Chapter 284 – Last Day of 2035
[Harmony: Congratulations on getting first place, Yoo Jin!]
“Aww, what would you have done if I didn’t get first place?”
The message had arrived about an hour ago.
Sending such a text even before the final match of the championship had ended—bold, to say the least. Unfortunately, I couldn’t reply now because Harmony was probably preparing for her partner streamer showdown, which ended on the same day as the final championship. Though the fact that I had secured first place must have just been revealed.
If Min Ah had sent a text first, I would have wished her luck in advance. But I wasn’t one to count my chickens before they hatched, so I composed a text slightly different from Harmony’s in a matter of seconds.
Then, I sent it.
-Go win first place.
“…”
…Was that a bit of a threat?
Of course, the message had already been sent. There was no way to intercept and revise a sent message. I quickly followed up with a few more texts telling her not to feel pressured, but that might have come off as even more petty. No wonder Dice always said I was clueless outside of combat. I should ask Harmony later if she thought I was clueless too.
Anyway, speak of the devil and he shall appear.
Click!
“Yoo Jin!”
“Whoa, careful!”
A loud voice and a jumping dive.
Dice leapt onto the bed where I was sitting, but couldn’t completely counteract the physical impact, so she ended up sprawling on the bed next to me with a grunt. She wasn’t alone; everyone I had taught burst into the room, clapping.
And Michael, carrying a small cake with a tiny candle on it, placed it on the table in the middle of the room. I let out a faint laugh at the sight.
I gently pushed Dice, who seemed to have come to give me a congratulatory jump dive or maybe just to sneak in a tail touch, to the side. Looking at their faces, it was clear they had a lot they wanted to say to me. The fact that the room Dice and I used was now bustling with people explained the current situation well enough.
I hesitated for a moment about what to say, but the answer was obvious.
“Thank you all for following my curriculum so diligently.”
“Congratulations on getting first place, Teacher!”
“Thank you for teaching us, despite our shortcomings!”
Everyone bowed their heads in unison. Was this a group of Yakuza or professional gamers?
It was absurd, but a smile had already formed on my lips. I shook hands and exchanged hugs with everyone who had worked hard. First with Dice, then Michael and Gambit, and Ink. Finally, the members of Task Force who had come all the way to America to support me behind the scenes.
Especially Ye-rin, whose expression was truly peculiar. Perhaps she thought I had won the final match using her gun to honor her. In reality, I had chosen the Honey Badger to commemorate Dice, not because it was superior. So her guess was somewhat accurate.
Smiling, I added,
“I’ve won in your place this year, so make sure to get first next year.”
“…Y-yes.”
“Why are you on the verge of tears again?”
Maybe she was really hung up about not getting first place.
Judging by her expression, that didn’t seem to be the case, but I’d have to explain later if she asked.
After comforting Dice, it was finally time to try the cake they had prepared. There was even a cup of milk. I had a light dinner and, with all the debriefing and matches, I had stood up and sat down several times, which made me quite hungry.
I wondered where they had procured it from, but it didn’t matter. Blowing out the candle on the chocolate cake, I took a big bite, filling my mouth with sweetness. Though it felt strange being the only one eating, everyone cheerfully clapped.
As they did, the past few months flashed through my mind. This was a scene I couldn’t have imagined just a few months ago, yet here I was.
‘…I wonder if Harmony is playing her match now. Or maybe she’ll start soon.’
Deciding to start Dark Zone was my decision, but Harmony had been a great help in keeping me going. If it weren’t for the heavy anchor tying me to the game, I might not have taken such an interest in Dark Zone itself… Maybe I wouldn’t even have been a streamer.
I hadn’t streamed in quite a while, though.
After greeting everyone, they started to leave the room one by one. As the crowded room grew quieter, only five people remained. Normally, we would have been heading to the hotel by now, but since I hadn’t said anything, they were all looking at me with curious expressions.
“I plan to stay and watch Moni’s match, but those who want to leave can go ahead.”
“Ah, then I’ll stay too.”
“Walking to the hotel isn’t a bad idea.”
So, I sat on one bed with Dice, while Michael, Gambit, and Ink sat on the other. We turned on the projector and cast the screen on the wall. The number 300 was counting down, which I assumed was the time left until the match.
Wondering what to do for the next five minutes,
Click!
“Here you are.”
“…What are you doing here?”
“I came to congratulate you, but you were nowhere to be found, so I came here.”
Logan and Laurentina had burst in.
Even though this was the room Dice and I used, they just barged in. The male pro-gamers, with little experience with women, stiffened, and Dice, who had gotten familiar with them in recent days, bowed her head to greet them.
As soon as I stood up to greet them, Logan pulled me into a bone-crushing hug. If I were an ordinary person, my bones might have cracked under the pressure. He patted my back vigorously, adding,
“Great job. You fought well.”
“…Logan, I thought I was going to die. Without a few strokes of luck, I would’ve been done for.”
“Surviving is winning.”
As he let go, I noticed Laurentina.
“What are you up to?”
“Here, take one each.”
“…What is this?”
“U.S. Navy enlistment forms…?”
“Hehe, I wonder how many of you can make it to my unit… Argh!”
“Don’t waste paper printing useless Navy enlistment forms.”
…How long was she going to keep up that headhunter act?
Laurentina was subdued by a punch from the Polar Bear, and Dice collected the papers from Michael, Ink, and Gambit’s laps with a sigh. She looked genuinely disappointed.
I sighed and added,
“She’s a friend of mine. Don’t mind her; she’s always like this.”
“That makes me more worried…”
“Trying to find out more will get you hurt.”
Seriously.
Finally, the rowdy atmosphere settled a bit. Of course, that didn’t mean these two outlaws were leaving, but Logan, having participated in the final championship, shared some common ground with Michael, Ink, and Gambit, which made for easy conversation.
This crafty shark had no trouble carrying on the conversation, even without common ground.
Anyway, I informed them that I planned to wait for Harmony. Fortunately, they had their own transportation and offered to take me to the hotel later.
Plus, if we didn’t break the ice now, we’d be awkward at the year-end party hosted by Henry tomorrow.
“Yoo Jin. Would you like to visit the penthouse we’re staying at? It’s quite nice. They might let us stay for a day.”
“Uh, that’s a bit…”
“Oh my, is this little one objecting?”
This shark…
The others seemed fascinated, watching me being bullied for the first time. They didn’t seem inclined to intervene. Dice was even more so, ready to record the scene with her phone.
I smacked Dice on the head with my tail as the screen flickered on.
Harmony’s match had started.
“Now, let’s sit back.”
After setting Laurentina down, the number of people watching the final match on that Friday grew from five to seven.
And then—
“Is that kid the one who was my formidable opponent during Operation North Spears?”
“Yes.”
“As expected, hehe…”
Laurentina’s ruby-like, transparent red eyes sparkled as she gazed at the screen with the same expression as someone encountering a pile of jewels.
What should I do about her?
-[Streamer ‘Yoo Jin’ // ON AIR]
“Wow, the viewership is skyrocketing. It’s already over 100,000.”
“You won the final match today, so just from simple calculations, you should be the champion of this Final Championship… Last time I opened a broadcast, there were 3 million viewers. This time, it looks like there might be even more.”
“I hope the servers don’t crash.”
-Owner, show yourself!!!!!
-Yoo Jin wins! Yoo Jin wins! Yoo Jin wins! Yoo Jin wins! Yoo Jin wins! Yoo Jin wins! Yoo Jin wins! Yoo Jin wins! Yoo Jin wins! Yoo Jin wins! Yoo Jin wins! Yoo Jin wins! Yoo Jin wins! Yoo Jin wins!
-Pride of Korea! Pride of Korea! Pride of Korea! Pride of Korea! Pride of Korea! Pride of Korea! Pride of Korea! Pride of Korea! Pride of Korea! Pride of Korea!
-Pride of Korea X Just really damn good O
-If this person were dropped in Gambia, they’d still get first place lololololol
Indeed.
Six-figure viewer counts had become somewhat common, but seven figures were a whole different level. In less than a minute, it surpassed one million, and by the time I drank a cup of water, it had gone over four million. It felt as if my streaming session had been coated with honey. How should I take this? Well, there wasn’t much I could do.
It had been a while since I last streamed – only about 1 or 2 weeks – but I was at a bit of a loss for words. Still, it didn’t seem to matter much. As long as I shared some anecdotes, everyone would be pleased. A rather complacent thought, perhaps.
To say hello after a long time, I began to speak softly.
“It’s been a while since I last streamed, everyone. Nice to see you. I’m Yoo Jin, back after finishing the Final Championship.”
-AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH
-Take me! Take me! Take me! Take me! Take me! Take me! Take me! Take me! Take me!
-Wow, a pajama party with three girls lolololololol
-The snake pajama is crazy lololololol
-Wow, Teacher, you are seriously adorable lolololol
-First place! First place! First place! First place! First place! First place! First place! First place! First place! First place! First place! First place! First place! First place! First place!
“This snake pajama? I thought you all would like it. Though I didn’t buy it for myself, these two searched all over New York because they thought it would look good on me. They’re such perverts.”
“I’ll gladly be called a pervert if I can touch your tail.”
“Look at this.”
-lololololololololololololol
-Looking good lol
-Touch it! Touch it more! Squeeze the tail like crazy!
-Dice will probably spend all her prize money at the hospital lolololol
-Such perverts lololololol
Of course, Dice was punished for her reckless words and actions by getting wrapped tightly with my tail. It might not seem like much of a punishment, but after about a minute of being bound, she would inevitably tap out, so it didn’t matter.
In any case, it was a real pajama party. Dice, Harmony, and I, all wearing unique and fluffy pajamas, appeared on the drone cam. It was 12 AM in New York and about 1 PM in Korea. Despite it being quite late, viewers stayed up to watch the final match of the championship, which was touching.
“It’s 12 AM here in snowy Manhattan. Many buildings still have their lights on. We’ll be here for another 2-3 days before heading back to Korea.”
“Living here forever wouldn’t be bad, but Korean food is too expensive.”
“You always mooch off Yoo Jin, so what’s expensive?”
“Why would you say that?”
-Revelation time ON
-What are they doing lololololol
-Since when did you two become such close friends? This is legit
-Fact: They’ll return soon since they can’t speak English well.
-Despite looking like a Westerner, Dice can’t speak English for her life lololol
Dice gave me a sulky look after reading the last chat, but I wasn’t sure what she expected me to do. It was a blunt fact, after all.
Apart from these trivial conversations, today’s broadcast had a different focus. Specifically, fans from Korea and the US had sent us many gifts to the hotel, so we planned to review them briefly.
We didn’t have enough time to explain each one in detail, so we’d just give a quick overview.
And the first item to be introduced, which also hinted at another future broadcast content, appeared.
Rustle!
The item wrapped in paper had a red and black skull design that looked intimidating, and the front had the word “DAFUQ” written on it.
One Chip.
It was an insanely spicy challenge item with a Scoville rating high enough to halve the viewership of this broadcast.
Of course, since it was my broadcast, Harmony and Dice were forced to participate.
“Uh, Teacher…?”
“I’m eating it too, of course.”
“Then that changes things.”
Dice nodded eagerly.
I couldn’t help but laugh a little.
“…Anyway, since it’s almost bedtime and hospital bills in the US are insanely expensive, we’ll save this for when we return to Korea.”
-Wow, doing the One Chip challenge here lolololol
-Seriously out of the blue lol
-Fact: This person is always out of the blue
-That’s true lol When has this guy ever done what people expected?
-Already excited lololololol
Then came the question everyone was most curious about.
Of course, I didn’t speak first; Dice threw the question at me.
“Yoo Jin, can you handle spicy food? Do snakes even taste spiciness?”
“Do you think I’m an actual snake?”
But then,
“…Actually, I’m not that good with spicy food.”
“Everyone, you heard that? Look forward to the broadcast when we’re back in Korea.”
-lolololololololololololololol
-Announce when the broadcast will be! I need to take time off!!!
-Already preparing to watch like crazy
-This person seems to invite trouble lololololol
-Whoever sent that gift is a legend lol
After raising the excitement, I briefly announced the schedule for the next day.
“…Anyway, we have another broadcast planned for tomorrow. It’s December 31st. We’ll be showing you the New Year fireworks at Times Square. Of course, before that, there will be the Final Championship ranking announcement, so please enjoy watching that too.”
I checked the current time. It had been less than 20 minutes since the broadcast started.
There was no debriefing, and from tomorrow, I was completely free, so there was no need to worry about wake-up time.
“Since it’s a bit early to sleep… how about a little chat session? Dice and Harmony, are you up for it?”
“You’d wake us up even if we were sleeping.”
“Are you seeing me as a tyrant?”
What should I say? Aside from my skills in Dark Zone, I seemed to have a talent for being a punching bag.
Anyway, we started a simple talk session.
It was the night of December 31st.