The next day, formal military training began.
After finishing the morning’s training, Ming Mei returned to the dormitory completely exhausted. Fortunately, the students in this year’s cohort had alternating training schedules. Otherwise, she would have had to endure another exhausting afternoon.
She had nothing to do for the entire afternoon until evening self-study. Ming Mei lay on her bed to let her body recover, then fell asleep. When she woke up, it was already past three o’clock.
There was a jianbing guozi—a Chinese savory crepe—on the table that Ma Mingyue had brought back for her.
Ming Mei stretched and climbed out of bed. After finishing the crepe, she felt bored again. She checked the time, then opened Xu Mu’s livestream.
When Xu Mu saw Ming Mei’s username appear, he smiled warmly.
“Welcome to my livestream, Sister Sunny!”
The comment section immediately filled with messages welcoming the rich lady.
Ming Mei smiled.
As expected, money could solve most of life’s troubles.
After sending Xu Mu another two million yuan in gifts, Ming Mei quietly listened to his voice.
His voice really is so pleasant, she thought.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if I could hire Xu Mu to lull me to sleep?
Ming Mei’s eyes lit up.
That was actually a viable idea!
Just as she was thinking about it, Xu Mu’s livestream suddenly froze for a moment. A line of text appeared on the screen:
[The streamer has been connected to entertainment-category streamer “MC Brother Long” for a PK battle. Good luck!]
Ming Mei froze. Xu Mu, on the screen, was equally stunned.
The comments fell silent for a moment before someone asked, “Streamer, once your tips exceed five million, the system automatically enables livestream PK matching. Did you forget to turn it off?”
Xu Mu paused before replying, “Sorry, I didn’t know this feature existed!”
The livestream screen split into two halves. The border around Xu Mu’s stream on the left turned red, while the previously dark stream on the right had a blue border.
Suddenly, the blue side lit up.
A young man with highlighted streaks in his hair, wearing a jacket and a pair of trendy bean-toe shoes, appeared in a room with a microphone in front of him. His comments section instantly filled up.
“Brother Long, I’m here!”
“Brother Long, the Dragon Army has arrived!”
“Is our Brother Long doing PK battles now? We’ll support you no matter what! The Dragon Army will never back down!”
“…”
When Brother Long saw Xu Mu’s handsome face on the opposite side, a flash of jealousy passed through his eyes. He deliberately lowered his voice into a raspy tone and asked, “So, you’re the streamer who’s going to battle me?”
Xu Mu scratched his head awkwardly.
“Sorry, friend. I’ve only been livestreaming for two months, and I didn’t know there was an automatic PK matching button. I’m really sorry. I just explain things about dolphins. I can’t sing or dance, so I’m afraid I can’t compete with you. I’m really sorry!”
A flicker of disappointment crossed Brother Long’s face, but he quickly recovered.
Livestream PK battles on Kuaiyin weren’t enabled automatically from the beginning. Streamers had to meet certain conditions.
Only after receiving more than five million yuan in gifts in a single instance could the system potentially activate automatic PK matching.
In other words, the streamer opposite him definitely had a wealthy patron supporting him!
Brother Long’s eyes lit up.
He had 150,000 followers, and the other streamer had more than 100,000 as well. However, judging by appearances, the other streamer’s followers didn’t seem particularly active.
Most of Brother Long’s fans were active, immature young viewers with spending money at their disposal. On top of that, he had a wealthy patron backing him.
The other streamer’s benefactor might not be as powerful as his own. Otherwise, why would someone who had been livestreaming for several months have so little traffic?
He himself had gained more than 100,000 followers in just two weeks. By comparison, the wealthy patron supporting the other streamer seemed rather unimpressive.
Brother Long’s eyes gleamed even brighter.
If he defeated the other streamer in a PK battle, would the other streamer’s wealthy patron take a liking to him instead?
How many of the other streamer’s followers might switch over to his side?
His victory would practically be guaranteed!
Meanwhile, Xu Mu said, “I’m really sorry, my friend. Could we cancel this connection?”
Brother Long quickly sent a message to his top supporter.
The man replied:
“Don’t worry, streamer. Go all out! I’ll back you up from here! Beat that pretty-boy opposite you until he can’t even get back on his feet!”
A satisfied expression flashed across Brother Long’s face. He turned to Xu Mu and gave him a deliberately handsome smile.
“Sorry, handsome guy, but I want to have a PK battle with you.”
Xu Mu awkwardly scratched his head.
“Well… but I don’t know how to do PK battles! I really can’t sing or dance.”
Brother Long replied, “PK battles are simple. You livestream as usual, and I’ll livestream as usual. Whoever receives more gifts by the end wins. The winner gets to make one demand of the loser, and the loser has to fulfill it. If I win, handsome guy, I’ll make you lie on the floor and bark like a dog!”
He delivered the malicious challenge with a cheeky grin.
Xu Mu’s brows furrowed even more deeply.
“I’m sorry, streamer. I only got matched with you because I forgot to turn off this feature. I never intended to compete against you. I’m just a small streamer, so there’s no way I can beat you.”
Brother Long gave him another deliberately handsome smile.
“What’s the big deal? A young man who never fights for his dreams wastes his youth! If you don’t give it a shot, how will you know what you can achieve?”
The comments in MC Brother Long’s livestream flooded the screen.
“Brother Long is so cool!”
“Fly high, Brother Long! The Dragon Army will always follow you!”
Some of Brother Long’s fans also rushed into Xu Mu’s livestream.
“Why doesn’t your streamer dare to accept the challenge?”
“Exactly! What a coward!”
“He’s afraid of losing to our Brother Long!”
Xu Mu’s fans fought back.
“If our streamer doesn’t want to do PK battles, then he doesn’t have to! What law says streamers are required to compete?”
“Our senior is just an ordinary educator who explains things about dolphins. He doesn’t sing or dance, so why should he have to do PK battles?”
The other side refused to back down.
Xu Mu wanted to close the PK interface, but both streamers had to end the connection before the battle could be canceled. The other streamer stubbornly refused to disconnect, leaving Xu Mu at a loss.
Just then, Ming Mei posted a comment:
“Go ahead and battle him. I’ll back you up.”
Xu Mu froze for a moment.
“Sister Sunny, wouldn’t that be inappropriate?”
Ming Mei typed her reply without a care.
“There’s nothing inappropriate about it. Battle him.”
Brother Long also saw Ming Mei’s comment. He knew immediately that she was the wealthy patron supporting the other streamer.
Judging by her username, he assumed she was a middle-aged woman. Perhaps she was rich and had some money to spare, but his own benefactor was a major businessman. Could she possibly be wealthier than his boss?
Brother Long thought dismissively before saying, “Handsome guy on the other side, can’t you see that everyone in the comments wants you to battle me?”
As for Xu Mu’s explanation that he was merely an educator, Brother Long didn’t believe a word of it.
Who livestreamed without wanting to make money?
And he’s claiming he wants to spread knowledge? Pah!
Brother Long looked at Xu Mu’s face with envy. He couldn’t help imagining how much it would cost to get plastic surgery to achieve a face like that.
Seeing Ming Mei’s comment, Xu Mu finally nodded.
“All right, streamer. I’ll accept your challenge. But I think the loser should simply congratulate the winner. There’s no need to go so far.”
Brother Long, however, refused to let the matter go.
Although Xu Mu and Brother Long belonged to different livestream categories, competition was inevitable between streamers.
They were both in the 100,000-follower tier, and with Xu Mu’s looks, he would undoubtedly threaten Brother Long’s position.
There were only so many viewers in that follower bracket. If one streamer lost viewers, another could gain a bigger share of the pie.
Brother Long put on another deliberately cool and handsome smile.
“If you’re a real man, then come battle me! A real man doesn’t back down just because things are difficult!”
Brother Long wasn’t bad-looking himself, but standing next to Xu Mu made him seem considerably more greasy and obnoxious.
Ming Mei shot a cold glance at Brother Long’s livestream.
This streamer just wouldn’t let up. Wasn’t it obvious that he was targeting Xu Mu because he thought Xu Mu had fewer active fans and would be easy to bully?
Fine.
Today, she would teach this streamer a lesson.