Although the title was quite catchy, after all, it was an Otherworld gag. When the live stream started, there weren’t many viewers for quite a while, and even those few seed like the platform’s built-in zombie accounts.
However, Feng Xue wasn’t surprised by this at all. As he went on with his monologue about "A washed-up Idol’s Chance eting with a Kung Fu master results in a two-and-a-half-year cultivation, and the Dragon King returns," he used the terminal to command another of his accounts to tip his own live stream with a whopping 100,000 credit points.
As a variety of seductive female images twirled on the screen, a large audience started to pour in.
Although these days looks are as changeable as clothes and not everyone was interested in the little Dragon King’s coback story, plenty of viewers stayed after just one glimpse.
While many were attracted by the unrestrained fashion and temperant, what really caught their attention was what they saw in Feng Xue’s hands...
[Damn, what is the Strear doing with that thing?]
[What else? Isn’t it clear from the title?]
[With that slight fra, it’s obvious it’s all beautified Artificial Bodies. Thinks he can stir trouble in No Man’s Land, really thinks he’s the Fire Wolf, huh!]
[Exactly, just chasing the trend because Fire Wolf is hot. As if installing a Power Artificial Body makes you tough. At best, it’s a hundred kilos’ worth of junk. Who are you trying to scare?]
[Don’t act like you know when you don’t. Sure, there are plenty of Artificial Bodies on the street that can handle two hundred pounds, but ones that look like real hands and have such good balance are premium goods. Where did the Strear buy it?]
[Got it, the Strear must be advertising, right? Is it a new product from Constantin Company?]
...
As he watched the barrage of comnts flashing by, Feng Xue tossed the fake stone lock in his hand, but with that single toss, the live stream room exploded.
Forget two hundred pounds, even a chanical Artificial Body capable of lifting two tons single-handedly wasn’t unheard of, but such equipnt wasn’t just about an arm wrestling contest. It required a significant energy supply and cooling system and had to consider the whole body’s center regulation. Otherwise, if you exert force with your hand and fail to lift the stone lock, you might end up lifting yourself instead, which would be ridiculous.
An Artificial Body like the one Feng Xue had, which could almost effortlessly toss items weighing hundreds of pounds and looked nearly unchanged on the outside, definitely represented the highest-grade equipnt and operating systems.
As knowledgeable viewers began to flood the screen, and so even started tipping and asking for the address, Feng Xue cleared his throat and said,
"Alright, back to business. Now that I’ve achieved Divine Skill, I’ll take you all to the so-called No Man’s Land to broaden your horizons."
Having said that, Feng Xue stepped into the city’s inter-district elevator. As numbers rolled on the display, the comnts began to get more Outrageous.
So viewers wanted to buy Artificial Bodies, so claid those asking to buy were shills, others attacked Feng Xue for chasing clout. Yet, none doubted the authenticity of the stone lock.
The reason Feng Xue chose this topic was deliberate. After last night’s intense web surfing, he had gained a considerable understanding of the current aesthetic trends.
The so-called idol aesthetics in this World were mostly about several dia companies competing in the arena. By packaging and promoting their signed artists, they guided aesthetic trends. Since it was formulaic Cultivation, the focus was on a brief and quick turnover. When one company’s artist was a hit, it imdiately boosted the popularity of other newbies in the cohort.
Because this model boasted low cultivation costs, quick capital turnover, and easy packaging, it was widely promoted. However, only a tiny minority could beco real stars—the rest were just inconspicuous teors in a teor shower. They would burn out their value in three years at most or just a few months at least, then get ditched by their managent company.
Feng Xue’s current persona was that of the unfortunate kind—consumables that didn’t even get hot. Three years ago, in the competition, Dor dia lost to Ti dia. The aesthetic of tough sports types was beaten by sickly beautiful boys, resulting in Dor dia’s sports idols from that term all collapsing.
However, what goes around cos around. Three years later, due to the severe homogenization of idols in recent years, the rugged persona has risen again. The hottest right now is the "Fire Wolf" from Hongjing dia.
Persona-wise, he seed to be an ex-rcenary, covered in scars supposedly from the battlefield, muscular, and tough. He recently gained popularity in a live stream by single-handedly taking down a gang’s lair after an altercation with a gang mber.
How much was scripted and how much was acting, well, that was up for debate.
Anyway, Feng Xue could tell at a glance that the scars on his body were anything but genuine.
Of course, there was no need to delve into that. He was indeed riding on the coattails of Fire Wolf’s persona.
But he didn’t have a managent company packaging him or arranging a den for him to destroy, so everything had to be genuine.
After all, No Man’s Land was like the slums and gang territories of the past World—places everyone knew existed but very few had actually visited. They were "urban myths." The street thugs inside had no official connections to the major companies, at least openly. You wouldn’t be legally responsible even if you destroyed their hideout or killed a few.
As for censorship, please, the channel next door is still streaming AR tea ceremonies!
As long as you’ve got traffic, you don’t have to worry about being banned! The hopage of the live streaming platform has a boxing match that touts "beating people to death" as its selling point!
"Ding!"
The elevator made a slight sound, signaling that Feng Xue had arrived at his destination. As the elevator doors opened, graffiti-covered, disorderly walls instantly ca into his view.
[Damn, is this the No Man’s Land of Zone 87? Is the Strear serious?]
[What’s real or fake? Just so graffiti and it’s real?]
...
Watching the groups of savvy skeptics and contrarians argue in the comnts, Feng Xue carried the stone lock out of the elevator. He hadn’t taken many steps before he ca across two Mohegans with obvious cybernetic enhancents. One pulled out a blade shimring with cold light from his left arm, while the other held a baseball bat studded with nails—the quintessential thug image.
"Kid, you’ve got so..."
The thug with the baseball bat hardly had ti to intimidate before he suddenly stiffened. His tone imdiately softened, and he even hid his baseball bat behind him, cautiously asking,
"Big brother, is this your first visit? Any way we can help you? We know this area like the back of our hands!"
As countless comnts of "too fake" flashed across the screen, Feng Xue tossed and caught the stone lock again. Instantly, the word "fake" disappeared from chat.
Yeah, it was like seeing the guy facing you holding a chainsaw that spat sparks of fla—even if you knew it wouldn’t cut as well as a knife, few would dare to face it head-on!
While maintaining the motion of tossing the stone lock, Feng Xue didn’t bring up Kung Fu. Instead, sticking to his original plan, he asked, "What’s the na of the biggest gang in this district?"
Reviews
All reviews (0)