Livestream Conflict-solver: The Whole Internet Begs Me for Justice!

20: Fans increase, skills upgradedHe slept soundly through the night.

The warmth of the covers and the newly added balance in his bank account were the perfect remedies for curing all awkwardness.

Zhang Ze was awakened by the chirping birds outside the window, and he groggily reached out, fumbling for his phone on the nightstand to check the time.

The moment he unlocked the screen, the red badge (99+) on the Music Note APP remained.

”Again?” Zhang Ze yawned and muttered. He was already used to this barrage, guessing it was either fans urging him to hurry up until Saturday, or people leaving comments digging up his failed alternate account video from last night.

Lazily, he tapped open the APP and habitually glanced at his homepage.

Then, he instantly sobered up.

On the screen, below the ID [Brother Pingshi], the fan count column displayed a number that made him hold his breath.

[Fans: 213,000]

”Holy crap?”

Zhang Ze abruptly sat up in bed, all sleepiness gone. He rubbed his eyes hard, then leaned closer to the phone screen, nearly pressing his face against it.

That’s right! Two hundred thirteen thousand!

Before he went to sleep yesterday, his fan count was still hovering around 150,000; although it was rising, the speed had already slowed down. How did he gain nearly 60,000 fans overnight, as if he had ridden a rocket?

”What’s going on? Did I secretly sleepwalk while streaming?”

He quickly opened the platform’s trending topics list.

The topic [# Brother Pingshi Challenges Master Lei #] was still hanging high on the top of the list, its popularity undiminished.

But immediately following it was a new topic that made his eyelids twitch—[# Protect Our Showy #].

Tapping into it, Zhang Ze’s old face immediately flushed red.

Inside were all screen recordings and clips of his PK session last night using his alternate account, [A Lone Boat on the River and Sea].

Some video titles were: ”The Unknown Side of the Righteous Streamer, The Cool Persona Collapses in One Second!”

Others were titled: ”A Tally of Brother Pingshi’s Awkward Quotes: I Am Merely Here to Experience the Hubbub of the Mortal World!”

There was also a video with the highest view count, edited by a marketing account, which juxtaposed the fierce scene of him smashing a teapot during the day with his helpless, embarrassed appearance after being caught by fans during his evening PK, set to two different BGM tracks—one intense and one comedic—creating a strong contrast and cuteness.

The comment section had completely fallen.

”Hahahaha, I declare that A Lone Boat on the River and Sea is my source of happiness this year!”

”What kind of treasure Streamer is this? Striking hard during the day, timid and shrinking at night. I love him, I love him!”

”I originally came to watch him expose the fake master, but I ended up becoming a fan of this Showy guy. Followed!”

”So Brother Pingshi isn’t some otherworldly deity; he’s just an unlucky guy who wanted to PK with a female Streamer but got his tower sniped by his own fans, hahahaha!”

Zhang Ze covered his face.

The tall and mighty image of ”Brother Pingshi” that he had meticulously crafted was completely derailed by this ”A Lone Boat on the River and Sea.”

But looking at the rapidly rising fan count, he couldn’t help but grin.

Being infamous is still fame, and being Showy is still fame!

Just as he was happily scrolling through the comments, a long-unheard, crisp electronic sound suddenly rang out in his mind.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host, the fan count has exceeded 200,000, achieving the new accomplishment ”Minor Fame”!]

[Accomplishment reward granted: The skill [Lie Recognition] has been upgraded to (Intermediate), rewarding 10,000 points of [fan favor value]!]

Zhang Ze’s spirits lifted!

It’s here, it’s here! The system reward has finally arrived!

He immediately opened the system panel to check.

[Lie Recognition (Intermediate): You can perceive the intensity and emotion of lies more clearly. When the opponent lies, your brain will receive short keyword prompts, such as: guilty conscience, exaggeration, malice, bluster, etc.]

”Holy crap! This is awesome!”

The previous Elementary skill only let him know if the opponent was lying, like a simple lie detector.

Now that it has upgraded to Intermediate, he can not only know if the opponent is lying but also analyze the psychological state of the opponent when they lie!

”Bluster,” ”guilty conscience”... The image of Master Lei Long’s pretentious old face immediately surfaced in his mind.

If on Saturday, that man dared to say anything about ”deflecting a thousand pounds with four ounces” or ”stopping upon contact,” wouldn’t his brain immediately sound the alarm: ”Ding! The opponent is currently blustering!”?

Awesome, awesome.

Coupled with the rewarded 10,000 fan favor value, his total fan favor value now reached 25,000 points—another huge sum.

In high spirits, Zhang Ze jumped out of bed.

He decided to press the advantage and add more fuel to the fiery public opinion.

He turned on his camera and recorded a new short video.

In the video, he wore a simple white T-shirt, his hair still slightly messy, looking like he had just woken up.

But he was genuinely handsome.

”Brothers, good morning. I just woke up. I heard I’ve gone viral? And you even gave me a new nickname called ’Showy’?”

He scratched his head, feigning helplessness, ”Let me clarify, that wasn’t me last night. That was a friend of mine named ’A Lone Boat on the River and Sea.’ He’s rather introverted and not very articulate, so please bear with him.”

”Of course, I also thank the new Brothers who followed me. Whether you came to watch me resolve disputes or watch me embarrass myself, once you’re here, we’re family.”

Speaking of which, his tone suddenly shifted, and his eyes sharpened.

”This Saturday at 10 AM, don’t forget. I, this ’actor,’ am going to meet the ’director’ Lei Long. At that time, whether it’s art or martial arts, philosophy or a joke, we’ll find out the truth in the live stream!”

At the end of the video, he grinned, showing a set of white teeth, and winked at the camera.

”Oh, and my friend named ’Lone Boat’ asked me to ask you something: Next time during PK, could you go easy on him? He’s thin-skinned.”

As soon as the video was posted, the comment section exploded again.

”Hahahaha! Officially certified, that’s the most lethal!”

”A friend? Who are you fooling! Brother Ze, you are truly both strong, cowardly, and adorable!”

”Looking forward to Saturday! I’ve already set up my stool and bought my sunflower seeds!”

His fan base was now large, and the private messages pouring in every day were varied and strange.

[Brother Ze, the dog downstairs barks every night, giving me nervous exhaustion, and the property management won’t do anything. Could you help me have a heart-to-heart talk with the dog’s owner?]

Zhang Ze scrolled past. Having a heart-to-heart with a dog was too high a difficulty coefficient.

[Brother Pingshi! I was cheated out of my feelings and money by a scumbag. Here are his photos and address. I beg you to help me break his third leg!]

Zhang Ze frowned and scrolled past that too. Resolving disputes was fine, but he couldn’t act as a hired thug, nor could he get involved in such romantic disputes; it was easy to attract trouble.

[Brother Ze, please pick me! My company boss has withheld our wages for several months, constantly making empty promises. When we ask for it, he just plays dead.]

This was somewhat interesting, but too complicated to handle. It involved labor arbitration, which was not something a Streamer could easily resolve.

He patiently scrolled down message by message. Most were trivial family conflicts, emotional disputes, or people trying to get free advertising by offering nothing in return.

Just as his eyes were starting to blur and he was about to take a break, a recently sent private message captured his full attention.

The sender’s ID was [A Cloud in the Corner], and the avatar was a gray sky, exuding a sense of oppression.

The content of the private message was short: [Brother Ze... Hello. I saw your video. Do you really... help people?]

Zhang Ze raised an eyebrow.

This opening line was completely different from the messages that boldly demanded him to ”uphold justice”; it sounded hesitant and doubtful.

He tapped into the message, and the sender’s next message immediately followed.