I Can Only Cultivate In A Game

Victor leaned back in his chair with a soft grin on his face as he scrolled through the endless flood of comments.

"You're amazing!"

"Dude, that save was INSANE!"

"Real-life hero vibes."

Victor chuckled and even replied to a few:

Thanks! Appreciate the love. Glad the kids are safe. Just doing what I can.

He'd intended to log back into Ascendant Realms immediately after, but as he stretched and glanced out the window, sunlight poured through the curtains.

"Damn. Morning already?"

He sighed before closing the laptop and stepping away to get his day started. After all, it wasn't every day your video hit the front page of nearly every platform. But still, chores didn't do themselves.

He moved around the house, washing up, sweeping the backyard, even helping his mom organize a few things in the attic.

With qi enhancements, it took him less than half the usual time.

Once everything was done, he grabbed a quick snack—a couple of toast slices and some chilled juice.

He returned to his room, munched and settled on his bed again, deciding today would be all about Ascendant Realms.

He still hadn't found out what the City Lord truly wanted, and with his Void Emperor Bloodline fully unlocked, he was eager to test it out.

But just before he could place the helmet on his head, curiosity struck.

"Let me check the video one last time."

He picked up his phone and navigated to his channel. His eyes widened.

11.3 million views.

And counting.

"Holy—" he muttered while grinning.

Notifications swarmed in with new subscribers, likes, and even messages from people asking for interviews. A new prompt blinked at the top:

[Your channel is now eligible for monetization. Set up your account now.]

"Finally! Let's get that sweet money."

Victor clicked on the settings, ready to fill in his details. But just as he was halfway through the form, a new notification popped up.

[Account banned for copyright infringement.]

He froze.

"Wait. What?"

He refreshed the page. It booted him off. The screen flashed again.

[This channel has been removed due to multiple copyright violations. If you believe this is a mistake, click here to appeal.]

Victor slammed his hand on the desk.

"What the fuck?!"

He opened a new tab and typed furiously, trying to understand what had happened. It didn't take long. On the trending page, he found it.

Another channel.

Victor Awakened Official

With his face.

His videos.

His name.

The fake had even posted a new video with his face smiling, saying, "Hey everyone, just letting you know THIS is my only official channel. All others are impersonators. Thanks for the support!"

Victor's mouth fell open.

It was him. Or rather, it looked exactly like him.

"How the hell did they do this? Deepfake? AI clone? What?!"

He couldn't deny that this looked 100% authentic...

Worse, this imposter had reported him for copyright. And the platform believed it.

Victor filed an immediate appeal, adding all the proof he could gather—timestamps, messages, even back-end data.

A few minutes later, a reply arrived.

[Appeal Rejected: Evidence insufficient. Channel removal is final.]

Victor stood up in disbelief and began pacing the room.

He created a backup account, went to the fake channel, and commented:

This is a fake channel. The real Victor is me.

The comment vanished within seconds.

"They're blocking my comments too?!"

Frustration bubbled over. He opened the group chat.

Victor: Guys. We have a problem.

It only took seconds.

Danny: What's wrong?

Max: Yeah, you good?

Jake: What happened?

Victor: My account got banned. Some faker made a channel using my face and videos. Said I was the imposter. They got mine taken down.

Danny: WHAT?

Max: That's bull!

Jake: We're coming. Don't do anything till we get there.

Victor sighed and sat back.

His viral moment was turning into a nightmare.

Victor paced the length of his room with his phone in hand, while his group chat exploded with messages.

He barely had time to read everything before a loud series of knocks echoed from the front door. He opened it to find Danny, Jake, and Max standing there, all with tense expressions.

"Let us in," Danny said grimly.

The moment they stepped into the living room, Victor began explaining everything. His stolen identity, the deleted channel, the fake account with millions of views and even a new video telling people that all other channels were impersonators.

Max was furious. "He's monetizing your face! And people are giving him money! This is theft!"

Jake had already started checking his laptop. "It's worse than that. He's verified now. And it says he submitted identification that was verified by the platform."

Victor rubbed his forehead. "How the hell did he even get something like that approved? He looks exactly like me. I don't get it."

Danny cracked his knuckles. "Let's not waste time. You said there's a Ytube office in the city?"

"Yeah. Jake found the address."

"Then let's move."

They left quickly and hopped on a public hover-tram to the central business sector.

The boys arrived outside a ten storey tall structure emblazoned with a holographic sign that read: Ytube Satellite Division – Blueflame City.

The building reflected the luminous lights of the bustling plaza it was nestled in.

Giant screens on the sides played a looping reel of the latest viral videos, dances, stunts, awakening showcases, and news bulletins.

A crowd of people—some influencers in flashy clothing, some managers with desperate expressions—buzzed around the entrance.

Inside, the atmosphere was even more chaotic. Rows of seating were filled with anxious visitors clutching number tags.

Holographic displays floated above terminals, where facial recognition kiosks processed entries and assigned wait numbers.

Assistants in green uniforms zipped around the circular lobby, guiding people and answering complaints. On one side of the vast room was a glass panel wall displaying a real-time data feed of viral videos across multiple cities.

Victor and the boys grabbed their numbered tags—

The current number being served was #203.

They groaned collectively.

"This is gonna take forever," Jake muttered while looking for a seat.