Chapter 21
With the experience from last time, Yomi was much better prepared this round.
He specifically found a tall wall to use as his background, so there would not be reference objects like the wooden hut behind him making his size stand out the way it had before.
That way, the audience would pay more attention to his tea eggs.
He also reset the account.
No matter where you were, everyone liked pet-themed elements. Yomi took a picture of the little cat doll, used the cat’s face as his profile picture, and changed his ID from [Mi] to [Mimi Daily]. Combined with the profile picture, people would only associate it with a pet cat.
The little sports car served as his mobile storage unit, parked not far away.
Yomi set up the little pot and stove and continued making the tea eggs he had failed to finish livestreaming last time.
After he went live, only a few scattered viewers entered. At first there were not even any comments at all, and the stream was extremely quiet.
Only when he was preparing the spices did the first comment appear, from a new account made up of a string of numbers and garbled symbols.
[1234: Smells great]
QAQ What an encouraging viewer… even though there was no way they could actually smell anything.
Yomi felt the kindness of the internet, and his movements became quicker too. “It really does smell good. Everyone can follow along and make it with me!”
Very soon, another wave of viewers entered.
People did not seem all that interested in cooking. Some watched for a few seconds and left, while others were drawn to the giant cat doll behind him and asked where he had bought it.
While working, Yomi replied, “Someone gave it to me. I’ll ask them later.”
The peaceful livestream quickly turned into an argument.
[That doll is an exclusive design sold only by XX Toy Store! They’ve never had a model that big. Yours even has that store’s trademark on it… it’s definitely counterfeit!]
[The streamer already said someone gave it to him…]
[Heh, counterfeit goods don’t enter the capital’s legitimate market. Stuff like that can only be bought cheap through special channels. So either the streamer is lying, or he has terrible taste in friends!]
[Compared to the counterfeit issue, isn’t it even more disgraceful to waste food like eggs just to gain traffic?]
After finishing boiling the eggs, Yomi looked up and was startled by the comments. Before he could explain, the comments refreshed again.
[1234: Tea eggs are delicious, tea eggs are delicious, tea eggs are delicious…]
The words almost filled the entire screen.
Yomi was overjoyed. “How do you know? Did you make them yourself after learning from my last stream? Thank you! But I didn’t even finish making them then…”
Suddenly, a giant castle effect appeared on the screen.
[1234 gifted the streamer Air Castle x1]
Yomi thought his eyes were playing tricks on him and immediately stuck his hand into the headpiece to rub them.
Among the platform gifts, one Air Castle was worth five thousand star coins. That was not a small amount.
In Yomi’s imagination, for a new streamer like him with no fans, even receiving a gift worth one star coin in his first few streams would already have been good.
For a moment, he forgot all about the tea eggs and hurriedly asked, “Yiyi, did you send that by mistake?”
The account name was too hard to read in full, so he just used the first number in the account name to address them. And calling them Yiyi in that intimate way would shorten the distance between streamer and viewer.
That was something he had learned from a guide for streamers.
[1234: Sorry, clicked the wrong one]
So it was a mistake!
Yomi said, “Don’t panic, I’ll contact an admin and see if they can refund it for you—”
Yet one second later, planet effects exploded across the screen.
[1234 gifted the streamer Private Planet x10]
The spatula fell. Yomi’s mouth dropped open.
One Private Planet was worth ten thousand star coins.
That person had just gifted one hundred thousand star coins.
The comments completely exploded.
[Bro, when you said you clicked the wrong one just now, do you mean those two gifts were next to each other and the one you originally wanted to send was the planet?]
[A hundred thousand star coins? If I remember right, this streamer has a fan count in the double digits and hasn’t even been live very long, right? Is this streamer gifting themselves to drive traffic?]
[1234: How do you drive traffic?]
[Stop acting, dude. Everyone knows gifting boosts popularity!]
Right after that comment, the screen turned into a fireworks show as special effects kept flashing one after another—
[1234 gifted the streamer Private Planet x10]
[1234 gifted the streamer Private Planet x10]
[1234 gifted the streamer Private Planet x10]
…
[I can’t breathe]
[Ahhh what is going on?]
[I did the math. This person has already spent one million star coins in gifts, and on a faceless new streamer too. If this isn’t the streamer gifting themselves, I’ll slap myself a hundred times!]
[Which rich young master came to the streaming world to experience life?]
Yomi’s brain had completely crashed.
One million star coins. Even split fifty-fifty with the platform, that was still five hundred thousand.
…If he calculated it based on his old wages from working, how many years would he have had to work for that?
Was his livestream really that attractive?
Was this some naughty child using their parents’ account?
“Yiyi,” Yomi asked uneasily, “are you an adult? Do you have a job? Don’t spend money recklessly…”
[1234: Adult. Mercenary. Not spending recklessly.]
“…”
As the stream’s popularity rose, a large number of new viewers flooded in. When they entered, they were first drawn for a few seconds to the figure wearing the headpiece, then looked toward the fast-moving comments.
[No wonder they’re so rich!]
[One job on Snar Star is enough for most people to live on for a lifetime.]
[You all actually believe this? Every time someone questions the streamer, this account jumps out like an assistant to support them. It’s definitely a staff account from the streamer’s agency!]
[To be fair, using shock value to chase traffic never lasts long!]
[Holy crap! I remember this person! I knew that lamb headpiece looked familiar! Isn’t this the scammer from yesterday? Did you really think changing the ID and account would keep people from recognizing you? Did you label that miniaturizing effect or not?]
[What miniaturizing effect? Isn’t this just their normal body size?]
[Didn’t you all see the authentic product code next to that little cat doll? Go scan it yourselves, okay? It’s not fake at all!]
[…You mean to say the streamer is about the same size as that authentic little cat doll?]
[Do you honestly think that’s possible? Obviously they used a miniaturizing effect! That effect can shrink only the streamer!]
[Really? Then after the top donor spent so much money on gifts, if this turns out to be a fake stream, can the money be refunded?]
[Too stupid and too rich! People tried to warn him and he wouldn’t listen. He’s still gifting now. If he can’t get it back, he deserves it. Reported the stream!]
Once the stream got more viewers, Yomi did not dare relax. He threw himself wholeheartedly into making the tea eggs and carefully explained every step. When he saw the report notice in the backend, he only froze for a second.
No one in the stream left. Everyone waited eagerly for the account-ban notice.
In less than a minute, they got the moderator’s reply:
[This livestream contains no violations whatsoever.]
Everyone was shocked.
[???]
[So no miniaturizing effect?]
[The streamer is really just that small?]
[No, this can’t be real—]
[Am I the only one actually watching the streamer boil eggs? Honestly, this is kind of interesting. Very good for watching while eating…]
[I’ve been wanting to say for a while that the comments are way too noisy. I had them turned off the whole time and only turned them back on after seeing the moderator notice. Wait… the streamer is actually that tiny?]
[If those people hadn’t compared the toy’s dimensions, I never would’ve known!]
[Hahaha the streamer is probably thinking: no matter how I try to keep a low profile, I just can’t!]
[That apron is so cute]
[Ah, that apron looks like the same design as the drool bib I bought for my daughter…]
[Seriously? That’s just… way too cute! ]
[Oh my god, there’s sweat running down the neck. The streamer is cooking eggs so seriously!]
[What Mimi Daily? It’s obviously not about a cat, it’s about the streamer themselves, right? Little Mimi, hehe! ]
Halfway through making the tea eggs, Yomi had no idea that his stream had already surged into the top ranks of the platform’s homepage popularity list.
Countless newcomers were pouring in.
The newcomers looked at the seemingly unremarkable livestream room, then at the comments that looked as though everyone were obsessively fawning over a cat, and made confused faces.
Not long after, they discovered that the streamer was actually a tiny little streamer!
Some instantly joined the cloud-petting-Mimi faction. Others furiously shouted: impossible, definitely a scammer!
And were promptly muted by the moderators.
All of this had already gone completely beyond expectations. Yomi’s heart was racing. When he saw the number of viewers shoot straight past six digits and continue rising sharply, his whole face turned red with nervousness.
He awkwardly boiled the tea eggs with both hands and feet moving stiffly together, his little hands clutching the chopsticks as he stirred. Because the headpiece was hot and stuffy, he let out faint little grunts. The sound echoed and stretched inside the fluffy headpiece, making the tone seem a little soft and sweet.
[Oh my god! He’s making little whimpering sounds! ]
[Nonsense, the streamer is just breathing hard…]
[Everyone stop obsessing over him already. The streamer is seriously teaching us. I just followed along, and honestly, it smells pretty good!]
[Am I the only one who wants to know whether that mercenary is really not a staff member?]
[Forget it. You wouldn’t want to hear the truth anyway.]
[…]
[Th-this… is this really not that Number Five?]
[I still think he’s that music-box actor!]
[With egg-cooking skills like this, he’s clearly the Little Egg Chef!]
…
While boiling the eggs, Yomi noticed that his account had received a lot of private messages.
Most of them were from agencies, asking whether he wanted to sign with them and offering many attractive terms.
Yomi only gave them a quick glance before going right back to the stream. This was his first formal broadcast, and he had to complete the job in front of him properly.
After being busy for a long time, the tea eggs were finally done.
Yomi fished one out, tapped it lightly with his finger, and smiled. “If you let it soak for a while, the flavor will be even better.”
Once the finished product had been shown, it was time to taste it on camera. And once he finished tasting it, this first livestream would count as a successful one!
It seemed as if everyone in the stream had been waiting for that exact moment. The comments instantly dropped by more than half.
Yomi quickly peeled the egg, stood properly facing the camera, and then opened his mouth—
The mouth part of the headpiece matched the position of his own mouth, so he could eat without any issue. But wearing the headpiece definitely affected his vision, so Yomi never noticed that a bird was approaching.
By the time the viewers filled the comments with screaming warning emojis, it was already too late.
All Yomi heard was a violent rush of wind, and in the next instant, the tea egg in his hand was snatched away in a single bite by a black bird charging past!
That black bird was not large by the standards of a normal-sized Snaran, but in front of Yomi, it was practically like an eagle!
For one brief instant, Yomi had even thought the bird wanted to carry him away—
The bully bird had come suddenly, and left just as suddenly.
Once he realized he was safe and sound, Yomi let out a breath of relief. At the same time, he felt regretful that his first livestream had ended in such a failed way.
His hands, still carrying the lingering scent of tea egg, trembled in the air, and it took a while before his legs could barely steady themselves again.
In the camera frame, the little figure tugged at the apron and lowered his head uneasily toward the camera. “It looks like the bird thought it was tasty… Did you all learn how to make it?”
[AHHHHHHH!]
[We learned it! We learned it too well! ]
[Waaahhh what a horrible bully bird! It scared me to death! First time in my life I’ve been frightened by a stupid bird!]
[What stupid bird? From the streamer’s point of view, that was Birdzilla!]
[Calm in the face of danger! The bearing of a king!]
[Dear Mimi, I hereby declare you the King of Eggs!]
At the same time—
The black bird, delighted, flew back toward the forest behind with the delicious tea egg clamped in its beak. But after only a few seconds, it suddenly sensed danger rapidly closing in—
The bird turned back and shuddered on the spot.
At the top of the tower, a human-shaped figure was twisting rapidly into a terrifying monster. Flapping its wings, the monster charged straight toward it!
Good grief, the fighter jet had become a demon!
Karl stood by the window on the top floor of the tower, holding a shattered human skin-suit in his hand, numbly watching the scene in the distance.
Their noble Crown Prince Anxius had now caught the black bird, viciously pried its beak open, snatched back the tea egg, punched it, and then roared hoarsely.
The roar was like thunder.
The black bird was punched so hard that it rolled several times, and by then it was so frightened that all its feathers stood on end.
It had only ever heard that kind of roaring tone from wild beasts protecting their young!
Could it be that… that cooked egg was his baby?
The black bird immediately beat its wings and fled at rocket speed.
