When Xiao Yu's fans started expanding their search beyond the VA industry, they hopeful all over again!
There are no eternal secrets. Besides, Zhao Youyue had said that she would not mind using the pandemonium as a means of promoting her 'Ah Yu's Live Broadcast Room.'
'Ah Yu's Live Broadcast Room' grew exceedingly popular. Its number of subscribers passed the million mark. Whenever the live broadcast starts, the viewers would never drop below 100,000. The highest record of simultaneous views would be standing at somewhere around the 300,000s. It was a rather ludicrous amount. But it was no secret that Douyu Live Broadcast Platform would often fabricate view counts of their popular channels and sensationalize matters.
Such an amount may be incomparable to the trending live broadcasts in Douyu which had numbers ranging up to a couple of millions. However, the gap was not as big as one would imagine.
After a long period of fights, Ah Yu's "Unpleasant Night Rain Rhythm 001" successfully climbed to the top position of the national server. That position had been achieved via solo, ranked matchmaking, and under various unforeseen circumstances!
What sorts of unforeseen circumstances, you say?
Situations that included players who actually attempt to sabotage the game, while pretending to have contributed abundantly, players who go AFK on purpose, or players of the opposite team picking her specialized heroes before she could. All of these sought to impede her path, and she forced her way through, crushing the pro players beneath her boots, one after another.
As she progressed, Zhao Youyue finally switched her webcam on. Even so, she did not reveal her face, but her hands. She had no choice, as the 'cyber navies'[1] recruited by some competitors were borderline lunatics. They would start new fires, accusing her of hiring ranking boosters[2] to play on her behalf. Some websites had even started releasing headlines that expressed their doubts. One person could not possibly be this good?
After all, from the public's perspective, video games have always been ruled by men, LoL even moreso. No pro female player had yet to step up the stage, let alone an all-female team, which was downright impossible.
Such an ideal female player only existed in novels, such as 'Yu Shengfan' of "The Strongest King." But now, such a female player had appeared in reality. This had to remain as a fantasy!
Ah Yu's straight-up increasing popularity also left her competitors restless. It had led to the appearance of several 'Cyber Navy' forces.
Even more vicious parties had taken it a step up and called Ah Yu out as a fat otaku who had been using a voice changer software. If not, how else could her voice be so versatile?
Others with ulterior motives even stood up to admit being her ranking boosters. Obviously, they intended to gain 15 minutes of fame, as some professional teams might actually believe those words and choose to recruit them.
Zhao Youyue couldn't be any less bothered about these attacks. However, she was well aware of the saying, "Repeat a lie a thousand times, and it becomes the truth." She would not stand for attacks being made towards Xiao Yu's reputation in reality.
Thus, to quell all the rumors, she finally switched on her webcam, and a la 'Xiao Yuanmiao,' a streamer of another world, turned into a 'headless girl.' Only her neck downwards could be seen. Of course, the emphasis was placed on her hands…
At the same time, she had also requested that Su Li design a 2D cartoon 'face' for her. The cuter, the better, in order to bring more fans to Xiao Yu.
The moment Su Li learned that Lady Zhao was requesting her services again, she accepted without hesitation. She did not just draw one 'face', but one whole set of them, enough to create a full deck of expressions!
It was a Moe girl with long, pink hair. Zhao Youyue liked it very much, although girls with pink hair are usually evil and sadistic...
But how could Lady Zhao possibly be evil? She had always been courteous and generous!
Zhao Youyue could not be any more satisfied. Su Li pleased her the most, among all others. She now considered Su Li, her true friend. They were now closer than ever.
Zhao Youyue switched on her webcam, and placed the 'face' over hers. All at once, her live broadcast popularity achieved 500,000 audiences in a blink of an eye. Her heroics in KoG were hammered, deep into the audiences' minds!
In that match, she fought in the middle lane against a pro player - Wu Yanzu, who was said to be able to have 50% win rate against another famous player - 'Demon King' from Gao Li. He was also live broadcasting, as he was quite handsome. Eventually, Zhao Youyue bullied him like a baboon being cockblocked. He was reduced to a wreck, incoherently screaming and yelling in all sorts of ways. His mouth was only able to spew an endless stream of vulgarities.
What that attracted the audiences the most was Zhao Youyue's beautiful pair of hands dancing on the keyboard. The APM[3] of her hands was truly unbelievable!
Many audiences knelt down the moment they saw her in action. They ended up watching the entirety of live broadcast on their knees!
Ah Yu's webcam doused all the flames beyond the point of reignition. Be it rumors about ranking boosters, fat otakus using voice changer, or the rest. After all, her body appeared within the webcam as well. It was as clear as day that she had the body of a slender, slim girl.
According to those with a so-called learned eye when it comes to "woman-staring," just by looking at Ah Yu's body and her perfect pair of hands, her face could never possibly be ugly. She must definitely be a first class beautiful girl!
Immediately, someone asked, "If that's so, why wouldn't she show her face? She could be far more popular than this now, right?
Some loyal fans had jumped out and said, "Our Ah Yu don't even need to show her face in order to earn a living. She games so well, she's quick-witted and funny, she can even sing, and she is proficient in all kinds of musical instruments. Why should she show her face after all that?
This explanation was truly irrefutable, as Ah Yu was truly talented. She even went on to play the guitar and sing a few songs on that day. It was a most beautiful image!
Not only had Ah Yu achieved the first rank in the national server, but she was also able to create a foothold there. As long as there are no unexpected situations, she would always be able to win. However, she said that she would switch to another game after this season, as LoL no longer had anything to offer. She had recently grown addicted to the game, "Playerunknown's Battlegrounds", which was affectionately called 'Chicken Dinner.' Whenever a player wins a match, there would be the phrase 'Winner winner, chicken dinner' rewarding them.
Some LoL fans were slightly dissatisfied about the matter. They felt that Ah Yu had gotten carried away. Being first in rank within the national server couldn't be called an achievement. The professional competitions and ranking matches were not the same. Not many pro players would put effort into boosting their ranking, not to mention that several pro players were actually more suited for team plays.
Yet, they had ignored the fact that Ah Yu had been able to gain the advantage in her lane, every single time. Even the pro player from Gao Li could not fight stand against her!
Besides, she performed equally well in team fights as well. She would be able to hold her own against an entire team of enemies!
Unfortunately, she did not have the intention of going professional, as there were no Lin Feng in this world.
As it was, Ah Yu achieved the top 1 solo ranking within the national server, and became known as the 'Passerby King.' Thanks to her many other talents, the growth of her popularity seemed to have no boundaries in sight!
Finally, fresh headlines struck the world again, claiming that the popular female live broadcaster, Ah Yu, who was currently LoL's top 1 within the national server, was actually the VA of Yu Shengfan who the 'The Uncrowned King' of "The Strongest King!"
Is that true?
If so, the world was a small, mythical place.
Translation Note:
[1] Cyber Navies - Cyber Navies, just like their names, their activities have mainly proceeded on the internet. They intend to create a virtual, fast network to grab the public's attention, even to manipulate the direction of public opinions, in order to achieve their own purpose. In common, they create false information, launch defamatory attacks, malicious incitements, illegal promotions, which cause severe damage to citizen's personal and property rights.
[2] Ranking booster - Refers to the people who are paid to provide ranking boosting services, which is to play service buyers' ID on their behalf.
APM - Action per minute, meaning the number of operation per minute. Its statistical operations include left-click, right-click, and keyboard strokes each time the mouse is pressed.