When a pretty girl takes the initiative to add you, there's really no reason to say no.
Kobe sent over his WeMessage ID, and a friend request popped up almost immediately. He accepted without hesitation.
Behind him, Caleb Scott, Miles Parker, and Tyler Knox watched the whole thing unfold with open envy.
"Kobe… from today on, you're our leader."
"Seriously, teach us sometime. We want to queue with girls too!"
Caleb nodded vigorously. A man who couldn't even bring a girl into a game, what was the point?
If Kobe hadn't stepped in earlier, he thought, that match would've been a disaster… and he'd be the one to blame.
Not long after they added each other, Pookiemoné sent a message.
"BetonKobe, are you playing more later? If you are… can we team up again?"
Her tone carried a hint of anticipation.
Kobe's performance had clearly left an impression… not just on her, but on her viewers as well. The chat had been livelier than ever, her stream numbers ticking upward. Naturally, she wanted to ride that wave while it lasted.
Kobe glanced at the time.
"Let's call it a night. We'll play again next time."
With that, he set his phone aside and headed off with his roommates to wash up.
Later that night, the dorm fell quiet.
But Kobe lay awake, staring at the ceiling, sleep nowhere in sight.
After a while, he picked up his phone again. Out of curiosity, he opened Stitch Live… and sure enough, Pookie was still streaming.
He tapped into her room.
"Welcome, Brother BetonKobe!"
Her voice came through soft and bright, sending a faint shiver down his spine.
"You're still awake?"
She wasn't gaming anymore, just chatting casually with the handful of viewers still around. The room felt almost empty, quiet compared to earlier.
Kobe's eyes flickered with interest.
'Perfect time to test something.'
A second later…
A dazzling animation exploded across the screen.
"Wow… thank you, BetonKobe, for the Super Nova!"
He had sent a gift.
[Cashback recipient spent $200.0. Current affinity: 10.]
[Generating multiplier…]
[Multiplier: 3x.]
[Cashback received: $600.0.]
'The system worked.'
Still, Kobe frowned slightly.
When he'd spent money on Sophia earlier, her affinity had been lower… yet the multiplier had also been 3x. Now Pookie's was higher, but the return hadn't improved at all.
'So it really is random…'
Worse, her affinity hadn't budged. Not from the game. Not from the gift.
He leaned back, thinking.
'Of course… she doesn't even know what I look like.'
Through a screen, he was just a username. A voice at most.
"No wonder the returns are low," he muttered.
'Still…'
'Cake is cake, even if it's a cupcake'
Spend $200, get $600 back. Easy money.
His fingers tapped quickly.
"Pookie," he typed, "don't blink."
Another Super Nova lit up the screen.
Then another.
And another.
The effects stacked, one after the other, flooding the stream with bursts of light.
"Brother BetonKobe…?"
Pookie froze mid-sentence, completely stunned.
The chat exploded.
"Holy… what is this?!"
"Is this guy for real?"
"She just went from unknown to trending overnight!"
"Some rich guy definitely took a liking to her!"
Inside Kobe's mind, the system notifications rang nonstop.
But the numbers began to drop.
3x…
2x…
1x.
He stopped abruptly, frowning.
"Seriously…?"
He'd sent over a dozen gifts, only for the multiplier to settle at a flat 1:1.
Another gift now would just be breaking even.
He exhaled, slightly annoyed.
If I keep going like this, I'll end up making her rich instead of me.
By the time he stopped, he'd sent 600 Super Novas.
Total spent: $120,000
Total cashback: over $240,000
Net profit: roughly $120,000.
On his very first day with the system, Kobe had gone from a broke orphan to someone with over half a million in savings.
Not bad at all.
On the other side of the screen, Pookiemoné sat frozen.
Everything about today felt unreal.
But beneath the excitement, there was unease.
Most men she'd encountered before didn't give money freely, not without asking for something in return. Sometimes something ridiculous. Sometimes something worse.
She bit her lip, uncertain.
What does he want from me…?
Still… she needed the money. And right now, this felt like a lifeline.
"Brother BetonKobe, thank you so much! I love you!"
She formed a heart with her hands toward the camera, smiling brightly.
This made it even harder for the group of men in the live stream who were suffering from insomnia to fall asleep.
"Is this how rich people pick up girls?"
"He's really unpretentious and approachable!"
"You know what, even I, a guy, am tempted by it."
"Hey you up there, are you gay?!"
Kobe typed a simple reply.
"Alright, Pookie. I'm heading to sleep. We'll play again next time."
And just like that, he logged off.
Pookie stared at the screen, stunned.
"…That's it?"
"He didn't ask for anything?"
A sudden knock broke the silence.
She quickly ended the stream and hurried to the door.
When she opened it, she froze.
A tall, beautiful woman with wavy hair stood outside, leaning slightly against the frame. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes unfocused, she'd clearly had too much to drink.
"Sis?" Pookie rushed forward, worried. "Why did you drink so much?"