Moaning sounds echo in a poorly lighted area. As squelching and thumping noises echoed on the bed, a guy and a woman's voices could be heard clearly.
"Sh*t, that felt good..."
As he walked around his room, a young man said. His body began to drowse and weaken as his phone, which was still playing the pornographic film, dropped to the floor.
His sperm slowly flowed down from the bed and landed directly on the screen of his phone, where it began "ghost touching" the screen, launching endless pop-up adverts referring to dubious websites and downloading files and programs that most certainly carried malware. He wasn't aware of anything because he was already fast asleep.
[Would you like to download and install Star_Stream.xapk?
No/Yes]
Another sperm dripped on the side of his bed and landed right on the "Yes" button, which quickly began installing the software.
[Star Stream has been installed successfully!]
**************
The gleam of sunlight shone right on the young man's face as he slowly opened his eyes and let out a yawn, stretching his body to wake up. Sitting on his bed, he began scratching his face absentmindedly. After a brief moment of staring into space, his gaze fell upon his phone lying on the floor. Upon closer inspection, he noticed dried stains of his own semen on the screen. Grabbing a wet tissue paper, he diligently cleaned the phone screen. As he opened it to check the time, his eyes widened in shock.
It displayed:
[9:55 am]
"Oh, no! I'm late!" he exclaimed, feeling a surge of panic.
Without hesitation, the young man swiftly shot up from his bed and changed his clothes. He skipped bathing and brushing his teeth, opting to quickly change his attire and apply some deodorant. Without wasting any more time, he mounted his bike and sped down the road.
After ten minutes of pedaling, he arrived at the designated site, panting heavily. He locked his bike to a nearby pole and immediately approached a group of individuals clad in tight-fitting attire reminiscent of speedos. Each member wielded a different type of weapon, most of which seemed outdated and out of place in the interstellar era. One man carried a sword from medieval times, another brandished a bow and arrow straight out of an elven fantasy, and there was even an axe engulfed in unquenchable flames.
"You're five minutes late," the leader of the party remarked sternly.
"I'm so sorry, boss! It won't happen again!" the young man apologized, his voice filled with remorse.
He dropped to his knees before the woman who possessed the elven bow, acknowledging her as the leader.
"According to our contract, even if you're only one second late, you won't receive your salary this week," she reminded him, her tone unforgiving.
"Please, don't do that! I have no other source of income apart from being a porter. If you cut my salary, I don't know if I'll survive next week with the loan sharks after me! I beg you! I'll do whatever you ask, just don't withhold my wages!" the young man pleaded, his eyes welling up with tears.
The woman and her companions couldn't help but be amused by the spectacle, smirks forming on their faces.
"You're willing to do anything?" she inquired, a hint of mischief in her voice.
"Yes! Anything! I'll clean all your equipment, cook for you, be the bait, or anything else you need," the young man eagerly responded.
"Hmmm... then eat this," the woman commanded.
She signaled to the man standing beside her, who promptly threw a bag at the young man. As he opened it, a putrid stench wafted out, causing his nose to twitch in disgust. Inside the bag lay a decomposing Sludge Rat, an F-tier Primal Monster. The young man struggled to suppress his gag reflex as he looked at the woman and her companions, who wore grins on their faces without a hint of contempt. Powerless to resist, and with no other choice, he contemplated his options. These spoiled individuals possessed overwhelming power compared to him, a mere F-rank Starter.
Tears welled up in his eyes as he reluctantly picked up the decomposing Sludge Rat and brought it close to his mouth. With each bite, he chewed on the foul creature, tears streaming down his face. The onlookers laughed at the pitiful sight, with some even recording the scene, unable to fathom the depths to which a person would sink for a few meager bucks.
"Bleugh!"
Unable to bear the revolting taste any longer, the young man began to vomit on the ground. In his retching, a small drip of vomit accidentally splattered onto the woman's shoe.
"You disgusting brat!" she exclaimed, her voice filled with contempt and anger.
She delivered a powerful kick directly to the young man's face, sending him flying and causing him to stumble upon hitting the ground. Despite the impact, he mustered the strength to push himself up, but before he could fully rise, the woman swiftly released an arrow that struck his right hand, piercing through it and embedding itself into the earth.
"Urrghh!!" The young man gritted his teeth, enduring the intense pain as he stared at the arrow lodged in his hand, unable to remove it. Desperate to free himself from the agony, he attempted to grasp the arrow for extraction. However, a blade swiftly pressed against his throat, halting his movements.
"Choose," the man spoke, his voice cold and menacing, "remove the arrow and you die, or release your hand from the arrow and you live."
The young man's red, bloodshot eyes burned with pure anger and wrath, directed not only at the man before him but also at everyone present. With a heavy heart, he relinquished his grip on the arrow, deciding against pulling it out. Instead, he slowly withdrew his hand, the pain intensifying with each inch of separation.
"Arggghh!!" It was a tormenting sight to behold as the young man gradually extracted his hand from the arrow's shaft, his bloody hand trembling with agony. Once finally free from its piercing grasp, he tenderly cradled his injured hand, the pain pulsating through his entire being.
"Kill yourself," the man commanded, his voice laced with malice, as he delivered a forceful kick to the young man's jaw, instantly rendering him unconscious.
Ting....ting....ting....ting...
The young man gradually regained consciousness, and as he opened his eyes, he found himself in a cold and sterile environment. The bright light above and the white ceiling above reminded him of the afterlife.
"Am I dead?" he wondered aloud.
"Unfortunately, you're not," a man replied. It was a typical doctor, dressed in a lab coat, engrossed in reading the young man's file. He stared at the young man with absolute disgust, as if he were gazing upon a repulsive creature, not bothering to show the slightest hint of care or concern.
Unfazed by the doctor's reaction, the young man rose from his bed and began removing the tubes and needles attached to his body. He swiftly retrieved his worn and tattered clothes from the nearby table and hurriedly made his way out of the hospital room.
"Where are you going?" the doctor inquired, his tone filled with indifference.
"I have no money to pay for these medical bills. You should have just let me die in that hellhole," the young man replied with a bitter edge to his voice.
"I would have if it were up to me. But some foolish Samaritan decided to help you—a 4th class citizen, worth less than livestock. You're a fortunate beggar. That person has already covered all your expenses. If it weren't for them, I'd have worked you like a slave."
"Then please convey my gratitude to whoever that person is, for wasting their money on a worthless bum like me," the young man retorted, his response devoid of sincerity.
Without waiting for the doctor's response, the young man briskly exited the room.
"Tch... hobos," the doctor muttered disdainfully under his breath.
**************
The young man arrived at a towering high-rise building and stepped into the elevator. The apartment complex stood an imposing 50 stories tall, surrounded by the urban sprawl. However, an eerie silence pervaded the place. It wasn't due to a lack of inhabitants; on the contrary, it was densely populated by 4th-class citizens. The silence stemmed from their collective fear and the need to hide, a response to the rampant crime that plagued the area. This was District 21, ruled by a tyrannical warlord—an Evolved of C-tier status—who governed the district with an iron fist.
During the day, the district appeared drearily peaceful, but as night fell, the members of the Carnival Union emerged. The branch leaders would disperse to their respective territories, enforcing protection fees upon the citizens. In truth, these fees were nothing more than extortion, a veiled threat that failure to pay would result in death.
The citizens had no choice but to comply. District 21 was the only place that offered them proper living conditions—adequate bed spacing, ventilated rooms, bathrooms, kitchens, and affordable rents. However, the burden of protection fees weighed heavily on their shoulders. The rates varied depending on the branch territory one resided in. The young man, in particular, belonged to the Rabbit Branch, led by Rabbit, a F-tier Evolved. Despite being the weakest among the branch leaders, Rabbit was known for implementing structured laws. Unlike other branches that demanded protection fees nightly, Rabbit required payment only once a week. Failure to pay resulted in a fine that doubled the payment rate for the subsequent fee. However, citizens were only subject to three fines. Once fined for the third time, instant death awaited them.
"Today is the day I must pay my protection fee. This is my second fine, and if I can't pay now, I'm as good as dead," the young man muttered to himself, his eyes welling up with tears. He unlocked his phone, revealing the wallpaper featuring his idol, The Righteous One—an S-tier Grandmaster renowned for heroism and serving as an inspiration to the human race, particularly to low-class citizens like himself.
'Life's so f*cking unfair. If it were you, Righteous One, what would you have done?' The young man sighed and unlocked his phone, realizing that the porn website was still playing. He immediately closed the app and checked his notifications. To his dismay, he discovered that he had unknowingly downloaded several files, likely containing viruses. He swiftly deleted them, hoping to avoid any damage to his phone.
Curiosity piqued when he noticed an unfamiliar app icon among his recent apps. "Star Stream?" he muttered, puzzled. Just as he was about to tap on the app, the elevator doors opened, indicating that he had reached his floor. He stepped out, allowing a shy-looking woman wearing a hoodie to enter the elevator. "That's my neighbor," he thought, wondering about her hidden beauty behind the hoodie. Without dwelling on it, he entered his own room and flopped down on his bed, feeling as if his body had entered low-power mode automatically.
Glancing at his phone once more, he decided to satisfy his curiosity and tapped on the app icon. The screen immediately turned black, displaying a starry font that proclaimed, "Star Stream: The No.1 Multiversal Streaming Platform," accompanied by visually appealing themes.
"Number one, my ass. Developers will go to great lengths to exaggerate their applications just to make a few bucks," the young man snorted, dismissing it as mere marketing hype. Nevertheless, he proceeded to explore the app, expecting it to be full of nonsense. He was then prompted to sign up for the app, which he didn't mind, and proceeded to create an account.
"To sign up, please place your fingerprint on the scanner below ↓."
"Weird authentication method, but okay," he muttered to himself. Placing his thumb on the fingerprint pattern displayed on the screen, a loading bar appeared.
[/// ]30%
[////// ]60%
[///////// ]100%
[Authentication Succeeded!]
[Now begin the process...]
[What is your role?
Streamer: A streamer is an individual or content creator who broadcasts live video content on a streaming platform. They create and host the stream, engage with their audience through live chat and interactions, and typically have their own channels or profiles where viewers can follow them.
Viewer: A viewer, also known as an audience member or spectator, is someone who watches the live streams created by streamers. They access the streaming platform to watch and interact with the streamer's content, participate in live chat discussions, engage with the streamer through comments, and support them by following their channel, subscribing, or donating. Viewers can search for specific streams, browse categories and channels based on their interests, and discover new streamers.]
"What kind of content would I create if I became a streamer? A day in the life of a heavily indebted 4th-class citizen? But of course, I'd just be like anyone else, a viewer," he contemplated, ready to choose the "Viewer" option. However, he hesitated for a moment. He had never felt like the protagonist of his own life. He was always relegated to the background, existing only to serve others' narratives. He wasn't truly living; he was merely surviving.
'Even if this thing turns out to be an absolute scam, I might as well try being a streamer just for the fun of it,' he chuckled to himself, feeling a sense of excitement. With that, he made up his mind and selected the option to be a Streamer.
A soft chime sounded, and a message appeared on the screen.
[YOU HAVE CHOSEN TO BE A STREAMER!]
The young man's anticipation grew as he wondered what lay ahead. Suddenly, the screen prompted him to center his face at the camera for the final authentication process.
"By scanning your facial structure, you have agreed to our Terms and Conditions Policy," the message stated.
The camera on his phone activated, and he adjusted his face to be centered within the frame. As soon as the outline on the screen turned green, an unexpected flash of light erupted, accompanied by a loud explosion-like sound. The intense blast struck the young man's head, causing him to lose consciousness once again.
Another soft chime resounded.
[Authentication Succeeded!]