Chapter 57: Irene’s Ambition

Early in the morning, a crowd gathered outside the old Kashi mansion, all focusing on Irene. A curious neighbor asked, "Irene, what are you up to?" Irene glanced back at Emma, who was using a selfie stick to hold up her phone for filming, and said with a smile, "I’m live streaming." "Live streaming? What are you streaming?" The neighbors, feeling very intrigued, asked. Although live streaming was common nowadays, it wasn’t something they often saw in their neighborhood, and they were curious about how it was done. Irene chose the largest streaming platform, which was more reliable and had recently launched new activities to support new streamers. Irene had done her research the previous day: as long as she streamed at regular intervals, the platform would promote her stream a bit. Whether or not she could retain viewers would depend on the content of her streams. Generally, showing off wealth, dancing, flaunting muscles, and gaming were the easiest ways to gain traffic on streaming platforms. But Irene didn’t plan to stream any of those. Her stream title was simple: "Daily Life at the Detective Agency." Emma turned on the camera, filming the new custom sign from the night before: "Costa Detective Agency." Irene looked at the stream and found it a bit plain, so she zoomed the camera out a bit. She streamed without showing her face, ensuring the camera captured everything from the neck down. After setting everything up, Irene promoted the stream on Instagram. In her previous conversations with Stefan, she had expressed her hope to establish a fair and just law enforcement environment, ensuring even the poor could receive justice. Live streaming was the fastest way to attract fans and gather like-minded people. Irene checked the time and then started the live stream. Within seconds, viewers started joining the stream. [burgerlover] has entered the stream. Just as Irene was about to welcome the viewer like other streamers, [burgerlover] commented. [burgerlover: Starting a detective agency as the bottom-ranked student?] Irene immediately guessed it was someone from her high school. She ignored the comment. [burgerlover: How can someone with such bad grades solve any cases?] [burgerlover shared the stream.] [Fishy has entered the stream.] [IwanttomeetGod has entered the stream.] Within a minute of starting the stream, over a hundred viewers joined. Some were her high school classmates, and a few were new viewers who stumbled upon the stream. [T-Rex079: What’s going on? Just sitting there? Boring.] [Fishy: Told you guys, she’s the bottom-ranked in our class. How can someone like her be a detective? It’s laughable!] [burgerlover: No way! How can someone be this shameless and still try to be a detective?] The stream was filled with skepticism and ridicule. Irene, however, paid no attention to them. Controversy brought traffic, and the high number of comments prompted the system to promote the stream a bit more. She couldn't waste this opportunity. She turned on her microphone and said, "Welcome, everyone. The reason I’m sitting here now is that we don’t have any clients yet. Please wait a few minutes." [burgerlover: Hahaha! It’s normal to have no clients! Who would dare hire you?] [T-Rex097: What services does a detective agency offer?] Irene responded, "Welcome new viewers. Our detective agency primarily offers services such as finding people, locating items, investigating situations, and teaching combat skills. Since today is our first stream, the first three to join will receive a free beginner’s combat guide. Feel free to connect with us." The chat exploded. [burgerlover: It’s been a few minutes, and there’s still no one here. Are we supposed to watch air?] [Fishy: Let’s go, let’s go. She’s just using a clickbait title. Watching her is a waste of time; I still need to do my hair.] [IwanttomeetGod: She’s a fraud. Don’t believe her! I know her in real life; she’s a fake!] [T-Rex097: Is that true? But the streamer doesn’t seem like that kind of person.] [burgerlover: How can you tell what kind of person she is just by listening?] At that moment, a girl walked in from outside. "Sis, I came for your class," the girl said in a pleasant voice. "Why haven’t you returned to the South District recently?" Many new viewers who joined the stream heard this and immediately started commenting. [Isn’t this a detective stream? But I must say, this girl’s voice is lovely.] [Wow! There’s a girl!] [She looks like she has a great figure. Streamer, don’t be stingy; show your face if you’re a streamer.] [What class is she talking about? Is the streamer keeping secrets from us?] These comments diluted much of the negative remarks. Irene ignored the chat and greeted the girl with a smile, "Did you all come?" Emil walked over, smiling, "Yes, Irene. We need you to teach us again." Irene led them into the yard. The Kashi mansion’s yard used to have a formal garden, but after the house was abandoned, Madame Kashi lost interest in maintaining it and had it dismantled, leaving only one tree. The yard was now spacious, perfect for their training. Emma walked in with the selfie stick, pointing the camera at the yard. [T-Rex079: This actually looks pretty good.] [BlackCat: Despite all the criticism, the streamer seems very calm. I like it.] [burgerlover: Fail! Don’t think getting a few people to act will fool us. Do you dare to have a face-off with me?] [burgerlover: Let’s see if you really have the skills to teach combat!] Irene’s lips curled into a smile. Emma glanced at the chat, then at Irene. Who is this fool? Daring to challenge her in combat. Irene clicked to connect. The screen split into two, with the stream on the left and a simple home background on the right, where a boy sat in front of the camera. [BlackCat: The streamer is so brave! Connecting right away! I love it!] [Fishy: Don’t chicken out! She doesn’t have any skills! Show her!] [IwanttomeetGod: Support you, bro! We can’t let her scam people!] Irene turned on her mic, "Since you wanted to connect, I’ve brought you on. How do you want to compete? It’s up to you." The boy seemed a bit awkward in front of the camera for the first time. Hearing Irene, he said, "We’re from the same school, so I won’t make it hard for you. If you win, I’ll even buy a captain's membership for you." A captain’s membership was a monthly subscription on the streaming platform, costing 200 Q-Coins per month.