Exiting the private room, Max didn't imdiately return to the gathering. He went to a secluded spot and leaned against the wall, closing his eyes and calming himself down.
He was thinking about the warning and what the man had told him. He had been in the business for a while now and had experienced a lot of things.
It wasn't a surprise that so of his fellow strears were jealous of his success.
'I'll just be more careful in the future.' Max sighed, "But, that doesn't an I will change how I stream."
Max's streaming content had never changed from the start of his career, so it was unlikely that he would ever change it in the future.
Also, they could be jealous all they wanted but Max wouldn't care. It wouldn't be a surprise if there was trouble brewing around the corner, but he wouldn't let it affect his stream or content. He was going to stream as usual, no matter what happened.
Max smiled, "I'll continue to be Breeze. There is nothing that can make quit streaming. Not now. Not ever."
As he muttered that, he looked ahead, at an empty space. It had been a long ti since he opened his system interface as there was no new quest, but it would be different now.
"System. Show the new quest countdown." He muttered under his breath and a window appeared.
"Nice. The quest will co soon. But I need to return to the gathering first. I don't want to worry Lily."
With that thought in mind, he walked back into the gathering. However, his mind was still filled with thoughts of the quest. The gathering was a secondary matter.
***
Returning to the gathering, Max imdiately went and t his friends. MadLad had already gathered with the girls group and got scolded by Alia when he arrived.
"What happened here?" He asked curiously.
Lily, Peach and Alia were gathered in front of MadLad who had his face covered in cake. He looked miserable.
"Oh, you're here, Breeze!" Alia noticed him first. "I am truly sorry for what my colleague has done earlier. He should've just put the clout chasers in place. He even ruined the atmosphere by acting so rudely! I hope you will forgive him. If he ever bothers you again, please let know and I will put him back in place."
"Hey, Alia! You're embarrassing ."
"He was just trying to protect from the clout chasers. I appreciate it." Max smiled at Alia, "I should be the one thanking him.
MadLad said, "It's nothing."
"That's why you don't have a girlfriend, dude!" Princess Peach said, "Girls hate boys who talk rudely to strangers!"
"...You don't have a boyfriend, though?"
"That's because I haven't t my Prince Charming yet!" She retorted, "Anyway, what took you so long, Breeze?"
Lily nodded, curious about his whereabouts. Max, on the other hand, only smiled.
"Ah, nothing. Mr. Kaiden wanted to congratulate on my nominations. We talked for a bit before I returned."
"Mr. Kaiden as in, the chairman?" Alia raised her eyebrow. "That's surprising. Is there sothing else you talked about?"
"Nothing special, just the event and how it will go." He nodded, "And he warned about the jealousy I might invoke to other strears. I've expected this, to be honest. It's nothing new."
"Un. Just ignore them." Lily nodded. "I have a feeling that they're not important in the future. So, just forget them."
"Of course." Max nodded, "But I am curious. Who were they, MadLad? The ones who tried to approach ."
"Hm, they're pretty infamous among the social dia. Do you know about people who uploaded videos about strear's dramas or the dark side of strears like that? They are called strear clout chasers, or baiters.
"Yeah, I know about them but not too much." Max said.
"Basically, they will upload any video that would bring them a view. The videos I ntioned are the common ones. But, they also like to approach strears and ask for an interview, or try to bait the strear to answer sothing that would be used against them in the future."
"..." Max blinked. "Wow."
"Anyway, I have a feeling that they're the kind that will do anything for views, so be careful with them. I bet they wanted to edit your sentences and use them against you if you win the awards tomorrow. Be careful of what you said on the stage when you receive the award, okay? They will not miss any chance they get."
When receiving his award?
Well, he hoped to win but he didn't know that. But it seed like everyone else thought he was going to win. Even the Chairman had that kind of mindset, saying that there was trouble for him if he won the awards.
'Aren't they overestimating ?'
Surely there were other strears that rose the sa way as he did. Newbies, diamonds in the rough, who managed to be noticed and beca a big na. It wasn't impossible to have such a thing happen in the streaming community. He was sure that he wouldn't be the last one.
"I will keep that in mind if I win. Maybe I should write a script before receiving the awards?" Max said.
Lily smiled, "That's a great idea. You will have more confidence on the stage. Though, you don't seem like the kind of person to get nervous in public."
"I agree." MadLad said, "Breeze has a strong ntal fortitude. I think it's impossible to see him stuttering and getting nervous in public. He will probably get nervous in a life or death situation, not in sothing as simple as public speech."
"Hey, I am a normal human. I can get nervous standing in front of many people too, you know?" Max retorted with a smile. "It's not like I am always confident in doing anything."
"True. I guess everyone has their weakness. Even you." MadLad shrugged his shoulders.
The group continued their chat and enjoyed the gathering.
anwhile, Max didn't know when to look at the countdown so he kept glancing at his clock.
'Ding!'
Finally, a notification sound rang in his head.
'Ah, finally!' He smiled inwardly. He didn't let it show in his face as he continued to talk to the group. He would put it on later, when he was alone and could read his new quest carefully. 'Now I just have to wait until I get back ho. I hope I will not regret this.'
***
After an hour or two of socializing with each other, everyone left the gathering and logged out. It was already late in the night so the strear didn't have much ti to stay longer. They all had their own streaming schedule for the night.
There was no more disturbance as the clout chasers left early after Max and Kaiden left them. Apparently they got what they wanted, an interview of the famous strears, so they left happily. They didn't want to make a big scene and be banned from the event.
The event organizer would ban them if they made trouble, especially when the event itself was supposed to be a prestigious and peaceful gathering, not a battleground to get views.
So, the clout chasers had no choice but to retreat when Kaiden approached.
Logging out, the capsule opened slowly. Max climbed out of the capsule, feeling only slightly drained and not as exhausted as usual. He then stretched out his body and felt his muscles ache.
The capsule beside him opened following that. Lily also climbed out of the capsule, yawning. She didn't feel the tiredness she normally felt when streaming.
"The new capsule is really great. It's not making us tired even after using it for a few hours. And the sleep inducer also makes us feel refreshed in the morning." She said, looking at the capsule, "I can't imagine streaming without this capsule anymore."
"It is truly convenient." Max nodded, "Your brother has outdone himself by making such a masterpiece. When will he announce its release?"
"Tomorrow." Lily answered as she took two towels, throwing one of them to him, "After the Strear Awards. I believe he will do it when all of the eyes of the streaming industry are on the Awards. That's why the company has sponsored the event too. It will attract the people's attention and make it a perfect timing for his announcent."
"I see." Max smiled. "I guess I have a lot of expectations for tomorrow's Award Ceremony."
" too. There are so many expectations. My heart is beating so fast."
Lily put her hand above her chest, "Look, it's beating so fast. Do you want to feel it? It's really beating so fast, you know?"
She looked at him and flushed, clearly not thinking of what she said earlier.
"...!!"
She quickly turned her head, looking away. Her face turned red and she mumbled, "Ah, no, no. That's embarrassing, isn't it? Uuh- Just forget it."
Seeing that, Max chuckled.
'...She's so cute sotis. Her shyness cos at an unexpected mont, and that's why it's so cute. It makes her even more adorable.'
He decided not to say anything about it.
Instead, he said. "Why don't you take a bath first. I will go after you."
"Okay." Lily nodded, still a little bit flustered from what happened earlier. "I'll go first."
Lily entered the bathroom, leaving the room and leaving Max alone in it.
"Now, to read the new quest." Max smiled, excited to read the new quest he received after so long, "System, open the quest."
After saying those words, the quest interface appeared before him.
Upon reading it, his smile froze and he let out a stupid voice.
"Huh?"
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