Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: Ma-sam Plummets to Rock Bottom
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Did she sense my gaze?
Kim Shin-hyeok looked right at me.
And it wasn't just a quick glance. He kept staring into my eyes. It seemed like he'd been aware of me all along.
We ended up staring at each other for quite a while like that.
Of course, it wasn't some real rivalry fueling it. I hadn't even properly talked to Kim Shin-hyeok before.
But we were streamers. And streamers knew how to build a story.
Ooooooh!!
"Whoa!!"
"Look over there!"
The longer we stared, the more surprised voices rose up. It was the audience reacting to us.
And the cameras weren't about to miss that. Soon enough, we were both caught on screen.
That sparked a massive cheer that echoed everywhere.
Waaaaaaaaaah-!!
Park Jae-ho-! Park Jae-ho-! Park Jae-ho-!
Kim Shin-hyeok-! Kim Shin-hyeok-! Kim Shin-hyeok-!
The cheers just kept coming, and we kept staring.
Then, once we'd properly heated up the mood, we turned away.
Just like that, we'd created a story.
It was different from the one between me and Ma-sam.
This was the story of who would be the ultimate winner in this Streamer Training showdown. And it was plenty entertaining on its own.
Proof? Viewers had already broken 400,000. We might actually hit 500,000 at this rate.
'That'd be nice.'
I gave a slight smile, then stretched out the last of the tension from my body.
The matchup with Kim Shin-hyeok had me a bit on edge.
But it also had me excited.
'This'll be fun.'
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Unfortunately, the finals didn't start right away.
There was something we had to address first.
It started with Dokgo Hwayeon's objection.
"Let me examine Ma-sam's body. Something's definitely off."
"We can't do that. Can't you see the state Trainee Ma-sam's in right now?"
Ma-sam had been humiliated in front of everyone. He'd pissed himself in front of hundreds of thousands. No way his mind was intact.
"I... I lost? To some lowly manager?"
Shinbi used that as an excuse to refuse letting anyone check Ma-sam's body.
But this was Dokgo Hwayeon. And this was Dokgo Family territory. Even the other team leaders had no choice but to side with her.
"Ma-sam's movements did look suspicious. Can't we at least verify?"
"This one agrees. Since ancient times, it's best to clear up suspicions as quickly as possible."
Suddenly it was 3 against 1. Even Shinbi couldn't keep defending Ma-sam in that situation.
He bowed his head.
It was a signal to do as they pleased.
Soon, the three team leaders—including Dokgo Hwayeon—approached Ma-sam.
"D-don't come...!"
He convulsed at the sight of them closing in. Clearly not a normal reaction.
But his will didn't matter.
Somehow, Go U-san in his bamboo hat had appeared behind Ma-sam. He grabbed hold of him.
"Stay still. We're just checking."
"Let go! I said let go!"
Ma-sam struggled. But he couldn't break free from a martial arts master like Go U-san.
In that gap, Dokgo Hwayeon and Hwangbo Seok closed in.
Actually, Hwangbo Seok got there first. He seized Ma-sam's wrist.
"Hmm."
Internal energy began flowing into Ma-sam's body.
"Hup...!"
Ma-sam's eyes went wide at the unfamiliar sensation. His resistance died down a lot.
Hwangbo Seok examined him for about a minute.
I watched along with the rest of my team.
'He definitely pulled something shady...'
Having experienced it firsthand, I knew. Ma-sam's strength and speed were unnatural. He'd cheated somehow.
While waiting, I checked the chat on my smartphone. Curious about viewer reactions.
-Did you see Ma-sam piss himself? lmao
-Must be mortified lololol
-But wtf did Ma-sam do to act like that?
-Ma-sam stans above GTFO
-Ma-sam stans trying hard lolol
-Anyone can see it's sus, quit pretending
Viewers had already convicted Ma-sam. It looked off to them too. Only his fans were defending him.
Then Hwangbo Seok released Ma-sam's wrist.
He shook his head and declared,
"Nothing unusual."
"Huh?"
"That make sense?"
My teammates' confused voices rose beside me. Viewers were the same.
-???
-That's normal?
-Makes sense?
-WTF
-Lmao saw that coming?
-Screenshotting all you Ma-sam haters, gtfo
-Knew it'd be like this
Chat split in half, fighting it out. Pro-Ma-sam vs. haters. Total chaos.
But it wasn't confirmed yet. Dokgo Hwayeon was still there.
She grabbed his wrist with a look like it was absurd. Poured her internal energy in.
"Hup!"
Ma-sam's eyes bulged again. Bigger this time. Her energy must've been fiercer.
I watched her tensely. If she cleared him too, it'd paint a weird picture.
'Mood tanks... Viewers bail.'
Bad news. Kim Kang-rok was already breathing down my neck. He might overtake me.
I glanced at Shinbi.
"Heh."
Surprisingly confident. He'd looked tense when Hwangbo grabbed him. Now? Totally relaxed.
'Doesn't show up to internal energy scans?'
Then Dokgo Hwayeon's eyes widened.
A strange sound slipped from her lips.
"This is...?"
Shinbi, watching, spoke up.
"N-no way...?"
"No way what?"
"Ah, w-well... He didn't cheat, so nothing should show."
"Hmm, is that so?"
She let go and stood, approaching Shinbi.
"So what now?"
"W-what do you mean?"
"It showed up in my energy."
"N-no way!"
"Of course. Blood Pills don't register to normal internal energy."
"B-blood Pill?!"
"Ma-sam ate one of those rare things?"
The other two leaders' eyes went wide. Shinbi too, but for different reasons.
Blood Pill: A forbidden elixir from a famous overseas pharma company. Ancient martial secrets fused with cutting-edge tech.
Insanely expensive. Bad for the body. Banned in Korea.
"B-blood Pill...? B-but normal scans can't detect..."
"Normal energy, sure. But what about Wild Absolute Heavenly Art?"
"Hmm, that legendary technique might..."
"Yeah, the Dokgo Family's direct lineage secret art..."
The other leaders nodded. Made sense.
"N-no way! Even Wild Absolute Heavenly Art couldn't..."
"Doubting Wild Absolute Heavenly Art? Should I fetch my father for a demo?"
She closed in on Shinbi. Her eyes gleamed fiercely. First time seeing her like that.
Intimidated by her? Or her dad?
Shinbi bowed his head.
"Th-that's... Ugh! S-sorry."
"Sorry for what?"
"I... gave Ma-sam... Ack..."
"Gave Ma-sam?"
"S-stop! Don't say it!"
Ma-sam freaked out again. They were definitely guilty.
Go U-san stepped in, clamping Ma-sam's mouth shut.
"Mmph! Mmmph!"
Much quieter now.
Shinbi confessed.
"We... fed him the Blood Pill."
"Unbelievable..."
"To think it was true..."
The other leaders shook their heads. Shocked.
Then Ha-rin spoke up beside me.
"What's a Blood Pill anyway?"
"You don't know? Boosts physical abilities like crazy."
"For real? Exists?"
"Yeah. But nasty side effects. Hair loss, weak libido, muscle shrinkage or something."
Side effects were brutal. Still, demand was high. No wonder the price tag.
Probably cost at least 100 million won to get one.
'Burned 100 mil on this? That cheapskate Ma-sam?'
Showed how deep his hate for me ran. The miser shelled out 100 mil. Insane.
Anyway, Ma-sam's cheating was exposed.
I checked chat again. Curious about his fans.
-Tch tch knew it
-Ma-sam donezo
-SSJ this is straight to hell
-Hell! Hell! Helly hell!
-Ma-sam hellbound kek
-No way. Ma-sam bought that pricey Blood Pill? BS
-Denial dude above?
-Lololol so satisfying
Some denied reality, but most mocked and trashed him. Fair game for this scandal.
Felt damn good.
'Finally going down.'
A bit disappointing, though.
Wanted to surpass him at his peak viewer count. Never happening now.
But looking down on washed-up Ma-sam? Not bad either.
'Bye.'
Ma-sam slunk away with Shinbi. No more martial content for them. Facing tons of backlash. Shinbi might quit streaming.
'Ma-sam too?'
Nah. Three years by his side told me he wouldn't.
Anyway, big issue cleared before finals.
Dokgo Hwayeon approached, looking smug.
I sidled up, whispering so no one else heard.
"But did you really detect it with internal energy?"
Curious. Blood Pills supposedly undetectable that way.
Biggest headache in these tournaments.
Yet she "caught" it. Natural to wonder.
Her tiny voice, just for me.
"Nope."
"What?"
My eyes widened.
She grinned mischievously.
"You didn't...?"
"Yeah. Total bluff."
"Whoa..."
Dokgo Family's precious daughter alright. Gutsy as hell. I couldn't pull that off.
But results mattered.
I sealed my lips.
Better if only I knew.