Chapter 7: Kim Deokbae-The Top Pick for the Fireworks Festival Invitation

Rain (Virtual YouTuber) Gallery

Not answering questions about the mud puddle I joined today

It’s practically like having two Rains.

Later, even the kid and Maru started catching up with the acting, so it got progressively harder.

If you narrow it down to two people, it’s basically random from there.

You Hobbit

If you don’t want to give pizza, just say so.

Like last time with Hyung Gichul…

Are you cultivating some kind of celebrity farm?

Where do you keep finding these people, one by one?

(Comments)

Rain184: Good job holding the line in the abyss defense, haha.

Rain815 (OP): My pizzaaa…

Rain881: Seeing Big Boy sink into the abyss made me think it was a good call not to get chosen, lol.

Rain815 (OP): Yep, but I still got my ham-burger!

Parallel (Internet Broadcast) Gallery

Why the Rain MK2 who appeared today isn’t an employee

In my opinion, they’re probably a debuting second-gen trainee.

It makes no sense for an employee to be that good at impressions and rap.

If you think I’m just being unfair, should I go on another broadcast and explain step by step?

Anyway, if they’re an employee, they should start with the boss Momo’s show.

(Upvotes: 332) (Downvotes: 1)

(Comments)

Parallel715: Name-based downvote system, haha.

Parallel341: They have way too much talent for just an employee.

Parallel418: Instead of here, ask Komari and Maru about it.

Parallel164: Genius?

Parallel456: If you say they have loose lips…

Parallel315: Honestly, being a virtual YouTuber is better than an office job, haha. If people kept urging me to broadcast, I’d go for virtual YouTubing too, lol.

Parallel981: Sir…

Parallel385: LOL

Parallel124: Buy a model and go for Youtuber debut, kekeke.

After browsing reactions right after the broadcast ended, CEO Cheon Dohee thought,
“… The attention is way hotter than I expected.”

It wasn’t that she hadn’t anticipated it at all.

The problem was that it was even hotter than anticipated.

If Jiya had stuck with the anticipated comedian persona, it would’ve just been, ‘Oh, that employee? Pretty funny.’

But from the way things were unfolding, it was almost like Jiya, not Rain, was the main character.

‘Of course, who’d doubt she’s a troublemaker at heart… She’s really got a knack for provoking people.’

Making people ticked off with just a few words is no easy feat, but Jiya had pulled it off.

The only reason people were holding back a bit was because she was an employee of Parallel.

Otherwise, things would’ve been chaos, with fires popping up everywhere.

“… Well, maybe it won’t be an issue right away.”

The biggest concern was the first-gen members.

From the way they chatted with Jiya on Talk Code, no one seemed particularly worried about tomorrow’s broadcast.

Rain: Jiya, is tomorrow evening good for you?

Rain: Let’s chat over food.

Parallel Operations Team’s Majiya: No, thanks.

Rain: My God, I just asked about the time.

Komari: Don’t cut in line, Rain! I’m first…

Maru: Why don’t we all eat together?!

Parallel Operations Team’s Majiya: Nope.

Maru: What’s with all the no’s…

Maru: (Raging face emoji)

Dora: Wow, I just watched the broadcast, too.

Dora: Jiya is amazing. Got chills.

Parallel Operations Team’s Majiya: Thanks to the voice modulator.

Rain: wtf nonsense lol

Such good camaraderie.

Dohee mused whether it was really that great, but from her perspective, this was indeed a friendly vibe.

Jiya was the type to show up immediately when there was real trouble, helping out, yet when it came to meeting privately, she’d draw a clear line and say she wasn’t interested.

That’s why there hadn’t been much progress between Jiya and the first-gens for nearly a year.

Even if Jiya cared about the first-gens, she was ultimately Dohee’s fan from the start, wasn’t she?

On Talk Code, Jiya might be indifferent in the chats, but she’d come running to Dohee waiting outside a nearby PC room, like a puppy reuniting with its owner after a decade.

“Boss!”

She’d waddle over on her short legs, making random gestures, and it was quite cute.

Apparently, playing games together made her happy.

“You submitted your vacation request, right?”

“Yeah, perfectly done. Wow, going to a PC room with the boss—I’ve made it big, really.”

“… All this fuss just to play a little Battle Call. Besides, PC rooms are annoying with all the sensitivity and voice settings you have to adjust.”

Right then, Jiya gave Dohee a pointed look, as if to say these few hours were the most important thing in the world to her.

‘Of course, with her sniper background, she’s pretty serious about gaming.’

“Just set the settings roughly. What’s the big deal? Every second is precious.”

Watching Jiya humming a tune as she prepared, Dohee muttered softly, “If I hadn’t agreed to play with you, you were really going to quit, huh?”

“I was just kidding about that.”

“Well, do me a favor and don’t joke about it again.”

“Why would I? I won’t.”

She chuckled, her laugh that of a mischievous young witch.

But soon, Dohee’s worries became a reality.

“Hey!! Stop making gunshots! They keep coming!!”

Jiya’s double-barrel shotgun was constantly firing, drawing every enemy around them from the start of the game.

“Because of the mouse size—I need to get used to it, so I can’t help it. Why don’t you just go with the flow of the sounds, boss?”

“This is driving me nuts!”

Even as an ally, Jiya was just as much trouble.

Battle Coliseum is a battle royale game with three-player teams.

Some eccentric players, though, play with only one or two people, often called ‘elite veterans’ by others.

One confident three-person team was among the top 10% of skilled Platinum-rank gamers.

This wasn’t even a ranked game but a regular one—so why hesitate against a two-person team?

“Revolt’s here, Crazy Shot’s here. Let’s surround them from a good distance.”

Got it.

“I’m already watching.”

As the man scouted with his scope, his two teammates closed in. Just as they entered the combat radius—

Bang!

A perfect headshot shattered Revolt’s shield with a sharp crackle.

Startled, Revolt threw out smoke, but the teammates’ grenades soon had him down.

They were too focused on Revolt and missed Crazy Shot’s position, thinking they’d find him soon enough.

“Revolt’s down. Crazy Shot?”

Weren’t you watching him?

“Who broke Revolt’s shield? I missed him while I scoped.”

Hold on, can’t see through the smoke.

“Finish Revolt first. I’ll look for Crazy Shot—”

Just then, he heard footsteps close by.

“Crazy Shot’s here!”

Bang!

A point-blank double-barrel shot obliterated his max-level shield in an instant.

Though the double-barrel shotgun has only two rounds, his SMG was already out.

Then—Bang!

His health bar vanished, and he hit the floor.

“Who brings two double-barrels…?!”

The remaining teammates gawked as they noticed Crazy Shot had used his smoke to set up a killing angle rather than escape.

“Hey! Behind you!”

Bang!

With a mix of confusion and annoyance, the three-player team was eliminated, placing 15th among 30.

“Wow… what was that?”

But when they heard a voice, cute and childlike, coming from their conqueror…

Boss, I’ll save you!

“Oh my… this equipment is weak. Can you protect the battlefield like this?”

You—…!!

That encounter left a lasting impression.