The blinding fill light suddenly went out.
Before her lay an abrupt darkness.
Lin Xiaoya's heart skipped a beat, quickly followed by an overwhelming sense of suffocation.
No, this wasn't right.
Wasn't she supposed to be at the top floor of the Dark Night Consortium, pushed off by Lu Chen Zhou, her body shattered upon impact?
How could the excruciating pain of bones breaking and organs rupturing be merely an illusion?
A low hum filled the air.
The screen of her phone lit up in the darkness, casting a ghostly glow on her terrified face.
A line of cold, mechanical text appeared in the center of the screen:
"Detected strong survival instinct from host; Commercial Simulation System officially activated."
"Scanning residual data…"
"Detected data chain related to past life [Dark Night Consortium Merger Case]…"
"Data synchronization in progress… 10%… 30%…"
What was this?
A system?
Past life?
Lin Xiaoya abruptly sat up, scanning her surroundings.
The familiar live stream backdrop, scattered cosmetics all over the floor, and the rapidly scrolling comments on the screen.
Had she… been reborn?
Back to four years ago, when she had just begun to make a name for herself, before the dark web of the Night Consortium had completely ensnared her?
Before she could process this overwhelming information, the progress bar on her phone screen reached 100%.
"Data synchronization complete."
"System functions loaded: Business Simulation (Beginner), Comment Control (Unlocked), Data Tracking (Locked), AI Face Swap Crack (Locked)."
"Beginner Task: Address the current live stream crisis."
Live stream crisis?
Lin Xiaoya was stunned, then realized that the recent power outage was no accident.
Sure enough, in the darkness, the comments had erupted.
"Why did it go black? What's going on with the host?"
"Yeah, why did it suddenly go dark?"
"I told you this essence was fine!"
"Lin Xiaoya get out of the live streaming world!"
Vulgarities surged like a tide, nearly drowning the small screen.
One bold and highlighted ID stood out particularly—"Anti-Fraud Warrior Zhou Tao."
It’s him!
Lin Xiaoya's pupils constricted as fragments of memories from her past life flashed back like a movie.
This Zhou Tao was a pawn of the Dark Night Consortium, specifically tasked with targeting those streamers who disobeyed or obstructed their financial interests online.
In her previous life, she had exposed a beauty product under the Dark Night Consortium that contained banned substances, only to be relentlessly attacked by Zhou Tao and his army of trolls, ultimately driving her into a corner.
And this time, he was clearly prepared!
“Don’t panic, sisters!”
Lin Xiaoya took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. Her voice came through the microphone, soothing and sweet, a stark contrast to her earlier demeanor.
“It’s just a minor issue; it might be a power surge. We have a backup power source, so please hang on!”
As she spoke, she skillfully reached under the table for a power bank, connecting it to the fill light and her phone.
The screen lit up again, and the livestream regained its brightness.
But Lin Xiaoya's heart sank.
A system notification echoed in her mind: “Backup power activated, consuming 500 points from the shop (equivalent to a 500 yuan tip).”
This setting hadn’t existed in her previous life!
This so-called system felt more like a cold transactional machine.
She fixed her gaze on Zhou Tao's ID on the screen, her fingers tightening slightly.
Seeing her recover the livestream so quickly caught Zhou Tao off guard, and the barrage of comments intensified even more.
"Wow, there really is a backup power source? It seems like this was planned all along!"
"Exactly! How could we not know if there’s a problem with the product?"
"Everyone, don’t believe her! My friend used this essence, and her face looks so much younger now!"
"Yes! I have a friend who used it too! It’s this 'Starlight Miracle Essence'! She told me the results are amazing!"
The online trolls joined in, and soon the screen was flooded with comments like "Clown," "Attention-seeker," and "Fraud."
The popularity of the livestream began to plummet dramatically.
Lin Xiaoya watched as the number of online viewers dwindled in the backend, her gaze growing colder.
She knew that conventional explanations and clarifications were useless against someone like Zhou Tao, a professional troll.
She needed solid evidence—something that would hit hard!
"Zhou Tao, right?"
Lin Xiaoya suddenly smiled, her voice still sweet but laced with an imperceptible chill.
"You claim I'm defaming someone’s product? Show me the evidence."
"You say your friend had great results? Have your friend present their medical records and purchase receipts."
"Anyone can make baseless claims. You’re so worked up; did you get paid by a rival company to slander me?"
Her tone was calm and clear, instantly stabilizing some of the wavering audience members.
"The host is right! What’s the point of shouting without evidence?"
"Support Lin Xiaoya! Make sure to get the facts straight before you speak!"
Zhou Tao clearly did not expect her to remain so composed, even turning the tables on him, which left him feeling flustered.
"Stop trying to wriggle out of this! The cost of this essence is already several thousand! Does the company invest so much just to make a tiny profit and scam people?"
"Do they want to ruin their reputation?"
He began to flood the chat with messages, attempting to drown out his own guilt with vulgar language.
Lin Xiaoya watched coldly, while also paying attention to the notifications in her mind.
"Current online viewers: 8,754."
"Bullet chat interaction frequency: 35 messages per second."
"Likes: 3,120."
Not enough.
The system's requirement to unlock the "bullet chat control" feature is—likes must reach 5,000.
I need to stoke the flames further!
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