Although Lin Yu and the others were sleeping soundly, someone was having a hard time sleeping.
"The appearance is truly similar! Without a doubt, it has to be him!"
A chubby kid from a middle school dorm next to Changhai Vocational College was excitedly clenching his fist as the faint blue glow from his laptop illuminated his face.
There were two paused videos displayed on his laptop, one of which was the handmade Exo suit video Lin Yu had previously uploaded. The other one was slightly blurry and was a nearby recording made earlier with a cell phone.
Both videos were paused at a closeup image of the gauntlets.
The Hextech Gauntlets!
Although plenty of finer details had changed in both videos, the basic structure for the front half of the gauntlets remained the same.
It would be impossible for two people to use the design of the Hextech Gauntlets as an original design for their Exo suit at the same time. It would also be even more unlikely for him to have come across both of them at the same time. The world never had that many coincidences.
"Prop Master, it's without a doubt the Prop Master. Haha, I knew he would have an upgraded version. Oh boy, I will be slapping all your faces swollen this time."
The chubby kid with glasses was ecstatically dancing around as he immediately logged onto his B site account to upload the video.
Since he was chubby and his exam grades were poor, he was always alone and felt slightly inferior about himself since he was little. Normally, he enjoyed reading manga alone or would spend his time researching about programming, video editing, handmade crafts, or any skills he found interesting.
He was commonly labeled as a 'tech nerd' on the internet. However, his understanding in each field was extremely elementary.
Although he was no expert, this did not stop him from developing interest in those fields. Ever since he had stumbled upon a video about making a model Charge Blade by an uploader named Prop Master, he had clicked onto the 'similar videos' suggestion tab after watching it.
He initially assumed this insignificant uploader was only making some model cosplay props and did not expect this uploader to continuously surprise him.
This uploader had even restored the metal Charge Blade from Monster Hunter and fully functioning Hextech Gauntlets with detailed physical appearance.
There was even an upgraded version—a pair of gauntlets with limited Exo suit functionality!
It seemed every single upload had fully satisfied his interests and imaginations and was able to satisfy his viewing pleasure.
He lamented on it because that was how a tech nerd should be. As the saying went in the past, 'this is exactly how a man should strive to be.'
After following a few videos, he had become one of Prop Master's loyal followers. The first thing he did upon waking up was check notifications from B site to see if Prop Master had made any new uploads.
Besides that, there was one more important thing for him to do and that was helping Prop Master out in going head-on with 'political correctors', haters, blind mockers, and comment trolls.
There were plenty of comments like, 'Anything should have a purpose. This is only good to look at and is impractical for combat. This is fake'… It seemed that trolls were abundant.
The most enjoyable thing he did and spent most of his time doing was arguing with these people.
In all honesty, in a way, he was also considered a troll and admitted to that fact.
However, he could not accept people attacking his favorite uploader!
Besides, he was also determined that Prop Master would already have an upgraded gauntlet with actual combat ability or perhaps would make one in the future.
Did Prop Master not show off a metal version of Charge Blade just the next day after uploading the first version? It was a similar case when he uploaded the Hextech Gauntlets video when he had presented an Exo suit capable of lifting and gripping stuff the day after. With that, why would it be impossible for him to make a more awesome version of anything?
With this thought, he was determined to give Prop Master his full support. Thus, using the confidence given to him by the internet, he would spend hours every day arguing his hearts out with these trolls.
However, after such a long time, Prop Master never made a response toward these trolls nor did he make an update on his Exo suit series. Instead, he uploaded the non-serious Card Master video.
Slowly but surely, the trolls on the Exo suit video became even more aggressive and hostile. It seemed as though his rebutting comments were losing steam because his reasons sounded hollow. He was instead attacked by plenty of people and that had even resulted in him becoming a troll himself. The only words that could describe his emotions during all of this were heartache and humiliation.
It was different then. Did they not want proof? Did they not claim Prop Master was nothing more than a regular person that was incapable of making an actual Exo suit? Did they not say the glory days of Prop Master were over?
Their proof was right here, with actual video evidence that could slap the faces of these trolls swollen. It was time for him to reclaim his innocence!
He waited for a really long time that it was only until late at night was the full unedited video uploaded online.
The instant he saw the upload progress bar reach 100%, the chubby kid felt extremely relaxed. It was as if he had ascended to a higher plane and seemingly brought justice as a true defender of virtue.
Of course, it was not the time to rejoice.
[Look at that. Don't they look like the gauntlets made by Prop Master? It's been my speculation that the gauntlets previously made by Prop Master was only an early prototype but none of you believed me.]
[Come on up, those who commented about the impossibility of making one with combat abilities and has no meaning in making one anyway. Gather up and give me your face. Allow me, your Fatty Boss, to grace your faces with several tight slaps. Oh, there were a few comments made about it being made to take out trash, what do you say now?]
[Actual combat with the Hextech Gauntlets, recorded through a cell phone and completely unedited. What else are you guys going to say about it?]
As he opened up the comment section, his fingers rapidly hammered the keys on his keyboard while tagging, @Propmaster, @Alltrollswhowereagainsthim. His thick and chubby fingers seemingly exploded with unimaginable life as he poured out all of his pent-up emotions in those comments. It only took him a second to type out several comments before posting it online.
"Fatty, switch off the lights and go to bed already. What are you watching that has you laughing like a maniac? Could you actually care about your image for once? We're still here, you know?"
Several roommates of the chubby boy sounded impatient as they rushed him.
"I'm watching a serious video."
The chubby kid was embarrassingly frustrated as he looked up. However, he immediately suppressed his boiling rage and got up to switch off the room lights while ignoring the blinding lights emanating from the monitor, carrying his laptop back onto his bed with him.
Sleep? That would be non-existent.
'I will fight till daylight. I will be interested to see what those trolls have to say.'
Once again, the chubby kid was bathed in the flames of battle and ready to slay anyone who dared stand against him. He was determined to have a virtual tongue war with those people and was prepared to have a sleepless night. This would cause more people to lose sleep at the same time.
Lin Yu, on the other hand, was sleeping soundly without a single clue as to what had happened. He was unaware that a bloody war was happening online which stemmed from him. This battle was getting more brutal and violent by the second. It was the power of sparks and embers which had now spread into an uncontrollable wildfire.
The tags made by the chubby kid had attracted a huge group of sleepless trolls and popcorn spectators. This had resulted in a huge spike in shares, views, likes, and other related stuff. This viral spike had also unknowingly crept into Lin Yu's personal profile's video feed.
However, it was already the next morning when this came to his attention.