People Who Work Hard to Live!

[Brain Storage]

"Seriously? You have to be so noisy just to play a game!"

In a brightly lit room, a man who looked a bit disheveled was lying on a chair with a brain-computer interface on his head. In reality, his consciousness was interacting passionately with the viewers in the live stream.

[The streamer is looking down on poor people]

[Can you even play this game without paying?]

[Concept]

The bullet comments in the live stream floated by one after another, and the man streaming was getting a bit worked up.

"Not a single cent spent, and as long as you can enter the map, you can clear it! You just need to be familiar with the mechanics!" The man quickly switched to another game account. The account currently displayed was one he hadn't spent any money on, and it was the account he had been playing since the game's launch.

Player [Mel Carlo] has logged in!

In this game called [Kandewen], players need to choose various skills and job advancements, craft equipment while leveling up, and defeat monsters on the alien continent of Kandewen.

Pay-to-win players naturally get to enjoy a smooth gaming experience, while those who don't pay naturally have to work hard to learn all the game mechanics. They can definitely clear stages, but it will definitely take more time.

Grind or pay.

[You can't play at all without paying. With your gear, you'll get kicked from parties in new maps]

"New dungeon, right? As long as it's not a mandatory raid, I can still solo it." The man continued to leisurely operate the menu.

Because he had been taking on requests, he had already researched most of the boss mechanics for the new maps. If he could enter, he could definitely clear it.

He started another match. Essentially, the sets he equipped were all focused on attack enhancement. This was because the man was confident he could dodge all the skill mechanics. With an extreme focus on attack, if he was hit even once, he would have to restart.

Even with the live stream not having too many viewers, he still managed to solo it, explaining the boss's skill mechanics as he fought.

"For this boss, its full-screen skill cannot be dodged, so we need to save a skill that makes us untargetable or grants invincibility frames to avoid this full-screen mechanic."

It took about 10 minutes, and he completed the newly released boss map without paying. After all, this was how he made a living, so he naturally had extreme confidence. However, the game's difficulty was indeed quite high. Even with his all-attack build, it took him this long. Others would likely take even longer.

This game is really not friendly to free-to-play players. In reality, he was just lying on his chair, not particularly tired. He was using a virtual avatar for the stream, and the brain-computer interface handled everything, including broadcasting. Besides stacks of beverage cans, his room was relatively tidy, with only a few books piled on his desk.

[The streamer is amazing...]

[You cleared that? If the brain-computer interface couldn't connect to external programs, I would have thought you were using a script.]

[Filial streamer!]

Even after witnessing his incredible skill, some people were still cursing.

"I make my living from this, bro. I can't exactly smash the bowl I'm eating from, can I?" The man chuckled, pursing his lips.

[The streamer said if you can enter, you can clear it. Can you solo the Carnival event that's updating tonight?]

The Carnival event?

The man fell into thought. That event seemed to gather all the bosses together. It looked like it would be a raid. However, since it was an event map, he wasn't sure if he could enter solo. Just the boss's full-screen area-of-effect skills made it difficult to pass using only skill invincibility frames.

Is this really an event for casual players?

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

[I think the streamer is just hyping up this damn game!]

The comments became noisy again. With some people stirring up trouble, the comments quickly increased, mostly consisting of insults.

After all, the internet has no barriers to entry. Life in reality was already frustrating enough. Did they expect people to be calm and collected online? It was impossible. People go online and expect to be peaceful and devout?

"Damn it! What's all the noise about? It was different before, it's different now. If your skills aren't good enough, they aren't good enough! Have you familiarized yourselves with the mechanics? Have you crafted your gear?"

[The streamer clearly didn't study!]

"I didn't have the chance to study. If I had studied a lot, would you still be watching me stream?" The man continued to interact with the audience, his temper flaring up.

His father was imprisoned, his mother was a gambling addict, he was in high school, and his sister was in middle school. At that time, he didn't even know where his next meal would come from. Born in such a small, 18th-tier town, the isolation of information and his low social status left him clueless about what he could do to save himself.

He wasn't very lucky; there were no kind benefactors to sponsor him because his grades weren't outstanding either, ranking around 200th in a school of over 200 students. He was in that awkward middle ground.

So, he chose to drop out and work to let his sister continue her studies. Fortunately, his sister was graduating soon, so it didn't matter much anymore.

Thinking of this, he seemed to regain some confidence.

"I dropped out of school to support my sister's education. I was only in high school back then... It's not that I didn't want to study, it's that I couldn't."

[Haha, the streamer dropped out to support his sister's education!]

[If things were really that difficult, why didn't you seek help from society? Even 9 years ago, the internet was developed!]

The man reined in his words, deciding not to brag about his past anymore. What was the point of telling the truth to people who were just looking for entertainment online?

Changing the subject, he said, "You're just bad, that's all. You want to clear maps instantly without spending money? You're dreaming!"

[The streamer is looking down on poor people. You're streaming for money now, aren't you? If no one donates, you'll starve!]

"Oh! You're watching a game stream, and you're getting triggered? How much richer do you think I am than you? Why are you so insecure? Why don't you just restart!"

Infamy is also fame. Since he had decided to become an internet streamer, he naturally had to seize every wave of traffic. When interacting passionately with viewers, he could keenly sense the increase in traffic.

He had his bottom line for making a living. As long as his stance wasn't skewed, didn't touch on sensitive topics, and was generally on the right track, the stream shouldn't be easily banned. So, let them hate!

After finishing his day of streaming, he was quite hungry, but the audience interaction in the stream room was only getting more passionate.

[Streamer, I'm so poor!]

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

[I'm so insecure!]

All sorts of negative emotions filled the stream room. This man was like a trash can for dumping negative emotions.

"Great men have said you are like the sun at eight or nine in the morning. You are listless all day, not like young people. If you're that insecure, just get lost!"

After saying this, the man ended his stream at light speed.

[Virtual Reality Mode] has been switched to [Augmented Reality Mode], [Brain-Computer Interface] is shutting down.

He took off the brain-computer interface glasses from his head, returning to reality from the game world. While the integrated streaming function of this host was quite convenient, wearing it for too long was always a bit uncomfortable.

His gaze fell on a book beside him. He picked it up and glanced at it, murmuring, "Ten thousand years is too long; seize the day."

After a day of being a streaming proxy, just as he was about to go eat, his phone rang. He picked it up and saw it was his sister. She was about to graduate and was looking for a job, so he guessed she was out of money again.

"Hello, what's up? Have you found a job yet?" the man asked, picking up his phone.

"We're breaking ties. You are no longer my brother from this day forward." Cold words came from the phone.

The man's heart trembled. He felt a bit hurt, thinking he had misheard.

"What did you just say?"

"I'm disgusted with this rotten native family. I'm going to pursue my own life!"

She had found a job and could finally escape this nightmare of a family.

"What madness are you spouting?" the man asked calmly.

Although he felt a little hurt, he had been through worse storms, so he didn't care that much.

"I'm cutting ties with everyone in the family. I want to live with more dignity! Geng Ziming, I live without any dignity in front of you!"

Hearing this, the man finally roared:

"This rotten family, do you think I chose it? Dignity! I dropped out of high school. For so many years, I supported your studies. In your eyes, was that an insult to your dignity? If you have so much dignity, why didn't you just starve to death back then? Why did you accept my money!"

"I'm so much older than you. When you were helpless, did I have many choices?"

The call ended. No matter how angry the man was, when he tried to call back, it was no longer connected. All other contact methods had also been blocked.

He had worked hard to raise a white-eyed wolf.

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

After sitting blankly for a while, he picked up his phone and dialed someone else's number. "Hello! Brother Hao, want to go out for a meal? My treat!"

"Sure, I've finished my job here too."

The man he was contacting now was called Brother Hao. He was like family to him, though not by blood. When he had nowhere to go, this man gave him a job as an internet café attendant. One should know that underage work could lead to fines, let alone working in a place like an internet café.

This man gave him a meal and also recognized his gaming talent, which led him to become a proxy player, earning a higher income.

Soon, the two met outside the residential complex.

Brother Hao looked at Geng Ziming. "Xiao Ming, what's wrong? You don't look very happy. Are you feeling too lonely living alone after moving out? How about I introduce you to a girl?"

"No," the man shook his head and told him about his sister's situation truthfully.

"She really is an ungrateful wretch. You've had a tough life, kid," Brother Hao shook his head. It wasn't easy for him to say much about other people's family matters.

"Never mind, let's go get some drinks."

"You usually don't smoke or drink, do you? Just have a little, so you don't feel uncomfortable if you drink too much."

The two walked towards a restaurant.

"You bought a house with your savings all these years. You were planning for your sister to move back and live with you, right? Now that it's empty, why don't you move back to the studio to live together?" Brother Hao suggested.

"Let's not do that. The studio has too much smoke, and it's usually like a dump."

"You love reading so much. If you had studied normally back then, you would have at least been a college student."

The two sat down at the dining table. The beer was served quickly, but they had to wait a bit for the dishes. Both men filled their glasses.

"That's fine. I've finally gotten rid of this burden. I'm more relaxed living alone. Now that I've bought a house, I'll take on some jobs and slowly save up again," the man said, taking a sip of beer.

"Xiao Ming, tomorrow is your birthday, isn't it? I bought you a set of books as an early birthday gift." Brother Hao raised his glass to clink with his, and took a sip. He had been looking out for this younger brother for so many years, and indeed, people as resilient as them wouldn't easily be discouraged.

"What books?"

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

"Brother Hao, I remember that set is very expensive." Geng Ziming naturally knew. He had wanted to buy it for a long time, but it was a bit pricey, so he had put the matter aside for the time being.

After all, reading was one of his few hobbies.

"It's nothing. I was going to buy it as your birthday gift anyway. There's a big order here that might take up your time. A big boss gave me 50,000 yuan, asking for a solo run during the Carnival event. If you can handle it, I'll give you the order. I'll only take 5,000."

"Is it confirmed that it's not a mandatory team instance?"

The dishes were served, and the two began to chat while taking sips of wine and bites of food.

"I have some information. You can enter solo, but the question is whether you have time to play at night. You must be tired after streaming all day. Also, I feel the difficulty of this solo clear is too high. The boss's account has good gear, but I calculated the damage accumulation. Without a healer, it's very difficult to clear the event. If you just stack damage, you'll die instantly from a full-map mechanic. So many bosses are in one map, it's basically a mechanic onslaught. Stacking damage makes you tanky, but relying solely on invincibility frames and untargetable skills, you can't possibly last until the cooldowns are ready."

"Can it be done with a tank build?"

"Not really. That would probably take forever. Although this event has no time limit, this money isn't easy to earn."

"Alright, I'll try it tonight."

He quickly emerged from his brief discomfort, avoiding mental exhaustion, and returned to his usual demeanor.

"One more thing. They're making an example of someone. Streaming platforms will be undergoing a clean-up for a while. Be less foul-mouthed recently, so you don't become an example."

"Oh, you can even find out this kind of news? Brother Hao is really amazing."

"You know the former number one streamer? He got banned because he was foul-mouthed and offended a big shot. Then, with just a word, he was blacklisted. You should restrain yourself a bit."

"Don't worry, Brother Hao. I won't do anything that causes a bad influence. At most, I'll just argue back. I understand the downsides of chasing black traffic."

Offending most ordinary people isn't a big deal. At most, you pay a fine and can make a comeback. But if you offend someone with great influence, it's game over.

To make a living and mix in this circle, it's naturally impossible to not understand some of the rules.

The man put down his wine glass, picked up his phone, and immediately edited a post: "I hope all the bosses watching the stream will use less abusive language and create a good streaming environment."

Netizens immediately replied, but not with pleasant words. "[Less abusive language, more full coverage semi-trailer.]"

This time, he didn't choose to interact heatedly with the haters. He quietly put down his phone.

After finishing the meal, they prepared to head back.

Seeing an old woman begging by the roadside, Geng Ziming took out a 20 yuan bill and dropped it into her bowl.

Brother Hao beside him was a bit puzzled. "Aren't you afraid this old woman is a scammer, a professional beggar?"

"It's fine. Consider it accumulating good karma."

After the two walked away, the old woman put away her bowl, spat on the ground with dissatisfaction, and then a young man drove a car to her.

The young man was the old woman's son. He opened the car door and helped his mother get in.

"Didn't get anything today, just one poor soul gave 20."

"So, Mom, should we change locations?"

"No need. This line of work is established. The overall economic environment isn't good, and people are unwilling to spend money. Even if we change locations, it'll be about the same. Anyway, we have a car, a house, and money for the kids' schooling."

That's right, this mother and son were professional beggars.

Geng Ziming returned to his own place alone. He didn't smoke but liked to drink sugary beverages.

At 12 AM, the event updated precisely. The man hadn't slept at all; instead, he began researching how to clear this solo instance. It only required a solo achievement, with no other demands, so he had time to research.

All the bosses were stacked together. After logging into the boss's account, he first tried a run with his normal output gear. In this closed ecosystem, without scripts, he could only do it manually.

Just as Brother Hao said, normal gear wouldn't work. But with pure tank gear, he could survive, but given the damage output ratio, it would probably take three days for the Carnival event to end, and he still wouldn't be able to defeat these bosses.

After repeated failures, he couldn't help but doubt whether this Carnival instance could even be cleared solo, as it was likely designed as a group instance from the start.

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

If there was a way to clear it, then they could take on orders continuously using this method. Therefore, studios earned more money than solo players.

He accepted the friend request for voice chat:

"Brother Hao, I haven't cleared it yet. Let me think about it."

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

"I want to try a bit longer."

He ended the voice call and began to ponder. He had always held a special sentiment for this game, not just doing it for a living. He had played for so many years and hadn't gotten tired of it; instead, he still enjoyed researching it.

The first time he encountered this game was when the internet cafe introduced brain-computer interface equipment. At that time, the character's name was even randomly generated.

He looked at the equipment in the boss's account warehouse. It was clear the player was an old player who had been playing since the game's launch, with many commemorative items. However, many pieces of equipment were outdated. Many people chose to dismantle them, while others chose to keep them in their warehouses as souvenirs.

While examining the equipment's properties, he suddenly thought of something. There was a piece of equipment whose mechanic was that every three minutes, all units on the field would lose 1% of their HP. It was an entertainment item from an early version. Due to the acceleration of life's pace, the game's tempo had also sped up accordingly. Now, it might take less than three minutes to clear an entire map, so this equipment had become useless. Most people disliked it for taking up warehouse space.

"Found it. Ring of the Fool [April Fools' Limited]. Fortunately, the boss didn't dismantle this souvenir."

With this, as long as he found a tank build with continuous recovery to sustain damage, ensuring his HP wouldn't drop to zero, and equipped everything else with recovery, the damage would come from the Ring of the Fool's passive.

Theoretically, it would definitely take 5 hours to clear this Carnival event.

He didn't rush to start immediately. Instead, he logged into his free-to-play account again and checked his warehouse, confirming he also had the Ring of the Fool. Only then did he prepare to start helping the boss with the order. After finishing the boss's order, he would also clear it solo.

Perhaps what truly kept him going wasn't just the pressure of life, but also his passion for the game. He had played many similar games, and he took on orders for all sorts of games, but the game he truly loved playing was still only this one: Kandewen Continent!

Equipped with a full set of recovery gear – upper armor, lower armor, belt, shoulder pads, boots, wrist guards, and accessories: earrings, rings, necklaces, and bracelets.

The long and arduous "scraping" solo mission began. Although he didn't need to move, he couldn't just AFK. The brain-computer interface couldn't AFK with scripts. Plus, manually casting some recovery skills, along with red and blue potions, should be enough to survive.

By the time he completed this order, it was already 5 hours later, plus the 3 hours he spent testing the equipment.

He took off the brain-computer interface. It was already dawn. He had played for a total of 8 hours. He shared the good news with Brother Hao, who, after confirmation, promptly transferred the payment.

After explaining the strategy to Brother Hao, he didn't plan to sleep immediately. Since it was already dawn, he decided to have breakfast before going back to sleep.

As soon as he put down the neural interface, he started his mobile livestream. He hadn't streamed while taking orders before, mainly to avoid interference.

"Brothers! After a night of fierce battle, I successfully soloed the Carnival event. I took an order from a boss, and the video has been saved and uploaded. It's currently under review backstage."

[Old dog, you actually did it?]

[Awesome]

At this time of day, there were only a few scattered bullet comments, but it still meant someone was watching.

"I'm going to grab some breakfast, then sleep for a while before I stream again for you guys. I've been grinding all night."

As soon as he stood up, he felt a wave of dizziness, followed by palpitations. A sharp pain shot through him, and he instantly collapsed, powerless.

[Did the streamer die?]

[Is this a joke?]

[No, he hasn't woken up for so long]

[Call the police, call an ambulance]

In the instant of his death, he entered a life review. Scenes of his past, unbearable moments, flashed before his eyes. As a child with unreliable parents, he could only live fiercely, live...

Caught and beaten for stealing, caught and beaten for stealing food. Why steal? Because he wasn't just eating for himself; his sister was also hungry.

Growing up, dropping out of school, working odd jobs, boosting accounts, earning extra income, buying a house, his sister graduating. His life, which was gradually getting on track, was about to end?

He never complained about his family, because it was something he couldn't choose. Yet, he still tried his best in his own way. With such a tragic birth and childhood, wasn't he just like the protagonist in a novel?

He couldn't understand why his sister had become so ungrateful. Life, I had no choice!

Losing all sensation, he sank into a vast 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 dying.

...Separator...

In a certain space, two systems were conversing.

"Senior, you're leaving right after starting a new contract?"

"Why bother managing so much? My business targets for the year have been met. I'm going on vacation. I just applied a template after reincarnating him. The investment is low, and it doesn't matter if he dies."

"It seems like my file is corrupted again." After hearing the senior's words, the system became dejected again. "I haven't paid off my debts yet, and the host is trapped in another dimension. I should have reminded him to commit suicide and backtrack earlier. What a miscalculation."

"You can do it. I'm going on vacation first."