21: Chapter 21: Starting with 30,000 people! Consume rationally, you absolutely must consume rationally!

The time reached 5:59 PM.

Su Yun sat on the second-hand gaming chair he had scavenged and straightened his collar in the mirror.

Although he was a man of status now, this outfit was still a bit shabby.

But didn't this add to the vibe? A true master lives in seclusion within the city.

If he dressed like a nouveau riche, he would lack depth instead.

"Phew!"

Su Yun exhaled a breath of turbid air and watched the time in the bottom right corner of the computer screen jump to "18:00".

Starting work on time.

With a light click of the mouse, he selected "Start Streaming."

In the past, Su Yun would have had to sit here for half an hour, waiting for the single-digit viewer count to slowly climb while engaging in awkward small talk with some passerby who only asked, "Streamer, have you not eaten yet?"

But today, exactly 0.1 seconds after Su Yun clicked that button...

It lagged.

The computer screen froze instantly, the image stuttering like a PowerPoint presentation.

The originally lonely "0" rocketed upward like it was on a booster.

100...

1,000...

5,000...

10,000!

In the blink of an eye, the online viewer count smashed through the 30,000 mark and was still surging at a rate of several thousand people per second.

The server almost crashed from the sheer force of this traffic.

Su Yun looked at the dense, illegible bullet chats, and the corner of his mouth couldn't help but twitch.

"Geez, do these people not work? Or were they all camping out for me?"

On the screen, those colorful bullet chats stacked together like a thick wall, completely obscuring his face.

"Master Su! I've finally waited for you! Good thing I didn't give up!"

"First! Taking a photo in the front row!"

"Master, look at me! I've been feeling a chill down my back lately!"

"Su Yun hubby! I want to have your babies! Pick me, pick me!"

"Is this the streamer who predicted a murderer into jail? He looks pretty young; is he really that divine?"

"Newcomer above, right? Master Su's mouth is blessed; don't question him for no reason, or you might end up behind bars sewing on a machine!"

This wasn't the end of it.

Next came a screen full of gift effects.

Things like "Little Hearts" and "Big Beers" that cost a few dozen yuan didn't even make the cut.

It was heavy hitters like "Carnival" and "Douyin No. 1."

Golden light effects exploded on the screen wave after wave, seemingly unstoppable.

Su Yun's handsome face was completely covered by these gift effects; he couldn't even show his eyes.

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Su Yun quickly tapped the microphone, his voice rising significantly.

"Everyone, rational consumption! Rational consumption! This is a serious fortune-telling stream, not a show. Don't do this! Isn't it better to save this money to buy some ribs?"

Though he said that, Su Yun was already overjoyed inside.

These weren't just gifts; they were cold, hard cash, his capital for retirement.

But his persona was important.

A master must treat money like dirt.

If he looked like he couldn't look away from money, his prestige would vanish instantly.

However, this generation of netizens was quite rebellious.

The more Su Yun shouted for them to stop, the harder they gifted.

Especially the ID at the top of the leaderboard, "Hangcheng Young Master."

This guy was a man of few words, gifting ten "Carnivals" directly and dyeing the whole room gold.

Then, a conspicuous pinned bullet chat appeared.

Hangcheng Young Master: "Master, stop the nonsense. Money isn't an issue."

Hangcheng Young Master: "I've run into some trouble in business lately and want the Master's guidance. This little bit of money is just a greeting gift."

As soon as this bullet chat appeared, the viewers in the room exploded.

"Holy crap! Hangcheng Young Master? Isn't that the famous rich second-gen?"

"Awesome! Even a big shot of this level is seeking Master Su?"

"Ten Carnivals as a greeting gift? Is this the world of the wealthy? I'm salty."

"Master, take the order! This is a big fat sheep... no, a big client!"

Su Yun looked at that line of golden text and felt a bit conflicted.

Ten Carnivals—that was 30,000 yuan.

But if he took this money, the rules would be broken.

If anyone with money could cut the line, then what happened to his "punishing evil and promoting good"?

Su Yun cleared his throat and sat up straight, putting on a calm and composed front.

"Hangcheng Young Master, is it? Thank you for the gifts."

"However, our stream has its rules."

"As the saying goes, heaven's secrets cannot be leaked, and to whom they are leaked depends on fate."

"It's not that money can buy this fate."

Su Yun spoke with great righteousness. The ordinary viewers in the stream suddenly felt warm inside.

Look, this is Master Su!

Neither wealth nor power can corrupt him! This is the true demeanor of a master!

"Then Master, how should we do this?"

"Yeah, with so many people, there must be a procedure, right?"

Su Yun didn't beat around the bush and opened the lottery function in the backend.

"We'll stick to the old rules and leave it to heaven's will."

"I'll send out a Lucky Bag, and everyone can try their luck."

"Whoever gets the Lucky Bag is today's fated person."

As he spoke, Su Yun's fingers flew as he set the parameters.

"But since there are so many people, I have to set a threshold to avoid people who are just here for the fun of it."

"Requirement: Fan Badge level 1 or above. That's not too much, right?"

"If you don't even have a Fan Badge, don't say we're fated."

As soon as he said this, the free-loaders who only watched without gifting panicked.

One by one, they quickly spent a dime to send a Little Heart and light up their Fan Badges.

Su Yun watched the fan club numbers surge in the backend and smirked imperceptibly.

What was this called? This was called user conversion rate.

"Alright, the Lucky Bag has been sent out. It draws in ten minutes."

"Oh, one more thing," Su Yun added slowly as if just remembering, "the divination fee for the fated person who wins the Lucky Bag is one Douyin No. 1."

"We don't force sales. If you think it's expensive or don't want a reading, you can give up your spot."

"After all, peeking into heaven's secrets shortens one's life."

One Douyin No. 1 was 1,000 yuan.

It wasn't a small sum for an average person, but it was by no means impossible to afford.

This threshold was set just right.

It blocked those trolls who just wanted to cause trouble while not shutting out the truly fated.

"Master is fair!"

"1,000 yuan for a chance to change your fate? That's practically a bargain!"

"Say no more, I've already prepared my hand speed from thirty years of being single!"

The countdown began.

The numbers ticked down on the screen, and the atmosphere in the stream grew tense.

Although everyone was still chatting, their hearts were clearly hanging on that red Lucky Bag.

Su Yun took advantage of the gap to pick up his thermos and take a sip of goji berry water.

These past few days had been mentally taxing; he needed to nourish himself.

Time passed minute by minute.

Finally.

"3, 2, 1... Draw!"

As Su Yun's voice fell, the red Lucky Bag burst open.

The stream of tens of thousands went as silent as if a mute button had been pressed for a split second.

Then, a system notification popped up.

[Congratulations to user "Pure Love Battle God Zhao Xiaobei" for winning the Lucky Bag!]

"Damn! I didn't get it!"

"Who is that Zhao Xiaobei? Come out and take a beating!"

"Pure Love Battle God? Why does that name sound a bit... you know?"

"It's actually a guy? I thought it would be a beauty!"