章節 31: Chapter 27: Finally, A Day Without Anything Drastic Happening (Part 1)
[We're near.]
"Okay…" Julian stood outside a café, tapping his cane lightly against the sidewalk. The warm breeze of the evening brushed against his face, but he didn't care about the weather—everything just felt cold to him.
[We're here, Julian. I made sure to pick the nearest café from the hospital.] MEGAN's voice echoed in his mind, steady and calm.
Julian stepped into the café, the soft chatter of people filling the air. As soon as he entered, however, the room grew quieter—he could feel the stares. People were curious. After all, it wasn't often they saw someone with a disability, especially in Sky Net, where most people had some sort of enhancement in them.
[I see him, Julian. That's him, Cyrus Simmons.] MEGAN's tone shifted slightly, signaling she had found their man.
MEGAN was right, it was Cyrus who had been the one calling her all day, hoping to set up this meeting. Now, they were finally face to face—or about to be.
"Sword… Junkie?" As Julian approached, Cyrus spotted him. The man quickly stood up from his seat, his eyes locking on Julian as he quickly realized that Julian… was actually blind. But still, that didn't prevent him from looking just as imposing as his clone in Artemia.
"You…" Cyrus seemed to want to say something, but he just smiled and gestured toward the table even though he knew Julian couldn't see. "Please… take a seat."
"Thank you." Julian felt the chair's edge with his hand and sat down.
"My name is Cyrus, it's very nice to meet you in person, Sword—I mean, Mr. Julian," Cyrus continued, sounding more formal now. "I… can't believe that you look as imposing as you do in the real world. It's… kind of unreal."
"Julian Winters, it's…" Julian replied, extending his hand toward Cyrus, "Nice to meet you too, Mr. Cyrus."
"Oh. There's… no need to be so formal," Cyrus blinked in surprise before quickly reaching out and shaking Julian's hand. And almost immediately, Cyrus noticed that Julian's hand was large, rough, and powerful—exactly like the hand of a blacksmith.
"You're… also a blacksmith in real life?" Cyrus asked, still in awe.
"Yes."
"Huh…" Cyrus couldn't help but feel a little awkward. He'd expected this meeting to go differently, but he hadn't anticipated the imposing presence Julian carried with him, nor the fact that he was blind.
"Where's… the lady I was talking to? She said she was your manager… Megan?" Cyrus looked around the café, as if expecting her to show up any second.
"She's here." Julian simply smiled and pointed at his own eyes.
"That's—" Cyrus blinked, slightly confused. But before he could finish his sentence, his phone buzzed. It was a call from 'Sword Junkie'—Julian's screen name in Otherworld.
"Huh…?" Cyrus looked back and forth between his phone and Julian.
"Please answer it. It's her," Julian said.
Cyrus, still confused, answered the phone and put it on speaker… and MEGAN's voice immediately filled the space between them.
[Ahem, ahem. Now that everyone is present, we can start talking about business immediately.]
"Uh…" Cyrus blinked in confusion for a couple of breaths, but he cleared his throat and slipped into his business persona.
"Very well. I think Mr. Julian here has the potential to be the next big star of Otherworld—no…" Cyrus said, leaning forward slightly in excitement. He was practically glowing with enthusiasm, "...Now that I've seen him in person, I think we can actually turn him into a star, a real one. Not just in the Otherworld."
[Uh-huh. Talk more,] MEGAN's voice was flat.
"Okay, here's the thing—Otherworld streamers are popular, but there's a limit to it," Cyrus cleared his throat again, "People are curious about Otherworld, yes, but it's not like traditional games. Once that initial curiosity fades, well, the audience gets bored. After all, they're only watching the player's point of view. They are watching from your eyes, Mr. Julian."
"Hm..." Julian hummed, "...I suppose so."
"Yes. And people want to see everything!" Cyrus continued, warming up to his pitch. "They want to feel like they're part of the adventure, not just watching from someone's eyes. That's why, out of all the Otherworld streamers, only one has managed to break into mainstream fame—and that's Kitty, a streamer I used to work with. The key to her success was offering a third-person perspective, showing more of what was happening around her."
[Slow down.]
"What I'm trying to say…" Cyrus cleared his throat again, "...Is that that was me—I started that. She became famous because everyone could see her, all of her."
Julian tilted his head, still processing what Cyrus was saying.
[You're making sense,] MEGAN cut in, her tone more businesslike now. [But if we're the ones doing the actual work, and you're just tagging along as a camera, what's in it for us?]
"Well…" Cyrus chuckled nervously, clearing his throat again. "50%. You get 50% of all the profits."
[50%?] MEGAN's voice rose sharply, [Are you trying to scam us? Julian is the one doing all the work, and you want 50%!?]
"N-no, wait! Listen—"
[And why do you keep clearing your throat? You sick? Going to infect Julian?]
Julian sighed, "MEGAN… let's hear him out."
"I'm…" Cyrus laughed awkwardly, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead. "...I'm not just an Otherworld streamer. I have over 21 million followers across all platforms. I can bring in a massive audience that would otherwise never find out about you, Mr. Julian. I'm an influencer."
Julian blinked. "What's… an influencer?"
[They've been around for thousands of years…] MEGAN sighed. [...They never really died out. They are basically famous people on social media who do mostly useless things but earn a lot of money. I suppose you could say they sell entertainment.]
"Exactly!" Cyrus clapped his hands, regaining his enthusiasm. "You don't know it yet, but you're already famous in the Otherworld community. You just haven't capitalized on it."
"I'm… not really famous."
"You are," Cyrus countered, "Just check the forums—people are talking about you non-stop. Don't… you check the forums?"
[That's my role,] MEGAN added. [He doesn't care about any of that.]
"That's… fine, I guess?" Cyrus awkwardly smiled. "Look, once this gets going, you'll see—you'll… hear. That… doesn't matter. What I'm trying to say is that I'm offering you a massive opportunity here. You are going to be very, very, very rich."
[70%]
"Huh…?"
[We get 70%.]
"70!? That's insane! Maybe we could dial down a bit and—"
[I am a machine, Cyrus. I do not negotiate.]
"...But you just did."
創作者的想法 
Romeru
Romeru 1 of 3
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票