Chain Reaction of Clashing Madnesses
Previous episode recap... House! Money! Job! Seol Yuna obtains it all and becomes a complete human being! Just as she's popping victory fireworks in the empty office.
An attacker bursts in... And the identity of that attacker is the eyepatch landmine girl! After a fierce battle, Yuna uncovers the landmine girl's true identity...
"Introduce yourselves. She's your classmate."
She was another Scalaiive 3rd gen member.
"..."
"..."
Me and the landmine girl sat facing each other across the president's desk. The inexplicable staring contest made everything intensely awkward. Neither of us could endure the discomfort, so we both hesitated to even greet each other.
After watching for a while and getting fed up, the president stepped in first.
"Alright! Yuna, this is Lee Seoyun. Her personality's a bit weird, but she's not a bad kid."
"...Her?"
But yeah, she does seem like a weirdo. Who the hell dresses like that?
"Seoyun? This is Seol Yuna. The new 3rd gen recruit. As I said, she's not a bad kid..."
"...The one wrapped up so tight even her identity's a mystery?"
...But thinking about it, I was the same. Wandering around the building in a hood and mask even indoors—anyone would question if that's normal. This deeply shrouded hood and mask. Isn't that the outfit hardcore criminals love? I could see why this weirdo Lee Seoyun was so wary of me. She'd straight-up seen a visual criminal going "Wrryyyyyyyy!!!" in the company office. That ain't human...
"Well, Yuna has anthropophobia, so..."
The president tried to shield me by explaining my situation, but
"Hmph! At least this body doesn't like it! Someone hiding their face like that being this body's classmate? Ahh... Scalaiive's future looks so dark...!"
The landmine girl perfectly scratched my itch.
"Th-that's not something you should say, is it...?"
"What?"
"Outdated chuunibyou, skull-pattern eyepatch, spouting Yakuza-style Japanese at first meeting..."
"It's all the real deal, isn't it...?"
"What did you sayyy? You little...!"
Landmine girl! Pissed off!! I inwardly sneered coolly at her as she looked ready to lunge. So who's the one darkening Scalaiive's future here? Seol Yuna, the national-power-level viewer with 30,000 hours (OVER) of VTuber streams, Kirinuki channel operator, and super-genius bedridden 25-year-old PhD holder (soon)? Or that landmine girl with her trash concept? The answer's obvious.
This alone was critical damage enough to make her murderous, but I didn't stop there.
"A-and what's with that speech pattern...? 'This body', seriously? Isn't it time to quit the chuunibyou play?"
I'd been dying to say it because of her speech. 'This body' what? The moment I heard it, goosebumps exploded all over, and my hands went all shivery like an ogre dog.
"P-plus, spitting casual speech at the president like that. Y-you've never done proper society stuff, have you?"
Ooh~ Instant casual? Can't lose that~ Some game story where a character shouldn't exist popped into my head. Who does she think she is, bantering casually with the president like that? Society ain't a joke!? Back in my day! Eh! Can't even look superiors (like my advisor professor) in the face! These days... MZ gens... y'know... Eh! No manners... No manners!
I had so much more to vent and kept pouring it out...
"H-honestly, if she weren't my classmate, I wouldn't even associate..."
"..."
I stopped mid-sentence at the landmine girl's face, twisted beyond just a frown.
"Wha-what...!"
"I was almost gonna say lol"
A bit... too far? I shouted it to somehow backpedal my mistake, but apparently, that was the fuse.
The landmine girl yanked off my hood and snatched my mask the second she heard it.
"Kyaaah--!"
In the sudden chaos, I screamed, twisted my upper body away, and shielded my face with both arms—but she didn't stop.
"You crazy bitch think this is the internet?! Society?! Quit the commie shit, you shut-in Yeopo wannabe!"
"Ah- aaah-! No! Stop! Don't do it!"
Fierce wrestling broke out in the president's office. After the long probing phase, it went straight to the main event...!
And in this main event, I was hopelessly disadvantaged. The landmine girl, having ditched fashion concerns, could pour everything into offense, while I had to desperately protect my precious face. That's why the righteous are always at a disadvantage. The righteous must defend not just themselves but everything, while the wicked just need to steal and destroy. Just like my crumbling studio apartment.
Those who defend everything from such a disadvantage and win become heroes—but I was just a good-hearted civilian, so I lost my precious thing to that utterly evil landmine girl...
"Haha! Let's see that shameless mug of yours...!?!?"
"Ugh, uuuuh..."
The landmine girl froze, shocked upon fully facing my face.
"Hoo..."
The president stroked his chin, impressed, and while the shocked landmine girl's grip loosened, I immediately yanked my hood down over my head.
Along with that, I slammed my fist into her solar plexus.
"Guhk-!"
Lucky it didn't burst. Guess she's not an ankle mine but an anti-tank mine.
===
"So, Seoyun. Why'd you come so early? I told you to come in the afternoon."
"Hmph! Does the master of darkness and despair, 'Adelaine de Lorraine', have to venture out in broad daylight?"
The landmine girl spat casual sass at the president again. I considered slamming her solar plexus once more but held back. Not because I'd get counter-punched in the gut. I knew my 'solar punch' wasn't strong enough yet. That community wisdom rings true: 'Respect comes from fear.' I'd take this as a lesson and commit to diligent workouts from tomorrow. Tomorrow's me, fighting! 'Screw yesterday's me'—something like that whispered, but it was just my imagination, so I ignored it and stared at the landmine girl in front of the president.
The president, seated, gave her a nonchalant jab.
"You're just here to game, huh."
"Kuh...!"
Right on the mark—she clutched her chest and groaned. That attack power from a few words—truly befitting her position and level (age).
"Practiced facial reactions? Voice training? OBS fully mastered? Mock content planned? Episode notes filled out on the side?"
"Guek...!"
Thud—Overwhelmed by the fact barrage, she couldn't even stand and knelt down.
I was genuinely shocked. Subduing her with pure 'facts'—way stronger than my solar punch!
"Seoyun."
"...Yes."
"Let's work hard, okay?"
"Yes..."
And that 'fact assault' power even made the arrogant landmine girl switch to polite speech herself. 'Respect comes from fear' in the community... (omitted)
"Alright then. You've got time, so gaming room's fine—but take her with you."
"Pardon?"
The president immediately pointed at me.
"...Her?"
As the landmine girl glared suspiciously, I let out a stream of hisses.
"Haaaaah--!!"
My brain had flagged her—the one who'd forcibly triggered my trauma—as an 'extreme danger molecule'. She'd long been listed in my mental 'Book of Grudges'. My brain blared red sirens, commanding: Beep-! Enemy detected! Threaten! Eliminate!
Of course, I didn't act on it. Not because I'd get beat.
"Yeah. Like it or not, you're classmates, right? You gonna collab-ban forever?"
"N-no."
"Good. And Yuna."
After finishing the scolding, the president finally glared at me.
"Y-yes...?"
"You're a VTuber now, right?"
"Yes..."
"Gonna keep hiding your face forever? I can't tell you to instantly cure your anthropophobia, but for face rigging, you need to show it. And you said it's fine with close people?"
"Kuhk...!"
"Quit the commie too. If you can't even understand it like Shiori and just memorize, fine—but you know it and use it. Think viewers will like that?"
"Kraaak...!"
"You're just as socially inept. Calling someone you just met 'real deal'? 'Real deal'. Tone it down."
"Kruht...!"
"Good. Now go game with Seoyun. That room's soundproof, so scream away. I'll call for lunch. Have fun."
"...Yes."
Then the president shoved me and the landmine girl out of the office.
Spotting the landmine girl outside, we instinctively widened our distance and spread our stance. Trying to exaggerate the weight class difference to intimidate... (omitted)
The pointless probing lasted briefly before I sighed and stepped toward her, offering a hand.
"Seol Yuna. Nice to work with you going forward."
A proper intro with a handshake, since we hadn't formally greeted yet. Suppressing emotions to offer a hand to someone I hated wasn't easy—but to achieve my VTuber dream, I'd have to get along with her eventually. Plus, adding past and present lives, I'm 46—life senior here. Time to show elder mercy.
But,
"Hmph! Shut up and follow this body, servant! To the gaming room!"
The landmine girl ignored my hand and strode ahead. Watching her retreating back,
"...Fucking bitch."
I spat the curse and chased after. I didn't punch her in the back of the head. Definitely not because I'd get hit again. This was elder... (omitted)
===
Left alone in the office, An Huiyeon watched the two head to the gaming room with its latest console. Once they vanished from sight,
"Ufufufufu..."
She let out a deeply sinister laugh! Like plotting some grand scheme (not fur)—an evil cackle of a final boss reveling in her plan unfolding.
Why the wicked, sly grin?
"Seoyun and Yuna... they listen so well... hehehehe..."
Because of their obedient attitudes. As president of a mid-sized firm with good pay, benefits, and welfare, most employees respected and followed her. Except the 2nd gens.
An Huiyeon closed her eyes, recalling the painful past. No matter the training! Begging on her knees! Threats of expulsion! Those crazy bitches bulldozed straight ahead, deaf to it all! The stress alone made her stomach ache...
But now, things would change. She was certain.
If I throw the 3rd gens into collabs like this... at least no madness takeover!
As everyone knew, 2nd gens (Kang Nari aside) were 100% pure crazies. Controlling their madness? Given up. But 3rd gens obeyed her. Controllable. Mixing them into collabs would prevent broadcasts from going mad!
She couldn't wait for the 3rd gen debut... Though she'd need to clear her piled-up work first.
However... An Huiyeon didn't know yet. That per her 'dopamine philosophy', the 3rd gens harbored no small 'madness' themselves—and 'madness' never stays predictable...!
Even Isaac Newton, who predicted celestial motions, failed to predict 'human madness'!
In the near future. The disobedient crazies. The 'obedient' crazies. Tossed into Cheez-It, which would absorb hotter madness than ever.
Years later, watching that collab, An Huiyeon despaired and uttered:
'I am death... the destroyer of Cheez-It...'
The VTuber nuke inventor, future VTuber Oppenheimer.
"Hehehehehe...!"
Unable to foresee it, she just laughed. Laughed and laughed...