Chapter 40
Sootball, confident in its camera skills, demonstrated them to Snowball.
“Mew…” But Snowball, a veteran of film sets, was even more proficient, expertly adjusting the camera settings. Photography was his passion, though few knew about it.
“Cheep??” Sootball was impressed. Was Snowball a genius?
“Wow, Snowball, you’re so good! You even know how to adjust the parameters!” Lin Ran praised.
“Mew!” Snowball, pleased, accidentally slipped and covered the lens, then quickly checked if it was damaged.
The demons, tuning in, saw a new cub, not the Luna Clan one.
[Oh my god, he’s so cute! Blue eyes!][Which clan snuck their cub in this time? (Jealous rage)]
Then, a familiar hand appeared, picking up the startled Snowball.
“It’s okay, we can buy a new one,” Lin Ran reassured it, cuddling it close.
An Xun, being comforted on camera in his cub form, was slightly embarrassed, but he couldn’t resist A-Ran’s touch, purring contentedly.
“You’re so cute, Snowball,” Lin Ran said, and the demons heard him chuckle as he carried Snowball off-screen, presumably for some serious cub-cuddling.
[Isn’t that a bit too much pampering?][But I want to be cuddled too… He seems so warm and comforting. QwQ But I’m a hedgehog, damn it.][Which clan is this? No one on the forum found his coordinates!] The demons imagined themselves being cuddled. Why didn’t they have this kind of childhood?
“Ahem, hello everyone, long time no see. Today, we have a new member, the adorable Snowball! A snow leopard cub,” Lin Ran said, returning, holding Snowball, who waved its paw at the camera. With the high-quality equipment, Snowball looked like a star in a wildlife documentary.
[Such a beautiful cub! Does “Demon World” choose cubs based on looks? ] The demons were stunned, unknowingly close to the truth.
“Today, we’re making gifts for our friends. But first, Snowball will be our model. I’m making a snow leopard plushie,” Lin Ran explained, showing the materials.
[!? Handmade plushies again!][Different types of plushies this time? Can we get custom ones if we’re in the top 3?][The rewards seem different…] They watched as Lin Ran expertly prepared the materials. He had improved his skills since making Sootball’s bib.
“Cheep!” Sootball, helping by manipulating the thread with its magic, amazed the viewers.
[Using awakened magic for this?! How?!] It was like using gunpowder for fireworks! So extravagant!
“Snowball plushies are complex, requiring 3D shaping. Sootball’s help is invaluable,” Lin Ran explained. “And look, I finally found these blue beads. Don’t they look like its eyes?” He showed two light blue beads, perfectly matching Snowball’s eyes.
“Mew!” Snowball looked at him, surprised. He had been planning this all along?
“Of course! You’re A-Ran’s precious baby,” Lin Ran said, petting its head. In a way, this was true. Snowball’s encounter card had been far more expensive than Sootball’s.
[If someone said that to me as a cub… I would have believed them! TwT They would be responsible for me forever!][He’s not just saying it; he’s showing it! He clearly dotes on the snow leopard.][This is making me jealous. Are the top 3 rewards really this good?] Unknowingly, Lin Ran was driving “Demon World’s” microtransaction sales.
He continued working, his fingers moving deftly, a simplified Snowball plushie taking shape.
“The main part is done. Now, we need to add the stuffing. And the tail needs special fluffy fabric…” Snowball, mesmerized, watched intently, its tail swishing.
“Look, two fluffy tails! Don’t they feel amazing?” Lin Ran said, holding Snowball’s tail next to the plushie’s, “showing off” to the camera.
The demons were stunned. Touching a demon’s tail was dangerous! But this snow leopard cub was completely docile, even lifting its tail for A-Ran to display.
[Is this really a snow leopard cub? Can it really become a fearsome predator?][Is it hiding its lineage out of embarrassment? Being played with by a human! “Demon World” should ban this livestream!] Some even protested.
[I wouldn’t mind… A-Ran playing with my tail. Q///Q [picture]][My tail is pretty too! And softer than a snow leopard’s! [picture]] But others shared pictures of their tails, turning the comments into a fluffy tail convention, even some unusual ones, like an alligator’s.
[Lol, no alligators allowed. Too scary for A-Ran.][What about those of us without tails?!] But their comments seemed to be invisible to the human.
[Beep—Interactive mode updated! Selected tails will receive bonus points!] A new notification appeared, and a limited-time challenge appeared in Lin Ran’s game.
“Choose the prettiest tail and win a material pack?” he asked, opening a collection of tail photos, a fluffy paradise. What was this challenge?
[Seriously? A tail contest?][Pick me! I love having my tail petted!][Is that a Scythe Clan tail in the first picture? But Atylanthos is an adult! Why is the tail so small?] The demons realized some high-ranking demons were watching.
“Isn’t this Ossi’s tail? I choose Ossi!” Lin Ran said, recognizing the familiar little fishtail.
[Wait, the Scythe Clan knows this NPC too?][Are they that tight-lipped? Their territory is vast and mysterious.][Why are acquaintances allowed to participate? It’s rigged!] The demons were outraged by the apparent favoritism.
Lin Ran, however, received a new reward:
[Beep—Challenge complete! Received Special Material Pack! Think of the plushie you want to make, and the required materials and tools will appear!]
“That was easy. And such a useful reward!” He wondered if the game was going easy on him.
The leaderboard updated, and “Atylanthos” took the top spot. The leaderboard had three criteria: interaction, gifts, and a mysterious, undisclosed factor. Many suspected the last one was rigged, as their initial scores varied. Ossi, not being fluffy, had a low initial score. But he was using Atylanthos’s phone and “donating” pearls from his toy collection, his score rising rapidly.
“Ah~” Ossi wagged his tail, pleased with his progress. But since minors couldn’t donate, he was using his brother’s account.
[Beep—Detected account discrepancy. Freezing all Scythe Clan rankings.] Ossi’s reign at the top was short-lived.
He stared at his phone, dejected. The comments were filled with laughter.
[So, it wasn’t Atylanthos himself? Hahahaha!][I met him decades ago; his tail was much larger. Probably a cub.]
Lin Ran, unaware, continued working on the Snowball plushie, the new materials enhancing its quality. The tail, with a wire frame, was now posable.
“Done! It looks just like him! I’m getting good at this,” he said.
“Mew—!” Snowball immediately started playing with it.
“Cheep cheep!” Sootball urged it to put it on the windowsill.
“They’re discussing where to put it,” Lin Ran said, filming them.
The viewers saw the two plushies on the windowsill. So cute! Then, Snowball placed its own plushie beside A-Ran’s.
[A white fluffball? And the craftsmanship is different.][Is that one made by a cub? It looks like it.]
“This white one is made by Sootball. It’s me, in his eyes,” Lin Ran explained, patting the plushie, not revealing his own transformation. “And now, for a more challenging set of plushies.”
This piqued the viewers’ interest. More lucky recipients?
Lin Ran had been hesitant about making merfolk plushies. They were difficult, and he could only manage simple chibi versions with fabric tails and button eyes. But the new material pack might provide the necessary components.
[Who is it? Everyone else is getting plushies but me!][I’m waiting to see which race is the second luckiest!]
Shao Mian, watching the livestream, smirked. Who else could it be? He ignored the “set” of plushies; the human was probably making several of him.
Ser, seeing him distracted, looked at the team reporting on “Demon World’s” performance.
“The game’s core consciousness is unusually active this year, even rejecting our interventions…” Maintaining “Demon World” as a legitimate product required effort. Their company was staffed entirely by demons, with proper benefits and everything. The only issue was their long lifespans; retirement had to be carefully managed. A demon with a hundred years of social security contributions would raise eyebrows at the Human Bureau.
“Like this livestream, a new feature implemented by ‘Demon World’ itself,” the team leader said, showing the livestream on the screen, making Shao Mian put down his phone and look up.
“You’re also interested in these changes?” the demon asked, excited by his attention.
“And the leaderboard seems designed to encourage interaction… And in-game spending has reached a record high since the human NPC appeared,” he added, though no one knew what “Demon World” was doing with all those crystals.
As they watched, Lin Ran took out his new materials.
“Look! Three little merfolk!” he said, planning to make plushies for Atylanthos, Ossi, and their grandmother.
[Scythe Clan, you?!][???][Did they secretly bribe the game?!] The demons who had mocked the disqualified Scythe Clan now felt like clowns.
“…?” Shao Mian slammed his paw on the table, silencing the room. He was starting to suspect the game’s affection system was rigged. Shouldn’t he be second, at least?
“Ah—!” Ossi, who had been crying to his brother about being disqualified, stopped, his eyes widening. He would get a plushie! And so would his brother and grandmother!
As Lin Ran started working, the livestream’s income increased rapidly.
“So much money?” he wondered.
“Demon World” had discovered that the viewers’ incredulity and jealousy fueled their spending. The top spot on the leaderboard kept changing. Then, a single account took the lead, far surpassing the others, turning the competition into a fight for second and third place.
[Administrator? Are you seriously competing for rewards?!] The demons were shocked to see the usually aloof administrator on the leaderboard.
“Are you… participating?” the team asked, knowing he was using the test account.
“Just researching the new interactive rewards,” a programmer suggested.
Shao Mian, however, was simply refusing to be left out.
[Lion’s frustrated rage.jpg]
But he had misunderstood. Lin Ran hadn’t forgotten about him. He had been collecting the lion’s shed fur, planning to make a needle-felted Yuanbao, a much more challenging project.
As he finished the first merfolk plushie, Aurora, a new notification appeared:
[Permanent Time Mirror charged. Can be used to imbue the plushie with a special Time Mirror effect. Use now?]
The Permanent Time Mirror, a previous reward, had been inactive. Now, it was charged. Did it have something to do with Atylanthos’s grandmother?
