Chapter Seventy-Nine: Brother, Calm Down—Three Seconds Isn’t Worth It

Inside the live broadcast room of the Song Friends Club, the audience was abuzz with heated discussion. It was obvious to anyone with a discerning eye that the results achieved by the female streamer named Xuanxuan were questionable. At first, Feng Timo had considered using the jury’s final authority to declare her score invalid. But after Chen Luo’s remark, she understood everything. Still, neither she nor the operations director from Douyu mentioned it outright. After all, it would be pointless; the Godly Tycoons Guild was the largest and wealthiest on Douyu. Even with the operations director present, all one could do was turn a blind eye. It hadn’t reached the point of open confrontation.

After a few perfunctory comments, the broadcast continued. "Let's welcome the next contestant." The next streamer joined the call, once again another arranged by the Godly Tycoons Guild. As expected, her singing was nothing remarkable, but the gifts poured in just as generously as they had for Xuanxuan.

When it came to selecting streamers, the Godly Tycoons Guild cared only for beauty, figure, and how enchanting their voices sounded in bed. Who cared if they could actually sing? As a result, the audience continued their relentless mockery throughout the song.

“To be honest, even my dog sounds better than this.”

“It’s bad enough not to have a girlfriend on 5/20, but having to endure this torture? I must have terrible luck!”

“My neighbor knocked on my door and asked why I was wailing like a banshee at midnight. I said it wasn’t me singing, but he didn’t believe me. He said if it happened again, he’d come over and beat me up. What should I do?”

“Heavens, my third uncle has been in a coma for years. After hearing this woman sing, he actually got up from his bed. Lady Bodhisattva, you’re his savior. I must visit you to thank you in person. Dare you share your address? I can handle three years in jail.”

“Calm down, brother. Three seconds of that isn’t worth it.”

“I’m done. Call me back when the Spiritual Leader arrives!”

Despite the onslaught of criticism on the barrage of comments, it barely affected the operations of the Godly Tycoons Guild.

Half an hour passed. The singing contest was now halfway through, and a number of new streamers had already taken their turns. With the Godly Tycoons Guild taking the lead, the other guilds knew exactly what to do. If they could shower their own streamers with gifts, so could everyone else.

So, the major guilds joined the fray. Yet, none could match the financial might of the Godly Tycoons Guild. They had arranged for five female streamers in total. One, Xianner, quit midway, and the remaining three had monopolized the top three spots so far.

Other guilds tried to help their own streamers climb the ranks by throwing money at the problem, but the tycoons of the Godly Tycoons Guild were simply too rich. At the slightest hint of another streamer catching up, tens of thousands worth of gifts would rain down, widening the gap and leaving no chance for others.

As for the other contestants, there’s not much to say. Most were newcomers with no fan base to speak of—how could they hope to compete with the guild-backed streamers? Only those who were pretty, could sing well, and were willing to flaunt their legs received enough gifts to avoid total humiliation.

To be honest, at this stage, the singing contest had lost all appeal. At the start, the stream’s popularity had exploded, but now viewers were leaving in droves, and the numbers were plummeting. Some streamers scheduled to perform later had even announced their withdrawal, seeing no point in participating without a chance of placing, preferring not to waste their time.

Witnessing this, the Douyu operations director’s expression grew grim. When Tiger Bud first announced its Kung Fu Carnival, Douyu, as its competitor, couldn’t afford to be left behind and decided to host an event as well. The idea for the Song Friends Club had been his own, and he’d even been praised for it.

Who could have foreseen that a perfectly good singing contest would be twisted into this farce by the guilds’ antics, turning the event into a smoky mess and breeding resentment among users instead of achieving the desired effect? If this matter wasn’t handled properly, he would surely be held accountable by his superiors.

Through the small window, the Douyu operations director kept a stony face, but inside he was plotting. He’d memorized the names of every involved guild. Once the contest ended, they would all pay the price. What if they were the biggest and richest guild? They were just small fry compared to Douyu—nothing to be afraid of.

All he hoped now was that these people would know when to stop and not get too brazen—at least, not disrupt the rest of the contest.

“Leave yourself a way out; you never know when paths will cross again,” he consoled himself.

Another twenty minutes passed. Still, no one could threaten the top three. Feng Timo was resigned. “So, it’s become a game of capital after all?” She deeply regretted agreeing to be a judge. In the comment barrage, she’d even seen some ignorant viewers accusing her of taking bribes, others digging up old scandals from the internet, like the so-called “accounting scandal,” and saying the nastiest things.

“Is there really no one who can stand up and challenge these capitalists?” Feng Timo felt utterly aggrieved.

Just as she thought this, the next contestant connected to the stream.

“Hello, fellow single dogs!”

A familiar line, a familiar voice—a dashing young man suddenly appeared in the stream. In an instant, the eyes of every viewer in the room lit up.

“It’s him, it’s really him! That man is finally here!”

“Thank goodness you came, or everyone would have left!”

“Single Dog Godfather is awesome!”

“Our spiritual leader is forever the true god!”

“Everyone, rise!”

At that moment, the comment barrage exploded. Everyone began spamming “Everyone, rise!” to welcome Bai Qingming’s arrival.

Countless viewers called their friends back, and those who had left earlier soon returned. In less than a minute, the official Song Friends Club stream saw its popularity soar, even surpassing its peak.

“Go, go, go! Flood him with gifts, don’t stop!”

Jets, super rockets—gifts never ceased, and dazzling effects filled the screen. In an instant, Bai Qingming’s score shot up to five million, toppling the previous leader with an unstoppable surge.

The runner-up now had only 2.5 million—not even half of Bai Qingming’s score. But this was only the beginning.

In the Godly Tycoons Guild group chat, the wealthy members were somewhat surprised by Bai Qingming’s appearance. They spent their days indulging in food, drink, and female streamers, paying no attention to male streamers. They’d never heard of Bai Qingming and had no idea where this upstart had come from.

But it didn’t matter. Five million might be a fortune to ordinary people, but to these tycoons, money was just a string of numbers. To put it bluntly, the millions they’d just spent on gifts were mere warm-up.

Now, the warm-up was over. It was time for the real contest.

…

(P.S. There’s more tonight—donkey, no rest, got it?)