Chapter 19: A Sister’s Subtle Scrutiny and a Brother’s Humbling Struggle

As Chahuayuan watched her brother’s frantic struggles on the secondary screen, a flicker of disdain mixed with awe crossing her features, Mai’s voice suddenly cut through the audio channel.

“Quick, quick, Ayuan, you have to see this! It’s something or other that starts with a ‘D’!”

“Oh, I’ll take a look right now??”

Chahuayuan swiftly redirected her focus to the main screen.

`[A speedrun, right? Metroid Dread, hard 100%, last November?]`

An unusually precise comment materialized within the stream of bullet comments.

“Eh? No, no, that’s incorrect!”

Gengetsu Shiori immediately countered.

“Actually, I’m not really proficient with console games, you know. Last October, I merely cracked the top twenty before abandoning it. And the category wasn’t ‘hard 100%’ but… wait, why am I divulging information that could potentially dox me? Hehe, well done, well done! Thank you, moderator! Thank you, Ayuan-sensei!”

“Whew—!”

Chahuayuan exhaled a long breath, her fingers relaxing from the mouse button she had just pressed to silence the comment.

The bullet comment she had just banned originated from a cheap, anonymous alt account, clearly designed for mischievous purposes.

The appearance of such probing, doxing-attempting comments, seeking to uncover the streamer’s personal information, confirmed Mai’s suspicions from yesterday.

To Chahuayuan’s surprise, Gengetsu Shiori, while nowhere near as sharp as her brother, at least possessed an adequate reaction speed.

This phenomenon illuminated two key points: firstly, the “group” hypothesized yesterday undeniably existed; and secondly, this group was “not particularly professional,” at least for the time being, as they couldn’t accurately obtain the private information of Cyber-Official members.

As long as they remained vigilant and prevented any successful disruption of the livestream’s order, the situation remained manageable.

Seizing the opportunity, Chahuayuan once again accessed Gengetsu Shiori’s personal profile stored on her computer.

Following the details, she navigated to Gengetsu Shiori’s personal account homepage, where her past speedrunning records were kept, and quickly scanned it.

There were virtually no posts that inadvertently revealed private information, indicating no immediate need for deletion. Even if Gengetsu Shiori had genuinely let something slip earlier, the potential damage was minimal.

Naturally, this didn’t imply that her actions were superfluous; caution remained paramount.

“Be a bit more careful next time you encounter those trying to fish for information, alright? Keep up the good work!”

Mai thoughtfully offered a reminder in the voice channel, to which Gengetsu Shiori meekly hummed in acknowledgment before resuming her stream, chatting animatedly with the viewers’ comments.

“…”

“…………”

“Oh, yes, yes, that game, ‘Lilith’ or whatever it’s called. The art style is so exquisitely beautiful and adorable; I’ve had its soundtrack on repeat for days, the music is simply captivating!

However, the combat mechanics feel a tad peculiar, and I struggled to adapt…

While I’ve heard its speedrunning techniques are quite numerous and intriguing, I confess I haven’t attempted them after completing the game, hehehe…”

“‘F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch’ is indeed its complete antithesis, mm-hmm, you’re absolutely right! The controls are superb, the action system incredibly satisfying, and that fluffy rabbit protagonist looks utterly charming to play.

However, the depth of its level design is slightly lacking. I haven’t spent much time on this one either, though I did attempt a record in its early days.

And honestly, that massive, corpulent bear is just so unappealing; I always get the sense the developers wanted to ship it with the rabbit, but who on earth would find such a portly bear endearing, really?”

“Wh-wh… what did you say?? ‘Bear men are popular’? What in the world is a ‘bear man’? Wow, you people have such wildly diverse tastes, don’t you? I’m a good kid, a good kid! I cannot possibly listen to such things!”

“…”

“…”

“Cough, cough! In any case, that’s quite enough of this aimless game chatter. Since today marks my debut stream, I absolutely must showcase some genuine skills for all of you.

You know, a bit of everything: singing, playing instruments, ah, singing, dancing, rapping, basketball—a personal talent show to lighten the mood!”

“So, esteemed viewers, what kind of segment would you like to see? Just a reminder, as I mentioned earlier, I primarily play side-scrolling games.”

—This ensuing casual chat proceeded quite smoothly; it seemed those troublesome individuals had temporarily retreated, having recognized the challenge.

Chahuayuan nodded, a sense of relief washing over her.

From Gengetsu Shiori’s perspective, this transition into casual conversation was remarkably effortless, especially when contrasted with a certain older brother whose debut performance had thrown the entire community into utter chaos.

Even with a positive outcome, it was truly difficult to simply brush aside.

“…But now that I think about it, ‘side-scrolling,’ huh…”

Upon catching that particular keyword in Gengetsu Shiori’s conversation, Chahuayuan’s expression grew subtle. She pursed her lips, her gaze straying once more to her brother’s livestream.

Chajingyuan was currently playing Chapter Two.

In Chapter Two of ‘Celeste’, the enigmatic power of Celeste Mountain began to manifest.

Madeline, the protagonist, found her anxious, shadowy, negative self—Badeline—separating into a tangible form, relentlessly pursuing her and endeavoring to thwart her continued ascent of the mountain.

Consequently, throughout this chapter, numerous levels feature one, or even a relentless string, of small purple figures identical to the protagonist.

Once the player begins to move, these figures immediately give chase, ratcheting up the tension to its absolute peak.

“I, I won’t move just yet. If I remain still, she won’t begin her pursuit, mm-hmm, that way I can take more time to observe the terrain.”

“What are you all scoffing at, you pathetic bullet comments? This is absolutely not me slacking off or giving up; I am absolutely, unequivocally not trying to die fewer times, alright?”

“Blah, blah, blah, bullet comments, shut it!”

“…”

Evidently, after suffering successive mental collapses, Chajingyuan’s current gameplay strategy had undergone a drastic transformation; he had begun to concede defeat and simply slack off.

“Hmm—”

A sudden thought struck Chahuayuan: ‘Celeste’ was, in itself, a side-scrolling game.

A faint, unsettling premonition began to stir within her, prompting her to swiftly redirect her attention to Gengetsu Shiori’s livestream.

“—Ugh.”

It was undeniably clear, however, that the viewers in the bullet comments were far more adept at stirring up mischief than Chahuayuan.

Before she could even fully grasp the implication, the situation had already become a foregone conclusion.

“Let me see what everyone’s suggesting, oh. What’s this, Mario…? No, no, Mario is far too antiquated! And there’s Cat Mario? And ‘Death vs. Naruto’?

Go on, scram, you 4399 kids, stop messing around. …Huh? Why are so many people mentioning ‘Celeste’? Has this game suddenly become so incredibly popular?”

“Alright, alright, ‘Celeste’ is genuinely enjoyable, and I’m quite skilled at it! Just a moment, I need to make some preparations!!

And all of you, be ready to witness my performance! If you find it entertaining, remember to hit that follow button, owo! Follow Gengetsu Shiori, support Gengetsu Shiori, thank you~~!”

“…Cough, cough, mm…”

Well then.

Chahuayuan spread her hands with an air of detachment, letting out a soft, knowing chuckle.

Oh, this is going to be delightful.

While Gengetsu Shiori busied herself with preparations, Chahuayuan discreetly looked up the game’s world record for a pure main-story speedrun: it stood at under twenty-five minutes.

With that thought in mind, Chahuayuan cast another glance at Chajingyuan’s predicament.

Watching him, having already spent over half an hour on Chapter One and continuing to die relentlessly in Chapter Two, Chahuayuan’s eyes filled with an undeniable blend of three parts mockery, three parts pity, three parts helplessness, and an overwhelming ninety-one parts schadenfreude.

‘Truly, every craft demands its own mastery.’ She had never imagined that her brother, who typically conquered every game he touched, would be so thoroughly humbled by a title of such high difficulty.

Concurrently, Gengetsu Shiori temporarily obscured her screen, deleted her current save, and initiated a new game file christened “Shiori33,” then began her lighthearted, hopping journey toward the mountain’s base.

Incidentally, Chajingyuan’s previously created save file had been titled “WudideChisaki.”

‘Yes, invincible.’

Chahuayuan couldn’t help but wonder if Chajingyuan now regretted the name he had chosen for his save file.