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A man in China has left people speechless after stealing and dipping into his family's life savings to pay a streamer $550,000 – just to call him "brother".
The man, only identified by his surname Hong by the SCMP, reportedly started stealing materials before selling them to waste recycling stations.
The factory reported suspected theft between May and October which led to an investigation. Hong eventually handed himself in, initially admitting to two thefts.
His transactions were later uncovered and showed a staggering amount of money being paid to a famous streamer, whose identity remains undisclosed.
Around $316,000 of the stolen cash was allegedly sent to her and further tips out of his savings.
"I didn’t want to meet her; I just wanted to hear her call me ‘brother,'" he reportedly admitted.
Hong resorted to eating plain steamed buns to recover from the financial damage.
Over on social media, one person called it "absolute insanity," while another suggested: "Unfortunately, it is not the first time we hear of folks giving subs or money to a streamer because they want the streamer to say their name."
A third wrote: "I had to read this twice just to make sure I wasn’t the crazy one."
Meanwhile, a fourth humoured: "'Bro.' Now where’s my money?"
Elsewhere, popular streamer Amouranth has proven how lucrative streaming actually is.
As one of the most-watched women on Kick and Twitch, Amouranth - real name Kaitlyn Siragusa - has profited from this online success (which includes earnings from OnlyFans, and launching her own beer).
The streamer recently displayed her Bitcoin wallet wallet in a post asking her followers if she should sell or hold on to her cryptocurrency that has earned her an eye-watering $20 million.
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