Chapter 217: Crank It Up

Words : 1026 Updated : Sep 25th, 2025

[System Alert – Fangirl Bottleneck Quest] Days Remaining: 2.1 Current Progress: 1,100 / 5,000 You are running out of time. ... Kaiden exhaled long and deep, his gaze focused on the summary screen of the stream in front of his mind’s eyes, which now displayed the view count, sub count... and not nearly enough upward growth on the "fangirl" stat they’d been hoping for. "The stream turned out amazing, there’s no doubt about that..." he muttered while leaning back into the couch. "But the turnout was a little less than I hoped for. Not many of them moved on to watch our other videos." The words were carefully chosen because he couldn’t just say, ’our pace is too slow, we’re going to fail the system quest.’ Even if the government listened in on this conversation, they shouldn’t find his statement strange. The girls understood. They were still behind on the quota. And time was ticking. Luna shifted her weight on the couch. She sat directly across from Kaiden, which allowed him to get a perfect view of one long, pale leg folding slowly over the other. Her violet yoga pants stretched deliciously tight. She leaned back against the sofa arm, one hand holding her cheek as she locked eyes with him. "I see... Then we’d better turn things up a notch." Kaiden raised a brow. Before he could ask, Nyx spoke up first, perched sideways on the sofa like a lounging cat with a big bowl of strawberries in her lap. "Do you have a plan?" Over on Kaiden’s left, Aria let out a dreamy sigh. Her feet rested comfortably in Kaiden’s lap, a reward he’d offered her for winning the fan vote during the gym stream. His strong hands were currently working in slow, circular motions across her delicate arches, coaxing tiny, helpless shivers from the well-toned gym princess. Every so often, a barely suppressed moan escaped her lips, soft enough to raise tension in the room but subtle enough not to derail the conversation. "My goodness..." she whispered, biting her lower lip, eyes fluttering shut. "I think this might be better than butchering Silverback Maulers..." Kaiden chuckled under his breath. He didn’t know how to take his massaging being compared to killing bear monsters. Though Aria had a vendetta against the monster type ever since one almost killed him, so he supposed he should take it with grace. Aria peeked at Luna from under her long lashes, lifting her voice just enough to rejoin the topic. "We’ve already been doing our best, isn’t that right? A stream like that should’ve been exactly what they needed to get more invested." The words hung in the air. Innocent, if you didn’t know what they meant. But to anyone who did? They were veiled code. ’We already gave them heat, charm, heart, and tension. And it’s still not enough.’ The room fell quiet for a moment, filled only with the sound of Kaiden’s fingers kneading Aria’s soles and Luna softly tapping her chin. Then Nyx tossed another strawberry in her mouth and said with a shrug, "Well. We’ve been playing it tame... relatively speaking. What if we took the gloves off for real?" "...Like a themed stream?" Luna asked. "No..." Nyx shook her head as a sly smile emerged on her lips. "It’s time we stop using fishing rods but instead cast our fishing net into the sea full of hungry little fishes." Kaiden’s eyes flicked to the others, then back to the ceiling. The time pressure was getting real. They had two days. Less than two. And 3,900 more hearts to steal. Falling short wasn’t an option. A new plan would need to be made. Something unforgettable. Something daring. They all knew what was at stake. And when Aria moaned again under Kaiden’s fingers, Luna’s lips curled into a scheming smile. Time was running out. But the storm was just about to begin. ... In a room lined with marble walls and soundproof shielding that cost more than entire safehouses, the Chairman of the United States Awakened Association stared at what his mind’s eyes were showing him. A paused frame of Kaiden. Shirtless. Smirking. Hands behind his head as Luna leaned into the camera, lips parted, reading out the next submission with a teasing glint in her violet eyes. The Chairman slowly dragged a hand down his face and muttered, "They’ve gone crazy." Grace, seated across from him, uncrossed her legs and tapped at her tablet. "They don’t look crazy to me, sir. Just... a group on a mission." He gave her a long look. And then he resumed playback. Valhalla’s Sinners wasn’t just streaming anymore. They were weaponizing fandom. ... New Feature: Fangirl Ranks Gamification. The oldest hook in digital culture. Viewers now earn rank points by watching, donating, and commenting. The more active they are, the faster they level up. Rank 1 – "Sprouts" New fans. Just joined. Rank 2 – "Devotees" Active members who’ve shown consistent loyalty. Given access to private reaction clips and deleted bloopers. Rank 3 – "Chosen" The elite. Recognized in chat by name. Invited to exclusive voice message drops, background Q&As, and even soft-canon lore mentions. Only 500 had made it this far... and the number was climbing. But the real madness was the "Pick Me" Competitions. Fans were invited to submit: Fictional "dates" they imagined with Kaiden. Outfit ideas they’d want him or the Valkyries to wear. Stories about why they loved Valhalla’s Sinners. Even "What kind of dungeon you think we should explore next" creative briefs. Kaiden would read them. Judge them. Sometimes flirt back. Sometimes, he’ll act them out with a Valkyrie. And chat? Lost its collective mind. It was parasocial warfare. The emotional kind. And every moment, every vote, every breathless message typed out by trembling brain cells added one more name to the ever-growing Fangirl Counter. The Chairman leaned back. "...What’s their plan?" he asked aloud, but not really expecting an answer. Grace tilted her head, scrolling through her own secondary screen. "Aside from the Pick Me Competitions, they’ve announced these upcoming segments too..." She listed them off:

Chapter 217: Crank It Up

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