After about an hour, the entire computer had been thoroughly searched. Countless private photos of Erina Nakiri and family pictures were found. Besides that, the most abundant content was games—all sorts of games, installed on the computer: single-player, online, every kind imaginable.
"From the current information, you should be a streamer," Erina Nakiri concluded.
"Not necessarily. I haven't streamed in many days. Streaming income is directly proportional to streaming hours. If the time isn't met, there's no income whatsoever," Renz replied.
He did have experience as a streamer, but it was because the club had made him do it. In reality, Renz already had a hunch, but he was reluctant to voice it. He might be… a kept man, living off Erina Nakiri's wealth?
Honestly, Renz deeply despised such people. Why not do something productive instead of freeloading off others? Couldn't people be more down-to-earth?
When he was a pro gamer, he had an extremely professional attitude—never late for daily training matches, always the most diligent when it came to training hours.
Starting today, he'd maximize his streaming hours. All the money earned would be stashed away.
"How about you start a stream and see the reaction in the chat? Maybe they know some partial information?" Erina suggested, though she hesitated.
"Let's try," Renz murmured. "You should probably step out first. I have a habit of talking to myself when I stream, and it might get a little noisy."
"Okay, then I'll go check the other rooms to see if there's anything else noteworthy," Erina nodded and left the room.
Renz stared at the screen and began streaming. He had over 50,000 subscribers—not a huge number, but decent. However, after a long hiatus, going live again naturally garnered less attention.
He picked a game. There were too many, most of which he hadn't seen before. Unwilling to take risks, he chose an older title: Ark: Survival Evolved, a survival game known for "taming dinosaurs." But it was already 2026—this game had gone through countless updates. The ultra-high-definition graphics and unfamiliar interface took him a while to figure out.
Fortunately, Renz was naturally talented. Soon, he had re-mastered the game.
The chat gradually came to life, with messages in his native language—Filipino.
"Holy crap? The eternal god is online!"
"Please, please, stop streaming and update your videos!"
"The king of reviews isn't doing reviews anymore? Just playing games and wasting time?"
He was dumbfounded. So many identities. A lawyer?
Renz recalled that after quitting pro gaming, he had considered various careers. At one point, he'd become obsessed with a legal knowledge influencer and even thought of becoming a lawyer. Had he really become one?
As for game reviews, he used to enjoy them before turning pro. He had made quite a few videos, though none were popular. That his future self might have continued that path wasn't hard to believe.
A figure shrouded in mist was gradually becoming clear.
"I'm quite free today, so I'm streaming for everyone," Renz said into the microphone, trying to match his future self's tone.
"Just watch my moves this time."
"If the moves aren't flashy, it's free!"
He relaxed. To his surprise, the chat didn't sense anything odd. Instead, they cheered him on. Soon, the gifts started pouring in.
His streaming comeback was unexpectedly smooth.
"First, I'll infiltrate an enemy tribe as a double agent—borrow some resources," Renz narrated. "Then I'll establish my own base, take them down, and absorb them."
One hour. Two hours. Time flew by.
Then he checked the revenue dashboard—gift income already over 20,000 Yen. The next second, he glanced at the bottom right corner of the screen—and panicked.
The time was wrong.
That's right—school pickup time!
"Erina Nakiri! Hurry and pick Rina up from school!" he blurted out, springing from his chair.
He'd completely forgotten. He'd never had kids before, so the concept of school pickups hadn't crossed his mind. He got carried away streaming.
Erina came upstairs, confused. "What's wrong?"
"Go pick up Rina and Haruki from kindergarten. I forgot about it!" Renz exclaimed.
Erina paused. Yes, there was such a thing.
"Then why aren't you picking them up?" she asked, frowning.
"I dropped them off this morning. You pick them up this evening. Plus, it'll help you get familiar with the location. It's only been five minutes since school ended, so there's still time."
She considered it, nodded, and left.
Renz breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to the stream.
The chat was in chaos:
"?????????"
That stunned him. If his future self streamed and was married to Erina Nakiri, surely the audience should know, right?
Then why were they all spamming question marks?
Could it be… he was secretly married? Had he kept it private to protect his personal life?
In that case… he had just exposed himself on stream!
"There was a slight unexpected incident just now. Please kindly forget what you saw," Renz said, trying to smooth things over.
But the chat was relentless:
"Who was that pretty woman?!"
"Please explain."
How could he explain? "Just a woman who can cook"? No way. She was his future wife, and he couldn't say something so disrespectful.
Admit she was his wife? The chat would explode.
"She's my cousin," he finally said, finding an excuse. "Don't guess wildly. She really is my cousin."
"Back to the topic—let's continue streaming, okay? All you patients, pay attention to my plays. The details—you have to learn them. Honestly, many of my moves are very intricate."
"After watching my moves, we can do a few basic rounds of rehabilitation training."
"Just a flick of the wrist, and you might create a finger universe."
In critical moments, he could only rely on his witty banter.
Fortunately, it worked. The viewers were provoked and distracted.
"What 'patients'?"
"What's 'rehab training'? Are you even human?"
Renz smiled to himself. He had dodged a bullet—barely.
---
What do you think are the implications of Renz's "secret marriage" for his streaming career and their efforts to understand their future?
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