I Will Never Submit to Miss Grim Reaper - Chapter 342
Chapter 342: Little Bird Nuo’er
The electronic sports zone in the basement of the cafe had its grand opening, and Ouyang Xue and Su Yunjin organized many activities to celebrate.
For example, on the opening day, there was double rewards for the first top-up, 20% off everything in the cafe, and a buy-one-get-one-free offer on some snacks and drinks.
Possibly to avoid any suspicion, Su Yunjin and Ouyang Xue, after serious discussion, named this basement floor electronic sports zone “Little Bird Lounge.”
The apparent meaning of “Little Bird (Takanashi)” represents “anime,” as nowadays when people think of “Takanashi,” many remember Takanashi Rikka, the female lead from the anime “Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions”. This anime is known for its abundance of heartwarming moments and skillful blend of elements like “chuunibyou” (middle school syndrome), “reality,” “magic fantasy,” “imagination and youth.”
What is our youth? It is about imagination, rebellion, a touch of chuunibyou, bittersweet moments, and filled with beautiful memories. “Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions” expresses such feelings.
Hence, I became the model for the signboard leading to the basement outside the cafe. I posed in Takanashi Rikka’s iconic stance, allowing Ouyang Xue to take some photos, which were then handed to a collaborating artist.
After creating the image, we approached a designer to design the standee, and finally, the factory produced a life-size standee of “Little Bird Nuo’er,” placed at the entrance to the basement. One was positioned at the entrance to the right of the cafe’s main door, and the other to the left of the elevator door inside the cafe.
Even though my photo was only vaguely recognizable as “Yin Nuo’er” after the artist’s rendition, no matter how many times I saw such standees based on myself, I always felt a bit… shy. The same goes for the graphics card, the design on it was drawn by Xiao Mo based on my image, and I usually don’t dare look at the graphics card girl illustration designed by Jiang Wei.
Although the cafe’s basement electronic sports center is officially named “Little Bird Lounge” and its promotions do not explicitly state that it’s an internet café, the name “Little Bird” itself is quite special.
Even on that distant island, “Little Bird” is a very rare surname. It is as uncommon as the surname “Dekomori Sanae” from “Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions”. Just like our surnames, Yin, it is almost never seen in reality. When people encounter it, their first reaction might be, “Does this surname really exist?”
I know that Ouyang Xue and Su Yunjin chose this name because it implies “only after the eagle leaves can the little birds come out and relax,” symbolizing how suffocating and distorted our current gaming environment is. It also indicates that this lounge barely managed to open under the protection of the cafe and cat café.
The surname “Little Bird” is equivalent to “no eagle,” as I learned from Little Bird Yomi’s narration in *Black Rock Shooter*. It means there are no eagles, the eagle has flown away, and now the little birds can come out and play happily.
However, I feel that this electronic sports zone seems to be more directly controlled by Tongmeng Network. I don’t know much about this, such as computer components, maintenance, internet café layout, bar operations, and maintenance. These aspects are all managed by Su Yunjin from Tongmeng Network.
?Nuo’er, why not go downstairs for a bit??
?Yeah, you’re always serving customers on the first floor. It’s boring. Why not go down and watch them play games? You should have the authority to go and play now, right??
?I heard you’re going to start live streaming and have hired a female streamer with incredible gaming skills. Is that true??
“Buy one, get one free on mint pineapple cocktails! You can also add cherries for free! Today only!”
After finishing up the tasks on the first floor and seeing that there weren’t many customers—most were heading straight to the “Little Bird Lounge”—and hearing the barrage of comments through my headphones asking me to check it out, I decided to take my tablet and ride the century-old elevator down to the cafe’s basement.
There’s no choice, live streaming is also part of the cafe’s income. If the requests are not too unreasonable, I consider fulfilling them. Maybe if everyone is happy, they’ll tip, and the stream’s popularity will increase.
An internet café is different from a restaurant. In a restaurant, we can install cameras in less private areas and also set up zones without public cameras, so people who are uncomfortable being in the public eye can dine at ease.
The electronic sports zone, however, is more akin to an internet café. Everyone knows that not all patrons come to an internet café to play games. Some come to chat with online friends, watch movies that are best viewed alone, or play games with missing clothes textures—activities that fall under personal privacy.
Additionally, some people might do strange things after drinking or discuss private matters while chatting near the bar area. It’s clear that installing and publicizing cameras in such a place is inappropriate.
“Little Bird Lounge” does have comprehensive, hidden cameras, but these are used solely for reviewing footage in case of disputes and are not publicly displayed like the cameras on the first floor that are shown in the live stream.
“The name of this place is Little Bird Lounge,” I introduced to the viewers in the live stream, holding up my tablet as I descended to the first basement floor in the elevator.
“If you visit, you can enter through the main door outside, go down a slope, and push the door open, or take the same elevator I just used.”
“Although this place operates 24/7, there are no service staff at night. If you get hungry, you’ll have to eat some snacks upstairs or buy drinks and sandwiches from the vending machines.”
After descending, I first walked to the nearby vending machine and the recharge center.
“This area is like a self-service cafeteria with some burgers, bread, egg tarts, and various drinks. You can buy them by scanning a code. Most of the machines in the store also operate on a scan-and-deduct system!”
To collaborate with WeChat and Alipay, Tongmeng Network used nearly all of its connections. Currently, most internet cafés in Shenzhen City still use the old “ID card all-in-one” system, where you need to present your ID card at the cashier, which binds the data to the internet café, and then recharge it to start using the internet based on the card balance.
In contrast, “Little Bird Lounge” completely abandoned this system in favor of an internet access system similar to shared bicycles.
Next to each computer here, there’s a corresponding QR code. After scanning it with Alipay or WeChat, you’ll be directed to a relevant page where you can log into your personal account. Once facial recognition is complete and you’ve topped up your account, you can start using the computer directly.
This scanning and payment system applies not only to the computers but also to other equipment and purchases within the café. You simply scan the code, the amount is deducted from your personal account, and the item is dispensed automatically.
During the day, Fei Luo works here, making various drinks. In the evening, the extra drinks are placed in vending machines. If someone wants to buy a drink, they can scan and pay. It’s okay if you just want to hang out and play, there’s no mandatory spending. With air conditioning and Wi-Fi available, you can sit in the lobby and play on your phone all night if you want.
“Look, like this.”
I demonstrated to the viewers by scanning the vending machine in front of me and purchasing a bottle of mint tea. This is my favorite drink after transforming into catgirl mode.
Mint differs somewhat from catnip, but it seems to have a certain effect on me too. The difference is that mint tea makes me feel like I’ve had too much coffee: very alert, mentally sharp, and full of energy.
“And here is your favorite… Fei Luo, the Black Dragon Princess.”
After buying the mint tea and taking a sip, I walked to the center of the cafe and found the black dragon girl mixing drinks and chatting with some youths near the bar.
“For those interested in drinks, you should try here. Fei Luo is a tasting expert and won’t disappoint you.”
Apparently, Fei Luo is more popular online than Xiao Mo. Because most attention is focused on me, Xiao Mo rarely engages in social activities or answers audience questions like Ouyang Xue does. This gives people a sense of “distance” from her, so despite Yin Xiama’s beauty and elegance, her popularity isn’t very high.
As for Fei Luo… she’s a long-haired girl, and a busty one at that, with ample experience interacting with ordinary people. She had plenty of dealings with drunks in the other world, so she’s right at home here.
Her adept social skills and bartending expertise quickly won over the customers at the lounge. Moreover, her recent outfit—a crop top—is both alluring and cute, making her very approachable and naturally very popular online.
As for Gabriel… I can’t think of anything she does here besides playing games…
I glanced cautiously at a certain someone in the streamer zone not far away. At that moment, Gabriel had already changed into a professional uniform and was typing away furiously on the keyboard.
You could even hear the sounds from that area:
“Thirty degrees to your left, the dynamo kid is moving up… down one, Ashe is ulting, be careful… down two, I’ll flash, don’t get downed.”
“There were gunshots on the south road just now, hurry and resupply, they should be here in about ten seconds.”
“Voice changer? You want to hear another voice? Ahem, little windmill, huff huff huff… I only care about ‘brother brother’… Cute? Come on, Captain.”
“Streamer, can you just show your nose and eyes and nod below the screen… What nodding? If you want the URL, chat with me privately in the group later. When you play, remember to think of eat and drink more nutritious drinks at night.”
Compared to the pure angel she was when she first arrived, Gabriel is now almost unrecognizable. Sometimes, when I come down here to play, I can’t help but marvel at how things change.
“This is pretty much how things are here. All the equipment can be used by scanning a code, you scan, and it’s ready to use. There’s food and drink, and if you need help, just call a server on the first floor.”
After giving the live stream viewers a tour of the basement, I had almost finished my mint tea. If there are still things you’re unclear about, you can come down here for an on-site inspection, or check out Gabriel’s live stream. Gabriel is really strong, practically invincible.
“Really, I’m not exaggerating. She is truly invincible, meow.”
Placing the bottle into the nearby trash bin, I returned to the elevator.
“In terms of computational ability, she is invincible.”
I wasn’t just boasting. Gabriel, being from the angelic race, has exceptionally strong computational abilities, even in another world. The angels live in the sky, and back in the day, Xiao Mo formed an alliance with them. Using their powerful computational abilities, they simulated countless war scenarios and strategically defeated the demon king’s army step by step.
As a high-ranking angel, Gabriel possesses the strongest computational ability in this world, especially in the absence of Xiao Mo herself. Gabriel’s computational power is so immense that even if she uses only a third of her brainpower to play competitive games, leaving the other two-thirds to rest or multitask, she can still outmatch all human players here.
Similarly, Fei Luo is the most powerful dragon in terms of combat ability here. This month alone, she has effortlessly dealt with anyone causing trouble in the lounge.
“The Age of Aquarius is now live. Everyone should give this game a try. If you need computer parts, you can consult our partners here or directly experience it in-store. Our machines can handle maximum rendering without any issues.”
As I returned to the first floor, chatting with the viewers as usual, the cafe door opened, and a somewhat familiar figure walked in. It was Zhao Ming, the young lady of the Zhao family, who had been disciplined by Xiao Mo before.
“I have something to discuss with you.” Entering, Zhao Ming, dressed in casual attire, waved at me and Xiao Mo like an old friend.
“Do you have a moment? Can we talk outside?”
“……”
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