"Eh! Is this streamer also fishing downstream of Qinglong Lake? The environment looks pretty similar to that of Angling Liu!"
"Not just similar, it's the exact same place. See the cell tower across the river? This is the western bank of Wangjiazhuang, near the edge of the Hua Jian!"
"Damn, now that you mention it, it really is!"
"No way, I have to go to Liu's stream to tell my buddies, so we can all go grab the prizes!"
Upon seeing the last message, Yue Feng felt like trouble was brewing. Damn it, don't people love adding fuel to the fire? Poaching viewers from another streamer's channel is just making a mess of things!
As expected, in less than a minute, Yue Feng received Liu's PK challenge request!
A PK is a form of live streaming common on many platforms, where two streamers encourage their fans to send virtual gifts, and whoever draws more support in a set amount of time wins.
At the end of the day, it's a way of 'drinking the blood' of the fans—though the gifts are virtual, they are bought with real, hard-earned cash. At this stage, Yue Feng didn't have many fans and was not keen on trying this out. Even if there might be some short-term gain, it would be like quenching thirst with poison—not a sustainable strategy.
"Let's just focus on our own stream, and don't go around starting trouble. Brother Liu already invited me to PK, and I declined," Yue Feng said.
"Man, you're such a scaredy-cat! We've got so many brothers in this stream, what could go wrong if you accept it? If they dare to show their teeth, our brothers will take care of it!"
"Exactly, accept it!"
"Go ahead and accept. I've been in his stream before, and the atmosphere here is way better. They don't have any big sponsors, let's take him on!"
The warmongers suddenly became spirited.
Seeing the PK request pop up again, Yue Feng scratched his head reluctantly but accepted, thinking it would be better to just clear the air. There was no need to have a PK over gifts—to create unnecessary animosity when they would inevitably see each other again.
Soon, the PK was connected, and the screen split in two, showing the first-person view of both individuals.
"Brother Liu, I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't manage to keep things under control, and some viewers went to your channel and stirred things up!"
Though Yue Feng hadn't really done anything wrong, he adopted a more humble stance and apologized to Liu Mingyuan right off the bat.
Liu Mingyuan sneered coldly without a hint of warmth, "Brother Yue Feng, you're playing a wild game here. If you want to gain some followers, you could have just co-streamed with me. Why let your viewers stir things up in my channel!"
Hearing this, Yue Feng's face began to show hints of being unable to hold up his facade, as everyone had watched previously—Yue Feng had not instigated or persuaded anyone. It was merely the individual action of some viewers.
Moreover, Yue Feng had already apologized with the first thing he said, not expecting Liu Mingyuan to reply without giving him any face.
If Liu Mingyuan had been a huge internet celebrity with fans in the hundreds or millions, he would have the right to talk like that. But Liu's stream barely reached two hundred viewers at its peak, barely stronger than Yue Feng, yet he spoke so boldly.
Any bit of goodwill Yue Feng had vanished instantly.
"You got it wrong, Brother Liu. I didn't ask my viewers to stir things up. I accepted the PK to clarify this matter with you, to avoid any hard feelings. Now that we've talked, I won't disturb your fishing any further. We'll chat later!"
After saying this, Yue Feng actively disconnected the PK!
The more Yue Feng avoided conflict, the more Liu Mingyuan felt provoked. Watching Yue Feng hang up on his PK challenge, Liu Mingyuan clicked to request again.
Yue Feng saw the PK request pop up once more and furrowed his eyebrows in annoyance. Was this still not over?
Connect!
"Haven't done anything shameful, so why the rush to hang up? How about it, since we have similar numbers, shall we have a go?" Liu Mingyuan suggested.
"Better not, I just started and don't really know many people, and I don't have many big sponsors in my stream. I'm not comfortable with this kind of PK that's all about who has more money," Yue Feng shook his head, unwilling to agree.
"How about we change the method? Let's not compare the score of gifts anymore; how about we compete with fishing?"
Ding! You are currently facing a provocation from Liu Mingyuan, will you accept the challenge? Since you have a Challenge Voucher, accepting will automatically generate the corresponding challenge task. Winning the challenge will grant you generous rewards! Failing the challenge will result in certain punishments!
No sooner had Liu Mingyuan made his suggestion than Yue Feng received a system prompt. He could now activate the challenge mission?
Since the prompt mentioned generous rewards and did not cost a Challenge Voucher, Yue Feng had nothing to be afraid of. Besides, Liu Mingyuan's fishing skills were just average and not much better than Yue Feng's.
The only reason he didn't bother with him was to avoid trouble, not because he was afraid of the other party. Now that the other side had repeatedly provoked him, it was no wonder Yue Feng wouldn't show mercy anymore.
"What's the method?" Yue Feng had made up his mind, but he didn't immediately accept the challenge. He wanted to understand the rules first.
"Both our fishing spots are doing well right now, so how about we compete for ten fish? Whoever catches ten fish first wins. The loser has to stand on their hands and bark like a dog!"
"Isn't this punishment a little harsh? It feels somewhat insulting," Yue Feng hesitated and asked.
"What's the big deal? Plenty of them have turtle drawings on their face; standing on your hands and barking is just a game. Lots of streamers play this way, don't make it too serious!"
"Alright, let's do as you said!"
Upon hearing the rule was to catch ten fish, Yue Feng was full of confidence. Not to mention that his fishing spot was in a "hit-after-hit" condition, while Liu Mingyuan's spot, not far away, was barely "about to jump", slightly slower than Yue Feng's.
"Deal! Let's settle this! Restart the PK, time is running out!"
Understanding the rules, Yue Feng instantly accepted the system's challenge mission!
Ding! You have successfully accepted the challenge mission "Ten Fish"
Reward: Random
Punishment for Failure: Unknown!
Very soon, the PK in the live broadcast room started up again, and Yue Feng readied his double hooks with lure, then joined the PK.
"Let's start!" Yue Feng gave a shout-out and swiftly cast his line into the water.
Yue Feng's fishing spot was next to the spade's edge in a whirlpool. When he cast his line, fellow anglers had reminded him that the water was a bit shallow, currently only about 1.5 meters, around forty to fifty centimeters shallower than Liu Mingyuan's side.
Normally this slight difference wouldn't matter, but in an official fish-off PK, it was critical.
The shallower the water, the shorter the time for the double hooks and lure to reach the bottom. Both people cast their lines into the water nearly at the same time, Yue Feng's float had already reached the fishing mark, but Liu Mingyuan's float was still on its way down, more than ten centimeters from the fishing mark.
Yue Feng's fishing spot was fully stirring, and he was using the current stage's most effective lure for middle-sized fish, the meat-stuffed bun lure. As soon as the bait hit the bottom, there was an immediate bite, followed by another firm bite. The fish were biting steadily.
He lifted the rod to hook the fish! Hit the target precisely! The fish's strength underwater was not weak, bending the rod into a beautiful arc.
To apply pressure on the opponent, Yue Feng purposely stared at the screen after taking the fish off the hook and shouted, "First one in the house!"
He cast his second rod, and even before it hit bottom, it was intercepted mid-way by another fish, a slightly smaller crucian carp!
Usually, Yue Feng wouldn't count a small crucian carp just over a pound towards his catch, but now that the competition was about the number of ten fish, size didn't matter!
"Second one in the house!"
In just a few minutes, Yue Feng had already caught six fish.
Liu Mingyuan was starting to panic!