22: Chapter 22: Lin Xi's live stream is number one in popularity across all platforms!

At 7:30 AM, Lin Xi had already been woken up by the alarm she set yesterday.

She groaned, eyes still closed, and groped for her phone to turn off the alarm, then drifted back into a daze on the bed. However, not even two minutes later, Lin Xi, wearing the same penguin pajamas as Jiang Yuan, jolted awake, eyes snapping open, and sat bolt upright.

Usually, she could sleep in because her livestream time was generally 10:00 AM, and lying in bed for an hour or so wouldn't be a problem.

But today was different; she absolutely could not sleep in! Because today was a major event—the second game personally created by her absolute favorite, Xiao Yuan, would officially launch today!

Slay the Spire would officially open for play on Steam at exactly 10:00 AM. Thinking of this,

Lin Xi hurriedly kicked off her blanket and rushed to wash up.

Washing up took about ten minutes, more than twice as fast as usual. She then fished two instant steamed buns out of the fridge, stuffed them into the microwave, and stared blankly at the countdown on the microwave while heating some milk.

She glanced at the time—it was only 7:55. Feeling a bit more awake as if roused from a dream, Lin Xi muttered hesitantly to herself: "Did I get up a bit too early?"

Never mind, she couldn't worry about that now. After changing into her streaming clothes, she sat in front of the computer with her heated buns and milk, turned on the livestream, and began the pre-stream warm-up.

Livestream Title: [Double Intimacy, Today at 10:00! Xinghuo's New Work Slay the Spire Shocking Premiere!]

Less than a minute after starting the stream, viewers who received the @ notification in the fan group had already flooded into the stream. A few scattered comments drifted across the screen: "Holy crap, so early?" "Xi-bao is working so hard today." "Waited for months and it's finally here, hope Slay the Spire isn't worse than Vampire Survivors!" "Streamer, eat something first, look how thin you've gotten!"

Lin Xi chewed on a bun with puffed-out cheeks while watching the screen and chatting with the chat: "Do you guys know? I wanted to play Xiao Yuan's game last night, but she said no, it has to be after 10:00 AM today. It's been driving me crazy with anticipation."

Chat: "Finally a game that doesn't let streamers play early, this is a good thing." "+1+1, damn, those trash developers nowadays, games are mediocre, but they have more nonsense than anyone. Some even let streamers play half a month early, it's so disgusting!" "I get it, I didn't sleep well last night either." "Same, didn't sleep well +1!" "The 52 yuan is already loaded!" "Just waiting for 10:00!"

Once 8:00 passed, the number of people in the livestream suddenly started to increase.

After finding some fame with her debut stream of Vampire Survivors, Lin Xi was no longer the obscure little streamer she once was. The popularity in her stream stabilized around 500,000, with an actual viewer count of about 2,000.

These figures might not compare to the top streamers in various categories, but at the very least, it could be considered a small achievement.

So, Lin Xi simply started a game of Vampire Survivors to kill time, so as not to let the stream's popularity drop too severely. The chat would ask about the new game one moment and then give blind advice on her gameplay the next. She managed the chat while occasionally glancing at the time.

At 9:00, popularity broke through one million, clearly because the platform started pushing her stream. The chat began to scroll frantically, so dense it was almost impossible to see specific words: "One more hour, one more hour." "Damn it, waiting is so anxious." "Streamer, why not sing a song or show a talent first?" "The streamer is known as the Moyu Death Diva, she dares to sing, do you dare to listen? Don't want your lives anymore?"

"Does anyone know what type of game this is?" Lin Xi glanced at the chat and said casually: "Mute that person who insulted me for one minute!" "Slay the Spire? It's said to be card-based, tower climbing, roguelike. I don't know anything else, Xiao Yuan's lips are too sealed, she won't say anything when asked."

Chat: "The sense of mystery is really maxed out." "The more mysterious, the more I look forward to it." "Hope the final game quality is also maxed out, don't drop a big turd." "Fifty-nine minutes left!"

At 9:30, Lin Xi quit the game and began to fidget restlessly. "Should I go download the game first?" She muttered to herself: "What if there are too many people downloading it later and the internet speed lags?"

Chat: "Go, go!" "You haven't downloaded it yet? I downloaded it the moment pre-download opened!" "Laughing to death, more nervous than an exam."

Seeing the chat, she was slightly stunned and puzzled: "There's pre-download? How come I didn't know?" She hurriedly ran to open Steam and found Slay the Spire on the store page, but the purchase button was still gray, showing "Coming Soon," and there was no pre-download as the chat mentioned.

She then realized that the game hadn't opened for pre-order, so there was no pre-download at all. She hurriedly ran back to continue the stream. Seeing this, the chat immediately turned into an ocean of joy.

At 9:50, Lin Xi began the countdown. The stream's popularity had remarkably broken through 1.5 million. At this time, it could basically be said that she was one of the top streamers on the entire platform.

"Ten minutes left!" she shouted, staring seriously at the time in the bottom right corner. The chat began to spam the countdown. 9:55. 9:58. 10:00 sharp.

Lin Xi refreshed the page, and the purchase button lit up. Her eyes instantly brightened, and she hurriedly clicked purchase, download, and install, all in one go. During the whole process, her hands were trembling slightly from extreme excitement.

Chat: "Charge!!!" "Bought it, bought it, I bought it!" "Streamer, hurry and start, I'm dying of impatience!" "I'm already in, streamer, what kind of toaster are you using that's so slow?"

A few minutes later, the game installation finished. Lin Xi took a deep breath and clicked on the game. The moment the title screen lit up, she suddenly became quiet. Her eyes narrowed slightly, her movements froze, and a sense of sanctity, as if on a pilgrimage, appeared on her face.

Chat: "Why did the streamer stop talking?" "Was she stunned by how beautiful it is?" "This interface looks quite textured." "What is the streamer doing?" Lin Xi: "I... I'm suddenly a bit nervous." The chat immediately started laughing non-stop.

She chose the first class, Ironclad, and clicked start. The first floor, the first battle, a Slime standing on the opposite side. Lin Xi looked at the initial five cards in her hand, a bit confused: "How do you play this?"

The viewers who got into the game quickly and those who loved to watch the chaos began to teach her: "Play them all!" "Save some energy for defense!" "Hit the small one first!" "Hit the big one first!" Lin Xi tried it out and won the first battle.

The second battle, the third, the first elite, the first relic, the first-floor BOSS. By the time she reached the second floor, she had stopped talking, staring intently at the screen, her breathing even becoming slightly rapid.

The stream's popularity had broken through two million, with real viewers exceeding 10,000, making it the number one stream on the platform for this time slot. The chat densely occupied the entire screen: "What is the streamer doing? Why isn't she talking?" "Is she stunned by the game???" "This game is really addictive, I want to close the stream." "I just started a round too and can't stop, hahaha." "The card combinations are so interesting!"

When Lin Xi reached the third floor, she was taken out by the BOSS in one combo. She stared at the "Game Over" on the screen, stunned for over ten seconds, before suddenly realizing: "I was careless, damn it. I want to play another round."