Chapter 383: Asking For Advice
"This is definitely a first." Michael murmured.
Given Anya’s circumstances, he had wondered what the occupation of the owner of the charity could be. A programmer maybe. A musician was also not entirely out of the question.
A streamer certainly was not one that occurred in his mind.
After Lily innocently opened the door, letting the outside light enter the streamer’s room, it didn’t take long for Anya to notice their presence. The revelation that she had visitors broke her focus, leading her to die in the game with a large ’You died’ text appearing all over the screen.
With excitement, she spun her chair, coming face to face with Michael and Ruby.
"You must be the ones that helped us!" Anya exclaimed, practically jumping out of her seat, going to meet them.
She was 165 centimeters in height, a bit shorter than Ruby. Anya’s long white hair cascaded down her waist while her golden eyes sparkled with both admiration and exhaustion.
From a simple glance, Michael deduced that the feline woman was on the verge of exhaustion. Her eyes looked slightly unfocused. Most likely due to severe sleep deprivation and overreliance on energy drinks to keep herself stable.
Anya was about to hug them both only to notice their bloodstained attires a bit too late. Michael and Ruby hadn’t had time to change during the whole fiasco.
Examining the room as well as Anya closer, Michael discovered there was no sight of the plague ravaging the feline district. As such, he and Ruby promptly removed their physician’s attire.
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Beaming with vitality, despite her exhausted state, Anya took both of Michael’s hands like he was a saint, shaking them up and down into an overexcited handshake.
After that, without hesitation, the streamer neared Ruby and took her for a large sisterly hug.
"No need to be grateful." Ruby reassured with sad eyes. "We simply did what was right. I still can’t believe that these cultists were not only daring enough to attack the food provisions of a charity but even went so far as to kidnap a kid..."
Anya shuddered at the thought. After the explosion had resonated, she had temporarily left her viewers to check up on the damaged spot, only to find crying Lily, who informed her about what had happened.
Having found herself more than powerless at the situation, Anya chose to go back to streaming, it being the only way she knew how to raise funds, rather than grieving or crying at the unfairness of the world.
Michael proceeded to give her the rundown of events of what had transpired and how Zachary was now ultimately fine.
Anya heaved a sigh of relief. She hadn’t exactly been in the right mindset while unsure what the future held.
"That’s right, the stream!" Anya realized her blunder far too late. She had left her viewers alone for too long!
Eager to fix her mistake, she was about to jump back into the game, only for a revelation to grace her tired mind.
Her golden eyes shifted to Ruby, who, due to being of the Grandmaster realm, looked stunning. Her fur was insanely puffy, her figure and tail graceful beyond belief. Lastly, her face was an embodiment of perfection in the eyes of mortals like Anya.
Throwing away every sense of pride she held, Anya clasped her hands together and bowed deeply at Ruby.
"D—Do you think we can collab?" She asked shamelessly.
Taken by surprise, Ruby arched an eyebrow, prompting Anya to elaborate.
"You see, I’m a feline... And not many of us have mastered reading and writing. That makes me something of a unique streamer among my kin. Humans already find us adorable because of our catlike traits, so they naturally flock to my streams to watch me play video games."
She paused briefly.
"But if someone as cute as you gave it a try, the views would skyrocket! I’ll stay right by your side and guide you through everything... Just for one game. Pretty please?"
Ruby didn’t know how to answer, so she gazed at Michael for guidance.
"It might actually help lift your mood." He said. "And besides, wouldn’t it be nice to help the charity raise more funds?"
In truth, he agreed mainly because he hoped it would cheer her up.
Clearly rejoicing, Anya went to address her stream.
"Hello, everyone! Guess what? We have two special guests joining us today!"
The moment Ruby settled into Anya’s chair, the chat exploded.
Not only was Ruby the most adorable feline person they had ever seen, but she, along with Michael, who spectated from the background, were members of the Indomitable Alliance faction.
With their unexpected appearance on the stream, waves of excitement spread across the internet, causing the stream’s viewership to double within minutes.
As for Ruby, she began to follow Anya’s instructions. The game they were now playing was called ’Crimson Souls’, a title famed for its difficulty and high skill ceiling.
In the span of three minutes, she died ten times, clearly still fumbling with the controls. With each death, a cute pout formed on her face, making viewers not only overlook her unskilled playstyle but actually enjoy it even more.
More interestingly, a large portion of the audience wanted Michael to try the game as well. After Anya pestered him for a bit, he agreed. By then, Ruby didn’t look nearly as sad anymore.
"Is this a poison swamp?!" Michael exclaimed in annoyance. "Who, and why, would anyone think this is a good idea?!"
Because his aggressive battle style went against the game’s intended mechanics, it turned out that, even though he was considered a battle maniac in the cultivation world. He had no skill at video games, performing even worse than Ruby.
Eventually, Anya ended the stream after having broadcast for a total of thirty hours.
"Streaming isn’t exactly a physically demanding job." She exclaimed. "So I plan to make the most of it while I can."
Afterward, they changed into spare physicians’ attire. Once Michael put on a clean outfit, he went to meet with the rest of the crew to discuss their next steps.
Ruby stayed in Anya’s room, hoping to speak in private. Since Anya was the closest other feline Ruby had encountered in a while, she felt compelled to bring up a personal matter.
"Shoot." Anya wasn’t usually one to talk about emotions, especially when she was on the verge of passing out from sleep deprivation. Still, she owed a lot to Ruby and was willing to help her work through whatever her turmoil was.
Surprisingly, Ruby didn’t bring up how their brethren had been treated by the cultists. Instead, she admitted that lately she’d been feeling strangely around Michael... so much so that when he removed his mask, she didn’t instinctively lick his face as she normally would. Her instincts warned her that if she started, she might not be able to stop herself.
Since Ruby trusted her as a fellow feline, she chose to ask for guidance rather than remain in ignorance.
"Uhum..." Anya pondered for a few seconds. Now that she thought about it objectively, Michael had been exceptionally handsome up close... Something that wouldn’t have been visible on the camera.
"Pardon me for my choice of words, and keep in mind that this is just a speculation, but..." Anya observed the feline woman carefully. "Ruby, could you perhaps be in heat?"