YA Ch28: Livestream

Lao Yang covered his eyes, entered the room, and dragged both of them to the operations room.

The operations room housed the gaming pods, with thick carpeting on the floor to muffle noise. The livestream equipment was set up in the adjacent room, separated by a soundproof glass wall, ensuring no disturbances during the livestream.

The livestream hadn’t started yet, and people were bustling around in the operations room, everyone moving quickly.

Felix, who had come to watch the excitement, was drafted by Lao Yang to help with the final equipment checks: “Wow, your modified equipment is so cool.”

“Stop gawking and get to work,” Yang Chen snapped, feeling irritable. With two of the three founders being unreliable, he was the only one running around, thinking that by the end of these twenty-some days of livestreaming, he’d lose his last few strands of hair.

Lu Yu and Ming Yan sat in the gaming pods, and the livestream team came over to explain the dos and don’ts: “No swearing, no offensive gestures, no dirty jokes, no nudity…”

Lao Yang, who was fastening Ming Yan’s seatbelt, turned his head and said to Lu Yu, “Did you hear that? No nudity.”

Lu Yu grinned, “Do I look like that kind of person?”

Lao Yang came over, fastening Lu Yu’s seatbelt and pulling down his rolled-up T-shirt, “You do.”

Lu Yu tugged at his shirt, gesturing through the fabric: “This isn’t nudity; it’s V-lines. Look.”

Lao Yang: “Get lost!”

Amidst the chaos, the livestream equipment in the next room was ready.

Though it wasn’t 9 a.m. yet, a large number of viewers had already flooded into the livestream room, and the comments were rolling in.

[I’m here, I’m here; show me Chenyu Tech’s black tech.]

[Awww, Hua Wenyuan, mommy’s here!]

The host responded smoothly: “Welcome to Chenyu Tech’s livestream. It’s not time yet, so feel free to chat with the host. Today is the first day of our new smart brain assistant, Hua Wenyuan’s transformation. The official start is at 9 a.m. Hua Wenyuan is the protagonist of the novel ‘Shooting the Heavenly Wolf.’ Has anyone read it? Press 1 if you have, and press the heart if you haven’t. I’ll give a brief summary of the plot for those who haven’t read it.”

[Hey, this host looks familiar. Isn’t she Honest Sister Geng Zhenzhen?]

[She’s my favorite weather host. She’s so beautiful.]

[Didn’t Geng Zhenzhen go to Pineapple TV to host galas? How did she end up at Han Di Ba Yu?]

Ignoring these questions, Geng Zhenzhen focused on explaining the content of today’s livestream. After summarizing the novel’s plot, she stood up: “It’s about to start. Let’s take a look at our advanced equipment.”

The external livestream camera, an intelligent ball, followed the host’s movements. Geng Zhenzhen led the livestream ball into the operations room, and the egg-shaped space pods amazed the audience.

[Wow, this is so cool. It’s like stepping into a sci-fi world.]

The host maintained an eight-tooth smile and earnestly introduced, “This equipment is very popular among the wealthy for playing holographic games. However, due to its high cost, it hasn’t been widely adopted.”

The comments filled with ellipses.

[…… Don’t remind me of how poor I am, okay? Waaa…]

The unrelenting host continued, “Of course, our company’s setup is even more expensive, personally modified by the CTO. It’s a unique treasure in the world. Ah, the two CEOs are getting ready. Let’s say hello. President Ming, President Lu, greet everyone.”

The livestream ball’s camera turned to Ming Yan.

The previously dim picture seemed to suddenly brighten.

Ming Yan’s fair skin glowed slightly, his handsome appearance perfectly embodying “radiance.” Today, he wore a silk shirt, looking both soft and noble, lying in the red gaming pod like a prince in a rose crystal coffin.

[Wow, wow, wow, so handsome. President Ming looks even better up close!]

[So beautiful, how did I miss this before?!]

Then the camera turned to Lu Yu in his T-shirt.

Lu Yu, feeling his helmet wasn’t on right, took it off for Lao Yang to adjust. Yang Chen, annoyed by his fussiness, was silently arguing with him.

Geng Zhenzhen smiled, “President Lu looks like a college student who just raced back, so full of energy.”

Lu Yu, who was flustered, saw the camera and was helpless. He ran his fingers through his hair and put the helmet back on: “I didn’t dress up today for convenience’s sake; my hair’s a mess. Sorry for the laugh.”

The comments instantly filled with “hahaha.”

[Hahaha, Honest Sister, now I know why you couldn’t stay at the TV station!]

Not giving a heads-up to the CEOs to tidy up before going live was truly an authentic livestream, the kind where you might lose your job after it’s over.

After this series of interactions, the atmosphere finally warmed up.

Jokes aside, with everything ready, Lao Yang ordered everyone to leave.

The lights in the operations room dimmed, the pod covers closed, and the livestream began. Felix, overly meticulous, wanted to check everything once more, but Xiao Jiang grabbed him by the collar and dragged him out, closing the door silently just in time.

The room fell into complete silence. After the screen went black, the two of them appeared in the preparation hall.

To adapt to the ancient world, their initial outfits were also ancient-style. Lu Yu was dressed in brown short clothes, with his lengthened hair tied with a cloth strip. There was even a grey patch on his pants, making him look impoverished.

“I look like a runner,” Lu Yu said, lifting his arms and legs to inspect himself and pouting in grievance.

Ming Yan, wearing the same clothes, casually comforted him, saying, “I’ll change it for you once we get in. The preparation hall only has basic options.”

Lu Yu ran around Ming Yan, tilting his head to look at him. “Why do you look completely different in the same clothes? You look like a fallen nobleman.”

In truth, Lu Yu didn’t look bad either, but his running around made him seem like a worker. Ming Yan stood calmly, lowering his eyes to adjust the data on his Magic Brush, exuding a noble aura.

Lu Yu put one hand on his waist, pushed Ming Yan’s shoulder, and posed like a bully, “Hey, you don’t look like you’re in the same business as us.”

Ming Yan put away the data panel and patted his arm, “Be serious, it’s about to start.”

The viewers who had been exploring the preparation hall saw their interaction, and gradually, comments started appearing.

[QAQ: They seem to get along well, aren’t they in a contract marriage?]

[Upstairs, you don’t understand: Even in a contract marriage, they’re partners. If they can do business together, their relationship must be good.]

[Green Pastures: Divorce soon.]

[A Red Sleeve Knows No Bounds: This is fun. Dog Lu, take me along.]

After being scolded by his wife, Lu Yu finally behaved and stood beside Ming Yan, waiting for the scene to begin.

After another blackout, powerful characters emerged in the void—Shooting the Heavenly Wolf.

The characters gradually dissolved like foam in water, then another line of slightly smaller characters appeared:

Drawing the bow like a full moon, looking northwest, and shooting the heavenly wolf.

—Prologue.

Original work by Han Di Ba Yu.

The characters were specially written by a renowned calligrapher, adding great prestige. The four characters for “Han Di Ba Yu” were written in a bold and flamboyant style, as if they were about to leap up and transform from fish to dragon.

“Finally, it looks decent,” Lu Yu muttered softly.

But then, a line of smaller Song-style characters appeared: Chapter One, Sacrifice for the Country.

Ming Yan coughed lightly, “Calligraphers are expensive, so they didn’t write the chapter titles.”

Lu Yu: “…Alright, at least there are no Arabic numerals.”

The title gradually disappeared, and the screen went black again.

Lu Yu held Ming Yan’s hand to prevent getting lost during the scene transition, “This chapter is the prologue; we don’t need to appear. Let Hua Wenyuan complete the past storyline.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the scene changed to heavy snowfall.

[Whoa, this looks so real.]

[Damn, damn, you guys should turn on your AI’s VR function; you can see the full view.]

Borderlands, Cold City.

Snow was falling heavily, and the north wind was wailing.

A small group of people and horses came through the snow, leaving a trail of black ruts and hoofprints in the vast white expanse. The group stopped outside the high city gate, and the horses pulling the carriage stomped and snorted hot breath.

The city walls, built of massive stones, were damp and dark from the wind and snow. A soldier, holding a broken halberd and wearing a worn raincoat, stood on the wall and asked who the visitors were.

The leader of the group, riding a horse, shouted, “The Emperor has appointed Chief Luo to supervise the army; open the gate and let the supervisor in.”

“Open the gate and let the supervisor in!” The guards in the group also shouted loudly, their voices echoing in the empty, snowy landscape.

After a while, there was no response, and the group became restless.

“Supervisor?” A slightly hoarse but still pleasant voice came from the gate tower, “Do you have the imperial decree?”

The group looked up to see a general in red iron armor standing indifferently behind the battlements. He was extremely handsome; though the cold and hunger had sunken his young cheeks and a beard had sprouted on his face, his fierce phoenix eyes were still frighteningly bright.

This was Hua Wenyuan, the general guarding the border.

The person in the carriage, hearing Hua Wenyuan’s voice, finally decided to come out. It was a plump eunuch with a pale, beardless face wrapped in thick fox fur.

The eunuch shrank back instinctively when he met Hua Wenyuan’s eyes but then stood straight with pride, pulling out a yellow silk cloth from his sleeve and saying, “Sinner Hua Wenyuan, receive the decree!”

Hua Wenyuan stood still, unmoving, and so did his soldiers.

A soldier shouted, “Just read it; we kneel, and the eunuch won’t see us!”

The eunuch sneered through gritted teeth, “Hua Wenyuan, the Emperor has issued nine decrees urging you to return to the capital. You defied the decree, causing your entire family to be imprisoned. If you don’t return, you will be charged with treason! Surrender your military power immediately, and General Qian will take over!”

Hua Wenyuan walked to the edge of the wall, stared at the eunuch with cold eyes, and murmured, “Sending a castrated pig would be better, but they sent a castrated man.”

He drew his bow and released an arrow, which pierced the eunuch’s heart.

The eunuch, who had been speaking, fell from the carriage with a “thud,” pinned to the snow by a red-feathered arrow.