Crossroads (2)
"Huh? Why?"
The viewers were baffled at first, but they soon caught on to what Go Cheon-su was getting at.
"Oh, he's telling them not to forget to walk?"
He didn't actually want the plane to crash.
But Go Cheon-su didn't believe this plane would fly off smoothly either.
'Land safely? Give me a break.'
Not long after takeoff, the plane had veered off course because of the Maple Flies.
The story went like this:
'They couldn't even keep a straight line.'
Flying high up, they could've easily detoured around and headed south.
But if they'd scrapped that route entirely, it meant the flying bugs, Maple Flies included, had probably seized control of much of the southern airspace.
'Latitude's the same issue.'
They couldn't just blindly head south without knowing anything, so they seemed to be improvising toward somewhere nearby.
They hadn't even warned the passengers beforehand, which screamed spur-of-the-moment route changes based on scraps of info.
And without knowing where more bug hives were, he couldn't gamble on it.
BAM!
A thunderclap rang out, and at the same moment, the "What if we don't?" comment vanished.
"What the—? Did you kick them?"
"Did you kick them?"
Go Cheon-su asked with a baffled look, and Han Do-choe answered for him.
"Blinded...?"
Go Cheon-su muttered blankly, then sighed and asked, "So that viewer from before..."
It wasn't a forced kick.
Go Cheon-su yelped in shock. "Manager! What the hell? Why didn't you boot them!"
KUAAAAANG!
A sound like a meteor crashing hit, followed by this alert:
Manager has kicked 'HellWater' from the chat room.
Late, but the proper move.
Go Cheon-su wiped cold sweat from his brow. "Manager, please take more appropriate action from now on."
From the vibe, it didn't seem like they'd deliberately kept a toxic viewer around.
"Oh, and unblind the one from just now."
But the manager prioritized pressuring viewers into missions first.
JustAcceptIt, Nutjob, YourFace, NewOwner, and HowlingMadman have set a united reward mission.
Survive the Crash
🎁 United Reward: 15 Zen
The mission was set.
Go Cheon-su's eyebrow twitched at the sight.
'15 Zen...!'
For a survive-the-crash mission, it was on the low side.
"Big bros, throw in more."
But he got the viewers' reaction.
'They planned it this way?'
Openly pushing participation—too much Zen might spark backlash.
The manager might actually think things through.
'Testing my limits too?'
Blinding vs. kicking varied by streamer personality.
HowlingMadman might've been probing Go Cheon-su through it all.
'Just ask.'
Whether to uphold the name or not didn't matter much.
Bottom line: 15 Zen on the mission. Success meant his total jumping to 57 Zen with what he had.
Jackpot.
Woof!
Heukgu barked once beside him and leaned against Go Cheon-su.
"What's up? You uneasy too?"
Heukgu's eyes rolled anxiously.
Seeing that made Go Cheon-su uneasy too.
'Not like I want it to actually drop.'
Assuming a crash, he needed survival plans.
But right now, nothing solid.
"Shop window."
He checked again on a whim—no updates.
'Whatever, it'll refresh eventually.'
Items so far suggested they dropped for specific situations beforehand.
No need to panic.
Go Cheon-su exhaled softly, closed the shop, and looked out the window again.
"...!"
His eyes widened.
A green line appeared.
Passed the branching point.
Good news.
Go Cheon-su spoke right away. "Info window."
"What the hell."
Unexpected info.
Go Cheon-su glanced forward.
At the aisle's end—curtain gone now—the crew member sat with a haggard face.
"Haa."
Maybe they spoke vaguely to avoid alarming others.
Or the pilot had agonized over the destination and just decided.
Hard to call it a straight lie.
'Pohang Airport...'
As he muttered inwardly, he felt the plane slowly turning.
Late turn, but at least not heading north anymore.
"Bros, Pohang Airport's got a port nearby, right?"
"Cut the dumb jokes."
Go Cheon-su rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought.
'Airport with a port next door...'
Nine times out of ten, it meant take the sea route.
"This'll be a headache."
The path to Jeju wouldn't be smooth.
Shake!
The plane jolted hard again. Collision.
Maple Fly hit? Surprisingly light impact—good—but Go Cheon-su frowned anyway.
'Hope we make it.'
Pohang was south-ish from Daejeon without going too far.
Even with southern routes blocked, maybe doable.
'Damn.'
Daejeon and everywhere so far was west of Korea's center.
Not heading to Gunsan Airport at similar latitude meant monsters likely swarmed the peninsula's west more.
'Hope it's fine...'
Of course, no telling the right path till they landed.
"Ah."
As his worries deepened, Go Cheon-su stood again.
"Bros, we need to find something."
Daejeon.
Yang Min-cheol's group stopped before a red bus on a dusty road.
"...Happened recently, huh."
Yang Min-cheol eyed the bus, smoke rising from it.
Fur clumps around—actually, dead wolf monsters sprawled nearby.
Peering inside, he spotted more corpses.
"Hyung's work?"
No bullet marks on the bodies. Just stab wounds from something bladed.
"Definite."
Kim Ha-ryeong examined the traces, eyes gleaming. "Cheon-su did it. No one else could."
"Not only Cheon-su could."
Jang Seo-yeon rolled her eyes but nodded agreement. "Still, probably him. He said they took the bus."
"Let's hurry."
Yang Min-cheol quickened his pace. "Might catch up if we're fast."
"Doubt it."
Jang Seo-yeon sighed lightly. "We've wasted tons of time already."
Detours on the way—fur elsewhere too.
Some wolves chasing the bus had split off, confusing the trail.
"We gotta go fast. Cheon-su's waiting."
Kim Ha-ryeong grabbed Jang Seo-yeon's arm, eyes wide, sidling up.
Jang Seo-yeon recoiled, shaking her off. "You were moping earlier—now you're all gung-ho again?"
"He left traces on purpose. He hasn't ditched us."
"Ugh."
Jang Seo-yeon turned to Yang Min-cheol. "What about you? If Cheon-su's already gone when we get there?"
"We'll figure it out then."
Yang Min-cheol's face hardened. "Even if he's gone, any trace he left will help us for sure."
"...Mm."
"Come on."
Yang Min-cheol led, gesturing. Jang Seo-yeon sighed but followed with Kim Ha-ryeong.
Daejeon Complex Terminal.
They reached the destination quick—no other monsters en route helped.
"Here too... "
Wolf corpses.
Yang Min-cheol checked them. Bullet holes this time.
"Military was here... "
Quiet now. No guards.
"West building first."
Yang Min-cheol headed there with the group.
Trash strewn inside.
"Everyone huddled here?"
Jang Seo-yeon kicked a half-full soda bottle on the floor.
Yang Min-cheol dashed to the lounge.
"...Empty here too."
Out to the platforms—buses parked.
"Anything?"
Jang Seo-yeon caught up; he shook his head.
"Nothing. They left already."
"Figures."
Jang Seo-yeon sighed, pointing at the buses. "Keys in those? I could drive if we find 'em."
"Yeah. Office maybe?"
Yang Min-cheol bolted to a nearby office, rummaged—no keys.
"...Hoo."
Military took them? Or never there? No way out now.
"Nothing we can do. Grab what we can. Saw a mall vibe on the way."
Jang Seo-yeon beckoned from the office.
Yang Min-cheol bit his lip, followed.
"...Nice bags."
Kim Ha-ryeong, already shopping a nearby store, held one up.
Yang Min-cheol and Jang Seo-yeon each grabbed one.
"Pack essentials yourselves. Quick."
"Shouldn't we decide together what to take?"
"No."
Yang Min-cheol shook his head at Jang Seo-yeon's question. "We might split again. Everyone packs for solo survival."
"...Right."
Jang Seo-yeon moved while answering. "Pack fast and regroup."
They scoured the terminal—snacks, water, kitchen knives from eateries and shops. Essentials packed.
"...Huh?"
Passing the second-floor walkway, something caught Yang Min-cheol's eye.
"What?"
Not a thing—a person.
From the east building, linked by skybridge, a man walked toward them.