After indulging in the thrill of his newfound powers to his heart's content, Chu Yi finally quelled his curiosity toward further experimentation.
Instead, a new thought crossed his mind — to inspect his personal stats panel.
"System, display my panel."
"Ding. Panel opened," a mechanical voice replied.
At once, a translucent screen appeared before Chu Yi.
Host: Chu Yi
Fortune: 102 (Level 3 Villain)
Villain Points: 3200
Strength: 61 (with 10 being the average human)
Intelligence: 41
Charisma: 37
Constitution: 45
Items: Infant starter set, Corpse-Melting Powder, one Tier-2 lottery ticket
Skills: Grandmaster-level Bajiquan, Aura Suppression
System Shop: Unlocked
"Not bad at all. Strength, charisma, constitution — all have seen significant enhancement," Chu Yi murmured with satisfaction.
"No doubt, the credit goes entirely to those elixirs."
Compared to his earlier stats when the system first activated, the transformation was remarkable.
Looking at his upgraded panel, a contented smile crept onto Chu Yi's lips.
However, a small headache lingered in the back of his mind. Now that his strength had improved, the rewards from a Tier-1 lottery draw were likely of little use.
Yet, to upgrade the system to Tier-2, he still needed 98 more fortune points.
"Forget it for now."
He consoled himself with a sigh, then leaned back into his office chair and powered on the computer, hoping to relax a little.
Moreover, he intended to learn more about this world's background.
As the screen came to life, Chu Yi began entering one keyword after another into the search bar.
Famous figures from his past life still existed.
The Four Great Classical Novels were still around.
But curiously, many of the legendary achievements these people were once known for had vanished.
For instance, Jay Chou's most iconic traditional-style songs like Blue and White Porcelain and East Wind Breaks were nowhere to be found.
In their place were rock and pop hits — titles like King of Pop and Oh Yeah, Not Bad at All — songs Chu Yi had never even heard before in his previous life.
The economy here seemed to mirror that of around 2008 in his original world.
Yet the entertainment industry had somehow progressed to match the level of 2015.
A comprehensive copyright law had been implemented, along with a robust set of regulatory standards.
Such signs of a mature industry immediately stirred entrepreneurial instincts in Chu Yi.
"Didn't the original host own a livestream entertainment company?"
"Perfect. I should investigate it."
With that thought, Chu Yi navigated to the nation's largest streaming platform — Douyu.
The site was bustling with users.
The first room featured on the homepage boasted over ten million viewers.
Even more surprising, the streamer was someone very familiar to Chu Yi — Dai Xiaomei, who, just like in his previous life, had become a leading anchor on Douyu.
As Chu Yi browsed the site further, he spotted several other familiar names — Wei Shen, Da Sima.
"It seems this world shares some similarities with my past, yet many things are clearly different," he mused inwardly.
After skimming through the general landscape of this world's entertainment, Chu Yi prepared to close the site.
But just as his cursor hovered over the exit button, a flurry of pop-up notifications caught his eye.
"Mr. Prettyboy just launched 100 rockets in Room 22333 — come witness the extravagance!"
"Mr. Prettyboy just launched 100 rockets in Room 22333 — don't miss out!"
The announcement repeated itself several times.
Each rocket cost 2,000 yuan.
A hundred rockets — that was a staggering 200,000 yuan.
Three repeated blasts amounted to a jaw-dropping 600,000.
Chu Yi frowned slightly.
"Isn't this a bit too extravagant? Who throws money around like this?"
Somehow, this entire situation felt eerily familiar — like a scene straight out of a high-powered urban novel.
He had a strange hunch: today, he might just run into a "big fish."
After a moment's thought, Chu Yi clicked into the room mentioned in the notification.
It belonged to another familiar face — Zhou Xiaofen, affectionately known as Sister Zhou.
She was a stunning, talented young woman whose fame and beauty were well-known across the platform.
Though, truth be told, her "talent" was her fast-talking mouth — a gift not everyone appreciated.
Anyone who endured one of her debates usually found their appreciation for her beauty swiftly diminish.
Pushing such distractions aside, Chu Yi focused on the scene unfolding in the livestream chat.
The comments were flying in like a blizzard.
Each one echoed the same message:
"Go Wujige! Crush that prettyboy!"
"Yeah, Wujige, fight back! You've always been Zhou Jie's top gifter — don't let Prettyboy steal your spot!"
"Let's go, Wujige! Don't let him show you up!"
Apparently, two individuals were competing to claim the top spot in the stream.
And at present, Prettyboy clearly held the upper hand — Wujige was being thoroughly outmatched.
"Interesting," Chu Yi whispered, intrigued.
With such a lively battlefield before him, how could he resist making a statement of his own — a declaration of his wealth?
He was just about to top up his account with 100,000 yuan when —
"Ding! Fortune-Child detected. Target currently present in this livestream room. Host, remain alert."
The system's voice echoed through his mind.
Chu Yi's expression shifted instantly, his eyes narrowing with interest.
"So… my instincts weren't wrong."
"That Prettyboy really is a protagonist."
"Question is, what kind of protagonist? A nouveau riche god-tier character, or some kind of entertainment genius?"
He leaned back slightly, lost in thought.
Meanwhile, far away in the heart of Modu, within a luxurious three-bedroom apartment of over a hundred square meters—
A young man sat grinning ear to ear.
"System, I want to check in at Zhou Jie's stream."
"Ding! Check-in successful. You've received two million fish fins."
The system's cheerful chime made the young man burst into laughter.
"Haha! I haven't even used up yesterday's three million rocket reward, and now I've got two million more!"
"Wujige, what can you possibly throw at me now?"
Smugness radiated from his face as his heart swelled with satisfaction.
His name was Su Chen.
And he, too, was not originally from this world.
Just a few days ago, he had transmigrated here — and upon arrival, awakened a powerful Entertainment Sign-in System.
What's more, fate gifted him a stunning fiancée — Sister Zhou.
Beautiful, famous, adored — a perfect package.
The day he discovered all this, Su Chen nearly fainted from joy.
A sign-in system and a top-tier beauty?
It was a dream come true — a life of fame, fortune, and adoration.
Back in his previous life, he had been a nobody.
He had never even had a girlfriend.