Chapter 131
Chapter 131
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 131
Chapter Title: Mika (2)
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Liquid burst out, drenching her from head to toe.
Mika had braced herself for the inevitable shock, but surprisingly, nothing hit her. It was just calm and ordinary, like any standard VR horror map—green liquid simply splattering right in front of her eyes.
"What the...?"
Mika furrowed her brow at the inexplicable phenomenon. Unless it was a glitch from the DreamLive staff, there was no way to explain it. This event was running simultaneously across the ocean. You couldn't even start something like this without a solid level of mutual trust, and yet here was a blatant screw-up.
Mika quickly checked her viewers' reactions.
The viewers seemed completely oblivious. They just assumed she was frozen stiff from the shock. Mika frowned.
What was she supposed to do in a situation like this?
She had no clue whether this was intentional or not, so she couldn't get a proper read on how to proceed.
That's when something her manager had said earlier flashed through her mind.
'No way. Those damn baldies—'
No. Even they wouldn't stoop that low.
Mika quietly shoved the thought deep down and started moving fast for now. Myth unnie was definitely racking up points even in this moment.
Whatever was going on, she had zero intention of losing.
"What the hell? Didn't it spray properly on Mika's side just now?"
Meanwhile, in the broadcast booth designed to overlook the entire studio, Maki scowled and glanced around. The other staff showed no real reaction to her pointed look, as if they hadn't heard properly either.
This whole project was two groups from different countries—fierce competitors in their own right—team up under the QWER banner to chase prizes.
With no way to properly monitor each other, it had to be built on trust.
The label side had Myth, who was basically QWER's girlfriend, competing, and DreamLive was across the ocean. Without trust, the whole thing wouldn't have even gotten off the ground. A mishap like this could easily spark internal leaks and scandals.
"Hold up, everyone get something up on screen. I'll head down and check the situation."
Issues like potential scandals were best nipped in the bud. Just as Maki moved to hurry downstairs, someone entered the booth.
"Huh? Director? What's up?"
"Long time no see, Maki."
One of DreamLive's board members. Maki had never even had a one-on-one chat with him before; he wasn't directly involved in VTuber ops but handled the business side.
The director grabbed a chair near the door and sat right next to Maki.
"Mind if we talk privately for a sec?"
The other staff caught the hint and quickly filed out.
This didn't feel good. Maki scowled. Sure, as a company artist, she didn't think he'd pull anything shady on her here.
But something smelled even more rotten.
No way it's that. Maki leaned in slightly toward the director, keeping her voice as low as possible.
"I've got something to check real quick. Can it wait until after?"
"It's about that thing you want to check, Maki."
Damn it all. Maki swallowed a curse and double-checked the mic. Perfectly off. She let out a sigh and sank back into her seat.
"Looks like things aren't running smooth downstairs. Don't we need to let them know?"
A light jab to start.
But the director brushed it off easily.
"It's company policy. Mika agreed to it too."
"You expect me to buy that? That Mika signed off on something this ridiculous?"
"Well... if you ask me, it's more like—"
The director adjusted his sunglasses. Damn, why's this guy wearing shades indoors? Maki instinctively pulled back a bit from the middle-aged executive vibe.
"Mika's side wants to win this more than anyone."
"Obviously. Everyone else gave up beating Myth unnie ages ago, but Mika's still out here fighting solo."
"Exactly. And for her side, this is a free shot at an avatar outfit worth tens of millions. Neither she nor us would want to pass that up, right?"
[KYAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!]
Maki whipped her head toward the scream blasting from the screen. There was Mika, her body swarming with cockroaches, letting out a horrific shriek.
Real cockroach props were indeed raining down on Mika.
But the amount was obviously half—or less—of what it was supposed to be.
"DreamLive's raking in plenty of cash separate from Myth. What's the point of pulling stunts like this?"
"Money's one thing. Face is another. People always assume ops like us run purely on cold hard cash, no emotions."
"...Not true?"
"Spot on. That's right. But the investors... they seem disappointed."
DreamLive's execs weren't sweating Mika's repeated losses to Myth. They were making bank anyway, and losing to the unbeatable cheat key that was QWER was par for the course.
But from the investors' angle? Different story. They were loaded entrepreneurs, and as they got older, they quietly obsessed over prestige.
DreamLive's star VTuber charging at one Korean girl every time—and losing. With all the messy Japan-Korea baggage, the investors were quietly pressuring the board to somehow topple Myth.
"So this is the company's official stance?"
"The company and Mika's stance. We'd love to win fair and square. Who wouldn't? But the last seven years say otherwise."
The director was dead set on insisting Mika was in on this nonsense.
Maki silently glared at him. He didn't flinch at playing the villain. Without those investors' backing, entertainment agencies like this barely spun their wheels.
Even Japan's mega-productions groveled to investors, let alone the VTuber scene where one whale investor's word was law.
"Yeah, whatever then."
Maki shrugged. She'd expected more pushback, but Maki backing down so easily caught the director off guard instead.
She figured it'd be a half-hour slugfest at least. Why?
"Guess I'll just watch and keep broadcasting like before."
Only Maki knew the real answer to that.
"Kyaaah?!"
The fourth gimmick since reaching the second floor. Mika dodged a burger lunging straight at her face but took a few pickles to the cheek.
And that's when she knew for sure.
'Those damn raccoon-dog geezers...!'
Too few, the shocks too weak—way too weak. The effects were massively bigger than the first floor, but physical stimuli this mild? Didn't add up.
Unless DreamLive was pulling strings directly—
'Hold on.'
Just as she was about to rip off the VR and raise hell, something yanked her to a halt.
'What if it's all in my head?'
The string of recent prediction fails. The past half-year of desperate flailing, racking her brain to top Myth backed by QWER—and total wipeouts.
That fragile inner self Maki had been shocked by before slammed on the brakes.
What if it really was all her imagination?
What if the two-point ghost on the second floor was her imagination?
What if this level of shock was the original plan, and her thinking DreamLive rigged it was pure paranoia?
What if even the two-point ghost was her imagination from the start...? What if the camcorder just caught a real one without her knowing, making it six points?
She who'd been wrong about everything all year—where was the guarantee she'd nail it now?
'Damn it. I can't let this happen.'
Doubt was like a drug. Like poison.
You're not that smart, girl. Gonna screw up again and blow this golden chance? That's Legend's avatar—the one keeping Myth on top, QWER's avatar.
Too risky to bet your mediocre brain and ditch every possibility for that payoff?
Self-loathing choked her.
"Hoo... hoo..."
Mika steadied her breath and, still unwilling to drop the truth just yet, hurried on to the next gimmick.