"Livestream?" Bai Xiaowen instinctively glanced at the floating green eyeball.
Whoosh! The comments flooded the screen!
"Ooh, this little brother is so handsome."
"The moment I saw him, I felt like I'd fallen in love all over again!"
"Brother Zhang, I'm begging you, give us this little brother's contact information!"
Zhang Bo stared blankly at his phone screen, watching flowers, airplanes, yachts, and other gifts streak across it, with rows of rockets mixed in.
Seemingly noticing Bai Xiaowen's unfriendly gaze, Zhang Bo decisively shut off the stream.
"You're an Awakened. What are you doing in the Buffer Zone?" Bai Xiaowen released Zhang Bo. "You know the way out, right? Talk while we walk."
Zhang Bo hurriedly agreed, secretly grumbling, Didn't you come to the Buffer Zone too? We're all here to beat up weaklings and earn some proficiency. Could you at least give me some face?
The Plague Rat Burrow was not large. Led by Zhang Bo's flashlight, the two quickly made their way out and arrived in the wilderness.
"Huff..." Bai Xiaowen took a deep breath of the Earth wilderness air. It felt unreal to him. His adventure in Aaron World seemed like a dream. Yet Skeleton No. 1 and Skeleton No. 2 at his side, loyal as ever, reminded him of its reality with their bony frames.
"Brother, did you just return from the Spirit Realm?" Zhang Bo asked.
Bai Xiaowen nodded. "Yes. I just completed my Class Change."
"Oh, congratulations!" Zhang Bo said in surprise. "I couldn't tell that someone as strong as you was also a level 1 newcomer. You must be an Elite Class, right? Skeleton Soldiers summoned by ordinary classes couldn't possibly have attributes like that."
Bai Xiaowen smiled without deliberately showing off and changed the subject. "You said you were livestreaming just now?"
"Yeah, to earn some fame." Zhang Bo nodded, looking rather proud. "I signed with the Shark Livestream Platform last August. By now, I've built up more than twenty thousand followers."
"More than twenty thousand followers? That's quite impressive." Bai Xiaowen nodded.
Livestreaming existed in his other world too. Many streamers claimed to have tens or even hundreds of thousands of followers, but most of those numbers were heavily inflated. A streamer listed as having tens of thousands of followers might have only a few thousand real fans.
However, in this world, SkyNet accounts were strictly tied to citizens' identity cards and were unique. Livestream platforms found it difficult to falsify follower counts, so Zhang Bo's twenty thousand followers contained very little padding.
"But as an Awakened, you shouldn't be short on money. Why livestream at all?"
This was something Bai Xiaowen had been very curious about even when he was still an ordinary person. There were now many Awakened who livestreamed. Some broadcast their adventures in the Wilderness Zone, some streamed scenery from the Spirit Realm, and others broadcast competitions.
Information that ordinary people eagerly discussed, such as Loot Chests and Hero Classes, was basically learned through livestreams and leagues.
Logically speaking, Awakened could easily earn millions or tens of millions. Why go through the trouble of livestreaming and pandering to viewers? It certainly could not be for gift donations.
Zhang Bo's eyes widened slightly. "Brother, don't tell me you don't know?"
"What's the trick to it?" Bai Xiaowen truly had no idea. Could livestreaming offer some special benefit?
After thinking for a moment, Zhang Bo said, "Brother, since you just came back from the Spirit Realm, you must have earned a certain amount of fame in some Plane World. How much?"
Bai Xiaowen nodded. "Aaron Plane World, 150 fame points, D-Tier."
"Huh? D-Tier, 150 points?" Zhang Bo gaped. "Brother, what exactly did you do? You got that much fame on your first trip into the Spirit Realm. Even robbing a bank wouldn't be that fast."
Bai Xiaowen thought back. "I didn't really do much. Is D-Tier fame very high?"
"Of course!" Zhang Bo said, drawing in a cold breath. "That's fame across an entire Plane World, not just one town! Generally speaking, low-level Awakened have to venture into the same Plane World two or three times in a row before accumulating D-Tier fame, 'First Showing of Brilliance.'"
"You're getting off topic," Bai Xiaowen reminded him. "I asked why you livestream."
"Of course it's for Earth World fame!"
Zhang Bo said, "Brother, you probably don't know this, but Earth World, like other Plane Worlds, has fame ranks too. And for us Awakened, the rewards for Earth's World Fame are far more useful than those of other Plane Worlds!"
"What are the rewards?" Bai Xiaowen asked.
"Tickets!" Seeing Bai Xiaowen's confusion, Zhang Bo explained further. "The rewards are tickets to the Spirit Realm. The higher your fame rank, the better the tickets you can draw. Some top-tier tickets can even make you a prince the moment you enter a Plane World. Just think how many benefits you could reap from that."
Bai Xiaowen was startled and continued asking, "Then how much Earth Fame do you have now?"
Zhang Bo said proudly, "E-Tier, 73 points."
Bai Xiaowen nodded. "That sounds pretty good. My Earth Fame hasn't even been activated yet. You should qualify to draw a ticket now, right?"
Zhang Bo sighed. "You can draw once every three full months. I activated my fame and reached E-Tier last December. There's still one month before I can draw a ticket."
He continued complaining, "As a streamer, fame drops very quickly, so I have to maintain it carefully... Sigh, if I had enough strength to compete in the Professional League and become a star, I wouldn't have to worry about fame. The big stars in the Super Cup are basically all B-Tier or above in Earth Fame, 'Far-Famed.' Even the core members of a team can reach A-Tier, 'World-Famous.'"
Bai Xiaowen nodded in realization. This answered another of his questions: the purpose behind the Third-Tier League system. Beyond market profits, the rewards brought by extremely high fame were what appealed most to Awakened—Awakened basically never lacked money, but their pursuit of strength never ended.
In the world of Awakened, strength meant status.
Zhang Bo had driven here in an off-road vehicle. Wanting to befriend Bai Xiaowen, a promising expert, he immediately patted his chest and volunteered to drive him back to Jinghai Base City.
The two parted at the gates of Chihuo No. 1 High School, after exchanging phone numbers.
Watching Bai Xiaowen disappear through the school gates, Zhang Bo quickly pulled out his phone and started dialing.
"Hello, Sister Yan? I ran into a wild expert today. He just completed his Class Change, and he's probably an Elite Class. Hurry over and sign him!"
The woman's voice from the other end of the line was soft and sweet. "Xiao Bo, are you joking? Anyone who can change into an Elite Class would have guild backing."
Zhang Bo shouted, "Sister Yan, even if I had twice the guts, I wouldn't dare lie to you! He's at Chihuo No. 1 High School. Why don't you come see for yourself whether it's real?"
"All right, then. Send me your location. If the information checks out, I'll treat you to a meal."
Before you continue