Chapter 327
- Seo-ha!
- Teu-ha!
- Streamer, it’s really been so long ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
- Finally!
- Upvote for the trolls who’ve been bored for the last 10 days with no bait ㅋㅋㅋ
- Without the king of trolls, the god of trolls, our streamer, the bait just didn’t circulate...
“Aren’t trolls people who stir up unproductive discord? I seriously don’t get it, why am I a troll?”
As soon as Seo-jun entered, he berated the real trolls who were already starting trouble.
“Gal!”
The camera wasn’t on yet, and on the black screen, Seo-jun’s shout echoed emptily.
- ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ He’s come back even more insane ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
- Don’t start off with “gal” after being gone so long ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
- How rough was it out in the wild for you to come back like this ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
- Streamer, you know that? You already started trolling by putting ㅋ in the title
- For real ㅋㅋ Alright, let’s go
- Why did the streamer use ㅋ? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
They’re trying to incite again.
Seo-jun clicked his tongue and turned on the camera.
“Everyone, please refrain from baseless speculation. The ㅋ in the title is a ㅋ of joy. No, it’s not a ㅋ of mockery or trolling. Anyone trolling in the chat will be banned.”
A flood of chats poured in, saying there was no way it was a ㅋ of joy.
“Nobody believes me, huh. But that’s fine. He who would wear the crown must bear its weight. And I can handle this much just fine. Teu-ha. Nice to see you all.”
Seo-jun chuckled as he looked at the camera and greeted the viewers.
- Your skin didn’t tan
- Shouldn’t you have come back like a mountain bandit? Why are you all clean?
- Still, we’ll get to see you all scruffy again later
- For real ㅋㅋ
- Trash-streamer!
The viewers were hoping for a scruffy-looking Seo-jun.
But the face they saw this time had no trace of fatigue; he was clean and looked like he had just been on vacation.
“Hahaha. I didn’t go on vacation. Now then, let’s get ready to watch episode 1.”
The broadcast would start on the official channel in an hour.
Seo-jun set up his computer so he could watch it, and spent the hour catching up with his viewers.
- Why hasn’t any of the participants said a word about the broadcast?
- Upvote if you’re dying to know the results ㅋㅋㅋ
- I’m just afraid of what the streamer did
- What’s the meaning of that ㅋ? ㅋㅋㅋ What on earth ㅋㅋㅋ
“I told you, you’ll find out when you watch. They probably just chose not to spoil it. Both Bear-nim and Ryan-nim aren’t really active on social media anyway. As for me, why am I, a streamer, keeping my mouth shut?”
He didn’t really know.
If you don’t know, you just move on.
The MCN had suggested he try social media.
And that there would be more ads related to it in the future.
“I just got close with Baek Do-yul-nim. We’ve met a few times. You’ll see when you watch the broadcast.”
He wasn’t all that interested in Baek Do-yul.
When he thought about why, he guessed it was because he didn’t make much of an impact in the history books.
Of course, that was just on Seo-jun’s stream; outside of it, people were definitely talking about Baek Do-yul.
The firepower was just lacking.
Soon the hour passed, and the special program Man vs. Gamer began.
“It’s starting. Everyone, focus.”
Seo-jun pulled out the popcorn he’d hidden underneath.
And the cola, too.
- ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ He’s all set
- I wonder how it feels to watch your own broadcast?
- What do you think, it’s popcorn time
- It’ll be fun watching from Bear and Ryan’s perspective too
- I should’ve grabbed popcorn too, ugh ㅋㅋ
Then, with an intro, narration in Bear’s voice announced the start of the broadcast.
[I am Bear. As a survival expert, I have undertaken countless challenges to conquer nature.]
Ryan’s voice followed.
[I am explorer Ryan. I have thrown myself into extreme situations to pursue self-improvement.]
The two voices began to alternate.
The screen started showing a rapid succession of their past challenges.
[No matter how desperate the situation, staying calm to solve problems is.]
Footage of Bear in a crisis appeared.
[Even if a challenge seems impossible, diving headfirst into it is.]
Next, a nearly naked Ryan running across the savanna flashed on screen.
- Ah shit, my heart swelled up and then... ㅋㅋㅋ
- Why is he running around so cheerfully? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
- This is Ryan’s charm ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
- Baldy is strong!
- Anyway, when it comes to survival, both are crazy strong~
- Bring on the scruffy streamer!
A few more scenes sped by, and then the two spoke at the same time.
[That is what we do.]
What they do.
Survival and exploration.
And a contest against nature.
A logo appeared, signaling the start of the real content.
The next scene showed Bear and Ryan talking over the noise of a helicopter.
Whir-whir-whir.
In the loud helicopter, Bear spoke.
[The new problem we’re facing this time is not nature. I’m very much looking forward to it.]
[Haha! That’s right. The goal of this challenge is to take down two people. Here with Bear.]
[For once, I can’t even fathom how hard it will be to survive against the problem.]
[It’s an interesting challenge. The opponents are two gamers. The best gamers.]
[From now on, we must face and defeat the specialists with the finest physical prowess in the world. Right down there, on a deserted island! Those experts will be on the island beside it.]
Originally, the plan had been to blindfold them on a boat and send them to the island, but since they ended up with binoculars anyway, they simply moved by helicopter.
Bear then explained the rules.
The moment the explanation ended, Ryan spoke.
[Our knowledge of survival far outpaces theirs, but we can’t underestimate them.]
[Right. Their hunting will be as swift as a predator’s, and their ability to learn survival skills will be unimaginably fast.]
[But survival is never easy. Especially for beginners. The advantage is still ours.]
[However, the two gamers entered the island a day before us. If we overlook that, we could lose.]
[They’re probably going through their initiation right now, so let’s hurry and start our own survival.]
Whir-whir-whir.
The two jumped from the helicopter and deployed their parachutes.
After landing in the ocean, they discarded their parachutes and began swimming toward the island.
Bear, arriving at the beach, got up first and looked at Ryan.
Ryan also arrived at the shore and was scanning the surroundings.
Then he spotted something and walked over.
At the edge of the beach, beyond the water’s reach, two items were just lying there.
[Found the items the production crew prepared, Bear. The items the gamers requested: a knife and binoculars.]
Ryan grinned like a pervert, fiddling with the binoculars and pressing them to his eyes.
Beside him, Bear shook his head, but Ryan paid no mind.
[Well then, I’d be happy to see the newbies through these binoculars after their harsh initiation. Huh...?]
[...?]
[Huh?]
- ???
- Why?
- Don’t tell me the streamer is dead?
[Bear. Did we have some other advantage we didn’t know about? Like getting here a week early. Or receiving a gun.]
[No.]
[Hmm...]
[Why? Let me see, give me the binoculars.]
And from Bear’s perspective, the viewers could see.
A campsite built so perfectly.
And Seo-jun, lying there, and as the camera slowly panned sideways, the reason for the two experts’ shock was about to be revealed—
The screen switched, and a third voice began to flow.
- What on earth happened? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
- What is it
- For real ㅋㅋ
- Wait, did I just see a longsword stuck in the ground as the camera panned past?
- ??? What longsword ㅋㅋㅋ Haven’t you been watching the streamer’s broadcast too much? Are you seeing things, subs? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
[Alright. Bear and Ryan were surprised. Then, let me take you back to the first day we arrived here. When you’re stranded on a deserted island, the first thing you need to find is... a longsword, of course.]
- ???????
- ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ No way, did the production team take drugs?? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
- ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Why’d it suddenly turn into a variety show? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
* * *
‘The first thing to secure is water, but I see some bamboo further inland. If so, I can relax for now.’
Seo-jun and Baek Do-yul dove off the boat that had brought them close to the island and swam to the deserted island.
The island was large.
The weather was warm. No, it was hot.
They were near the equator, so it was always summer.
‘The island is pretty big. There’s that one over there.’
Baek Do-yul had said he was a good swimmer, but maybe because he hadn’t done much ocean swimming, he seemed to have expended a lot of mental energy from the start.
“Since body temperature should stay well regulated, what do you say, Baek Do-yul pro-nim?”
“Huff. Huff. Huff.”
“Rest a bit.”
“Yes.”
Seo-jun drew the longsword and swung it a few times.
“It fits perfectly. It’ll make an excellent survival tool.”
Seo-jun said, turning back.
He’d been told he didn’t need to pay attention to the camera, so he could just focus on surviving without thinking about it.
“Then, let’s find a shelter first.”
Baek Do-yul snapped out of it at those words.
Seo-jun had felt since the training that Baek wanted to show a better side than him in survival, so he just smirked.
“Yes. To find a shelter, first we need to scout the area and assess the conditions...”
“Baek Do-yul pro-nim?”
“Why? Did I say something wrong?”
“The shelter’s already decided.”
“What?”
“A spot that can be seen from the other team’s island. That’s perfect for our shelter.”
“...”
And the rivalry was shattered.
Actually, it was like this every time: getting shattered, then reigniting, over and over. This time was no exception.
Having just swum to the island and felt that this was real, that the safety training hadn’t been for nothing, Baek Do-yul couldn’t understand Seo-jun.
Is he still treating this like a joke?
I need to pull myself together.
Whether he did or not, Seo-jun walked along the shore, looking through the binoculars, and located the survival team’s island.
“This place looks good.”
“...It’s not bad, but...”
“Then it’s settled.”
Within ten minutes of arriving on the island, without even scouting, their shelter location was decided.
‘This isn’t bad at all.’
In a competition, the most important thing is to strike at the opponent’s mentality.
Seo-jun thought this was the ideal spot for doing exactly that.
“Then, let’s have a look around the island.”
“Yes.”
Baek Do-yul had been deflated but then rekindled his motivation.
“I’ll take care of dinner tonight. Seo-jun-nim.”
“Go ahead.”
Seo-jun and Baek Do-yul set off in opposite directions.
The plan was to circle around and meet on the opposite side of where they were now.
After that, they would explore the interior.
Since water seemed okay for now, the important thing was food.
And for that, they needed to know what was on the island and how big it was.
First, they had to survive, then they could find the flag and head to the opposite island.
They’d been told it wouldn’t be hidden somewhere easy.
But then.
“Aaaargh!”
A scream rang across the entire island.
Seo-jun turned around.
Baek Do-yul was running over, and as Seo-jun ran too, he could see Baek Do-yul also running toward him.
He looked completely terrified.
“What is it?”
Baek Do-yul was babbling, and Seo-jun’s eyes, which had been filled with concern, changed in an instant.
“Crazy! A crocodile! A saltwater crocodile! Four meters! No, six! No, is it a dinosaur? Insane. Wow. Seriously. I looked next to me and it wasn’t a rock, it was a crocodile...”
His eyes shifted.
“Where is it?”
“Huh? What?”
“Where is it. My protein.”
In that moment, an indescribable gaze from everyone, including the veteran filming crew, focused on him.
On Seo-jun’s face and the longsword in his right hand.
He can’t be serious, right?
He’s not serious... right?