Xiao Kaka watched the chat a little longer, then finally ended the stream.
Even at the moment she hit "end," the viewer count was still sitting in the two-million-plus range.
That number was terrifying.
The Ocean platform was huge; she wasn't one of those top-tier anchors who casually pull ten million live viewers. On her best days she hovered around a million. On slow days, a few hundred thousand—no one can keep peak numbers forever.
But tonight, after a single Great Age of Sail stream, her live count had more than doubled.
That was insane.
In an era where headliners siphoned most of the traffic, she'd doubled her ceiling in one night.
Sitting at her desk, that sweet, girl-next-door face scrunched in thought, Xiao Kaka made a decision. She grabbed her phone and dialed.
The call picked up quickly, a cool, mature voice on the other end.
"Tonight went very smoothly. We're happy with the results. I'll wire the rest of your fee shortly."
Li Jing might be a first-time founder, but she'd grown up around business and knew the ropes. For Kaka's fee, she'd only fronted one million—proof-of-effect money. If it didn't pan out, cut losses.
But it had panned out, so she'd pay without blinking.
Kaka rushed to clarify. "Sis Jing, that's not why I called."
"Hm?" Li Jing's tone dipped. A bad possibility occurred to her.
Was Kaka trying to renegotiate after a blockbuster debut?
It wouldn't be unprecedented. Over on Fishermen Era, one streamer broke twenty million viewers the very first day and immediately squeezed Snowwind for more. The company had no choice; the streamer's heat fed the game's heat.
Sea Breeze, though, had no money left for promo. The account was bone-dry. If Kaka wanted more… Li Jing would have to grit her teeth and ask her mother for another loan—
"I'm not asking for a raise," Kaka blurted, reading her mind. With Great Age of Sail soaring, if she stuck with this ship, breaking ten million was no dream. This was not the moment to demand more. She wasn't shortsighted.
"Then what do you mean?" Li Jing kept her voice even, though her stomach tightened.
Deep breath. Decision made. "Sis Jing, I've decided not to take Sea Breeze's promo fee. I'll promote Great Age of Sailfor free from now on."
"…What?"
Li Jing went blank. Free… promotion?
When she didn't respond, Kaka hurried on. "But I do have one condition."
"What is it?" Li Jing's voice cooled again.
Kaka's ask was simple. "I want Sea Breeze to do a full-spectrum push for the game—tell me its hooks. And if possible, show me the game's potential."
Hanging up, Li Jing wore a complicated look. The request wasn't unreasonable at all—almost modest. The key was right there in the word potential.
One stream had doubled Kaka's ceiling. Whether she could hold those numbers would depend on this game's runway. As long as Great Age of Sail kept yielding new playstyles, new arcs, kept the heat burning, Kaka would inevitably break into the platform's eight-figure elite. Given her in-game start—joining a Yonko crew out of the gate—she might even become the face of the entire title.
Kaka couldn't know it, but that one simple decision would, down the line, make her a terrifyingly influential figure on Blue Star.
Everything added up for Li Jing. She checked the other streams.
Little Fisherman had followed Luffy and Koby into a small town. It wasn't as explosive as Kaka's island saga, but it was compelling in its own right: a bounty hunter who fought with three swords, Roronoa Zoro; and a Navy officer who bullied civilians—Axe-Hand Morgan. The chat's curiosity about the game kept spiking.
The first closed beta showcase for Great Age of Sail had officially wrapped. The heat, however, had already pushed into the top ten of the sailing-game charts. Fishermen Era was still an apex outlier at number one with heat in the hundreds of millions—but Great Age of Sail was showing something… ominous.
A trend.
Li Jing opened the official forum. Threads packed the front page: "How is this a fishing game," "Pirates vs. Navy vs. Four Emperors," and endless short clips from the streams. The value of that one slash from Shanks kept snowballing—likes and comments exploding, the clip clearly going viral beyond the usual circles.
She shut the laptop, stood, and click-clacked in heels to Gu Feng's office.
Knock, knock. She went in.
Gu Feng was still snoring on the sofa—three sleepless days had flattened him. He'd been out for over a dozen hours; it was about time.
Heels tapped close; he blinked awake and rubbed at his eyes. "Sis Jing."
His brain was still foggy. Li Jing set her phone in front of him, screen showing the game's current heat.
"Great Age of Sail is top ten now."
"And that's off one night of streaming."
"I brought in a big anchor—but she now says she'll promote us for free."
"…There's a catch like that?" Gu Feng stared. The fog lifted. He managed a thank-you first. "Appreciate it, Sis Jing."
He knew her family did well. He hadn't expected her to reach into her own pocket for promo money.
Li Jing waved it off and—unable to help herself—began recounting the night. "You don't know, Gu Feng—our stream went beautifully…"
As she told him how Xiao Kaka stumbled onto the Red Force and joined the Red Hair Pirates, Gu Feng froze.
"Wait—what did you just say? Red Hair showed up in the East Blue?"
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