Chapter 143: Pandemonium (2)

[Guest ‘Cerberus’ has been eliminated from the game!]

[Guest ‘Kan’ has been eliminated from the game!]

[Remaining guests: Shia, Na-young, Joo-hyun, Oh-wang.]

“What’s going on?”

I was slightly taken aback as I looked at the system message that appeared before me.

Heo-soo, who I thought would grit his teeth and play the game more than anyone else, was eliminated too easily.

To be honest, Dong-su hyung’s elimination was natural, like the flow of a river.

However, Heo-soo’s elimination was clearly different from my expectations.

Frankly, I thought I would have to handle Heo-soo myself to win this game and take the department store gift certificate.

But then, Heo-soo was eliminated too.

As I was widening my eyes, some information about Heo-soo came in through the chat window.

– ㅋㅋㅋ He got done in by Nekoshia ㅇㅇ

– If it were me, it wouldn’t have ended with just a gun

– ㄹㅇ I would have thrown at least 100 grenades to be satisfied

– GTB Online participation content… the most disgusting and provocative I’ve ever seen

– ㅋㅋㅋ Did you see that bastard rage quit? It was so refreshing

– Honestly, I didn’t like that guy much, but I felt a bit sorry for him today

Nekeogae was Heo-soo’s nickname.

It was a title given because Heo-soo’s nickname, Cerberus, was a dung dog guarding hell.

Nekeogae.

It was a nickname that rolled off the tongue well.

I often used it because it was a nickname that felt satisfying every time I said it.

But what on earth was Nekoshia?

The word itself made me uneasy.

Just as I was wondering about it, some members of the Evil Gang, who seemed to have read my thoughts just by looking at my expression, sensibly made a donation. ℝ

‘NekeogaeArrestedByPolice’ donated 10,000 won!

[Video link]

The video donation played, and soon the image of Heo-soo firing a silenced pistol wildly appeared.

No way, what the hell was that madman doing?

Had he just given up on the game?

But soon the video perspective changed to Heo-soo’s point of view, and seeing it, I ground my teeth.

“These crazy perverts.”

– Lololololol

– This is a legendary clip

– EvilTube editors are grinning

– OurEvil♥ If you add ‘nyan’ at the end of every sentence from now on, 1000 won per instance

– Lolololol I wish all those damn fans would just drop dead

Nekoshia.

It was literally Nekoshia.

One crazy bastard customized Shia to look like a cat.

Watching that scene, my hand unconsciously reached for my pistol.

If it were Heo-soo, he would have been unable to bear that disgusting ‘Nekoshia.’

Considering he already disliked me, how angry would he be seeing a revolting ‘me’?

It was a video I could fully empathize with.

Viewers were shouting enthusiastically as they watched the donation video.

Damn, these crazy bastards.

“You guys, be prepared. If you export today’s fan meeting video, you’re all dead. I’ll track your IP, find you to the end, and half-kill you. Got it? Huh?”

Here, ‘export’ meant sending short clips of the broadcast to other streamers’ broadcasts as video donations.

Viewers engaging in all sorts of antics while disguised as me.

Those antics were preserved in clips, making them easy to export.

If such disgusting videos were exported, even if that ‘Shia’ wasn’t actually me, other streamers would inevitably misunderstand.

Whether it’s Shia showing off panties or Nekoshia… damn! Just thinking about it made me angry again.

Anyway, those trashy videos should never be exported.

But I had misspoken.

In my haste, I blurted out something I should never have said to the Evil Gang.

– Oh shit lololol, giving industry awards by visiting in person?

– Lololol, going to export right away

– ㅇㅇ Shoutout is streaming on American Twipod, heading there to donate to the Shoutout broadcast lol

– Crazy bastards lol, Shoutout has 120,000 viewers right now lol

– Info) South Korea is an export powerhouse

– Hyung! If I export just 50 times, will you really come find me? Let me tell you my address in advance: Seoul, Gwanak-gu…

They weren’t the type to just watch my mistakes quietly.

The Evil Gang seized the opportunity and diligently exported the clips, and I couldn’t even think of imposing an embargo.

I was screwed.

Already, my fellow streamers were giggling at my clips and sending video donation reactions.

As I was moving my body slowly, feeling a sense of despair, another donation suddenly came in.

‘PornHater’ donated 30,000 won!

[ㅋㅋ Just now, my mom walked in while I was watching a Shia clip, so I quickly switched to porn lol. Phew! I almost got caught watching a Shia video lol. Right?]

– Lolololololol

– Right

– Shia’s video is definitely more provocative than porn

– ㄹㅇ Shouldn’t the government censor something like this? lol

– I almost got caught watching Shia’s broadcast at school the other day, so I quickly switched to porn too ㅇㅇ

Crazy bastards.

I might really have to quit streaming soon.

It seemed I was becoming more of a lunatic by playing with these crazy people.

Sigh, I need to at least finish this fan meeting event and then think about it…

“Uh-huh! We are currently censoring Shia!”

“If you keep disturbing our work! Man, we’ll become gangsters then!”

“This won’t do, let’s shoot!”

At that moment, a loud gunshot rang out, and a shootout occurred between the police and some users.

Fanatics spouting all sorts of crazy nonsense about leaving only users with my face.

I trembled lightly as I watched them.

This game was no longer a game of tag.

It was an apocalypse survival game.

Surviving from those disgusting perverted lunatics was the top priority.

Damn.

Dirty bastards.

4.

There is a proverb that says, “All roads lead to Seoul.”

The fan meeting content, which had a large number of viewers participating, did not flow as I had initially envisioned.

But it didn’t seem to matter much.

The reaction was already hot.

A content combining tag and hide-and-seek?

No way.

Some extreme members of the Evil Gang gathered people disguised as Shia and began to incite them with eloquent speeches.

“Since this is Shia’s fan content, wouldn’t it be better to leave only Shia’s face?”

“Really, how proud would Shia feel?”

“That’s a valid point.”

Such talkers exist everywhere.

Despite the countless times Heo-soo and I killed those disguised as Shia, there were still about 30 Shias running wild.

I even witnessed a female viewer disguised as Shia earlier.

“But Joo-hyun?”

“Yes, Master.”

“Why are you wearing my face?”

“Well, because I’m also part of the Evil Gang?”

Joo-hyun, wearing my face.

Joo-hyun had joined me in front of the police station five minutes ago.

At first, I thought he was just one of the viewers and recklessly fired my gun, but Joo-hyun quickly took cover and let me know he was Joo-hyun.

This game allowed even voice customization.

Therefore, I couldn’t easily be sure it was Joo-hyun.

So I asked about the next filming date for that only we knew, and I was able to confirm that this ‘Shia’ was indeed Joo-hyun.

Joo-hyun gave me a sly smile as he looked at me.

It was the annoying smile that could be considered my trademark.

Since the game started, I had seen countless Shias, but this was the first time I had seen one mimic my smile so perfectly.

It showed how often Joo-hyun had watched my broadcasts.

Should I say it was meticulous?

“By the way, have you seen Na-young?”

“Oh, unni?”

“Yes.”

“She died a while ago… I don’t know why, but that’s what I heard.”

Something felt off.

Well, for now, it was important that I had a reliable ally by my side.

I let out a deep sigh and, while loading the rifle I had picked up earlier, I spoke to Joo-hyun.

“You know we have to take down all the viewers to get the gift certificate, right?”

“Of course.”

“Good.”

Surprisingly, Joo-hyun seemed very enthusiastic about the prize.

In fact, it was Joo-hyun who first suggested forming an alliance.

It was clear that the thought of 30 Shias swarming from all sides was terrifying.

No matter how much fan service it was, I didn’t want to lose to anyone with my face.

Joo-hyun also brought a sniper rifle from somewhere.

Hmm.

That was a special weapon you could only get by raiding the underground vault of the weapon shop…

Did he study beforehand?

“For now, let’s hide out here and take out anyone who passes by.”

Currently, LA was occupied by an armed gang with my face.

I had set the event server to prevent military intervention, causing the situation to rapidly deteriorate.

Outside the apartment security office where we were hiding, a police helicopter was hit by an RPG and exploded, with gunshots ringing out everywhere.

Ironically, there was no indiscriminate massacre that would make you frown.

The armed gang did not kill NPCs, only targeting players.

Specifically, players who did not have Shia’s face.

Even before I hid here, one of them had asked me, and I quickly slit his throat with a combat knife.

‘I thought this place would be safe for a while since there’s chaos outside…’ I barely had time to think.

“I heard the real Shia is over there?”

“Really?”

“It’s news from a reliable source.”

Despite the game banning stream sniping, the slowly approached us.

Unlike me, dressed in a suit and holding a rifle, they looked almost like a regular army.

Wearing bulletproof helmets and vests.

They were also equipped with special auxiliary devices unique to this game.

Reinforced suits known as ‘Iron Man Suits.’

They were advanced equipment used by the US military, with incredible performance in the game.

I frowned as I watched them.

“How did those bastards find out where I am?”

Joo-hyun tilted his head and answered my question.

“Hmm, maybe they smelled you, Master?”

Was it just my imagination, or was there a strange sense of dissonance coming from Joo-hyun?

Before I could figure out what that feeling was.

Bang!

The enemies began their attack.

Even though they were wearing bulletproof helmets and vests, they still had weak points.

The area between the mouth and neck slightly exposed under the helmet.

If you aimed precisely at that spot, it wasn’t impossible to kill them.

“There! Shia is over there!”

“The real Shia!”

“I want to be recognized by the real Shia.”

“I want to show him.”

“I want to show him too!”

“What the hell do you want to show, you bastards?”

Seeing these lunatics, I couldn’t help but curse.

After the first wave charged at me, an endless gunfight began.

Bang! Bang!

A fierce gunfight that even the in-game police couldn’t handle.

No matter how good their equipment was, if they couldn’t aim properly, they couldn’t easily gain the upper hand.

Joo-hyun and I calmly took down the enemies.

Even though I had worried about Joo-hyun at first, he performed admirably, showing a good sense of tactics unlike last time.

“Good, Joo-hyun! If we keep this up…”

Click!

At that moment, I felt the cold touch of metal on my neck.

“…Joo-hyun?”

“Hehe.”

Joo-hyun’s voice, customized to be remarkably similar to mine.

Using that voice, which was almost indistinguishable from mine, Joo-hyun spoke a single word to me.

“Cheongchuleoram.”

“What?”

“Betrayal tastes best when done with this face, don’t you think?”