Human potential is often fully unleashed under certain pressures.
For example, at the brink of life and death, one might burst forth with unprecedented strength;
When faced with imminent disaster, one might rack their brains to find a way to escape;
Or when confronted with overwhelming desire, one might dive headfirst into studying a field they had no interest in before—
That’s right, Lu Qing didn’t fully understand Tang Hua. He only saw the surface, overlooking how she would tirelessly work to achieve what seemed like an impossible demand.
For an illustrator, how complicated is it to break into the VTuber industry?
Obviously, compared to Bai Xing, who naturally possesses voice acting skills, it’s a bit more challenging.
But on the flip side, when the livestream doesn’t require speaking, and the theme is simply "companionship," Bai Xing’s advantage, in this already established livestream setting, is reduced to the experience she’s accumulated in performance.
Tang Hua, however, is the illustrator who knows the VTuber avatar best.
Her performance, aside from the initial awkwardness of live improvisation, only requires her to immerse herself, and that alone becomes her strength.
【To complete the target set by the boss, to sleep with the boss openly and honorably.】
【To earn a fortune through this plan, so that during the next move, I can live next door to the boss, giving me the opportunity to step into his room.】
【Once I step into the boss’s room, I’ll encounter Su Ling, and I’ll find out how she ended up living in the boss’s house and how she became involved with him.】
【And if I sense something amiss, I can always find a way to invite the boss into my room. After all, with the boss so close, the possibilities are endless, unlike when I was just an "outsider."】
【Old Wang can’t stop me, Old Ge can’t monitor me, I don’t need to wait for Old Bi’s shift change, nor for Old Liu to doze off.】
Now, with the boss’s promise, Tang Hua’s focus has shifted from "I must work hard to achieve the goal" to a state akin to "on the eve of destiny mode"—
"There’s no turning back now."
【Even if it kills me, I’ll achieve the goal.】
……
That night.
Midnight.
Tianhe Platinum Apartments, Building C, Room 1902.
Bai Xing was packing her things, preparing for the hospital visit scheduled for Saturday.
Her grandmother was about to start chemotherapy, and as her only relative, Bai Xing had to be there throughout the process to ensure that any emergencies could be handled promptly.
What troubled the young girl the most was the thought of what might happen during the week she’d be away. Would there be some earth-shattering change in her senior’s situation?
"This won’t do… Grandma’s condition is critical, I can’t leave her. But if I stop streaming, I’ll lose a lot of viewers, and all the effort I’ve put in so far could go to waste."
During the previous steak dinner, Lu Qing had briefly mentioned the possibility of collaboration, but Bai Xing, overwhelmed by Tang Hua’s presence, had been in a daze and completely missed the part about Tang Hua potentially taking over her stream during this period.
She hadn’t absorbed any of the useful information.
Just then, her phone buzzed—
【You’ve received a message】
"?"
She picked it up and saw it was from Tang Hua. She was stunned, feeling quite surprised.
Ever since they became friends, Bai Xing had always been the one to initiate conversations. Tang Hua had always maintained a cold demeanor, barely responding to anyone other than her senior.
But now…
"Hey, are you awake? I want to ask you some questions about streaming. Are you free?"
Tang Hua’s message was unusually polite.
This immediately put Bai Xing on guard.
"I’m awake, Tang Hua, but it’s the middle of the night. What’s so urgent that it can’t wait until tomorrow?"
Bai Xing picked up her phone, walked over to her gaming chair, and sat down, waiting for a reply.
Soon, the 【Typing…】 indicator flickered like a ghost.
"I want to know, how can I maximize the number of Captains (a type of subscription) during a stream? If you’re in a hurry to sleep, you don’t have to reply."
"??"
Faced with such a core question, Bai Xing immediately perked up.
She couldn’t even process why Tang Hua would ask such a thing.
"Wait…"
Suddenly, a sense of crisis washed over her.
【Is she planning something??】
Her eyes narrowed slightly:
"Why are you asking this? What are you up to?"
Tang Hua: "Nothing much, I’m just curious. I want to know how you managed to earn so many Captains in one stream. Also, I heard you once achieved the Thousand Captains milestone before—back when you were using the Hoshizuki Rina persona. So, is it realistic to pull that off three times in three months?"
"Huh???"
Reading the question, Bai Xing’s jaw dropped like a dumbfounded kitten, her eyes filled with a "Are you serious?" expression.
She immediately shot back:
"Wait, are you saying you want to know the probability of getting 3,000 Captains in three months—that is, an average of 1,000 Captains per month—is that what you’re asking? Did I get that right?"
Tang Hua: "Yes, to be precise, it’s three and a half months."
It was late October, and based on the timeline leading up to the Spring Festival, Tang Hua had set her deadline.
"……"
Although Bai Xing didn’t understand Tang Hua’s intentions, she couldn’t help but wonder if the girl had a fever.
Was she truly ignorant of the VTuber world, or was she just daydreaming?
Either way, Bai Xing gave her honest answer: "Generally, no. Unless you cheat."
"Cheat?"
"Yeah, spend money to hire people to fake subscriptions, ask guild leaders to do it, or get big spenders to support you." Bai Xing explained clearly: "Otherwise, earning a thousand Captains through sheer talent is as difficult as climbing to the heavens."
"Really?"
"Of course. Let me give you an example. Our current stream already has a thousand Captains, but 500 of those were brought in by my senior’s friends. He told me, so it’s like we started with 500 fixed assets. If we didn’t have those 500, starting from zero, many viewers wouldn’t subscribe at all.
It’s like… Hmm… yes, it’s like my senior’s novels. Readers check the rating before deciding whether to click. If the score isn’t good, they won’t waste their time. It’s the same with streaming.
If a stream doesn’t have at least a few dozen or a hundred Captains, it often means the content isn’t engaging, leading to no subscriptions. Even if the streamer is genuinely talented, breaking through without initial support is incredibly hard. It takes time.
That’s why people say, in modern society—【Even the best wine needs a good location】. Do you understand what I mean?"
"Oh…"
As Bai Xing earnestly explained the mechanics, Tang Hua gradually began to understand.
Although Bai Xing’s message was essentially 【It’s impossible, give up, you can’t do it】,
In Tang Hua’s mind, it translated to:
【The boss has already prepared 500 Captains as fixed assets for me. And Bai Xing earned another 500 Captains in her previous streams. So, to get 3,000 Captains in three months, there’s actually a shortcut.】
Her logic completely defied common sense, and her approach had overturned conventional thinking.
In the face of the boss’s temptation, any task could be dissected for loopholes.
Any seemingly impossible goal had its own weak spot.
In a dimly lit room, Tang Hua sat curled up in her chair, staring at the tablet where Bai Xing’s words were displayed. She gently touched her lips and murmured:
【—That is, find a way to get those 1,000 Captains to renew their subscriptions three times in three months.】
"As long as I maintain the existing subscribers and get them to renew for the next three months, I can take down the boss. Is that what you mean?"
Tang Hua thought sharply.
……
……
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
nce】【Lighthearted Comedy】【Ultimate Gentleman's Novel】【Viewer Discretion Advised for Under 16】 The mightiest human hero, Sharen Morian, is resurrected after a thousand years by his wife—the Demon King. This is not your typical hero-vs-demon-king tale.
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
