Chapter 140: The Streaming Sensation, Grapefruit the Great Demon Lord

"Hey there, folks! What you're looking at right now is the first semi-final match of the CrossFire Jiangsu Division. The competing teams hail from... (one thousand words omitted here)."

In the northeast corner of the bustling Wankai International Exhibition Center, close to the side of the stage, a tall, handsome young man was holding up a selfie stick, broadcasting live with great relish.

Song Lun, a local resident of HZ and a streamer on the Douyu streaming platform, went by the online ID "Pomelo Demon King" and was an undisputed internet celebrity. In the realm of gaming live streams on Douyu, he was definitely a powerhouse ranking in the top five for popularity.

Strictly speaking, his true favorite was *Hearthstone*, a tournament genre exclusively played by women. Not only could he appreciate the most powerful and exciting card battles, but he could also admire stunning female competitors of all styles—truly a win-win pleasure. It was a pity that he had just accompanied a newly picked-up girl on a vacation to the Maldives a few days ago and missed it. Returning to HZ yesterday, he rushed over here without stopping today to stream.

The source of his interest was a sensational piece of news exploding across the HZ forums over the past few days: Pepsi's powerhouse reinforcement had arrived, and major investors were scrambling to buy shares.

What kind of gaming titan could possibly attract even Jinhua, the young master of HZ? Song Lun was deeply interested and wanted to pay a personal visit.

"Streamer, stop watching the match! That crappy CF game is totally outdated. Got any cute girls to look at?"

"What the hell, the guy above me? How is CF outdated? We are all loyal fans!"

"Right! Today is for the match broadcast. No girls here—take it or leave it, get lost."

"Demon King, didn't you say you had a mysterious piece of major news today? What on earth is it? It wouldn't happen to be related to this match, would it?"

The viewers in the live stream were running high on emotion, and the chat barrage flooded the screen. Song Lun quickly scanned the scrolling comments while putting on a mysterious and profound air.

"Hehe, folks, you'll find out in a moment. For those bros who aren't interested in CF, maybe you should go check out the pretty girls streaming instead. I reckon I'll be hanging out here today until my phone battery dies."

Since he had put it that way, those clamoring viewers naturally had no choice; they dropped a string of profanities and logged off. In a mere minute, the live stream's online viewer count plummeted from 12,000 to over 8,000, losing a full third of its audience. For any other streamer, this would probably cause physical pain, but Song Lun didn't mind. Today was Monday, and it was still morning; having this many viewers show support was already reason enough to be happy.

The streaming industry was deep waters. He had forged ahead step-by-step for nearly five years to accumulate his current level of popularity. The vast majority of his fans were loyal veterans who wouldn't just abandon ship because today's broadcast happened to be a game.

Boom!

A massive string of fireworks animations filled the entire phone screen, gorgeous and imposing.

A large red banner immediately pinned itself to the very top: [Pomelo Family Lone Wolf sent 11 fireworks to the streamer].

A single firework cost 660 beans, equivalent to 66 RMB. Lone Wolf had just dropped 11 of them in one go, making him a true mega-typhoon of a tipper. Viewers flooded the chat, crying out in awe of the tycoon. Indeed, Lone Wolf was a renowned big spender in Pomelo's fan base, often filling the screen without a word. From the very first year of Pomelo's streaming career until now, Lone Wolf had gifted at least 700,000 RMB worth of virtual items, holding the crown of Grand King.

"Haha," Song Lun grinned from ear to ear. "Brother Lone Wolf is truly generous, making you spend money again."

Actually, saying things like this was merely a tactic to entice viewers into gifting. In reality, almost all streamers and the major whales who supported them had private connections behind the scenes, operating on a percentage rebate system.

Of course, some tycoons were genuinely wealthy—so wildly rich that they simply didn't care about such things. Lone Wolf was one of them.

Lone Wolf: Pomelo, stop beating around the bush. Just spit out whatever big news you have. All of us are here to see you, not the match.

"What is Brother Lone Wolf saying? Our channel is broadcasting the match today, after all. Let me drop a little hint in advance—it actually *is* related to this match, and I imagine many of our local HZ viewers already know about it. But I must beg you all: please don't spoil it in the chat just yet. Let our friends from all corners of the country experience it firsthand in a moment." Song Lun remained thoroughly mysterious, refusing to be bought off by sugar-coated shells.

Inside the live stream, a brief silence fell.

Among the 8,000+ viewers, at least 2,000+ were locals from HZ. Quite a few of them knew what the streamer was talking about. As Song Lun had said, it was truly an earth-shattering matter. Spoilers would completely ruin the fun.

As for the out-of-town viewers, this atmosphere was successfully hyped up to the maximum.

The 2,000+ locals tacitly kept quiet, which alone proved just how intensely mysterious this hidden event was.

Lone Wolf: Fine, seems like it really is a huge secret. I'll calm down and watch carefully.

"Damn, a gaming match with a rare twist? I'm learning something new today."

"Everyone keep in formation, follow Grand King Lone Wolf, and get ready to verbally tear the Demon King apart later!"

"Demon King big bro, my little heart is being teased by all this mystery of yours. Ouch, I'm so nervous~~ Demon King big bro, you've got to compensate me."

"Hey girl above me, wait a second. The Demon King already has a woman—how about I keep you company instead?"

"Pleh! I don't want you..."

Watching the lively banter in the chat, Song Lun smiled helplessly. He found his expensive first-row VIP seat, pointed his phone camera at the giant screen, and quietly continued the live broadcast.

Li Gang's opening shot from the cliff edge sounded the trumpet for Pepsi's counter-offensive.

Two flashbangs thrown down the middle lane flew toward the A-site bomb site and the White House respectively, instantly blinding all four members of the Black Wind team. Meanwhile, Li Xin, lying in wait around the A-long corner, seized the opportunity to rush out, making a forceful push straight toward the White House.

Headshot!

Double kill!

Having charged into the White House, the flashbang's blinding effect was about to wear off. On the other side, Li Gang stood ready, timely tossing his own flashbang to blind the two defenders at the A-site once more.

Down the middle lane, Kairy also surged forward, coordinating with Li Xin to each secure a kill.

The Counter-Terrorists took the first round.

A wave of cheers erupted at the venue. Having watched Pepsi's previous matches, watching them now felt increasingly passionate, with very few dragged-out moments. Every piece of teamwork was exquisitely unique, with coherence and precision in the timing. Although it was the credit of the entire team overall, the strongest, most eye-catching, and most dazzling figure was, of course, the in-game leader: Yiran!

True to his gaming ID, he was a rising star ascending into the sky!

The entire Black Wind team was strung as tight as bowstrings. Having already prepared specifically for Pepsi's bizarre and fierce team coordination, they now found that it was nowhere near enough. Pepsi's playstyle was even weirder than their research results suggested, leaving opponents with nowhere to strike and impossible to guard against!

As the second round began, Black Wind's initial probing rush failed, prompting them to switch to a steady, solid strategy, intending to win through defense and pure gunfights.

Yet, the unexpected arrived.

Pepsi directly used flashbangs to seal off the entire Eagle Eye lower area down the mid-lane, after which all five members grouped up tightly and charged right in.

"Quick, quick, quick! They're rushing!" Black Wind player Zhang Nan hurriedly called out enemy positions before getting riddled with a dense rain of bullets and dying from a headshot.

"Damn it!" Captain L3's face turned gloomy as he hurriedly adjusted the formation and contracted the defense lines.

It was too late. The five Pepsi players had already split into pairs, charging in and sweeping the area with concentrated fire.

A rapid sequence of prompt sounds rang out: the Counter-Terrorists won round two!

"Damn, legendary!"

"What kind of playstyle is this? So aggressive even in a major tournament?"

"This Pepsi team is ruthless."

"This IGL is insane, 6666!"

The chat barrage flooded the screen in Pomelo Demon King's live stream room.