Chapter 46: Just Try

There was still no reply from Archer. Summer also hadn’t seen him anywhere in her livestream’s comment section, so maybe he was busy fighting monsters in another polluted zone.

"Hold still," Summer said to the young girl sitting in front of her. "It’s going to sting a little."

The girl nodded nervously. Summer pressed an alcohol-soaked cotton pad against the wound on her knee, but the cut was deeper than it first looked so the moment the alcohol touched it, the girl hissed and gripped the edge of the chair.

"What’s your name?" Summer finally asked, trying to ease the tension between them and keep the young girl from focusing too much on the pain.

"F-Julie," she replied so quietly that Summer could barely hear her.

Based on her badge, she was a D-Rank Guide, and since her academy uniform jacket still looked almost brand new, Summer guessed that she had probably only recently received her certification to enter polluted zones.

Maybe she was still a student at the academy too.

"Are you a student? You look quite young," Summer asked without looking at her.

Julie lowered her gaze a little before replying shyly, "Yes. I’m a second-year student at the Academy."

Summer stopped moving for a while.

If she remembered correctly, students in this world normally studied for five years before graduating. A few could finish earlier, but only if they were extremely talented.

"Isn’t the academy only supposed to require you to enter polluted zones in your fourth year?" Summer asked again, this time lifting her head.

If Julie had been S-Rank or above, Summer could have understood why she was allowed to enter a polluted zone earlier than she should have.

But unfortunately, Julie was clearly a student who should not have entered one this early.

"It’s just..." She lowered her head even more and whispered, "I needed money to help pay my family’s debt, so I joined a team I found online. They told me we were going to an F-Rank zone, so I thought it would be okay."

Her fingers tightened around her clothes. "But at the last minute, the leader told me we were going to a D-Rank polluted zone instead."

"He had already registered my name and ID number into the system," Julie continued. "If I backed out, I had to pay half of the basic mission payment."

Her voice became smaller. "But I don’t have that kind of money."

The basic payment for a D-Rank Zone was 30,000 Credits. Half of that was 15,000 Credits, or around $1,500.

For veteran Sentinels and Guides, that amount might not seem like much, but for someone who had only just stepped into this field? It was a lot.

"Who is your leader?" Summer asked.

Julie slowly raised her hand and pointed toward the man with the piece of metal stuck in his leg.

Summer clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes.

Seriously? If she had known this earlier, she wouldn’t have spent so much time wondering how to get him out of here as quickly as possible.

"Julie, you can’t just trust people you meet online," Summer scolded her, though she tried not to sound too harsh. "You’re lucky you’re still alive right now."

If she and Ilya hadn’t been here, Julie might already have ended up inside the stomach of some polluted creature.

"I know..." Julie’s lips trembled slightly, and she finally couldn’t stop herself from crying. "But I was desperate. My older brother gambled away our family’s house, and if we don’t get the money by next month, my parents will become homeless."

Inside the stream, the comment section was already enraged.

Inside the livestream, the comment section was already furious.

[WAIT, her brother gambled away the HOUSE?!]

[I know Julie! Same year at the Academy!]

[Her brother’s a C-Rank Sentinel.]

[C-RANK?! Then why is SHE the one here?!]

[Because he barely takes missions. Dude hates fighting.]

[Their dad is paralyzed too.]

[And he STILL doesn’t help?!]

[No money. No care. Just gambling.]

[Oh hell no.]

[Julie, that debt is NOT yours!]

Summer stared at the comments for a few seconds before slowly looking at Julie.

The girl had lowered her head so much that Summer could barely see her face.

"Have you ever thought about livestreaming?" Summer suddenly asked.

Julie pressed her lips together and whispered, "I don’t think I’m good enough for that. I’m not even... as pretty as you."

Summer frowned because the last part wasn’t true at all.

Julie was actually pretty cute. She had short blonde bobbed hair, sparkling blue eyes, and small freckles scattered across her cheeks.

Even if she only streamed missions in F-Rank or D-Rank zones, Summer was pretty sure Julie could still gain her own viewers.

The only problem was her personality.

Julie was so shy that some viewers might get impatient if she stayed quiet the entire time.

Still, that was something she could work on.

"Who even decides what counts as good enough anyway?" Summer asked. "As long as you have something people want to watch, that’s enough."

Julie slowly looked up. "But I’m only D-Rank."

"So?" Summer continued. "You don’t have to be S-Rank to get views."

She paused her livestream for a moment before adding, "Sometimes, having a fun personality is enough to make people like you."

Even Saddie had managed to get a lot of Super Gifts after going broke.

Julie might not be as strong as Saddie, but she was still young. She had plenty of time to grow and figure out what kind of streamer she wanted to be.

"Just try," Summer said at last. "You’ll never know what happens unless you give it a chance."

The debt wasn’t really Julie’s responsibility, but Summer knew that family problems were never that simple.

Family was always a sensitive topic.

So instead of telling Julie to just ignore the debt and walk away from it, Summer thought it would be better to give her another option.

Julie let out a soft sigh, then nodded. "I’ll try my best."

"And please, don’t find your teammates online again," Summer reminded her.

Julie chuckled softly. "I won’t."

"Alright then, let’s clean your wound, and maybe you can help me take care of the others too," Summer said. "Don’t worry, I’ll give you a tip."