This Streamer Has a Conscience, But Not Much!

The hotel room was nothing fancy—just a standard twin-bed setup. It wasn't luxurious by any means, but for Cao Shengming, it felt like heaven.

After all, the show had just started today, and most of the contestants were probably still struggling to find food, let alone a place to stay. Some would be lucky if they could even claim a decent spot under a bridge for the night!

At that moment, the photographer lay on his bed, looking deeply concerned.

"Bro… if what you said earlier is true, then your English isn't that great either, right?"

"It's average," Cao Shengming replied, thinking back. "The highest I ever scored was 60."

"..."

The photographer almost burst into tears from laughing. "Dude, that's literally just one point higher than mine!"

"Yeah, but you got 59 by cheating. I got my 60 through sheer ability. You really think we're the same?" Cao Shengming shot him a disdainful look. "From a certain perspective, I might as well be a genius compared to you."

He said it with absolute confidence.

But the photographer quickly realized a major problem. "Wait… what about tomorrow's translation job?! If they show up and you can't translate, won't we be totally exposed?"

"That is a problem," Cao Shengming admitted. "But not a big one." He yawned. "That girl said she'd pick us up at 8 AM, right? So we'll just leave at 7. By the time she arrives, we'll be long gone."

"And I checked earlier—the hotel serves free breakfast starting at 6 AM. So not only do we escape, but we'll also get to eat before we leave."

"!!!"

The photographer was stunned for a moment before giving a thumbs-up. "Brilliant!"

Live Chat Explodes

The audience in the livestream chat was going wild.

— [666666~~ What a flawless plan! A true masterpiece! This should be added to history textbooks as the 37th strategy: "Cao's Genius Scheme—Scamming Girls and Free Hotel Rooms!"]— [(crying emoji) And don't forget—he's also scamming a free breakfast!]— [... I actually believed No. 10 had amazing English. Turns out it really was just song lyrics!]— [Damn, why didn't I think of this plan? Do you think any other contestants figured this out?]— [(facepalm) Don't even mention it. I just came from another stream—Contestant No. 76 is having a rough time. He tried to sleep in an internet café but ended up getting caught in a fight. He even got beat up.]— [OMG, are you serious?! I need to check that out—HAHAHAHAHA!]— [Too late, he's at the police station now.]— [By the way, guys… No. 10 said those lines were from a song, but I've searched everywhere, and I can't find that song. Does anyone know what it is?]— [I swear I've never heard it before…]

Late Night Conversations

As night fell, both men lay on their beds, staring at the ceiling in silence.

After a long pause, the photographer finally spoke. "Bro… I don't know why, but even though I'm exhausted, I just can't fall asleep."

"Same. Should we count sheep?"

"Sounds good. We take turns, one sheep each."

"I'll start. One sheep…"

"Two sheep…"

"Three sheep…"

"Four sheep…"

…

Cao Shengming was counting, but his mind had already drifted far away.

It had been three days since he transmigrated to this world.

It wasn't long, but it was enough for him to understand this place—an alternate world nearly identical to Earth. The cultural details differed here and there, but most things were eerily similar, even the course of history.

In his mind, the system interface flickered with light.

As a transmigrator, he was no stranger to systems. The one he had now—called the "Popularity System"—was straightforward and brutal.

However, one thing about it bothered him. In the "Skills" section, there was only one skill: Lv1 Clipped Voice.

No matter how he looked at it, having "Clipped Voice" as a skill felt… ridiculous.

Sure, it was a skill. But still. If other transmigrators found out about this, they'd die laughing.

[Popularity: 62,000]

"Enough to buy six more skills…"

After hesitating for a moment, Cao Shengming gritted his teeth. "Alright, let's roll again. There's no way I won't get a decent skill this time!"

— [Ding! Congratulations… You got nothing! Such a pity, such a pity…]— [Ding! Congratulations… You got nothing! Such a pity, such a pity…]— [Ding! Congratulations… You got nothing! Such a pity, such a pity…]— [Ding! Congratulations… You got nothing! Such a pity, such a pity…]— [Ding! Congratulations… You got nothing! Such a pity, such a pity…]— [Ding! Congratulations… You got nothing! Such a pity, such a pity…]

Six rolls.

62,000 popularity points spent, and not a single skill unlocked.

Cao Shengming started questioning his entire existence. "Did this system escape from a certain Chinese gaming company? How the hell did I just lose six times in a row?!"

He needed to take a moment to process this.

"1,634 sheep."

He waited for the photographer's turn, but there was no response. Confused, he turned his head to check—

And there it was.

The photographer was already fast asleep, breathing steadily, a satisfied smile on his face.

Clearly, counting sheep actually worked.

Cao Shengming stood up, walked over, and without hesitation—SMACK!

A loud slap landed right on the photographer's face.

"Your turn."

The photographer woke up in shock, eyes wide with disbelief. "..."

Live Chat: "..."