In front of the screen, Hu Yue watched Lovy's livestream finally shift from crisis to calm. The worried crease between her brows smoothed out.
"Lovy's finally doing okay again… But how did he pull that off? If he'd had this kind of talent back when he was in the streamer union, maybe he wouldn't have been kicked…"
Although still puzzled, Hu Yue didn't dwell on it. She silently tapped "Follow" and exited the stream.
She'd definitely drop in again later to support Lovy's channel.
But for now, she had her own job to do.
Just as she exited the stream, a fellow female streamer leaned over her shoulder.
"Hu Yue-jie, wait—isn't that Lovy? After getting booted from the guild, he actually started streaming on his own? I think I just saw you send him a gift! Don't tell me, out of all your fans, you've got a thing for that broke kid?"
"Xiao Wen, stop talking nonsense!"
Hu Yue turned around and reached out with her long, pale, manicured fingers to pinch Xiao Wen's neck.
Like Hu Yue, Xiao Wen was also a contracted streamer under the guild—a "professional," unlike Lovy's solo status.
Her style contrasted Hu Yue's cool, mature aura—Xiao Wen played the mischievous, trendy girl-next-door card.
"Ack! Are you trying to silence me with murder?! Come on, if you didn't like him at all, why'd you personally fill in that half-month paycheck the stingy company refused to give him?"
Xiao Wen acted like she was being choked to death, but peeked one eye open to gauge Hu Yue's reaction.
Hu Yue let go, shooting her an annoyed glare.
"Lovy was like you—someone I brought into the guild. It wasn't my call when the shareholders started cutting people. He had just graduated high school when he started streaming—I saw him like a younger brother. You think I'd let my little bro get pushed around? Besides, he…"
She almost let slip that Lovy had grown up in an orphanage, with no family or backing.
But she held her tongue—that wasn't her secret to share.
"Besides, he what? Kinda cute? Sweet talker? I mean, he is fresh out of school—definitely got that 'green' appeal!"
Xiao Wen's eyes curved like a sly fox's.
Bonk!
Hu Yue flicked her hard on the forehead. "Ow!" Xiao Wen clutched her head dramatically.
"You're only two days older than him, you think I don't know that? Who are you calling 'little brother'?"
"Waaah! Doesn't matter, I'm still the elder—even if just by a minute!"
Xiao Wen whined playfully, but her eyes gleamed with mischief.
"Don't worry, Hu Yue-jie. If he's your little bro, then he's my little bro too. I already memorized his stream name—'Snorlax Treasure Appraisal,' right? I'll be sure to drop by and 'support' him next time~"
"You dare."
Hu Yue gave her a death glare. Xiao Wen giggled and ran off.
"Nyah nyah! Gotta go get my makeup done for tonight's stream~"
Meanwhile, back in Lovy's stream…
Under relentless barrage from the chat, "Skinny Monkey" Hou Xiaotian was now totally subdued—his earlier arrogance completely gone.
"Hey, guys, he's just a high school kid. Don't go too hard on him."
Lovy saw that Hou Xiaotian had been humbled, and the frustration from being mocked earlier was gone too.
As a streamer, it was his job to keep the vibe positive and the pacing smooth.
"Fat Bro, you're good. We'll end the call here."
Fatty scratched his head, thinking, Since when did the streamer start calling me Fat Bro? That was smooth.
"All good, streamer. I'll be back again!"
With that, Fatty ended the connection himself.
Anyone else wanna call in?
[Me! Me! Pick me, streamer! I just sent a gift!]
Lovy noticed his viewer count was rising fast.
Retention was up, gift volume looked solid—this stream was killing it.
It was only his second broadcast, but these numbers? Enough for the platform to give him a solid boost.
You could say… he'd passed the algorithm check again.
Just as Lovy was deciding who to connect with next, a system message popped up—and made his heart skip a beat:
[User "Pokémon Protection Bureau · Officer Tan" has entered your livestream!]
"Huh?"
Lovy froze for a second. Why would someone official show up in my tiny little channel?
The Pokémon Protection Bureau had high authority in this world—handling all Pokémon-related security issues and even online crimes.
"Oh no. Am I under investigation?"
A cold chill ran through him. He felt guilty for no reason. He hadn't done anything illegal… right?
[User "Pokémon Protection Bureau · Officer Tan" is requesting a video call!]
Beads of sweat started forming as Lovy checked the account. Blue checkmark. Official verified tag.
Definitely legit.
He didn't know what they wanted—but there was no way he could refuse the call.
[Connection Successful!]
On-screen appeared a uniformed officer with a kind face.
[Whoa! That's Officer Tan?!]
[Did the streamer commit some heinous act? Why's the official account here?!]
[Officer Tan's moving up in the world—doing collabs with "Snorlax Treasure Appraisal" now!]
[Told y'all—this streamer's sketchy as hell!]
Reading the cheeky comments flying across the screen, Lovy palmed his face with an awkward smile—channeling the classic Nic Cage grin.
Having an official account join live was nerve-wracking… but also kind of exciting.
"Good evening, Officer Tan!"
Lovy quickly perked up and greeted the guest politely.
"Well, well! Such a handsome young lad! You're already streaming at this age? Are you even legally an adult?"
Tan came off as warm and approachable—no arrogance or stiffness at all.
"Yes sir, just turned eighteen this year."
[This guy's not here to chill. Something's up.]
[Streamer better not have skeletons in the closet.]
Lovy answered honestly.
"A spirited young man! Alright, I'll get to the point. We received a viewer complaint alleging that your livestream has heavy signs of scripting—possibly even online fraud. Don't be nervous. No action will be taken unless there's hard evidence."
[Translation: if they had evidence, you'd be cuffed already.]
[He's here to investigate, not chat.]
"Officer Tan, I swear I'm innocent! I'm just a personal streamer, barely starting out. How would I even afford to hire people for scripted content? I'm doing this to scrape by—not dig my own grave!"
Lovy went full melodrama.
Even the little Snorlax next to him waddled over to see what the fuss was about, peering into the camera like a concerned bystander.
"As for online fraud? No way! Sure, people gift stuff sometimes—but that's all voluntary! There's no transaction or scamming involved at all!"
[This guy's got a Snorlax, but look at his shabby room—can't be a fraud if you're broke!]
[Some salty rival must've reported him. Poor guy!]
[Say something, Officer Tan! Defend justice!]
[Low-key, the streamer's trying not to grin—he knows this official visit is great for views!]
Lovy couldn't deny it—ever since Officer Tan joined, the stream's numbers had surged. The comment section was on fire.
Let's be honest, most people were just here to watch the drama—or the uniform.
"Don't get me wrong," Tan clarified. "I'm just here on behalf of the Pokémon Protection Bureau to understand the situation. You're doing Pokémon appraisal content—do you happen to have an official Pokémon Identification Certificate? Or any kind of license for this line of work?"
That question hit Lovy like a brick.
Because the answer was… no.
[Wait, is the stream getting shut down? I just discovered this gem!]
[I thought as long as you don't charge directly, you don't need a license to appraise Pokémon?]
[Streamer, you're way too arrestable right now!]
[Looked it up—illegal Pokémon appraisals carry 1–3 years. Bro, let us know how long you're getting if they haul you in.]
Reading the barrage of bullet comments, Lovy had to admit—he was freaking out a bit.
Seriously? I finally awaken a system, get a cheat-code-level tool, and I'm about to get jailed for "unlicensed appraising"?
He had just started getting the hang of streaming—and now this?
"Officer Tan, as far as I know, live Pokémon appraisals are fine as long as we're not charging directly, right? I'm just an amateur enthusiast streaming for fun…"
Officer Tan responded calmly:
"You're not wrong. As long as you're not charging fees, it's not a big issue in principle. But... this is you, right?"
As he spoke, Officer Tan held up a phone and played a video recording.
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