Chapter 66
Chapter 66
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: The Hidden Veterans Hunt Begins
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Time flew by, and before I knew it, the new year had dawned.
"Happy New Year!"
My super cute little sister, the cutest in the universe.
Jin Seol-young extended both hands and bowed deeply.
Heh heh, she's asking for her New Year's money.
I gave her some every month, but at her age, she probably had a ton of things she wanted to buy.
So, mustering my resolve, I handed my little sister a fat bill.
"Whoa!"
"President!"
A whopping one million won.
Jin Seol-hwa's eyes went wide at the enormous sum, her face paling in shock.
"It's New Year's, so cut her some slack just this once. Besides, she's in middle school now—right on the cusp of puberty, time to hang out with friends and all that."
"S-Still, that's way too much."
"Seol-young's school isn't your average place. It's where the chaebol kids go. I can't stand the thought of my adorable little sister getting looked down on by anyone."
"……"
Daehan Middle School.
Known as the modern-day noble academy, it was the top middle school in the country.
The kids who attended here often went on to famous overseas universities or the nation's elite Korea University.
High school was the same story.
In short, it was a free pass through life.
But what else could you expect from a school for the elite?
'With all that tradition and history, the kids must have a real sense of pride.'
Seol-young's eyes sparkled at the twenty 50,000-won bills.
She was lost in thought, pondering what to buy.
Good, she liked it.
If her personality had turned out introverted like mine, I'd have been seriously worried.
'Time to get back to normal life.'
A week ago.
I'd gotten hammered at a Christmas party and spent three days bedridden from alcohol poisoning. As you know, I'm not much of a drinker—I even held back at the class reunion.
And yet I'd downed not one, but five bottles, collapsing spectacularly.
When I woke up the next morning, what a sight.
Drooling on the living room floor, belly exposed, sprawled out like I hadn't a care in the world. It looked so peaceful, I couldn't help but chuckle.
"How's the contract with Han Myeong Construction coming along?"
Word was, they were staking everything on it.
Chairman Koo Yong-nam was thorough about that sort of thing.
"We're currently reinforcing based on the veterans flagged by the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs. That said, there are surprisingly many unsung heroes who never got reported."
"...I see. Plenty of folks don't even know about the registration process."
"Yes. According to the ministry, even when they visited in person, many hadn't realized they qualified for recognition."
"That's a problem. Those people sacrificed for the country too—they deserve the same compensation."
Damn right.
No one gets left out while others cash in.
That couldn't be allowed to happen.
The 300 billion won in support funds was being put to good use.
That's why we earned the money in the first place.
I wanted to honor my mother's legacy and become a great person.
On a personal note, maybe even end up in the ethics textbooks someday.
The thought of kids studying my name gave me a thrill.
"So how do you plan to find the hidden veterans?"
I curled my lips into a smile at Jin Seol-hwa's question.
I had a plan.
And the perfect guy for the job.
"Ever thought about the biggest advantage of internet streaming, Seol-hwa?"
"Streaming's biggest advantage?"
Well, she might not know.
"Cheap labor for maximum exposure."
"!"
💬 Live Chat Jin-seong, the president of internet streaming, had an average of 130,000 viewers.
It used to be 40,000, but after hosting a gaming tournament and doing some charity, his floating audience had ballooned.
He'd messaged me the day before yesterday.
Asking for my support going forward.
In return, I'd given him a simple task.
"Viewers spread across the nation will scout for us."
Yeah. They'd do it.
And find those hidden veterans in no time.
'If it feels bad to exploit them for free, dangle that bait.'
Korea's favorite food.
Offer that as the prize, and they'd leap out of bed to complete the mission.
Jin-seong's time to shine had arrived.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Jin-seong was about to go live with Piyak-i, his soon-to-be wife.
He had one plan in mind.
The 'Find the Veterans!' event.
Coming from a veteran's family himself, it burned him up that folks missed out on benefits just because they didn't know the process.
So he'd hashed it out at length with Big Spender bro.
Couldn't risk passion-pay backlash if viewers donated their time for free.
"Hey bros, good morning. Hope you're doing well."
Five minutes in, over 60,000 viewers had piled in.
Even though it wasn't prime time yet.
"Bros, remember that serious talk I said I'd have in two months? Ring any bells?"
💬 Live Chat — Viewer1 Yeah, of course I remember. — Viewer2 Helping out veterans, right? — Viewer3 What's the point you're getting at? — Viewer4 This guy's bailing 'cause it's too hard? — Viewer5 LOL Jin-seong could pull it off. No, these guys!
No streamer in their right mind tanks their rep with viewers like that. Jin-seong vented his frustration.
"I've faked a lot for content before, but not this time. Don't get the wrong idea!"
He defiantly did a handstand against the wall.
The viewers loved it.
— Chat LMAOOOOO — Chat Handstand game's top tier for real. — Chat Agree With the mood lightened, Jin-seong shared the story he'd prepared.
"Bros, I told you I'd make content to help veterans, right? Well, that's the issue—we hit a snag."
— Chat What happened? — Chat Things go south? — Chat Good cause like this? Nah, probably some unspoken issue. — Chat Spill it. We'll help if we can. Viewers clamored to pitch in.
These were the same folks who'd dogpile someone on forums or start hate trains, but veterans? Untouchable.
Everyone watching had served in the military.
Lessons learned there stuck for life.
"Here's the thing... Even just tallying the known ones, there are way more than you'd think. Way more than you imagine."
— Chat Yeah, so? — Chat Get to the point. — Chat Umami overload. Cut the fluff, gotta fap. — Chat Fuck, another wanker showed up. The chat sped up.
Blink and you'd miss it.
Viewers had jumped from 60,000 to over 100,000, still climbing.
"Korea's small, but I can't cover all eight provinces alone. Even five years wouldn't cut it—and some might pass away waiting."
— Chat True. — Chat So? Need help? — Chat For free? — Chat If we mobilize, country's covered in a week. 100k viewers posting on forums/SNS? Ants won't escape. — Chat Netizen detective squad vibes. — Chat LOL that case where forum nerds caught a killer cops couldn't? — Chat That shit was hilarious LOL It was a real story.
Forum dwellers pieced together clues for a murderer with zero leads, posting everything online. Cops followed up and nabbed him.
Papers, TV, every outlet hyped it as a massive deal—internet influence beyond imagination.
Jin-seong remembered it well.
"Not for free, of course. That's what I'm announcing today."
He pulled up his prepped presentation.
Everyone locked in at the detailed slides.
"Anyone who finds a veteran gets 365 30,000-won chicken delivery coupons, no questions asked. That's a full year of unlimited chicken for you viewers."
— Chat Huh? How many? — Chat 365? Insane! — Chat Thought it'd be 1-3 max. God tier prize! — Chat Coupons expire? — Chat 1 year from receipt I think. — Chat Best prize ever. — Chat 365? Fuck... puke-level chicken feasts! — Chat Posting now. Suspicious grandpa in my hood... — Chat Go ask if he fought in Korean War! — Chat Planning to. That wasn't all.
Individual rewards alone would spark fierce competition, causing early dropouts.
If overlooked veterans lived near quitters, the plan failed.
Jin-seong had a clever twist.
"Bros, this way only the keen ones participate, others sit out. So I'm adding group incentives."
The slide advanced.
— Chat ! — Chat ! — Chat ! Viewers gasped silently at the screen.
It read:
10 Veterans Found – 1 Coupon to ALL Participants 20 Veterans Found – 2 Coupons to ALL Participants Starting there.
100 Veterans Found – 10 Coupons to ALL Participants Might seem minor next to 365.
But this was for every participant in 'Find the Veterans!'
A massive prize pool.
— Chat For real? — Chat 100 found = how many coupons?? — Chat Delivery stocks mooning LOL — Chat Jin-seong's a legend. Wedding news was wild, now this... — Chat This hits the news. — Chat Reporters watching got the bait hard. — Chat 10k participants x 10 coupons for 100 vets...? — Chat Plus 100 x 365 base... you do the math. — Chat Calculate it yourself lol The stream descended into chaos.
Chat flew nonstop.
Jin-seong smiled inwardly.
Now hordes would fan out everywhere.
Finding hidden heroes would be a breeze.
'Hope Big Spender bro's okay.'
This would eat extra budget beyond the 300 billion—and he'd called it a last resort.
'Sh-should be fine, right?'
The ripple effect was beyond imagination.