At the same time, on Shark TV.
Even though it was Lunar New Year, numerous streamers, big and small, were still live-streaming various games.
Inside Dong Zhenâs live stream room, he was showing his audience some attractive legs.
âWhat the heck! Youâre the one who wants to see legs, yet you claim we all do!â
âBro, what did I do to disappoint you?â
âRight here? Pretty average!â
âBoss, since itâs the holidays, why donât we stream that new game? Chen Xuâs new work, Overcooked, just launched. It looks pretty fun.â
âI saw it too. Overcooked does look genuinely entertaining.â
Dong Zhen, who had been watching long, white legs on stream, finally noticed the bullet comments flooding in.
âAh, come on! Itâs the holiday seasonâperfect time to show you all the things you enjoy and strengthen our bond. Personally, Iâm not even that into this stuff!â
âLet me checkâmultiplayer cooperation game, huh? Perfect. Iâll see what A'Shu is up to and if heâs free.â
Dong Zhen opened the game platform, searched for Overcooked, and took a quick glance. Thatâs when he rememberedâit was the same game by Chen Xu.
He still had a clear impression of Chen Xu, the Game Designer.
First, To the Moon had deeply moved him with its warmth, then Outlast terrified him completely. Such a dramatic shift in genres was unforgettable.
After reviewing the game details, he navigated to another streamerâs channel on Shark TVâs gaming section. Many streamers knew each other, and often teamed up for multiplayer games.
Upon entering the other streamerâs room, he saw a man wearing a baseball cap, black-framed glasses, a small beard on his chin, and a black shirtâtelling a story.
âSocietyâs much better now! Back in the day, school gates were full of thugs! What did they do? Extortion! Claiming younger siblings. Theyâd walk up, pat your head, and say: âHey bros, lend us some cash. From now on, if anything happens at school, just tell us.â Got money or not? Hand it over fast. If I have to search you, itâs one slap per dime I find. Will you hand it over yourself, or should I search?â
âSquad Leader A'Shu, you sound so familiarâdid you used to rob people as a kid?â
âHeh⌠heh heh heh⌠Let me tell you, if Iâd done it often, my performance wouldnât be this vivid. The victimâs and the bullyâs perspectives are always different.â
As A'Shu recounted his childhood memories, Dong Zhen sent him a message. Viewers watching both streams simultaneously began spamming bullet comments.
âRare visitor! Long time no see! Squad Leader Dong, wanna play a game? No problemâletâs jump into the voice channel first.â
The two met up in the voice channel.
âSquad Leader A'Shu, how have you been?â
âVery well, very well!â
For show, they exchanged polite pleasantries.
âJust the two of us playing? This game supports up to four players, right?â A'Shu asked.
âThereâs even a Versus Mode. Should I try inviting two more? Liuliu and Zhuangzhuang seem to be playing too. Want me to check?â Dong Zhen suggested.
âSure, go ahead,â A'Shu replied.
Soon, two more people joined the voice channel.
With the four of them now grouped, viewers in each stream grew excited, flooding the screens with bullet comments.
Ordinarily, streamers played solo, with little interaction. But during the holiday season, and with a multiplayer game like Overcooked, this rare scene unfolded.
âShould we jump straight into PvP? We havenât even gotten familiar with it yet,â A'Shu asked.
âNah, weâre all newâletâs just try it out,â Dong Zhen proposed.
âHow should we form teams?â Liuliu asked over voice chat.
âIâll team with the old man. You and Zhuangzhuang pair up. Thatâs settled,â A'Shu declared.
After a brief discussion, they quickly agreed.
Entering PvP mode for the first time came with guided instructions.
Creating a private room, selecting a map, and setting rulesânone of it was difficult.
They simply used the default settings.
Then they entered the game.
Still, to get used to the controls, they first ran through the Tutorial Level.
Overcookedâs tutorial wasnât complicatedârather, it was simple.
It progressed step by step: chopping ingredients, cooking, washing dishes, handling distractionsâall separated into distinct sections.
So Dong Zhen and the others had just one impression:
Simple. Easy.
But once they entered Versus Mode, everything changed completely.
With orders pouring in and intense background audio, an inexplicable tension filled the air.
It felt as if they were standing in a noisy restaurant kitchen, surrounded by impatient customers waiting in line.
Unlike the tutorial, this mode mixed everything togetherâcooking, chopping, washing dishes, all at once.
More crucially, the two players on each team were separated.
This meant that as independent individuals, they couldnât coordinate perfectly on any single task.
Chaos erupted instantly.
âZhuangzhuang, chop the meat! Chop it now!â Liuliu, gripping her controller, shouted at Zhuangzhuang sitting beside her.
âSis, stop rushing me! Youâre flinging dishes everywhere! You havenât even washed the platesâwhat good is chopped meat if the dishes arenât ready? And canât you chop meat inside too?â Zhuangzhuang, using the keyboard, launched into a chattering-style grumble.
âWhat did you say?â Liuliu glared angrily at her brother sitting right next to her.
âN-Nothing⌠nothing. Sis, Iâm delivering food, delivering!â Zhuangzhuang shrank his neck in fear, suddenly remembering that although they were using headsets and voice chat, his actual sister was right beside him.
Already flustered, being scolded by his own sister only made Zhuangzhuang more confused. Dazed, he picked up an unfinished dish and handed it to the serving window.
âZhuangzhuang, wake up! Wake up! This dish isnât done yetâwhy are you serving it?! And thatâs not even our windowâitâs the opponentâs!â Liuliu stared in disbelief as Zhuangzhuang handed over the incomplete dish.
Meanwhile, Dong Zhen and A'Shu werenât faring any better.
âSquad Leader Dong, weâre selling food hereâcould you stop throwing ingredients on the floor all the time? This isnât an India kitchen!â
âForget the food! Squad Leader A'Shu, hurry up! What the heck, the place is on fire, and youâre still picking up vegetables? Put out the fire already!!â
âItâs not my faultâthe fire spread from next door! And wasnât that ingredient you threw on the ground in the first place?!â
âHow is it my fault you didnât catch it?!â
âYou seriously blaming me? You never put it on the tableâalways tossing it on the floor!â
Thus, over one small incident, they began arguing.
Yelling while cooking, they only became more chaotic.
With constant order reminders piling up, the entire kitchen descended into utter Chaos.
Viewers, watching the mayhem unfold in the live stream room, burst into laughter.
âHaha, the Da Zhou siblings have gone from inseparable to nearly broken!â
âThe Taiyuan Flame Blade and the Babao Dong Family Spear are on the verge of splitting!â
â233333, this is hilarious.â
âIs this game really supposed to strengthen relationships? Looks like theyâre about to start fighting!â
âIsnât it strengthening relationships? Look at how red the old manâs face is!â
âThis isnât Overcookedâitâs Arguing Kitchen!â
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