Chapter 81: Certain Victory This Time?

Livestreaming with cuteness? Luo Chen had considered it, but neither Stardust, the platform that saw potential in him, nor his long-awaiting fans, wanted to see that. After all this time, is that really what they’d tuned in for? Much better to just focus on playing games.

When it came to gaming, Luo Chen’s own skills weren’t bad, but he could hardly compare to the true masters of the gaming community. So for this stream, he’d have to rely on the “plug-in” and borrow someone else’s expertise.

Thinking of the top gaming creators on Bilibili, quite a few names came to Luo Chen’s mind. After some thought, he decided to use videos by Pure Black. Known by nicknames like “Renaming Maniac,” “Berserker,” and “Perfectionist,” Pure Black was famous for his love of the character Caitlyn (Rainy Scene), his dedication to curing OCD, and, as one of the “Three Cowards” on Bilibili, his frequent production of rapid-fire gaming guides.

Pure Black’s game guide videos were the smoothest, most immersive ones Luo Chen had ever seen. His commentary was passionate, and, driven by both OCD and perfectionism, he would re-record any part of the video he was dissatisfied with. After countless hours of practice, his runs were virtually flawless—so much so that if you muted his voice and ignored the in-game prompts, the footage looked like a Hollywood blockbuster. His popularity was only natural.

Although this was to be a live gaming stream rather than a pre-recorded video, Luo Chen was confident that, with ample practice and the aid of the “plug-in,” he could achieve perfect, fluid gameplay without a single mistake.

Through recent testing, Luo Chen had come to understand some of the plug-in’s characteristics: upon “possessing” someone, he would gain the full capabilities that the creator had at the peak of their powers, and the effect was quite stable. Moreover, the experience and muscle memory he gained would not disappear after the possession ended, so his gaming and video-making skills would only improve over time.

As a former member of a speedrunning team, Pure Black’s gaming prowess needed no further proof. With repeated “possessions,” Luo Chen’s own abilities would rapidly improve as well. There were only benefits, no drawbacks.

With the plug-in ready, the question remained: which of Pure Black’s immensely popular videos should he choose? The Last of Us, Uncharted, Assassin’s Creed—any of these would work. But which one should he pick?

Luo Chen took a deep breath, logged into Stardust, and decided that instead of worrying about what kind of commentary video to make, he’d check which games would generate the most excitement. If a top creator had already streamed a game, the fans’ expectations would be lower, which wouldn’t help him as a first-time streamer.

Once on the site, Luo Chen instinctively glanced at the trending chart. His own videos were still on the list, but the top spot was—?

[Yellow Shadow] “Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag”

A video by Yellow Shadow?

Since becoming a creator on Stardust, Luo Chen had heard Yellow Shadow’s name many times, but he’d never seen his work on the trending chart or the homepage. Upon asking around, he learned that Yellow Shadow rarely streamed or made videos, and that Stardust’s management was quite dissatisfied with him and wouldn’t go out of their way to promote him.

Luo Chen could read the intentions of Stardust’s higher-ups: their repeated compromises weren’t just because they saw his potential, but also because they wanted someone to rival Yellow Shadow and prevent a monopoly that would be hard to manage.

Luo Chen ignored the rival Stardust had so deliberately found for him, but he hadn’t forgotten how Yellow Shadow had once mobilized his fans to attack Luo Chen’s own sister. For that alone, Luo Chen had to restore his family’s honor.

Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will never be defeated.

After watching the entire three-hour edited gaming video, Luo Chen had a pretty good grasp of Yellow Shadow’s technique. From the small mistakes and details in the video, it was clear that the other hadn’t prepared in advance. He may have played the game once before, and with some lingering impressions and his strong skills, he managed a smooth run that won plenty of praise.

A supremely skilled, but not particularly dedicated, streamer.

In short, he was just coasting along.

Luo Chen quietly labeled him as such. You couldn’t judge too much from a single video, but the fact that Yellow Shadow was making a game guide without any rehearsal or practice showed how confident he was in his own abilities.

But precisely because of this, there were mistakes that affected the viewing experience.

From the perspective of both Stardust and the fan rivalry, Yellow Shadow was his opponent. If he wanted to beat him, he might as well pick the same genre.

Assassin’s Creed was an entire series—Brotherhood, Black Flag, Syndicate, Unity—plenty of options for livestreaming. After eliminating the unsuitable choices, Luo Chen settled on Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate.

The game is set in London, 1868, starring the siblings Jacob and Evie Frye—a rare dual protagonist mode. Because of this, the game had been streamed less frequently on Stardust, so the audience wouldn’t be tired of it.

Having chosen, Luo Chen closed the browser and launched the game for the first time. As a large-scale single-player title, it would take considerable time to finish, even with excellent skills. That was why he needed to start practicing now.

He entered the game selection screen, clicked “Start Game,” skipped the narration, and began.

If I were Pure Black...

Luo Chen closed his eyes, then opened them again, and deftly controlled the character, completing infiltration, assassinations, rescues, and other tasks with ease—almost as if he had done them countless times before. He knew the location of every NPC by heart. He cleared the game in one go, with perfect synchronization and zero reloads.

Several hours later, Luo Chen paused and looked at his hands. Had he really become so good that he didn’t even need to practice?

With the creator’s perspective, all of their gaming experience came with it; the usual preparations and training were no longer necessary.

Luo Chen closed the game window. That meant he could start streaming anytime he wanted, without any concerns.

He chuckled softly, glanced once more at “Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag” at the top of the trending chart, and thought: This time, victory is mine!

(P.S. Thanks to book friend Tianhuan1 for the 500 Qidian coins, and to book friends Shidu Chengxin, Lu Ren Mou, and Street Dance Maniac for the 200 Qidian coins each. Thanks to Mei Huo Thirteen, Jar, and Hehehehehhe for the 100 Qidian coins each. Throwing confetti, and the usual request for recommendations! The game video in this chapter is Pure Black’s “Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate.”)