Chapter 22: A Partner’s Timely Intervention

Furthermore, Chajingyuan’s own performance and her expressions were progressively worsening.

“Ugh.”

“What? How? Why is it that this spot, I just can’t… jump… past… Gulp!”

[“Oh, the poor maid, what a sight.”]

[“Streamer, if you’re not feeling well, maybe take a short break.”]

“No! A break? Don’t make me laugh! You trashy *goshujin-sama* won’t trick me into admitting defeat, guh-woo…!!”

“…”

“…”

Roughly ten minutes later, the live stream was filled with the cacophony of a keyboard being pounded and a mouse being flung, swiftly followed by a faint whimper, then a delicate silence descended.

“Guh-woo, I don’t want to play anymore… I absolutely don’t want to play.”

“You trashy masters, all you want is to see me get dimensionally suppressed and bullied… this is completely pointless…”

“…”

“Brother…”

As a sister who had lived with her for nine months, Chahuayuan’s keen emotional radar detected the calm before an impending storm.

She instinctively nudged her chair, yet hesitated, not rising immediately. Instead, she cast a worried glance towards the door of the secondary bedroom.

Rushing to Chajingyuan’s side when she was in a low mood didn’t always equate to comfort; more often than not, it proved counterproductive. Especially now, with the live stream still ongoing.

It was precisely then that Gengetsu Shiori spoke, and inexplicably, her voice suddenly resonated with a peculiar double timbre.

“Ahem—!”

“Eh?”

Chahuayuan paused, momentarily taken aback.

Upon closer inspection, Gengetsu Shiori had connected to Chizaki’s channel within the Cyber-Official voice room. Chajingyuan, hearing her voice, was similarly taken by surprise.

“Eh??”

“Chizaki-chan, Chizaki-chan, listen closely. For this level, it’s more stable to jump when the coal orb reaches the two o’clock position. On the second platform, you can grab on first before leaping up, and adjust your axis.”

“…”

Chajingyuan’s eyes widened. It took her several seconds to process who this unexpected intruder was.

After a brief two-second pause, Chajingyuan instinctively contorted her face into a scowl.

“Don’t seize this chance to act all high and mighty! It’s utterly pointless to conspire with those trashy bullet comments and kick me while I’m down.

Shoo, shoo! Don’t disrupt my first run through this stage! …Ugh, this black sludge just hit me again unexpectedly!!”

“Ugh.”

“Guh… this trash game…”

Chajingyuan’s unappreciative retort left Gengetsu Shiori momentarily flustered, her small canines bared in a silly grin as she stood frozen for several seconds.

Before long, Chajingyuan, refusing to concede, resumed her “pat-pat” jumping. Gengetsu, almost unconsciously, began offering pointers once more.

“No, no, jump from the midpoint here.”

“I told you not to…”

“Ah, I said don’t drop directly here.”

“…Stop nagging and bothering me…”

“This slope is quite treacherous. Oh, that mistake was a bit… ah, yes, yes! Now, quickly execute an extreme wall-climb dash! Excellent, that move was beautiful!”

“…Eh?”

“You actually figured out that move on your own—impressive! Watch out for the coal orb behind you; don’t get complacent. Jump quickly, dash to the upper right, cling on, and climb straight up without jumping!”

“Eh???”

“Alright, you’re in position. A small hop, nice, you’ve made it!”

“Eh, eh?????”

This time, Chajingyuan was truly dumbfounded.

Blinking her wide eyes in a daze, Chajingyuan found herself momentarily unable to process much, simply staring blankly as the game’s protagonist stood at the conclusion of the current stage.

The live stream’s bullet comments surged instantly: congratulations, complaints that calling in backup was boring, teasing Gengetsu Shiori as Chizaki’s external brain, and sudden, baseless shipping of characters—all manner of remarks flooded the screen.

[“Smooth!”]

[“Congratulations, congratulations!”]

[“Someone deliberately doesn’t want the audience to enjoy themselves for a bit longer, and I won’t say who.”]

[“Just joined the stream, is this the streamer’s Misaka Network?”]

[“That doting guidance, it’s too sweet, too sweet!”]

[“So what about the 114,514 goshujin phrases the streamer still owes us?”]

“If I owe them, I owe them! Cross the network cable and try to take on this Miss Chizaki, you trash!~”

Chajingyuan offered little response to the flood of bullet comments, merely tossing a flippant insult at her audience before refocusing intently on navigating the stage.

Gengetsu Shiori patiently guided and assessed Chajingyuan, occasionally interjecting with trivia and small tips about the game.

While Chajingyuan’s errors and deaths remained frequent, her progress through the stages became noticeably more consistent.

After a considerable period, Chajingyuan finally reached the concluding stage of the third chapter. Marking a significant milestone in the game, the first boss battle of the early game had arrived.

“Stay calm, stay calm now. Here, above all, don’t panic.”

“This boss is incredibly weak. Just one stomp on its head will neutralize it, forcing it to respawn and charge at you again. If you’re unsure about the path, wait in an open area until it charges, then stomp it and find your way.”

“Alright, alright! Using its head for leverage here is excellent, nice!!”

“The coal orb’s range here is quite extensive; pay close attention to your jump distance… Oh, oh, that accidental ‘Hyper’ was impressive! Ah, you still hit the coal orb. It’s fine, stay steady, stay steady…”

“It’s alright, it’s alright, just calm down. This corner is indeed a bit tricky. Take it slow and steady.”

“Keep going! Jump on the springboard at the corner and wait a few seconds; you’ll be fine. Oh, died again? No worries, you can always try again.”

“…”

“…”

After enduring many more challenges and over thirty deaths, Chajingyuan finally reached the final leg of the boss battle.

Just before the ultimate finish line, she precisely stomped on the ferocious boss that came hurtling towards her, successfully crossing the threshold.

“Woohoo~! Excellent, excellent! That last part was incredibly smooth!”

Gengetsu Shiori spontaneously erupted in cheers. In contrast, Chajingyuan released her keyboard with a profound sigh of relief, her bewildered gaze reflecting either a sense of profound loss or deep contemplation.

She remained in disbelieving silence for a long while.

A cascade of bullet comments, free gifts, and paid gifts flooded the screen. Even the most habitual hecklers, though their remarks remained mischievously wicked, now laced their words with a noticeable hint of pity.

[SC-¥30.00: “The impish maid, thoroughly owned by the hotel boss for 60 minutes, finally gets her revenge and contemplates the meaning of life.jpg”]

[“Though there’s still plenty of torment ahead, clearing three chapters in a day is quite an achievement!”]

[“Not bad, not bad at all!”]

[SC-¥30.00: “Wuwuwu, Chizaki, how could you clear the stage so easily? Call me master again, please! For your master, die just one more time, I beg you~”]

[“Flower shower, flower shower!”]

[“Aren’t you going to thank Gengetsu-mama?”]

Chajingyuan remained lost in the profound sensation of ‘Did I truly accomplish this?’ for a long while, only snapping back to reality with the appearance of the first paid gift.

“Ah… thank, thank you, everyone. Thank you, trashy masters, for the treasure chests, and thank you to the new trashy masters for the captain subscriptions.

Ah, thank you. And speaking of which, a certain trashy Super Chat’s plea to me was utterly insincere, wasn’t it? Right… and that?

Thank you, Gengetsu Shiori? Though you’re annoyingly verbose, you really are quite the expert, aren’t you?”

“Ehehe~~”

Gengetsu Shiori simply chuckled foolishly, neither comprehending nor acknowledging Chajingyuan’s tsundere-esque personal jab.

After several minutes of gift-related interactions, Gengetsu Shiori gazed at the now-quiet live stream, her eyes simultaneously drawn to the biting cold wind depicted beside the cliff in the game.

Inadvertently, she posed a question:

“How does it feel? After battling yourself, you finally won. Aren’t you incredibly happy?”

“Ah—”

Chajingyuan’s eyes widened in surprise, her brow arching slightly.

After a brief hesitation, she nodded softly.

“Hmm, hmph… it’s decent, I suppose. The game is both sadistic and garbage, but the first three chapters weren’t half bad to play through.”

“It seems neither of us has sung for our esteemed audience since our debut these past two days. How about we celebrate now?

We can connect our mics—it’s a rare opportunity. What do you say to singing a song together?

Hehehe, we could even be lazy and save ourselves a dedicated singing event later. Little Chizaki, why don’t you pick a song?”