1 Kinsley Elrod
Inside a small recording room...
"It's like the promised we made in that exciting moment… ah… ah…."
A man's soft and pleasant voice could be heard travelling inside the recording room. His soothing voice relaxed the people on the other side of the room.
However, the man singing had no idea what those people felt and only sang to his heart's content. His melodious voice continued to sing until the next part, when he suddenly stopped midway singing.
The people on the other side snapped out of their stupors and looked at the man inside the recording room in confusion.
"What? Why did he stop?"
"Mr. Kinsley? What happened? Is there something wrong with the song?"
The director nervously asked the man inside and waited for his answer.
Meanwhile, the man inside only shook his head at the director and replied. "No… there's nothing wrong, director. I just thought that my voice sounded off for a moment there. I'm sorry. I'll repeat that part in a while. Please give me a moment…."
Even though Kinsley was talking to the man outside, he was actually communicating with his system inside.
'System, are you for real?! I only received 10,000 Artist Points for that video I did? How can you be this unscrupulous?! That video clip was quite popular, you know?!'
[There's nothing wrong with that value, dear host. The video that host recorded only got an average of 100 million views, and if you convert that according to the system's point-to-views rate of 1:10000, the host will get a total of 10,000 AP.]
A cold mechanical voice of a woman sounded inside Kinsley's head.
Kinsley's eyes twitched a bit when he heard the system say that. However, he could only sigh and give up. It was pointless to argue with the system since he had never won any arguments against it since he received it.
'Forget it. Open the Artist Store for me.'
[Understood.]
After saying that, Kinsley's eyes were immediately greeted by the system store's assortment of glittering items on their respective shelves.
[Welcome to Artist Store]
[Daily Deal (40% OFF): (1) Vial of Disguise (30 minutes) - 3 Artist Points] [12:34:26]
[Lifetime Deal (50% OFF): (SSR-Tier) Heavenly Timbre - 50,000,000 Artist Points]
[Other Items: (A-Tier) Skin Mask (Modifiable) - 10,000 Artist Points, (B-Tier) 40K Recording Camera - 5,000 Artist Points, (C-Tier) Custom-made Black Windbreaker - 1,000 Artist Points, …]
[Artist Points: 50,001,083]
'I can finally buy it now! Hahaha!' he excitedly roared in his heart and was just about to buy the item he had saved his points for when a notification popped up.
[Congratulations! You have received a limited-time deal!]
[Limited Time Deal(51% OFF): (SSR-Tier) Myriad Immortal Temperaments - 49,000,000 Artist Points] [23:59:59]
Kinsley's smile froze when he saw the item before he snorted and laughed angrily at how blackhearted the system was. He was tempted by the article since its quality was the same as the Heavenly Timbre, and he could even save a million points, at the very least.
He knew it must also be an overpowered perk since it was tagged as SSR-Tier. However, he just couldn't find any actual use in having the temperament of 'immortals'. Thus, he didn't hesitate anymore. He gritted his teeth and bought the item he had been aiming for all this time.
[Are you sure to buy (SSR-Tier) Heavenly Timbre for 50,000,000 Artist Points?]
'Yes!' he inwardly affirmed.
[You have bought the (SSR-Tier) Heavenly Timbre. Do you wish to apply it now?]
Seeing this system notification, Kinsley felt a bit emotional.
He had finally bought the item he had been saving his points for since receiving the system. He couldn't help but reminisce about what happened in the past few years and how he received the system.
***
December 2027, Philippines.
It was dated way back before Kinsley's rebirth.
At that time, he was silently sitting inside the lobby of a certain hospital. He was wearing a plain white shirt and black pants. He was tall and handsome, like a marvelous painting that came to life.
His fresh and gentle temperament subconsciously made other people around him feel relaxed. He leisurely scrolled through the black phone in his hands while his other hand supported his chin as he looked down at his phone screen.
Kinsley only sat there like how a normal person would, but he still managed to attract the attention of several people sitting inside the hospital lobby. They threw a secret glance at him as they silently gossiped among themselves.
"Oh my god! How can such a handsome person exist? Am I dreaming?" said a young girl wearing a clean white uniform to the short-haired girl wearing the same uniform beside her.
"I know, right? If he could become my boyfriend, even for a day, I would die happily!" the short-haired girl replied with an infatuated expression.
"Hey! Watch your mouth! There's already saliva flowing out of it. Ugh. But I must say that we do share the same thoughts, hahaha!"
"Sigh… it's a pity that we could only daydream about it. I mean, that man's way out of our leagues."
"Forget it… let's just secretly take a picture of that man and share it with our friends!"
"Yeah! Yeah! Let's do that!"
Unbeknownst to them, Kinsley heard everything they had discussed in their 'silent' conversation.
If they knew that he heard them secretly whispering about him, they would've surely found ways to dig a pit to bury their heads out of embarrassment.
Fortunately, the man that they had been talking about was Kinsley.
He just ignored the girls' conversation and focused on the phone in his hands instead. He read the words displayed on the screen for a while before he ticked the box and pressed the agree button.
[Congratulations! You have been successfully registered!]
Kinsley finally registered for the app called "BlingBling", or Bling for short.
His younger brother had been pestering him about it in the past few days, saying he should install it since it was an excellent mobile application. However, he had been too lazy back then and was a bit hesitant, so he chose to delay its installation time and time again.
In the end, he didn't expect that he would install the app out of boredom while waiting inside the hospital. He had read the app's functions online as he registered his account for it.
It turned out that it was a social media app that mainly dealt with entertainment using short videos. It allowed its users to create a 60-second video and then upload it on their pages to let other users watch it.
Moreover, its straightforward user interface made it easier for people of all ages to use the app. As a result, its download count continued to increase until it reached hundreds of millions of downloads in total and won the 'Mobile App of the Decade' award.
A short while later.
He had finally been given access to the app. However, he was a bit lost since he still had no idea what he was supposed to do with the app aside from watching the videos recommended by the app.
Kinsley tried to watch a few recommended videos for a while before he lost interest and closed the app. "Sigh…"
It wasn't that he didn't like the videos. They were good. It was just that he wasn't in the mood to watch other people right now.
In the next moment...
He thought of his younger brother, that pestered him to install the app. 'If it's him, I'm sure he also has an account in this app. I should ask him his username.'
Having thought of that, Kinsley immediately opened his messaging app and searched through his contact list before he found a highly conspicuous name at the top of his list in almost an instant.
[LilBro~♡]
His eyes violently twitched when he saw that contact's name. He took a long deep breath to recover his cool and calm down. Fortunately, he was already a bit used to it.
Naturally, his younger brother, Elliot, was the one who typed that nickname into his phone. He even had the audacity to restrict him from changing it to a proper name he liked. Thus, in the end, the name remained as such all this time.
Kinsley looked at Elliot's phone number for a while and mulled whether to make a call. He only hesitated a bit and ultimately called his younger brother's number. He wore a wireless earphone on his left ear as he waited for the other side to pick up the call.
A second later.
[Hello~?]
(A/N: End of minor chapter revision.)
A pleasant and playful voice sounded in his ears. It was a voice that could make others feel instantly refreshed just from hearing it.
Kinsley's lips made a small upward arc as he responded, "Ely, it's me. What are you doing right now?"
He then heard Elliot ask him in a curious voice. [Hmm… nothing much, I think? I'm looking for the books I need for the exam next month, why?]
Kinsley heaved a sigh of relief when he heard Elliot's answer. It was fortunate that his little brother wasn't busy and didn't disturb him.
He hesitated for a while and advised. "Oh, I see. Don't overdo it, alright? You must take breaks from time to time lest you damage your health."
"Also, I was, um… wondering what's your Bling username..?", he continued in a soft and hesitant voice.
Elliot: [...]
Elliot remained completely silent for a good five seconds before he heard his subdued snorting on the other side as he answered. [Brother, you... pfft-]
He was obviously trying his best to suppress the laugh from leaking out of his mouth, as he didn't want Kinsley to hear his amusement.
However, Kinsley still heard it, which only made his stomach go green in regret. 'I shouldn't have asked him about it!'
At this point, he could only gnash his teeth silently as there was no use for him crying over spilt milk.
On the other hand, Elliot felt exuberant when he heard his seemingly abstinent older brother had finally succumbed to temptation and installed the app.
It was all thanks to his unyielding efforts and persuasion, was what Elliot thought.
Kinsley had no idea what his younger brother was thinking about him. He just took a deep breath and asked in a cold voice, "Hehe… you seem to be having so much fun right now, Elliot Elrod?"
His voice had a hint of undertone when he called out the other's full name.
Elliot immediately felt a chill creep up his spine when he heard that voice filled with threat.
He subconsciously swallowed his laughter down his throat and choked as a result.
[Cough, cough… I-I'm just happy, brother, that's all. Hehe… oh? Is that the librarian? Hello, brother? I think the librarian is approaching. He's known to be strict and doesn't want any noise in his library, so I have to hang up now. Bye, brother! I'll send you my Bling username later…]
Elliot sounded somewhat flustered when he hung up the call.
He didn't even wait for Kinsley to respond, fearing that he might be asked other questions if he remained in the line a little longer.
Kinsley: "..."
He was stunned and stared at his phone screen for a while.
Then, he revealed a small wry smile while gently shaking his head, 'Hehe… did that brat really think that I would believe such a poorly made excuse?' he thought.
However, he didn't really care whether he lied or not. He didn't bother to call Elliot again and patiently waited for his message to arrive.
A short while later…
Kinsley felt the phone in his hands vibrate. So he immediately clicked the message open and read Elliot's message.
[Bling Username: @papi_elliot - Brother, what will you cook this Christmas Eve? I'm about to head back home in an hour or so. If you need something to buy, then message me so I can buy it, okay? See you later, brother~!]
Kinsley couldn't help but squint his eyes in joy when he saw Elliot's message. He thought that he was really blessed to have such a little brother in his life.
It was only then that he belatedly noticed Elliot's obnoxious username, which made him hold his forehead in dismay.
Although they had already been living together all these years, Kinsley still couldn't figure out why Elliot had such weird tastes in naming things.
He breathed a sigh of relief as he thought that at least the name in his contact list was relatively 'normal'.
His focus went back to Elliot's question as he hesitated before he typed in, [I'm currently outside as I have some errands to do, and I could just buy the things I need on my way back, so you just go back home straight after you finish what you need to do in the library.]
[LilBro~♡: Okayyyy~]
Kinsley smiled and then closed the messaging app as he opened the "BlingBling" app again.
He typed Elliot's username in the search bar the instant he opened the app.
There was only one result after he typed the username.
However, when he saw the small blue check icon beside the username and the likes and followers, he couldn't help but feel a bit unsure.
'Is this really Elliots's account?' Kinsley thought with a frown.
The username Elliot gave him had millions of likes and almost 20 million followers. Thus, his uneasy feeling wasn't unfounded at all.
Elliot being this famous was out of his expectations. He couldn't believe that Elliot, known for his cheekiness and goofy nature, would be this famous.
He pursed his lips tight. His heart was beating fast as he slowly clicked the Bling Profile open.
'I swear to god, if I found that brat messing around with me, I'll really beat the soul out of him!' Kinsley thought.
In the next moment…
The Bling Profile was fully displayed on his phone screen, and it took him quite a while to react, "What's this?"
He saw various videos in the profile but couldn't see Elliot's face in any of the video thumbnails.
'Did he really lie to me?' he thought with a frown.
The only way to verify this was to watch a video. Thus, he randomly clicked a video open and watched it.
The video he chose seemed to come from an FPS game. It had ten million views and garnered two million likes online.
It was a first-person shooting game set in a modern war-stricken time. It was quite a simple game.
A player only needed to loot houses to search for guns and supplies, defeat other players, and survive until the last man stood among the 100 players.
The above things mentioned must be done while staying inside the radius of the warzone.
In the video, the warzone's radius had already shrunk to a hundred meters.
The battlefield was set in an area filled with buildings, and only five players were remaining at this moment.
They were all hiding inside their respective buildings at this moment.
The streamer stayed inside a low-rise building while the other four players hid inside the four tall buildings surrounding the livestreamer.
It was quite a precarious situation that even made Kinsley, who didn't play video games that much, feel a tingling sensation on his scalp.
However, despite facing such a dangerous situation, the streamer remained calm while assessing his surroundings to search for the other four players' hiding spots.
