Chapter 123
Chapter 123
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 123
Chapter Title: Summer Horror Special (6)
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Leaving the manager with his head bowed behind her, Mika pushed down her irritation and headed toward the stage.
The rehearsal had been done sloppily yesterday, so there wasn't much more for her side to prepare. But still, she was a senior from the zeroth generation. It felt better to show up first and wait rather than making a flashy entrance at the end.
'Damn boomers.'
In any world, the higher-ups were always the problem. Take DreamLive itself—despite being far more successful than a single streamer like Myth, they were consumed by this ugly obsession to claim the top spot in the industry through DreamLive somehow.
Of course, that wasn't wrong in itself. Even Mika herself had pulled out all the stops and worked her ass off just to beat Myth.
But the issue was the method.
It might sound naive rather than pure-hearted, but Mika wanted to believe in the value of a fair fight. You had to get stronger yourself, become greater yourself—what was the point of a victory won by tearing down and dragging others who were better than you through the mud, or worse, through dirty tricks?
'They even forced all the channels to go dark during Myth unnie's boyfriend reveal last time, and now this. I just can't stand them.'
This time, they wanted her to turn a blind eye to their cheating just to snag one of QWER's avatars.
There was a limit to shamelessness.
"Ah, Mika-nim. Hello."
"Call me casually."
"No, no. I couldn't do that to a great senior. Ahaha."
The studio already had Shiro and her junior Pone waiting, including Shiro.
Pone was apparently a kid from Korea, and Mika admired her grit for VTubing in this foreign land.
"...Hello, senior."
"Shiro. Long time no see. I keep telling you to stay in touch, but you just do your solo streams every time. You always turn down collab invites too."
"...Sorry. I prefer being alone. But thanks for always inviting me."
"You're my first junior, so this is the treatment you get. Start keeping in touch from now on."
"...Okay."
And then there was Shiro. DreamLive's first-generation member who insisted on her lone island broadcasts. They had a long friendship, and for this event, Mika had even dragged her out of her house by the collar.
Her white hair reached her waist, she was barely 150cm tall—a tiny frame with sleepy eyes that made her look like a game character or VTuber avatar come to life.
In Shiro's case, her avatar actually resembled her real self a lot, kind of like Myth unnie. She was pretty in real life, so she synced her avatar to match for higher immersion as a streamer.
'What a waste. If only she'd interact more with people.'
Her streams were fun, and her signature sleepy, expressionless style gave her plenty of personality as a broadcaster. Her only flaw was her weakness in socializing.
The staff bustled about, and Mika, Shiro, and Pone hurried to gear up with their VR equipment.
"Whoa?! This feels just like Link Start! I haven't worn VR gear directly in ages, so I'm kinda excited!!"
Pone, already suited up, made a big fuss.
It wasn't hard to understand. DreamLive was a VTuber group, but they didn't rely heavily on VR for shoots or streams.
Even for lives, they usually went without headsets, using real-time filming instead. For Mika, it had been ages since she'd last used one.
'Huh. Now that I think about it, it's been forever.'
The era of mandatory eyewear was long gone. Unless exploring a VR map like this, she rarely used it.
"This concept's outdated. Who plans stuff with this gear anymore?"
"Huh?! Shiro senior, doesn't it feel exciting? Like entering another world! Link Start! Nerve GearX!"
"No thanks. I hate heavy stuff on my head."
"I told you it was this kind of event, Shiro."
"...I half-asleep when you said it, so I don't really remember."
Shiro shuddered at the bulky VR gear like it disgusted her.
Made sense for someone so petite—it must feel burdensome. But Mika felt no guilt for dragging her here.
She should be grateful for the inclusion. Seriously.
"It's from seven years ago, so what do you expect?"
"Agreed. This thing reeks of old."
"Hey, don't say it like that. Don't you know the VTuber rule? Cameras and mics might be off, but always assume they're on—watch your mouth."
"...Got it."
Shiro bowed her head deeply. Oops—had Mika been too harsh right before broadcast? Worried it might cause issues mid-stream, she racked her brain for a fix when someone wedged in between them.
"Whoa, Shiro senior got scolded. That's what you get—gyaaah?!"
"Shut up, junior."
The usually quiet Shiro, fed up with Pone's snark, grabbed her cheek and yanked.
Mika was stunned—it was the first time she'd seen Shiro hurt someone.
"Waaah!!! Shiro senior scolded meeee!!! She pinched my cheek!!!!!"
"Don't disrespect your senior again."
"Uuu... Okay."
Pone wailed dramatically(?), and Shiro thumped her chest in satisfaction while eyeing her.
Mika sighed in relief at the quickly diffused tension.
"...Whew. Crisis averted, I guess."
Mika glanced at Pone.
She'd paid little attention to the distant junior before, but she had a good read on the room and sharp instincts.
Quick-witted, and her voice was solid enough for DreamLive.
"Ehehe, but your cheek-pulling game's weaker than I thought. As expected from the sickly beauty—uwah?!"
"You're noisy."
"Ehehe."
Or maybe just an idiot.
"Alright! Everyone, gear up! Live starts in 10 minutes!"
Hearing that, Mika donned her VR gear. Tech had advanced—no heavy feel like the old days—but the thrill was unavoidable.
What was it? Like traveling back in time.
'Getting nostalgic over one headset... Guess I've been at this a while.'
And so, the blue team's live began.
"Oh, it's starting."
Today, not the studio—my house. I'd set snacks around the living room to watch the stream.
'Legend oppa, seriously, can't you come to the studio this time?'
'You don't wanna see the girls screaming for real, do you?'
Myth and Sara had tried to dissuade me, but I'd planned to watch from home anyway.
As they said, seeing the scares up close was optional, and to spot flaws and fixes in the map I'd made, a big home screen was better.
"Greetings, VTuber fans worldwide. We're truly grateful to have you for this terrifying, spine-chilling special today."
Host Maki from DreamLive grabbed the mic.
Crisp delivery, perfect diction, subtle concept. Every word screamed pro veteran VTuber.
That was the main reason they'd reached out to DreamLive first, beyond just domestic VTubers.
One of the few agencies that could handle real-time large-scale events alongside Label, with polished know-how that even Myth had to respect.
In an era where Korean—or even Japanese—VTubers were becoming plain streamers with faces on screen, DreamLive was a rare holdout preserving VTuber roots.
"Now, let's introduce our entrants starting with DreamLive. Come forth at my call!"
With Maki's gesture, three VTubers appeared amid intense blue flame effects.
"Ooh, nice effects."
Label had only provided the map, leaving operations to DreamLive—and it was paying off. I could've handled it all, but they insisted, and the effects were worth it.
Proof DreamLive cared about this project.
"First, DreamLive's maknae! Bratty cutie! Pooone~!!"
"Yay~! Hi everyone. I'm winning today and commissioning some super creepy outfit that'll freak out QWER too!"
Hmm, better if she doesn't win.
I eyed Pone coldly.
No real connection in the mafia game, but hearing she was Korean had sparked some goodwill—until that line tanked it.
Tsk. What if she wins and requests something too lewd?
Making it was fine, but Myth might kill me.
"Next, DreamLive first-gen! The most secretive beauty! I didn't expect to see this senior here! DreamLive's official fairy, beauty, big-boobs! Shiiiro~!!"
"...Too wordy, Maki."
Second was someone new—er, a VTuber, I guess.
Shiro. I'd heard the name.
Apparently DreamLive's hermit streamer—odd choice for this event.
"Gasp, is she after my outfits?"
Nah, probably overthinking. I knew zilch about Shiro, so nothing came to mind.
I could Namuwiki her in seconds, but no need.
Unknowns added viewing spice—no spoilers from prior knowledge.
"And finally~! Lately moping around, so as her friend I wanna punch some spirit into her—DreamLive's pride! Strongest! Beauty! Genius! Perpetual jinx! Miiikaaa~!!!!"
"...You're dead later."
"Ohoho. Live now, Mika? Holding back on the lip-slip comments?"
"I'm thinking of roasting you."
Last was the cool entrant—Mika, naturally.
Awkward after last time, but who cared across the screen? Her sharp new avatar gleamed in my eyes.
Damn, it's good.
Mine are better, though.
"Next up, Korea's Label side~!"
And then the Korean VTubers started appearing.