Ajey's POV
Okay.
Okay.
So, I'm not dead.
I'm not in Delhi.
But I'm also not dreaming.
Because this hot chocolate?
Too damn real. The pie? Chef's kiss. And that bakery girl, Lina?
Honestly, way too pretty to be part of my hallucination. So that means...
I'm actually inside some FUCKING video game.
And if I'm not hallucinating...
Then what the hell is this?!
[STREAMER SYSTEM ACTIVATED]
Welcome, Ajey Nagar.
You have been selected as the World's First Real-Life Streamer in a Survival Horror World.
Begin Streaming?
"...Huh???"
A floating blue window popped in front of my face like some RPG tutorial. I legit flinched.
"System...?? Bro, kya bakchodi hai yeh?"
It shimmered, waiting.
And before I could second-guess it—
[Beginner Streamer Pack Claimed!]
🎁 Reward Received:
Webcam Drone (Invis to NPCs)
Mic+Facecam Overlay
1x Skill: Basic Combat Instinct
10 Stat Points
Stream Access to Real World
First Stream Bonus: Starts in 3...2...1...
🌐 Viewers: 0 → 1,034 → 9,482...
"WAIT—NO NO NO—"
🎥 [LIVE]
I heard a subtle hum—like a floating drone following me—and suddenly I could see a small floating chat window to the side of my vision. Only I could see it.
And then I saw them.
The viewers.
REAL people.
My real audience.
💬 "WTF THIS ISN'T A GAME???"
💬 "IS THIS A PRANK?"
💬 "WHY DOES THIS LOOK SO DAMN REAL?"
💬 "CARRYMINATI IN RESIDENT EVIL VILLAGE? BRUHHH."
💬 "BAKERY GIRL IS HOT AS HELL OMGGG."
I blinked. Froze.
"...Yeh kya chal raha hai bhai?"
🎉 Superchat: ₹500–"This gotta be an ARG, right? Carry bro is ACTUALLY in RE Village!?"
🎉 Superchat: ₹1,000–"AYO CARRY LOOK BEHIND YOU 😭😭"
My brain short-circuited.
I was... streaming?
LIVE?
From inside a horror game world??
And people thought I was just playing some ultra-realistic VR.
Even though this cold air was stabbing my skin and my legs were actually sore from running in the damn forest.
💬 "THE NPC GIRL?? Bro she's 🔥🔥🔥"
💬 "Why she look like waifu material?"
💬 "Anyone else simping or just me??"
I glanced at Lina, still wiping the counter with that soft smile, humming quietly like she didn't know I was being watched by 10k+ people.
...Was she really an NPC?
No way she was just code. She made the fluffiest pie I've ever had in my life, man.
🎮 [Your stats have increased.]
+1 Strength
+1 Perception
+3 Streaming Presence
+New Passive: Superchat Hype
+New Feature: Viewer Poll
💬 "Make him punch a zombie lol"
💬 "Chat: Should we ask him to kiss the bakery girl? 💀"
💬 "THIS IS TOO REAL TO BE A GAME WTF"
I took a deep breath, stepped outside the bakery, letting the cold air snap me back.
Okay.
Okay, Carry.
You're a streamer. This is what you do.
Even if you're stuck in Resident Evil , your audience is here.
You're live.
So I turned to the invisible cam, grinning like I wasn't on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
"Okay chat," I said, voice steady, "either I'm inside the most high-budget horror sim of all time, or y'all are watching me slowly lose my damn mind."
Chat EXPLODED.
💬 "LMAOOO Carry coping HARD rn"
💬 "NAHHH WE HERE FOR THIS"
💬 "Bro bout to hit 1M live viewers IN A GAME."
🌐 Viewers: 9,482 → 32,110 → 98,442
🎉 Superchat: ₹5,000 – "KISS THE NPC GIRL FOR THE CULTURE 🔥"
🎉 Superchat: ₹2,000 – "Equip a weapon, GO FIGHT A WEREWOLF 😭"
[Quest Unlocked: Survive Your First Night Stream]
Reward: Chat XP boost, + Weapon Gacha Ticket, + Carry Swag Emote
I smirked.
"Alright, chat. You want action? You'll get action."
But my eyes flicked back to Lina one last time, just as she looked up and smiled at me.
Innocent. Calm. Still wiping a plate like none of this was real.
The audience thought she was part of the game. Just some beautiful NPC.
But me?
I wasn't so sure.
Because there was something real in her eyes.
Like she knew.
Like maybe...
She wasn't just a character.
Maybe she was alive, too.