31
Chapter 31
- Wow, the size is insane. I'm going diving right now.
"What did you say?"
- Take that back right now!!!
- Whoa wait a sec
- Streamer, we'll apologize on their behalf.
- Please let it slide just this once, we're begging you.
The reaction in the chat window was explosive.
An unidentified new viewer.
They had just said the absolute most forbidden words on Parang's stream.
No one had ever sent a chat like this before, so they didn't yet know what would happen if someone did.
But one thing was certain.
This stream was freaking dangerous right now.
Parang's expression on the third-person screen was frozen colder than ever before.
Parang wordlessly went tap-tap, operating her cellphone to bring up the one-on-one chat mode.
She planned to give them a stern warning if they just didn't know, or ignore them if they were intentionally trying to trigger her.
- Wow, the size is insane. I'm going diving right now.
The first chat sent upon entering the stream. Parang stared at it intently.
Fortunately, it seemed the remark about 'going diving right now' was a bluff, as the viewer in question threw out some puzzled questions.
- ? Guys, why is everyone suddenly acting like this
- What is this
- ???
Parang was relieved, as they just seemed like a normal new viewer.
If it was just this, she could just give a stern lecture and move on.
It was an unprecedented situation, but not one she couldn't handle.
"You shouldn't say you're going to dive in this stream. You shouldn't actually dive either. Don't dive."
- Wait, why
"Just don't do it if I tell you not to. Because it's really dangerous. There should be a few videos on T-Tube, go watch all of them."
One might ask, 'They wouldn't even be able to go down to the Monster Fish Zone anyway, so why are you taking this so seriously? Can't you just ban them and be done with it?'
Of course, Parang also knew the chances were slim.
But there was the precedent of Shin Yuna. The difference between zero and one was sometimes infinitely vast.
And besides, a person's life could be on the line. If a Hunter really died after watching her and diving in, Parang would be plagued by guilt for a long time.
Her uselessly kind personality was a problem at times like this.
#
"Hmm."
Bertea sat in front of the computer and stroked her chin.
It was because Parang got triggered much easier than she expected.
"Hmm..."
She only planned to play a little joke, but the reaction was more intense than she expected.
Did she perhaps genuinely think she was going to dive in?
That was nonsense. What kind of lunatic would decide to dive even after watching her stream?
'Knowing her, she might actually think that....'
She really was a crazy Hunter who was about to go diving. Parang might be thinking exactly that.
That was how Parang looked from Bertea's perspective.
She usually seemed pretty smart, but she'd often trip up over the weirdest things.
"...For that reason, you shouldn't go diving. Understand? It's genuinely dangerous. If you really want to, just dive near the surface."
Had she been explaining this whole time?
Bertea quickly organized her thoughts and smiled with certainty.
Then, tap-tap.
- But I'm S-Rank?
Teasing a close friend was indeed the most fun thing in the world.
She could just buy her a few Lotus Biscuits later to make up for it.
Bertea grinned.
#
- But I'm S-Rank?
At that chat, Parang's previously calm expression cracked slightly.
"Even an S-Rank can be in danger. Don't do it."
- But I'm really strong. I've caught a Monster Fish before. That 8-meter Shark.
Well, it wasn't a lie.
"That's not a Monster Fish, it's just a Mutant Shark."
- Aren't they basically the same thing?
Her skill at subtly getting under someone's skin was truly a work of art.
Bertea had known Parang for years already. She knew exactly what buttons to push and how to push them.
"Aaaagh! They're different! Seriously!"
In the end, Parang crumbled under Bertea's ruthless, pinpoint strikes.
She stomped her feet in place. It was a habit she displayed whenever she felt frustrated and overwhelmed.
And the Viewers, who had been watching this whole sequence of events, were all feeling something.
'No matter how you look at it, this is just a troll.'
That was right. Unlike Yoo Parang, who only watched things like [Surface Diving Vlogs], the Viewers were veterans who had scraped the bottom of internet broadcasting culture.
They could tell at a glance whether someone was just a troll or a genuine new arrival.
But none of them offered this advice to Parang. They were all of one mind.
'Isn't this a chance to troll the Streamer?'
The Parang they had seen on stream was flawlessness itself.
Her usual image was that of a cool, beautiful girl who calmly slaughtered massive Monster Fish.
What would happen if her emotions exploded like this?
They couldn't stand the curiosity just thinking about it.
"I'm telling you, you really can't go diving!"
Furthermore, Parang was actually showing brief flashes of a rather clumsy side right now. The Viewers felt something burning inside them.
As a result, the Chat Window also united and began to tease Parang.
- But seriously, why can't we go diving?
- Seems doable to me?
- Hmm, is it really that bad?
- I'm watching this underwater right now and there's no problem
"Ugh, eek...!!!"
Parang's face turned red.
Since Parang is red, and red meets blue, together they make purple!
Sadly, Parang didn't know how to cast any Spells, so that was the end of it.
Anyway, Parang's face turned red.
"I'm telling you, it's really dangerous to dive! You've been watching the stream this whole time, right! So why do you keep saying you're going to go into the water!"
- Honestly, it looks doable
- Actually, I went diving yesterday too
"No, you said last time you'd never dive again! I remember your username!"
- That was a lie
That chat threw a match right into Parang's thoroughly oiled-up temper.
"No, when I say don't do it, don't do it!! Why won't you listen!!"
Parang stomped her feet on the ground with a bright red face, making a ]_[ expression. She even dropped her honorifics, which was unlike her.
She was pretty darn cute.
Because of that, the fire was reignited in the hearts of the Viewers who had been thinking, 'Should we stop here?'
It took a long time for Parang to regain her composure.
'If you keep doing this, I'm really going to ban all of you!' she threatened, laying down the law.
#
Parang swore to the heavens that she only intended to search the second car of the Train.
Whoosh, as fast as possible. Her goal was to just quickly scan every corner and, if possible, avoid catching any Monster Fish.
It wasn't just this stream.
Even when she usually had a reason to go down to the East Sea Hive, she wouldn't touch the second car if she could help it.
Only very occasionally, when it really needed cleaning, she would just shove a Kraken through the Window to wipe it down.
If someone asked why the great Yoo Parang was acting like such a coward, Parang could answer confidently.
'I really just hate going in there,' she would say.
It was because of the Dominant Species in the second car. Parang hated having to even look at them. They were awful and far too gross.
One might ask why someone who easily hunts Gorgons would find them so gross.
But those things in the second car were fundamentally different from Gorgons.
While a single Gorgon was just ugly to look at, these guys looked vaguely gross like a Macula, but their behavior was absolutely disgusting.
The Dominant Species of the second car, Sakis.
It is a Monster Fish mutated from a species called the Whale Roundworm.
Due to the name, many people think they only parasitize whales, but Whale Roundworms actually don't discriminate between fish species. You can find them in almost any fish species except freshwater ones.
Once they mutated into Sakis, they could parasitize absolutely any species regardless of type.
Out-of-the-norm existences like the Kraken were exceptions, of course.
Sadly, there were obviously no Kraken-level Monster Fish in the second car of the Train.
So, that meant parasites had completely taken over a single car.
Upon hearing this explanation, the Viewers were also slowly starting to feel that something was wrong.
After all, 'parasites' had always been the ultimate symbol of disgust.
Viewers were already starting to leave in droves.
The Viewers who were still sticking around were crying out, 'Can't we just call it a draw?'
- Streamer, how about we resolve this peacefully through conversation
- I mean, we were definitely in the wrong earlier
- But what were we supposed to do when the Streamer is so cute
- You seduced us first!!
It felt like things were flowing in a weird direction, but regardless, Parang clearly understood what they meant.
If it was disgusting enough for Parang, it would probably be borderline traumatic for them.
Parang believed that no matter how much she wanted to stop people from diving, it shouldn't infringe on their daily lives.
A stream run for the public good shouldn't do that.
And personally, Parang didn't want to see that sight either.
Since Parang always teased the Viewers anyway, she decided to consider this as letting them have one over her just this once.
She definitely wasn't getting played. Absolutely not.
And though she was only remembering it now, Parang had even seen statistics showing that 'the number of diving Hunters is decreasing exponentially' during her meeting with Cylo.
Which meant the guys who were subtly getting under Parang's skin earlier had zero actual intention of going diving.
Why didn't I realize this earlier? Parang's face burned hot again.
However, she felt better almost immediately with the thought, 'Still, it's a relief that no one is actually going diving.'
"Alright. I'll let it slide this once."
- Thankyouthankyouthankyou
- The fact is that the Yoo Parang Death Squad is going strong
- Kyaa LOL
- ven
- Hea
- Hea
"But I have no choice but to show it to you."
She still had to do the search, after all.
- Crazybitchcrazybitchcrazybitch
- The fact is that the Yoo Parang Death Squad is completely dead
- Damn LOL
- ll
- He
- He
"I'll tone it down for you, though. You'll probably be able to watch it comfortably."
But Parang already had something in mind.
- Weworshipyouweworshipyou
- The fact is that the Yoo Parang Death Squad has returned
- Wow LOL
- ven
- Hea
- Hea
As expected, Parang could control the Viewers' emotions.