Chapter 3: The 3rd Day of Livestream Selling
It was a good question.
It stumped 1114 and also gave Lin Zhao a long period of peace and leisure.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, he bought a house, renovated it, and moved in, handling the whole process in one efficient sweep. Since he no longer had to die, then he might as well live happily.
He began a life completely different from his previous days as a busy corporate slave. There were no high-pressure bosses, no colleagues who only knew how to shift blame, and even less KPI and deadlines. There was only the freedom and idleness of sleeping until he woke naturally and doing whatever he wanted.
Lying flat felt good for a moment.
Lying flat forever felt good forever.
His complexion and skin condition did not lie. Lin Zhao visibly became healthier.
“You can’t go on like this, host,” System 1114 was still putting up a stubborn resistance, even sounding somewhat heartbroken. “Humans are social animals. If you want to integrate into society, you have to create value. If you keep drifting along doing nothing, your will to strive will be worn away, your ability to work will degenerate, and you’ll become a good-for-nothing who makes no progress and only knows how to eat, drink, play, and game. You may even become disconnected from normal society and completely lose social interaction.”
Lin Zhao lay on the massage chair on the balcony, not even lifting his eyelids. While watching a documentary on his phone, he answered half-heartedly, “You’ve finished listing the advantages. What about the disadvantages?”
1114: “…”
The system had exhausted all the good words and phrases in its vocabulary related to work, yet it still could not earn even a single backward glance from its host. It felt that Lin Zhao was as slippery as wide potato noodles in hotpot. No matter what it said, Lin Zhao always had a reply. He could neither be picked up nor persuaded.
In the end, it could only say dejectedly, “But the mainframe said no one dislikes work.”
“Then your mainframe has CPU’d you. No one likes work. Work itself goes against human nature. If you absolutely must arrange a job for me, I hope it’s being a rich second-generation heir.”
The system had no way to turn its host into a rich second-generation heir, because most of its energy had been used for self-repair. At this very moment, it was also a shiny, polished pauper.
It truly had no moves left.
Unexpectedly, this instead brought a turning point.
It happened not long after Lin Zhao moved into his new residential compound. After observing the system for several days, he discovered that, after racking its brains and wringing out its bellyful of thoughts while absorbing several more days’ worth of online common sense, the only method it came up with was evolving a “face” — a screen — on its round body.
On that screen, it displayed the letters “QAQ” while saying, “Please, please, I’m begging you.”
This little thing really had something.
“You said you’re a livestream-selling system? How do you livestream?” Lin Zhao finally spoke.
1114’s “eyes” lit up with a biu. It hurriedly flew over to introduce itself. “To be precise, 1114 is a transaction system.”
“An intelligent transaction system is an auxiliary tool based on rules, algorithms, and market-data-driven processes, providing automated trade execution and decision support. My core mission is to help the trader, meaning the host, before [???] enters [???], understand as much as possible the markets of various [???], and execute local trading strategies with strict discipline, high efficiency, and precision…”
Too many censored parts. Not reading.
Lin Zhao directly asked, “I just want to know how you’ll livestream. Find a Chinese internet platform to attach yourself to? Won’t people notice something is wrong?”
1114 flew in the air, shaking itself like a pellet drum. “They won’t. According to the AI Safety Code, 1114 will not do anything illegal or criminal, nor anything that violates local public order and good customs. Operations carried out anywhere will all be compliant, legal, and in line with local characteristics. According to the rules of Earth’s internet, I will help the host register accounts on multiple platforms and conduct livestream selling without commercial conflict. When necessary, I can also assist the host in signing livestream contracts with relevant companies.”
Simply put, it was an AI assistant.
The black-haired young man fell into thought. His map of Yan was not long; very soon, the dagger was revealed at the end.
“In other words, my aunt can also come across me online?”
“Of course!”
Lin Zhao’s aunt, Ms. Lin Mingzhu, worked at a state-owned enterprise. She had been divorced for many years and had only one child, who was studying out of town. It would not be an exaggeration to say that she took extremely good care of Lin Zhao, the only bloodline left behind by her own elder sister.
She was truly good to Lin Zhao. In the years after Lin Zhao unexpectedly lost his parents, she had personally helped him with many things. Calling her half a mother to Lin Zhao would not be too much.
It was just that parents of the older generation inevitably had some conservative ways of thinking.
For example, Ms. Lin Mingzhu felt that a child could resign, leave a bustling metropolis, and return to his hometown to live a stable life earning three thousand yuan a month. But the child could not simply lie at home and do absolutely nothing.
This had nothing to do with how much money Lin Zhao earned. She had already been promoted to a management position at her workplace, and the money she earned was enough to support three children, including Doudou.
She was only worried that Lin Zhao, being uninterested in everything and always looking very tired, was showing early signs of depression. One of her colleague’s children had been like that.
This was also why Lin Zhao had never told his aunt about his illness. It was terminal, incurable. But with how much his aunt cared about him, she would sell everything she had and still refuse to give up.
Lin Zhao, on the other hand, felt that rather than throwing money into something destined never to echo back, it was better to give up and enjoy life while he could.
Now that Lin Zhao could survive, there was even less need to say anything. He simply had no way to explain the enormous personality shift of him suddenly resigning, lying flat at home, and doing nothing at all.
At first, he had thought using “I’m so tired” as an excuse was a good idea. Who would have thought his aunt would let her imagination run wild and worry in other directions?
In order to put Ms. Lin’s heart at ease, Lin Zhao had to find himself a job.
Even if it was only in name.
Becoming a self-media blogger was a pretty good idea. After all, what his aunt cared about was whether he had a rich and fulfilling cultural life outside of work, not whether he could rely on this job, which at a glance looked highly likely to make him live on northwest wind, to maintain a wealthy material lifestyle.
This could be seen from the fact that after Ms. Lin heard about his grand plan to pursue his dream, she immediately bought him a GoPro in support.
She was genuinely happy that Lin Zhao had a hobby.
Of course, dreams could not be eaten as food. Ms. Lin Mingzhu understood this very clearly. It was also because she had eyes and could see the view counts on short videos. She knew that her nephew’s hobby did not make money, and she had prepared for that.
Mentally and materially.
Every day, Ms. Lin would call Lin Zhao over to her house for meals, under the beautiful excuse that it was easier to cook for two people than for one. After dinner, she would begin finding all kinds of reasons, without leaving any trace, to stuff money into Lin Zhao’s hands, afraid of injuring her nephew’s nonexistent pride.
At first, Lin Zhao did not realize it and was actually quite cheerful. He had not expected that, at his age, he could still get pocket money. After it happened a few more times, he finally reacted.
Wait, how was his aunt giving him pocket money?
She was clearly paying him a salary.
Four thousand a month, slightly higher than Jiangzuo’s common salary of three thousand.
This money was truly too hot to hold.
Even though Lin Zhao repeatedly told his aunt that he had sheared quite a lot of capitalist wool while working at the big company, Ms. Lin remained silent and only kept stuffing money at him.
Four thousand for Lin Zhao, four thousand for her son, and the rest for herself and Doudou to spend. Very fair. Everyone had a bright future.
Seeing that he could not reason with her, Lin Zhao could only find another path and add one more persona of being a livestream seller to his freelance job. Elders did not understand the ins and outs of livestream selling, and they could not see the backend data either, so naturally, however much he said he earned was how much he earned.
All the way until today, Lin Zhao—unsearchable across the entire internet, with results basically equivalent to none, a resounding name that did not resound at all—had already been quietly selling goods on various platforms for several months.
As for his fan base and popularity, one could not say there was absolutely none.
It was basically zero.
Lin Zhao himself felt this was quite good.
1114, however, had already worried itself sick and often fell into self-doubt. “This isn’t right. Is this normal? How is this possible? Didn’t they say that as long as the face remains, the empire remains? With the host’s looks, this shouldn’t be happening.”
Lin Zhao’s character model really was amazing. Jet-black fluffy hair, bright and spirited eyes, broad shoulders and a narrow waist, a tall and upright figure. Even if he did nothing at all and simply sat there casually, he would still be strikingly good-looking.
But no matter how good-looking he was, it could not withstand Lin Zhao’s irregular livestream schedule of fishing for three days and drying nets for two.
Every time he went live, there was no warning at all. As for the livestream content, forget putting on tricks or dancing. He did not even have a segment for chatting with the audience. Often, he simply placed the camera there like a decoration, frequently giving people the illusion that he had perhaps forgotten about his dear family members.
Only when an account suspected to belong to his aunt appeared would Lin Zhao put in some effort and hawk the group-buying links that 1114 had found, such as Crazy Thursday and Happy Wednesday. The moment his aunt left, he would end the stream at the speed of light.
If that could retain viewers, then that would truly be seeing a ghost in broad daylight.
“How are you so sure the person just now was our aunt?”
“My aunt, thank you.” Also, how many young people would call themselves “Blooming Flowers and Riches” or “Contentment Brings Happiness”? At one glance, it was clear his aunt was using a colleague’s account to check up on him. Ms. Lin did have some anti-reconnaissance awareness. Just not much.
After streaming for ten minutes and ending it, Lin Zhao, who felt that he had truly worked so hard, decided to order some fried chicken to celebrate.
—When I said I wanted fried chicken, I immediately placed an order after hearing myself say it, without delaying even a single minute. It’s the best fried chicken delivery in Jiangzuo. If it should be eaten, eat it all. Love you, myself. See you tomorrow!
“QAQ Can you really not work a little harder?”
“No can do, friend. It’s the kind of no where even if you electrocuted me, I still wouldn’t move one more finger.”
“How could 1114 electrocute the host?!” The blue-and-white round ball had no pupils, yet its pupils seemed to quake. It was incredulous, dumbfounded, and utterly baffled. “Host, did you also read system novels before? Don’t read those later ones! If you’re going to read them, read what system novels were like at the beginning. We old-school systems don’t do punishment and threats!”
It was a proper system, not a telecom fraud compound!
Lin Zhao spoke fairly. “Rewards don’t interest me, and you don’t have punishments at all. Then what exactly are you planning to use to force others to work for you? Stand at the center of the universe and call out for love?”
“C-can’t I?” 1114 stuttered as it spoke. Then, as though it had suddenly thought of something, it became greatly alarmed and anxiously said, “Host, did you previously experience some kind of physical harm or personal degradation when you refused to work? That’s illegal. You should call the police! Does 1114 need to help you collect evidence and find a lawyer?”
…After spending too long as an ox and horse in a high-pressure work environment, he had almost forgotten what a normal person—or system—was supposed to be like.
Lin Zhao pressed his lips together. “I’m in a good mood today. I’ll stream again after eating fried chicken.”
1114: No matter what you are that has possessed my host, please hold on a little longer!!!
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