People Who Strive to Live!

[Brain Storage]

"Seriously, you have to keep yapping even when playing a game?"

In a brightly lit room, a somewhat disheveled-looking man lay in a chair with a neural headset on. In reality, his consciousness was passionately interacting with the viewers in his livestream.

[This dog streamer just looks down on poor people.]

[Can you even play this game without spending money?]

[Thinking.]

Comments floated across the livestream one after another, and the streamer was already getting worked up.

"You can clear content without spending a single cent as long as you can enter the map and understand the mechanics!" The man quickly switched to another game account. The account currently on display was one he had never spent money on, one he had played ever since the game launched.

Player [Mel Carlo] logged in!

In this game called [Kandewen], players had to choose all kinds of skills and classes, upgrade and craft equipment, and eliminate monsters across the otherworldly Kandewen Continent.

Paying players naturally got to enjoy themselves. As for those who did not pay, they had to diligently learn all the game mechanics. They could certainly clear the maps, but the time required would definitely be different.

Grind or pay.

[You can't even play without spending. With gear like yours, you'll get kicked from parties in the new map.]

"The new dungeon? As long as it isn't a mandatory raid, I can still solo it." The man continued operating the menus at an unhurried pace.

Because he did boosting jobs, he had already researched most of the new map boss mechanics. If he could enter, he could definitely clear it.

He started another run. His set was almost entirely focused on attack enhancement, because he was confident he could dodge every mechanic. With his offense pushed to the extreme, getting touched even once meant restarting.

Yet even with only a modest number of viewers in the livestream, he still completed the solo clear, explaining the boss's mechanics as he fought.

"This boss has an unavoidable map-wide attack, so we need to save a skill that makes us untargetable or has invincibility frames to avoid this map-wide mechanic."

It took roughly ten minutes, but he still cleared the newly released boss map without spending anything. After all, this was how he made a living, so of course he was extremely confident. Still, the game's difficulty really was high. Even with an all-offense set like his, it had taken so long. Other people might take even longer.

This game really was not very friendly to zero-spend players. In reality, he was still lying in his chair and did not feel particularly tired. He used a virtual avatar for streaming, and the neural headset handled broadcasting and everything else. Aside from quite a few drink cans piled up around the room, there were only some books on his desk. It was fairly tidy.

[The streamer is amazing...]

[You actually cleared that? If neural headsets couldn't connect to external programs, I'd think you were using a script.]

[Streamer's lapdog!]

Even after witnessing such incredible skill, people were still cursing him.

"I make my living from this, brother. I can't exactly smash my rice bowl while I'm eating from it." The man pursed his lips and smiled.

[You said if you can enter, you can clear it. Can you solo the Carnival event updating tonight?]

The Carnival event?

The man fell into thought. That event seemed to gather every boss together. It looked like a raid, but since it was an event map, he did not know whether players could enter alone. Just the bosses' map-wide wipe mechanics would be difficult to survive with skill invincibility frames alone.

Was this really an event designed for ordinary players?

[The streamer isn't talking! Looks like he can't clear it!]

[I think this streamer is just shilling this crappy game!]

The comments became noisy again. With people stirring things up, the barrage instantly multiplied, though most of it was insults.

After all, there was no threshold online. Real life was already frustrating enough; did people really expect everyone to stay calm online too? Once people got online, were they supposed to eat vegetarian and chant Buddhist scriptures?

"Fuck! What are you all yelling about? The past was the past, and now is now. If you lack skill, you lack skill. Have you learned the mechanics? Have you upgraded your gear?"

[The streamer obviously never went to school!]

"I didn't get the chance to study. If I had studied more, would you all still be watching me livestream here?" The man continued interacting with his viewers, his hostility growing heavier.

A father in prison, a gambling-addicted mother, himself just starting high school, and a younger sister in middle school. Back then, he did not even know where their next meal would come from. Born in an eighteenth-tier backwater town, with limited information and a low social standing, he had no idea what he could do to save himself.

He had not been particularly lucky. No kindhearted person had sponsored him, and his grades were not outstanding either. He ranked around two hundredth in the entire school, stuck awkwardly in the middle.

So he had chosen to drop out and work, allowing his sister to continue school. Fortunately, she was about to graduate now, so it no longer mattered.

Thinking of that, he seemed to regain some confidence.

"I dropped out to support my sister's education. I had only just started high school then... It wasn't that I didn't want to study. I simply had no way to."

[Hahaha, the streamer dropped out to support his grandma's education!]

[If you were really struggling, didn't you know to ask society for help? The internet was already developed nine years ago!]

The man held back his words and decided not to keep bragging about his past. Why bother telling the truth to people who came online just to have fun at others' expense?

Changing the subject, he said, "Trash is trash. You don't want to spend money but still expect to instantly clear maps? What the hell are you dreaming about?"

[The streamer just looks down on poor people. You're making money from streaming now, huh? Don't donate to him, starve him to death!]

"Oh! You got Armor Penetration just from watching a game stream, huh? How much richer could I possibly be than you? If you're that insecure, why don't you restart your life?"

Bad publicity was still publicity. Since he had decided to become an online streamer, he naturally had to seize every wave of traffic. Whenever he passionately interacted with viewers, he could keenly notice the surge in viewership.

Of course, he needed boundaries to make a living this way. As long as he did not take the wrong stance, did not touch sensitive topics, and stayed broadly on the right track, his livestream probably would not be banned so easily. So what if it was controversial?

After ending a day of streaming, he was truly hungry, but the number of viewers passionately interacting in the livestream was only growing.

[Streamer, I'm so poor!]

[I really don't want to go to work anymore. I'm so tired!]

[I'm so insecure!]

All kinds of negative emotions filled the livestream. This man was like a trash can for dumping negativity.

"Great people said you're like the sun at eight or nine in the morning. Yet you're all lifeless every day. How are you young people? If you're really that insecure, hurry up and restart your lives!"

After saying that, the man ended the stream at lightning speed.

[Virtual Reality Mode] switched to [Augmented Reality Mode]. [Neural Headset] shutting down.

He took off the neural headset glasses and returned from the game world to reality. The livestream function integrated into the system was quite convenient, but wearing it for too long was always uncomfortable.

His gaze landed on the books beside him. He picked one up, glanced at it, and muttered, "Ten thousand years is too long. Seize the day."

After a day of livestreaming and boosting, he was about to eat when his phone rang. He picked it up and saw that it was his sister calling. She was about to graduate and looking for work. She was probably out of money again.

"Hello, what is it? Have you found a job already?" The man picked up the phone.

"We're cutting ties. From now on, you're not my brother anymore." A cold voice came through the phone.

The man's heart shook. He felt a little hurt and thought he had misheard.

"What did you just say?"

"I'm sick of this rotten family I was born into. I'm going to pursue my own life!"

She had found a job and could finally escape the nightmare-like family she had been born into.

"What are you going crazy for?" The man spoke calmly.

Though he was somewhat hurt, he had weathered countless storms. Instead, he did not care that much.

"I'm cutting ties with everyone in this family. I want to live with more dignity! Geng Ziming, I have no dignity at all when I'm with you!"

Upon hearing that, the man finally roared:

"Do you think I chose this rotten family? Dignity? I dropped out of high school and supported your education for all these years, and in your eyes, that was humiliating your dignity? If you have so much dignity, why didn't you just starve to death back then? Why did you take my money?"

"How much older am I than you? When you were helpless, did you think I had that many choices?"

The call was disconnected. No matter how angrily the man called back, it could no longer connect. Every other contact method had also been blocked.

He had painstakingly raised an ungrateful wretch.

The man slumped into his chair. He was only three years older than that ungrateful sister.

After sitting there blankly for a while, he picked up his phone and called someone else. "Hello! Brother Hao, want to come out for dinner? My treat!"

"Sure. I just finished my job too."

The man he was calling now was Brother Hao, someone like family despite having no blood relation. Back when he had nowhere to go, this man had given him a job as an internet café manager. Hiring a minor could result in fines if they got caught, much less hiring one at an internet café.

This man had given him food to eat. He was also the one who had noticed his gaming talent and turned him into a booster, giving him a much higher income.

The two soon met outside the residential complex.

Brother Hao looked at Geng Ziming. "What's wrong, Xiao Ming? You don't look very happy. Did moving out to live alone make you feel lonely? Want me to introduce you to a girl?"

"No." The man shook his head and honestly told him what had happened with his sister.

"She really is an ungrateful wretch. You've had it rough, kid." Brother Hao shook his head. It was someone else's family matter, so he could not say much.

"Forget it. Let's go have a drink."

If you can't find a book by its title, try searching for the author. Maybe it was just renamed!

"You usually don't smoke or drink, do you? Then just have a little, so you don't feel bad after drinking too much."

The two walked toward a restaurant.

"You spent all your savings on a house. You were planning to wait for your sister to come back and live with you, right? Now that it's empty, why not move back into the studio with us?" Brother Hao suggested.

"I'll pass. The studio smells too much like smoke, and it's usually like a garbage dump."

"You love reading so much. If you'd been able to study normally back then, you'd at least be a college graduate."

The two sat down at the table. The beer arrived quickly, though the food would take a while. They both filled their glasses.

"Fine. At least I've finally gotten rid of that burden. I'll be more relaxed on my own. I've got a house now, so I'll take some jobs and slowly save up more money." The man picked up his beer and took a sip.

"Xiao Ming, tomorrow's your birthday, right? I bought you a set of books. I'll give them to you early." Brother Hao clinked his glass against his, took a sip, and looked at the younger brother he had cared for all these years. Sure enough, people as resilient as them would not fall apart so easily.

"What books?"

"The Twenty-Four Histories. I wasn't sure which edition to buy, so I picked up the complete Zhonghua Book Company set."

"Brother Hao, I remember that set being really expensive, right?" Geng Ziming naturally knew. He had wanted it for a long time, but it was too expensive, so he had temporarily put the thought aside.

After all, reading was one of his few hobbies.

"It's fine. I bought it as a birthday present for you anyway. There's a big job here that might take some time. A rich client offered fifty thousand and wants a solo clear of the Carnival event. If you can do it, I'll give you the job. I'll only take five thousand."

"Has it been confirmed that it isn't a mandatory raid?"

The food arrived, and the two began chatting over bites of food and sips of alcohol.

"I can get that kind of information. A solo player can enter too. The question is whether you have time to run it tonight. You've streamed all day, so you should be tired. And I feel like the difficulty of solo-clearing this dungeon is too high. The client's gear is built pretty well, but I calculated the accumulated damage. It'll be hard to clear the event without a healer. And if you stack pure damage, one map-wide mechanic will kill you outright. With so many bosses in one map, it's basically nonstop mechanic wipes. If you stack damage, you'll be too squishy. Invincibility frames and untargetable skills alone simply can't carry you through before their cooldowns finish."

"What about a tank build? Can it work?"

"Not really. That would probably take until the year of the monkey. There's no time limit on this event, but this money won't be easy to earn."

"Alright, I'll try it tonight."

He quickly emerged from his brief sadness, avoiding mental exhaustion, and returned to his usual self once more.

"One more thing. The higher-ups are cracking down as an example, and the livestream platforms are going to clean up the internet for a while. Watch your mouth lately, or you might become an example."

"Oh, you can even find out news like that? Brother Hao, you really are impressive."

"You know the former top streamer on the platform, right? He got banned because he had a filthy mouth and offended an important figure. One sentence from that person was enough to blacklist him. You should restrain yourself a little."

"Don't worry, Brother Hao. I won't do anything that causes a bad public impact. At most, I'll trade insults with people. I know the downside of farming controversial traffic."

Offending most ordinary people was not actually a big deal. At worst, he would pay a fine and get another chance. But if he offended even one person with real influence, then he would be truly finished.

Making a living in this circle, there was no way he could understand none of the rules.

The man put down his beer glass, picked up his phone, and immediately posted an update: I hope all the bosses watching my livestream can use less verbal abuse and help create a better livestream environment.

Netizens immediately replied, but not with anything pleasant. [Less verbal abuse, more full insurance and half-dead hanging.]

This time, he did not choose to passionately interact with the haters. He merely put down his phone in silence.

After finishing dinner, he prepared to head back.

Seeing an old woman begging by the roadside, Geng Ziming took out a twenty-yuan bill and tossed it into her bowl.

Brother Hao was somewhat confused. "Aren't you afraid that old woman is a scammer, a professional beggar?"

"It's fine. I'll just consider it accumulating good karma."

After the two walked away, the old woman put away her bowl and spat with dissatisfaction. Then a young man drove a sedan up in front of her.

The young man was the old woman's son. He opened the car door and waited for her to get in.

"Didn't get anything today. Only one poor bastard gave me twenty."

"So, Mom, should we switch locations?"

"No need. This line of work is finished. The economy is bad these days, and even people with money aren't willing to take it out. Changing locations won't make much difference. We have a car, a house, and money for the child's schooling anyway."

That was right. This mother and son were professional beggars.

Geng Ziming returned to his house alone. He did not smoke, but he liked drinks with lots of sugar.

At midnight, the event updated right on schedule. The man did not sleep at all and instead began studying how to complete this big job. The client only wanted a solo-clear achievement and had no other requirements, so there was time to research it.

All the bosses were piled together. After logging into the client's account, he first tried running it once with a normal damage set. In this closed ecosystem, there were no scripts, so he could only do everything manually.

Just as Brother Hao had said, he could not clear it at all with a normal set. With a full-defense set, he could withstand the damage, but at this damage output rate, even after three days passed and the Carnival event ended, those bosses probably still would not be dead.

After failing again and again, he could not help but wonder whether the Carnival dungeon could truly be soloed. After all, it had probably been designed as a raid from the beginning.

Brother Hao sent another message: How is it? Any progress?

If they found a way to clear it, they could continuously take jobs using that method. That was why studios could make more money than lone wolves.

He joined the friend voice chat.

"Brother Hao, I still haven't cleared it. Let me think about it a little longer."

"You've already been at it for three hours. If you really can't clear it, just drop the job."

"I want to try again."

After ending the call, he began thinking deeply. He had always held a special affection for this game. It was not merely about making a living. After playing for so many years, he had not grown tired of it. Instead, he still loved researching it.

Back when he had first encountered this game, it was because the internet café had introduced neural headset equipment. Even the name of the character he created back then had been randomly generated.

He looked through the equipment in the client account's warehouse. The client was clearly an old player who had been around since launch and possessed quite a few commemorative pieces. However, many of those items had long fallen behind the times. Many people chose to dismantle them, while others kept them in their warehouse as mementos.

As he looked through the equipment knowledge, he seemed to suddenly remember something. One item had a mechanic that deducted 1% of every unit's health on the field every three minutes. It was an early-version novelty item. As life had sped up, game pacing had also accelerated. Nowadays, it might not even take three minutes to clear an entire map, so the item had always been useless. Most people disliked it for taking up warehouse space.

"Found it. The Ring of the Fool, [April Fools' Limited]. Good thing the client didn't dismantle this commemorative item."

In that case, all he needed was a defense set that could continuously regenerate health and withstand damage, ensuring his health would not drop to zero. Every other slot could be built for recovery. The Ring of the Fool's passive could handle the damage.

Theoretically, he could definitely clear the Carnival event in five hours.

He did not immediately start. Instead, he logged back into his own zero-spend account and checked his warehouse. After confirming that he also had the Ring of the Fool, he prepared to complete the client's job. Once he finished the client's order, he would solo-clear it on his own account as well.

Perhaps what had truly kept him going was not only the pressure of life, but also his love for this game. He had played many similar games, and he handled jobs for all kinds of games, but the only one he truly loved was Kandewen Continent!

He equipped an entire set that boosted recovery: chest armor, leg armor, belt, shoulder guards, shoes, bracers, and accessories—earrings, ring, necklace, and bracelet.

The long, grueling job began. Though he did not need to move much, he could not simply go AFK either. Neural headsets could not use scripts for AFK farming. With manually cast recovery skills, health potions, and mana potions, he should be able to endure it.

By the time he completed the job, five hours had passed, on top of the three hours he had spent testing equipment earlier.

He took off the neural headset. It was already daylight. He had played for a full eight hours. After telling Brother Hao the good news and receiving confirmation, Brother Hao readily sent the money.

After explaining the strategy to Brother Hao, he did not plan to sleep immediately. Since it was already light out, he might as well eat breakfast before coming back to catch up on sleep.

He had just taken off the brain-computer interface when he started a livestream on his phone. He hadn't streamed while doing the order earlier, mainly to avoid interference.

"Brothers! After battling all night, I successfully solo-cleared the Carnival event. It was an order for a client. The video has been saved and uploaded, and it's currently under review in the backend."

[Old Dog, you actually cleared it?]

[Awesome.]

There were only a few scattered comments at this hour, but that still showed someone was watching.

"I'm going to get breakfast first, then sleep for a while before streaming the run for you guys. I spent the whole night slowly grinding it down."

The moment he stood up, he felt a wave of dizziness, followed by heart palpitations. A sharp, twisting pain struck him, and he instantly collapsed, powerless.

[Did the streamer drop dead?]

[You're joking, right?]

[Something's wrong. He still hasn't woken up after so long.]

[Report it to Uncle, call an ambulance.]

At the instant of his sudden death, his life flashed before his eyes. Scene after unbearable scene from the past passed before him. As the child of unreliable parents, he could only grow up the hard way, surviving... surviving...

He had been caught and beaten for stealing things. Caught and beaten for stealing food. Why had he stolen? Because it wasn't just him who needed to eat—his little sister was hungry too.

He grew up, dropped out of school, worked, became a game booster, earned more money, bought a house, and watched his sister graduate. Was the life I'd gradually gotten back on track about to end?

He had never complained about his family, because it was something he could not choose. Yet he had still worked hard in his own way. With such a miserable birth and childhood, wasn't he just like the protagonist of a novel?

He couldn't understand it. How had his sister become so ungrateful? Life... I never had a choice!

He lost all sensation and fell into boundless darkness. In the silence, his life was rapidly fading away.

I always believed I was born to be the protagonist of this world, but I'm going to die.

In a certain space, two systems were talking.

"Senior, you just opened an order and you're already abandoning it?"

"Why bother managing so much? This year's business target has already been met. I'm going on vacation. I put a template on him after reincarnating him. The investment was small, so it doesn't matter if he dies."

"I think my save file is broken again." After hearing the senior's words, the system became dejected once more. "The debt hasn't been paid off, and the host is trapped in another dimension. I should've reminded him earlier that suicide would trigger a rollback. What a miscalculation."

"Keep it up. I'm going on vacation first."

Can't find the book by its title? Try searching for the author instead—it might have just been renamed!