["Echo" episode 3 (main episode) finished playing. Overall settlement complete!] [Total Popularity Points earned: +91,919!]
Watching his popularity climb rapidly, Qiji felt as though his wallet had finally filled out.
Without further ado, he opened the system shop, ready to spend like a tycoon!
He began browsing the dazzling array of goods inside.
Just as he found himself wanting to buy this and that, the system suddenly popped up with a timid reminder:
[Um... dear host, just a little reminder... you still have an outstanding secured debt of five million Popularity Points to repay~ (smiley face)]
"..."
Qiji paused, then said without a care,
"Don't worry, don't worry. Once I've saved up enough, I'll pay it right back~~ You've seen how good I am at making money. Five million is a piece of cake! It'll take no time at all!"
Qiji talked a good game, but inwardly he was thinking:
Why should I pay back money I borrowed through my own abilities?
Besides, even if I do pay it back, I need a strategy.
For example-
Pay it back slowly, gradually, bit by bit, with quality, planning, and restraint.
After all, investing more Popularity Points in myself is definitely a better deal than paying off debt.
The more I invest, the stronger I'll become.
The stronger I am, the more popular I'll be.
The more popular I am, the more I'll earn-
Keep that cycle going, and isn't it just like stepping on my own feet to spiral up into the heavens?
Surely, even the system I owe a mountain of overdue debt to will share in my pride when it sees my popularity soaring, and its chest will puff up involuntarily, right?
That's right, this is a win-win!
Qiji deliberately waited a while. Seeing that the system had no objections, he immediately took its silence as agreement and considered the matter settled.
He then cast a couple more glances at the tempting treasures in the shop before finally closing it with reluctance.
Although Qiji had many treasures he wanted to buy, his hundred-odd thousand Popularity Points only looked like a lot. They really wouldn't last long once he started spending.
More importantly, Qiji had already planned how to use his Popularity Points next.
There was one thing in the shop he absolutely had to get!
It could help him grow stronger, look cool, and ease his younger sister's Echo Erosion Syndrome-all three in one.
Unfortunately, since it was such a good thing, it naturally couldn't be cheap.
Even now, with the item on a rock-bottom promotional sale, it still cost a staggering one million.
"But..."
Qiji glanced at his popularity figures climbing in the background and stretched contentedly.
"At this rate, a measly million won't take long at all."
Six days flew by in the blink of an eye.
By streaming for as long as he possibly could and taking his share of the anime's popularity, Qiji successfully saved up a whopping 233,000 Popularity Points.
He was another step closer to his first "million-point plan."
Ever since the three episodes of "Echo" aired back-to-back to rave reviews the previous week, Qiji's popularity had skyrocketed. His personal channel was setting new records for concurrent viewers every day.
He was already beginning to look like a major streamer.
At this point, even when he streamed himself sleeping, hundreds or thousands of viewers happily camped out in his stream.
They sent comments like "Checking in for his sleeping face," "Waiting for him to roll over," and "Betting fifty cents on what Prisoner Ji says in his sleep."
His popularity stayed high.
Morning.
The sunlight was just right, and the breeze on the rooftop was pleasant and comfortable.
Qiji lay down in his usual spot and was just about to go to sleep.
Suddenly, two voices rang out in quick succession-
"Qiji! Don't go to sleep! We have a mission today!" Huomu's voice drew closer, carrying a hint of urgency.
Setsuna's voice was much calmer, but she used no less force as she tugged on his arm to pull him up.
"Qiji, the whole class has to take part in today's monthly mission. You'll lose a lot of credits if you're absent."
Qiji remained sprawled on his "bed," unmoved.
"I don't care about credits."
How could they be more important than sleep?
People die if they don't sleep.
But after Huomu and Setsuna persistently worked to persuade him,
Qiji reconsidered-
Sleeping a little less now and then makes the next nap even better.
Qiji had seen the plot and knew that this monthly mission was only a briefly mentioned part of the first season, with hardly any screen time.
But the comments in his stream clearly wanted to see him take part in the mission more than they wanted to watch him sleep.
They were all flooding the screen, urging him on.
"Lazy dog streamer, get up already!"
"Fight! Fight! Fight!!!"
"I want to see the mission! I want to see rivers of blood!"
Qiji was a streamer who spoiled his fans, after all.
And Huomu and Setsuna had gone so far as to beg him...
"I really can't say no to you."
At the stairwell, Bai Lili saw that Huomu and Setsuna had lived up to everyone's expectations and brought the great Qiji over. She immediately patted her chest in relief.
With that unconscious movement, the towering peaks on the girl's chest swayed, a breathtaking sight.
Bai Lili, however, showed no awareness that she should be a little more "modest." She even jogged forward, making the surging motion all the more pronounced.
Sure enough, the comments immediately erupted:
"Holy shit!! Mommy Bai!!!"
"Bai Lili is the best! Lili is my one true love!"
"Kill Suyo! Take Lili!"
Bai Lili jogged up to Qiji.
"That's great, Qiji! I was really afraid you'd skip this mission!"
Although the academy mission was strictly tied to credits, and hardly any student would miss it without a reason,
The person before her was, after all, the legendary Qiji!
He had an exceptional personality and did things his own way.
He was not someone who could be judged by ordinary standards.
On his first day at school, he had skipped the talent test.
As a result, the talent field in the student file of the City of Kindling's most famous genius now bore a big "X," even worse than Huomu's "F"!
As Bai Lili walked, her figure rose and fell, swaying with gentle grace.
The sight was so beautiful it was practically unfair.
It had to be said that the girl's figure had been given such outrageously high stats that even her simplest movements were enough to be called a sight without equal in the world.
With his mask covering his face, Qiji could admire her openly.
Everyone appreciated beauty.
That was the charm of stats.
Beauty is big! Big is beauty!
As Qiji admired her, he casually replied:
"I was planning to skip it... but since Huomu and Setsuna both got down on their knees for me on the rooftop..."
"Huh?!" Hearing this, Setsuna's pretty eyebrows drew together, and her cheeks flushed for an instant. She hurriedly interrupted Qiji.
"I... I didn't kneel! Don't make things up, Qiji!"
"Huh?" At that, a look of shocked betrayal appeared on Huomu's face. He turned to Setsuna, his voice rising involuntarily:
"Setsuna! You didn't kneel?
"But didn't we agree to kneel together and beg Qiji?!!!
"That was the surefire way I came up with to win Qiji over!!!"
Chapter 26: The Young Lady Who Wins People Over With Her Billions
"You-!"
Setsuna was furious at Huomu's loud, "honest" declaration. She glared fiercely at him and lowered her voice.
"Are you an idiot?! How could you take that seriously?!
"Besides, I thought you were only talking about kneeling to show how determined you were!
"Who knew you'd actually kneel?!
"If anything, you're the one who's being weird!
"Kneeling to a classmate...
"What do you even take Qiji for?! He's not some bully who'd be happy to see people kneel!
"If anything, he'd just feel burdened!!!"
Seeing the two of them argue more and more fiercely, Bai Lili hurried forward to hold them back.
"All right, all right, Qiji agreed to go on the mission, didn't he? That's already the best outcome!"
Without a doubt, Qiji's promise to go with them was the best guarantee of everyone's safety!
Bai Lili was happy for everyone in the class from the bottom of her heart.
But then she remembered something, and her smile dimmed slightly.
"You two really saved me this time. I was the one who insisted that we had to find a way to get Qiji to come.
"But... when it was time to ask him, all I could do was hide at the stairwell and watch. I couldn't help at all.
"I... really am useless, aren't I?
"Today, some of the girls in class said that, apart from my family being rich, I was nothing..."