Chapter 349
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 349
Chapter Title: 142. Coin (2)
If I were to coldly evaluate myself as a person, I'd say I'm an all-rounder with high peaks overall, but nothing exceptionally standout in any one area where I truly dominate.
Back in China, Kim Daram outshone me in marksmanship and acrobatics, Lee Sanghun was better at operational planning, and even Gong Kyungmin had a slight edge over me in combat command.
In close-quarters combat using cold weapons—my specialty—I'm considered the best in Korea, but among the nameless Chinese hunters who died, there were probably a few who surpassed me.
The reason I rose to the top, surpassing countless hunters, wasn't just because I lacked weaknesses and excelled evenly across the board. In my view, it's because I adapt better than others.
In a battlefield where new strains suddenly appear and unprecedented situations keep popping up, this adaptability shines.
Personally, I don't think anyone adapted as flexibly to every situation as I did.
It's been quite a while since I started hanging out on the Jeju Intranet's Red Archive board.
In that bizarre internet space filled with a younger generation's alien culture, I quickly became one of the few named users in a short time—proof that I adapted brilliantly to the Red Archive board.
After that, I got unfairly banned by the board admin "Sparrow," but I didn't just sit around idle afterward.
Not quite as obsessive as King Goujian of Yue licking gall to nurse his revenge, but I lurked in the shadows, quietly observing the Red Archive board and biding my time for payback.
During that time, I discovered something peculiar on the Red Archive board: a "sniping" culture that doesn't exist on our board.
To put it plainly, it's dragging an unpopular user in front of everyone and roasting them to provoke a ban.
On our board, maybe because of our age group, if some weirdo shows up, people just quietly block them without anyone pointing it out.
Cultural difference, I guess.
Right now, even at this moment, a sniping post is topping the popular list on the Red Archive board, spawning tons of comments.
The content is obvious without reading it.
Probably some cringeworthy post or an unasked-for diary entry polluting the board.
Like how people condemn someone who brings their dog to the park but doesn't pick up the poop, posting poop-like content repeatedly earns hate and makes you the target of a sniping post.
Then the board admin decides based on the public opinion in the sniping post: ban the target, or ban the sniper for false accusation.
Lately, I've been paying close attention to this sniping culture unique to the Red Archive board.
Just as every society has haves and have-nots, the Red Archive board has its power players.
"Sparrow," who banned me, is one of them.
But after months of watching Sparrow from the shadows, he's no ordinary user.
Other users log in sporadically because they're dragged into rifts or busy with missions, but Sparrow and the other admins are online 24/7, as if managing the board is their sole duty.
Having lived on Jeju, I know that's not easily allowed there.
You'd need to be a big shot like Unicorn—Nahyein, who's gone radio silent lately—to get that kind of free time. It's suspicious that these nobodies are camping the board constantly.
With plenty of time on my hands, I diligently investigated this doubt and gathered some credible rumors circulating among users, though sources are unclear.
The rumor is that Sparrow and the admin cartel are employees hired by the higher-up suspected to be "QuantumBlast."
Digging deeper, apparently there are a few boards like Red Archive on the Jeju Intranet.
In Jeju, where press freedom is nonexistent, they can't openly create public boards to vent youth discontent, so they disguise them as illegal spaces for covert communication.
But if someone stirs up complaints or bad sentiment there, it's a total reversal of purpose. That's why Jeju's upper echelons hire trash like Sparrow as board admins.
Of course, even admins get backlash and booted for mistakes, but some say that's all staged theater too.
Lately, I've had my eye on a user called "Cheongbaeksu."
He's repeatedly called out the admin cartel's cronyism, posted rants against them multiple times, and even raised the suspicions about the admins that I currently hold.
Like a journalist risking life to expose society's dark underbelly.
As for me...
"..."
Tap tap tap
Still walking the lonely path of the clown with my gags.
Since "HappyToYou," the Red Archive user who used to comment on my gag posts, vanished, no one leaves replies anymore. But personally, I think I have fans.
Views hitting 4-5 instead of 1-2 proves it.
Anyway, it seems this lonely clown's time has come to contact the journalist.
I replied to Cheongbaeksu's latest post.
Cautiously and carefully.
I even timed it for the weekend evenings between 6-8 PM when Cheongbaeksu is most active.
Maybe because of my delicate approach, I got a reply faster than expected.
Switching accounts right here.
The ban period is over, so I'm unbanned.
Though if Sparrow's gang spots me, it's an instant 30-day ban.
The key figure here is QuantumBlast.
Sparrow's gang is just bait to draw him out.
No smoke without fire, and QuantumBlast is rumored to be among Jeju's top elite behind the scenes.
At least higher than some parachute security appointee.
Stirring things up here will naturally draw the security head's attention to this narrow battlefield called the Red Archive board.
Cheongbaeksu spilled the info.
His document neatly outlines Sparrow's gang structure, relationships, even intimacy levels and rivalries—better than expected.
And the crucial info on QuantumBlast.
Gong Kyungmin.
Is it legit?
Doesn't matter—it's good news.
I cut ties with Gong Kyungmin in real life, but that's reality. What unfolds from now is in the internet's parallel world.
The problem is Sparrow's pretty cunning.
"..."
Tap tap tap
Time to snipe.
Evidence overflows.
...
...
A game board is for talking games.
Some chit-chat is fine, but no one wants your unasked-for diary polluting it.
Suzume, one of Red Archive's 8 admins, is the classic internet diarist.
The worst kind, too: boring posts laced with IRL flexing.
Openly hinting at living in the envy-worthy Zone 1 on Jeju while bragging about better food and luxury entertainment—who'd like that?
Even on a board of users with little to lose, flaunting Zone 1 life sparks outrage, but Suzume constantly flashes hands, arms, or clothing details hinting at a woman.
As if showing off he has a girlfriend.
98% of Red Archive users are lifelong singles, from what I know.
Maintaining admin status amid that chaos means Suzume must be something precious to Sparrow.
The razor-sharp snipe rocketed past 1,000 views in moments.
A number 100 times my best gag post total—in just 5 minutes.
But shockingly few likes or comments relative to views.
Soon, the reason revealed itself.
Banned.
Literally an instant permaban.
Board users know this, so they saw the snipe but didn't dare like or comment.
No one wants to get swept up and booted wholesale.
But for this day, I prepared revenge accounts.
Zero posts, zero comments—pure burner accounts.
1,032 of them, to be exact.
One of the legacies from my pal Valentine, who grumbled while making them.
"..."
Click.
Today, I'm dead serious.