NOVEL NEXT WORLD chapter 1
Chapter 1: The Has-Been Game Streamer (1 / 2)
In a certain game streaming room, the streamer was busy switching his character’s weapons and gear.
With an eightfold scope, he aimed at an enemy on the opposite hilltop, bang! A single shot.
The game’s settlement screen appeared.
“Winner winner, chicken dinner.”
The game interface burst into celebratory fireworks, congratulating the streamer for securing first place.
Compared to the liveliness in the game, the streaming room’s chat was sparse, eerily quiet.
A mere handful of viewers, after watching the streamer clinch first place, silently departed without even leaving behind a ‘666’.
They might as well have been bots provided by the platform.
Ark had intended to jump straight into the next game.
But a few comments in the live stream window caught his attention.
“Brother Ark! You’re so awesome!”
“When can you play with fans? I really want to join in.”
“But I’m not very good, don’t look down on me.”
As the game’s popularity soared, the number of similar streamers skyrocketed, and those who were just clowning around were countless, siphoning off a massive amount of traffic.
Ark’s earnest, skill-focused streaming room was now largely ignored.
It was rare to see even a few messages in the chat throughout the day.
This kind of message, clearly from a girl, Ark hadn’t seen in a long time.
He cleared his throat and responded, “Sure, I can play with fans anytime, just hit the follow button.”
The viewer named ‘Meikawa Kuchako’ immediately sent several heart emojis.
“Really? That’s great! I’ll download the game now, and then you can show me the ropes.”
“Give me ten minutes!”
Following her messages, a gift effect appeared.
“Meikawa Kuchako has gifted a rocket.”
On this platform, a rocket is worth two thousand.
Ark’s pupils dilated for a moment.
It wasn’t that he had never seen a rocket before, but such a gift had not appeared in his outdated stream for a long time.
This Meikawa Kuchako was likely some rich girl out to experience life, casually gifting away.
Ark had seen it all, even dealing with refund incidents involving minors, and after the initial shock, fear set in.
He hurriedly reminded, “Minors shouldn’t gift too much, okay? I’m just taking you through a game, no need for lavish gifts.”
Meikawa Kuchako: I’m of age now, don’t worry. Consider it tuition.
Only then did Ark let his guard down.
Taking an apprentice through a game wasn’t too bad.
“I’m going to grab a drink.”
Streamer Ark took off his headset and casually spoke to his audience, even though his channel was nearly devoid of live viewers.
During his water break, a message popped up on Ark’s WeChat.
It was from Xiao Wei, the assistant at the guild.
“Brother Ark, it’s the end of the month, and your earnings haven’t met the target again.”
“The guild’s policy is that if you don’t meet the target for five consecutive months, we’ll have to downgrade your contract.”
“I’ve sent you a new contract. Please sign it.”
Ark swallowed the lukewarm water and, after reading the contract, immediately made a call back.
“Hey, Xiao Wei, wasn’t my contract supposed to be for three years?”
Chapter 1: The Has-Been Game Streamer (2/2)
“Why are you unilaterally breaking the contract?”
Ark was no newbie, easily fooled by the guild.
Even though he was now a has-been streamer, there was a time when his channel had a million concurrent viewers.
Damn guild, seeing he’s not making money now, they want him to sign a downgraded contract?
Ark could accept a downgrade, but this contract from the guild was downright disrespectful.
A minimum of 28 days of streaming per month, each session lasting no less than 8 hours, and a monthly revenue of no less than 5K.
And for that, they’d only pay him a base salary of 3000?
Ha, he could make more driving for DiDi.
Xiao Wei on the other end of the phone seemed to be somewhere breezy, surrounded by noise.
She shouted back, “We’re not breaking the contract, we’re just adjusting it based on your streaming performance!”
“Your monthly earnings can’t even hit two thousand now, we’re already being humane by offering you a base salary of three thousand!”
After hearing this, Ark could only laugh bitterly.
Back in his heyday, it was normal for him to earn hundreds of thousands per stream.
Now that they found him unprofitable, they just wanted cheap labor?
Even fresh college graduates probably got better deals at the guild.
Ark spat out a disdainful “Pah” into the phone, no longer in the mood for niceties.
“Have your guild leader come talk to me; I won’t speak with you.”
Xiao Wei was just a young girl, a little over a year out of school, and had only been liaising with him for a few months. She hadn’t witnessed his glorious days.
Thus, her impression of Fang Zhou was nothing more than that of a has-been streamer whose popularity waned month by month.
In their conversations, although she wouldn’t offend Fang Zhou outright, she also didn’t afford him much respect.
On the other end, Xiao Wei fell silent, but the noisy sounds still transmitted through the phone to Fang Zhou.
About a minute later, Fang Zhou finally heard her voice again.
“Brother Zhou, the boss is singing and can’t talk about this. He asked me to tell you, for a washed-up streamer, this contract is already very humane. Don’t be picky…”
Fang Zhou ended the call abruptly, anger driving him to smash his phone onto the soft sofa, cursing, “Zhou the skinflint, I’ll pick your granddad!”
Hardworking streamers broadcast diligently, while the capitalists sing carefree!
When he first started streaming, he signed with the now Starlight Guild.
Back then, the guild was just starting, signing only small-time streamers. As the games Fang Zhou streamed became hits and his popularity soared, the guild grew and expanded.
Boss Zhou Yongde even declared, “Without Fang Zhou, there would be no Starlight Guild.”
Now, Zhou Yongde wouldn’t even discuss the contract with him, sending a mere assistant to brush him off.
Fang Zhou was seething inside, contemplating looking for a new agency.
But even if he signed with a new one, the popularity of his streaming room might still be dismal unless some clip went viral.
Like today, the chance of encountering a wealthy patron like Mei Chuan Kucha was too slim.
Most streaming rooms relied on the sheer number of viewers to generate revenue.
Fang Zhou had tried to liven things up, but it seemed his only talent was in gaming; his attempts at entertainment didn’t draw crowds.
Not even pure technical streaming did better.
Tamping down his anger and calming his emotions, Fang Zhou sat back down.
Regardless, he had to finish today’s stream.
Just as Fang Zhou was preparing to play games with the wealthy patron, he suddenly received a text message.
“Dear Mr. Fang Zhou, congratulations on being selected for the ‘Love Percentage’ show as one of the guests. Please add the following WeChat ID to discuss the details of the program’s recording.”
Fang Zhou was stunned: What the heck? When did he sign up for a dating show?
————————————————–