I Became a Malicious Streamer

Bam!

An avatar blabbing loudly in front of me.

Hearing that sharp voice coming from an avatar dressed in a pure and pretty concept totally ruins the moment.

Maybe it’s just the peculiar tone of Chinese that makes my face frown the more I listen.

“Anyone here can translate what she’s saying?”

[Oh, are you even understanding?]

[People were translating Japanese smoothly…]

[But Chinese is kind of;]

[Is there no Chinese department?]

[With 20,000 people, there should be at least one.]

[Is there anyone here who knows the ‘Zhangguola’ language?]

[She’s asking why we entered her room, which she created herself.]

[She’s trying to interpret this.]

“Ah, really?”

Thanks to the talented viewer in the chat room, I was able to dodge a lot of labor.

I almost had to pull in Papago as backup.

Anyway, listening to the words of a viewer who could speak Chinese, it went like this:

She wanted us to pay a ‘seat fee’ for entering her room since she made it.

“I’m still not doing anything? And if you don’t want others in, just make it a private room.”

Though I hadn’t mastered the VR World yet, like most games, this one probably had that feature.

There are people who want to enjoy games alone or with friends.

[True, no idea what the reason is.]

[Maybe she doesn’t know the features?]

[Teacher, please tell us about this feature.]

“Why would I?”

Sure, I could tell her for the sake of being nice, but I’m a newbie too.

I’m still fumbling around, asking the viewers what this is and what that is.

And I just have this feeling that getting more involved with this person will become extraordinarily tiring.

Just when I was thinking about escaping this situation…

Fwoosh!

“What now?”

A Chinese person approached me, continuing to chatter.

To make matters worse, it seemed like there was a bug, as I couldn’t leave the room.

“This is a hassle too.”

I had been warned that this game had random bugs.

I was pondering whether to force close and re-enter.

[That person wants to duel, it seems?]

[Duel?]

[Isn’t this a VR game?]

[A Chinese person trying to duel the host…]

[She seems suspiciously wealthy for a girl from the continent.]

“She suddenly wants to duel me?”

She had an unexpected competitive streak.

As the Chinese person’s words kept coming, accompanied by interpretation in the chat, I got the general situation.

[The loser is apparently supposed to leave the room.]

[She suddenly provides content, huh?]

[She could just kick you, but she must be bored.]

[Did she really just want some company?]

Was she just missing the warmth of human interaction?

Maybe she was just bored and asking for some playtime.

Well, sure, I had no reason to decline her.

After all, I planned to keep exploring VR.

“Alright, let’s go for it.”

Zing!

As I nodded in agreement, the Chinese person dug a portal in front of us.

Seeing her express emotions while pointing at it, it looked like a device to move to another world.

“This isn’t a weird trap or anything, right? I’ll go, but…”

[Could be an abyss.]

[There are all sorts of maps, so be ready to escape instantly.]

[I’m curious what it’ll be like.]

I stepped into the glowing green portal.

*

“Okay, one successfully recruited. For now, I’ll think about what to do while playing a game with her.”

The mysterious Chinese girl, Lin Xiao Mei, succeeded in ‘kidnapping’ a nameless Korean.

She kept murmuring as if speaking to someone while manipulating the screen.

[Is that person a Korean?]

[Yep, they’re Korean.]

[She understood somehow, since she was only speaking Chinese.]

[Why not use some English?]

[Can she even speak Chinese?]

[There are quite a few Koreans who can speak Chinese.]

Lin was a streamer broadcasting on a Chinese platform.

She often engaged in VR content that involves communicating with others, aimed at Chinese audiences.

Her viewers were those who found it fascinating just to converse with foreigners in this cultural exchange space.

And today, while wandering the world, she found a suitable person.

Their movement and actions lagged, clearly indicating they were relatively new to VR.

She planned to run a broadcast where she would teach how to use VR while playing a game with this person, and if they won, give them a prize.

Of course, she intended to reveal her identity as a broadcaster later.

Many people would avoid chatting if they knew she was streaming, so it became a habit for Lin.

However, a variable she didn’t expect appeared.

[Lin, that person is a streamer you invited, right?]

[A streamer?]

[There are streamers on Switch who broadcast.]

“Really?”

So, they were a streamer.

Maybe because they both belonged to the same category, even if their platforms differed, she felt a bit curious about that Korean person.

“How many viewers do they have?”

The first thing she was curious about was the scale of that stream.

Lin had been streaming for about a year now.

She maintained an average viewership of 7,000–8,000, considering herself just below middle-tier for a broadcaster in her area.

Thus, she was surprised.

[Right now there are 20,000 watching.]

“20,000?”

Isn’t that quite a sizable number?

She thought it would be tough to break even 5,000.

[That’s number one among Koreans.]

[Substantial for a small country.]

[It’s considered a small but powerful company by continental standards.]

[Lin can’t even compete anymore.]

[Looking at the broadcast records, they’ve been streaming for less than six months.]

[They’re a newbie.]

[They are a newbie.]

[A complete defeat, a shame for the country.]

[Step it up, Xiao Mei.]

“Ha, is that so?”

Lin suddenly found herself driven by an unexplainable competitive spirit.

Originally, she intended to play while casually chatting about her age, how she got into VR, and what work she was doing now.

She always streamed like that, and there hadn’t been bad reactions.

But now, it felt different.

The viewers’ reactions, and even Lin herself, sensed it.

A chance encounter with someone from the same industry doing better than her.

Something inside her shifted.

“I have to win this.”

At the moment she stepped through the portal, Lin quietly loosened her hands while looking at the blonde Korean character in front of her.

*

“Aren’t there any explanations?”

[They don’t seem to be that kind of helpful type…]

[It doesn’t matter even if they explain, we wouldn’t understand anyway.]

[Good thing we have a translator in the chat room.]

[Is that person still here?]

“True, without the translator, we’d be totally lost.”

Yet, right now, explanations didn’t seem crucial.

What would they compete in?

As soon as she crossed the portal, she realized what game they would play.

There’s only one thing possible to do in this place.

“Is it bowling?”

It was a bowling alley.

My only experience was rolling a ball once in that comprehensive game map earlier.

Maybe I should give it a roll first.

I asked for permission to practice a bit, as this wasn’t a real match yet.

“Testing, just testing, okay?”

Wooooosh!

[They at least understand this one.]

[English is a universal language!]

The Chinese person nodded, showing she got it.

Let’s get a feel for the controls.

I picked up the bowling ball and rolled it on the rail without hesitation.

Rumble!

With the sound effect, the ball began to roll fiercely.

“Is this the feel?”

The ball slightly curved to the right.

Three pins were left standing.

I was about to roll again to clean up the pins, but this time it curved away as well; failure.

I probably need to lower the sensitivity a bit.

“This game feels surprisingly realistic.”

Thinking back, it’s been ages since I last hit the bowling alley.

Even before turning into a woman, it had been quite some time, and I barely remembered the last time I went.

Maybe I should suggest going to a bowling alley with Ji-yeon or Ryuah next time.

Bowling is still a sport with a low entry barrier.

Just rolling the ball can be fun for anyone.

That seems much better than being dragged to karaoke all the time. I should try to steer them toward the bowling alley next time.

While I was musing, I kept rolling the ball.

After lowering the sensitivity, my accuracy improved compared to before.

How many times have I rolled the ball? The Chinese friend approached me.

Bam!

“Shall we start the match soon?”

It felt like we were both managing to communicate without really understanding each other.

As I swung the ball in hand and shook it several times, she nodded.

[Can you communicate?]

[That’s how it goes when you go abroad, everyone does that.]

[Body language is the best, ㅇㅇ.]

Whirrr!

The world’s functions activated, and a scoreboard appeared.

My nickname popped up at the top.

Below was the opponent’s nickname.

From this setup, it looks like I’m going first.

“Am I supposed to go first?”

Nods.

The Chinese friend is graciously letting me go first.

I didn’t feel the need to decline.

I carefully maneuvered the mouse, simulating how I’d handle the bowling ball.

Rumble!

“Strike!”

I heard the applause sound effect.

Now, it’s your turn!

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