Chapter 12

When Nicholas got back to his apartment, he tossed the shopping bags onto the small couch, then leaned back and stretched out. He stared at the ceiling for a moment and suddenly burst into laughter. "All of this really isn't just a dream!" Nicholas sat up with a jolt and took out his phone to check his balance. It was over 240,000 dollars now. In just a few hours, he had gone from a broke nobody with only a few hundred in his account to a wealthy guy. He had no idea if the world's richest man could make money as fast as he had, but he was sure that nobody on earth would be able to match his future earning speed. He was so confident about that. After calming down, Nicholas opened TikTok. "Welcome! For one Little Heart, I'll take a step on the acupressure mat. Send me a Big Beer, and I'll take two steps. "If you gift me a Hot Air Balloon, I'll stand on it for a full minute! Feel free to drop any commands, and I'll do them right here on the mat!" Maybe it was because he had sent gifts to that streamer earlier in the morning. As soon as he opened TikTok, the platform recommended her livestream to him again. "What? She's still streaming on the acupressure mat?" Nicholas muttered as he glanced at the screen. He noticed that the streamer was indeed still standing on the mat. He felt a bit surprised. She had actually kept her promise. He entered the livestream. "Welcome... Oh wow, welcome, Misty Nicky! Nicky, I haven't broken my promise. Aside from a few minutes to grab my lunch delivery at noon, I've been on the mat the whole time," the streamer said the moment Nicholas joined. He shot straight to first place on the donor list. The streamer greeted him warmly. Seeing that he was instantly at the top of the list, Nicholas realized she really hadn't ended her stream at all. "Looks like the price went up?" he asked when he noticed the sign she was holding had changed. A single Hot Air Balloon only added one minute of standing on the acupressure mat now. "I had no choice," she said in a pitiful tone. "It hasn't even been six hours yet, and there's still an hour left. I feel like my legs are about to give out." Nicholas couldn't see her face yet, but he had to admit that her voice was quite cute. She wore sheer nude tights, the kind with reinforced toes. If he looked closely, he could see the red nail polish on her toes. The red polish looked a bit old-fashioned, but her legs were actually pretty nice. They weren't super skinny like a supermodel's or exaggerated like a cartoon character's. They had a wine glass shape—thicker at the top and slimmer at the bottom. Her thighs looked slightly muscular, but her calves were very slim. The tights made them look especially good. Nicholas liked legs, so he found himself drawn in. He even considered using his Discerning Skill on this streamer named "SassySuzy" to see her Attractiveness score. "Never mind. There's no need. I'm only here for the fun and the good vibes," Nicholas thought, dropping the idea. If he had come just for her looks, he would have already used the skill. But that wasn't why he was here. He was simply enjoying her little game, and she gave him a lot of positive energy. Also, she had kept her word by staying on that mat for almost six hours, which Nicholas found admirable. "If I use my skill and she turns out not to be pretty, I might lose interest," Nicholas thought, shaking his head. "Better to just have some fun. If I really wanted to see pretty girls, TikTok is full of them." "Can you keep going?" Nicholas asked. "Can I keep going?" The streamer, Suzy, hadn't responded yet when a level 52 user spoke up. "Oh? Are you going to send more gifts?" Nicholas frowned but ignored that user. He sent another message in the chat. "If you really can't keep going, I won't add more time." "I can! I can keep going!" Suzy answered quickly when she saw Nicholas' chat. "Nicky, I can definitely keep going." "Alright then. I'll go top up," Nicholas replied before leaving the stream to add more funds. He didn't add much, just 40,000 dollars. Soon, 400,000 TikTok diamonds appeared in his account, and Nicholas returned to the livestream. He saw that the level 52 user had gone crazy buying Hot Air Balloons. In the short time Nicholas had left and come back, that user had already sent over 100 Hot Air Balloons. Each Hot Air Balloon cost about five dollars, so 100 of them cost 500 dollars. This burst of gifts had surpassed Nicholas' earlier 400 Big Sunglasses by a good margin. "Since you say you can keep going, then keep going. Keep at it!" The level 52 user typed smugly. "Uh..." Suzy forced a smile. She had just received a hundred Hot Air Balloons worth 500 dollars, which meant an extra 100 minutes on the acupressure mat. That added an hour and 40 minutes to the one hour she still hadn't finished. Now, she had to stand for another two hours and 40 minutes. It was exhausting. "Thanks to 'GloryNation' for the 100 Hot Air Balloons. Now, I have to stand on the acupressure mat for two hours and 40 more minutes," Suzy said wearily, but she quickly perked up and asked, "Any other bosses want to add more time?" Nicholas' eyes flickered when he heard that. He smiled and typed, "If we can add time by sending gifts, how about reducing time if we send gifts of the same value? What do you think?" Suzy paused for a moment and said, "Um... is that okay?" "Sure. Why not?" Nicholas replied with a laugh. The level 52 user piped up, "Oh, are you trying to challenge me to a PK?" "You can give it a shot," Nicholas answered with a slight smile as he looked for gifts that matched the Hot Air Balloon's value.