Star Girl

November 7, New Era 4396, 1:00 p.m.

"Dear viewers, the long-awaited first episode of our live Simulated Wasteland Zone adventure starts now!"

"Who will find the final treasure chest and become our lucky winner? Let's wait and see!"

After several days of promotion, the livestream had built up considerable traffic. Hundreds of thousands of viewers flooded in as soon as it began, and their numbers kept climbing. However, since the pilot was set in Jiangcheng City and lacked any particularly famous prodigies from the Immortal Sect, most of the audience came from Northern Sky Province.

In Carefree Media's main livestream, a male and a female commentator introduced the action on-screen, his voice impassioned and rousing, hers clear and pleasant.

The male commentator said, "Our cameras are now moving through the cultivators entering the Wasteland Zone. They've all been deployed at random to different areas. First up is He Caihua, our very own Sister Hua! With her Red Lotus Ancient Sword, which has slain countless demons, she looks as captivating-and dangerous-as ever."

On-screen, He Caihua had already settled into her role. She gripped a crimson sword with a lotus-shaped base, its gleam shifting, its sword energy held in check. Leaning forward slightly, she spread her spiritual sense and explored ahead one step at a time.

Her greatest selling point was the combination of a lovely face and figure with outstanding cultivation and strength. Neither could be missing. Here in the forest, she was purely a Third Realm cultivator. Her expression was stern, her presence deep and restrained, without a trace of frailty.

Who knew how many fans had fallen head over heels for that icy expression of He Caihua's?

The camera switched, and the female commentator continued, "Next is Liu Yuanjun from the Mysterious Wind Temple. I'm sure many viewers local to River City have heard his name. This is his first time participating in a public event like this. Look how confidently he's moving forward, as though he were taking a stroll in his own garden. Just what you'd expect from the Mysterious Wind Temple's star disciple. Still, we should remind him that it's just as dangerous here as in the real Wasteland Zone. He can't afford to be careless!"

"Huh? This contestant is..." The male commentator suddenly sounded puzzled. "She's participating in a mask?"

"Hehe, that's right." The female commentator laughed. "This is our Star Girl, a genius cultivator with a very mysterious background."

On-screen was a tall girl with a slender waist, long legs, and a lovely figure. Only, she wore an Ultraman mask over her face, which made her look a little comical.

Backstage, the director frowned at the image. "What's going on? Didn't Sister Hua say she'd pick a pretty mask for her?"

A Mei gave a wry smile. "Nothing we could do. That's the one the girl liked."

"Ah, Star Girl has encountered a demon beast! It's a Mountain-Crashing Bear!" the female commentator suddenly exclaimed. "She seems to be the first explorer to encounter a demon beast. She's drawing her weapon. She's taken out a... what is that?"

"If I'm not mistaken, that weapon is called... the Eight Trigrams Flower-Cleaving Axe." The male commentator sounded equally stunned.

On-screen, that delicate figure, like a white blossom, held an enormous axe several times broader and thicker than her own body in one hand. She swung it like a whirlwind, creating a striking visual contrast.

Opposite her stood an enormous black bear that was two stories tall when it rose upright. A single roar shook the earth, and a black wind sprang up around it. It swung its massive paws, each blow powerful enough to split mountains and shatter stone!

Star Girl simply spun and swung her axe again and again, her force swirling like a vortex. Meeting the black bear head-on, she hacked it down through brute strength, blood spraying everywhere.

The savage, bloody scene unfolded right before the viewers' eyes.

Both commentators exclaimed in unison, "She's so strong!"

After a full ten-odd seconds of silence, the camera switched again, and the male commentator finally continued, "All right, after watching Star Girl's fight, I'm sure everyone realizes this place can be treated as the real Wasteland Zone. It's no playground. Our explorers could face danger at any moment. The handsome young man you see now is an independent cultivator from Jiangcheng City named Yue Wen. You may not know him, but the fact that he qualified as an independent cultivator should tell you he's no ordinary contender."

"Oh!" the female commentator immediately said. "Yue Wen has encountered a demon beast too!"

The broadcast director handled the camera switches professionally. Yue Wen's introduction had originally been scheduled after the two contestants from Hidden Dragon Pool, but he had encountered a demon beast while moving forward.

It was a strange hybrid demon beast resembling both a bat and a wolf. Its body was shaped like a half-crouching wolf, but membranous wings stretched from its arms down to its ribs, opening like umbrellas. It crouched on a tree branch, staring at Yue Wen and baring its vicious fangs.

Most demon beasts in the Wasteland Zone were territorial and would attack intruders furiously. Although these beasts had only recently been placed here, they clearly already regarded creatures appearing nearby as trespassers.

That baring of fangs brimmed with murderous intent.

"Let's see how this independent cultivator handles his opponent. He's making the first move. He's taken out..." The male commentator had been about to raise his voice, only to lower it abruptly. "A pair of sunglasses?"

Indeed, after briefly observing the demon beast he had encountered, Yue Wen took a pair out of his trouser pocket and put them on.

"Haha." The female commentator laughed awkwardly. "Perhaps Yue Wen wants to hide his eyes so the demon beast can't read his movements. Next, he'll launch his attack! Look! He's moving again. He spreads his hands and, with lightning speed... takes off his shirt?"

A camera-carrying bee insect followed each explorer, circling to find the best angle.

These bee insects were specially trained spirit insects, only thumb-sized and extremely obedient. Some production crews hired insect tamers specifically to train them to carry cameras and film their subjects. Just such a little yellow flying insect hovered above Yue Wen's head, with a camera strapped to its six legs.

With a ripping sound, he tore off his black T-shirt, revealing another black T-shirt underneath, and turned its front toward the bee insect. A slogan was printed across its chest.

"Yue Family Cultivation Office-the office for River City's own people!"

"..." Both commentators scratched their heads.

Backstage, the director's face darkened. "Why wasn't I told there was product placement?"

"That's his family's office," A Mei said, covering his face. "He probably wants to advertise the family business."

"He certainly knows how to pick his spot," the director snapped. "From now on, don't cut to him unless he's fighting!"

After a long pause, the male commentator finally laughed. "This independent cultivator certainly has plenty of preparations to make before a fight."

"Hehe, but that just makes me look forward to his fight even more," the female commentator said, smoothing things over. "He must be a very interesting person."

On-screen, Yue Wen lazily brought out his flying sword.

The moment he put on the Demon-Detecting Mirror, it revealed his opponent's true nature.

[Swift Bat-Wolf: That night, the bat demon and the wolf demon both got drunk... A rather bizarre hybrid demon beast whose conception is difficult to imagine. It possesses both a bat's hearing and a wild wolf's sense of smell, making it extremely perceptive. Ambushing it is all but impossible. Its ability in a head-on fight is relatively weak, with combat power equivalent to five hundred healthy human grannies.]

A mere five hundred grannies' worth of combat power was hardly worth Yue Wen's attention now. After all, he had fought several Tiger Demons rated at ten thousand grannies.

That was why he had so leisurely revealed the advertising T-shirt he had prepared.

This series of preparations had worn down the patience of the commentators and viewers, and the Swift Bat-Wolf's as well.

"Roar-"

The demon beast let out a rasping roar, spread its membranous wings, and suddenly charged, black wind winding around its outstretched claws!

Facing the charging demon beast, Yue Wen did not even blink. His flying sword shot out instantly.

Shhk-

A streak of light pierced through it, and a cloud of blood burst into the air.

Golden vapor gathered inside his body, finally rousing Yue Wen's enthusiasm a little.

The demon beasts in the Wasteland Zone periodically formed a demon beast tide, hurling themselves against the city's defensive formation barrier in endless succession. Sometimes the tide was so large that it actually opened a crack or two, allowing a few lucky demon beasts to slip into the city before the gaps were repaired.

That was how most of the partially transformed demon beasts in the city had arrived.

Most of the remaining beasts in the demon beast tide retreated empty-handed. Others were knocked unconscious by the formation's backlash as they rammed the barrier. Some were left behind when the main horde withdrew, like crabs stranded on the shore after the tide receded.

The City Guard Army would capture those demon beasts and sell them cheaply to various buyers. Naturally, that was where Carefree Media's batch had come from too.

To sum up their characteristics, they had extremely low intelligence and little cultivation, but were exceptionally vicious. They were practically walking Evil-Suppressing Money.

So he did not linger, continuing onward.

After he killed the demon beast with a single strike, the main livestream cut away from him to the next explorer.

The viewers could not tell how many years of cultivation had gone into that strike. They simply found the scene dull and uninteresting.

"Wow, the moment Su Renxue from Hidden Dragon Pool appears, our viewers in the live chat really get excited. She certainly is a beautiful girl with a distinctive personality!" The female commentator remained enthusiastic.

"Everyone's favorite little Flying Rosy Clouds is our final introduction. Judging by the scene, she's been through a fight too. Our adorable Fairy Flying Rosy Clouds is regulating her breathing right now. It looks like that demon beast was quite strong. Now that we've introduced all our explorers, whose victory are you rooting for? Type their name in the public chat! We can give the most popular contestants more screen time too."

"..."

[Fairy Flying Rosy Clouds! Fairy Flying Rosy Clouds!]

[He Caihua!]

[He Caihua!]

[That Star Girl is pretty interesting too.]

[The guy from Hidden Dragon Pool isn't that handsome, but his abilities are so cool.]

[I want to see Liu Yuanjun! I want to have his babies!]

[Su Renxue! Aaaah, girl, you're killing me!]

[...]

The viewers' favorite explorers scrolled across the live chat, with Yue Wen receiving the fewest mentions. Although a few comments did say that the independent cultivator was quite handsome, they were quickly drowned out.

Compared with the others, he did indeed lack a few attention-grabbing hooks.

His individual livestream had only a handful of viewers too.

But he had no time to pay attention to any of that.

There was Evil-Suppressing Money everywhere here, just waiting for him to pick it up!