Chapter 26: The Devil’s Wager Chen Yan: “When has the LPL ever been anything but a joke?”

This stream had been a riot. Chen Yan publicly executed iCOn in front of everyone in the room, while iCOn wore a pained expression from beginning to end. Reading comments from Anti-Bar only pushed the entertainment value to its peak.

The stream’s popularity had also reached an unprecedented high.

As it turned out, happiness was usually built upon someone else’s suffering.

Of course, from iCOn’s perspective, the happiness had not vanished. It had merely changed hands.

…

“Wait, you’re ending the stream already?”

“Are you even a real streamer? The guy next door literally sleeps in his streaming room.”

“My gifts were wasted on you.”

With the stream about to end, the viewers were reluctant to leave.

Whether it was the public execution of iCOn, the outrageous challenge match, or the later comparison of their ranked statistics, the entire stream had been packed with highlights. Some viewers were even spamming that it was better than the Spring Festival Gala.

Seeing this, Chen Yan felt rather gratified. All his careful planning had not been wasted.

Not only had the stream’s popularity broken through, but his subscriptions had also surged.

Still, working overtime was out of the question.

He made money to enjoy life in the first place. If he started working overtime just to earn more, he would be putting the cart before the horse.

“That’s all for today. Your streamer is taking a break, not dying. If you want to keep watching Brother Yan’s streams, follow Brother Yan. Same time tomorrow—don’t miss it.

“Also, spend ten cents to get Brother Yan’s badge. Wherever you go, people will show you a little respect.”

After saying that, Chen Yan connected with iCOn again and asked with a grin, “Cold Dish, just tell me—are you convinced?”

iCOn’s face was dark as he stuck out his chin and issued a threat. “Convinced my ass! Next time we compete, I’ll beat the shit out of you! Don’t hide like a coward when the time comes!”

Chen Yan was not angry. “I’ll be waiting. But start thinking about the next punishment first. How about this? If you lose the next match, you go for Clearlove’s crotch. What do you say?”

Pfft!

Just imagining the scene Chen Yan had described made everyone present burst out laughing.

SmlZ was widely recognized for his utterly expressionless face, and he was not the sort to back down, either.

If iCOn really did it, the entertainment value would be legendary.

“Damn, streamer, are you a demon? You actually came up with a punishment like that?”

“Hahaha, the entertainment value is unbeatable!”

“I respect no one in this stream except the streamer.”

“The streamer isn’t just being absurd anymore. He’s completely lost it.”

Over in iCOn’s stream, the viewers were fanning the flames as well.

“Take the bet!”

“Cold, you’re not chickening out, are you? Didn’t you say you only lost today because you were out of form?”

“Looks like the streamer is the one chickening out.”

iCOn had still been hesitating, but when he saw the comments all saying that the streamer was scared, his blood immediately began to boil.

“Fuck it! I’m in! Who’s afraid of whom?”

“If you compete next time and I lose, I’ll go for Clearlove’s crotch. But what happens if you lose?”

Chen Yan said, “Name your punishment. I’m not afraid of anything you can come up with. I’m only afraid you won’t dare to play.”

“Heh.” iCOn let out a cold laugh. “Fine. I won’t make things too difficult for you. If you lose, you go for Factory Director’s crotch. Dare to take that?”

“Explosive!”

“I want to see someone go for Factory Director’s crotch, but I also want to see someone go for SmlZ’s. This is impossible to choose!”

“This is perfect. No matter who wins or loses, there’ll be a show.”

The chat exploded, and everyone fixed their eyes on Chen Yan.

To be honest, the bet was downright diabolical.

The main issue was that both Factory Director and SmlZ were famous professional players with reputations to protect. Factory Director in particular was still one of the LPL’s poster players, even if his public standing had declined.

Seeing a poster player get grabbed by the crotch was explosive just to imagine.

“Cold Dish dares to play. Don’t tell me the streamer is scared.”

The comments began fanning the flames again.

Chen Yan did not hesitate for even a moment.

“There’s no need to rile me up. I already said it: if the other side dares to play, I dare to take it. Going for Factory Director’s crotch? Forget Factory Director—even Abu’s crotch is fair game, as long as you can win!”

“The streamer is a legend!”

The atmosphere in the stream erupted, and everyone began looking forward to what would happen.

After that, Chen Yan ended the stream.

The screen went black at once.

But even with the screen black, countless viewers continued discussing the bet in the chat.

Chen Yan knew that his streaming career had finally gotten on the right track.

After today’s stream, he was one step closer to becoming a top streamer across the entire internet.

…

After ending the stream, Chen Yan washed up and ordered takeout.

Although it was already very late, in a city like Shanghai, as long as you had money, nothing was a problem.

There were countless establishments open twenty-four hours a day.

What if you said the restaurant was too far away and no courier would deliver that far?

You could simply place an errand order, have a courier go there and order the food for you, then bring it over.

By the time everything was delivered, the delivery fee alone cost more than the food.

Chen Yan did not care in the slightest.

Even setting aside the twenty-five thousand yuan Abu had transferred to him, his income from today’s stream alone had come close to one million yuan.

After the platform’s cut and taxes, he had still made three hundred thousand.

He had made money. He could afford to spend a little.

Besides, consumption was what kept the economy circulating.

If those capable of making money refused to spend it, were they expecting people with less earning power to do all the spending?

Even though the delivery route had been extremely long, the food was still hot when it arrived.

The courier was also warm and friendly, addressing Chen Yan with brother this and brother that, providing a full dose of emotional value.

Chen Yan tipped him directly.

The courier thanked him repeatedly, and Chen Yan could not help sighing.

Having money really was wonderful.

Still, there was one saying Chen Yan agreed with: wealthy people had troubles of their own.

A poor person’s trouble was simply having no money. A rich person had far more things to worry about.

…

As for iCOn—

After ending his stream, he stared at the revenue shown in his streaming dashboard and fell into deep thought.

In only a few hours, the total had nearly reached two hundred thousand yuan.

No wonder everyone said streaming was profitable. This was no longer earning money; it was practically picking it up off the ground.

Even a professional player could not compare.

After all, outside capital had yet to enter the LPL. Only the very best players received relatively high salaries and signing bonuses.

Although iCOn was fairly well known, his income was nothing extraordinary.

Originally, iCOn had been somewhat resistant to Chen Yan’s suggestion that he start streaming. But now, looking at the revenue dashboard, he suddenly realized that perhaps he was not so resistant after all.

…

The next day, Chen Yan was asleep when the ringing of his phone woke him.

“Abu?”

Seeing who was calling, Chen Yan was immediately puzzled.

Abu and Scout had already reconciled. In theory, there should have been no reason for him to call.

Chen Yan answered, and Abu’s voice came through, somewhat heavy.

“What did you do yesterday?”

“What did I do? Streamed, obviously.”

“Streamed what? Streamed yourself going for someone’s crotch? You’ve gotten quite bold, haven’t you? Not only do you want to go for Factory Director’s, you want to go for mine too?”

Chen Yan felt embarrassed. “It was all for the entertainment value. Do you really think I’d do it? Besides, there’s no way I’m losing to Cold Dish.”

“You’ve certainly gotten confident. But don’t give me any of that nonsense. Get back to the base right now. Isn’t playing professionally far better than your lousy streaming?”

“I’m not going back. I’d rather keep streaming.”

The moment he heard Abu wanted him to return, Chen Yan refused without a second thought.

“What’s so great about streaming? You make a little money by letting everyone watch you become a laughingstock in public?”

Abu was exasperated by his failure to live up to expectations.

He truly could not understand it. Even if streaming made money, how could it compare with playing professionally?

Yet Chen Yan’s next words left Abu speechless.

“Is being a professional player so noble?”

“If the LPL goes to the World Championship every year just to pay respects, how is that any less of a joke?”