Chapter 4: The First Virtual Rehearsal

All in all, for the next hour, Chajingyuan listened and hummed in agreement, effectively finishing Maino Shibahime’s detailed streaming plan.

As for how much Chajingyuan actually retained…

While she had indeed memorized the literal words, understanding proved to be an entirely different matter.

Whenever Chajingyuan attempted to recall the specific content, her mind would erupt in a ‘cacophony,’ as if a relentless pile driver were assaulting her neuro-linguistic motor center.

Beyond her character’s name, ‘Stepan Chizaki,’ and the fact that she was a Russian girl, she hadn’t retained a single detail.

According to Xiaomai, Cyber-Official’s first generation comprised four members, including Chajingyuan, with their character concepts centered around ‘cutting-edge talents of the cyber era.’

For instance, Chajingyuan, known in-character as ‘Stepan Chizaki,’ was a taciturn mathematical genius hailing from Russia.

Beyond her, the roster included a master computer hacker, conceptualized as a Naga and depicted as a siren; a Japanese-style domestic AI whose learning materials had gone awry, resulting in a sole focus on ‘lewd’ topics; and a local-born gaming deity, a veteran of an electronic warfare unit.

Chajingyuan, however, found herself itching to quip, “What exactly does an electronic warfare unit have to do with playing games?”

According to Xiaomai’s plan, tomorrow’s debut stream would be kept deliberately low-key, given that everything remained uncertain. It wouldn’t demand excessive intensity—a mere two-hour broadcast would suffice.

The schedule involved a half-hour of casual conversation, followed by an hour of singing, and concluding with browsing popular, copyright-free videos for entertainment, based on audience suggestions.

On the surface, it sounded quite straightforward.

However, for Chajingyuan, who contended with psychological ailments, a profound sense of uncertainty still gnawed at her.

After their discussion concluded, Xiaomai sent Chajingyuan all the streaming software commonly utilized by the club, encompassing Live2D, face capture, screen capture, voice synthesizers, and the danmaku viewer, instructing her to conduct an offline trial run that very night.

Having enlisted Chahuayuan’s help to install the software and meticulously set up the Live2D model, Chajingyuan settled herself before her low table, commencing her inaugural practice session as a virtual streamer.

“Cough, cough—hello, everyone!”

Facing the camera, she gently curved the corners of her mouth, and the white-haired girl on the screen mirrored her, revealing a sweet smile.

Concurrently, as Chajingyuan subtly swayed her right hand, the program captured her movement, and the model automatically switched to a raised-hand pose, gracefully waving in sync with Chajingyuan’s rhythm.

“Oh… this model’s algorithm is remarkably well-crafted.”

Chajingyuan felt her own smile was rather stiff; indeed, she was intrinsically in a state where, even desiring to smile, she struggled to fully manifest her emotions.

Yet, ‘Stepan Chizaki’ on the screen responded seamlessly to her intentions, her smile unreserved and unrestrained.

Watching her avatar display such a charming expression, Chajingyuan felt a subtle warmth course through her heart, unconsciously lifting the corners of her mouth a fraction more—though, it remained painfully stiff, of course.

Nonetheless, Chajingyuan genuinely experienced a long-lost sense of joy.

She gently tapped the mouse, humming a soft ‘De-deng-deng~,’ and began to further explore the intricacies of operating this Live2D model.

The automatic hand-raising animation had just drawn her attention to the remarkable detail of the model’s various expressions and poses.

She pondered which other automatic switches existed, and how many manual differential animations still remained to be discovered.

Chajingyuan proceeded to test them all, from beginning to end.

Ctrl+1 activated the raised-hand differential animation she had just seen, capable of both automatic capture and manual deactivation.

Ctrl+2 triggered the exaggerated mode, wherein the face capture algorithm responded with heightened intensity to the user’s expressions. This mode readily produced flamboyant, comic-style expressions, such as wide-mouthed, closed-eyed wails, the classic hyperthyroid face, or the mischievous ‘=w=’ wavy-mouthed grimace.

Ctrl+3 through Ctrl+5 allowed for the manual activation of the three extreme expressions previously demonstrated.

Ctrl+6 activated the serious hunting mode, featuring a large salmon clutched in the model’s mouth. Should the user’s expression become overly exaggerated in this mode, the salmon would automatically detach, only for a new one to reappear at the mouth once the expression returned to a neutral state.

Ctrl+7 enabled blushing.

Ctrl+8 allowed for the removal of the polar bear hood.

Ctrl+9 removed the entire polar bear coat, revealing a distinctly cute and pure maid outfit.

Ctrl+0 was for removing…

“Eek—!!”

The adorable attire, the flowing, ethereal fabric, all vanished instantly, leaving not a trace.

What remained on the screen was merely the pure, white-haired beautiful girl herself. As one’s gaze swept across the image, only two rosy peaks atop a snowy realm were visible, a sliver of sky marking the polar horizon—a truly breathtaking sight among breathtaking sights.

Breathtaking though the sight was, the crucial point was that Chajingyuan had been thoroughly immersed, identifying completely with the girl on the screen.

Witnessing her avatar suddenly unclothed, she instantly flushed scarlet, startled, and lurched backward, nearly toppling onto the bed.

Once she had managed to calm herself, Chajingyuan’s immediate reaction was to swiftly locate the shortcut key manager and unbind this ‘catastrophic’ shortcut.

While a disaster was perhaps inevitable, Chajingyuan was acutely aware that, given her novice skill level, a debut stream without some mishap was utterly improbable.

Even so, she absolutely did not want any ‘disaster’ to equate to social ruin.

What on earth was wrong with this modeler? Why had they crafted such meticulously detailed, inappropriate-for-teenagers differential animations? This was truly beyond meticulous!

Following her initial, startled reaction, and having achieved a thorough sense of calm, Chajingyuan began to disengage from the ‘Stepan Chizaki immersion’ state, carefully withdrawing her thoughts to re-evaluate her self-perception.

“Hoo, hoo—think clearly, Chajingyuan, do not get confused.”

Chajingyuan placed one hand on her chest, drawing a deep, steady breath.

“The model and the ‘person inside’ are distinct entities.

You are not Stepan Chizaki; you are merely the pilot-in-training operating Chizaki, and most certainly not some nude, white-haired beautiful girl. Your name is Chajingyuan, and you are a man…”

…Chajingyuan choked, her fingers brushing against the unexpected softness of her own chest.

Uh.

Currently, she was indeed a white-haired beautiful girl (more accurately, silver-blonde). While not an exact replica of the white-haired beauty on the screen, her gender was at least equally indistinguishable.

The sole distinction, perhaps, was that the virtual avatar wore only a pair of black over-the-knee socks and nothing else, whereas Chajingyuan was still clad in loose, comfortable pajamas.

“Uh, uh, uh…”

At this juncture, Chajingyuan found herself growing slightly curious, her gaze flicking towards her nude virtual image, secretly stealing another look.

She had to admit, it was rather captivating.

But, she mused… could something so exquisitely delicate and pink truly exist in reality?

On the one hand, driven by an emergent identity crisis, Chajingyuan yearned to ascertain the precise degree of resemblance between herself and her virtual avatar.

Conversely, fueled by an undeniable urge to contend with such an adorable Chizaki, Chajingyuan also felt an irresistible impetus to examine her own body.

The sole impediment, perhaps, lay in her ingrained male consciousness and the accompanying sense of shame.

“It’s fine, truly, it’s merely a simple confirmation. After all, mastering and commanding one’s own physical form in the three-dimensional world constitutes an integral part of an excellent pilot’s responsibilities.”

Chajingyuan thus reassured herself with these words.

Pulling open her collar to peek downward, her gaze first encountered a small, delicate hillock, then the soft, resilient curves characteristic of a beautiful young woman, and then…

Chajingyuan, while repeatedly reassuring herself with ‘It’s fine, it’s fine,’ proceeded with extreme caution, her gaze darting sideways as if what was about to appear at the culmination of her vision was not her own body, but some volatile red nuclear button primed to explode upon contact.

Almost… almost there…

Would it be pink? Or red? Would it possess the same tender softness depicted in ‘Chizaki’? Or might it even surpass that depiction??

“Brother? Is there something you need assistance with? I could have sworn I just heard you shriek.”

At that precise moment, Chahuayuan pushed open the door and entered the room.

What greeted her eyes was Chajingyuan, pulling open her collar with a somewhat ‘lewd’ expression as she peered at her own chest.

Mirroring her in a rather ironic tableau, Stepan Chizaki on the computer screen also wore a blushing face, clad in nothing but black over-the-knee socks.

“…”

Incidentally, Chajingyuan’s sitting posture was far from refined; her legs were splayed at an exceedingly unladylike angle, and her pajama bottoms, being quite loose, had slipped down at the waistband, leaving her lower abdomen almost entirely exposed.

“No—that’s not it at all!”

Chajingyuan instantly panicked.

“Th-th-th-this is just an accident! I wasn’t having any improper thoughts about my own body, or anyone else’s body, or anything! Don’t look… No, things aren’t what you think!”