Chapter 38

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Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 38

Chapter Title: Internet Broadcast

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Before I knew it, Tuesday had rolled around.

Time had dragged on endlessly, but the moment quitting time hit, my heart started pounding.

Today, my coworkers' preparations to leave seemed especially sluggish.

"Min-jae, wanna grab a drink after work?"

Old man Park asked with his usual friendly smile.

Normally, I'd have sweated bullets coming up with some excuse to bail, but not today.

The reason was crystal clear.

"Sorry, I've got plans tonight."

"Aw, you're always busy, Min-jae. Fine, we'll go without you."

Thanks to my rock-solid reputation for dodging company dinners, turning him down was a breeze.

No one seemed particularly bummed about it.

Probably just a perfunctory invite anyway.

I grabbed my bag and spun to leave when the Team Leader blocked my path.

"Hey, Kim Min-jae."

"Yes? What's up, Team Leader?"

"Not joining us for drinks? We're doing Korean BBQ tonight."

The Team Leader had invited me out a few times before.

Deep down, I'd love to grab a drink with her...

But today's vibe felt a bit different from usual.

She seemed a little shy.

I'm not oblivious, so I had a pretty good read on the nuance.

But tonight wasn't the night.

"Sorry, I've got something really important..."

"Oh... well, if you're busy, no helping it..."

Her crestfallen expression tugged at me with a pang of guilt.

There aren't many people who treat me as well as she does.

After a moment's hesitation, I tossed out a little bait.

"How about Friday instead? No work the next day, so we've got time."

"Friday? Sure, sounds good! I'm free then."

Her face lit up, and I couldn't help but chuckle.

Since we're at it, might as well go bold.

"Then why not drink at my place on Friday? I'll order some killer snacks."

"Y-your place?"

"We've drunk together before, right?"

"T-true... but you suggesting it so directly is kinda embarrassing."

The Team Leader's eyes darted around.

I drove the point home casually.

"If you're not comfortable, we can do it out somewhere."

"No! I like it. Let's... do it at your place."

Her reaction made me want to pat her head on impulse.

Luckily, she headed back to the others without a word.

Leaving her behind, I hurried out of the logistics center.

Something far more important—world-shaking, even—was waiting for me.

Truth be told, I'd been dying to take half the day off earlier.

Around lunchtime, the delivery confirmation hit: [Your precious package has been delivered to your door.]

After that text, I couldn't focus on work.

But calling out for a mere computer? My bank account wouldn't allow it.

I was proud of myself for holding out.

On the way home, I stopped at the convenience store and grabbed two six-packs of imported beer.

"Ha... this thing's massive."

Stepping into the hallway, I spotted a towering stack of boxes in front of my door.

Three of them.

Tower case, monitor, and peripherals.

No one had swiped them, good.

Korea's public safety is no joke.

I hauled the boxes inside with grunts of effort.

Double-locked the door and threw the bolt.

Perfect sealed room.

Now, my time.

Tossed my bag aside and grabbed a utility knife.

Cracked open the tower first.

Pulled out the padding, revealing the sleek, gleaming case.

"Whoa... this size is real?"

It dwarfed my old rig in every way.

Nearly twice as big and imposing.

I shoved the old junker into the corner without a second thought.

"You served well. Time to retire."

Set up the monitor, keyboard, mouse—all connected.

Cable management later. With trembling fingers, I pressed the power button.

Whirr—

Even the fans were whisper-quiet.

Bright white LEDs lit up inside.

All white build.

Stylish as hell.

Booted to desktop in under ten seconds.

(Windows was pre-installed—dropped 200k on a legit key.)

Checked the accessories box...

Pulled out my phone, connected it to the PC.

Fired up my trusty partner, the AI app.

"Transfer all my backup files to the new machine."

A progress bar appeared, filling up at breakneck speed.

No need for manual external drive shuffling.

"Yeah, install everything. Games too."

Notification windows popped up and vanished nonstop in the corner.

I crossed my arms, grinning at the sight.

"Getting hungry now."

Order some pig's feet while the machine works.

Fired up the delivery app, got a big tray of pig's feet and knife-cut noodles.

About 30 minutes later, the doorbell rang—pig's feet delivered.

Perfect timing: monitor showed [All settings complete].

Unreal sync.

Set up the food on one side of the desk, cracked a cold beer.

Pssht—

The foam rising whetted my appetite.

"Alright, let's get this started."

Commanded the AI.

"Fire up streaming setup. Game screen only, no cam."

"Go live now."

Streaming's usually a hassle with all the tweaks, but the AI handles bitrate, resolution—everything.

I just eat it up.

Stream overlay popped up on the monitor.

YouTube chat linked beside it.

Viewers jumped from 0 to double, then triple digits in seconds.

Chat exploded.

Game screen wasn't up yet—just black screen broadcasting.

Opened Notepad, typed big:

[Yo. Testing stream.]

Mic not hooked up.

(Bought one, but box unopened. Lazy, and tonight's about the concept anyway.)

Chat scrolled faster than expected.

Wrapped a piece of pig's feet in lettuce, chomped it down one-handed while typing.

[No rushing. Chowing pig's feet and beer rn.]

Chat froze for a sec, then erupted in curses and cheers.

Reactions were solid.

Internet broadcast fans dig this raw vibe.

Downed some beer to wet my throat, double-clicked the Chrono Rea icon on desktop.

Grand BGM kicked in as the game launched.

Logged in—my familiar character stood in the village center.

Opened inventory and gear window quick.

Scribbled in Notepad:

[Screenshots, trouble.]

Snapped gear window shut.

Slurped noodles amid the chaos, chuckling.

Then, red Super Chat alert.

Ten bucks for one question? Inflation's wild.

Wiped sauce from my mouth, typed:

[Got mic. Arrives tomorrow. Super Chat questions, I'll answer all.]

[Minimum $10 tho.]

Playing cocky madman.

Worst case, no bites. Best case, free money.

But chat laughed in my face—alerts rang nonstop.

Ding—

Ding—

Ding!

Screen flooded with cash.

In the minute I sat stunned with beer in hand, totals topped $1k easy.

What the...

Wallets rotting or did I underestimate?

Alerts deafening—ears ringing.

"Yo, pause donations! Too fast!"

Super Chats halted.

Shaky hands to Notepad:

[Slow down. Can't read 'em.]

Chat pure pandemonium.

Deep sigh.

More draining than expected.

But money's money—time to deliver.

[Sorry. Answering these first.]

Started replying one by one.

Mostly personal stuff, why stream now?

[Why stream? Uploaded game vids before, bombed hard.]

[Under 1k views, quit in despair.]

[Shorts popping off lately, felt good, so why not. Bet you'll watch game stuff now.]

Straight talk. Nothing to hide.

Reactions decent overall.

Spicy ones burned, sure.

[Main game's still bullshit shorts. Those continue.]

[Streams rare. Bored or new patch days.]

Immediate pushback.

Game hadn't patched in ages.

Who patches a 500 concurrent dead game?

But... things changed.

Hit 5k concurrents recently.

'And got a moneybags.'

Grinned, typed cryptically:

[Wait and see. Who knows? Major patch incoming maybe.]

Chat brimmed with doubt and mockery, but I sipped beer leisurely.

Bark away. I'm on my path.

They'll see.

Two days later, Thursday.

Chrono Rea's community flipped.

Official site, dormant for years, posted a red-tagged [IMPORTANT] notice.

[Chrono Rea ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠25th Anniversary: Developer Live Stream Guide]

Major update roadmap reveal planned.

Forums and live comments went berserk.

"Wait, is this insider leak too?"

Gotta be careful from now on.

At least no hoarding or anything.