Chapter 53: Back in My Day (1)

I realized once again that the god of broadcasting was helping me.

I smiled slyly as I looked at the opposing team members who were gazing at me with admiration.

Simulated combat training in virtual reality, huh?

It was certainly a much more efficient form of training than aimlessly running around the training ground.

If my unit had adopted such a system, I probably would have served with much more enthusiasm.

Of course, it wasn’t like these guys did this training every day either.

“May I call you senior?”

The question came from a soldier whose eyes were sparkling.

The opposing team was wearing full army uniforms, quite the contrast to our team’s haphazard attire.

From their gear to their uniforms, they were dressed perfectly, adhering to all the regulations.

I nodded in satisfaction at the words filled with admiration.

“Of course, junior.”

How cute.

And, well… a bit pitiful too.

As I disrupted the enemy’s rear, their forces naturally split.

This reduced the number of soldiers capturing the high ground, and it was impossible to mount an effective attack with fewer numbers.

Thus, we were leisurely teasing the enemy.

The ‘North Korean Gamer’ standing next to me made a joke to the soldier who had nodded at us earlier.

“Hey, junior.”

“Yes, sir! Did you call for me, senior?”

“Put your fist in front of your eyes.”

Several soldiers then raised their fists to their eyes.

The ‘North Korean Gamer’ chuckled and said.

“How does it look?”

“I can’t see well, senior!”

“Yeah, that’s your life in the military.”

– When did the enemy start cracking jokes?

– Oh boy, haha.

– Everyone who’s been in the Korean military becomes a grumpy old man. Disagree, and you’re wrong, haha.

– But you guys, don’t we joke like this in reserve training?

– I’m an active-duty private, and there’s always someone who teases others during mobilization training.

– Aren’t they going to get punished for this?

The problem was that this kind of thing wasn’t just happening next to me but across the entire front.

As my story spread among the soldiers, the enemy seemed to lose their fighting spirit.

Most of the active soldiers were in their early twenties.

Moreover, smartphones were issued within the military, so they all knew about me.

Well, there wasn’t much to do in the army, so they probably watched my broadcasts or MeTube videos a lot.

I did the same when I was in the military until just six months ago.

Our disruption squad consisted of seven members.

Composed entirely of veterans from World of Battle, it didn’t take long for us to disarm the soldiers.

After we completely subdued the soldiers who tried to stop us, we continued our conversation with smiles.

Of course, one player who seemed to be their squad leader was trying to rally the soldiers.

“The company commander promised extra leave! What are you all doing? Fight properly!”

Even the squad leader looked at me with sparkling eyes, but it seemed he had no choice given the situation.

However, his vigilance disappeared in the blink of an eye.

The ‘North Korean Gamer’ who had been watching the team chat seemed to confirm something and greeted the squad leader cheerfully.

“Oh, the 28th Regiment of the 9th Division? I served there as an officer a few years ago. Was it the 7th Company?”

“How did you know?”

“I heard from a subordinate of mine, Lee Jin-sung, who’s now a company commander there. Wow! I wonder how he’s doing.”

The squad leader’s eyes widened, and he suddenly picked up his radio and contacted someone.

The battle was essentially over.

In the subtle standoff with the soldiers blocking our disruption squad, the tide had already turned in our favor.

– Is this game supposed to be a talk show?

– Haha, they fired a few shots at the beginning, and now it’s suddenly all friendly.

– Reserve Company VS Active Duty Company

– Honestly, our evil guys are lucky. How do they manage to create such entertaining content every time?

– For real, haha.

– Let the active guys win once, haha. If they lose, won’t they all get punished together?

Sympathy for the active soldiers was the main sentiment, and military trolling was rampant.

It was inevitable.

In a military game against a company of active-duty Korean soldiers, such trolling was bound to occur.

Meanwhile, the ‘North Korean Gamer’ skillfully adjusted the front lines, fending off the enemy’s attacks.

I nodded, watching his meticulous command.

I understood why the Ministry of National Defense had adopted this game for training.

A game almost identical to real combat.

Although it didn’t involve various military branches, it accurately simulated infantry versus infantry combat.

Sure, infantry combat might not be that important in modern warfare, but it would certainly help soldiers maintain their combat instincts.

Watching this, I subtly suggested to the ‘North Korean Gamer.’

“Let’s lose gracefully soon.”

“Are you sure that’s okay?”

“It’s not a ranked match anyway.”

At my words, he smiled wryly and said.

“Actually, some of our front lines have already collapsed. Our players have abandoned their guns and are playing around with the enemies.”

As he said, some of our positions had already been taken by the enemy.

However, the red dots representing our survivors were still visible in the captured points.

I couldn’t help but smile at this sight.

Yeah, what’s the point of beating the active-duty soldiers?

If they lose to us, they might be punished for disgracing the military’s honor.

We had already created enough footage for a video, so there was no need to try too hard.

Indeed, when I checked the front lines through the system, I saw many of our allies teasing the enemies.

Clearly uninterested in winning.

Their goal seemed more focused on teasing the active soldiers.

The front lines, which had been evenly matched until a moment ago, began to crumble.

“Back in my day, we couldn’t even imagine training with games like this. Right?”

“You guys have it tough.”

“Please, stop this.”

Our disruption squad, including me, also laid down our guns and blended in with the enemies.

A junior-looking enemy squad leader tried to stop us with a distressed expression.

“Hey, squad leader, how many years have you been commissioned?”

“Not even a year yet…”

“Oh, you’re still fresh.”

The bewildered squad leader quickly fell into our pace.

How much time passed while we joked around with the soldiers?

Suddenly, a man appeared and yelled at us harshly.

“What are you doing during training? Are you out of your mind, chatting with the enemy team? First Squad Leader!”

Hmm.

Clearly the company commander.

– Final boss appears.

– Haha, you can tell he’s the company commander from his nickname.

– The company commander is disappointed in you all!

– Wow, look at him.

– My old company commander was just like that, geez.

– Haha, the soldiers are doomed.

– They’re going to have to run laps with full gear, haha.

The viewers also reacted enthusiastically to his appearance.

The man who seemed to be the company commander genuinely looked angry, but his expression soon faltered unexpectedly.

The ‘North Korean Gamer’ next to me waved cheerfully at the company commander.

“Oh, Jin-sung, are you the company commander here? Wow! What a small world!”

“Se-Senior?”

“Kid, I heard from your uncle that you became a company commander, but to meet you like this. I heard you have a promotion review coming up?”

What is this guy?

The North Korean Gamer looked at me, scratching his head, and then said cheerfully.

“Haha, actually, my family has a military background.”

“You graduated from the ROTC…”

“My father wanted to send me to the Korea Military Academy, but I ended up in the ROTC. That was quite a while ago…”

“Then, your father is…?”

The North Korean Gamer scratched his head again, looking embarrassed, then answered with a kind smile.

“I’ll tell you later. It’s not something to discuss on the broadcast.”

What’s going on here?

I could only widen my eyes, watching him greet the opposing company commander so warmly.

A retired ROTC officer.

But why was this active-duty captain so flustered?

– Hahahahaha

– This guy seems to attract only crazy people.

– A military brat with the username ‘North Korean Gamer’?

– He’s completely nuts.

– He was so sexy when he was giving orders, but he’s just a lunatic, haha.

The viewers seemed to react similarly to me.

What in the world was happening?

2.

Using a reboot as an excuse, I temporarily ended the broadcast.

The game was already over.

Of course, the active soldiers won.

To be precise, we let them win on purpose.

But the process was quite amusing, as the active soldiers’ antics were broadcasted.

Captain Lee Jin-sung, who introduced himself as the company commander, looked at me and the North Korean Gamer alternately, groaning.

“Senior, if this goes on, I’ll really get a scolding from my superiors. You know that, right?”

“You won, so what’s the problem?”

“It was practically like training. Showing our soldiers like that in front of over 40,000 viewers…”

“Hmm.”

“Sigh…”

His sigh seemed to hit the ground.

The reason this active captain was so flustered by the retired ROTC officer was very simple.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

It turned out that this North Korean Gamer, Mr. Sung-woo, came from quite a formidable family.

His father was a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and several of his relatives were also high-ranking officers.

No wonder the captain was flustered.

Being a former soldier myself, I understood such relationships well enough.

Listening to their conversation, a brilliant story idea came to my mind.

A way to restore the honor of the military, which could be seen as tarnished, while also producing excellent footage for my broadcast.

“How about we do it this way?”

Captain Lee, who looked like he had lost the world, turned to me.

I could sense a hint of resentment in his eyes as he looked at me.

“What…”

“A beautiful joint operation between civilians and active-duty soldiers. We team up with half of my viewers and half of your soldiers for a game.”

“What?”

“Since I have many viewers, showing the active soldiers working hard will offset some of the damage, won’t it?”

Plus, the playful banter between reservists and active-duty soldiers would make it even more entertaining.

But Captain Lee still sighed heavily.

“That’s not something I can decide…”

“Jin-sung, wait. I’ll handle it.”

“Senior…”

“Just wait.”

Then, the North Korean Gamer, Mr. Sung-woo, made a call.

“Yes, Uncle, how are you? Ah, I just called to say hello, haha! Congratulations again on becoming the division commander.”

Why was his uncle involved now?

Mr. Sung-woo looked at me, giving a thumbs up, and continued the call.

“Yes, yes. Really? It’s a great opportunity, indeed. Yes. Then, can we proceed like that? Yes. I’ll visit soon. Yes.”

He ended the call quickly and nodded with a wide smile.

“Shah, you can proceed as planned.”

“Who were you just talking to?”

“Oh! That was my youngest uncle. He was appointed as the 9th Division commander earlier this year.”

At this point, I decided to stop questioning things.

Just let it be.

Anyway, he said we had permission, so that was that.

“What will you do?”

“I’ll do it.”

“Good.”

With higher-ups’ approval, Captain Lee nodded vigorously.

It was an excellent opportunity to restore the tarnished image.

I grinned and told him.

“Just pick 25 soldiers carefully. You can take the role of company commander.”

“Really? Is that okay, Shah? It’s your broadcast…”

“Oh, I’ll just blend in with the soldiers. I’m not that familiar with this game yet.”

“Thank you! Really, thank you!”

He seemed so thrilled.

Thus, the joint broadcast with the Ministry of National Defense(?) was decided swiftly, and Captain Lee immediately incorporated his soldiers into my team. ṟ

Simultaneously, I restarted the broadcast, and viewers began pouring in, cursing fervently.

– Sheesh… Bull…!

– If you keep ending the stream like this, I’ll unsubscribe.

– Haha, I really want to tie Our Evil down and make him stream all the time.

– ??? But who are those soldiers in the background?

– Aren’t they the active soldiers we faced earlier?

– Haha, he must have been plotting during the reboot.

‘National Defense Mascot Gudkun’ donated 10,000 won!

[Are you really making me a mascot? Our Evil… I love you!]

“Oh, thank you for the donation.”

Viewer retention was high.

As soon as I started the broadcast, the viewer count almost reached 40,000.

It meant they hadn’t left the channel even though I had stopped streaming.

Such was the loyalty of the Evil Gang.

I announced to the incoming viewers.

“The next round will be with our proud active-duty soldiers.”

Because I’m a responsible person.

My sudden announcement elicited a hot response from the viewers.

– Haha, what kind of connections does he have?

– The Evil Gang and Gudkun… They’re crazy! Insane!

– Are you sure you got permission? Isn’t Our Evil going to get dragged to the police station?

– A unique joint broadcast you won’t find anywhere else.

– This is what a streamer does, haha.

– Living for the moment, haha.

Opportunities come by chance, but seizing them takes skill.

I grinned and turned to the active soldiers.

With the legendary setup in place, it was time to create a legendary video.