Chapter 166: Five Million Dollars Giveaway
The chat exploded instantly.
[OH SHIT GIVEAWAY?]
[What’s the catch?]
[Follow you on three different platforms? Like everyone else?]
[We gotta dance on stream or something?]
Xavier chuckled. "Nah. Not like everyone else. I’m not gonna make you jump through hoops, follow thirty accounts, or sell your soul. You don’t have to do anything. Anyone watching right now can join. Prizes will be in your account before midnight."
That caught them. The chat slowed just enough for questions to start stacking.
[Wait, so what’s the prize?]
[Is this merch? Credits? A date with You?]
[How do we win?]
Xavier leaned back, letting the moment hang. "Five. Million. Credits."
Silence in the chat for two whole seconds—then absolute chaos.
[YOU’RE JOKING.]
[BRO WTF.]
[I’M STAYING AWAKE FOR THIS.]
[IS THIS LEGAL??]
"Relax," Xavier said, smirking. "It’s simple. We’re gonna play a game. I call it Truth or Trash. I’m gonna throw out a bunch of rapid-fire statements—about me, the city, random history, whatever pops into my head. All you have to do is type T for ’True’ or F for ’Fake’ before the timer runs out on your screen. The faster you answer, the higher your score. The top fifty scorers split the pot evenly. And before you ask—yes, that’s still a hundred thousand each."
The chat exploded.
[OH THIS IS GONNA BE FUN]
[EASY MONEY BABY]
[HE’S GONNA SLIP IN TRAPS, WATCH HIM]
Xavier glanced at the clock—11:24 PM—and his smirk deepened. "Alright. No crying when you lose. The first statement drops in thirty seconds. Let’s see who here actually pays attention."
The countdown ticked down on-screen—00:30... 00:29... 00:28—and Xavier tapped a few keys to bring up the scoreboard overlay. A list of empty usernames waited, ready to start filling.
"Alright," he said, eyes flicking to the camera. "Round one. No warm-ups. Let’s kill some egos."
[START IT ALREADY]
[BRING IT ON]
[WE’RE READY]
"Statement one," Xavier said, leaning forward like he was about to spill a secret. "I once drove a hover-bike through a government checkpoint because I thought the stop sign was a hologram ad."
The timer flashed on the viewers’ screens: 3... 2... 1...
The chat went insane with T and F spam.
Xavier laughed. "That one’s true. I even waved at the guard. He didn’t wave back. Alright—next."
He didn’t give them time to breathe.
"Statement two: Lyra’s real name isn’t Lyra."
[T][F][T][WTF??]
"Fake," Xavier said instantly, grinning at Lyra off-camera. She looked like she wanted to kill him and maybe throw something. "She’s Lyra. Not my fault you guys overthink."
The scoreboard updated—hundreds already dropping in ranks.
"Statement three: The Nexus Tower has no private bathrooms on the first floor."
A beat. People hesitated.
"That one’s... true," Xavier said, deadpan. "Don’t ask how I know. Next."
The feed was now fully locked into the rhythm—three seconds per statement, win or die.
"Four: The fastest recorded time from City Gate East to the Royal Market is twenty-one minutes."
"T!" "F!" The scoreboard shifted violently.
"Fake," Xavier said. "Record’s nineteen minutes. And before you ask—yeah, it was me. Fifth: Angel can’t swim."
[T][F][LMFAO]
"True," Xavier said with a grin. "She sinks like a rock. Next—"
The clock ticked past 11:38 PM. The numbers on the scoreboard were shifting like mad—Xavier could practically feel the heat from the competitive frenzy.
Then he smirked and dropped one designed to nuke half the board.
"Last year, Lucas tried to bribe me with a hover-car to not punch him in the face."
The chat exploded.
"That..." Xavier leaned back, dragging it out just to watch the chaos build. "...is not true. I started living in this city about a month ago, so I didn’t even know him a year ago."
The viewer count spiked even higher. This was snowballing perfectly.
"Alright," Xavier said, spinning his chair a little. "You guys are getting too comfy with the personal trivia. Let’s raise the stakes. You either know this stuff, or you fake it and die on the scoreboard."
[BRING THE CHAOS]
[WE’RE READY]
[HIT US]
"Next question," Xavier said, keeping his face deadly serious. "Sharks existed before trees."
The chat lit up. Some people typed "T," others laughed and spammed emojis.
"True," Xavier said. "They’ve been around for like four hundred million years. And you guys thought biology class was useless."
The scoreboard shuffled—some diehard players already slipping out of the top fifty.
"Question: If you scream for eight years straight, you produce enough sound energy to heat a cup of coffee."
The timer ticked down.
"True," Xavier said, smirking. "It’s in some science article. Don’t try it. Or do. I don’t care."
"Next one: The moon is actually moving closer to Earth every year."
[T][F][F][F]
"Fake," Xavier said instantly. "It’s moving away by like four centimeters a year. Yeah, enjoy your impending loneliness."
A few viewers in chat started accusing him of making that up. Xavier ignored them.
"Next question: Bananas are berries, but strawberries are not."
The chat erupted again.
"True," Xavier said, "and don’t ask me how. Ask fruit scientists or whatever they’re called."
The scoreboard was savage now—most of the original big talkers were gone.
"Another one," Xavier said, leaning forward. "Octopuses have three hearts and blue blood."
[T][T][T]
"True. And two of those hearts stop beating when they swim. Yes, nature’s weird."
It was now 11:49 PM—the scoreboard showed only twelve players left, with the prize pool number in the corner blinking like it was begging to be emptied.
Xavier grinned. "Alright... final round. One question. Winner takes it all."
Xavier’s smirk twisted into something colder. "Alright... last one. If you get this wrong, you’ll wish you didn’t answer at all."
The chat went dead quiet.
"In 2146, the Terran Alliance intercepted a distress signal from Colony Vessel Ark Horizon. Seven thousand souls aboard. By the time the rescue fleet reached it, every single person was gone. No bodies. No damage to the ship. The only thing left was a recorded log from the captain... a single sentence on repeat for seventy-three hours straight. What did it say?"
The timer started ticking. 00:00:30
Chat lit up —
[WHAT THE HELL]
[Is this history or a horror story?]
[Bro I’m not sleeping tonight]
Fifteen seconds left.
Answers came fast — "We opened the wrong door." "They’re not dead, they’re behind me." "It’s not our ship anymore." "I am gay."
00:00:05
Xavier leaned forward, his voice dropping into a whisper. "The correct answer was... We brought something back."
Some of the fans started complaining.
"This wasn’t a truth or false question."
"You cheated."
Xavier chuckled and said, "Don’t worry guys, I am still gonna distribute the prize. I just wanted to have some fun time with you all, that’s all."
"Congrats, everyone who won," Xavier said. "Five mil transferred before the clock hits twelve." He tapped a few things on his side monitor, and a confirmation ping popped up for everyone to see. "Told you guys I don’t play around. And hey, use the money wisely, you all. Don’t gamble it."
The chat went insane — people spamming [HOLY SHIT], [LEGEND], and [I’M NEXT] while the winners dropped a string of crying emojis and thank-yous.
Xavier gave a lazy wave to the camera. "Alright. I’m out. Midnight’s here, money’s gone, and I’m going to sleep before someone else tries to kill me. Night."
The stream ended.