Hello, World / No Matter When

"Became an overnight sensation?" Elysia blinked.

"...I did not mean that."

"But that's exactly what you meant."

To be honest, there does seem to be a similar saying in the live streaming world, but that's not what Lin meant.

"I'll help you with your strategy. I'll handle your image, live streaming activities, and copywriting. I can help you quickly become a top streamer. I can also help you with platform contracts and revenue sharing."

Lin was quick-witted; he summarized all the appealing points in one sentence, then solemnly extended his hand to Elysia: "Deal?"

"Does that mean... a fan club and manager?"

"Yes."

"... How much would it cost to hire you?"

"The cost of this meal."

"Make a deal."

Hands clasped together.

The meal was quickly finished because Elysia had made a friend of similar age and appearance for the first time in the Far East, who would even help her with her live-streaming career. She was so excited that she didn't know if she could sleep when she got home.

As Lin got up to leave the restaurant, he tried to pull up his hood, but Elysia grabbed his hand. "Hehe, you're so pretty, don't hide it~"

"Lin, when can you take your helmet off?"

He stopped and looked back at a seat that was completely empty.

Chapter Six Hello, World

A bustling day began with Elysia getting up in a panic. She rushed from the bedroom into the bathroom, where she could hear the sound of running water and a hairdryer. Lin, who was sitting by the window, slowly opened her eyes.

He couldn't quite understand why Elysia was in such a hurry to wash up.

"Oh dear, I used to live alone in my rented apartment, but now I have someone to share it with. Elysia is always a perfect beautiful girl, from morning till night!"

"..." Is that the reason for rushing to wash up?

"Lin, have you been sitting there all night?" After Elysia came out of the bathroom, she saw Lin still sitting cross-legged by the window. She remembered that Lin was in this position before she went into the bedroom last night.

Linda's bedding was so clean it looked like it had never been touched.

Is he some kind of ascetic? He didn't move an inch all night.

"No, I've already slept," Lin denied.

This relieved Elysia. It would have made her feel terrible if Lin couldn't sleep at her house... but it would also have made her feel terrible if he just fell asleep and didn't care at all.

"Then let's talk about the live streaming issue!"

Elysia's eyes lit up, and she slid in front of Lin in a flash. "Teacher Lin! You were so confident last night, you must be a live streaming expert, right?"

"No, I've never done a live stream."

"Um, so you've been acting as an agent all along?"

"No, I've never tried it either."

"..."

Before Elysia's gaze could turn into utter skepticism, Lin casually shrugged and asked, "What type of live stream do you do?"

"Don't you know? You clearly don't even know my weight... no, no, what you know is fake."

"..."

"Normally, I just stream games."

What type of game?

"Play anything..."

Is there a pre-recorded video?

Lin Cong found Elysia's previous recordings on her computer and fast-forwarded through her live streaming career up to the day before yesterday, starting from her first live stream.

It's quite peculiar to see Elysia happily playing games on her live stream. This is unprecedented, but it's definitely something Elysia would do.

After Lin finished reading, he turned to Elysia and held out his hand. "First... give me the money."

"... Are you sure you're not here to scam me?"

"Even if I were to lie, I wouldn't lie to someone who can't even afford to eat." Lin refined his words, speaking succinctly. "First, replace the hardware. Where did you get your camera and microphone?"

"It's a free set with purchases over 99 at the supermarket, what's wrong with that? Isn't it just a matter of whether it works?" Elysia asked blankly.

Do you think you're pretty?

"I don't think people with vision of 2.0 or better would ask this question."

"Then you should let your audience clearly see your stunning beauty and hear your sweet singing voice."

Then Lin continued, "The games you play are all too niche, so the live stream isn't very entertaining."

"But I think they're all really fun, and they're highly rated among gamers."

"Having fun yourself and having fun watching others play are not the same thing. Moreover, the label of 'niche masterpiece' is often created by the audience of that 'niche' work. As a streamer, you should first consider how well the live stream will perform and whether you can provide viewers with an audiovisual experience and a unique live stream viewing experience."

Even though Lin had never been a live streamer before, he could still analyze what was needed for live streaming.

"Finally, there's the gimmick. A live stream can't be without a gimmick. Even if no one can match your looks, there are still many people willing to become famous by taking their clothes off. A beautiful woman playing games isn't attractive enough anymore."

"Then, what should we do?"

Elysia was already captivated by what Lin said. His professional demeanor made it seem as if he was about to play the suona and send her to her coffin at any moment. Regardless of the outcome, it at least sounded very feasible, didn't it?

Lin pointed a finger at the pink-haired girl. "Your gaming skills are just average."

"There's no rule that everyone has to be a gaming expert, is there?"

He gave himself a thumbs up. "Me, top-tier gaming skill."

"Could it be...?"

Why would Lin help Elysia of this world do this so-called "live broadcast"? Lin himself couldn't figure it out.

Perhaps it's because she is "Elysia", or perhaps it's because many people have told Lin that she has considered living a different life, just like Hen said back then, Lin also wants to see... their different lives.

"Hello everyone, I'm your new streamer, AiliAiliAili. Today we'll continue our live stream of playing games."

Elysia was a little nervous. She had been streaming for a while before, but when she turned on the camera today, she felt a tightness in her chest. Could it be the psychological effect of changing to a new camera and microphone?

"Today we're going to play a really popular game."

Elysia stopped speaking as if her throat had been choked. She stared in disbelief at the skyrocketing popularity of her live stream. The once sparsely populated live stream suddenly became lively, with the barrage comments instantly filling the screen.

She looked at Lin outside the screen, and Lin nodded slightly to her.

This was made by Renlin.

In fact, this is an innate advantage of sweet-looking streamers. Lin simply went to a popular online game streamer's live stream and left an eye-catching message that required payment, inviting her to check out the stream. Streamers are happy to engage in this kind of interaction, so they can quickly accumulate their first batch of viewers in this way.

Of course, how many can stay depends on themselves.

Lin had taken this into account, so it was obvious what to broadcast during prime time.

Wow, what a beautiful streamer!

[Huh? The streamer plays this game too? It's super hard. Of the streamers I follow, only two have gotten halfway through, and the rest died countless times on the first level.]

"Yes, yes, I want to challenge myself to clear the level."

[Has backbone.]

Elysia calmed down, and Lin Mo as she started the game, interacted with the comments, and then...

The endless cycle of death begins.

Lin is a gaming expert. This doesn't mean he plays games for Elysia, but rather that he's good at judging which games are easy for him to master.

Being hacked to death, stabbed to death, burned to death, drowned, or falling to one's death—this game offers a wide variety of ways to die. The developers have also added many unimaginable ways to die, such as accidentally killing a chicken and being hunted down to your death.

When the protagonist, who was capable of fighting monsters, died under the villagers' pitchforks, Elysia's expression was completely blank.

An adorable and stunningly beautiful girl is seriously playing an extremely difficult game and even boasts that she will challenge herself to beat it, but she always ends up completely bewildered and doesn't even know how she died.

And this kind of program effect, coupled with the "charity" from other streamers in the early stages, naturally led to... explosive popularity.

Lin stood by the window, listening to Elysia's pitiful wails behind him. He closed his eyes and gently exhaled.

Chapter Seven: Whenever

As the saying goes, men love watching beautiful girls fight, and on a deeper level, they want to see a different side of girls. Watching girls get beaten in video games is the same idea; their adorable breakdowns and screams can definitely give people a unique feeling.

Of course, whether this is positive feedback for Elysia is another matter. After all, some people just like the challenge of extremely difficult games and find it fun to die hundreds of times. But at least she felt extremely tired after streaming for eight hours straight, and wanted to take a shower and go to sleep immediately.

She's the kind of person who doesn't give up once she's done something. Even though she was exhausted when she ended the broadcast, she still forced herself to say goodbye to the audience with a flawless smile before finally turning off the live stream, slamming her chin heavily on the table, and letting out a long sigh of relief.

"By the way, where's Lin?"

After catching her breath and relaxing for a while, Elysia belatedly looked at the empty room and asked a question.

"As long as it is 'Ye', it will inevitably Honkai; it's just a matter of time."

As expected, Lin still cared a lot about those words.

If Lin's prediction is correct, "Ye" refers to a different world. As for why this word is used to describe it, it is still unknown. Yan Luo obviously knows more information than Lin does not know, but it is unrealistic to pry it out of her.

Honkai is inevitable...

In other words, even if the world hasn't Honkai yet and there are no Moths chasing the flame, it will definitely erupt later.

Is the Honkai outbreak an unavoidable fixed point on the world's timeline?

What is the reason for this? Even if the conditions for Honkai —the lunar debris—were not discovered or touched, Honkai would still have occurred. So, is the root cause of Honkai outbreak actually the lunar debris containing Honkai Energy?

Si Lin pondered Yan Luo's words repeatedly. He looked up at the dazzling crescent moon hanging in the sky, his thoughts churning.

After nine major Honkai, some patterns have been summarized regarding Honkai outbreaks: increased Honkai Energy concentration and unprecedented anomalies. However, even knowing these patterns, without professional instruments for detection, Lin cannot predict when Honkai will erupt.

Moreover, Lin had only seen a rough outline of the data regarding the First Honkai Eruption, and his knowledge of it was completely blank. Furthermore, the Fire Moth, having just experienced a large-scale Honkai for the first time, also had a vague understanding of it and its records.

The First Honkai Eruption outbreak occurred in Eastern Europe. It was small in scale, ended quickly, and resulted in fewer than a thousand casualties. It can be said that it had all the elements that made it difficult to detect.

"Europe..."

Is there any way to monitor the specific situation in Europe?

Whether the First Honkai Eruption will break out in Europe is unknown, as the timing is completely different, and the location is very likely to change as well.

What exactly caused the Honkai outbreak? Why are the Herrscher all in human form? And why did Honkai erupt during a period of human civilization?

These questions, like the Pseudo-Herrscher Core within his body, left Lin completely baffled, serving no purpose other than to intensify his anxiety.

"Lin, what are you doing sitting here?" Elysia's voice came from behind. She walked up behind Lin, who was sitting on the steps by the door, and asked in confusion.

"To prevent anyone from coming to your door seeking revenge because of your commotion."

"... Am I that disturbing the neighbors when I'm playing games?"

How come I never noticed before? Elysia actually gets beaten up and screams just like Kevin when playing games. If I had known, I would have...

If only I had known...

Lin banished the inappropriate thoughts from his mind, gazed at the night sky outside the door, and softly asked, "How is it?"

"Thanks to you, it works very well."

You could tell from Elysia's cheerful voice that she must have gained quite a few more fans.

"It's nothing, it's just your own hard work."

Lin stood up, dusted himself off, and went inside. He casually asked, "Speaking of which, where are you from? You're not from the Far East, are you?"

The name Elysia is definitely not from the Far East, and Lin has known Elysia for so many years that many of her subconscious habits are completely different from those of people from the Far East.

Why is she in the Far East?

"Hmm? Want to keep asking about me?" Elysia was not as carefree as she seemed. Her eyes sparkled as she smiled gently, "A secret is a girl's most precious treasure. You can only tell the most important secret to the most important person."

Oh right... I haven't even... told you my secret yet... A young girl's secret is very precious, please, wake up...