Chapter 33: New Feature — Advanced Screening

Chapter 33: New Feature — Advanced Screening

“Whoa~!”

“So this is the New Federation’s modern metropolis? It really is on a whole different level!”

At the exit tunnel of Deep Blue Metropolis’s harbor, Tendou had his entire body pressed against the transparent safety shield, sunglasses sliding down his nose as his azure eyes sparkled with childlike excitement.

Towering skyscrapers made from coral shimmered under the sunlight, casting rainbow reflections across the cityscape.

The elevated transport networks, shaped like strands of seaweed, carried jellyfish-like hover vehicles gliding gracefully through the air.

Even the pedestrian walkways were paved with gleaming shell tiles—smooth, tough, yet breathtakingly beautiful.

To Tendou, this didn’t feel like a modern city at all.

It was more like a fantasy—an underwater world built upon the ocean’s surface.

Just as he was drinking in the view, Tendou suddenly felt someone tugging on the hem of his coat.

“What’s wrong, Caroline? Why’re you pulling me?”

He turned, confused, to see Caroline beside him. Her cat ears twitched nervously as she lowered her head, looking like she wanted to say something but couldn’t.

Before she could even open her mouth, Tendou’s eyes lit up as if he’d just solved a great mystery.

“Ohh~ I get it! You wanna look too, huh? You should’ve said so earlier—come on, this angle’s perfect!”

Caroline froze on the spot.

She couldn’t believe it.

How does this guy’s brain even work—?

Just as she was about to tell him to stop embarrassing himself, laughter rippled through the tunnel.

A few local girls in glowing jellyfish dresses were pointing at them from behind the glass, covering their mouths as they giggled.

Other passengers, clearly natives of Deep Blue Metropolis, gave them pitying looks—the kind reserved for country bumpkins seeing a big city for the first time.

Realizing what was going on, Tendou finally understood why Caroline had been tugging at him.

But, to Caroline’s surprise, he didn’t look embarrassed at all.

Instead, he gave her a casual pat on the head and said, “Oh, that’s what you were worried about? Caroline, come on—why bother caring about what a bunch of dull nobodies think?”

“Now, come on! Look at that big jellyfish over there!”

“Whoever designed that thing is a genius! Turning a skyscraper into a jellyfish—that’s some serious creative energy!”

Caroline blinked, momentarily stunned by his words.

Then, before she knew it, Tendou had gently pressed a hand on her shoulder and pulled her toward the glass barrier.

Following his gaze, she saw a beautiful light-blue tower shaped exactly like a giant jellyfish.

She recognized it immediately from the Deep Blue Travel Guide she’d read on the ship—the city’s coastal landmark, The Pearl of Deep Blue, a high tower famous for changing the color of its crown depending on the weather.

Under the clear sunny sky, the tower’s soft blue shimmered like calm seawater.

The tension that had knotted in Caroline’s chest since their departure finally began to ease.

She glanced at Tendou, whose face was practically glowing with wonder, and couldn’t help but smile.

In the end, he was right—why should she care about the opinions of a few narrow-minded strangers?

So, shoulder to shoulder, the two of them admired the mesmerizing cityscape beyond the glass.

Just as Tendou was about to look for more sights to marvel at, a familiar voice echoed in his mind—his system.

[Advanced Screening feature loaded. Real-time bullet comments now enabled.]

Huh?

Advanced Screening?

Tendou stared at the newly updated system interface, his expression turning serious as he began carefully reading through the description of the new feature.

After a few minutes of studying it, he finally understood what this so-called “Advanced Screening” actually was.

For the fans back in the real world watching on the Crustyroll website, Advanced Screening was nothing mysterious at all—it was simply a premium perk for VIP members.

By paying for a membership, they could unlock two episodes of “Stellaris: Embers” ahead of everyone else.

But for Tendou in this world, Advanced Screening took on a completely different meaning.

Here, it was a kind of… alternate livestream.

The difference was simple: ordinary livestreams kept the camera fixed on the streamer—but in Tendou’s case, the “camera” wasn’t always following him.

Still, that didn’t mean he had no control over it.

Because, as the system explained, he could spend popularity points to gain his own personal screen time.

[Exclusive Camera Mode: Spend a certain amount of popularity points to obtain limited personal footage.]

[Cost: 10,000 popularity points per minute (maximum 3 minutes per episode)]

Sure, ten thousand points per minute sounded steep—but if used wisely, that investment could easily return multiples of what he spent.

And for a man like Tendou, a master of all-in gambles who lived for the thrill of risk and reward—this wasn’t just a new function.

It was a golden opportunity.

The gambler’s soul within him practically howled with delight.

At the same time, as the Advanced Screening feature officially activated, lines of glowing text suddenly floated into Tendou’s peripheral vision—

Live bullet comments.

There’s no doubt about it—the current camera feed was centered squarely on him and Caroline.

“Whoa! New map already unlocked?!”

“This new area’s gorgeous! The budget for this episode’s insane!”

“Taking your wife to an aquarium, huh? Tendou-kun, you romantic bastard~”

“So sweet!”

Tendou blinked at the rolling flood of comments, a mischievous spark flashing in his eyes.

Clearly, he’d just come up with another brilliant idea to rake in more popularity.

“Hey, Caroline! Let’s take a picture together!”

Before Caroline could even react, Tendou had already wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

Then, with a grin, he pulled out her phone from his pocket, swiftly unlocking it with practiced ease.

He raised it up, angled the lens toward the two of them—

Click!

The shutter sound echoed crisply.

Caroline, finally realizing what had just happened, snatched her phone back in a panic.

Her expression turned serious as she inspected the freshly taken selfie of her and Tendou—

—and the moment she saw it, her face went crimson, twisting with embarrassment.

In the selfie, Caroline’s expression was utterly blank—eyes wide, mouth slightly open, her whole face screaming “system error.”

She looked nothing like her usual calm and composed self; instead, she resembled someone who’d just lost half her brain cells.

If it had only been that, she could’ve let it slide.

After all, being caught in an unflattering photo wasn’t the end of the world—if she looked silly, then Tendou would look silly too. Fair enough.

But of course, Tendou—ever the devious schemer—hadn’t played fair.

Not only had he deliberately struck a cool, handsome pose, he’d also picked the perfect angle to highlight his features.

The result?

In that one photo, Tendou’s attractiveness was mysteriously boosted by 10%, while Caroline’s had plummeted by the same amount.

Her cat ears stood straight up, twitching in outrage as she grit her teeth.

“Tendou! If you wanted a picture, you could’ve at least waited until I was ready! You did that on purpose, didn’t you!?”

Tendou adjusted his sunglasses with a grin that practically radiated smugness.

“Wait for you to get ready? That’d ruin it! What we’re capturing here is authenticity—pure, natural emotion!”

The look on his face was so infuriatingly smug that Caroline instantly realized he was teasing her—again.

So, abandoning her usual poise, Caroline smacked him squarely on the arm.

“Authenticity my tail! You just wanted to mess with me!”

“Hey, that’s unfair!” Tendou protested, still laughing. “I made sure I looked really good in that picture!”

“And what about me!?”

“You? Eh, you’re in the frame, that’s good enough, right? Why be so picky?”

“Masamune Tendou!!”

He bolted. She chased.

The two of them dashed down the passageway, laughing and arguing all the while.

Because Tendou had lingered earlier to admire the scenery, they’d fallen a bit behind Tachibana and the others—if they didn’t hurry, they’d lose sight of their group completely.

Meanwhile, the live bullet comments in the Advanced Screening feed exploded with activity.

“Aaaah!! If these two don’t get married by the end, I’m rioting!”

“Team Tendou x Caroline climbing the popularity charts again!”

“Wait, hold on. Wasn’t Stellaris supposed to be an action series? Why is this turning into a rom-com?!”

“Selfie scene unlocked?! Calling it now—there’s gonna be a future episode where Caroline looks at this photo after they’re separated, all sad and heartbroken!”

“Dude, delete that! Don’t give the writers ideas!”

“No tragedy! We reject pain! Cut the angst or we drop the show!”

“If the production team dares to break up Tendou and Caroline, I swear—my knife will be sharper than theirs!”

The screen filled with hearts, memes, and mock threats, as the chat went from cheering to panicking in real time—and somewhere in between, Tendou’s grin grew just a little wider.

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