Universe Infinite Canteen

To her right, three internet-famous frogs were locked in battle with a Snow King, both sides fighting so fiercely that one frog's head had been knocked askew by 180 degrees.

On the other side of their brawl, a bare-chested big brother was power chugging Erguotou liquor, with 3 empty 750-ml bottles already at his feet.

After finishing a bottle, he immediately opened another, generously proving its authenticity by pouring some on a piece of paper and lighting it with a lighter before tilting his head back to pour it down his throat.

Five steps away, a girl who looked no more than 90 pounds was retching at the curb, having just spent 540 yuan on 30 packets of Queen's Crisps and devoured them all in one go on camera.

At the other end of the street, two spirited young men with dyed hair were simultaneously busting out some ghost dance moves and rapping.

"Fire! Fire! Fire! Ho-ho-ho-ho! These grilled sausages, man, they spit fire! It's fire, fire, fire, fire, not ho-ho-ho-ho! Yeah man!"

Shen Yue had pulled up a chair from somewhere, sitting to the side, cracking sunflower seeds and watching everything with gusto.

Ma Lu glanced at her, "Aren't you supposed to be in class?"

"Chemical engineering principles aren't as fun as this," Shen Yue retorted, spitting seed shells into a little trash can Ma Lu had brought.

"Damn, one of the frog's kids got stolen, hahaha, go on, the three of you, yeah, that's it, ride him!"

Shen Yue cracked another seed, "Is it just me or do all the demons and monsters in this city seem to have converged here?"

"Because the traffic here is busy now," Ma Lu said.

Ma Lu reached into Shen Yue's bag and grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds for himself. He didn't need to help with the making of Queen's Crisps, and business at The Universe's Number One Snack Stall was booming so much that they no longer needed to draw in customers, leaving him with free time to join Shen Yue in cracking seeds.

"Internet celebrities are born from traffic and naturally chase after it, whether it's drinking or making a fool of themselves, as long as they're not left behind by the traffic flow."

As Ma Lu spoke, he noticed a figure that had been standing at the edge of the snack stall for a long time.

It was a girl, about eighteen or nineteen years old, but not a student from Aerospace University, wearing a cheap cosplay outfit.

Probably to make herself look more mature, she had also applied makeup, but the quality was quite poor, with too much foundation, poorly applied eyeshadow, overly thick eyeliner, and a lipstick shade that was too dark.

If her natural looks scored a seven, after applying that makeup, she'd have dropped down to a five.

Noticing her hesitation for almost ten minutes, Ma Lu took the initiative and called out, "Rin Tosaka."

The girl didn't immediately realize Ma Lu was calling her and looked back, seeing no one respond, she turned her head towards Ma Lu again.

"Yes, you."

Upon hearing this, the girl instinctively took a few steps back and quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stand here and get in the way of your business, I'll leave right now."

"You've come all this way, so you're just going to leave without streaming?" Ma Lu pointed at the selfie stick tripod in the girl's hand, "You're a streamer, right?"

"Oh." The girl felt somewhat embarrassed upon hearing this, standing still, unsure whether to stay or go.

"What talents do you have?" Shen Yue asked with her legs crossed, like a coach from The Voice of China.

"Then, then I'll dance." The girl was very nervous, as if she was an amateur coming to an audition.

"Okay."

She fumbled to start the music on her phone and then began to move to the rhythm, dancing what seemed to be a known otaku dance called "Happy Synthesizer."

Let's not even mention that "Happy Synthesizer" was popular ten years ago; her dance was also quite poor, like someone who had just learned it a couple of days ago, always half a beat behind and not very precise with the moves.

After the song finished, Shen Yue frowned and asked Ma Lu, "Do you want to go first or should I?"

"You go ahead."

"A complete mess," Shen Yue commented ruthlessly. "First, your makeup is terribly done, you look very countrified, hmm, although some bosses might like a country girl vibe, but then again you dressed up as Rin Tosaka. Right, why Rin Tosaka, are you a Moon Chaser?"

"I don't know what a Moon Chaser is, nor do I know who Rin Tosaka is," the girl said weakly. "It's mainly because this outfit was cheap, only 50 yuan. The shopkeeper said young people like it."

"Young people are short on money," Shen Yue shook her head upon hearing this. "It's actually the middle-aged men who are the real deal, willing to send you gifts, but you need to know how to sweet-talk them, act coy, satisfy their vanity and protectiveness, and console them when they're feeling down.

"There's also a knack to asking for gifts. Many people look down on live streamers, thinking anyone can do it, but how to get those men to spend money without making them lose face is a question as profound as advanced mathematics.

"Of course, if you feel uncomfortable talking to men who are the same age as your father, and you really want to make money from young people, it's not impossible. Otakus are also quite willing to spend money, but they have expectations regarding the accuracy of your cosplay.

"Your outfit is too amateurish, and additionaly, you need to be able to discuss their favorite anime and games. Do you have the knowledge for that? Can you distinguish between Ultraman Ace and Ultraman Taro? Do you know how to team up Nel and what weapons and relics to choose for her? If your top spender is an original fan and the second top spender is a ship fan, and they start arguing, do you know how to mediate while making some extra money on the side?"

Without waiting for the girl to reply, Shen Yue held up a second finger. "Secondly, forget it, I'll just tell you what your biggest problem is. Your dance is bad, the clothes are wrong, but those are just details. Not even grasping the basics is disrespectful to this trade.

"Did you have absolutely no dance background before? Why are basic jazz dance moves like the U-shape hip swing so stiff, wiping the 'glass' with more professionalism than a cleaning lady, waist and hips like they're welded together, without any allure at all, way too hardcore."

Shen Yue took a breath after her critique, and then grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds, turning to Ma Lu. "Do you have anything to add?"

"You forgot to start the live stream." Ma Lu pointed to the girl's phone and kindly reminded her. "You just danced for nothing."

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." The girl's cheeks heated up, looking as if she was about to cry. "I... I'll practice more when I get back."

"Or you could consider joining a class," Shen Yue suggested.

"I, I used to work as a production operator at an electronics factory, but offended the line manager, so now I'm trying to make it as a live streamer. I'm saving up money to study to become a barista, I want to be a barista." The girl said while sniffling.

The weather was already getting cool, and the 50-yuan Rin Tosaka outfit was obviously not very warm.

Ma Lu said, "If you want to stream, then stream. There are already many people streaming here, one more won't make a difference. And this road isn't my private property, you don't have to care about my attitude."

The girl quickly waved her hands, "I came to ride on your popularity, so I need your permission," as she spoke, she bowed deeply three times, "Thank you, boss, thank you, madam boss, I will work hard from now on."

"I'm not the madam boss," Shen Yue said while picking her nose, "I'm just a concerned bystander who came to watch the fun. You... sigh, nevermind, I'll find someone to teach you how to do makeup tomorrow."