Chapter 97
Chapter 97
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 97
Chapter Title: Beyond That Idol (7)
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"And that's it for today's Rico Time! Have a great night, everyone, and I'll see you tomorrow! Bye-bye~!"
Maintaining her perfect smile right up to the end, Rico waved vigorously. Beyond her field of view, a waterfall of chat messages poured in from viewers reluctant to see the broadcast end.
The upbeat ending music played for only a moment.
With a clunk of machinery, the dazzling virtual stage went pitch black in an instant.
She sat there in a daze for a long while before finally yanking out the virtual reality connection cable from the nape of her neck.
Now Rico was back in the cold grip of reality.
"......"
It was a cramped single room filled with nothing but a bed.
The damp underground air, mingled with the stench of mold, assaulted her nose.
Rico rose from the creaking connection bed, opened the worn door, and stepped out.
A dimly lit corridor stretched out before her.
Along both sides were a dozen or so doors identical to hers.
Each one had a window allowing a peek inside.
Through them, she could see people trapped in equally tiny rooms, jacked into virtual reality.
Some were deep in games, others chatting with someone.
They were all streamers under Prism Studio.
Suddenly, the thought crossed her mind.
A factory of humans churning out sponsorship money.
"......."
Rico trudged down the corridor with listless steps.
At the far end sat a fat man slumped in a chair, connection cable plugged into his neck.
"Hngh... hngh..."
He let out incomprehensible groans, lost in virtual reality.
Rico averted her eyes from the bulge in his pants and cautiously called out to the man dozing in the seat beside him.
"Um..."
At her voice, he suddenly lifted his head.
He blinked a few times, scanning her up and down.
Without a word, as if it were routine, he turned to the main computer on the counter.
Tap, tap-
In the quiet corridor, only the sound of keystrokes echoed briefly.
Rico swallowed dryly, heart pounding.
The screen he was checking likely showed the settlement for her sponsorship earnings from today's stream.
'Please... please...'
By her rough calculations, she'd exceeded the daily quota.
But streaming was chaotic; she couldn't be sure.
If she hadn't met it... she'd have to go back to that stifling room and stream more.
But she'd already been on for 17 hours. Her mind was fried, and she had no excuses left for the worried viewers.
As she waited anxiously, the man at the computer nodded.
"Okay. You're good."
"Th-thank you..."
Rico let out a sigh of relief without realizing it.
She started to slip past them carefully, heading back to her dorm.
Right then, someone grabbed her wrist with a thud.
"Where you off to in such a hurry?"
It was the fat man who'd just been jacked in.
Having unplugged, he leered at her neck with sticky eyes.
The fat man said,
"As expected of Rico. You cleared today's quota super fast. So, what're you up to now?"
"Oh, heading up to rest. I'm a bit tired..."
"Don't go. Stick around and chat with your oppa here, yeah?"
"......."
Rico couldn't hide her expression.
Catching the flicker of emotion in her eyes, the fat man suddenly bellowed.
"Ah, playing hard to get! You must've rolled around in there plenty anyway! One more time won't wear it out... You're hopeless. Fine, let's do it once today."
Facing his increasingly flushed face, Rico trembled in fear.
Then a lazy voice from the side stopped him.
"Cut it out. You wanna get beat by Kevin hyung again later?"
"...!"
The computer guy clicked his tongue at the fat man again.
"You know damn well messing with her'll ruin her condition, and you won't bring in sponsorships tomorrow. Hyung'll flip out."
"...Tch."
The fat man released Rico.
As she hurried past, a thick hand grabbed her ass firmly.
"!"
"Heh heh... This'll do for today. How long you gonna act pricey, you 'Paradise' slut? Let's see."
His words sent chills down Rico's spine.
But she couldn't protest, just trudged up the stairs beyond the corridor.
"......."
A few floors up, at the end of another corridor: a single room.
A cramped studio attached to the agency building. That was Rico's dorm.
For a star with millions of subscribers, it was pathetically shabby.
The moment she locked the door, Rico collapsed onto the old bed.
The earlier incident left her feeling filthy still.
She brushed it off frantically, repeating inwardly.
'I never did that...!'
Just like the fat man said, but Rico wasn't some loose girl who'd rolled in the sheets.
She'd never even sold her body, let alone dated properly.
She'd come here precisely because she hated that kind of thing.
'If this is how it is... what's the difference?'
Rico buried her face in the pillow and sobbed quietly.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ In truth, Rico wasn't from downtown.
She was an nameless orphan from the western suburbs.
The area she grew up in was dominated by the mafia group Velvet Circle, who ran massive pleasure districts—called "Paradise"—impossible in the city proper, amassing vast wealth.
Their influence in the western suburbs was absolute.
Local orphans had no choice but to slip under their shadow.
Rico was no different.
As a child, she'd grown up doing odd jobs in one of Velvet Circle's entertainment spots.
But contrary to prejudices, "Paradise" wasn't as harsh as thought.
They took in street orphans with nowhere to go, providing basic shelter and food in exchange for simple chores like cleaning or errands at the venues.
For kids with no backing, getting caught by random thugs often meant selling themselves cheap and dying miserably. In that light, being taken into Paradise was almost lucky for orphans.
But Velvet Circle was still mafia. They didn't give without strings.
When a girl turned sixteen, they gave a choice.
Stay protected in Paradise's greenhouse by selling your body? Or, all grown up, venture into the world alone? The decision was the kid's.
Most girls, still homeless, chose to stay.
But Rico was different. She had talent.
A unique affability that drew everyone in and made them love her.
Even the prickly older sisters there adored her, slipping her pocket money sometimes.
One day, a woman, charmed by the girl's antics, gifted her a beat-up used VR connector.
That moment changed Rico's life.
It was the start of everything.
Rico poured all her saved pocket money into a platform streaming pass. Late nights after chores, when everyone slept, she'd jack in with the old connector and start her own streams.
The girl's charm that made exhausted sisters laugh worked online too.
By choice day, she'd earned enough to support herself.
So the girl boldly rejected Velvet Circle's offer and headed downtown chasing her dream.
"I'm going to the city! Bye, everyone!"
But no matter her streaming talent, Omega Detroit was no city for a lone sixteen-year-old girl to conquer easily.
"What? You can't refund the deposit because the contract isn't up? Where's the law that says that?!"
Soon after arriving downtown, she faced trial after error.
"This streaming gear—you said it was unopened new! It's clearly used! Refund it!"
Amid days tasting the city's bitterness,
A new connection approached the weary girl.
"Miss Rico. Don't you think you need professional management to focus on streaming?"
Prism Studio.
The streamer agency saw her talent and offered her a spot in their new VR idol project.
'An idol.'
Standing center stage, loved by all. A star.
To an orphan girl from the suburbs' back alleys, it felt like a star in the unreachable night sky.
The dream any girl with aspirations yearned for. So Rico gladly accepted.
At first, everything went smoothly.
Prism treated her well, handling her broadcasts capably.
Taxes, gear setup, schedules—all simplified.
They were the first reliable adults she'd met downtown.
Naturally, she came to rely on them.
So she confessed her biggest secret.
That she was from the western suburbs, raised in a "Paradise" pleasure spot.
She swore she'd never done anything sexual, but idols sold fantasies.
It could hurt future activities, and worried, she'd shared with these trustworthy adults seeking a fix.
But that was the mistake.
Prism's president, Kevin, promised to handle it cleanly.
Ridiculously, instead of solving it, he used it to exploit her.
They shorted her settlements, treatment worsening by the day.
"What? Cancel the contract? Go to another agency? Fine. I'll expose how idol Rico rolled in the whorehouse."
"......."