CHAPTER 175: INCOME

Kaiden’s eyes locked onto the system interface the moment the number updated.

[Income: 222 ➢ 4,541]

His breath hitched.

What?

No outward reaction betrayed his internal shock, but inside, his chest felt like it was swelling to the point of rupture. He couldn’t even blink. The number stared back at him, cold and final.

4,541 Chronos.

He swallowed hard.

That’s...

An increase of 4,300 Chronos.

430,000 dollars.

In twelve hours.

From a single video.

It was insanity.

Pure, beautiful, world-altering insanity.

A nervous warmth bloomed in his stomach, traveling lower, surging with that primal thrill that came with success, with power, with proof of his supernatural journey being underway in full right this moment.

He didn’t even realize he was getting hard—that is, until Luna jumped in surprise. She had been seated lazily on his thigh, but now she blinked and glanced down.

Her gaze lingered for a moment before a sly smile crept across her lips. She didn’t need to ask. She already knew.

Of course, her greedy man was reacting that way. The cheeky girl instantly knew that this reaction could only mean one thing: his mind’s eye was showing him something truly otherworldly.

So, she gave him a smug look with one eyebrow raised, as if she’d just caught him red-handed doing something really bad and acquired valuable blackmail material as a result.

But rather than tease him any further, she adjusted her position with casual grace. She shifted her butt and nestled down in a way that the curve of her rear perfectly concealed his stiffening problem from any angle that might be caught by a camera or the eyes of the bodyguard twins.

A perfect girlfriend move. A protective Valkyrie’s move. As far as the purple-haired girl was concerned, her Paragon of Sin deserved to get bailed out when something out of his expectations occurred, such as getting a hard-on during an important meeting.

Kaiden didn’t say a word in response, merely watching the Storm Valkyrie for a few seconds. Then, he smiled with eyes of gratitude and slid a hand beneath her shirt and brushed his fingers gently across the smooth skin of her lower belly, right over the branding mark he left on her.

It shimmered under her clothes thanks to the touch, becoming slightly alive with weak pulses and pink hues, showing that Luna wasn’t unappreciative of the thank-you gesture. Not one bit, despite what her face might show.

Yes, the Storm Valkyrie still didn’t appreciate the fact that her man decided to brand her with a giant womb tattoo right on top of her real womb’s placement.

Kaiden, meanwhile, resumed staring at the system number again, heartbeat still hammering.

"..."

He didn’t even know how to react to such a sum. He couldn’t.

Instead, he brought up the requirements for reaching the next rank of the system.

[To rank the system up to the third rank, the host needs to reach...]

[Views: 100 million]

[Fangirls: 5,000]

[Income: 10,000]

Views were already there. Income was almost halfway, but he had one hell of an idea to go all the way to 10,000 very, very soon.

Now... Fangirls. The bane of his existence.

It was at 111 before today.

[Fangirls: 111 ➢ 458]

His lips twitched. Not quite a frown, not quite a smile. Just a quiet, internal acknowledgment of something both frustrating and expected.

’Yeah. Figures.’

He had just uploaded a monster subjugation video where he manhandled Bastet into submission, quite literally. He hadn’t expected a massive influx of true fangirls from that alone.

Sure, tons of people liked it. The view count made that obvious. And yes, no doubt an army of kittens across the globe were dripping wet right now after watching a handsome, muscular dude like him dominate a humanoid feline goddess. That part wasn’t in question. But the fangirl stat wasn’t some basic "likes" counter.

It went deeper.

That stat only rose when someone crossed a threshold, going from a simple viewer who loved the content she was seeing to an actual, emotionally invested follower. Someone who didn’t just enjoy his content but wanted more of him, in every sense.

Which meant the 347 new fangirls likely weren’t just people who liked that single video. No. They were the type to go back through his old uploads, watch his past dungeon dives, his cooking stream, his one vs three bedroom battle with the girls...

And through all those, they got hooked.

That was what converted them. Not the Bastet video itself, but what came after it. Once they got curious. Once they peeked behind the curtain.

That was how he won their loyalty.

Kaiden exhaled through his nose, eyes still locked on the numbers.

A simple porn video, no matter how sexy—even a legendary, historical monster girl dicking—wasn’t enough to turn strangers into ride-or-die fans. Not by itself.

If he wanted more fangirls... he had to earn them. One heart at a time.

He had to keep creating. Keep intriguing with more than sex. With story. Emotion. Passion. Connection.

It was a pain in the ass, sure.

But it was also the stat he considered the most important in his system. The thing that went beyond just fame and money, one that he couldn’t just brute-force.

And that made it a challenge he was fully, thoroughly, up for.

Kaiden slowly released his hand from Luna’s warm belly, letting his fingers slide free from the taut skin just above her branded womb. His other hand gently unhooked from the inside of Aria’s pillowy thighs, where it had been resting for some time now.

Then, *clap!*

His palms came together with a sharp, energetic sound.

"Alright. Break time’s over, ladies," he said, voice charged with purpose. "It’s time to get to work."

Nyx’s eyes sparkled with curiosity as she leaned closer to his ears, whispering, "Just what on Earth are you cooking up this time?"

Kaiden smirked. Not just any smirk... it was ’that’ smirk. The one that meant he had a plan. A big one. One that was soaked in just enough genius and madness to make all three girls nervous and excited all at once.

He didn’t answer her immediately. Instead, his gaze slowly drifted toward the door that led to the outside... where a certain feline figure lay sprawled out under the warm afternoon sun.

Bastet, the Sun-Kissed.

She was stretched out, tail flicking lazily, her dark skin glowing under the light. She looked more like a perverted woman pretending to be a house cat than an actual pet girl, but he wasn’t complaining, of course... And Kaiden knew—he knew—that the whole goddamn world was currently losing its mind wondering about her.

Her race. Her origins. Her powers. Her relationship to him.

All of it, and more. So much more.

And he would give them answers. Curated ones of course...

But not just that.

He would give them content. The content of a lifetime, where those curious had to spend big if they wanted their curiosity to be satisfied...

He grinned.

"Well, the world’s dying to know more about that strange girl basking in the sun like she owns the place. So I figured, why not just give the people what they want?"

Then he leaned forward, voice dropping low and dangerous.

"With a unique little twist, naturally..."

High above the city, inside the luxuriously opulent high-rise office of ChronosX, the air vibrated with tension. Floor-to-ceiling windows bathed the modern space in light, but none of it reached the dark fury coiled in the man standing at the center of it all.

Maximilian, CEO of ChronosX, titan of industry, digital god mana camera R&D, as well as the rapidly growing awakened adult content scene, was seething. No, not just seething. He was overcome with an existential fury.

The glimmer of city lights below held no power over him right now.

Not when his pristine imported wine cellar—valued at over $400 million—was currently being destroyed, one bottle at a time.

*Shatter!*

Another priceless bottle exploded against the wall, crimson liquid splashing down onto the rich carpet, incurring further financial losses. But the man in a stylish Italian suit couldn’t care one bit as he screamed from the top of his lungs,

"THREE HUNDRED AND FORTY MILLION VIEWS?!"

His voice cracked against the marble walls like thunder. He gasped, almost choking on his saliva, before he screamed again.

"In twelve hours?!"