Chapter 7: The Spiraling Broadcast Mishap

Ugh…

Initially, her ‘lying flat’ act had been rather ingenious, exuding a charmingly silly, endearing vibe.

Even after the initial blunder, it had still lent itself to some entertaining showmanship. However, descending into such a chaotic fumble, it had truly devolved into a broadcast mishap.

At first, in response to Chajingyuan’s initial extravagant pronouncements, the bullet comments were gleefully playing on the meme, [Rough! It’s Sakurough!], while simultaneously urging viewers to shower her with free gifts.

Yet, the moment viewers beheld that unspeakable, limb-laden monstrosity—a grotesque composite that should have been the white-haired beauty Xiaosaki, but instead resembled an eldritch deity—the flood of bullet comments in the live stream instantly sputtered into silence.

In its place, a sparse, scattered barrage of memes, quite different in nature, began to trickle onto the screen.

[Mafty, show them what you’re capable of!]

[Holy sh*t, Nyarlathotep, it’s Nyarlathotep!]

[As expected, this mortal coil still shackles your potential, doesn’t it?]

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to!”

“Older brother! Calm down, this isn’t a big problem. You can cut the stream, mute your mic, and restart the model software first…”

Chahuayuan swiftly intervened, helping Chajingyuan regain her composure.

“Mhm, mhm!!”

As the live stream was temporarily cut, the ‘trashy’ white-haired girl, who had been so deeply immersed in her act, suddenly deflated. Tears welled in her eyes, blurring her vision, and her breathing hitched uncontrollably.

“I’m calm, I’m calm. Restart the software, restart the stream, unmute the mic, check the bullet comments…”

Chajingyuan slapped her cheeks firmly, steeling herself before returning to the live stream.

Bullet comments still teased Chajingyuan as the ‘evil god incarnate,’ and while the viewer count had dipped by roughly a quarter, she had, in a sense, ‘tricked’ quite a few Super Chat donations. This, at least, suggested a situation of both gains and losses.

A faint sense of relief settled over Chajingyuan at this realization.

“Hee-hee-hee… My apologies, my apologies. The truth of the vast sea of knowledge can sometimes be a bit much for people to handle, chuu. Let’s continue, shall we? And please, don’t go spreading such truths around so casually.”

As Chajingyuan resumed her strenuous efforts to maintain her character, she simultaneously sifted through the Super Chat comments, searching for any amusing remarks.

One particular comment, bearing a subtle hint of aggression, snagged Chajingyuan’s attention.

[SC-¥6.00: Is this the pinnacle of cyber-persona technology? This pilot isn’t cutting it.]

“…?”

Chajingyuan’s eyebrow twitched upwards.

Concurrently, in her own bedroom, Chahuayuan also caught sight of the Super Chat.

‘Oh no…’

It was crucial to understand that Chajingyuan’s mental state was already somewhat unstable, and for her, flippant mockery held far more sting than outright insults.

Chajingyuan’s lips pressed into a thin line, and she inwardly bristled against the offending bullet comment.

“Oh, what’s this? This Super Chat claims the pilot isn’t cutting it? Nonsense, absolute nonsense! Your discerning eyes simply aren’t sharp enough.

I am the true ace pilot; I merely allowed you a glimpse into the boundless possibilities of humanity just now~~”

“Hiss…”

The moment Chajingyuan’s retort left her lips, Chahuayuan, her younger sister, held her breath.

On the surface, her older brother’s response sounded rather appropriate, managing to be both dignified and charmingly playful.

Yet, Chahuayuan knew with absolute certainty that her older brother was, at that very moment, absolutely seething with indignation.

As for the vast majority of bullet comments…

Particularly those who were willing to pay for comments, they were rarely content with just a single jab.

[SC-¥6.00: Still talking tough? What normal person uses a computer like this? It’s obvious you’re a factory girl who never went to college, only just started using a computer this year, right, sis? Is this the casting standard for CereLive?]

“…”

Chajingyuan’s carefully constructed persona finally shattered.

Chajingyuan’s earlier admission that she might not last until the end had been utterly sincere.

When calm, she possessed a keen awareness of her own mental fortitude. However, when agitated—as she clearly was now—the presence of any self-awareness became highly questionable.

“You, you, you! What kind of Super Chat is this? You’re actually insulting me!!”

Her exasperated tone seemed to play directly into the viewer’s hands, as they swiftly sent another Super Chat.

[SC-¥6.00: Probably only knows how to say hello in Russian. So lame, stop trying so hard.]

“Gu-wuuu—”

This was simply intolerable.

“You, you’re going too far! This is a personal attack! Moderator, moderator, quickly ban them!”

“Uh.”

Chahuayuan found herself momentarily speechless.

“Um, older brother… They did pay for it, so this can’t really be considered a personal attack yet… Please, calm down quickly.

The chat segment has already been 25 minutes and is almost over. Everything will be fine once you start singing!”

“Wuu.”

Chajingyuan felt a surge of helplessness, her throat constricting with unspoken words.

To an outsider, these two jibes might have seemed trivial, merely playful jabs. Yet, for Chajingyuan, they struck at no less than three deeply sensitive points.

The first thing Chajingyuan could not abide was any attack on her online veteran status. The second was any slight against her linguistic aptitude.

But what she found most utterly intolerable was any criticism aimed at her academic qualifications—a raw nerve, as she had indeed never graduated from university.

“I, I, I, you, you jerk… Suka, suka…”

Her rationality crumbled, and with it, her self-awareness, her ability to craft witty retorts, her consideration for her sister’s plans, and the self-restraint required to maintain her persona.

Chajingyuan was now absolutely incandescent with rage.

“Apologize at once, you ignorant, idiotic viewer! Otherwise, otherwise, I’ll take Lethal Tempo and my nunchaku to find your grandmother! Suka blyat!”

“…”

The bullet comments instantly erupted into a furious torrent.

[Holy sh*t, League!]

[What a villain, hitting grandmas!]

[@PeacefulThunderbolt, the grandma-hitter has been found!]

…All of these, in themselves, would have been fine. Given Chajingyuan’s usual capabilities, even without her self-control, she would have naturally steered the conversation towards new, more peaceful topics, guided by the flow of bullet comments.

Unfortunately, amidst the playful meme-spam, several rather pointed comments emerged.

[Still taking Lethal Tempo this patch? Silver player?]

Ah, great.

This was truly never-ending now.

The wounded pride of a dedicated gamer compelled Chajingyuan to engage in a heated debate about game meta with the ‘gods’ of the bullet comments.

“Oh dear~~~~ It’s over, it’s over, it’s all over.”

Chahuayuan, in utter resignation, pressed a hand to her forehead.

She had managed to maintain her composure quite well until now, but in these last five minutes, everything had gone completely awry.

Chahuayuan desperately wanted to avert her gaze from the spectacle of her older brother bickering with the bullet comments. She knew her older brother’s personality all too well; in such a situation, no amount of persuasion would suffice.

Once the initial half-hour chat segment had elapsed, Chahuayuan quietly whispered a reminder into her headset:

“Alright, alright, older brother, stop taking it so seriously, you can start singing now!”—but Chajingyuan completely ignored her.

She and the ‘gods’ of the bullet comments devolved into a protracted argument, starting with “Can you still take Lethal Tempo this patch?” then escalating to “Should I take First Strike to steal your grandma?”, and continuing all the way to the intricacies of laning mechanics for ADC and support heroes…

Ultimately, the argument finally reached the inevitable conclusion of all bullet comment confrontations.

“Come on! You trashy bullet comments, if you’ve got the guts, 1v1 me mid! Hand over your in-game names!”

“Ugh-ah-ah-ah-ah…”

At this point, Chahuayuan’s desire extended far beyond merely pressing a hand to her forehead.

As she watched the adorable, flat-chested polar bear loli’s belligerent shouts echoing through the live stream, Chahuayuan felt an overwhelming urge to gouge out her own eyes.

She let out a silent, anguished scream to the heavens, collapsing dramatically onto her long chair.

This foolish older brother!

She knew she couldn’t rely on her!

Whether the persona had collapsed was no longer the main concern; after all, more than one or two debut streams had witnessed such a breakdown.

The real issue was… what kind of streamer descends into the fray to argue with their audience?

What about the promised singing?

What about the planned video interactions?

This live stream had completely spiraled out of control!