“All right, here’s the situation.”
“Player, I notified you first thing this morning. Your current situation is classified as a bug. Because you started a Live stream and unexpected events happened, you were reported by other players, so the game supervisor knows about this too. To prevent you from leaking any more information about the bug, we have to shut down your streaming function.”
“Supervisor?” Jiang Ye reacted when she heard the title. “That's your boss?”
“You could say that.” Chubby Bird nodded.
“So, regarding my situation, has your company figured out how they plan to deal with it?” Since they were on this topic, Jiang Ye decided to get a clear answer.
Chubby Bird shook her head.
“Your boss doesn’t handle things?” Jiang Ye let out an “oh” and explained, “I mean, that supervisor.”
As she spoke the title, Jiang Ye thought to herself that the game company’s overall vibe was pretty chuunibyou.
The company values weren’t great, and the office culture was just weird.
Faced with her questions, Chubby Bird answered earnestly.
“Your bug problem isn’t under the supervisor’s jurisdiction, so he won’t take action against you for the time being. Other people will handle your case.”
“Oh, there are more bosses?” Jiang Ye had a lot of experience as a corporate worker.
Just from a few words from Chubby Bird, she could already imagine a drama of office politics, like the big boss and the second boss fighting over the family fortune.
“That’s one way to put it.” Chubby Bird looked conflicted.
Seeing how tangled the bird was, Jiang Ye simply dropped the subject and stated her concern: “I only hope that if you're really planning to fix this bug, you can give me a solution as soon as possible. I didn’t trigger the bug on purpose; your company should be ready with a compensation plan.”
Although she was a little reluctant to leave everything she had on this Island, Jiang Ye knew that all of this was an accident from the start.
If the company wanted to fix the bug, then all these things that shouldn’t exist would definitely disappear as well.
Jiang Ye even suspected that she might get her account deleted.
She consoled herself with the thought that, at least before then, she managed to seize the chance to make some quick money and save up enough to escape to another planet with A-Xing.
Now the Hidden instance was selling like hotcakes, and her earnings were pretty good.
It wasn’t really a loss.
When she left, at least the flowers, coconut trees, dried fish, and all that stuff on the Island would still have Fan Xiaoche and He Xiaoshang to look after them.
Jiang Ye let go of Chubby Bird, flopped onto the sofa, and closed her eyes to rest.
Seeing this, Chubby Bird was rather surprised.
She had originally thought that this player would cling to the issue of the Stream room shutdown and keep threatening her.
She hadn’t expected Jiang Ye would be so reasonable, giving up after hearing her explanation.
Chubby Bird flew to the coffee table and stared at Jiang Ye.
Could this person actually be a good person? Did she have a conscience?
“What are you staring at?” Jiang Ye closed her eyes, hands behind her head, one leg cocked swaggeringly over the back of the sofa while the other dangled lazily—her pose like an octopus.
“Who—who’s staring at you?!”
“I suggest you rest up. The ocean at night is only going to be more dangerous than it was.”
With that, Jiang Ye fell silent.
Chubby Bird nonchalantly twisted her waist.
She wasn’t going to sleep.
As she thought this, she flopped backward, her whole bird body spread flat on the coffee table like a pancake, belly up.
Her little claws stretched out in comfort.
Number 128 sent her a message.
128: How’s it going?
233: No problem. I’ll fix the bug right away.
128: The bug is secondary. If you see the Guardian, remember to secretly snap a picture.
233: Leave it to me!
Chubby Bird grinned and, with nothing else to do, opened the Game Forum.
There was a newly trending post at the top.
“Streamer ‘So Poor Wont Chat’ Stream room shut down. Anyone know why? Any juicy gossip?”
1st post: Who’s ‘So Poor Wont Chat’?
2nd post: Lurking.
3rd post: Hahaha, is it that streamer with a black stick for a stream room!
4th post: Shut down? How’d that happen?
5th post: Wow, I’ve never seen a Streamer get shut down before. What’d they do? I want to watch the drama.
12th post: Don’t tell me they got banned for NSFW stuff?
15th post (I Have a Lot of Hair): Bwahaha! I knew my report would work!!!
18th post: Damn, the 15th poster got them banned?
20th post (I'm Super Fierce): You perv, the Streamer does eating shows!!!!
I'm Super Fierce was furious.
She’d finally waited for evening, happily prepared her money, ready to open ‘So Poor Wont Chat’s’ Stream room and enjoy a good Live stream, buy some food to reward herself for a hard day of gaming.
But she’d waited and waited, and the Streamer never came on.
Clicking the Streamer’s homepage, she saw only an enormous yellow card warning and a stern reminder.
“Hello. The Streamer you follow has been suspended from streaming for suspected violations.”
The cold row of words hit I'm Super Fierce like a bucket of ice water.
Her food! What the heck had that idiot Streamer done to get suspended!
I'm Super Fierce was left stewing in anger with nowhere to vent, so she opened the Game Forum to look for related posts, only to see that thread and I Have a Lot of Hair’s reply.
I'm Super Fierce gnashed her teeth.
Very good.
It was all that bald guy’s fault.
She hadn’t forgotten that the other day, this guy was spouting nonsense in the Streamer’s Stream room, telling people to “take it off, take it off.”
Despicable human male!
To say such things to a streamer with a granny voice! How could anyone do that?
And now he’d gone and reported her too.
I'm Super Fierce clenched her fists.
She clicked onto I Have a Lot of Hair’s profile and found that he’d even posted a bounty for someone else.
When she checked the details, she got angrier.
So this was the same bald jerk who’d insulted her in the queueing screen!
And obviously, the Dual Blacks woman he’d posted the Forum Bounty Post about was the big sis who’d saved her from disaster.
I'm Super Fierce made a note of this on her mental blacklist.
During the novice village phase of the game, you can’t PK.
I Have a Lot of Hair’s bounty was pointless right now.
But when the player reached Level 15...
The flash of icy light in I'm Super Fierce’s pretty blue cat eyes was chilling.
When the time came, she’d make sure he learned what “payback in kind” really meant.
Streamer ‘So Poor Wont Chat’ being banned was terrible news not only for the player I'm Super Fierce but for Chun Dengluan as well.
He was still thinking about that portion of tuna fried rice.
He’d clearly had it in hand, but never managed to take a single bite.
At this moment, he could practically smell its aroma in the air.
What a pity.
Chun Dengluan pressed his lips together and closed the Forum.
He glanced at the gold coins he’d prepared and silently put them back in storage.
The discussion on the forum about ‘So Poor Wont Chat’ was spiraling out of control, with people piling on fake accusations.
Some said things like she sold fakes in her Stream room, others claimed she was involved in illicit activities.
No one seemed to think it through—this was a Virtual Game Stream room.
How would you even sell fakes in-game?
I Have a Lot of Hair—Li Fan—was happily watching the chaos, fanning the flames and having a great time.
He even contacted his Chubby Bird, Number 128.
“Not bad, not bad, your department is pretty efficient.” Li Fan complimented.
“Yes yes, thank you for your praise, dear player.” Chubby Bird 128 answered perfunctorily, but thought to herself, This guy has no idea the Streamer’s ban had nothing to do with his report.
At bottom, it was just a game bug.
Right as Number 128 vanished with the sunset and the sky darkened, signaling official nightfall, she messaged Number 233—who, at that moment, was lying in an unused ashtray on the coffee table, fast asleep.
Jiang Ye had already opened her eyes.
She looked at Chubby Bird’s pose and shook her head helplessly. She quietly scooped some water to wash her face, then walked over to Chubby Bird and snapped her fingers.
The snap sounded like thunder to Chubby Bird.
Bird body recoiling like a rubber ball, she sprung straight up all at once.
“What’s going on?!”
“It’s dark.” Jiang Ye drew back the curtains.
Outside the wooden hut, every glimmer on the sea had faded away. The sun had taken the light and warmth, leaving the Island in darkness.
Upon the sea, sky and water melted into one—a deep, endless black.
There was no moon to be seen.
Within this thick darkness, it felt as though something unnameable lurked—a beast hiding where sky met sea, waiting behind every ripple.
As sight was stripped by the dark, sound heightened.
Every wave striking shore and seeping into sand reached Jiang Ye’s ears.
She had never gone into the ocean at night.
Just standing ankle-deep on the beach, feeling the cold waves surge up and cover her feet, some ancient terror would rise within her.
She swallowed and forced the fear down.
“You okay, player?” Chubby Bird, sensing her unease, actually spoke with rare concern.
Jiang Ye nodded—she was fine.
She held out a palm to Chubby Bird. The bird cocked its head, not understanding.
“Hop on. Be my flashlight.” Jiang Ye was concise.
“You think I’m a walking flashlight?!” Chubby Bird squawked.
But after staring into Jiang Ye’s eyes for ten seconds, Chubby Bird gave up. Swearing under her breath, she hopped into Jiang Ye’s palm, grumbling internally that things would be fun once the Guardian was awake.
Her beady bird eyes shot out light, illuminating the darkness.
Rippling water shimmered in the glow.
Jiang Ye took a step forward. The sand sank an inch beneath her, leaving footprints.
Before she knew it, Fan Xiaoche and He Xiaoshang stood before her.
“Master.”
The two of them called out in unison, faces full of resolve.
Jiang Ye didn’t know the reason for their determination, but inspiration struck and she got a new idea.
She snapped her fingers and He Xiaoshang changed into a monk seal.
Dark-colored, round-headed, and glowing under the bird light, he sprawled at her feet and gleefully slapped his flippers, sending up waves.
Fan Xiaoche instinctively huddled to Jiang Ye’s side, hugging her waist tight, passing warmth.
Jiang Ye was still wrapped in the wolf fur cloak A-Xing had given her.
With her body warming gradually, comfort returned and fear receded.
She reached out and took Fan Xiaoche’s hand, as if holding her little sister, and led the way to deeper water.
Just as Jiang Ye fully entered the sea, Fan Xiaoche too morphed back into her animal form.
This time, she was smaller, miniaturized, circling closely, sticking to Jiang Ye like a cozy heating pad and giving her warmth.
The monk seal rolled over, making a loop before her.
Jiang Ye understood—she swung a leg and mounted the seal.
She stroked its slippery head.
The monk seal wriggled joyfully under her touch, then let out a call.
Seal Roar!
Whoosh—
Jiang Ye, carried by the seal, shot into the deep.
With its superb dive speed, the monk seal barely slowed even with Jiang Ye aboard.
Like lightning, it sliced through the water, unstoppable.
Chubby Bird was clutched tight, feathers whipped into a wild, frizzy mess by the speed.
Chubby Bird 233 didn’t even get the chance for a Space Gate—she just kept screeching the whole way.
“Chirp—!”
Ordinarily, Jiang Ye would’ve taken twenty minutes to reach the giant rock. This time, riding the seal, she arrived in under five.
She slid off the seal, patted its head affectionately, and gave her thanks.
She approached the rock, placing her palm on it as before.
The row of words appeared again.
This time, standing out like a bas-relief, it wasn’t “sun” or “death,” but “moon” and “life.”
The word “life” shone brighter and brighter.
With that light, the previously unmovable rock gradually shifted aside.
Jiang Ye had to turn her head.
As the door cracked open, a huge wave surged out, as if thousands of evil spirits had been released all at once.
Her ears rang painfully from the noise. No idea what caused it, but it was harsh enough to make her frown.
The monk seal and ocean sunfish instantly reverted to their original forms, blocking her from behind like walls, shielding her.
After about three minutes, the surge finally subsided.
Jiang Ye stood at the entrance, peering in.
Inside was darkness itself.
She reached behind for Chubby Bird to serve as a flashlight, but Chubby Bird was already gone.
“Useless thing,” Jiang Ye sighed.
Disappearing exactly when she was needed, as usual.
Jiang Ye steeled herself and headed in. She had to—the Mini-map arrow pointed deeper.
She and the monk seal and ocean sunfish had just entered when the rock slammed shut behind them.
It was like a beast snapping its jaws, eager to gobble its prey.
The monk seal and ocean sunfish guarded her sides, giving her solid security.
Jiang Ye released her nine sea snakes, linking up senses with her pets to keep aware of her surroundings.
Suddenly, a flicker of light appeared ahead.
It was an egg-like thing, perfectly jiggly like a runny poached egg, swaying in the water as if freshly cooked.
The sea snakes seemed curious, so they slithered closer, coiling around it.
Jiang Ye was about to stop them, but a second later, the egg flipped over and wrapped the sea snake inside.
“Egg yolk jellyfish!”
Jiang Ye instantly saw through the disguise.
More precisely, this wasn’t an ordinary egg yolk jellyfish. It had clearly mutated. Its size, the tentacles swaying in the water—nothing was as she remembered a normal egg yolk jellyfish.
It hunted less like a jellyfish, more like an octopus.
A deadly giant egg yolk.
Jiang Ye was pondering how to get past the egg yolk when, with a burble of bubbles, more and more egg yolk jellyfish spaced themselves all along the dark tunnel.
It was a jellyfish minefield!
Now the whole patch of sea was filled with jellyfish tentacles.
One look and it was obvious the tentacles were venomous.
Or else the sea snake wouldn’t have gone limp the moment it touched one.
Jiang Ye’s mind raced, searching for a way through.
But as she was lost in thought, her ocean sunfish pet suddenly burst into action.
That “dummy fish,” for once, charged toward the jellyfish like there was no tomorrow.
“Wait! Xiaoche!” Jiang Ye’s head throbbed.
She was going to have to lecture Fan Xiaoche once they got back on land—it wasn’t safe to eat just anything in the ocean.
Just because something looked like an egg yolk didn’t mean it tasted like one!
Unable to watch her pet get into danger, Jiang Ye turned away and waited for Fan Xiaoche, the ocean sunfish, to lose too much HP and return to her Pet Pack.
But after a while, there was no such System Notice.
Puzzled, Jiang Ye peered into the water and was stunned.
Fan Xiaoche was chomping down on jellyfish after jellyfish.
The jellyfish tried stabbing their tentacles into the sunfish, injecting venom, but the ocean sunfish was just too thick-skinned and dense. With a gigantic head and slow nerve conduction, the venom wouldn’t reach its brain core for ages.
All the sunfish wanted was—
—Eat the egg yolk!
Jiang Ye silently stepped back with the monk seal and watched “Steamed Fish Head” vs. “Poached Egg.”
She’d finally remembered.
Ocean sunfish, being too dumb to compete with other fish, would dive deep and hunt on jellyfish as their food.
Ordinarily, a sunfish couldn’t handle such a giant mutated jellyfish—but this was a game. The jellyfish had mutated, and the sunfish’s appetite had apparently leveled up as well.
Perfect.
Jiang Ye watched Fan Xiaoche clear out the jellyfish minefield with an unstoppable sweep and was deeply impressed.
By the time Fan Xiaoche had eaten her fill and turned to Jiang Ye for praise, tail wagging, Jiang Ye immediately gave her a thumbs-up.
Wise as a fish! Wise as a fool!
Wasn’t that just “big fish eats small fish, hero meets nemesis?”
Jiang Ye pat the fish’s head with satisfaction, feeling fired up.
Who says only those bathed in light are heroes!
Our steamed fish head is a champion too!
Go! Follow the arrow! Go deeper!
Keep moving forward!