying influx nearly crashed the room. Fortunately, the administrators were well prepared; otherwise, the stream would have lagged to the point of unwatchability, and they'd have been cursed to death.

"Thirteen million, fourteen, fifteen, seventeen... Phew, it's finally slowing down."

In just over ten minutes, more than seventeen million had forced their way in. Seeing the growth finally slow, the administrators breathed a collective sigh of relief—for now, the crisis was over.

Meanwhile, inside the broadcast room, Luo Chen stared at the viewing count—seventeen million. This had to be the highest number of viewers in Stardust's history. By the end of the stream, it might even reach twenty million. Success or failure would be decided here.

After calming his excitement, Luo Chen faced the screen, addressing his fans for the first time without disguise.

"Hello, everyone. I am the streamer Pure-hearted Little Angel!"

On the screen, a boy of seventeen or eighteen smiled calmly and confidently at his millions of fans. His fresh-faced good looks perfectly matched his fans' fantasies.

Though few expected Pure-hearted Little Angel to be so young, what did it matter?

"Little Angel! Love you, mwah mwah!"
"So handsome! Who was the idiot who said Little Angel was a greasy old man? Come out, I promise I won't beat you to death!"
"Beat him! +1. He made me worry for so long."
"Hmph, what's the use of being handsome? Streaming is all about skill!"
"Who says Little Angel isn't skilled? Maybe he's even better than Yellow Shadow!"
"You believe that?"

(P.S. Thanks to reader Senluo Ye Ke for the 500 platform coins, and to readers Strongest Nine in Misty Lake, So Lonely With You, Fate&Love for the 100 coins each—flowers for you! Last time I forgot to post the AV number for the Overlord Collection: AV3409408.)