What had initially seemed like an open-and-shut case of a troll's internet scam was violently torn open by the girl's heart-wrenching cries and the frail body she threw in front of the camera.
That suffocating, genuine panic and despair was absolutely not something a teenage girl could fake out of thin air.
In the livestream, the thousands of viewers who had just been righteously hammering their keyboards to condemn the "fat liar" fell into an eerie, dead silence.
It took several seconds before a volcanic eruption of a new chat feed swept across the screen, threatening to overwhelm it entirely.
[Viewer "Liver Emperor Who Stays Up Late": Holy crap, holy crap! My brain is completely fried! What the hell is going on?! Does this chubby kid actually have a sister?]
[Viewer "Wild Electabuzz": My head is itching; I feel like I'm growing a new brain! This plot twist is crazier than a roller coaster. TV shows wouldn't even dare script this!]
[Viewer "Soaking Goji Berries in a Thermos": Look at the little girl's clothes. That T-shirt is way too big, and the collar is frayed from washing. There's no way she's a hired extra!]
[Viewer "Outlaw John Doe": Crap, bros! With our crazy flaming just now, did we actually cyberbully two pitiful victims? Why do I feel like the villain now?]
[Viewer "Not Getting Drunk Late at Night": But that kid using a voice changer to scam people is a hard fact! What kind of shady business is hiding here? Streamer, I really can't tell anymore!]
[Viewer "Crimson Moon Descends": On the internet, truth and lies are blurred. Never just look at the surface. Streamer, stabilize the situation first. Don't jump to conclusions; test the waters and see what's really going on.]
[Viewer "Melon-Eating Cha": Uhh..., even though we don't know the truth yet, watching that little sister cry so miserably while desperately protecting her brother is breaking my heart.]
[Viewer "Keyboard Saves the World": Streamer, hurry up and ask clearly! What kind of act are these siblings putting on? My curiosity is exploding!]
Miles watched the frantically scrolling chat feed and took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the nameless anger in his chest from being deceived.
His deep eyes stared intently through the screen at the trembling girl.
As an appraiser backed by the System, he couldn't just see through Pokémon data; his ability to read people far exceeded the norm.
The fiercely protective, hen-like posture the girl took to shield her younger brother, combined with the pure terror bleeding from her bloodshot eyes, conveyed an unmistakable message: she wasn't acting.
If this wasn't a script, the truth of the matter was probably far more complex and lamentable than anyone imagined.
"Little girl, don't panic. Take a deep breath," Miles said, softening his usually strict voice.
He spoke gently, like an older brother comforting a startled animal. "Don't worry, as long as you explain exactly what happened from start to finish without lying, the police won't arbitrarily arrest people. Now, tell me, what exactly is going on?"
Hearing Miles's gentle tone, the little girl's body trembled violently.
Her tear-filled eyes cast a timid glance at the screen before dropping back down in terror.
Her hands twisted tightly together, her lips parting, but for a long time, she couldn't squeeze out a complete sentence.
"We... we... aren't... sob..."
The more anxious she became to explain, the more she stuttered. Finally, tears fell like broken strings of pearls, leaving only helpless whimpers.
Right then, a chubby hand reached out from behind her, gently grasping her trembling shoulder.
The little boy, who had looked rather ridiculous in the glass reflection moments ago, had completely lost his previous arrogance and smugness.
With red eyes and half-dried tear tracks on his face, he carefully pulled his sister to his side.
Then, he picked up the phone and pointed the camera back at himself.
"Streamer... I'm sorry. My sister... she has severe social anxiety. She usually stutters even when saying a single sentence to a stranger, let alone in a livestream with thousands of people watching," the boy explained.
His voice had returned to its natural, crackly, adolescent pitch, heavy with a nasal tone and unconcealed self-blame.
"Whenever she gets nervous, she can't say a word. Actually... more than half of what I told you earlier... was true."
[Viewer "Irritable Snorlax": Holy crap! You still dare to say half of it is true? The blatant favoritism for boys is true?]
[Viewer "Lost Deer in the Woods": The sister has social anxiety? God, no wonder it was so heartbreaking to watch. How much grievance must she have suffered to end up like this!]
[Viewer "Eating Melons without Fearing Trouble": You'd better confess everything truthfully, kid, and stop playing tricks! Otherwise, even the gods won't be able to save you!]
[Viewer "Keyboard Holmes": I told you there was a hidden story! Everyone, don't flame just yet. Let's hear how this kid explains himself!]
[Viewer "Overflowing Love Meowth": As long as you don't use that voice changer again, we can talk properly.]
[Viewer "Iron Fist of Justice": Kid, leniency for those who confess, strictness for those who resist! Thousands of eyes in this chat are watching you!]
[Viewer "Alien Who Dies If Not Staying Up Late": The streamer's psychological game is top-tier. Appease first, interrogate later. Sitting tight for the truth to come to light.]
Miles narrowed his eyes, keenly catching the crucial detail in the boy's words.
"More than half is true? Does that mean the patriarchal favoritism, the differential treatment between the Charmander and the Caterpie—are all those facts?"
He stared unblinkingly into the boy's eyes, trying to find even the slightest trace of evasion.
The boy nodded vigorously, tears once again welling up and streaming down his chubby cheeks.
"It's true... Streamer, I swear, I really wouldn't use something like this to lie to you!"
Sniffling, the boy began to recount the real story hidden behind the voice changer and the lies.
"My parents... they really are biased towards me. They think that because I'm the son of the family, I'm destined for great things. So, to celebrate me getting into the Elite Pokémon High School in the city, they took all their savings to a Premium Breeder and bought me an A-grade Potential Charmander..."
He paused, swallowing hard.
"But my sister... she's clearly a year older than me, her grades are better than mine, and she also dreams of becoming a Trainer."
"But my parents said... they said it's useless for girls to study, and playing with Pokémon is a money sink. They said she'll just get married sooner or later anyway."
The boy grew more agitated as he spoke, his voice brimming with anger at his parents' decision and deep guilt towards his sister.
"Not only are they refusing to let her continue school, but they're planning to send her off to work at a factory in town soon, and her wages will be used to subsidize my tuition..."
"My sister cried and begged them for days. My dad got so annoyed that he went to the mountain behind our house, casually caught a wild Caterpie, and threw it at her. He told her that was her Pokémon, and from now on, whether it lives or dies has nothing to do with our family..."
Hearing this, Miles frowned deeply.
He carefully scrutinized the siblings on the screen once more.
The boy was wearing a bright, flawless, brand-name tracksuit from the latest season, and even had a pair of expensive, limited-edition sneakers on his feet.
In stark contrast, the oversized T-shirt his sister wore behind him was not only severely faded from washing, but the cuffs and collar were frayed.
Her canvas shoes were stained and riddled with holes—clearly hand-me-downs from someone else.
This massive visual discrepancy between two people living in the exact same household, yet seemingly in two entirely different worlds, was a cruel trace of reality that no superb acting skills could ever fake.
Sexism and the preference for sons over daughters—even in this seemingly glamorous Pokémon world, it remained a rotting tumor that was hard to completely eradicate.
"Since all of this is true..." Miles's tone softened slightly, but his gaze remained as sharp as a blade.
"Then why did you use a voice changer? Why did you impersonate your sister? Why did you fabricate that incredibly tragic story to swindle everyone's sympathy? Don't you realize that by doing this, you're squandering the public's goodwill?!"
The boy shrank back, intimidated by Miles's stern questioning.
He lowered his head, his hands gripping his shirt tightly, and his voice dropped to a mosquito-like whisper.
"Because... because my sister is afraid to be on camera. She stutters as soon as she speaks. And..."
The boy bit his lip and looked up. A stubbornness bordering on paranoia now replaced the previous slyness in his eyes.
"And I've watched a lot of Pokémon appraisal streams! Those big streamers would never pay attention to a little kid's connection request!"
"Even if I got connected, if I said I just wanted my sister to have a slightly better Caterpie, no one would care! They'd just think I was wasting their time!"
"I didn't have a choice... I really had no other choice!"
The boy suddenly lost control of his emotions and roared, tears flooding his face.
"I wanted my sister to have a good Pokémon too! Even if it's just a Caterpie, I hoped she could have one with Potential that isn't complete garbage!"
"I know it was wrong to lie," he sobbed. "But if I didn't act pitiful, if I didn't make up something dramatic, how could an appraiser of your level be willing to waste precious time on a bug that can be found anywhere?!"
"I just... I just didn't want to see my sister hiding under her covers crying secretly anymore..."
As if those last words drained every ounce of strength from his body, the boy squatted on the floor, buried his face in his hands, and wailed.
At that moment, the air in the livestream seemed to freeze.
Amidst the boy's hoarse, exhausted cries, everyone fell into a profound, heavy silence.
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