At that moment, Dai Xiaomei's attention was entirely focused on the S-rank Ninjutsu.
Only after her livestream chat had been clamoring for ages did she snap out of it.
Seeing the teasing comments filling her screen, she felt deeply wronged.
She had never been a skill-based streamer, and her usual style was all about humor.
Normally, she would simply laugh off a little teasing from the chat.
This time, however, their mockery really got under her skin.
Perhaps, after her livestream had taken off, she had grown accustomed to everyone looking up to her.
Failing to cast the technique for no apparent reason left her feeling as though she had fallen from a great height.
Perhaps this was one of the side effects of fame and fortune?
Once people let success go to their heads, they struggled to remember where they stood.
A stubborn streak surged within Dai Xiaomei. She gritted her teeth and snapped:
"Shut up, all of you! Something must have gone wrong."
The viewers were an extremely contrary bunch. The more she told them to stop talking, the faster they flooded the chat.
Frowning deeply, Dai Xiaomei chose to ignore those comments for now and switched to the in-game chat channel.
Dai Xiaomei: "Hello? Anyone there? Has anyone redeemed the S-rank Ninjutsu? How did it work out?"
Emperor of Sinking: "Xiaomei! You fell for it too, huh? I redeemed the S-rank Ninjutsu, and I couldn't even squeeze out a fart."
Emperor of Bullfighting: "Same here. I followed the Ninjutsu hand signs and tried over a hundred times, but I couldn't produce anything."
One Sword Opens the Heavens: "Maybe we're going about it the wrong way? Or perhaps our cultivation levels are too low to perform a forbidden technique like this?"
Raijin: "It depends on both your strength and your aptitude. As I recall, in Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki could only just manage to use this Ninjutsu after he grew stronger."
San Feng: "That explains it, then. How could S-rank Ninjutsu be easy to master? Otherwise, forbidden techniques would be a dime a dozen."
Emperor of Sinking: "What if this Ninjutsu is just a sham, a farce someone cooked up to make a little money on the side?"
One Sword Opens the Heavens: "Don't make wild accusations! Every item listed for sale goes through rigorous screening and evaluation by the game system before its price is set. What you're suggesting is absolutely impossible..."
Raijin: "It's not impossible for us to master S-rank Ninjutsu. As long as we practice diligently, we're bound to make progress."
San Feng: "Couldn't agree more. Hard work makes up for a lack of talent. I only developed my talismans through constant study, and I imagine the same principle applies to this Ninjutsu."
Emperor of Sinking: "Tch! A pair of obsessive fanatics. Only you two could get conned and still think the other person was doing you a favor."
Dai Xiaomei: "Sinking, don't stir up trouble. Everyone has their own convictions. Keep the snide remarks to yourself."
Emperor of Bullfighting: "Haha! It's only 1,000 contribution points, anyway. That's hardly expensive. Let's not get hung up on it."
"..."
The public chat channel fell quiet once more.
Feeling much better, Dai Xiaomei spread her hands on stream and went back to laughing without a care:
"Haha! You all saw that, right? It's not just me who can't do it. Nobody can!"
The livestream viewers helplessly flooded the chat again.
"Yeah, that makes sense. How could players master S-rank Ninjutsu so easily?"
"Man! I got excited for nothing. I thought we'd get to see something spectacular! What a letdown..."
"Hey! Where are all the people who were mocking the streamer earlier? Come out and apologize!"
"Fine! Sorry, streamer. I'll do it again!"
"I'll do it again..."
In an instant, "I'll do it again" took over the entire screen.
Dai Xiaomei was once again beside herself with irritation.
Meanwhile, on the official Hidden Jun Ninja website.
A post had been pushed to the top of the trending list.
It was a video post containing edited footage of the two actual ninja village battles.
Since it used a VR perspective, the edited video made viewers feel as though they were right there.
Tens of thousands of awestruck replies had piled up beneath the post.
"Oh my god! This looks way too real! I love it!"
"It's more than just realistic. All that Chakra flying through the sky creates such a suffocating atmosphere, it's insane!"
"That dazzling Ninjutsu looks so real! It feels like it's exploding right next to you. Absolutely mind-blowing!"
"The scale is incredible. Every frame could be a wallpaper!"
"The person above has good taste. I've already taken dozens of screenshots. I'll post them on overseas sites later and show those foreigners that we can make AAAAA games here too."
"Don't even bring up those bastards. They're all a bunch of assholes. Trying to reason with them is like talking to a brick wall. You'd be better off spending that time telling your friends and relatives about the game!"
"I was going to recommend it to my friends, but these battle scenes are so brutal. I'm worried most people wouldn't be able to stomach them."
"Hey, are you stupid? Hidden Jun Ninja is incredibly realistic and appeals to all kinds of people. If they don't like massive battles, just take some shots of the scenery, with birds singing and flowers blooming!"
"I'd love to take screenshots, but I don't have access to the game!"
"Well, there's nothing we can do. Across two rounds of closed beta testing, they've only opened twenty-seven slots."
"The only way to experience the game is by watching livestreams, but there are barely any streamers playing it. We can't even see the content we're interested in. It's maddening."
"Are the people running Hidden Jun Ninja idiots? They've got such a great chance to rake in cash. Why don't they open more slots?"
"What do you know? Ever heard of scarcity marketing? It's all a marketing tactic. Wanna bet the next beta will release a huge batch of slots?"
"The person above apparently knows everything. If they really wanted to market it, the developers would've stepped in ages ago. Why would they still be so secretive?"
"..."
New replies were pouring into the discussion at a rapid pace.
Just then, a pop-up filled the screens of everyone browsing online.
What's more, it had no close button whatsoever, behaving exactly like rogue software.
Yet the users, already familiar with this sight, immediately went wild with excitement.
Epic scenes of war played slowly across the pop-up.
Only after the streams of color filling the sky faded did a line of large text appear.
"By popular demand, Hidden Jun Ninja is opening its third closed beta.
This round will offer thirty-six closed beta slots.
First come, first served. Don't miss your chance. Once it's gone, it's gone.
Announced by Hidden Jun Ninja!"
Upon seeing the news, the users immediately dropped everything and began clicking the recruitment page over and over.
As long as they could successfully open the registration page, getting a slot was practically a sure thing.
Yet, in less than ten minutes.
The recruitment page changed.
"All recruitment slots have been filled. We look forward to seeing you next time!"
The users who had struggled for so long only to come away empty-handed went berserk.
"Fuck!"
At that very moment, countless screens and keyboards suffered the consequences.
Users flocked to the official forum to protest, complaining that the developers had opened far too few testing slots.
But just as before, once all the slots had been registered, the developers vanished without a trace.
Before you continue