MSS 04

Malicious Sniping Streaming (4)

Day 1 of the live broadcast.

A rookie streamer crossed the line with an outrageous insult.

Normally, this would’ve just ended as gossip on community forums.

If he hadn’t been an 800,000-subscriber YouTuber, that is.

<Internet Streaming Gone Too Far: Trash-Talking a Player’s Parents Over a Game?>

— The dark side of YouTubers, ranked as the number one dream job among teenagers, is now revealed.

Is it really okay to rack up views with indiscriminate insults? Experts point out flaws in the revenue system based solely on views, and…

You’re asking if I actually went looking for all these petty internet news articles?

Sorry, but I didn’t.

Someone forced my mouth open and spoon-fed me the news.

「Thank you, Hwangjegeom-Downfall-Sphinx-nim, for the 5,700 won video donation!」

“Oh, uh… thank you, Hwangjegeom-Downfa… ehem. Thank you for the video donation.”

— To Wizard-nim, who must have been deeply hurt by my words, and to countless viewers, I sincerely apologize. We were only in discussion about a contract and had absolutely nothing to do with Akdong MCN… what, you’re asking if I’m reading this? F**, then who’s supposed to read this whole wall of text…*

While reading the apology letter live, Hwangjegeom slammed his fist on the desk and hastily ended the video.

“Come on, I told you not to send me these videos. If you keep this up, people are going to misunderstand and think I really ruined his career!”

「?」
「?」
「Mis?understanding」
「Hmm, is it really a misunderstanding?」
「Oh yeah」
「Haha oh yeah?」
「Yeah it’s oh yeah—it’s a party!」

“Okay, that’s enough. I’m closing video donations.”

「Nooo don’t」
「I still have 2 more crying clips of Hwangjegeom to sendㅠㅠ」
「…The world is cruel, why won’t anyone open video donations」
「Justice dies」
「Streamer, hurry up and open them again!」

“Alright, time to buy items and head to teamfight. We’re behind, but if we play it well…”

[Starting surrender vote.]
— Yes / No

“Wait, hold on—”

[Your team has surrendered. / Yes: 4, No: 1]

「LMAOOOOOOOOOO」
「HAHAHAHAHAHA」
「This is too funny」
「Next game, next game」
「Streamer, when are you going to show us a real teamfight?」

“Unbelievable… okay, let’s queue up again right away.”

(Viewers: 320)

His first stream had peaked at 7,000 viewers, thanks to unintended controversy.

Compared to that, 320 looked small—but this was only his second week of streaming.

For a PC game streamer, this was already more than enough.

Honestly, thinking back, Hwangjegeom really was an incredible figure in many ways.

“Why isn’t it matching me? I’ve already been waiting 15 minutes!”

「Who even plays PC games anymore lol」
「For realㅋㅋ」
「Last month was a miracle」
「Didn’t they update the matchmaking system? Still this bad?」
「Wow, still patching? Truly a classic masterpiece」

“Oh, it matched. Looks like the roles are messed up, but let’s just go.”

[Welcome to the Battlefield of Heroes.]

Playing as <Chain Mage>, he looked for a chance at a solo kill.

At level 3 he chipped away HP, at level 5 he lined up the kill…

But—why weren’t they dodging skills?

[First Blood!]
[You have slain an enemy!]

「??」
「?」
「What’s going on?」
「LOL THIS is supposed to be Korea’s Diamond rank?」
「The playerbase shrank so much Diamond turned into Legend rank average」

「Thank you ○○ for the 1,000 won donation!」
▶ Breaking News: Checked enemy ranks, they’re Gold II

“Huh? No way, I’m almost Master. How does it match me with Golds?”

「Thank you ○○ for the 1,000 won donation!」
▶ Oh? Low-tier bullying… this is just like HwangXgeom…

「Gasp」
「Oh my god」
「Hahahahaha HwangXgeom 2.0」
「Sphinx/Controversy」
「Low-tier stomping is disappointing, Pinkseu. I was your first subscriber but I’m canceling next month」
「So Pinkseu is going downhill too」
「Farewell, we can’t protect you from this」

“The system matched me with them, how is this bullying? And as for that person… I didn’t ruin him, he tripped on a stone himself.”

「Yeah… but he tripped and died instantly」
「Too bad the stone was named Malicious Sphinx」
「<<<<The man who killed him with no respawn」
「Still, we don’t miss you HwangXgeom」

“Looks like I’ll have to wait for a matchmaking hotfix. I’ll end stream here for today. Pingbye.”

「Ending stream again… it’s a habit」
「Pingbye」
「Pingbye~」
「Noooㅠㅠ if you leave there’s no more Legends of Heroes streams」
「Pingbye」

[Stream has ended.]

“Whew…”

He pulled away the blackout curtains he’d installed as soundproofing, removed the smartphone acting as his camera, and replayed the stream.

The room’s too dark. Compared to other streams, my audio is terrible.

He had lost the viewers who flocked to his first broadcast for a reason.

To make streaming a career, he needed upgrades: sound booth, camera, mic, lighting…

Or rather, just one purchase would solve everything—

a state-of-the-art all-in-one VR capsule.

Checking the official site, his eyes widened.

A usable streaming model cost 25 million won.
The latest high-graphic model went up to 30 million won.

So yeah, VR really was called “the world of the rich kids.”

Unconsciously, his eyes shifted to his smartphone.

…Should I?

He circled the room with the phone in hand, then finally pressed call.

—“Well, this is rare. You calling me first.”

The icy, perfect voice made him question if they really shared the same genes.

“…Did you have dinner?”

—“I’m busy. State your business.”

“I, uh… want to try something. I need a VR capsule. You might not know, but it’s for internet streaming—”

—“Sigh. Still wasting your life.”

“…What?”

—“Never mind. I’ll send the money. Just know this: even with your advantages, you’re far behind your peers.”

“Your way isn’t the only path in life.”

—“Don’t bring up dead topics. I’ll wait until the end of this year. Do what you want, but wrap it up by then.”

The call ended with a cold notice.

He exhaled the breath he’d been holding.

“Seriously… am I really his son?”

His father clearly understood the value of streamers—the company logo always appeared in the background of major 20,000-viewer streams.

Yet he hadn’t even asked what name his son would stream under.

Checking his stats: two weeks, PC game only, 300 viewers average.

No sponsor would ever look at numbers like this.

“Forget it. I’ll make it on my own.”

Then:
―Deposit: 50,000,000 won

…Well.

It’s not like he had to return it immediately, right?

Soon he was on the phone again.

—“Hello, this is Nano Capsule Korea. Is this Mr. Park Yuseong ordering the X-23 capsule?”
“Yes, that’s me. This is the latest model, right?”
—“Correct. It’s our newest model.”
“Install every available option, and can it be delivered today?”
—“Yes, we offer same-day delivery and setup.”

The power of money was overwhelming.

With one click: sound booth, camera, mic, lighting, VR—all solved.

“Damn, just look at this beauty.”

The X-23 Super Premier Full-Option Nano Capsule stood gleaming.

For the first time, he felt a flicker of filial piety.

“Guess Dad was right to be pissed. I really did live like a mess.”

He jumped in and started it up.

With a floating sensation, he activated the “live stream recommended setup”.

The view changed instantly—chat popped up.

「Whoa, late-night stream?」
「Didn’t you say no sound booth so no midnight streams?」
「Wait… your cam looks heavily filtered.」
「Don’t tell me you bought a capsule?」

“Yep, used Dad’s money. Time to step into VR gaming.”

「Oof, that’s not cheap」
「I can hear your dad’s spine breaking」
「Blessed fatherㅠㅠ」

「Thank you ○○ for the 1,000 won donation!」
▶ Sphinx-nim, how could you? Your father must be working non-stop, barely eating…

“Nonsense. My dad is ridiculously punctual about meals.”

「Thank you ○○ for the 1,000 won donation!」
▶ Have you ever played VR before?

“VR, yes. But not VR games. I mostly played Legends of Heroes.”

「LOL 2000 matches in one season」
「Wait, 2000? Is that even possible?」
「Don’t mention he still didn’t hit Master」
「Haha, I even saw someone play 4000 games once」

“Anyway, for my first VR game, I decided to go with what’s trending.”

「Ohhh」
「Don’t tell me… Beast?」
「That Star Wars ripoff LOL」

“Yeah, that’s the one. Beast: Ruler of All Things. Streamers get to try it a week early, so I signed up.”

「Heh, tough road ahead」
「Didn’t you say this is your first VR game?」
「Haha you’re in for suffering」
「They made it even harder than the test build」

“It’s just a game, how hard can it be? Haven’t you seen me on Legends of Heroes? I’m good.”

「LMAO sure buddy」
「VR isn’t easy」
「???: If only I had my mouse and keyboard…」
「Bet it’ll take you 2 hours just to use your first skill」

「Thank you ○○ for the 1,000 won donation!」
▶ Did you install it?

“Of course. Otherwise I’d just be chatting and ending stream.”

[This account is not authorized.]

“…Huh?”

「LOOOOOOL」
「Why are streamers always like thisㅋㅋㅋ」
「You said everything was ready!」
「Screaminggg streamer!!」
「How do you install and forget to apply?!」

“No, look. Here’s the email—they approved me after verifying my streamer status!”

Viewers fell silent, realizing something was off.

「Weird. If they approved, why deny access?」
「Maybe because you’re not a partner?」
「Nah, I saw a 15-viewer small fry get in」
「So why only Pinkseu…」

「Thank you ○○ for the 1,000 won donation!」
▶ Haha maybe you’re blacklisted? Project AD is Akdong MCN’s parent company.

“…What? Project AD? That’s the developer!”

「Wait WHAT」
「Holy sh*t, Akdong MCN’s parent company was the game dev??」
「Petty af」
「???: You dare cross us? Time to kill the small fry」
「The curse of HwangXgeom lives on」

Either way, it was trouble.

His first VR broadcast had blown up before it even began.

[Switching to Mouse & Keyboard mode.]

He searched for another game on the virtual desktop.

「Old man vibes lol」
「Bro, you’re in a capsule, why are you calling up a virtual keyboard?」
「Just use voice and hand input!!」

“What was that game again? The one like Beast?”

「God of Star War?」
「Basically identical, just different maps and models」
「Project AD, the masters of plagiarism」

Checking online, the viewers were right.

Review consensus: Beast was a blatant copy of God of Star War.

“Well then, we have no choice. Everyone watching on YouTube, give me a ‘HelloTube!’”

「?」
「??」
「?」
「HelloTube!」
「He… HelloTube?」
「LOL you don’t even have a YouTube channel」

“Today’s content: a direct comparison of Project AD’s new title Beast: Ruler of All Things with God of Star War to see just how identical they really are.”

「This guy is insane HAHAHA」
「So malicious omg」
「Straight up execution」
「???: Project AD, you dare mess with me? Want to end up like HwangXgeom?」

[Installing God of Star War.]

“First, we have to play it to compare. Since I know nothing about VR games, I’ll start by experiencing God of Star War myself.”

「Streamerㅋㅋ say goodbye to Project AD sponsorship forever」

“Who cares, I’m a small fry anyway. No sponsors coming my way. As soon as it’s installed—let the Malicious Sniping Stream begin!”

「Thank you ○○ for the 1,000 won donation!」
▶ LOL he doesn’t even try to hide he’s malicious anymore