Chapter 169: Blowing Up
The next morning...
Shen Tian woke to the sound of his phone vibrating.
Once.
Twice.
Again.
Again.
And again.
He remained beneath the blankets.
Eyes closed.
For several seconds...
He attempted the ancient technique known as pretending the problem didn’t exist.
Bzzz.
Bzzz.
Bzzz.
His eyebrow twitched.
"..."
Another notification.
Bzzz.
Shen Tian finally reached toward the nightstand.
His fingers searched blindly until they found the phone.
He brought it closer.
Opened one eye.
Then...
Both eyes opened.
287 notifications.
"...What?"
Most were from social media.
Several were emails.
Dozens came from the streaming platform he’d created an account on yesterday.
His channel had apparently continued growing while he slept.
Shen Tian slowly sat up.
His golden hair was completely disorganized.
He opened his streaming dashboard.
Then stared.
Followers: 68,412
He refreshed.
68,439
"..."
Another refresh.
68,481
Xu Ning appeared above the foot of his bed.
She was lying horizontally in midair with her chin resting on her hands.
[Good morning, Host.]
Shen Tian looked toward her.
"Explain."
[Explain what?]
He held up the phone.
"This."
Xu Ning nodded.
[You’re becoming famous on the game.]
"I streamed once."
[For over five hours.]
"Once."
[And you were involved in the first Hard Mode dungeon clear.]
"Fair."
[You also eliminated twelve player killers in a clip that currently has more than two million views.]
Shen Tian blinked.
"Two million?"
Xu Ning lifted a hand.
A holographic screen appeared.
Several videos floated around her.
RANGER PLAYER 1V12s PK GUILD
SHENTIAN NEVER MISSES
WHO IS THIS GUY???
FOREST RUINS FIRST CLEAR POV
THE MOST INSANE RANGER CLIP IN ETERNAL REALM
Then...
One particularly popular short video.
It showed Shen Tian standing in the forest.
Three fleeing player killers disappeared between the trees.
Shen Tian lowered his bow.
A second later...
Three arrows descended from above.
All three struck.
The clip froze.
Large text appeared.
BRO TURNED ETERNAL REALM INTO AN ANIME
Shen Tian stared.
"..."
Xu Ning tilted her head to the side.
"Why is there dramatic music?" Shen Tian asked.
[I don’t know.]
"They added lightning around me."
[I noticed.]
"That didn’t happen."
[People enjoy editing.]
The clip resumed.
A badly edited golden aura exploded around Shen Tian.
Shen Tian slowly lowered the phone.
"...People are strange."
Xu Ning nodded solemnly.
[Very.]
Shen Tian continued scrolling.
Some comments accused him of cheating.
Others defended him by explaining Eternal Realm’s full-dive architecture made conventional aim assistance impossible.
Several professional players had reacted to his footage.
A few esports organizations had publicly asked who he was.
And...
There were already rumors that Shen Tian was secretly some famous professional player’s alternate account.
One post had an enormous conspiracy thread attempting to identify him based on his movement.
Shen Tian read several paragraphs.
"They think I’m a retired Korean professional archer."
[Apparently.]
"I’m not Korean."
[The replies have begun arguing about that.]
He scrolled.
Someone else believed he was an Olympic athlete.
Another claimed he was an AI test account created by the developers.
Another...
Shen Tian paused.
"...Alien?"
Xu Ning shrugged.
[That one’s my favorite.]
Shen Tian tossed the phone onto the bed.
"I’m going back to sleep."
Xu Ning immediately responded.
[You have a Fate event beginning in fifty-three minutes.]
His eyes opened again.
"...Jiang Feng?"
[Correct.]
That woke him up.
Shen Tian stretched.
"Guild?"
Xu Ning nodded.
[The first stage.]
A transparent screen appeared.
---------------------
Target: Jiang Feng
Current Fate Value: 190,000
Destiny Event: Gathering the First Companions
Associated Future Organization: Windfall
Event Value: Variable
Long-Term Destiny Importance: Extremely High
---------------------
Shen Tian looked over the information.
"So today’s when he starts building the guild?"
[Not officially.]
Xu Ning enlarged the explanation.
[His original Fate path begins more naturally.]
[Today, he completes several quests alongside players who eventually become his core members.]
[He gains their respect.]
[Over the next several days, they continue grouping.]
[Eventually, one of them suggests forming a permanent guild.]
Shen Tian nodded.
"So he doesn’t wake up and announce that he’s creating one."
[Correct.]
"Better."
[Why?]
"Feels less forced."
Xu Ning stared.
[You’re critiquing Fate’s writing now?]
"Always."
She rolled her eyes.
Shen Tian climbed out of bed.
Before he could make it three steps...
His bedroom door opened.
He stopped.
Shen Yan stood there.
A breakfast tray rested in her hands.
She smiled warmly.
"Good morning, Little Tian."
"...Morning."
She entered.
Placed the tray on a small table.
Then looked toward him.
"You were going to play again."
It wasn’t a question.
Shen Tian blinked.
"What makes you say that?"
Shen Yan pointed at him.
"You’re already awake."
"..."
"And you looked toward the gaming wing the moment you stood up."
"...You could tell?"
"Of course."
She smiled proudly.
"I know you."
Then...
Her eyes narrowed.
"Are you playing with that woman again?"
Shen Tian immediately knew which woman.
"MoonPetal?"
Shen Yan’s smile vanished.
"So you remember her name."
"...She’s on my friend list."
"Suspicious."
Shen Tian laughed.
"Big Sis."
Shen Yan walked closer.
"I’m playing too."
"You don’t have to."
"I know."
"Then..."
"I’m playing."
She smiled.
Decision made.
Shen Tian sighed.
"Fine."
Shen Yan immediately brightened.
"I’ll level today."
"Good."
"You’ll help."
"..."
"You said fine."
"I said you could play."
"Same thing."
Shen Tian shook his head.
Breakfast became significantly less peaceful when everyone else arrived.
Yin Suyi entered first.
Then Ling Shuangxue.
Bai Xue.
Li Lian.
Chu Zijin.
Ruan Yizhen.
Chu Mei.
Chu Chuchu.
Chu Luoshen.
Qin Ruobing.
Apparently...
Word had spread.
Shen Tian looked around the breakfast table.
Everyone had phones out.
Everyone had Eternal Realm information open.
Chu Mei pointed toward him.
"You became famous in the game without us!"
"I played for one day."
"Exactly!"
Chu Chuchu nodded.
"We weren’t there."
Bai Xue leaned back in her chair.
"I watched the clip."
Shen Tian sighed.
"Which one?"
"The player killers."
She smiled.
"Not bad."
"Thanks."
Ling Shuangxue looked toward her tablet.
"Your follower growth is unusually high."
Shen Tian stared at her.
"Are you analyzing my channel?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Business."
"...It’s been one stream."
"Early growth matters."
She turned the tablet.
A chart appeared.
---------
(Author’s Note: IMPORTANT!)
SEND POWESTONES!!!
ALL SUPER GIFTS (Magic Castle, Space Ship, Golden Gachapon) = MORE ChapterS!