A luxurious and large space greeted him as Max entered the virtual world.
He was seated along with Lily behind a round table with foods and drinks. It was like a fancy buffet. A large chandelier hung overhead, giving the room a regal ambiance.
Max turned to look around. The lobby was a spacious room with a high ceiling and a large stage in the middle. The room was filled with the best and famous strears. They were seated at the round tables, talking and enjoying the atmosphere.
Many famous faces could be seen, including those he was familiar with.
Flexy, Alia, MadLad, and even Princess Peach. Each was grouped according to the nomination or their affiliation.
Because Max was famous for being Lily's boyfriend, he was seated together with her.
"Are you nervous?" Lily asked him.
"No." Max shook his head.
"What do you think about this? Do you think you will win?"
"Who knows." Max smiled, "Even though the odds are stacked against , it would be great if I win."
Lily nodded, "Yes. I hope you can win. But..." She looked at him seriously and continued, "But if you don't win, it's okay. We can work on your content and make it better. So, don't be too disappointed if you don't win. You're still a great strear. The best one."
"Thank you. Your words of encouragent an a lot to ." Max smiled and said. "I'll do my best."
" too." Lily said and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. She then looked into his eyes and smiled.
Many eyes looked at them and whispered. They seed to be surprised by the interaction between Max and Lily. So were envious of him. They thought he was a lucky bastard to have a girlfriend like that.
"..." Lily noticed the stares and flushed, clearly not used to the attention.
Being on a stage and being here felt totally different.
A stage was where she was expected to act. But here, it was an intimate mont between her and her boyfriend. It was a private thing that shouldn't be shown to the public.
"Are you embarrassed?"
Of course, Max didn't miss this chance to tease her. He chuckled.
"Ugh, you dummy. Stop teasing ." She pouted and pinched him, making Max laugh even more.
At this mont, a loud clap could be heard. A loud and crisp clap echoed throughout the room.
Everyone stopped talking and looked at the direction of the sound. It was coming from the stage. Standing on the stage was Kaiden.
Kaiden, the chairman of the event and Punch's CEO. He wore a black tuxedo and his hair was slicked back.
All the lights were focused on him and his smile was radiant.
"Ladies and gentlen, thank you for joining this award ceremony. The event will begin soon. Please, take a seat."
As soon as he said that, the lights in the room dimd and a spotlight shone on Kaiden. Max and Lily took a seat together, waiting for the event to begin.
Everyone's eyes were focused on the stage and Kaiden cleared his throat,
"As you know, this year's Strear Wars has co to an end. This year's winners are the best of the best. They have worked hard to beco the best, and now, it is ti to recognize their hard work and give them the award they deserve. But before that, I will announce sothing else. The biggest news in the history of the streaming industry. Sothing that would revolutionize this world forever."
Whispers started to be heard in the room.
Max knew what he wanted to announce. It was the launch of Spencer's latest VR technology, the capsule he was sitting on at the mont. But for the others, they didn't have a clue. They had an idea of what it could be but no one was sure of it.
"Before that, please enjoy this video. I am sure that it would change your world view on the virtual world."
The light dimd, and a video appeared on the big screen above Kaiden's head.
A short introduction about a new capsule that could boost the synchronization rate of so people was introduced. It showed a new breakthrough feature, such as the automatic nutritional supplent injection when needed.
Not only that, but the capsule could also inject needed nutrients when the system judged that it was lacking. Not to ntion that it had an improved neural link and faster processing power.
The new capsule would make everything smoother.
Spencer Company had always been a leader in the industry. The previous generations of capsules were also made by them.
But this ti, they outdid themselves, pushing the technology to the limit. No one knew about the real reason why they created the new capsule, but those who were involved knew why.
It was all because of a brotherly love. For the sake of a girl who couldn't play VR for too long.
Peter appeared with a short ssage and bowed at the end of the video.
"This is our gift for this world. We hope you enjoy the capsule to the fullest and we will do our best to continue improving the technology. Thank you."
When the video ended, applause echoed in the room and the light went on again. Kaiden looked at everyone, and smiled.
"Now, I am sure all of you want to experience it, yes?" He asked.
The strears nodded in agreent, their faces showing a look of awe.
"But, I am afraid that you won't be able to get the product imdiately. Because we are going to announce the winner of the nominations!"
The lights went dim and the spotlight shone on Kaiden. He cleared his throat, and continued, "For the first nomination... Let's start with a small one. Best Vtuber."
The audience clapped and the lights dimd. A large screen appeared above Kaiden, showing the nas of the nominees. Kaiden then read out loud, "The award goes to... Pink Rabbit."
A round of applause erupted as the lights focused on a young woman with long brown hair, who stood up and smiled brightly. She walked up to the stage and took the mic from Kaiden.
Max looked pretty surprised but still gave applause to the winner. He and Lily glanced at a certain direction where their friend sat.
Princess Peach, having lost the nomination, looked pretty disappointed but she still applauded.
Kaiden said a few congratulatory words, before presenting her the trophy.
The winner was happy to receive it and she started to make her acceptance speech. But, the speech didn't end without drama.
She ntioned Princess Peach's na as her competitor and thanked her. A true professional move that many famous people did. ntion the strongest opponent and praise them. This was a good way to show that the winner wasn't an enemy to the loser.
Princess Peach, hearing the praise, flushed and got embarrassed.
The award ceremony continued on, with a few other winners getting called.
And then, the main reward that Max was waiting for was finally here.
Kaiden smiled, and said, "We're going into the main reward. This will be a bit different from last year. We're going to start with Best Female Strear!"
The na list of the nominees appeared above Kaiden.
- LilyPixel/WhiteLily
- Alia
- Princess Peach
- RandomGirl
- XxXMisa
"Ah." A soft voice escaped Lily's lips.
Max looked at her and noticed her squirming on her seat.
He smiled.
Lily was nervous.
The spotlight shone on Kaiden, "And the reward goes to..."
The audience held their breath, and so did Lily. She was gripping the edge of the table so hard that her fingers went white. She was biting her lips, looking anxious and nervous.
"The reward goes to..."
She looked at Max for comfort.
He held her hands, calming her down a little. Then, he mouthed, 'You will be okay. Don't worry.'
Lily smiled a little. She then gripped Max's hand tight. Max squeezed back, letting her know that he was there for her.
The silence lasted for a minute, and Kaiden smiled. "LilyPixel/WhiteLily!"
Loud applause erupted from the audience. Lily stood up, still gripping Max's hand. Her eyes widened, and tears ford on her face.
"I won...?"
"You did it!" Max said.
"Yes!" Lily said, tears rolling down her cheek. "I won!"
"Congratulations! Now go to the stage, they are waiting."
Lily nodded and reluctantly released her grip. She let her white dress sway and walked to the stage.
Alia, Princess Peach, RandomGirl, and Misa were also clapping and cheering for her. The other nominees were giving Lily a standing applause. She was a popular and influential strear in the streaming community.
Just like before, Kaiden offered congratulations and let her deliver speech.
Lily's tears had been wiped clean and she stood behind the microphone with confidence. Her eyes darted around the room and stopped when they landed on Max.
She took a deep breath and started, "First of all, I'd like to thank all my fans, friends, and fellow strears. This would not have been possible without all your support and I'm really grateful for everything."
The crowd cheered as she continued, "Secondly, I'd like to thank my brother for being supportive to my activities. Without his support, even logging into the VR world wouldn't be possible for . I love you, brother."
Hearing that, Max couldn't help but laugh. He could hear a loud cry coming from sowhere, surely from Peter's table. He could just imagine how he cried a waterfall of tears from his eyes.
"Thirdly, I want to dedicate this award to soone important in my life." Lily said and looked directly at Max, "Breeze... Thank you for always supporting and being there for . You're the reason I'm still here today."
With that, she smiled brightly, her cheeks flushing with color. The audience started to cheer loudly. It was a heartwarming sight and everyone clapped loudly for her. Even Max couldn't help but clap with them.
'Ah, this is embarrassing.' Max smiled wryly.
But he couldn't bla her. He would have done the sa.
"Hahaha, such a heartwarming speech from LilyPixel!" Kaiden smiled, "Thank you for the speech. I hope you will continue to do well in your streaming activities in the future!"
"I will! Thank you!"
With that, she left the stage and walked back to her seat, smiling brightly. Her eyes were still filled with tears.
Max stood up and hugged her, "Congratulations."
"Thanks." She replied, "It's all thanks to you."
"Maybe, or maybe it was all because of you too." He laughed, "But, let's talk about that later. Sit down first, Lily. You must be tired from standing up there."
She nodded, "Okay."
Max pulled a chair out and helped her sit down.
And then the next mont, a soft whisper could be heard.
"...I love you."
It was Lily's soft voice.
Max couldn't help but blush. This was so sudden and unexpected, but it made him smile. He leaned closer and whispered back, "Love you too."
"Now, usually we will proceed to the last category. But! We have a rather strange and peculiar reward for this year." Kaiden smiled, "Yes, a teor, or rather a new wind has appeared in this streaming community. And it is ti to recognize their hard work."
"The next rewards are all related to this new strear who appeared and shook the world." He said and raised his arms.
In the sky, list of nominations appeared.
Rising Star, Top Newbie Strear 2045, Top Newbie Ga Strear, Most Viewed Newbie, Best Stread Event, and Top Donations.
Everything was written in golden letters and Max couldn't help but feel a little bit of excitent. This felt like a spoiler to him. Because there were no other strears who could receive the reward in those nominations, other than himself.
"Everyone, we break the record today as we announce the most rewards a strear has ever gotten." Kaiden grinned widely, "Breeze!"
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