Chapter 20: Things don’t always go as planned

Four hours had passed since Dora’s last break, and the clock read 4 a.m. Eight hours had passed since she started the game Pandemic Village. Finally, cheers erupted from the soundproof booth.  

“Finally cleared it—!!!”  

– “Yaaaaaaaay!”  

– “About time!”  

– “I think I broke my teeth screaming; you owe me!”  

– “Ahhhhhh, finally!”  

– “Dora wins!”  

– “Queen Dora wins!!!”  

– “She actually cleared it LOL.”  

After 13 attempts, Dora successfully defeated the final boss. Normally, she would do a voiceover for the story as usual, but she was so moved by the victory that she could barely speak through her tears.  

“Huuuuh, h-huuuuuh, hiiiick!”  

:: :: Anonymous supporter has donated 100,000 clouds! :: ::  

:: :: In celebration of the clear! :: ::  

Of course, her reaction to the donation didn’t sound human.  

“Hhuuuh-huhu… yiiyuuuh hhhaaahhhh, hiiyahhhhhh……”  

“Say something!” (LOL)  

– “Anyone watching would think she just won an Olympic gold medal LOL.”  

– “She really does the most LOL.”  

– “Is this a reaction or just crying LOL?”  

– “This is why I can’t stop watching Queen Dora’s streams LOL.”  

It was cute, sure, but some might complain the reaction wasn’t proper for a 100,000-cloud donation.  

So, I stepped in to translate her babbling for the viewers. Normally, I’d let it slide, but after seeing her struggle, I didn’t want any misunderstandings.  

If left unchecked, it’d take time to explain, delaying my chance to leave for the day.  

“She’s saying, ‘Thank you, Anonymous Supporter, for the 100,000 clouds.’”  

– “LOL this translation though.”  

– “How do you even understand that? LOL.”  

– “Being a parallel manager isn’t easy, huh?”  

“Huuu hiii… haaaaahhhh……! Huuu hiii haaahhh!”  

“She’s saying, ‘Big thanks! Big thanks!’”  

– “This might be the driest 100,000-cloud reaction ever.”  

– “Why is this so funny though LOL?”  

– “It’s still cute, though.”  

– “Honestly, valid.”  

“Eeehhuhhaeehh!”  

“She’s saying, ‘Do it properly!’”  

– “She is doing it properly LOL.”  

– “Why is she scolding her manager now LOL?”  

– “This is gourmet content.”  

The donor seemed amused, saying it was fine, and I felt relieved.  

Oddly, the chat took a new turn. People started sympathizing with me, acknowledging my effort.  

– “You must be tired dealing with such chaos; respect.”  

– “The one and only Manager D, MVP!”  

– “King D, God D, we stan.”  

:: Anonymous supporter has donated 10,000 clouds! ::  

:: Thank you for taking care of our chaos queen; please get some rest soon! TT ::  

Staying up late wasn’t unusual for me, so I wasn’t as exhausted as they thought. My ears were just a little numb from Dora’s dragon-like roars.  

Still, it was strange to see such a gentle atmosphere in the chat. If they were always this nice, I wouldn’t have to ban anyone so often.  

Yet amidst the cheerful mood, one person remained teary-eyed: Dora, still overwhelmed by her emotions.  

“Geez… seriously. Why are you all only complimenting Manager D? What about me? I worked the hardest!”  

– “Uh-oh.”  

– “Why’s it suddenly turning dark LOL?”  

– “Dark mode activated!!!”  

– “Incoming dragon alert!”  

When a streamer gets emotional, viewers often become mischievous. Chaos usually ensues, making for great entertainment.  

Predictably, the teasing began.  

:: Anonymous supporter has donated 10,000 clouds! ::  

:: Honestly, if you had played better, Manager D might have gone home earlier. ::  

– “Oooof!”  

– “It’s getting humid in here; ease up LOL.”  

– “Stop it, she’s already damp!!”  

“Fine. I wasn’t good enough. It took longer because of me. But let’s be real, you guys were too rowdy. Manager D wouldn’t have done much better!”  

– “Oh?”  

– “Shots fired?”  

– “No way it would’ve taken him 15 minutes LOL.”  

– “Are we really debating this?”  

:: Anonymous supporter has donated 1,000 clouds! ::  

:: Honestly, shouldn’t we praise Manager D for not backseat-gaming? If it were me, I’d have taken the controls and shown you how it’s done. ::  

– “Valid point LOL.”  

– “Agreed; big respect.”  

– “Tears of agreement TT.”  

The situation heated up quickly. Dora’s trembling lips suggested tears were imminent.  

Just as I debated stepping in, another donation appeared.  

:: Anonymous supporter has donated 1,000 clouds! ::  

:: “Yeah~ If Staff D did it, the final boss would be cleared in 3 minutes~”::

Fortunately, a funny donation made Dora chuckle.  

However, dear donor, are you aware that the “anonymous donation” feature isn’t really anonymous?  

Streamers can see the nickname of everyone who donates. So, if you throw punches from behind the “anonymous” label, you might end up exposing yourself, just like I did when I was new to streaming. I learned the hard way when my boss dissected my actions.  

Well, at least my nickname wasn’t as bad as this.  

[Donation History]  

– dydwbWb: 1,000 Clouds: “Yeah~ If Staff D did it, the final boss would be cleared in 3 minutes~”  

– Screaming  

– Protect the Hatchling!!  

– What the heck is this nickname? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ  

– What…?  

– What’s with “Choo Choo”?  

– Furry? Really?  

– Goodbye  

– Normalize your nickname ASAP  

– I thought this was anonymous!! It said anonymous!!!

Dora pinned a screenshot of the donations and asked me, clearly holding back a laugh but still not entirely calmed down,  

“Staff D, can you really beat it in under three minutes?”

I blinked, silently expressing my desire to go home, but then she hit me with an adorable provocation:  

“Are you scared? Afraid you’ll clear it slower than me? Is that why you’re pretending not to hear?”

-”This is so infuriating!”  

– “There’s no way!”  

– “This one’s tough to hold back on.”  

– “Might as well show her, then gracefully clock out.”  

– “My brain says ‘leave,’ but my heart wants to stay and see this.”  

– “Yo, is this for real, Nuna?”  

– “You’re trash, but I’m here for it.”

Thanks to this, Dora was now a “trash person” tormenting a tired staff member, but she didn’t seem to care.  

…Wasn’t she crying just moments ago?  

What even is a streamer?  

Sure, if you slog through eight hours of gameplay only to get hit with a sarcastic donation like that, you’d be mad too.

Especially when the spotlight shifts unexpectedly to someone else, like me, and the viewers seem to care about me more than her.  

No wonder she was upset. It’s only natural to feel jealous under those circumstances.  

…Still, if I pull off this 3-minute clear, won’t everyone be focused on me?  

I can’t afford to slack off. Now that people know I’m involved, even the slightest misstep will lead to accusations that I went easy.  

And if I do go easy, it’ll just make Dora look worse. The audience would start comparing her passionate effort to my cool and calculated play, making her seem immature and pathetic.  

The regular viewers would understand the context, but casual observers? They’d spread distorted rumors far and wide.  

“Staff D. Be honest. You’re scared, aren’t you? Afraid you’ll lose to me?”

Anyway, Dora kept pressing me, and I had no manual for handling a situation like this.  

But dodging it like a coward didn’t feel right either.  

Given the way things have been going lately, I’ll inevitably get entangled with the members again, even if I avoid it now. There’s no guarantee a similar situation won’t arise in the future.  

In other words, I need to develop quick thinking to resolve these situations if I want to survive as a general manager for the long haul.  

If there’s a way to get out of this without reshaping Dora’s stream to my advantage, then…  

“How about this? Let’s make a bet.”  

“A bet? Sure! What’s on the line?”  

“If I clear it within three minutes, you’ll do a ‘big sis’ voice for the viewers.”  

Her “big sis” voice (the real deal) is a rare reaction typically reserved for a ₩500,000 donation. It’s hardly ever heard, making it a huge deal.  

The chat instantly blew up:  

– Here comes the morale-booster!  

– Staff D! Staff D! Staff D! Staff D!  

– Oh my gosh, we’re saved T-T  

– Sir Staff D, how could we ever repay this kindness?!

Even Dora, whose emotions had been running high, visibly calmed down upon hearing my suggestion.  

After much thought, she finally spoke.  

“Alright. But if you don’t make it in three minutes, you have to promise to play a game with me before the month ends.”  

“Deal.”  

– Let’s gooooo!  

– Queen Dora strikes again.  

– This is actually great LOL.  

– Get in there! Let’s do this!  

And just like that, the bet was on.  

What could’ve looked like a mess of Dora raging and me cleaning up after her had turned into a fun competition with rewards that the viewers loved. The mood instantly shifted.  

Now, all I had to do was win, let Dora and the viewers enjoy their bonding moment, and gracefully bow out.  

I took the seat Dora vacated, adjusted the chair height, loaded the save file, and fired off a couple of shots into the air.  

I moved the mouse around to test the sensitivity and maximum angle of motion.  

‘This much range should be enough…’  

With the angles sorted, next came the battlefield assessment.  

The boss room was a layered, maze-like cave with shortcuts scattered throughout that only a human could navigate.  

The boss constantly chased after me, moving at high speed, so I had to rely on these shortcuts to avoid being caught. Essentially, the fight forced a hit-and-run strategy.  

My health bar had four segments, meaning I could take up to three hits. Healing wasn’t allowed in this final boss fight, but at least I had some leeway to take hits and fight like a berserker if needed.  

“I’m ready,” I said.  

Dora grinned and asked, “You sure? It’s going to be really tough. This boss has a weak spot that’s always swinging around, and it moves ridiculously fast.”  

The boss was a giant spider-like creature, with its only weak spots being two bulbous, human-head-sized eyes that dangled erratically.  

As Dora mentioned, the boss was not only fast but also changed direction frequently, causing its weak spots to flail wildly. Speedrunners often ignored these weak spots entirely because trying to hit them slowed down their runs.  

But avoiding a weakness just because it’s hard to hit? That’s not my style.  

“I’m coming.”

I fired shots at the boss, who had begun to creep toward me, too scared to enter the room.

He bounces off the floor, walls, and ceiling with each shot, and his weakest point, his eyeballs, shake like crazy.

But there’s no reason you can’t hit him.

If the eyeballs seem random, they’re not.

The angle and trajectory of the bounce from wall to wall, floor to floor, and ceiling is completely unpredictable.

One of your magazines is empty, replace it with a new one.

The boss is getting tired, but instead of running away, I fire three more shots.

Bang, bang, bang!

After the third shot, the boss bites into my body, and I use a QTE to knock it off, giving me a brief moment of invulnerability.

I emptied the last three rounds in my magazine and took the shortcut.

– ???

-Not all 12 shots were head?

-Wow.

– I just woke up.

-?

-No. At this rate, it’ll take less than two minutes.

Reload, and do the same thing again until you have one health left.

Easy, right?

*     *    *

…_ _ _Real-Time Best _ _ _ …  

[DiHwang is seriously awesome]  

(FinalBoss_1min_51secClear.clip)  

When I asked on the Pandemic Gallery,  

they said even in speedruns, 2 minutes 30 seconds is the average time.  

But that’s because it’s insanely hard to hit the headshots consistently.  

Yet, DiHwang just nailed every headshot and casually clocked out.   

Watching it was so satisfying, I got such a dopamine rush that I was wide awake after that.  

(Source: Dora (VTuber) Gallery [View Original])  

[Comments]  

Dora915: This is seriously insane.  

– Dora531: Wow, even watching it again, it’s unbelievable.  

– Dora375: (DiHwang_AllShots_Headshots_Confirmed.ntube)  

  ↳ Dora375: I slowed it down to check, and yeah, every shot was a headshot.   

  ↳ Unified831: Is this TAS?  

  ↳ Unified241: It’s live-streamed; no way it’s TAS.  

– MooGun: Who is this person?  

  ↳ MooGun: They’re really good at shooting.  

  ↳ Unified151: Whoa.  

  ↳ Unified381: Is this the real MooGun here?  

  ↳ Unified414: Search “signal flare” on TreeWiki.  

  ↳ MooGun: Thanks!  

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