Watching the growing number of viewers on his stream, Mavi sat in front of his computer and opened "Counter-Strike: PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds." He logged into his account and created a male character named "Mavi."
The stream's viewer count had already climbed to 2,000. Many people were waiting to see how he was going to spend $200,000 on a single game!
"Alright, we've successfully created the character. Now I'll log into the store and top up with $200,000 as a little test. Let's see if this is enough to collect all the cosmetic items," Mavi said, casually adding $200,000 to his account.
The 2,000-plus viewers in the stream were speechless. The richest guy on V-Ke was truly a high-roller, spending six figures just to play a game. The average player might only spend $49, so the difference was just staggering.
After topping up, Mavi scanned the in-game store.
In this version of PUBG, paid loot boxes and rare boxes could be traded between players and were also sold in the in-game store.
However, since the game had just launched, the paid boxes players obtained were of the lower-level variety. The ultra-rare cosmetic items were in boxes priced at over $500, which could only be purchased in limited quantities from the store. (Mavi had set a new rule for this PUBG version—rare boxes had a limit of 29 and refreshed only once every five days. He felt there was no point in just copying the previous version).
In addition to the high price of the boxes, the chance of getting a cosmetic item was also very low. Even a specific "set box" didn't guarantee you'd get the S-class rare set. The drop rate was even lower than the original "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds," so the in-game clothing was several times more expensive than real-life clothes. This baffled many non-gamers and completely shattered their perception of value.
"A 'Black School Uniform Set' box costs $998? A 'Drill Sergeant' set box is $600? A 'Blue School Uniform Set' box is $899? And a 'Superstar Set' box is $1,999?! Are they crazy? You could buy real clothes with that money!"
Some viewers in the stream couldn't understand it. They couldn't comprehend the world of the ultra-rich or imagine who would be willing to spend so much money on a video game.
After browsing the store, Mavi clicked his mouse to sort all the boxes from highest to lowest price. He filtered out the 10 most expensive S-class rare item boxes and bought them all without hesitation!
"You're about to buy 29 'Superstar Set' boxes for a total of $57,971. Do you want to continue?" The in-game store prompted.
"Yes!" Mavi clicked the button in front of all his viewers. That single click was the equivalent of a year, or even two years' salary for many people! The viewers felt a shiver of dread. The world of the rich was just too insane.
"Purchase successful! You spent $57,971. Your current account balance is $142,029."
Mavi had wiped out the stock of the 29 most expensive boxes, their inventory instantly dropping to zero. He didn't open them right away. Instead, he continued his shopping spree, buying up the top ten boxes one by one.
"You're about to buy 29 'Pink School Uniform Set' boxes for a total of $32,915. Do you want to continue?"
"Yes!"
"You're about to buy 29 'Black School Uniform Set' boxes for a total of $28,942. Do you want to continue?"
"Yes!"
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In less than five minutes, Mavi had spent all $200,000 in his account, buying 300 S-class rare boxes and their corresponding keys. The stream's viewer count had now climbed to 3,900. People watching were dumbfounded by Mavi's crazy spending, realizing that the world of the rich was so terrifying that even playing a game was beyond their wildest imagination.
"WTF! Are we playing the same game, streamer?! I bought the game key for 'Counter-Strike: PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds,' and I just logged in and checked. The 10 most expensive boxes in the store are all sold out!"
"Emmm, let's be friends, rich guy! I'll be your friend for life!"
"He spent $200,000 on a game that only costs $49? If I didn't see it with my own eyes, I would never have believed it!"
The viewers' comments were flying. It's safe to say Mavi was the only person in the world who would spend so much on in-game purchases. And for the next five days, no one would be able to surpass him, since the store's boxes only refreshed once a week. Other boxes, or even other games, couldn't match this level of extravagance.
After buying the 300 S-class rare boxes, Mavi began his massive unboxing session, opening them all in one go to see how many rare items he could get.
"Congratulations! You've obtained the S-class rare item! School Uniform Shirt (male)!"
"Congratulations! You've obtained the S-class rare item! Black Bulletproof Mask!"
"Congratulations! You've obtained the S-class rare item! Blue New-Style Jacket (male)!"
"Congratulations! You've obtained the S-class rare item! Red Superstar Hoodie!"
The mesmerizing special effects from the unboxing had viewers glued to their screens, unable to look away from the spectacle of wealth.
The S-class item, the Black Bulletproof Mask, was so rare that it could sell for $4,000 on the PC version. The S-class rare Blue New-Style Jacket was even more expensive, going for no less than $6,000 (Mavi had lowered the drop rates in this version, so the prices would naturally soar).
As for the Red Superstar Hoodie, it was an S-class limited-edition item that could sell for $40,000! In the previous version, a popular celebrity had once shown off this special cosmetic on their social media. Besides its epic rarity, it also had a hidden ability—an "absolute taunt."
Wearing this special cosmetic would make your teammates want to kill you and would instantly make you a target for every enemy on the map. The taunt ability was so powerful that unless you were a PUBG pro, you'd likely be eliminated instantly.
"What the heck, streamer! Will you sell me that Red Superstar Hoodie? I'll give you $5,000 for it!" a player who knew how rare the item was tried to get a good deal from Mavi. But of course, the rich Mavi had no interest in that amount of money. Even if he were offered $50,000, he wouldn't bother with the trade.
Mavi, sitting in front of his computer, looked at his in-game inventory and saw that many of the clothes were still locked. It was not a satisfying sight.