Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo, Japan was one of the busiest streets in the world. Countless pedestrians flocked through its sidewalks in a living, chaotic mass. At frequent intervals, the traffic lights would signal green for those moving on foot, and they would hurriedly cross the street in batches.
Once night truly settled in, the entire city became a vista of flashing lights and colors, a testament to its metropolitan status. Standing in the busy street was a young Chinese man adjusting his phone’s settings.
He was a streamer and opened B-station’s streaming site. After thinking a bit, he named the title ‘Old driver taking you around Tokyo looking for monsters’.
Satisfied, he commenced the stream.
“The host is on air.”
“After hearing that a monster was found in Tokyo, he went to Tokyo to broadcast live? People really will do anything for fame.”
“The host is already in Tokyo?”
“……”
Seeing the scattered pop-ups, he exhaled.
He was called ‘Tomato’. Naturally, this was not his real name, but just a handle name. In the past, he used to be a writer. In the end, he became an outdoor streamer for B-station.
There was a famous writer named ‘Beans,’ and B-station also had a popular streamer named ‘Cherry Tomatoes’. He thought that by naming himself ‘Tomato’, he might be able to get more popular.
Perhaps because of the name or due to his luck, he managed to accrue a little fame. While nothing too extravagant, he could eat and drink without worry.
“Hello everyone. As you can all see, I have now arrived in Tokyo, and this place is Shibuya. I’ll let everyone have a look first.”
Tomato took his phone and spun around so that viewers could see that he was really in Tokyo. Then he said, “Oops. You are mistaken, little friend. Don’t say that I would sacrifice my life just for fame. Streamers are also people and need to eat. Just like writers, we must learn to follow the wind. Streamers also need to get in on the hottest topic, and what is the hottest topic today? That is naturally the variety of mysterious events. As a streamer, I naturally have to cover it.”
“I didn’t know how to ride on trends as a writer, so I failed. Now, I finally learned how to do it and gained a small success as a streamer.”
“……”
“Host is shameless.”
“WWWWW. Your skin is quite thick. WWWWW.”
“This is the first time I’m seeing a streamer admit to following trends.”
“Sun Yi Feng, you will always be my brother!”
“When he said ‘hot’, I remembered Son Goku fighting against the Iron Fan Princess at the Flaming Mountain… It was a great production by America and China… I hope everyone supports it.”
“Cheap trash!”
“You should be careful, Tokyo is super dangerous right now. The country has even issued a travel warning. You shouldn’t risk your life just for fame.”
“……”
Seeing the various pop-ups that appeared on screen, Tomato felt good. Although the streaming topic was important, interacting with the viewers was also important.
Seeing that some of them cared for him, he felt warm inside and smiled, “My friends, please don’t worry. According to my years of experience in writing web novels, I simply don’t have the qualities to be a protagonist. I won’t encounter death wherever I go. Believe me, there is no problem anymore. I reckon that the monster that appeared in Tokyo is a special one-time thing.”
“At first I thought that you were bold, but you were actually a wimp.”
“Damn, you clickbait. What am I supposed to watch when you’re not trying to find monsters? Unsubscribe. Unsubscribe.”
“I am here to see monsters, not to see your ugly face. Time to leave.”
“……”
The first time he saw those pop-ups, Tomato immediately felt anxious and hurriedly said, “Hey, don’t leave. I will go find monsters. My current job is to be a front-line war correspondent. Here, take a look at the expressions of these people nearby. Although they seem to have nothing to do with what happened, I think these people are especially nervous. Now that I’m walking in Tokyo, I can feel fear with every step.”
“Moreover, how could you say that I am a clickbaiter? Just take a look at the title, I said that I will take you around Tokyo and this is not a lie. I will definitely take secret shots later. First, we will go to Akihabara’s maid cafe to see if we can really take those maid cosplayers out on a date according to rumors. If that’s not true, then I will go on a trip to Yoshiwara so you can see snappable ladies.”
“WWWW, please take us, old driver!”
“Go quickly, I can’t wait to start.”
“Sneaking shots in Japan? You have a lot of nerve. If you’re caught, don’t tell them you’re Chinese. Remember, tell them you are Korean and huff twice.”
“Could it be that you are a sicko pervert?”
“……”
Seeing that his popularity returned, Tomato smiled and smugly took shots of the thighs of a nearby high school girl, “How many points would you rate these legs?”
“Stunning legs.”
“JK is a good civilization.”
“This stream will be blocked sooner or later.”
“……”
Tomato exhaled and let out a slight contempt, ‘Men are truly men for having an interest in these kinds of things.”
At this time, an English-speaking foreigner walked past him. Tomato’s English wasn’t bad. He watched as the foreigner rambled on while holding a phone. After carefully listening, he found that this brother was his peer. Moreover, this brother was a streamer on Youtube. Tomato immediately thought that everyone definitely wanted to follow what was hot.
He took a few steps forward and was about to say something to the viewers when he suddenly felt stabbing pain in his heart.
Tomato’s face instantly went pale. Cold sweat flowed from his forehead, and he was breathing hard with his hand over his heart.
“Host, something’s wrong with your face. Please don’t scare us.”
“Your acting skills are awesome. You can change your expression at will, better than those fresh meat in our country. The country owes you a Golden Horse Award!”
……”..
“……”
Tomato noticed that his hands were trembling. He gulped with difficulty and said, “I-I am not acting. My heart is now particularly painful, and I feel an inexplicable fear and anxiety. I-I don’t know how to describe it. I can only say that… it is difficult, very difficult… T-take a look, the people around here are similar to me.”
Tomato raised his phone and let the camera shoot his surroundings. It was found that many people around him were the same. They looked pale with their hands over their hearts.
In the next moment, the pop-ups flared up.
“Quickly call an ambulance!”
“Calling an ambulance is no use. Don’t you see that the surrounding people have also become like this. Crap, you should quickly leave that place. I feel that it is very dangerous.”
“Could it be that Japan has been cursed?”
“Host, you should hurry up and buy tickets home.”
“This reminds me of zombie movies.”
“……”
“Bang!”
Suddenly, the sound of breaking glass came from high in the air. Tomato unconsciously looked up and his pupils immediately dilated. A twisted monster jumped out from a high-rise building, destroying the window. It was covered in slime, and its appearance would make anyone vomit with one look. Its body seemed to have countless mouths with sharp teeth and many tiny tentacles.
“Ahhhh! Monster!!!”
“Kyaaaaaa!”
“Fuck! A monster has appeared!”
Immediately, the world’s most crowded intersection was in chaos. Countless people began to flee, and cars honked frantically.
The monster descended from the skies, smashed into a car, and left a dent on it just like Hollywood movies. But what was happening right now was very real.
“Run away, host!”
“Run, don’t be stupid.”
“……”
Pop-ups were frantically urging Tomato to run away.
Tomato finally reacted and ran away with the crowd, “Crap, there really are monsters in Tokyo. Why the fuck did I come here?! Ahh, save me. I don’t want to die!”
“Moreover, there isn’t only one monster but a group of them. I-if I die here, I hope everyone can give me a fireworks reward.”
Tomato shouted with a crying and whimpering voice.
Behind him, the sound of shattering glass echoed from time to time. At this moment, these disgusting monsters had now replaced the busy crowds of Shibuya. They let out unpleasant screams reminiscent of screeching metal as they lunged at their prey.