...
Zizhou.
Inside a high-end residential complex.
At eleven o'clock at night, Qing Lan entered her home's live-broadcasting room.
She sat down in front of the camera and started the live stream.
"Guys, I've found an incredibly fun game! No more 'Pesticide' today. If you're a real one, come try and take me down in this game!"
She greeted her viewers.
She logged into a game she had never played before. As a streamer, her income typically came not only from fan donations but, more significantly, from advertising deals.
This game was one an advertiser had paid her to promote.
However, after she had been streaming the game for half an hour, she realized that her stream was unusually quiet today.
The interaction with her viewers was also much less than usual.
The familiar IDs usually active in her chat were nowhere to be seen.
"What's going on today?" she couldn't help but mutter. "Did the trolls scare them all into silence?"