Chapter 46: Whack-a-Mole

[Calm down! This is a trap by the host!]

[Everyone, RUN FOR COVER!]

[You answer the question, and then get banned? Is this even fair? My nerves are shaking, seriously]

[Is this… a dictatorship in the style of a hero of light?]

When one person was banned, the chat became lively and chaotic.

The trembling, baby bird-like behavior was surprisingly endearing.

For the first time, I realized that mere letters could seem so cute.

Well, the uncomfortable truth was that most of the viewers typing out these cute messages were probably gruff men.

Not that it was something worth paying attention to.

***

[ChiliConCane has completed the mission! ₩105,000 deposited!

I can’t believe you took down more than 100 of them, Sensei.]

[Spending over ₩100,000 on one mission?]

[Earning money is so easy, isn’t it?]

[Catch 100 underlings, and you make a decent day’s wage.]

[Cost-effectiveness off the charts.]

‘More than 100,000 won, huh…’

Completing a mission gives a streamer an enormous sense of accomplishment.

It proved they had the skills to complete a game-related challenge.

With pride swelling to the top of my head, it felt like my nose was piercing the sky.

Besides, while I wasn’t desperate for money, extra cash is always welcome.

After quickly cleaning up the battlefield, I entered the public room to sever the lifeline of a “Noob Lord” with 30,000 matches under their belt.

Scrolling through the list of rooms, I came across one titled “Your Mom.”

When I clicked it, a password entry screen popped up.

“What’s the password again?”

[If we tell you, you’ll kick us out, you jerk.]

[Hey, do we look like suckers to you?]

[Not a chance! Never!]

The chat exploded with indignant reactions.

“I’m kidding; I know the password. 6974.”

[That… that jerk… why even ask if you know it?]

[Hearing you say 6974, though… priceless.]

[From now on, this is my alarm sound.]

[Amazing morning inspiration, huh?]

[Shh! No one touches the host!]

Ignoring the barrage of messages, I entered the password.

A familiar ID appeared before me.

The map was the same as the previous round: Fighting Spirit.

Since the map loaded immediately without a download, it didn’t seem like the host was pulling any shady tricks.

No scam maps, for example.

***

yaSergei: “You’re here, you little brat. ^^”

He welcomed me with an unusually aggressive greeting.

yaSergei: “I’m pulling out my main race.”

yaSergei: “I was once known as the Legend of Autumn.”

yaSergei: “Admit defeat now.”

His chosen race was Protoss.

A PC café league winner and self-proclaimed legend of autumn?

Quite a fancy title.

In that case, I needed to switch things up too.

I chose Zerg.

We ended up swapping our usual races.

Friede777: “GG.”

yaSergei: “Look at this brat, switching races.”

yaSergei: “If you hadn’t fallen behind early, you’d be done in 10 minutes, you noob.”

Friede777: “^^”

Friede777: “Next up, 100 underling deaths for you.”

yaSergei: “If I lose here, I’ll delete my ID, I swear.”

A bold declaration.

Even I was impressed by his audacity, so the chat’s reactions were predictable.

[Another character deletion match?]

[This is giving me a headache… deja vu?]

[Sis, don’t play around this time; just crush him.]

[A character with 30,000 matches on the line? This is rare.]

[If he loses here, isn’t he just gonna rage quit?]

[Does a 30,000-match noob think he’s invincible?]

[Let’s be real, 30,000 matches still makes him a noob.]

***

The game began quickly.

This time, I spawned at the 1 o’clock position.

Unfortunately, my color was yellow.

A yellow Zerg.

This felt meaningful since it was the signature color of a famous professional Zerg player.

‘Was it a deliberate setup?’

No need to overthink it.

‘For now, I’ll match the fierce reputation of yellow Zergs by ending this game quickly.’

“Let’s try to wrap this up early.”

[Oh, Friede’s calling for an early rush.]

[The rush queen Friede, here we go!]

[Will you go for a 4-drone rush?]

[Can you even pull off a 6-drone rush now?]

[Sis doesn’t seem like the type to regret or dwell on things.]

Since I had switched races, I decided to play the same strategy as the previous match.

That way, I could give him a proper lesson.

Luck seemed to be on my side because I found his main base on my first scout attempt.

I was at the 11 o’clock position; he was at 7 o’clock.

Same positions as the last match, vertically aligned.

I began with the same 9-drone spawning pool build as before.

To truly ignite an opponent’s rage gauge, there’s nothing better than using the exact same build they failed to execute against you.

“Oh? This feels a bit strange,” I said.

As my Zerglings sprinted toward the enemy’s main base, my Overlord positioned behind their natural expansion revealed something peculiar.

“Building a Forge first for Photon Cannons?”

‘Without even a Gateway?’

I tilted my head in slight confusion.

‘This is supposed to be the Legend of Autumn?’

Delaying the Gateway widens the entrance, leaving only workers as a barrier since there’s no Zealot to block the path.

When my Zerglings reached the natural expansion, I saw six workers pathetically clustered together.

“I was going to upgrade speed, but I’ve changed my mind, everyone. I’ll go for Burrow instead.”

[Does that mean you’re going to bury the opponent?]

[Why Burrow?]

[Are you planning to plant them before they build a Nexus at their natural? Will it work in time?]

[Isn’t this a reckless move by the host?]

“Reckless? Come on, don’t say such hurtful things,” I replied playfully.

With reinforcements, I now had a total of eight Zerglings.

Realizing the situation wasn’t normal, my opponent finally started building a Gateway, but it was too late.

With only one Photon Cannon at the entrance…

“I’ll try breaking through here,” I declared.

I sent my Zerglings into a forced attack.

With precise control, I targeted the workers blocking the entrance one by one.

The scenario mirrored the last match—this time, I was the one breaching the Protoss’s natural expansion.

And then…

BOOM!

Workers scattered helplessly as four Zerglings stormed into the main base.

Friede777: “Welcome~”

yaSergei: “???”

[Wow, she broke through!]

[That guy couldn’t breach last game, but now he’s the one getting overrun.]

[Truly a master of offense and defense, what a spectacle.]

Friede777: “Should I go? Should I help you out?”

yaSergei: “Shut up, you jerk. I’ll crush you.”

“Too bad. He’s not falling for it.”

Not that I actually intended to help, but I thought teasing him would be fun.

A little disappointing.

I continued upgrading Zergling speed after completing Burrow, then sent all my workers to harvest minerals.

Time to end this match.

The four Zerglings already in his main base harassed his workers and drew attention.

Meanwhile, eight more Zerglings destroyed the Photon Cannon at the natural.

Although his Zealots arrived late, I didn’t bother fighting them.

Instead, I sent my Zerglings straight into his main base.

The swarm split—half perched above his Nexus, the rest below it, burrowing into the ground.

The Zealots, unable to find a target, stood there uselessly.

yaSergei: “What the hell?”

‘What do you mean? This is a game of Whack-a-Mole.’

With his natural breached, more Zerglings poured into his base unopposed.

Now burrowed around his Nexus, the tide of battle was sealed.

“Watch this. When the Zerglings above attack, the Zealots move in. Then they burrow again….”

I unburrowed the Zerglings below and attacked the Nexus.

“When they come down, I burrow again and wake up the ones above.

That’s Whack-a-Mole for you.”

Reinforcements destroyed workers or interrupted Photon Cannon construction, while the burrowed Zerglings kept whittling down his Nexus.

This was the perfect strategy to grind down someone’s mental state.

[Man, this is infuriating!]

[The 30,000-match veteran is now a slave to Whack-a-Mole training.]

[Is this really… a hero?]

[Heroes these days prefer bold plays, right?]

[If I were on the receiving end, I’d rage quit immediately.]

yaSergei: “This… Is this something a human would do?”

Friede777: “Well, it’s definitely something a Zerg would do.”

Persistently, I kept gnawing at the Nexus.

By now, the shields were depleted, and smoke began rising—a pitiful sight, like an elderly man shedding tears.

yaSergei: “Is this what your parents taught you? Where do you get off… Acting like this to an elder?”

The palpable anger seemed to pierce through the screen.

‘But what could I do?’

That rage only fueled the joy swelling in my chest.

For every gamer, this was both a curse and a destiny to bear.

yaSergei: “I’m 50 years old this year, And I can’t even breathe properly because of you!”

Smiling slightly, I gave him a polite response.

Friede777: “Then don’t bother breathing ^^.”

yaSergei: “I… I’m so angry!!!!!!!!!!!!! Join my room again! This time, I’ll play seriously!”

[We’re doomed!!!]

[LOL]

[His reactions are priceless.]

[See? Friede’s skills are unstoppable.]

yaSergei: “Come on! I won’t obsess anymore.”

‘But wasn’t he already obsessing?’

Friede777: “^^ I hope you lose sleep over this tonight.”

Finally, his Nexus exploded, unable to hold out any longer.

yaSergei: “You jerk.”

yaSergei has left the game.

The match ended with his resignation.

‘Join his room again?’

This was already the second time…

No need to waste my time on a third.

The number three holds special meaning for gamers, after all.

Whether he cooled off or deleted his ID, that was his problem to deal with now.

***

[Will you play against viewers?]

“I don’t do viewer matches. I’ll stick to public games.”

Viewer matches or ranked games come with a high chance of being sniped.

Public rooms are much less stressful.

“Is there anyone fresher out there? Someone not as washed up as a 30,000-match fossil?”

[A hunter’s sharp gaze targeting the prey… Friede-sensei strikes again.]

[Feels like she’s hunting on a dating app.]

[Sis, you’re amazing~]

I dove back into the public room list to find my next target.

In a dark room, pink-haired locks bounced as someone flinched at the monitor’s images.

What I was watching now was StellaCraft, a game I’d vaguely heard of.

An ancient esports title, once loved by older generations, now treated like a traditional pastime.

Normally, I wouldn’t have paid attention to such a game.

But today, I had a reason.

[Did the 30,000-match fossil get stomped? No morning wood for him tomorrow, huh?]

[Winning like this makes the game way more fun to watch.]

One particular comment caught my eye.

It perfectly reflected my feelings, and I nodded unconsciously in agreement.

Friede, the Hero of Light… I thought she only shined in VR games like Soul Warfare, but she handled this game just as well.]

More than just skill, her ability to make it entertaining was her real strength.

With someone like her, even rhythm games or Tetris would make for an engaging broadcast.

“Should I add effects and sound cues here to make things more fun?”

Feeling a bit unsure of myself, I refocused.

I was analyzing Friede’s stream to prepare a portfolio video for a contest.

The Galactic Supreme Editor Contest, declared by Friede herself.

This was my chance to be selected as her editor.

It would be grueling, but I had to endure it.

For my future…

For my starving bank account…

Because I was, I was…

“A… hiccup!”

Suddenly, a hiccup burst out, making my tiny frame jolt.

And so, the contest drew closer day by day.