He saw the viewer count on his upright system screen skyrocket.
It shot from 503 to 8,000, more than ten times what it had been.
What? Was he that popular?
The burly man didn't dare fight back against Yu Qing, but seeing the livestream chat flood with [Qingqing] and [Qingqing, my wife] made him start questioning the identity of the person before him.
Until he saw one comment:
[Aaaah! I found Yu Qing in someone else's stream! That's the streamer I spent ten million to save. Incredible!]
Ten million to save a... streamer? A streamer?!
So this thing threatening him with a knife was a streamer too!
At last, the burly man's face darkened. He raised his hand, about to snatch Yu Qing's knife, only to see the young man lift his right leg and plant his foot on his crushed shoulder!
"Aaaaaah-"
Under the pressure of that stomp, the shattered bone fragments shifted and scattered, piercing his flesh all over again.
The burly man screamed. Before he could raise his arm, Yu Qing stomped it back down. "Shh-"
Drenched in cold sweat, he watched Yu Qing gesture for silence. "Be good. I only want to carve 'I am an animal' into your face. I'm not going to kill you."
"But if you keep struggling, I can't guarantee the tip of my knife won't slit your throat."
Pain was the most torturous thing of all. The man's shoulder had swollen into a huge lump, making his whole body burn. He couldn't muster an ounce of strength.
But his eyes brimmed with hatred, and his mouth remained as defiant as ever. "You're a streamer?"
Yu Qing shook his head. "No."
Then, the very next second, the burly man saw his chat explode again: [Aaaah! The new system's here! Qingqing's stream is back! I'm going to grab the first spot!] Immediately afterward, a little blue dot marking him as a streamer appeared above the young man's head. It! Was! Blatantly! Obvious!
The burly man: "..."
But Yu Qing didn't seem to notice. He continued carving the words with single-minded focus.
The sharp pain assaulted every nerve in the burly man's body.
He trembled nonstop, trying to think of a way to teach Yu Qing a lesson, when shadows gradually filled his vision.
Then his entire body jolted, his pupils widening to an unbelievable degree. Behind him, a huge mass of black mist was breaking through the barrier and spreading into the corridor. It rose and gathered behind Yu Qing, shrouded in dense shadows, then slowly laid two hands on the young man's shoulders.
The burly man's fingertips trembled. At first, he was afraid, but then he thought-Yu Qing was a streamer too!
A streamer could never be the boss's lover. Now the boss was here to kill him.
He was dead for sure!
At that thought, the burly man's eyes began to curve with delight. Even the pain eased considerably.
He cautiously shifted his gaze away, plotting his escape route, ready to leave the moment Yu Qing died.
He spent a full three minutes planning. Watching a black hand move to cover Yu Qing's mouth, the excitement in his eyes grew stronger and stronger. Then-mwah~
He saw Yu Qing turn his head and kiss that black hand without the slightest hesitation, then playfully nibble its fingertips and blow on them twice. As though coaxing a child, he said, "Stop messing around. I'm getting even for you."
The black mist paused, writhing in bewilderment. Clearly, it didn't understand what Yu Qing meant.
A moment later, it actually formed more hands to grip his waist and continue its exploration.
But in that brief moment of hesitation, Yu Qing had already finished carving the words with deft precision. The final stroke sank especially deep, nearly exposing stark white bone and making the burly man pass out from pain.
And...
He made no attempt to avoid those hands as they wrapped around him. Even when one slipped into his shirt and roamed aimlessly, he remained unmoved.
Instead, he took two steps back and leisurely opened his newly received system. With the air of a rightful spouse, he looked down at the burly man. "Normally, you wouldn't survive after upsetting my husband. But... points can buy your life... mm..."
As he spoke, the black hand across his waist suddenly tightened, pinching his skin into an suggestive flush.
Yu Qing frowned. Rather than showing fear, he shot the black hand a reproachful look.
It looked like enjoyment, but also like a warning.
That was hardly how a streamer would act.
So had he been tricked?
The burly man was bewildered. Maybe this so-called Yu Qing really was a guide NPC, and that little blue dot marking him as a streamer was a hallucination? Were the viewers deliberately misleading him with their comments just to laugh at him?
His mind raced, but he couldn't make sense of it. After a long while, he actually chose to believe it. Scrambling desperately, he handed over all 300 points he had earned by escaping.
Then he saw countless comments in his stream mocking him.
[Aaaah, I was only gone for a moment, and my wife Qingqing's already tamed the boss?]
[And he scammed him out of his points, aaaaah! Amazing! Qingqing's the GOAT!]
[Why's Qingqing pretending to be an NPC? How could he scam that poor rapist? How can he be so bad? I love it! Pant, pant...]
[The best part is that he actually fucking believed it, hahahahaha! I'm dying. All right, done laughing. I'm off to admire my wife's breathtaking beauty. Bye~]
Then the burly man saw his viewer count plummet, dropping below even his original five hundred...
His points were gone. His viewers were gone. His face had been slashed. His shoulder was ruined. And he... couldn't beat him...
He couldn't fucking beat him!!!
He'd always been the one abusing other people before. How had things... turned around today?
The crushing reversal overwhelmed him. His face flushed, his heart hammered faster and faster, and before long, his eyes rolled back. He passed out from sheer fury.
Yu Qing had no time to care about him. The instant he received the points, he heard more footsteps, a chaotic jumble that sounded like several people approaching together.
There was no time left!!!
His gaze changed. Raising the double-edged knife in his hand, he relentlessly slashed at the black mist again.
This time, however, the black mist seemed genuinely angry. Breaking through the barrier had weakened its power, and it began to spasm, shift, and twist.
After grappling with Yu Qing for a while, it finally withdrew to the stairwell, still somewhat reluctant.
This time, though, Yu Qing had finally severed a tiny wisp of mist. The knife kept trembling, seemingly affected by the mist and struggling to analyze its composition.
Yu Qing found somewhere to lean and waited and waited. At last, two lines appeared on the knife's handle.
[True form: A super-duper invincible, top-tier boss] [Cause of formation: -]
Yu Qing: "?"
What did that mean?
What did a dash mean? It couldn't analyze it?
While he was thinking, another strange noise came from the nearby stairwell!
Before you continue