Following Brother Motorcycle's blood-pumping declaration, the livestream's atmosphere instantly ignited.
The chat feed blew up with cheers. The viewers' love for drama was on full display.
Miles watched the screen, mildly surprised by the man's sudden burst of courage.
"Alright! Since you've got the guts, let's make this quick! We don't want any more complications!"
Refusing to waste a second, Miles stepped up as the absolute off-site brain of the operation. He issued precise commands, his tone dead-serious and leaving no room for argument.
"Listen up! You are facing a snake. Your neck and face are the absolute weak points that you cannot expose!"
"Pop the collar of your puffer jacket and zip it all the way up!"
"Number one: absolutely, under no circumstances, make any form of eye contact with it!"
"An Ekans's gaze carries an extremely strong deterrent effect. That's its innate move, Glare!"
"The moment you look into its eyes, your body will instinctively freeze in terror for a fraction of a second. That fraction of a second is all it needs to bite through your wrist!"
Miles slammed his hand on his desk. "Number two! Its most dangerous attack isn't biting; it's Wrap!"
"It will launch itself like a spring and coil around any limb you bring near it!"
"What you need to do is grip that long mop handle with both hands and use it like a spear. The moment it lunges, don't dodge!"
"Use every ounce of strength in your body to shove that mop handle directly into its coiling path! Let it wrap around a dead piece of wood."
"As soon as its body locks onto the handle, take the stick and the snake and slam them straight into the terrarium! Lock it down!"
"Do you understand?! Go!"
"Understood!" Brother Motorcycle let out a rough roar. Now bundled in a ridiculously thick greatcoat, he gripped a sturdy solid-wood mop handle and kicked open the glass balcony door.
The sudden crash clearly enraged the Ekans.
It instantly coiled its body, its warning hisses piercing the night.
Just as Miles predicted, its purple body compressed like a tightly wound spring. Erupting from the pile of shattered eggshells, it launched itself with its maw wide open, aiming straight at Brother Motorcycle!
"Get in there, you beast!!!"
Despite his scalp prickling with terror, Brother Motorcycle kept Miles's warnings firmly in mind. He kept his head down, refusing to look at the snake's eyes.
The moment the Ekans lunged, he didn't retreat. Instead, he gripped the wooden pole with both hands and thrust it violently into the air like a bayonet.
Thwack! The Ekans altered its trajectory mid-air, instinctively activating its Wrap move.
Its powerful body instantly twisted like a pretzel, violently constricting around the hard wooden mop handle. It squeezed so tightly the wood groaned under the pressure.
'Now!'
Brother Motorcycle's eyes went wide as adrenaline flooded his system.
Channeling the strength of a raging bull, he swung the heavy wooden pole—and the Ekans hopelessly tangled around it—in a wild, overhead chop.
He slammed the entire mess perfectly into the extra-large, high-strength clear acrylic terrarium he had prepared beforehand.
Crash! Click! Clack!
With a burst of speed, Brother Motorcycle snapped all four steel locks on the terrarium shut.
Then, as if entirely drained, he collapsed onto the wrecked balcony, gasping for air.
Through the clear acrylic, the trapped Ekans threw itself frantically against the walls, producing muffled thuds, but it clearly wasn't getting out anytime soon.
"I... I caught it... Master Miles... I caught it..."
Holding up his phone, Brother Motorcycle gave the camera a weak smile that looked worse than crying.
[Viewer "Late Night Cultivator": Holy crap!!! Awesome!!! W Brother Motorcycle!!! This is a textbook, perfect counter-kill! That combo was smooth AF, so damn cool!]
[Viewer "Hardcore Data Analyst": Countering every move and calculating everything perfectly! Master Miles's off-site comms, his read on the situation, and his prediction of the move mechanics were terrifyingly accurate!]
[Viewer "Just Want to Play With Squirtle": Damn! W Streamer! This isn't just Pokémon appraisal; it's a wilderness survival and CQC tutorial! Followed! I'm tuning in right on time every day from now on!]
Seeing the screen fill with praise, Miles finally let a relieved smile touch his lips.
"Alright, you can keep that Ekans. Selling it will at least get you some cigarette money. Everything on your balcony is trashed."
Miles looked at the panting man on the screen, his tone leveling out. "Tonight's lesson should last you a lifetime. Gambling on eggs is a losing game nine times out of ten. Go offline and reflect."
"You exhausted all your luck on that Chikorita egg. It won't make you whole, but it'll at least recoup some of your losses. Grit your teeth and accept the rest."
"Thank you... Thank you for saving my life, Master..."
Wiping his tears and muttering endless thanks, Brother Motorcycle respectfully disconnected.
The screen went black.
This heart-stopping rollercoaster of a "blind box" game had finally come to an end.
Miles leaned back in his spacious gaming chair, exhaling a long breath of stale air.
Just as he reached for his thermos to wet his throat, a highly conspicuous VIP pinned message flashed at the top of the chat feed.
[Viewer "Bicycle to Motorcycle": Master Miles! I left too hastily just now and forgot to say it. Tomorrow, I'm going to find an auction house to sell that Chikorita egg with the Egg Move. I'll see if it covers my debts. If there's any profit left over, I am absolutely giving it all to you. I won't go back on my word!]
Reading the comment, Miles paused with his thermos mid-air and shook his head with a laugh.
After experiencing that extreme tug-of-war on the brink of death, the bald man at least understood some basic underworld etiquette and knew how to show gratitude.
"Sure, the thought is enough." Miles spoke to the camera, his tone casual but carrying a hint of a warning.
"However, I can't give you a hundred percent guarantee on Egg Moves. Don't turn around and blame me later, and definitely don't go running your mouth outside and bringing trouble to my door."
[Viewer "Bicycle to Motorcycle": Rest assured, Master! I know the rules, and I know not to flash my wealth. Even if the move degrades later, I'm willing to accept my loss. I won't utter a single word of complaint!]
"'Willing to accept your loss'? You'd better never use that phrase again for the rest of your life."
Miles shook his head helplessly before dropping his smile.
He leaned forward slightly, his expression turning unprecedentedly solemn. Staring directly into the camera, he loudly addressed the excited viewers eating up the drama.
"Chat, we all watched a good show today, but I have to lay down the ugly truth right now."
"From this day forward, anyone who wants me to do a 'blind box egg appraisal' can step right to the back!"
"The marquee of this stream is Comprehensive Pokémon Appraisal. I look at living Pokémon, not damn Pokémon eggs!"
"You all just saw with your own eyes how deep and muddy the waters of the underground egg gambling ring really are."
He paused, letting the weight of his words settle.
"Do you really think you can use me as a cheat code to go pillage the black market and get rich? If I ever misjudge an egg, or if you end up crossing paths with one of those ruthless black-market syndicates who value money over human life, I cannot bear that responsibility."
Miles's tone grew ironclad, leaving no room for negotiation.
"Therefore, unless I am in an exceptionally good mood, or I encounter some incredibly rare twist of fate to make a one-off exception..."
"Other than that, I am refusing all connection requests involving unhatched Pokémon eggs!"
"Even if one accidentally connects, I will hang up immediately and permanently ban you!"
Miles wasn't just fear-mongering or acting like a diva.
Possessing the [Eye of Pokémon Insight], seeing through a Pokémon egg was child's play for him.
But precisely because he was so accurate, if anyone with ulterior motives realized he had a 100% success rate at X-raying blind boxes, he would absolutely be kidnapped by profit-crazed underground gangs.
He might even be snatched by extremist government research facilities and sliced open for study!
To protect himself and ensure the long-term survival of his livestream, he had to sever this dangerous avenue at the root.
[Viewer "Late Night Cultivator": The Master is spitting facts! Egg gambling is a scam. Not only does it ruin lives, but it also drags you into the gray market. Master Miles playing it safe is a mega W!]
[Viewer "Wild Pokémon Breeder": True. Today was just a ridiculously fake pigmentation case. Normally, not even the world's most advanced X-ray machines can pierce an egg's shell to read its genetic sequence. It's best for the Master to stay out of those muddy waters.]
[Viewer "Frontline Melon Eater": But streamer... I mean, hypothetically! What if we're like that last guy and aggressively throw a $10,000 'Master Ball' donation at your face? Would you still refuse to look?]
[Viewer "Canyon's Top Troll": Are you an idiot, bro? The Master just said he wouldn't look. If you throw money at him, you're just giving it away for free!]
Seeing the question about taking a "Master Ball to the face" pop up on the public feed, Miles's tense expression relaxed slightly.
He broke into a brilliant, deeply capitalistic smile.
"If you insist on violently throwing a Master Ball at me..."
"Then all I can say is, I won't look at the egg, but I am absolutely not refunding the money!"
This shameless joke instantly drew a chorus of "boos" and good-natured laughter from the chat.
The atmosphere returned to its usual relaxed and cheerful appraisal vibe.
"Alright, everyone, it's getting late. My streaming quota for this afternoon is almost tapped out."
Miles rolled his stiff neck and clicked open the list of connection requests in the background, which was still densely packed.
"Next up, let's welcome our final lucky person of the afternoon!!..."
Without looking, Miles randomly clicked on a user ID named [Anti-Leek Crusader].
Beep—!
[You have accepted the connection request from user "Anti-Leek Crusader"!]
[Connection Successful!]
However, the exact moment the feed connected, a terrifying, piercing, high-frequency electronic screech—sounding like ten thousand fingernails frantically clawing down a chalkboard—erupted without warning from the two high-fidelity studio monitors on Miles's desk!
The volume was absurd. It was as if someone had shoved a microphone directly into the turbine of a Boeing 747 running at maximum thrust and cranked the dial all the way up.
"Holy shit!"
Miles felt like a scalding hot steel needle had been violently jammed through his eardrums. His brain instantly began ringing.
Grimacing in agony, he gasped and frantically yanked off the backup headphones around his neck, violently rubbing his numb, aching ears.
Miles wasn't the only collateral damage.
A short distance away, sprawled out on a massive custom cushion and drooling in its sleep, Munchlax was brutally jolted awake by the sudden sonic weapon.
"Munch?!"
Looking like a little grey-blue mountain of meat, Munchlax sprang upright with an agility that completely defied its bulk.
Its usually drowsy, dull little eyes instantly blew wide open. Two stubby claws flailed wildly in the air as every hair on its body stood on end.
It whipped its head left and right, looking like it was facing a mortal enemy, fully prepared to deploy Defense Curl and Rollout to enter its ultimate combat state.
The entire livestream audience was instantly plunged into wailing agony.
The previously harmonious chat feed was drowned in an avalanche of rage and mental breakdowns.
[Viewer "Outlaw John Doe": Murder! This is blatant sonic murder! I'm wearing top-tier noise-canceling headphones sneaking a watch in the library, and that just about sent me to the afterlife! Does this count as a WMD?! I'm suing you for emotional distress!]
[Viewer "Midnight Heartbreak Club": Help! RIP my ears! To the person named Anti-Leek Crusader, are you video-calling us from the frontlines in Syria?! I feel like a high-explosive grenade just landed on my keyboard!]
[Viewer "Just Want to be a Quiet Sugar Mama": Compensation! I demand compensation! My newborn Sprigatito was sleeping soundly in its bed, and that shriek scared it so bad it leaped onto the ceiling chandelier and won't come down! It shed hair everywhere! You're paying for my mental trauma!]
[Viewer "Elden Ring Gold Lecturer": My old heart is about to give out! What kind of hellish opening is this? That piece-of-junk static mic is ten thousand times more terrifying than a wild Exploud blasting a full-power Boomburst! These old bones almost perished in this stream today!]
[Viewer "Hardcore Data Analyst": According to my rigorous acoustic waveform analysis, the high-frequency range of that audio clip just shattered the limits of human auditory comfort. It has reached a sonic weapon tier capable of dispersing large predators in the wild. This lady's microphone is absolutely leaking electricity, and leaking it badly!]
[Viewer "Late Night Cultivator": Oh my god! I was slurping instant noodles while watching the stream, and that scared me so badly I snorted boiling broth straight up my nose! My entire nasal cavity is on fire and I'm crying! Sister, I'm begging you, please adjust your mic. Stop casting spells on us!]
[Viewer "Wild Pokémon Breeder": That lethality is off the charts. The Snorlaxes in my breeding center, who normally wouldn't wake up during a thunderstorm, just collectively rolled over and sat up! They probably thought the highest-level air raid siren for dinnertime just went off! That penetration power is invincible!]
[Viewer "Canyon's Number One Simp": Blind guess, this lady is completely technologically illiterate. That mic was probably bought by the pound from some last-century scrap yard. Master Miles, please diagnose her quickly, I'm terrified her equipment is going to trigger a nuclear detonation on the other side of the screen!]
Amidst the sheer chaos, a young, crisp, yet incredibly foolish female voice finally echoed from the other side of the lens:
"Hello? Hello, hello? Can you hear me? Master Miles, is my mic blowing out?"
Facing the global eardrum massacre she had just caused, this user named [Anti-Leek Crusader] actually delivered an incredibly innocent, even slightly confused, soul-searching question.
Looking at the screen, Miles's expression perfectly replicated a look of utter disgust and absolute speechlessness.
'Are you completely oblivious to your own lethality?'
Upto 20 chapters ahead on patreon :-
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