Chapter 49: Chapter 49 – Photo Session [2]
Max managed to prepare himself to board the Sky Rail after taking another shower and wore his best clothes in time.
If he were to arrive just a minute later, he would definitely miss it and have to go to New Eden City with another Sky Rail, which would cost him another pocket money.
'Phew… I didn't realize how long I was running because I didn't really feel tired.'
He looked at the time once again.
9th April, 9:03 AM.
Just a few minutes after the Sky Rail departed for New Eden City.
Wednesday wasn't a crowded day as most people worked in the VR, so only Max sat on a VIP seat in the frontmost wagon, getting the perfect view of a metropolis city from the air.
His hand that was holding the window rail was trembling. Mainly because of excitement, but he was also a bit nervous.
How could he not? Even if he used to be the center of attention due to his previous experience in his old world, Max was still a human. Besides, this would be the first time he would get his picture taken as a streamer, not a traceur.
Not to mention it would also be posted on Biozone Entertainment's website, one of the three biggest game distributors in the world. Millions… Maybe a billion people would get to know him soon.
It was natural to be excited and nervous.
'Just a two-hour ride. Well, I can't say I don't enjoy this sight. It's beautiful.'
While watching the scenery outside, Max thought of what happened before. Lily seemed to be able to read him easily, and so was Nina. Was his expression really that easy to guess?
Running his hand over his cheek, he hummed in wonder.
'Maybe I need to work on my poker face again.'
***
An orange Hovercar was moving down the main street in another city called Pear City. It was moving automatically, following the destination set before.
Inside the car were two people, sitting side by side, a man and a woman. The man wore a striking orange suit and had orange hair, which stood out a lot. He was Flexy, and he was browsing through Knight's Journey forum on his smartwatch while leaning against the soft chair.
"Ooh? This is interesting."
"What is it?" Lisa inquired with a curious tone as she glanced at him.
"Don't tell me that you have a sudden idea of using this photo session with other streamers to pull pranks on them. I need to remind you what happened when you tried that a year ago at the newbie streamer award–"
"No no no, I already stopped doing that."
Before Lisa could finish her sentence, Flexy stopped her in panic. Cold sweat formed on his back as he laughed bitterly, remembering Lisa's 'punishment' after he messed up a year ago.
He quickly pointed at his screen and continued.
"There is someone leaking the content of the program. More precisely, that user just mentioned that Biozone Entertainment will have an interesting program planned for Knight's Journey soon."
"Isn't that normal? Leaks always appeared a day or two before the actual announcement. There is nothing unusual about it."
"I know." Flexy nodded without denying Lisa's words, "But well… the one who leaked this content is a pretty rare individual."
He swiped the screen and moved it in front of his secretary. When the beautiful, stern-faced woman read the content, she frowned deeply.
"This is indeed a rare individual. What's this person trying to achieve by doing this?"
"Nah, I don't know what trolls think."
Flexy shrugged his shoulders.
"But IamNotTroll has a name to back his claim. His credibility is at least… the worst among the other trolls. People will think that he's just joking. I didn't know what Mr. Taka planned by asking that troll to spread the leak."
Lisa glanced at her boss and pushed her glasses up, "You think Biozone Entertainment purposely leaked out their own plan? This… isn't something they usually did. And the fact the one who spread the leak is that infamous troll player…"
"I guess you can say that Mr. Taka is cooking something."
Flexy laughed and crossed his arms.
"That's your job to find out, my dear Lisa. I will take a nap until we arrive. Oh, stop at the Sky Rail station instead of the Biozone HQ. We need to fetch someone first."
"You seem to be quite pleased with that boy."
"Can't say anything about it." He smirked, "He reminded me of my newbie days, and he's a fun person. Also, he will get big someday. I am looking forward to that time to climb back in fame using his bus, hahaha."
Having said that, Flexy put an eye mask over and slept by leaning his head back. Lisa sighed tiredly as she opened her smartwatch. She had work to do.
'What a troublesome boss… He's too kind for someone who works in this harsh industry.' She thought as she operated the virtual keyboard, 'Well, that's why I am also attracted to him. Life is just so strange.'
***
"This will be your debut, Lily. Just do like the usual, and you will be fine."
"Yes, Brother. I have also learned how to do that trick, and I will show it to you in the demonstration later."
"That's amazing. I am surprised." The man smiled softly at his sister, "How did you do it? Even I couldn't do it perfectly yet."
"I have a teacher." The sister answered simply without changing her expression, "I paid him a can of coffee. He's really good."
"Is that so?"
A pair of siblings walked side by side. They both had black hair and blue eyes.
The older one was a man, looking like he was in his early 20, with handsome features and a high nose. His hair was slightly long, tied into a low ponytail. He was tall and wore a neat suit as if he was going to a business fair.
In the gaming community, this man was known as StoneSword, a veteran streamer who loved and was good at using a sword. His real name was Peter Spencer, Spencer Capsule Company's heir.
Obviously, he hid that fact while streaming, although his fans found it faster than he liked it. Even without that, due to his skill in the game and his humble personality, he managed to create a fanbase big enough to guarantee that his stream had a minimum of 40K viewers.
On the other hand, the younger one was a head shorter than the man. She looked innocent and still had a hint of youth.
With slightly wavy long hair, she looked like a beautiful and delicate doll. She was Lily Spencer, the girl Max had met earlier. Her game and streamer handle name was LilyPixel, StoneSword partner in the run that bagged them the world record of duo Fort Siege.
Both of them entered Biozone Entertainment HQ ahead of the other streamers as they arrived using a private jet instead of taking Sky Rail or a Hovercar. It was parked on the roof, which had a Helipad.
Greeting them was the leader of Knight's Journey marketing team and the head of the program they would join to promote LilyPixel to the streaming community.
"Welcome, StoneSword and LilyPixel. The others aren't here yet, so please enjoy our lobby and feel free to order any drinks." Mr. Taka gestured to the café that was connected to the lobby. "The photo session will be conducted when everyone has gathered."
"Thank you." StoneSword replied with a smile, "We will do that. We indeed arrived too early."
"Thank you for your understanding."