The audience erupted with laughter when they saw a soldier from Ashina Town pull out a musket, but for Sister Zoe, it was nothing short of despair.
"What was Charlie thinking?!" she grumbled. "This is supposed to be the age of cold weapons! Can't we just slash at each other with swords? Life is already hard enough—now they're giving soldiers guns?!"
Thankfully, there was only one musket-wielding soldier for now. Sister Zoe immediately dropped prone onto the ground, staying out of sight.
As she lay there, she noticed something in the distance: a glowing object on the ground.
"Hey, I think there's an item up ahead!" Sister Zoe said, tempted to stand up and rush over. But remembering the musket aimed at her, she chose instead to crawl toward it using all four limbs.
The audience completely lost it:
"Yo, Sister Zoe, did you forget you're playing a martial arts master? Why are you crawling like a gecko?!"
"Hahaha! From a majestic wolf to a sneaky dog!"
"She was so cool earlier, now look at her—such a mess!"
"Wolf's heart is bleeding... Sister Zoe, you've destroyed his dignity!"
"What do you guys know!" Sister Zoe defended herself. "Big people do big things—they don't sweat the small stuff!"
She didn't want to be this wretched, but better a little embarrassment than getting shot dead for nothing!
Soon, Sister Zoe crawled to the glowing item and picked it up. A prompt appeared:
[Shuriken: One of the ninja tools crafted by Master Craftsman Dawson. Can be installed into your Shinobi Prosthetic to be used as a ranged weapon.]
[Note: After obtaining a ninja tool, it must be delivered to the Sculptor to install it before use.]
"Ooh, a shuriken! Nice!" Sister Zoe beamed. "A true martial artist can't go without hidden weapons!"
"Whaaat, there are hidden weapons too?!"
"The old dev really thought of everything!"
"Yeah, this is turning into the ultimate martial arts master simulator!"
The audience was full of admiration.
Sister Zoe wanted to return immediately to install her new toy, but right now, she was still stuck surrounded by soldiers.
"Forget it, this is no way to live—time to fight my way out!" Sister Zoe decided.
She threw her grappling hook at a crooked tree and zipped through the air!
"Woohoo, eat my dust, suckers!"
BANG!!!
Her celebration was cut short mid-sentence as the crack of a gunshot echoed across the air.
While soaring, Sister Zoe was hit! Her body froze mid-air, momentum lost, and she plummeted to the ground.
"Are you kidding me?! You can get shot while grappling?!" she shouted.
Thankfully, the somatosensory suit stabilized her enough for a cool landing. But her health bar was critically low.
Panicked, Sister Zoe pulled out her healing gourd and gulped down a dose.
Before she could recover fully, five or six soldiers were already rushing toward her, swords drawn—and that musket soldier still had her locked in his sights!
Miss Zoe:
cue death screen: "YOU DIED"
Sister Zoe resurrected back at the Sculptor's Idol outside the town.
"Tsk tsk, how many times has Sister Zoe died today? Even with two lives, she still can't survive!"
"She really got cooked by a chicken earlier too!"
"Yuko must be regretting giving Sister Zhou her bloodline power!"
The audience joked mercilessly.
Sister Zoe sighed. Charlie's game design this time was truly hardcore—exhilarating but unforgiving.
"Forget it. Let's install the shuriken first. Maybe it'll make a difference," she said.
She quickly sat at the Idol, selected Teleport, and the screen faded to black. When her vision cleared, she was back at the Idol in front of the temple.
Getting up, she was about to head toward the temple when she suddenly noticed a beautiful woman in red standing at the entrance.
The woman had delicate features, a flowing crimson dress, and her hair neatly styled into an elegant bun. She looked graceful and serene.
"WOW, a gorgeous girl has appeared!"
"And she's a classic beauty too!!!"
"The old dev really knows how to design ancient charm!"
The audience went wild. Pretty NPCs were always a hit, and once again, the dev hadn't disappointed.
"Charlie's face design is god-tier," Sister Zoe muttered as she approached.
The woman smiled softly as Sister Zoe came near, her voice gentle and calm:
"You really have returned... I never thought I'd witness this with my own eyes."
The voice was familiar. Sister Zoe realized immediately: "Wait, aren't you the one who sent me that letter at the beginning?"
The woman nodded. "My name is Eve. I am a pharmacist, loyal to a certain master."
"A certain master?"
"I'm sorry, I cannot say more," Eve replied politely. "My master only asked me to assist you however I can."
Sister Zoe nodded.
Eve continued: "Also, the Healing Gourd you carry—that was given to you by me. If you find any more Gourd Seeds, please bring them to me. I can expand the gourd's capacity."
"That's awesome!" Sister Zoe's eyes lit up. "More uses of healing? Yes, please!"
The wolf character replied coolly, "Understood."
"Then please, move carefully," Eve said with a gentle nod.
The wolf answered with a single word: "Hmm."
"Pfft... Wolf, can you not be a little warmer when talking to such a sweet girl?"
"Straight-up straight man behavior!"
"Haha, in real life too—I'd just nod awkwardly at pretty girls!"
The audience roared with laughter. Sister Zoe herself couldn't stop smiling.
After saying goodbye to Eve, she headed into the temple.
The Sculptor was still hard at work, carving away at a Buddha statue.
"You're back," he said gruffly. "I forgot to give you something earlier. It should help strengthen you."
He handed Sister Zoe a scroll.
As soon as she touched it, a prompt appeared:
[Acquired Skill Manual: Contains various martial arts techniques such as Whirlwind Slash, Perception Boost, Flash Step, and Triple Thrust.]
A skill tree popped up, filled with martial arts moves. To unlock them, she needed skill points, earned by defeating enemies and leveling up.
"Tsk tsk, martial arts skills too?!" the audience exclaimed.
"A true martial artist needs martial techniques!"
"Charlie thought of everything, for real!"
Currently, Sister Zoe only had one skill point, just enough to unlock Whirlwind Slash.
Without hesitation, she did so.
A prompt confirmed: [Skill Acquired: Whirlwind Slash]
At that moment, the Sculptor spoke again:
"Seems you've got a ninja tool too. Bring it over; I'll fit it for you."
Sister Zoe quickly sat beside him, and he began installing the shuriken launcher into her Shinobi Prosthetic.
After some tinkering, he said, "Done."
A prompt appeared:
[Bend your left index finger and flick your wrist to fire a shuriken.]
"Let's try it out!" Sister Zoe cheered.
She rushed outside to the temple courtyard, spotted a nearby rock, aimed, and threw her hand forward.
SWISH!!!
The shuriken shot out with a satisfying whoosh, spinning straight toward the rock—
—and missed spectacularly, embedding itself in the dirt.
"Uh..." Sister Zoe laughed awkwardly.
Not very accurate.
"One more time!!!"
She tried again—missed!
A third time—still missed!
"Damn it! This is harder than it looks!" Sister Zoe complained, stepping closer.
Finally, at point-blank range, she managed to lodge a shuriken deep into the rock.
"6666666, Sister Zoe finally hit something!"
"Seems like the throwing mechanics are tough too!"
"Old dev's difficulty settings: still brutal!"
The audience laughed, but everyone admired how deep and realistic the game mechanics were.
After testing the shuriken, Sister Zoe drew her sword again.
"Alright, friends, time to try Whirlwind Slash!!!"
Following the system instructions, she held the blade to her side, spun forward sharply—and with a burst of energy, spun 360 degrees!
A dazzling arc of blade light exploded around her.
The somatosensory suit even made her light-footed like a dancer.
"F**k, that's gorgeous!!!"
"This looks straight out of a wuxia movie!"
"That's Galen's spin move but elegant!!!"
The audience went wild.
Sister Zoe was thrilled too.
"This move is awesome! Next time I get surrounded, I'm spinning them all down!"
This Whirlwind Slash was clearly designed for fighting multiple enemies—a true martial arts classic.
Satisfied, Sister Zoe sheathed her blade and turned to the camera.
"Alright, friends... that's it for today's stream. I'm exhausted..."
Her voice had softened.
Though she still wanted to play more, this game was physically intense.
Unlike Deep Sea Trek, where swimming was more passive, Sekiro required full-body motion.
Even with the somatosensory suit, it took a heavy toll.
She felt weak in her limbs and her heart racing.
"We understand," the viewers commented.
"Sekiro is tougher than Deep Sea Trek!"
"I can't wait for the official release tomorrow! I'm definitely becoming a knight too!"
"Yeah, Sister Zoe's reflexes are already crazy. For us dreamers, Sekiro is the perfect dream girl!!!"
In the flood of messages, Sister Zoe smiled and waved goodbye, ending the stream.
She slumped in front of her computer, checking the data.
The stats were unbelievable:
At peak, over 50 million viewers in her live room, and 4 million on the overseas stream!
"Nearly 100 million people tuned in?!"
Sister Zoe was stunned.
But then her stomach grumbled loudly.
"Aww, I'm starving..."
The intense excitement had masked her hunger—but now that the adrenaline wore off, she could feel the emptiness in her belly.
"Charlie, you got any food?" Sister Zoe called out weakly.
No response.
She tried to stand—and immediately collapsed to the ground with a loud thud.
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50 +Chapters
Update Schedule: 7 Chapter/week.
Every 50 Power Stones+1 (5 Review)
= 1 Chapter+1Chapter