Sui Ning simply felt there was no need to explain the barrage of jokes. After all, the viewers shipped people in such strange combinations that they could pair a few hundred CPs in a single day. If he tried to explain, he’d probably just make himself look worse.
…But that so-called “Daddy’s Gonna Give You a Smooch” patron had better not bring it up again.
A shiver ran down Sui Ning’s spine as he racked his brains to change the subject.
But soon, some strange new comments slipped into the barrage.
[Just got here, is this Brother Walnut’s stream? QWQ]
[Just got here, can I be a little fish in Brother Walnut’s fishpond?]
[Just got here, can I gay with Brother Walnut here?]
A whole flood of viewers poured into the stream, speaking in terms no one else understood.
[??]
[What’s going on?]
Sui Ning: …Huh?
“Nut… uh, Brother Walnut…” The black-haired youth twitched at the name, his temple throbbing. “Wait a sec, where exactly did this nickname come from?”
The new viewers all started explaining at once.
Sui Ning rubbed his temples: “Ugh… so you guys saw some… short clip on Didi Video and followed it here?”
[How dare you disrespect the video like that, I order you to say its full name out loud.]
[Come on, everyone repeat after me: That day, I met gentle Brother Walnut.]
[That day, I met gentle Brother Walnut! (Obedient)]
[Louder! Did you skip dinner or what!!]
[Hahahahahaha front row seats to the streamer’s social death.]
[Spam it, spam it!]
Sui Ning: ……
The barrage kept egging him on to search for the video. Sui Ning didn’t really want to get caught up in all this nonsense outside the game, but the title of that video made his skin crawl. He couldn’t shake the feeling that if he didn’t check it out, something even scarier might come back to bite him later.
…The bad premonition was way too strong!!
With no choice, he opened a browser, typing the keywords as slowly as if he were walking to the execution ground.
——
[The enemy’s hail of bullets was merciless. His cold arrogance could not withstand it; staggering two steps, he collapsed in a pool of blood…]
With sorrowful BGM, the video showed the Coldfront Lord charging in like a brainless fool, taking every single enemy skill to the face before dropping dead.
[Despair…]
[Salvation…]
The Three-Tailed Fox appeared nearby, avenging the Coldfront Lord.
[…A fleeting encounter—whose heart did fate disturb?]
The two then stormed the enemy’s high ground side by side, fighting shoulder to shoulder.
Sui Ning: …………What the actual hell.
He felt suffocated.
If he had committed a crime, let the law punish him—why did it have to be this?!
Sui Ning forced himself to finish watching the rest of the highlight reel. To be fair, if you muted the BGM, turned off the subtitles, and removed the blinding pink sakura full-screen effects, the scene was pretty hype. But still…
The youth’s voice trembled: “The… the editing’s pretty good…” Please never do it again!
What kind of ultimate cursed material was this?! Why the hell did they slap in an ad at the end, even Photoshopping Xiaolian’s head onto a Diamond Walnut?! Why?! Why!!!
[I’m f— pfft hahahahahaha]
[Can’t breathe, I’m dead hahaha]
[Good news, good news, the Forbidden City I carved out with my toenails is finally finished!]
[Package received, abs grown too, thanks streamer, works great!]
[Congrats Brother Walnut, center-stage debut in the cursed edit zone hahaha!!]
Sui Ning’s eye twitched: Thanks for the invite, sure, he did want to make a debut—but definitely not in the cursed edit category!
But the video was so absurdly viral that many of his big spenders started to stir things up.
[User “Brother Walnut’s Little Wife” sent Baby Sharkx10!]
[User “Brother Walnut’s Little Husband” sent Baby Sharkx20!]
[?]
[Hehe, suggestion: the two of you should duel it out.]
By now, Sui Ning’s stream had climbed into the top ten of the trending charts, subscriptions soaring like crazy—but for once, he just felt utterly drained.
[I hereby declare myself a proud member of the Walnut Protection Squad!]
[Wait what? Did I miss like twenty episodes??]
[So the streamer’s fans are… farmers? Since walnuts grow in the ground??]
[If I plant a walnut in spring, will I harvest a cute streamer in autumn? Sending hearts]
“Don’t mess around.” Sui Ning rubbed his temples. “…This is just my… uh, operation highlights.”
[New Concept Operation Highlights.]
[Yeah, whatever you say hahahahaha.]
[Farmer reporting in!]
The bullet screen exploded in laughter, gifts were flooding nonstop, and Sui Ning could only helplessly start thanking them one by one.
Ji Yunyu also watched the video. The full screen of hearts and barrage of “Together forever” and “So sweet, so sweet” annoyed him.
For no reason at all, he felt a little sulky. He wanted to send gifts to draw Sui Ning’s attention and make him play with him, but… this was only the first hour since they’d met—why the hell was he acting like some bitter, resentful wife?
Frustrated, Ji Yunyu tugged hard at that tuft of purple hair. After repeatedly giving himself a pep talk and finally calming down, his eyes fell on the other protagonist in the video—the ID [Princess Yaoyao].
…Wasn’t that his idiot cousin?
Could it be that Sui Ning liked that noob-type of player?
The boy’s mood soured again.
But he couldn’t bear to close the stream, so he just sat there watching and stewing in frustration, his good-looking brows twisted into a knot.
——
The next day.
About to set off back to the club, Ji Yunyu finished packing and leaned against the doorframe. His deep eyes rested on his cousin, who was cleaning the room. His expression was complicated, unhappy, as though there was something he wanted to say but kept swallowing back.
Ji Mengyao: “…What are you staring at me for?”
The boy ground his teeth for a while, his expression shifting several times, then spat out fiercely: “—Lucky you.”
Ji Mengyao was dumbfounded: …? Stupid?
“What’s that supposed to mean? Explain yourself!”
“Doesn’t mean anything. I’m leaving.”
Dragging his luggage out in annoyance, the boy disappeared through the door.
Ji Mengyao, feeling completely baffled, shook her head and returned to her room to check on Little Walnut’s livestream as usual—only to discover…
“Holy sht sht sht sht!!! I lost my #1 rank!!! Who the hell is this?!”
“What the fck, ‘Xiao Yunduo’? Why does it have the same name as that dog-sht little brother? You just have to go against me, huh?!”
Meanwhile, Sui Ning was having his usual breakfast with Xu Hexuan—tea eggs again. Thanks to yesterday’s winning streak, he had already reached Gold V, and his gold coins had long since piled up enough to officially start climbing toward National Server rank.
For some reason, he suddenly thought of that mature, “Neighbor Old King” from last night, and curiously asked: “Hexuan, do you know my ex-girlfriend?”
Unexpectedly, Xu Hexuan looked at him very oddly. “Since when did you have an ex-girlfriend?”
Sui Ning froze: “Wasn’t it Mengmeng?”
“Meng what?” Xu Hexuan was confused. “Wait—you’re not telling me that’s the pet name you gave Xu Meng, are you? Ew—are you running a fever?”
Xu Meng…?
Sui Ning instinctively felt this was the person he needed to know more about. But judging from Xu Hexuan’s reaction… could it be the original owner had been dating Xu Meng without telling him?
His thoughts were spinning, but his face stayed calm. He brushed off the topic with a few vague words and dropped it.
Lowering his eyes, he began searching on his phone.
“—Pfft!!”
“Holy sh*t!” Xu Hexuan shouted. “What the hell are you doing?!”
Sui Ning had just sprayed a mouthful of water, his face filled with utter shock.
On the phone screen, the encyclopedia entry clearly read:
[Pei Siyuan, famous Chinese actor, recipient of … awards, best known for …]
[Xu Meng, rising Chinese actor, debuted in … co-starring with Best Actor Pei Siyuan …]
…Male… Xu Meng was a guy?!
Sui Ning’s entire worldview began to collapse. He remembered how the original body had once publicly confessed to his supposed crush on a show, checked the photos again and again, and confirmed that the man last night was indeed Pei Siyuan.
So—original body liked Pei Siyuan. Pei Siyuan liked Xu Meng. Xu Meng acted all green-tea in front of the original body. Death triangle, logic loop complete?!
Three men?!!!
Even Sui Ning, well-traveled and knowledgeable, couldn’t help but suck in a cold breath.
So the one who had misunderstood everything all along—was himself.
The clown… turned out to be me!!
Trembling, Sui Ning opened WeChat and repeatedly confirmed that Pei Siyuan had already been shoved into the blackest of blacklists, the hell of hell. Wiping away the cold sweat on his forehead, he swore—
In the future, he absolutely had to stay away from the original body’s circle of friends. As long as he deleted people fast enough, the drama couldn’t catch up to him.
He was never going to waste his time in some ridiculous love triangle. Never.
——
In a daze, Sui Ning opened his livestream.
The bloody love triangle left his heart cold—only this game’s new hero still carried a trace of warmth.
He forced himself to calm down, throwing aside all the grudges and melodramas of wealthy families and the entertainment circle, and opened the game to buy the new hero.
The moment the livestream went live, viewers immediately noticed something different about the streamer today.
[Whoa, the streamer got the new hero, my youth is complete.]
[Xiaolian, you died so tragically! The streamer won’t grind for your national server rank, the streamer has no heart!]
[Any big shots know what this hero is?]
At the center of the screen, a petite, adorable girl smiled brightly. Her delicate, youthful face still carried a touch of innocence, her long sky-blue hair shimmered like starlight in the night, and her eyes brimmed with playful mischief, as if anticipating a grand and dazzling adventure.
Sui Ning clicked on the hero details beneath the mischievous little girl’s portrait.
[Stellar Sprite · Aeria]
[Role]: Mage, Assassin
[Release Date]: February 21
[Passive — Galaxy Bloom]: Within 6 seconds after casting a skill, Aeria’s next basic attack deals bonus magic damage and applies a Galaxy Mark to the target.
[Q — Meteor Orbit]: Fires a star, its damage increasing based on travel distance. The skill can be recast to redirect the star. When hitting a target with a Galaxy Mark, the star deals increased damage.
[W — Mischief]: Aeria throws a magic trap into the target area for 1.25 seconds, continuously dealing magic damage within the zone and slowing the first enemy hit by 35%. When it expires, the trap explodes, dealing double magic damage to enemies in its inner circle.
[E — Come Play with Me!]: Aeria tosses a doll trap. After 4 seconds, the target is put to sleep for 2 seconds, unable to act. Taking damage interrupts the sleep and causes the target to take double damage. If the skill hits a target with a Galaxy Mark, Aeria can recast within 4 seconds to pull the enemy in a chosen direction.
[R — Interstellar Leap]: Teleports to a designated spot for 1 second, then returns to her original location. During teleportation, Aeria can cast skills, attack, and gain vision beyond walls, but cannot move.
The viewers on the barrage also saw the hero introduction and instantly erupted in noise.
[Isn’t this the new hero Aeria that just came out a few days ago? A lot of streamers have already tried her, seems trash, doesn’t work in high-ranked games.]
[The ult is just a blink with no damage, yet her role is Assassin? Born crippled, basically]
[What am I supposed to do to save you, a trash hero with only three real skills?]
“Don’t rush. This hero has great potential,” Sui Ning said.
[LOL, if you say so, streamer, then it must be?]
[]Plenty of top streamers already said she’s useless. Don’t get cocky, Brother Walnut.]
[The hottest streamers before—Feather Emperor and Pea—both said Aeria is the weakest new hero in two years, no contest.]
[Does Aeria have a national server ranking yet?]
[No, the leaderboard hasn’t updated. It’ll refresh on the first of next month. Right now, rank one is Feather Emperor, but his points aren’t high, just over ten thousand.]
This month was the second month of the S6 season, and ranked and tournament meta hero scores for the national and provincial leaderboards were already very high.
Take the [Phantom Trickster] for example—a burst assassin mage with high skill damage and clean, efficient animations, able to dive into enemy lines and execute a target instantly. Its current national top score is 14,600 points, held by the player ID “CrowFeather_SeriouslyClimbing.” Despite being a traditional mage-assassin with glaring weaknesses—low sustain and low forgiveness—it still reached that score.
Looking at that, Aeria’s “rank one” with just over 10,000 points really was pitiful. And keep in mind, even though the leaderboard officially locks on the first of each month, rankings before then update in real time.
Faced with waves of doubters and insults from chat, Sui Ning didn’t explain further. Instead, he simply changed his stream title to: [Let’s set a small goal first: Aeria solo-queue win streak to King rank]
The chat instantly exploded.
[Holy crap crap crap crap]
[Don’t, Brother Walnut, don’t be so arrogant, I’m scared I can’t wash your reputation if you flop.]
[Streamer, fly bravely—if something goes wrong I’m not covering for you!!]
Sui Ning kept a calm smile, but his voice was firm and serious: “No joke. Not a single loss.”
[Bro, don’t do this, you’re scaring me.]
[LOL, if you really go full win-streak, I’ll do a handstand and get diarrhea on stream.]
[Any big shots wanna tell us what difficulty this is?]
[Above—this is about as hard as when Fairy Fawn tried the solo win streak to King. After all, it’s solo queue.]
In War of Glory, solo win streaks to King were a hugely popular streaming gimmick. Similar ones included 100-win streak challenges or even 200-win streak challenges. For strong national or pro players, this wasn’t unheard of—but the vast majority did it in five-man stacks, or at least duo queue. Solo players who managed it were rare, and only when they secured strong meta heroes.
But Aeria? A trash assassin with an ult that dealt no damage, flashy to the point of incomprehensible—how could she possibly manage it?
——
Little Shark Streaming Platform, in streamer A-Gao’s room.
The haters mockingly call him “Cake Emperor.” Everyone knows that in the pro scene, the throne is not easy to inherit—usually it costs you a “-1 mom” price.
When he had just been “forced into retirement,” his livestream popularity was sky-high. Sure, most were haters, but there were also plenty who pitied him. Now, though, two years have passed since he was kicked out of his team. With age catching up and training severely lacking, A-Gao’s skill level has clearly declined. This season, his main account in S6 has only barely reached Extraordinary Master.
Most of his former fans have long since left. Those who remain are basically just trolls waiting for him to lose his cool.
Right now, he’s smoking while streaming. His champion, [Blood Count], gets surrounded in the jungle and desperately spams pings for backup, but still dies before his teammates arrive.
“F*** your jungle, do you even know how to play?!” A-Gao, looking disheveled in his rented flat, slams the desk. “What the hell are you doing in your trash jungle, picking f***ing mushrooms?!”
[LMAO, masterpiece of the Cake Emperor losing it again.]
[Cake Emperor logic: I got ganked, not because I suck, but because you didn’t back me up.]
[Stop blaming the jungler! Why didn’t you help him in the last fight?]
A-Gao glances at the scrolling comments, trembling with rage: “No, seriously, do you dumb***es even have brains? Tell me, how the hell was I supposed to go there? No vision, support didn’t move—how was I supposed to go, huh?”
“You f***ing tell me. Say it.”
[6666666]
[He tilted, he tilted, he tilted]
[Trash is trash, who you calling names you five-dollar clown.]
[Quote of the day: ‘If support doesn’t go, how do I go?’ Cake Emperor < Support. One line isn’t enough, add more pls.]
“I’m telling you, these Masters are so trash now.” Agao frowns deeply, takes a long drag of his cigarette, and stares at the giant [Defeat] on the screen. Then he blocks all four teammates in one go.
[Can’t win an argument? Just block.]
[Griefed teammates? No problem—block them and I win!]
He lets out a scornful laugh, rakes his greasy, messy hair with one hand, and quickly logs into his smurf: “Some idiots saying I’m washed up? Really makes your dad laugh. When I kill you clowns in your dog-tier rank, it’s like killing dogs, understand?”
[666666, gets stomped in Master, runs to Gold for validation.]
[Dumb dog Cake Emperor biiiisss.]
A-Gao queues ranked on his Gold smurf. Unlike Extraordinary Master, Gold matches pop instantly.
“Now put your glasses on, haters. Watch closely.” He locks in [Blood Count]. “All of you who were just yelling, saying Count mid is trash—wait until you watch this game before running your mouths to your dad again.”
As he’s bragging, he sneaks a look at the enemy mid pick—[Stellar Sprite].
A-Gao bursts out laughing: “F***, these low-rank dogs, their understanding is so advanced. Playing something trash like Aeria mid? Are you kidding me?”
“This game, I’m going to kill twenty.”
[999999, first time I’ve seen someone flexing in Gold.]
[Eternal mystery: who’s the worse mid, Count or Aeria?]
[It’s 2077 and some clown still plays Count mid, what’s the thought process? Isn’t this champ supposed to be broken top lane?]
[Son, you look cool talking tough to Golds, but when AQ kicked you out, you looked pathetic!]
AQ was A-Gao’s old team. After his “retirement,” AQ’s results in the HPL noticeably improved—a dagger straight to the heart.
A-Gao just sneers and ignores the chat flame.
Soon, both teams lock in.
Game loading——
[Red Side] vs [Blue Side]
Top: Fearless Tank vs Harlenna Scout
Jungle: Shadow of Vengeance vs Falcon General
Mid: Stellar Sprite vs Blood Count
Marksman: Frost Archer vs Night Stalker
Support: Melody Fairy vs Shield Bearer
Welcome to the War of Glory!
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