[TS] Malicious Sniper

The ‘meeting’ that Barcode mentioned clearly meant a real-life collab stream.

Even viewers with some common sense couldn’t have been unaware of that fact.

However, Barcode’s question, “When shall we meet?” was rife with misunderstandings.

[Deceiver Betrayer Deceiver Betrayer Deceiver Betrayer Deceiver Betrayer Deceiver Betrayer Deceiver]

[Subscribing is a crime kekeke Subscribing is a crime kekeke Subscribing is a crime kekeke]

[Ah, so that’s why you didn’t spill the tea, haha]

[Did you enjoy dating behind the scenes, you curry bastard?]

[Hah… lonely folks should just stop watching streams and go die, okay?]

[I’ll go find a high school girl at the convenience store in front and head to another world]

Barcode’s explosive remark was beyond what anyone could handle, instantly turning Curry’s streaming chat into hell.

Curry, unable to brave the torrent of hatred and malice flowing from all the singles, desperately avoided eye contact.

If the mental strain continued beyond this point, it was a sure thing Curry would be branded as a ‘Deceiver’ without any chance of damage control.

“Um, Barcode?”

“Yes?”

Curry called Barcode, attempting to clear up the misunderstandings, and Barcode responded cheerfully.

The one who ignited this tricky situation was currently watching from a safe distance, totally unconcerned.

It was absurd, but getting angry would only backfire, so Curry cautiously continued.

“We’re not on meeting terms, right? If you say that, the viewers might misunderstand…”

“Don’t you remember during fan meeting day? After it ended, just the two of us went for drinks…”

Ding!

Curry hung up the phone faster than light for their entire life.

But Barcode’s word ‘drinks’ had already been broadcasted.

With a resigned air, Curry’s gaze turned to the chat window, trying to ignore the inevitable chaos.

[Just the two of us drinks? Just the two of us drinks? Just the two of us drinks? Just the two of us drinks? Just the two of us drinks? Just the two of us drinks? Just the two of us drinks?]

[Was I the only one being serious again? Was I the only one being serious again? Was I the only one being serious again?]

[Once again caught in the games of the popular kids! Once again caught in the games of the popular kids!]

[I feel like I might go insane I feel like I might go insane I feel like I might go insane]

[Explain yourself, you bastard! Explain yourself, you bastard! Explain yourself, you bastard!]

Is it really possible for such varied spamming to coexist in one chat room?

Curry thought, noticing this unusual assortment of comments flooding the chat.

How to get out of this mess? Weighing his options, Curry called Barcode again.

“You hung up first, and now you’re calling again?”

What was so amusing about this, Barcode’s voice was lively and cheery.

For her, creating trouble seemed to be a source of joy.

Curry couldn’t fully comprehend or empathize with her, but at least her clarification was necessary in this situation.

“Barcode, when exactly did we go for drinks just the two of us?”

“Hmm… Was that so? I was drunk that time…”

Barcode’s response seemed to agree while leaving room for doubt.

Depending on the listener, Curry could end up painted as the jerk dragging a drunk girl for drinks.

Since Barcode’s memory wasn’t reliable, Curry could also become the one wrongly accused in this situation.

“No, I was more drunk than you at the fan meeting…”

“Then do you remember for sure? Did we go for drinks or not?”

“…”

“Can’t give a definite answer, can you?”

Curry cursed himself for being unable to answer Barcode’s question.

It was true he had too much to drink, which led to blacking out.

His silence could only deepen the misunderstandings further.

A quick glance at the chat room showed a volcano was erupting.

He tried to think more quickly than ever, but no way to fix this situation came to mind.

“Please cut the jokes and tell me why you called…”

“Do you dislike talking to me?”

“N-No, it’s not that I dislike it…”

“Then why did you try to hang up? You also hung up unilaterally just now.”

Feeling the pressure from Barcode’s questions tightened around him like a noose, Curry forced himself to stay grounded.

There’s a saying that even in a tiger’s den, if you keep your wits about you, you can survive.

In this crisis, maintaining a calm mindset was crucial.

“First, we need to proceed with the stream. After finishing this content, I’ll reach out again.”

“Hmm… I can see right through your intentions. I’ll pretend to wait. If you don’t contact me…”

“I will definitely reach out, so please…”

“Alright.”

Ding!

Having successfully negotiated some level of agreement with the ‘tiger,’ Curry breathed a sigh of relief.

Though he’d handled the immediate crisis, not all the dangers were safely behind him yet.

Like the butterfly effect where a butterfly flapping its wings on one side of the world creates a storm on the other side.

Curry didn’t know how much bigger the crisis he just averted might return to him later.

He absolutely couldn’t feel at ease yet and needed to keep his wits about him.

“Okay, everyone. Let’s all calm down for a moment.”

Curry attempted to soothe the agitated masses, but of course, a simple statement wasn’t going to cool the steamed viewers down.

It only added fuel to the fire.

However, Curry was a seasoned pro streamer who had been through countless such situations.

He was no stranger to how to placate disgruntled viewers.

“I’ll finish the content and call Barcode to clear everything up. Is that alright?”

[Okay]

[Stop]

[Everyone says ‘stop’]

[Spamming, halt!]

[Part two of the stream is guaranteed to be hella fun, lol]

[If you end the stream here, it would be legendary]

Successfully negotiating with the viewers, Curry resumed the interrupted content.

Although ‘resume’ was a stretch, as the mini-war had already ended, and only selecting the MVP through viewer voting remained.

Truth be told, the MVP was basically already determined, but to maintain the original rules and ensure no after-comments, Curry opened up the viewer voting.

“Alright, we’ll close the voting at ten thousand.”

To ensure precise voting ratios, they closed voting at ten thousand.

In less than five minutes, around ten thousand votes had come in, with the published voting graph showing Barcode in a landslide lead.

“Barcode took approximately 9000 votes, making her the MVP.”

With a voting percentage of over 90%, Barcode seized the MVP title.

When selected as MVP, a special ‘Curry merch’ set is given as a reward.

The victory reward from the war was far better, while the MVP selection reward was essentially just a bonus.

“That wraps up this year’s New Year War. Muba!”

[Muba~]

[Muba~]

[Means MooTube]

[So now you have to explain yourself]

[Everyone, please take your seats]

[Taking seats]

[Curry better talk well]

The New Year War content had concluded, and now all that remained was for Curry to explain.

Everything discussed briefly with Barcode had become a point of controversy.

Curry switched the Discord status from offline to online with the heart of a condemned prisoner.

He really didn’t want to make the call, but since he had initiated it, there was no turning back.

With trembling hands, he moved the mouse to hit the call button, and after a few rings, Barcode picked up.

“Okay, now we have to start part two of the stream, right?”

Hearing her voice pierce into his ear, Curry swallowed hard.

*

After confirming the New Year War was over on stream, it wasn’t long before Curry called me.

With joy, I answered the call and delivered the announcement for part two of the stream instead of Curry.

Of course, Curry probably didn’t want part two, but that’s exactly why I initiated the firm announcement.

To trap her.

What if Curry decided to end the stream in a situation like this?

She might never be able to turn the stream back on again.

Knowing that, I spoke with a voice brimming with excitement.

“Funny how you didn’t manage to escape, huh?”

“…What do you think I am?”

“I thought if it were the Curry I know, she’d cut the stream immediately.”

“Doing that might genuinely put me in danger, so I couldn’t bring myself to do it.”

While we talked, Curry made a strong effort to hide her emotions.

Yet her voice carried a slight tremor, and in the frame, her hands twitched ever so slightly.

Having gauged Curry’s state, I decided to shift to new topics.

I felt no need to continue unveiling any further controversies.

“In fact, saying we went for drinks just the two of us was a joke.”

“Hah… So the drinks ‘just the two of us’ incident was just our ‘Chairman’s’ joke.”

[The Flower Shop Owner who’s great at joking]

[Honestly, I think everyone knew it was a joke]

[Weren’t you trying to bring up a real-life collab?]

[Curry’s reaction was just too real, I had no choice but to joke, haha]

[For real lol]

[So when are you two gonna start dating?]

Clearing the dull bait swiftly, I observed the viewers’ reactions.

It could come off as rude if I wasn’t careful, but thanks to my usual image, no negative comments were raised.

After giving Curry a breather, I then transitioned to the main topic.

“Curry, I have one request.”

“…Yes, let’s hear what our Chairman wants.”

Despite Curry’s obvious sarcasm, given her mood, I let it slide.

“Could you give me a different reward other than the usual MVP reward?”

“A different reward? I wonder if I can give you what the Chairman wants…”

Curry expressed doubt about whether she could provide what I desired, but she had all the capability to do so.

What I wanted wasn’t anything material.

“How’s your schedule until the start of the new season?”

“I have no plans whatsoever.”

“Then that’s good news.”

“What kind of reward are you asking for…?”

Ignoring her fear, I quietly continued speaking.

“I came across an interesting video while watching Mutube. It was called ‘Kyeon-wang.'”

“Oh… Kyeon-wang, you say?”

“Yes. I saw it for the first time and it looked really fun.”

I said with the brightest smile ever.

Originally, what I had wanted in the collab was to become Curry’s mentor in League of Legends and just tease the heck out of her.

But having stumbled across the peculiar Mutube algorithm, the ‘Kyeon-wang’ content presented me with a new opportunity.

“I’ll be Curry’s mentor, and we’ll do Kyeon-wang together.”

“What Kyeon-wang… don’t tell me?”

League of Legends and Kyeon-wang.

The two keywords only meant one possible direction.

“Curry, you have to hit the Grand Master tier, the one you always sing about. Even if it’s preseason.”

“No, there’s no way we’re doing Kyeon-wang to get to Grand Master…”

“Challenger?”

“…That could happen. Yes.”

Easily overcoming Curry’s resistance, I stifled a laugh and added,

“There’s a chance we might get there earlier than expected, you know? Grand Master.”

“It could also take longer than expected, can’t it? Then Barcode would have to stay for a long time… huh?”

Realizing something strange too late, Curry shut her mouth.

Was she seeing a tiring future? The expression on the broadcast screen was that of a person who’s given up on everything.

“If I have to reach Grand Master, doesn’t that mean I’ll have to stay at your place, too?”

If it takes longer than a day, then I would have to sleep at Curry’s place.

I didn’t need to say the rest.

Even though it was left unsaid, the meaning was clear.

A brief silence lingered over the call, followed by…

“…You’re insane.”

Curry, having fully understood the content regarding the real-life collab, eventually showered me with praise.

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