Chapter 1: Outdated Game Streamer

In a certain game livestream, the streamer was controlling his character to switch weapons and equipment.

As soon as the 8x scope was activated, he aimed at the enemy on the opposite hill and bang! A shot.

The game’s result screen appeared.

“Winner Winner Chicken Dinner.”

Fireworks celebrating the streamer’s first-place victory exploded on the game interface.

In contrast to the lively game, the livestream chat was sparse, making the atmosphere feel desolate.

After watching the streamer claim first place, the dozen or so viewers silently left without even typing a single “666.” (tln : mean good job or nice job.)

It felt like the viewers were just bots provided by the platform.

Fang Zhou originally intended to start the next game immediately.

A few messages in the livestream window caught his attention.

“Brother Fang Zhou! You’re amazing!”

“When can you play with fans? I really want to join.”

“But I’m not very good at playing, don’t dislike me.”

As the game gained popularity, more and more streamers of the same genre appeared, many of whom were entertainers, taking a large chunk of the traffic.

Serious, skill-focused streams like Fang Zhou’s had very few viewers left.

Seeing messages that were clearly from a girl was something Fang Zhou hadn’t seen in a long time.

He cleared his throat and said, “Sure, I can play with fans anytime. Just follow me.”

The viewer named “Mei Chuan Ku Cha Zi” immediately sent several heart emojis in the chat.

“Really? That’s great! I’ll download the game now, and you can help me later.”

“Give me ten minutes!”

Along with the two messages came a gift effect.

“Mei Chuan Ku Cha Zi gifted a rocket.”

On this platform, a rocket was worth two thousand. (tln : 2000 yuan = 275$ )

Fang Zhou’s pupils dilated for a moment.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t seen rockets before; it was just that his outdated stream hadn’t seen one in a long time.

This Mei Chuan Ku Cha Zi was probably a rich girl experiencing life, casually giving out gifts.

Having dealt with many things before, including underage refund incidents, Fang Zhou was more scared than shocked.

He quickly reminded, “If you’re underage, don’t send gifts. Just playing with you is enough; no need to send so much.”

Mei Chuan Ku Cha Zi: I’m an adult, don’t worry. Think of it as tuition.

Only then did Fang Zhou feel relieved.

Playing games with a student wasn’t a problem.

“I’m going to get some water.”

Streamer Fang Zhou took off his headphones and casually spoke to his viewers, even though there weren’t many active ones.

While drinking water, Fang Zhou’s WeChat popped up with a message.

It was from Xiao Wei, the assistant from his guild.

“Brother Zhou, it’s the end of the month. Your revenue hasn’t met the target again this month.”

“The guild’s rule is that if revenue doesn’t meet the target for five consecutive months, the contract will be downgraded.”

“I’ve sent you a new contract. Please sign it.”

Fang Zhou swallowed his warm water and, after reading the contract, immediately dialed back.

“Hello, Xiao Wei? Didn’t we agree that my contract was for three years?”

“Why are you unilaterally breaching the contract?”

Fang Zhou was no newbie easily fooled by the guild.

Even though he was an outdated streamer now, during his peak, his livestream had a million concurrent viewers.

The guild was now trying to downgrade his contract just because he wasn’t making money?

Fang Zhou wasn’t opposed to downgrading, but the contract sent by the guild was too disrespectful.

The monthly livestream days couldn’t be less than 28, each session couldn’t be less than 8 hours, and monthly revenue had to be at least 5K.

And for all that, they were only offering a base salary of 3000?

He could make more than that driving for Didi. (tln : Didi Chuxing Technology Company is a Chinese vehicle for hire company headquartered in Beijing with over 550 million users and tens of millions of drivers.)

On the other end, Xiao Wei’s surroundings were noisy, and she loudly responded, “We’re not breaching the contract, just making appropriate adjustments based on your performance!”

“You can’t even make two thousand a month now. Giving you a three-thousand base salary is already very generous!”

Fang Zhou could only laugh bitterly.

Back in his prime, a single session could bring in tens of thousands.

Now that he wasn’t making money, they wanted cheap labor?

Even fresh graduates in the guild probably had better treatment.

Fang Zhou spat in the direction of the phone and stopped being polite.

“Have the guild boss talk to me. I won’t talk to you.”

Xiao Wei was just a girl who had graduated a year ago, handling his account for only a few months, unaware of his past glory.

So, she only saw Fang Zhou as a declining streamer.

Although she didn’t deliberately offend Fang Zhou, she didn’t show much respect either.

After a minute of silence, Xiao Wei’s voice came back.

“Brother Zhou, the boss is singing and doesn’t have time to discuss this. He asked me to tell you that the contract is already very generous for an outdated streamer, so don’t be picky…”

Fang Zhou hung up the phone and angrily threw it onto the soft sofa, cursing, “Damn it, Zhou!”

While he worked hard, the capitalists were singing leisurely!

When he first started streaming, he signed with this Star Guild.

Back then, the guild was just starting, signing small streamers. As the game he streamed became popular and his popularity soared, the guild grew stronger.

The boss, Zhou Yongde, even said, “Without Fang Zhou, there would be no Star Guild.”

Now, Zhou Yongde wouldn’t even talk to him about the contract, sending an assistant instead.

Fang Zhou was upset, considering finding another guild.

But even if he signed with another one, the stream’s popularity might still be low unless something viral happened.

The chance of encountering someone like Mei Chuan Ku Cha Zi was too low.

Most streams relied on accumulated viewer numbers.

Fang Zhou tried entertainment but wasn’t talented, and it didn’t attract viewers.

It was even less popular than pure skill streams.

Calming his anger, Fang Zhou sat back down.

No matter what, he had to finish today’s stream.

Just as he was about to play with the rich girl, he received a text.

“Dear Mr. Fang Zhou, congratulations on being selected for the ‘Love 100%’ show as a guest. Please add the following WeChat for further details on the recording.”

Fang Zhou was shocked: What the heck? When did I sign up for a romance show?