Chapter 59: Voting
The live stream fell completely silent. Across the screen, Karina’s eyes were filled with utter disbelief.
’How is this possible!’
’Weren’t they saying her style was limited, that she could only sing slow, soothing songs?’
In her stream, without all the fancy equipment Karina had, Sophie Wexler began to sing.
Even with no accompaniment, her voice alone was enough to draw people in, leaving them completely entranced.
"Slender fingers beckon the spring light, an enchanting pace, a fleeting glimpse of grace..."
The woman’s voice was like a soft whisper in their ears, filled with an indescribable emotion that pulled listeners into a boundless space of imagination.
Sweet but not cloying, delicate but not seductive!
Everyone was lost in her song. Long after it ended, they couldn’t snap back to reality.
It wasn’t until a loud CRASH came from Karina’s stream that everyone seemed to wake up.
Instantly, the bullet comments exploded, flooding the screen.
The entire screen was completely covered.
[AHHHH, I’M LITERALLY SCREAMING LIKE A GROUNDHOG! WHO GETS HOW EXCITED I AM, WHO?!]
[My heart is pounding!]
[My heart is pounding like a drum right now! It’s going crazy! Teacher Sue, you really live up to your name. I feel like my whole heart has turned to jelly.]
[She doesn’t even need any backup music. Her voice has its own reverb. It’s so beautiful.]
[This is a total bombshell, right?! All her previous songs were so mellow. I never expected Sue could have this kind of voice! All the other songs I’ve listened to suddenly seem bland.]
As the bullet comments scrolled across the screen, Karina’s face turned ashen.
The water glass she had knocked over in a fit of anger was still lying on the floor.
Even the comments in her own stream were saying: [Wow, that was actually really good. I was totally captivated.]
[If it weren’t for... I’d actually want to vote for her.]
[Have you guys lost your minds?! Whose side are you on?!]
Karina’s fans were furious when they saw those comments.
Only after seeing this did the "water army" remember they were the paid commenters Karina had hired.
They offered a couple of unnatural defenses: [Even though you sang well, you’re still a step below our Karina.]
Sophie Wexler’s fans scoffed in amusement: [What, did listening to too much bad music break your ears? You guys should develop some taste.]
Karina struggled to suppress her rage. Off-camera, her hand was clenched so tightly her knuckles were turning white.
’It’s fine,’ she forced herself to think. ’So what if she can sing well? When it comes to the vote, she’s still going to lose to me.’
At this thought, her anger subsided a little. She put on a smile again and looked at the camera. "Can we start the voting now?"
"Hold on," Sophie Wexler said unhurriedly.
Hearing this, Karina smirked, assuming Sophie had accepted reality and knew she couldn’t win. "What, are you going to concede? If you forfeit now, you’ll have to apologize to me for the plagiarism."
Sophie let out a soft laugh. "Who said I was going to concede?"
"I just want to make this vote a little more fair and just."
"What do you mean by that?" Karina’s expression changed.
Sophie looked at the message from platform management on her communicator: [Miss Wexler, it’s been handled. The StarNet’s main Light Brain will identify the abnormal accounts from the water army and exclude them from the vote.]
Did she think only her platform could pull strings? They could, too.
Did they really think the Arts and Entertainment zone was still the same old place anyone could come and stomp on? Ever since Miss Wexler arrived, their status had changed completely.
After finding out she had bought a water army, they had gone to the platform’s general manager and asked him to request that the higher-ups activate the main Light Brain’s screening mode.
The main Light Brain’s identification capabilities were extremely powerful. With its multi-angled, precise calculations, those water army accounts had no chance of escaping its detection.
After reading the message, a slow smile crept onto Sophie Wexler’s lips. "Alright, we can start the voting now."
Hearing this, Karina felt a terrible premonition. She frantically contacted her staff.
[What did that Sue Shiver mean just now!]
[Are you sure there are no problems with the water army?]
[Where are you? Reply!]
Message after message was sent, but the other side was silent, as if they had vanished.
Everyone in the live stream was watching, and even her own fans were urging her to start the vote.
’They wanted to see that arrogant little streamer suffer a miserable defeat!’
The urging grew louder and more frequent. Left with no choice, Karina could only grit her teeth and start the vote.
Seeing this, Sophie Wexler also opened the voting channel on her end.
Instantly, the vote count at the top of the stream began to climb frantically. Karina stared intently at the voting bar, a growing panic rising in her heart.
Just then, her staff finally replied: [Nana, the other side had the Light Brain activate its abnormal account detection! The water army can’t vote! We’re trying to figure something out.]
Reading this, Karina’s mind went blank: [They never do this for normal streams! Why would they activate abnormal detection this time?!]
[Staff: Their upper management did it.]
[Karina: Didn’t you say that platform doesn’t care about the Arts and Entertainment zone at all, that they were even thinking of shutting it down?!]
[Karina: I don’t want to hear your explanations! Figure out a way to fix this right now!]
The staff member was sweating bullets. The Light Brain had already intervened; it wouldn’t stop halfway through. There was no turning back now. But...
[Staff: Nana, don’t worry. Even without the water army, your fan count is way higher than hers. You’ll definitely win the vote.]
Karina calmed down after reading this.
’That’s right,’ she thought. ’I’m a major streamer. My fan base is far larger than hers. What do I have to be afraid of?’
Once she reasoned this out, her confidence returned in a flash.
Her gaze toward Sophie Wexler became defiant.
"Looks like your vote count isn’t as high as mine. I guess your song wasn’t all that great after all."
The voting period was still ongoing, and the numbers clearly showed Karina in the lead.
Sophie Wexler’s expression darkened slightly.
Seeing the situation, Sophie Wexler’s fans started to panic: [Vote, quickly! Or we’re going to lose!]
With only a dozen or so seconds left on the clock, the gap in votes for Sophie Wexler was still quite large.
Just as Karina thought victory was in her grasp...
The next second, a massive wave of new viewers flooded into their joint stream.
Then, as everyone watched, Sophie Wexler’s vote count began to skyrocket at a visible rate.
It climbed with incredible speed, managing to surpass Karina’s total in the final second of the vote to take first place.
Karina’s eyes went wide. "How is that possible!"
"You must have cheated!" Her voice became incredibly shrill. "You definitely cheated! This result is wrong!"
’I have so many fans, how could I possibly be overtaken by some small-time streamer?’
’This is impossible!’