Although Bai Ye had ended his broadcast, many viewers remained on Douyin, and even other streamers were discussing him.
"Did you hear? Tonight, a magic streamer performed the world's most amazing fire magic! It was just like actual sorcery!"
"Holy crap! Guess who was number one on Douyin's trending list tonight?"
"Who? Xiao Daimei? Sheng Ge? Or those PK streamers?"
"None of them! Xiao Daimei did reach third in popularity, but that was thanks to the person in first place, wasn't it?"
"Stop messing around, just tell us who it is!"
"A small streamer, a magic streamer named Ye! He hit a peak of 800,000 viewers!"
"What?!"
"Gou Dan, do we have any more of that herb? If so, keep looking!"
Bai Ye, holding a flashlight, led Gou Dan through the woods. He showed Gou Dan a piece of Dihuanglian.
"One million for one plant! Ten plants for ten million! A hundred plants for a hundred million!"
"We're rich!"
Gou Dan shook his head, signaling that there were no more.
Bai Ye lamented inwardly.
It made sense; if herbs that could fetch such sky-high prices were everywhere, they wouldn't be worth as much. Getting one was already fortunate.
After walking for nearly an hour, Bai Ye and Gou Dan moved cautiously along smaller paths, fearing that Gou Dan's enormous size would frighten people late at night.
They didn't return to their rented room until past midnight.
Gou Dan, over two meters long and one-and-a-half meters tall, occupied a good half of the small rental space.
"Ahhhh!"
Bai Ye collapsed onto the bed, utterly exhausted from performing all night.
He didn't want to move a muscle, but his stomach growled loudly.
Gou Dan, curled up in a small space by the bed, heard Bai Ye's stomach rumble and lowered its head, afraid to look at him.
It feared that the ferocious two-legged monster, driven by hunger, might stew its head.
*Beep~*
The phone chimed. Bai Ye immediately grabbed it.
"Your savings account ending in 1688 has received a deposit of ¥200,000.00 on the [Day] of [Month] at 00:11:29. Current balance: ¥200,000.38. [Daxia Bank]"
"It's here!"
Bai Ye's eyes lit up.
On the way back, he had privately discussed the sale of the Dihuanglian leaves with Elder He, a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner.
The total price was ¥1.25 million, with a ¥200,000 deposit.
Tomorrow, he needed to pack the Dihuanglian carefully and send it to the address they provided in Shuzhou via Daxia Fengfeng Express.
Once Elder He verified the goods, he would transfer the remaining ¥1.05 million balance.
Bai Ye wasn't worried about them reneging on the deal. If they dared to do so, he wouldn't hesitate to unleash Gou Dan and let them experience a taste of his fiery magic again!
"Gou Dan, we're rich!"
Bai Ye laughed heartily, sitting up and patting Gou Dan's head.
"Woof woof!"
"Come on! Let's order takeout!"
Bai Ye pulled out his phone and opened Tuantuan Takeout.
Gou Dan curiously nudged his head over.
Roasted duck, grilled fish, lobster, crab – each delicious dish cost no less than ¥100. The cost of living in Modu was frighteningly high! Before, Bai Ye could only glance at them and scroll past.
*Woof woof~*
Looking at the carefully edited sample pictures from the restaurants, which were mouth-watering, Gou Dan's mouth watered profusely.
"Roasted whole lamb leg? Tender and chewy meat? Ten portions!"
Bai Ye placed the order. Ten portions at ¥188 each came to ¥1880!
"Charcoal-grilled roast duck! ¥158 per duck? Not too expensive! Let's get 10!"
*Woof woof!*
"Yanghu hairy crabs? Holy crap! ¥880 per jin? That's expensive! Let's get ten jin!"
*Woof woof woof woof!*
The vendors whose orders Bai Ye placed were instantly overjoyed.
"Who is this big spender, so extravagant?"
"Quick, prepare it immediately and deliver it to him!"
The total bill came to over ¥20,000! Bai Ye patted Gou Dan's head again.
"Don't worry, with me, you won't go hungry! These are mostly for you!"
*Woof woof woof!*
Gou Dan's round, big eyes showed happiness. He hadn't followed the wrong person!
"Next time we go out, let's find more Dihuanglian herbs like tonight! We'll eat like this every night from now on!"
*Woof woof!*
"Stay put, the food will be here soon."
Bai Ye got up and walked to a small desk, opening an old computer. As it booted up, a deep rumble, like a Ferrari supercar, sounded.
Without the support of a team or company, he had to edit videos, record voiceovers, and upload them to Douyin himself after every live broadcast to attract traffic.
He skillfully opened his account, retrieved the cached videos, and began editing and adding voiceovers. Tonight's broadcast had lasted a total of 5 hours and 11 minutes. Bai Ye cut it into three videos.
"You won't believe it? Fire magic to roast oysters with bare hands!"
"Challenging the world's most spectacular magic, summoning meteor fire rain!"
"Me and Gou Dan's love-hate relationship!"
By the time he finished editing and publishing the videos to his Douyin account, it was past 1 AM.
"Finally done!"
Bai Ye stretched.
*Woof woof~*
Gou Dan had been lying quietly on the ground, not daring to make a sound. Seeing that Bai Ye was finished, he finally let out a few barks. His stomach also began to rumble.
Suddenly, Gou Dan sprang to his feet, his gaze fixed on the door. His usually round, somewhat dull eyes contracted sharply, focusing into a single point.
*Aooo~*
The fierce wolf-like nature he had suppressed was instantly unleashed.
"Huh?"
Bai Ye glanced at Gou Dan and then at the door.
*Knock knock~*
"Sir, your Tuantuan Takeout has arrived!"
"Hah!"
Bai Ye shook his head with a smile, got up, and glared at Gou Dan.
"Get down! What are you so tense about? It's just the food delivery!"
At Bai Ye's reprimand, Gou Dan immediately lay down obediently, wagging its tail.
*Woof woof!*
At the door, six or seven delivery drivers arrived one after another, each carrying a large bag of takeout.
"Holy cow! So many people?"
"This family is so generous! They ordered so much late-night food!"
"Bro, what's in that sack-like bag you're carrying?"
"You probably won't believe this! Ten roasted lamb legs, over 50 pounds! They're incredibly heavy. This is the biggest delivery order I've ever had!"
"Damn! That must be over a thousand, almost two thousand, right?"
"You bet! And you, bro, what's in that big package?"
"These are 10 charcoal-grilled ducks! Each weighs about five or six pounds."
"I've got 10 jin of Yanghu hairy crabs, ¥880 per jin!"
As they exchanged words, the delivery drivers were all shocked.
"What kind of family is this? Over ¥20,000 for a late-night meal!!!"
They looked around the dilapidated neighborhood, unable to imagine such extravagance in this area.
*Click~*
Finally, the door opened. A young man wearing a mask appeared. The delivery drivers outside couldn't help but size Bai Ye up.
"Sir, your takeout is here!"
"Shall we help you bring it in?"
The delivery drivers were very enthusiastic, but Bai Ye shook his head. He worried that if they saw Gou Dan, they would be severely frightened and might reveal his identity as streamer Ye to the outside world.
"No, thank you."
Bai Ye took the items from the delivery drivers one by one and brought them inside. Then, he thanked them and closed the door.
As the delivery drivers left, they discussed and speculated about Bai Ye's identity along the way. They had certainly broadened their horizons and witnessed what it meant to be a true tycoon.
"Come on, Gou Dan, eat! Eat whatever you want!"
Bai Ye threw his old laptop onto the bed, spread out the food on the table, and placed several bags on the floor.
Gou Dan's big eyes widened, and his mouth watered. Bai Ye handed him a large piece of lamb leg. With its massive jaws, it devoured it in one gulp, just like a person eating a chicken leg. It crunched on the lamb bones and swallowed them whole. Then, it opened its mouth and looked at Bai Ye with a happy expression.
Bai Ye stared for a few seconds and then said, "Eat it yourself."
He then picked up a large piece of lamb leg and began to eat heartily. The tender and chewy texture of the mutton, combined with the restaurant's secret seasoning, was truly exquisite. No wonder it was so expensive! Bai Ye ate large chunks of meat quickly. But Gou Dan was even faster.
A five or six-pound fatty duck in one bite.
A palm-sized hairy crab in one bite.
The food piled high on the table, like a small mountain, visibly diminished.
"Slap!"
Bai Ye patted Gou Dan's head.
"You glutton, leave some for me!"
*Woof woof~*
By past 2 AM, the ¥20,000 worth of food had been completely devoured by the man and dog.
"Good dogs know how to clean up trash!"
Bai Ye patted Gou Dan's head and lay down on the bed, stretching comfortably. Gou Dan's large eyes stared at Bai Ye, then it surprisingly began to pick up the empty trash bags and boxes with its mouth and stuff them into a large garbage bag!
With the chores done and stomachs full, Bai Ye could finally settle down and review his earnings for the day. With a thought, he checked his information.
Host: Bai Ye
Profession: Junior Fire Magician
Reputation: 1,810,000
"Holy crap!"
"I can draw 18 times!"
Bai Ye's eyes snapped open, his expression filled with surprise. He hadn't expected to gain so much reputation from his first live broadcast! He then checked his live broadcast account data.
Today's peak concurrent viewers: 830,000.
Tonight's broadcast was number one on all of Douyin, with 200,000 more viewers than the second-place streamer, a celebrity who had turned into an internet personality. The third place...
"Third place was Xiao Daimei?"
Bai Ye was slightly surprised, then a gratified smile spread across his face. Xiao Daimei had been instrumental in breaking through the platform's traffic restrictions, and the mutually beneficial outcome was the best possible scenario.
His follower count had surged from seven thousand to 800,000! Gaining 800,000 followers in a single live broadcast was unprecedented on Douyin, Bilibili, or any other platform. Furthermore, this was just the beginning; as his short videos went viral, his follower count would likely experience a massive surge!
Gift revenue: ¥2.11 million! He had received nearly 400 "Carnival" gifts alone, not to mention countless other gifts. After platform deductions, he would still pocket around ¥1 million. Combined with the sale of the Dihuanglian, his total earnings for the day were over ¥2 million!
"The first step towards becoming a super-rich tycoon! A tycoon who earns money through their own hard work is a true tycoon!"
"System, draw prizes!"
Bai Ye was slightly agitated. "Wish me luck, European Emperor!"
[Ding~ Congratulations to the Host for drawing x1]
[Ding~ Congratulations to the Host for drawing a magic technique: This allows the Fire Magician's flames to leave their body and be projected at a distance, making magic performances more dazzling and visually appealing! Evaluation: Junior Magic Technique]
[Ding~ Congratulations to the Host for drawing a skill: This can instantly train the Host into a music master, proficient in all kinds of music, dance, and instruments, making magic performances even more spectacular. Evaluation: Adding icing to the cake]
[Ding~ Congratulations to the Host for drawing x1]
[Ding~ Congratulations to the Host for drawing a magic technique: Consumes the Magician's magic power to generate fire lotuses in a designated area. The fire lotuses bloom brilliantly in a very short time, creating a spectacular magic show. Note: The blooming process generates high temperatures, so perform in open, unpopulated areas to avoid harming children. Evaluation: Intermediate Magic Technique.]
[Ding~ Congratulations to the Host for drawing x1: Upon use, this can temper and enhance the Magician's magic power, elevating them to an Intermediate Fire Magician. Evaluation: Top-tier.]
[Ding~ Congratulations to the Host for drawing a magic technique: When cast, it can form a wall of fire, shielding the Magician from wind and rain, essential for outdoor live broadcasts. Evaluation: Junior Magic Technique.]