Love Bitstream: Chapter 23 - The Fruit Transport Plane
Chapter 23: The Fruit Transport Plane
Since he had started streaming over half a year ago, this was the first time Chi Zhen had ever felt the urge to run away.
He was introverted. Normally, at school and in class, he could go an entire day without saying more than a couple of sentences. But streaming was different—he didn't have to show his face. All he had to do was play games.
Playing games was something he was good at.
He didn't have to worry about how to respond to people, either. The chat messages came one after another, and he could simply pick the ones he wanted to answer. If there was something he didn't want to address, he could pretend he hadn't seen it and focus on explaining game mechanics instead.
He liked talking about game mechanics.
He could talk about them endlessly because he was a gaming streamer. Nobody would tell him, "Stop talking about useless things," "Get your priorities straight," or "Can't you learn something more practical?"
But today—
Chi Zhen genuinely didn't want to stream.
After finishing his morning classes, he first checked Pineapple Video to see how yesterday's Mad Monk guide video was performing. The view count was growing nicely. After thinking it over, he dug out last night's recording and spent the entire afternoon painstakingly editing a new video: "Master Fisherman! The Challenge of Catching 186 Fish in Zhuyu Waters in One Trip!"
When he finished editing, he paused to think for a minute. Would uploading this get him permanently marked for PvP by Way of Heaven and Dominating the Firmament?
One minute later, he clicked Upload.
By the time he finished, it was dinner time.
Normally, he'd order takeout and finish eating in ten minutes. Today, however, he diligently cooked a bowl of luosifen, cracked in an egg, and washed some vegetables.
Afraid of finishing too quickly, he ate while scrolling through his phone.
He browsed the Quest for the Azure Heavens forums.
"Why Did the Server's Number One Player, Endless Time, Backstab Way of Heaven?"
"818: The Love-Hate Relationship Between Endless Time and Cold Sword Shadow"
"The Darkest Night of Way of Heaven, the Largest Guild on Moonfall Starsinking Server"
"818: Where Did The Light Boat Has Passed, the Man Who Played Both Major Guilds Like Fiddles Overnight, Come From?"
Chi Zhen nearly sprayed luosifen out of his mouth.
He clicked into the thread about himself and discovered that it was basically free advertising. The poster had listed his streaming platform, his channel, the games he usually streamed, and even highlighted and bolded his stream room number. The poster also stated that they genuinely believed CZ Xiao Chi had accidentally stumbled into Misty Autumn Rain's confession scene because they had lurked in his stream for a long time and found him to be exceptionally introverted, honest, and completely friendless—not to mention lacking any sort of team or organization.
"CZ Xiao Chi streams the same way he plays games: honestly and straightforwardly. He just plays and explains things. I've never heard him swear, and I've never heard him mock other players for being bad. The only exception was last night, when he got chased by two major guilds and became so frustrated that he finally started taunting people."
"Honestly, it's pretty unfair that he got put on a kill list. Surely people are allowed to fight back? I'm just a small fry in my guild, though, so I don't dare openly say that I think CZ Xiao Chi is innocent."
"As for Endless Time... that's harder to say. He does whatever he wants. He never participates in guild activities. When guild members get bullied, and everyone bands together to help fight back, he never gets involved either. He's always been a lone wolf. But if you ask him questions about the game, he's surprisingly patient. When he leads dungeons, he never scolds people or loses his temper. He's my favorite raid leader."
The replies were a mess. Some agreed. Some accused the poster of being Chi Zhen's alternate account trying to clear his name. Others claimed the poster was part of Chi Zhen's "marketing team" creating hype. There was every kind of opinion imaginable.
Quietly, Chi Zhen reread the section about Endless Time. Then he logged into an alt account, gave the post a like, and replied: "Support the OP."
After dinner, washing the dishes, and wiping down the table, it still wasn't even seven o'clock.
Chi Zhen washed his hair, took a shower, and came back out. Five minutes until seven.
He stared blankly at his streaming software.
Not streaming wasn't an option. Today wasn't one of his evening-class days. If he started late, viewers would immediately ask where he'd gone.
Being a streamer was basically the same as going to work. Starting and ending a stream were like clocking in and clocking out. Even being one minute late would trigger endless questions.
Chi Zhen thought to himself: Endless Time can't possibly come to my stream every day. He's not that free.
He clicked his mouse, logged into the game, and immediately opened his friends list.
After a quick scan— Endless Time wasn't online yet!
Chi Zhen let out a sigh of relief. Then he opened the streaming software and started the stream right at seven sharp.
The title was still simply Casual Stream. Today, he didn't have the courage to run dungeons or venture into open-world maps. Doing so would just result in getting mobbed.
[Why are you opening your friends list first thing after logging in? Checking whether Endless Time is online?]
[Confess honestly. What secret things did you talk about with that man after ending stream yesterday?]
[Report! Xiao Chi, you're in danger! Way of Heaven has developed a strategic plan to gang up on you at Mount Guguan today~ The moment you logged in, they sent people to climb the mountain and camp at the summit~]
[We're doomed. Should we skip watering the Nameless Seed today?]
[Probably not. Rare materials like that can get ruined if you miss even one day.]
"Ah..." Chi Zhen controlled The Light Boat Has Passed and went to the guild realm's vegetable garden to pick up a watering can. "I climbed the mountain at six this morning and brought back a jug of snowmelt."
His tone was full of pride. He watered the Nameless Seed.
[System] Through the player's diligent care, the [Nameless Seed] has grown a little and has sprouted. Don't forget to water it again tomorrow!
[???]
[Six in the morning?]
[Way of Heaven is going to lose their minds again.]
Looking at the tiny green sprout in the flowerpot, Chi Zhen said, “Unless they're standing guard twenty-four hours a day, they're not going to catch me.”
[I strongly advise you to stop talking.]
[Way of Heaven has over a thousand members. Don't underestimate their ability to organize a twenty-four-hour shift schedule just to camp you.]
Chi Zhen blinked. “No way, right? They're playing a game, not working overtime to meet a project deadline. Isn't that a bit excessive, guys?”
[What are we doing for something exciting today?]
[Streamer, go take a walk in the open-world maps]
Chi Zhen coughed up blood internally. “Go out to the open-world maps now? That’s basically suicide, right? Everyone, The Light Boat Has Passed also has a life! Even though dying in-game doesn’t lose money or experience, it’s still about a man’s dignity!”
The moment he finished speaking—
Whoosh— A fruit-laden plane animation flew across the top of the screen.
A “Fruit Transport Plane” worth 500 yuan.
Chi Zhen’s eyes widened.
[Holy crap, big spender!! So rich!!]
[Streamer, go take a walk in the open-world maps, and I’ll send you another plane when you come back]
[Xiao Chi, you’re rich now!]
Chi Zhen immediately straightened up. “Understood, boss. Boss is generous. Boss, I’m heading out right now. Which map does the boss want me to visit?”
He went out to do his daily quests.
As expected, he was ambushed and chased down by the two major guilds.
No matter how skilled Chi Zhen was, he couldn’t handle being ganged up on by so many people. Soon, The Light Boat Has Passed was killed—but he managed to take down two enemies with him.
After respawning, he found that eight or nine people were already camping his spawn point.
Very quickly, he died again.
Chi Zhen paused his hand on the respawn button and started thinking.
[No way around it, just log off, Xiao Chi. Spawn camping is unbeatable. Two fists can’t beat four hands.]
[T_T we shouldn’t have left the main city. We could’ve just watched you plant crops and water seeds instead]
At that moment, the screen was once again flooded by the Fruit Transport Plane animation.
The boss had thrown in another 500 yuan.
[Streamer, get up and try again]
Chi Zhen thought for a moment. “Alright.”
[Nearby] The Light Boat Has Passed: Not grouping up, so you don’t dare to camp me?
[Nearby] The Light Boat Has Passed: You think grouping up means you can hold me down?
[Nearby] The Light Boat Has Passed: Come together. I can wipe the floor with all of you.
Several players rushed in and started cursing him out.
Chi Zhen checked the distance between himself and each player—
Then he hit respawn again.
After a character dies and respawns, there is a 3-second invincibility window, during which all damage is nullified.
However, after respawning, the character is in a weakened state: HP and mana are extremely low. One normal attack is usually enough to kill them. You also need to sit for a full minute to recover.
Under spawn camping conditions, The Light Boat Has Passed had no chance to sit and recover—no matter how skilled he was, he couldn’t survive a single hit.
But Chi Zhen decided to try anyway.
The moment he revived, The Light Boat Has Passed jumped up, instantly opened his inventory, and drank a Spirit Infusion Drink, a costly mana potion that restored half his mana bar.
Immediately after, he cast Spring Shadows in Empty Green, boosting his defense by 30%.
Then he used Falling Shadows with the Wind, knocking away the eight or nine players closing in on him.
Using the recoil from the skill, he leapt backward and created distance.
A healing skill followed—Clear Dew Flow. Though not as strong as a healer’s recovery, it was enough to restore 2,000 HP, meaning he was no longer one-hit killable.
But his mana bar was now empty.
Summon Azure Horse!
Run!
Chi Zhen’s mouse clicked furiously, his fingers almost stiff on the keyboard.
Just get back to the main city!
The eight or nine players had just been knocked down and hadn’t reacted yet. The Light Boat Has Passed was already mounted.
It worked!
He sprinted forward, relief rising in his chest.
This all depended on none of them having faster reactions than him. If even one person interrupted his potion use, he’d be out of mana and unable to cast anything afterward.
If even one of them had stayed outside the AoE of Falling Shadows with the Wind and hit him before he healed, he would have died instantly.
Run!
The stream chat exploded with excitement.
But just as the barrage of comments surged and the atmosphere turned lively—
Something changed.
From ahead and the flanks, dozens of figures rushed in.
Way of Heaven had deployed not just eight or nine players—but several dozen.
Chi Zhen’s heart turned cold.
The Light Boat Has Passed had 2,000 HP and zero mana.
There was no way out.
He was surrounded again and beaten down.
“No choice, boss. There are too many of them,” Chi Zhen said.
Fair loss, fair win—that’s just how games are.
At that moment, another 500-yuan Fruit Transport Plane flew across the screen.
[Keep getting up. I’ll keep sending planes #smile]
Even the viewers—and Chi Zhen himself—finally started to feel that something was off.
[Die a few more times, I’ll send a few more planes #smile]
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