They could be converted proportionally into the current world's common currency and withdrawn for immediate use.
3. [Charity channel]:
A special new feature had been added-
The host could choose in the backend settings not to convert tip money into the currency of this world, but instead use a special channel opened by the system to fund charitable causes on Blue Star directly (including but not limited to donating to impoverished children, providing supplies and money to disaster-stricken areas, and offering free medical consultations and treatment to patients). The system would ensure that the funds were used with complete transparency and reached their intended destinations.
4. [Charity incentive bonus]:
When the host chose to donate tip proceeds to charity, he would receive an additional 20% bonus in Popularity Points on that portion of the tips.
"This feature..." Qiji's eyes lit up slightly.
He could increase his Popularity Points, earn money in this world, and do charity work too?
He made his decision almost instantly.
Qiji went into the backend and set the proceeds from tips to:
100% for charitable causes on Blue Star!
He was determined to get that 20% charity incentive bonus!
Chapter 46: Do I Have to Kneel Too?
The setting took effect the moment he finished.
A line of golden text slowly drifted across the top of the screen like a system announcement:
"Streamer 'Qiji' has set all future tip proceeds received in this livestream to be donated in full to charitable causes on Blue Star! Thank you, viewers, for your support and kindness!"
The moment the announcement appeared, the bullet comments, already lively thanks to the tips and the heartwarming sibling interaction, erupted:
"Holy shit!!! Is this for real?!"
"All of it to charity?!! Streamer, you're awesome! (voice cracks)"
"LOL, but shouldn't we be praising the production team here?"
"All of it to charity? Holy shit, the production team put so much money into this. Are they really doing it just for the love of it?"
"Just for that, here's a little gift as a token of appreciation!"
"Me too! It isn't much, but it's a token of my appreciation!"
[Ding! Ding! Ding!...] The system notifications began ringing out one after another in rapid succession! [System notification: User 'I'm Hopeless at Naming Things' tipped you 5 monthly tickets!] [System notification: User 'Zhong Xiaoli, True Lord of Leisurely Wandering in the Mortal World' tipped you an "immortal herb"!] [System notification: User...]
Tip notifications streamed past like a waterfall. Each individual amount might not have been large, but there were so many of them!
And the viewers' enthusiasm had clearly been set ablaze!
At the same time, Qiji could clearly see the number representing Popularity Points on the system panel climbing wildly, jumping up at a speed he had never seen in any of his previous streams!
It made Qiji grin foolishly from time to time even as he ate with his sister.
His sister heard him laughing and couldn't help giggling herself:
"Brother, does eating with me make you that happy?"
"Of course. I'm super happy!"
In front of his sister, Qiji wasn't the tsundere type. He spoke frankly about how he felt.
That left his thinner-skinned sister a little embarrassed instead.
After dinner, they returned home, and he ended the stream.
Qiji glanced at the backend. In just the short time they'd spent eating, he had earned a full fifty thousand Popularity Points!
That was almost as much as he earned from several days of streaming and video revenue combined.
Of course, he also knew that tonight's "tipping spree" was mostly due to the novelty of the newly opened tipping channel, coupled with the enthusiasm his announcement that all proceeds would go to charity had stirred up among the viewers.
Such explosive tip earnings wouldn't come along often.
In the future, without a special event or something major happening, it probably wouldn't be easy to receive tips at such a rate again.
Even so, Qiji was satisfied.
It meant he had gained another source of Popularity Points!
With tonight's fifty thousand, his million-point plan had taken another big step forward, saving him quite a bit of time.
He closed his eyes and rested for a little while to regain his strength.
Once his sister was more or less fast asleep, Qiji took a deep breath and abruptly sprang upright in bed.
He had been through one thing after another today and was almost exhausted in both body and mind. He hadn't slept well during the day either, and he'd nearly started snoring the moment his head touched the pillow just now.
But Qiji gritted his teeth and forced himself out of bed.
He wasn't a genius, and he understood that better than anyone.
The strength he now possessed, which made him seem so "effortless," had been painstakingly earned through every drop of sweat he had shed over the past nine years.
He trained every single day without fail.
Rain or shine, he never took a day off.
So today couldn't be an exception.
Ultimately, it was this world, filled with Echoes, Void Beasts, and rifts, that made it hard for Qiji to feel secure.
In this world, people died every moment for one reason or another.
Without power, a person couldn't protect anything.
Only by possessing power and being strong enough could one seize what one wanted and live the life one wanted.
And Qiji happened to be a greedy person. He wanted too much.
So he could only give more, and more.
Today, he started cultivating later than usual.
So this time, Qiji cultivated until daylight before bringing the day's grueling training to an end, his body drenched in sweat.
Unexpectedly, on his way home, he spotted two familiar figures in the distance-
Huomu and Setsuna!
Qiji quickly darted into the shadows at the corner of an alley.
He couldn't let those two see him covered in sweat right after training...
It didn't fit his genius persona.
And because his physique was at the "Max" level, Qiji's hearing far surpassed that of ordinary people. Their conversation reached his ears clearly:
"I have to get Qiji to teach me how to get stronger!" Huomu's voice was brimming with energy.
"Yeah, yeah... Then why did you drag me along...?" Setsuna sounded much more listless, her voice thick with morning grumpiness and resentment at not getting enough sleep.
Though the girl usually carried herself with brisk efficiency and a heroic air, she was also a beautiful girl.
And for a beautiful girl, enough sleep was undoubtedly a necessity.
Setsuna even felt that she had been training too hard lately and hadn't gotten enough sleep, and that her skin seemed to have gotten a little worse.
"Setsuna! Wake up! Don't embarrass yourself!" Faced with Setsuna's "lack of ambition," Huomu asked:
"Don't you want to get stronger? Are you going to hide behind Qiji on every mission from now on, just like you did yesterday?"
At that, Setsuna's yawn abruptly stopped. After a brief moment of confusion, her gaze quickly turned resolute.
She thought of how helpless she had been against the Metal-Rending Battle Eagle yesterday, of the arrow of blood that had nearly taken Bai Lili's life, and of the frustration of barely being able to hold the threat back without truly being able to deal with it...
Setsuna fell silent for a moment before speaking softly:
"I do... Of course I want to get stronger. I even dream about it..."
"Exactly! So let's go ask Qiji together and get him to teach us! Come on, come on, hurry up!"
"Something like that... wouldn't be possible, would it?" Setsuna thought Huomu was taking too much for granted.
For Echoers, the methods of getting stronger had always been closely guarded secrets.
The reason those Echo families could stand firm generation after generation was that they possessed unique secret methods, passed down through the generations.
They couldn't hide such things carefully enough, so how could they possibly pass them on to outsiders who were merely classmates?
"How do we know it won't work if we don't try?" Huomu's logic had always been simple and straightforward.
"Besides, you heard him yesterday, didn't you? Qiji told me to think about 'why I lacked power'-wasn't he hinting that I should go ask him for advice?"
"Really...?"
Setsuna couldn't hear that meaning in his words at all.
"Of course it's true!"
Huomu clenched his fist and once again brought out his so-called "surefire method of victory."
"Don't worry, Setsuna. When the time comes, all we have to do is kneel together and beg Qiji, and he'll definitely agree!
Qiji can seem hard to get along with sometimes, but he's actually a super nice guy who doesn't really know how to say no!"
"..."
Setsuna's mouth twitched violently. How had this guy managed to steer the conversation back to such a heavy topic as kneeling again?
So-
"...Do I have to kneel too?"
"Yeah!"
Chapter 47: She Questions Her Life
"Yeah, my ass!" Setsuna finally lost her patience.
"I'm not kneeling! If you want to kneel, do it yourself!"
She made up her mind to treat today as a visit to invite Qiji out for a meal.
She still owed Qiji a meal from before and had never had the chance to treat him.
After yesterday's mission, the academy had paid out their reward. She had a little money to spare now, so it was the perfect chance to repay the favor.
Hidden in the shadows, Qiji heard their conversation loud and clear.
When he learned that they really were coming for him, he quickly darted away and got home ahead of them.
He took a hasty shower and lay down on his bed.
He had just closed his eyes when someone knocked on the door.
Qiji pretended he had been woken up:
"Who is it... so early in the morning...?"
Qiji yawned and opened the door-
"Qiji! This is the one and only request I'll ever make of you in my life. Please, you have to agree!!!"