Global Live Streaming: From Streamer to Divine God

108 tourists, Li Siming was one of them.

In a rental house in a college town in Xiangzhou City.

"Beep beep..." Suddenly, the ring of an alarm startled Li Siming who was sitting in front of the computer; he "jumped!" up!

"Ding ding bang bang~~" A series of messy sounds followed, the keyboard on his lap and the cold coffee cup on the desk were knocked to the ground. Li Siming grabbed his phone, fumbling to turn off the annoying alarm, then ignored the mess on the floor, his eyes once again glued to the scene displayed on his monitor.

"What, what is this?"

On the monitor, a seemingly ordinary yet immensely terrifying scene was unfolding!

At the center of the screen, the focus remained on the slender figure of a young man, who wore a simple "Court Drama Costume"—the kind usually found on extras and passersby. The young man was passing through a massive "Cleaning Workshop," where countless women in period attire were bustling about amidst piles of clothing and utensils...

There were old ones and young ones...

Some were plump, and some had graceful figures...

Some had faces etched with age and sorrow, while others looked youthful and delicate...

There were a thousand faces, each one so real, each one so engaged, each one so distinct and different!

In every person's eyes, there was a story; in every gaze, there was emotion; every body language spoke, sketched out, and conveyed...

An indescribable shock, a mental shock, an infectious spirit!

It was like a "live performance," resembling a scene where thousands of "veteran actors" were performing intensely at once. Even through the screen, Li Siming felt as if he could smell the aura of the place, savor the atmosphere and emotions permeating among them, sense the sweat they exuded, feel their pain and numbness!

"This is definitely not the set of some TV drama, definitely not, definitely not!"

Li Siming muttered to himself in disbelief.

But the question arose, if it was not the set of a TV drama, what then could it be?

A livestream?

What production unit had the capacity, resources, and boldness to create such a grand scene not even seen in blockbuster movies, and with such "meticulous attention to detail" reaching to every single aspect, each part, and character?

Just a livestream?

Just to promote the young man at the center of the image?

Filled with immense shock and confusion, Li Siming sat down again.

The first thing he did was to turn off the barrage of exclamation marks and question marks, then he concentrated all his spirit and attention, widened his eyes, and tried to spot a flaw in the following images—something artificial or deliberate—to disprove the faint suspicion that was closest to the truth but constantly rejected and resisted by reason and common sense!

"Come on, come on, I will find your flaw, let me expose your deception..."

The massive "Cleaning Workshop" was now left behind, and an even more "realistic," magnificent, luxurious, and beautiful court scene gradually unfolded!

Li Siming's mouth hung open, unable to close. The more he watched, the clearer that ludicrous but logical suspicion became. The deeper he looked, the more perplexed and shocked he became!

It was like the Forbidden City, but it was the Emperor's harem, which was never open to tourists!

Yet there were differences, more dazzling, more luxurious, more...

What I understood to be the Forbidden City was nothing but an inanimate object, but what I was seeing now was "alive" because of each blade of grass, each tree, and because of every person appearing on screen, because of their behavior, their etiquette, their expressions, their gazes, their actions, and their speech, because of everything they consistently portrayed and expressed!

Real!!

A huge, utterly absurd reality!!

Now, the reality persists, and there's absolutely no sign of any end!

Li Siming had forgotten his original intention; he was completely immersed, following the young man at the center of the screen with a fixed perspective, witnessing, experiencing, encountering, and being shocked together!

There was clearly no sound, yet Li Siming instinctively restored its original flavor and tone. He seemed to have replaced the young man at the center of the frame, throwing himself into it and experiencing an inconceivable fantasy journey.

Half an hour of rapid movement, half an hour of hurried observations. Many things were but fleeting glimpses, and many interesting scenes were merely grazed over. Li Siming had wanted the young man to stop, but soon, he understood the inevitability of the youth's situation!

This court devoured men!

At this point, Li Siming had completely projected himself into the role, or rather, he stopped thinking about what was real or deliberate, stopped considering what all this really was, didn't delve deeper, but just followed his feelings, instincts, and intuition, sharing breath and fate with the youth at the center of the screen!

............

Neither Li Xu nor Little Guizi were qualified to enter the main hall and front gates of Jade Screen Palace. Even the several side halls of this palace complex and the dwellings of the three First Attendants were beyond their current status, leaving them nothing but wistful yearning.

Then, three sudden whip cracks, like three bolts of thunder breaking the silence, made everyone in view instantly kneel down by the roadside, almost pressing their bodies to the ground, foreheads touching the earth, exposing the backs of their heads and respectfully arched spines. Only Li Xu was half a beat behind, which immediately drew several hidden, blade-sharp gazes from the shadows!

Fortunately, his spirit was always tense and his reaction quite agile. By the time he "clumsily" knelt down, appearing no different from those around him, those sharp gazes still circled around his neck and back for a moment, causing him to break out in a cold sweat once more!

A mass of footsteps sounded. With his forehead pressed against the cold stone path, Li Xu could only see from the corner of his eye pairs of exquisite official boots walking past him, the hems of court garments adorned with complicated embroidery fluttering past. These people, forming inner and outer ranks, were like precise instruments, or lifeless displays, completely barring Li Xu and other such insignificant folk from their midst!

It was silent and solemn, with only the rustling of clothing ribbons in the cold wind.

And then, there was waiting.

What came next was more relaxed and nonchalant.

Li Xu first heard a lazy sigh, followed by a charming, soft, naive voice that chimed in, "Your Majesty, it's still early, there's no harm in resting a little longer."

"Nonsense, how can you take the ancestral rules lightly?"

"Yes, your servant has spoken out of turn, please punish me, Your Majesty!"

"Never mind... You're still like a child who hasn't grown up... How do you servants usually attend to her?"

"Your servant deserves death!"

"Oh my, Your Majesty, it's time, why haven't you left yet?"

"Now you tell me it's time to send me away?"

"Your servant wouldn't dare!"

"It's getting chilly, be careful when you pay your respects later. Don't be naughty, understand?"

"Yes, yes, your servant will heed His Majesty's commands!"

"Mhm, let's set off!"

"Crack, crack, crack!!" Three whip cracks, and a deep, resonant voice sang out, "His Majesty is departing!!"

Li Xu felt strange; why did the emperor's voice sound familiar?

Meanwhile, the live streaming interface behind him, after a long period of silence, suddenly erupted.

'Is that, is that... Chen Jianbin?'

'My God, it's Legend of Zhen Huan!!'