Popularity is everything; I play a super genius

"Hilarious! What do you mean by 'saving money with principles'?!"

"But who is this takeout ramen for?"

The comments section was filled with all sorts of speculation and guesses.

……

Saki left the academy carrying the packaged ramen.

As night deepened, I walked towards the residential area on the outskirts of Xinzhi City, where the lights were relatively sparse and the buildings were somewhat old.

They turned into a narrow alleyway as if they knew the way well.

At the entrance of the alley, a slender girl in a wheelchair was craning her neck and peering out under the dim streetlights.

The girl looked no more than twelve or thirteen years old, wearing a plain white dress and white sandals.

Her skin was translucent white, and her hair and eyes were also very light-colored.

At first glance, it looks as if the colors have been accidentally lost.

It's worth mentioning that the girl had some silvery-white crystals growing on her cheeks, like shards of ice embedded in her skin.

This is a phenomenon unique to this world: "echo erosion".

"elder brother!"

When the girl saw Qi Ji, the worry in her eyes was instantly replaced by relief.

He waved happily to Saki.

Saki quickly stepped forward, gently placed the still-warm ramen bag on the girl's lap, ruffled her hair, and spoke in an unprecedentedly gentle tone:

"Xiao Xi, are you starving? I brought you some ramen, try it and see if you like it."

Feeling the warmth emanating from the paper bag, the younger sister was initially happy, but then she frowned slightly, looking at Saki with a hint of reproach:

"Brother, I already told you not to bring me dinner! I can cook by myself, which will save me a lot of money!"

Saki pushed her sister's wheelchair slowly towards their rented little house, deliberately drawing out her words in a teasing tone:

"Please, the thing you made—"

"I didn't let my brother eat it too!"

As if knowing what Saki was about to say, his younger sister immediately interrupted him, puffing out her cheeks.

"Brother, you can eat delicious food outside! I only like to eat food that I make myself! Don't bring me food anymore, it's such a waste."

"The real waste comes from people who make food taste bad."

Xi Wang knew that her brother said that because he didn't want her to feel guilty.

She suffers from a rare condition called "echo erosion," which not only prevents her from walking but also makes her hands weak and limp, making even the most basic task of holding a knife and cutting vegetables difficult.

Therefore, even the simplest dishes are a huge challenge for her.

She didn't want to be a burden to her brother...

Even so, she already is.

"Brother, I promise I'll make delicious food! Even if you beg me to cook for you while you're crying, I'll have to consider it..."

"Then I'll just have to look forward to that day."

Saki pushed the wheelchair, and the two turned into a somewhat old apartment building.

Enter the door.

The brother and sister's home was small, and the furniture was simple, even old and worn out, clearly cheap.

The small space was kept very clean, and a few potted plants on the windowsill added a touch of elegance to the simple environment.

There were several crayon drawings on the wall, depicting two little people holding hands and a crooked sun.

The brother and sister have a very good relationship, and their interactions and conversations are full of warmth.

In front of his younger sister, Saki is completely different from the lazy and occasionally rude persona he displays at the academy. Instead, he is meticulous, patient, and even has a bit of a "motherly" quality.

At this moment, comments kept scrolling by:

Wow! The little girl is so cute!

"Hey streamer, if I call you 'brother-in-law,' will you dare to accept?"

"Throw this lolicon out and shoot him!"

"Wait! I think I smell a knife..."

"Where's the knife? I'm asking. Isn't this quite heartwarming?"

"That's perfect! This is clearly preparation for the slashing scenes later!"

"Shut up! Don't jinx it!"

……

……

Chapter Twenty: Thriving

Looking at the scene before them, everyone couldn't help but sigh once again—

The character models in this anime are absolutely amazing!

The female characters who appeared were all stunningly beautiful.

Just pick one of them and people will exclaim "awsl"!

"A feast for the eyes! Absolutely a feast for the eyes!"

"I'm so conflicted! My sister, Ruri, Shirai, Setsuna... which one should I choose?"

"Only children make choices; I want them all!"

"By the way, the results of the midday poll are finally in! The answer is, as expected, Ruri!"

"Holy crap! There's a reward for guessing correctly—limited-edition anime merchandise! You can even choose a mask from the show!"

"Holy crap, I really want that mask! I can't find the same one online!"

"I should have voted properly; I've lost a fortune!"

Just as everyone in the live stream was expressing envy, a highlighted comment suddenly appeared, attracting the attention of many viewers—

"Brothers, hurry over to Qi Ji's personal channel! The latest battle footage is out!"

"The slice quality is ridiculously high! They even released an immersive, first-person perspective remaster!"

"Holy crap! That's amazing?! I'd better go taste it and see if it's salty enough!"

Upon hearing this, many curious onlookers immediately flocked over.

Then, it was discovered that the clips that had just been uploaded were basically highlights of the battles from today's live stream.

For example, in Qi Ji's personal channel, there is a video titled "Crush! Rock Armor Poison Scorpion King!" tagged with "Fist to Fist" and "Violent Aesthetics".

The title is "Instant Kill! Second-Tier Void Beast!", tagged with "One-Hit Kill".

The video titled "Elbow Strike! Seigen Kamishiro!" is tagged with "Crushing Ants".

Of course, there are other characters as well, but the number of highlight clips is obviously not as many as for Saki.

such as:

"Counterattack: Weakness Sniping" is tagged with "Fire and Wood", "Overcoming the Strong with the Weak", "Every Shot is Deadly", and "Moment of Reversal".

"Flash Shadow" is tagged with "moment," "dancing on the edge of a knife," and "beyond limits."

However, even though they are both highlights, there are differences!

The vast majority of viewers clicked into Saki's battle clips without hesitation.

Because, as the previous comments mentioned, these battle clips support freely switching between first-person and third-person perspectives!

If you want to immerse yourself in a first-person perspective, who wouldn't want to rush into Saki's shoes and experience the true thrill of crushing everything in the battle?

Everyone clicked on the video, and after watching for a short while, they were shocked by the quality of the footage!

The smoothness of the camera follow-up, the frame-by-frame adjustment of the impact of the shots, the pacing of the slow-motion sequences...

Every detail is perfect!

The dull thuds of each punch seem to penetrate the screen, and the shaky camera angles during dodges make you instinctively hold your breath!

The production quality is simply an audio-visual feast!

"Holy crap! Awesome! The development team behind Echoes is amazing!"

"Are these fight scenes for real?! They're even more exciting than blockbuster movies in theaters!"

"Unbeatable modeling, unbeatable combat, unbeatable production quality—I'm absolutely blown away!"

In no time, countless viewers spontaneously became "word-of-mouth promoters".

They've been enthusiastically recommending this "next-generation" anime series on various social media platforms, forums, and groups.

……

With time running out, Saki Gakuen gloriously ended the broadcast.

The live stream settlement page then popped up:

Today's live stream duration: 9.1 hours

Average number of users online: 2,333

Peak concurrent users: 11,217

Although the world of Earth, where the anime is set, has a population far exceeding that of the Earth in Saki's previous life, the number of viewers on the first day is still quite impressive.

After all, the anime series hasn't aired yet, and the biggest wave of viewership hasn't arrived.

Saki was satisfied with the result of the premiere.

It was worth it for him to take out such a huge loan and spend so much time laying the groundwork.

Next, all we have to do is wait patiently for the first episode of the anime to air, and then—

It became an instant hit!

【Ding! 】

[Today's live stream revenue settlement completed!]

[Total popularity points earned: 9,191]

Live streaming revenue is calculated based on a combination of factors, including average number of online viewers, peak number of viewers, effective duration, number of bullet comments, and the value of gifts.

Qi Ji gained nearly 10,000 views in his very first live stream.

At this rate, he only needs to broadcast for 500 days to pay off his debts!

Of course, it certainly won't take that long in reality.

After all, with the airing of the anime series and the public beta of the game, his popularity will inevitably experience explosive growth, and his personal channel will also flourish.

The 9,000 points of popularity on the first day were just the beginning for him!

Moreover, the revenue from live streaming is just a small, steady stream for him.

What truly brings Qiji immense popularity and wealth are the highlights, classic scenes of the character, and clips of CP interactions that can be shared on various platforms and generate positive word-of-mouth.

Of course, revenue sharing from character gacha pulls in the crossover game is also a significant source of income.

Qi Ji opened his backend and checked several battle clips that had been uploaded to his personal channel.

Views, likes, favorites, comments—all the data is steadily increasing.

Qi Ji opened the comments section again, liked every single comment praising him, and then exited the interface with satisfaction.

After calming down a bit, Saki quickly adjusted his state.

The performance time is over.

Next up—