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墨書 Inktalez
The silence lasted for a long time, and the group of diners outside seemed frozen in place, not moving or speaking, staring blankly at the figure inside the shop.
Inside, Lin took off his apron and casually placed it aside. His indifferent face showed no signs of change as he raised his hand and shouted, "Hei, close the door! I'm tired and need to rest!"
There were no extra words, not even an explanation.
The people outside were clearly waiting for an explanation, and running a restaurant was not something that could simply be ignored; after all, he was in the service industry.
But those were all common sense matters. In the Noodle Shop, there was no common sense; the customers were not gods. Lin was the ruler of this area, and he would do as he pleased.
This kind of temper was somewhat unpleasant; to put it nicely, it was called having personality—a cold personality. To put it bluntly, it was just a bad temper that seemed to invite trouble!
It was precisely because of Lin's indifferent and casual nature that many people took notice of him. There were often comments like, "I don't care about anyone else; I only respect my brother. Whatever he says goes!"
This kind of personality made Lin stand out from the crowd, particularly noticeable—half good and half bad. It helped him gain fame but also brought him plenty of trouble.
This time Lin closed the shop as usual, without hesitation. Fatty understood his personality best; without a second thought, he put on a smile and ushered everyone out of the shop.
"I'm sorry! Everyone! I truly apologize! I have no idea what's wrong with my brother; he suddenly wants to close the shop... I have no explanation for this..."
Compared to Lin, Fatty was much smoother in handling situations. His chubby smiling face had a special charm; with a squint of his eyes and a wide grin, no one could bring themselves to be angry with him.
Fatty used his plump arms to guide everyone out of the shop quickly. He kept nodding and apologizing to everyone. Although they felt disgruntled, they couldn't take it out on Fatty.
"Clatter..."
Fatty tiptoed to hook the Roll-Up Door. Still wearing an apologetic smile, he quietly told the people outside, "Come to my Live Streaming room... I'll talk to my brother later and give everyone an explanation! I'm really sorry everyone; we're closing for now!"
"Clang!" The old Roll-Up Door made a piercing sound as it slid down, completely separating the Noodle Shop from the outside crowd.
……
The harsh sound of the door breaking the silence outside instantly brought everyone back to life. They looked at each other, their faces displaying a clear sense of confusion.
"What’s going on? Why is the master closing the door?"
Immediately, someone started to complain. Not being able to get the Cool Summer Noodles with Fried Sauce was secondary; as long as the shop was open, everyone would have a chance. But if the Noodle Shop closed, what would they eat?
"Watch the Live Streaming! Watch the Live Streaming! The brother must still be Live Streaming now! Fatty Chen is going to explain too!"
A loyal fan of Lin immediately suggested.
"Right, right! Not only is he a great chef, but he's also a big Streamer! How could we forget that!"
"Which Live Streaming are you talking about?"
"Hero Live Stream... You probably haven't heard of it, it's a new Live Streaming Platform. Give me your Virtual ID, and I'll send you the download link!"
"I've already downloaded it! Which big shot has the room number?"
"Are you stupid? Hero Live Stream only has one Live Streaming room, which is the brother's!"
The people outside began to chatter again. Some clicked on their watches, while others tapped their Glasses frames. A semi-transparent Virtual Screen appeared in front of them, displaying content from inside the Noodle Shop.
……
The Noodle Shop was empty, with tables and chairs haphazardly arranged. Fatty was moving his large body, carefully straightening the furniture. This was a task for a waiter, and he never slacked off in this regard because he knew his boss's personality did not allow for any carelessness in the restaurant.
With the staff gone and the Roll-Up Door closed, the room was dimly lit. Besides Fatty's massive figure and Lin sitting in the corner, there was one person who had not been ushered out: the old man who had been laughing with Fatty earlier, known as the Poverty Old Man.
"Cough, cough... old man has a question for you. Why are you closing the Noodle Shop? The place was doing well and thriving..."
The Poverty Old Man sat upright, coughing lightly as he asked. His face was tense, and he sat straight as a rod, a stark contrast to his earlier jovial demeanor with Fatty. He had transformed from just an ordinary old man into someone mysterious, exuding an air of authority.
Lin did not respond; he merely glanced at the Poverty Old Man before turning back to focus on the Virtual Screen in front of him, seemingly watching something.
In front of him was a fist-sized spherical device equipped with a camera that continuously adjusted its focus, clearly capturing every movement Lin made. This sphere was evidently a sophisticated piece of equipment worth a considerable amount.
The Poverty Old Man paused for a moment, his brow furrowing slightly in displeasure.
At that moment, Fatty finished arranging the tables and hurried over, making a "shh" gesture to the Poverty Old Man while explaining softly, "Please don’t blame him just yet; he's still Live Streaming. We can’t talk right now. Please enjoy your noodles first, and once he finishes the Live Streaming, I’ll come back to attend to you!"
Fatty was quite astute; upon seeing the Poverty Old Man frown, he quickly rushed over to clarify. Judging by how ingratiatingly Fatty acted, it could be inferred that the Poverty Old Man had an extraordinary background and was certainly not an ordinary person.
"Alright, you all do your thing; I’ll eat my noodles first... Oh, Cool Summer Noodles with Fried Sauce! One day without eating makes my stomach crave it!"
The Poverty Old Man looked down at the Noodles with Fried Sauce, and his earlier displeasure vanished instantly. He picked up the bowl of noodles and grabbed a pair of chopsticks, eagerly shoving noodles into his mouth.
"Slurp slurp slurp..."
The sounds of the Poverty Old Man slurping up noodles filled the noodle shop loudly, accompanied by smacking sounds that made even Fatty start to swallow nervously.
Wriggling his dry throat and suppressing the urge to eat noodles, Fatty turned to Lin and happened to see Lin reaching out to press the round button in front of the noodles.
That round button was Lin's professional live streaming equipment, the "Follow Cam," which could rotate 360 degrees without any blind spots. If he turned off this live stream, the streaming would come to an end.
Suddenly jolted awake, Fatty remembered what he had promised everyone earlier and silently exclaimed, "My ancestors! You're as cold as Antarctica!"
"Bro! Don't end the stream yet! Don't forget, you still have one last segment of your live streaming, and I haven't tasted the food yet!"
With a loud shout, Fatty lunged toward Lin Mian, protecting the live streamer in his arms, preventing Lin from shutting down the stream. Fatty felt a wave of relief wash over him.
"I'm tired; I want to rest..."
Lin frowned slightly as he looked at the sweating Fatty, his cold eyes revealing a hint of fatigue. It was only when facing Fatty that Lin would show such genuine emotion.
Fatty rarely heard Lin speak more than once; he only did so when he was truly exhausted.
Feeling a bit reluctant, Fatty knew he couldn't let Lin end the stream like this. Otherwise, all their hard-earned popularity would slip away, and their three months of effort would go to waste!
"Do you still want to be popular?" Fatty asked with a serious expression.
Lin sighed helplessly and nodded. Fatty felt relieved and quietly reminded him, "Just answer my questions like usual." After that, he finally released his grip on the live streamer.
"Buzz!" The live streamer flew out of Fatty's arms, spinning around in a daze for a moment before finally turning its camera toward Lin, focusing in clearly.
Lin stiffly forced out a smile, like a puppet, mechanically saying, "I am Culinary God Lin. My cooking demonstration has concluded. Next up is our number one taster, Hei, who will taste and explain everything for everyone!"
Though the smile was stiff, it was just right—a standard service smile showing eight teeth. His words sounded mechanical but flowed smoothly, clearly indicating that he had practiced many times to achieve this.
As the voice faded, the camera turned to Fatty, and Lin Ye immediately returned to his usual demeanor, his expression turning wooden as he sat upright, watching Fatty continue with the performance.
...
Fatty took over the live stream and glanced at the barrage of comments, feeling a bit awkward. Sure enough, the audience in the live stream had already exploded with reactions, and the same question was flooding the screen.
...
"Why are you closing the store?"
"What's wrong, bro? Why are you closing the store?"
"I heard you're closing the store?"
...
The barrage was filled with this one question, asking Lin why he was closing the store. This news had spread like wildfire across Hero Live Stream, and everyone had come here for an explanation. The number of viewers had more than doubled from the usual eighty thousand to over two hundred thousand!
Fatty pondered for a moment but couldn't find a good way to control the situation. At this point, nothing else mattered; he needed to provide a reasonable explanation to calm everyone down.
The urgent task was to continue with the program and complete today's live streaming content.
"Ahem, everyone, I am Fat Black Man, your favorite number one Taster! Ahem... I see that many of you are asking why we're closing the store. This is a question I want to know too... Let's finish this bowl of Cool Summer Noodles first, and then let Lin give us a personal explanation, okay?"
With a grin, Fatty forced himself to change the topic. If he tried to explain now, it would surely cause an uproar in the chat room. It was better to divert attention for now and think of a way to explain later.
With Fatty's words, the barrage began to change. As part of the streamer community, Fatty also had his own influence.
……
“Fat Brother, you finally made it! Hurry up and eat the noodles; I want to see you eat like a pig!”
“Fat Brother, convince him not to close the shop. I just bought a spaceship ticket to your place and I'm looking forward to eating Cool Summer Noodles!”
“Fat Brother, you didn’t see it; his face was almost frozen just now. It scared us to death. Is he in trouble?”
“Fatty, stop joking around and ask him what’s wrong!”
“Is there a problem? Can’t pay the rent? Come on, everyone, let’s support him!”
“Support him! Support Cool Summer Noodles with Fried Sauce! Let’s show some love for him and Fat Brother!”
……
As soon as Fatty arrived, the comments became much more lively, rolling across the screen like a tide. It’s unclear who started it, but the questioning quickly turned into gifting!
Gifting is a way for viewers to express their affection for the streamer on Live Streaming Platforms and also a means for streamers to earn money based on the value of the gifts received.
However, Hero Live Streaming Platform is somewhat different. While most platforms offer various gifts, Hero Platform currently only has one type called “Hero Coins,” with each one equivalent to 10,000 Interstellar Coins.
The purchasing power of 10,000 Interstellar Coins is comparable to 10,000 Grandpa Mao from the Azure Planet during the Interstellar Era, making it a high-end platform expenditure in today's world. On other platforms, gifts typically start at low prices of 1 Interstellar Coin and gradually increase, with the highest gifts reaching 10,000 being exclusive to super popular platforms.
Hero Live Streaming Platform is not like that; it has a particularly high threshold. The 10,000 Interstellar Coins are just low-tier gifts; higher-tier gifts have yet to be released due to the platform's initial shortcomings.
As soon as the first person sent a Hero Coin, more and more followed suit. Despite not having too many viewers—only around 0 million (in the era of interstellar live streaming, a major streamer needs at least over 100 million popularity)—there were still quite a few tycoons.
Ding! Light winds and clouds send Chef Lin Hero Coins 1.
Ding! What are you eating, big brother! Sending Chef Lin Hero Coins.
Ding! Nothing tastes better than what my sister-in-law makes, sending Chef Lin Hero Coins 10.
...
The barrage of gifts flooded in crazily, dazzling Fatty, who kept shouting, "Thank you for the Hero Coins! Thank you..."
He was so excited that his voice became hoarse. Since the start of the broadcast, he had never seen so many Hero Coins. In three months of streaming, they had received a total of four Hero Coins, and today, it was an explosive surge!
The barrage of gifts was moving too fast; by the time they reached the names of the givers, they were pushed down in less than a second. Most of the Hero Coins they sent were not just one; some even sent a group of "50"!
What does 50 Hero Coins mean? That's 500,000 Interstellar Coin! Truly a Tycoon!
Beside him, Lin Ye perked up his ears, listening to the delightful "ding ding" sounds, and a smile crept across his face.
For Fatty, Hero Coins might be money, but for Lin, it wasn't that simple...
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