The Most Effective Way to Bury a Scandal

The most effective way to quell a controversy involving being called a crazy bastard, a bad guy, or a weirdo is to bury it under an even bigger scandal. For example, let's say some bottom-tier idol gets caught in a steamy affair with a film director. What's the best way to snuff out that mess? Simple: drop a bombshell about a top celebrity dodging two hundred billion won in taxes. Of course, it's not like any celebrity would actually evade that kind of money... but anyway, in the face of something that juicy, a low-rung idol's dating scandal becomes yesterday's news.

'That's exactly what happened with me.'

A voice suspiciously similar to Sung Eunha's. A faceplate that clearly cost a fortune. Connections suspiciously tangled up with all the big shots. Normally, the moment a VTuber like that debuted, every internet community on the planet would've gone up in flames. But despite all that, I managed to become the gallery master of the VTuber gallery simply because I showed my face on day one. Sure, it was an accident and not on purpose... but it was still a case of burying one controversy under a much bigger one.

In that sense.

I immediately hit the bad dog with a male prostitute jab.

"Cyber male prostitute, come on in."

At my words, the chat window instantly exploded into flames.

"......"

Maybe he hadn't expected me to slap him with "male prostitute" right after his greeting? Even through his blocky character model, I could practically see his face twisting in disgust. I didn't stop there and kept going.

"What? Did you think I'd go, 'Hawa wa, you shouldn't say such bad words...?'"

"No... e-everyone..."

Angel, who had been caught in the middle, stepped in looking flustered, trying to calm us down. It was only natural. Two arsonists had been setting the server on fire since day one. But the response that came from the bad dog was completely unexpected.

"Pfft..."

"Pff, pahahahaha!!"

The bad dog suddenly burst out laughing like a complete lunatic. While Angel and I stared at him in bewilderment, he kept cackling like a boiling kettle for a while before abruptly stopping and speaking to me again.

"Haa... that's fun."

"I like you, Sung... I mean, Yume."

"...What?"

"Yeah, fuck it. That's what a streamer should be like. What kind of broadcast can you even do if you can't take what you're given?"

"No... what the fuck..."

We just met and you're already throwing down a UFC match and that's what you say? I countered you fully prepared to deal with season N controversy because of your ass! But the bad dog didn't seem to care about my opinion at all. With a sly tone, he asked me,

"So. Want to become my slave? If you join now, you could even take the main wife spot."

"......"

A suggestion even more repulsive than 'Wanna be secret friends with this old man?' Having heard similar offers countless times in the entertainment industry, the level of disgust I felt was on another scale. I flipped my middle finger at the screen and said,

"Fuck off."

The bad dog grinned and shot back,

"Should I fuck off right now?"

"...You crazy bastard."

Deciding he wasn't worth dealing with anymore, I immediately left the area. That was my first meeting with the bad dog.

Even though it started with something unpleasant, the server proceeded normally afterward.

"Ahh... it's been so long since I played that my fingers..."

I wasn't sure if dying four times in just a few hours counted as normal gameplay... but at least I was making money. In the end, wasn't this basically a lucky bikini situation?

"Still, I made five million won in that short time."

Thanks to the location being random every time I went to the wild world, I ended up making quite a bit of money despite dying like a Re:Zero character four times. Even if Director Park Kiwoo from BK brought his own mother, she probably couldn't have earned more than this. But I had no intention of settling for just this much. After all, I still hadn't even reached half of my target amount yet.

"This invitation ticket is ridiculously expensive."

"......"

Well, it was a little annoying, but he wasn't wrong. Maybe because I'd lost my sense of money lately, I hadn't realized how damn hard it was to earn cash. 'It's the system that was designed that way from the start.'

A system where you lose all your held money upon death. And the wild on hard difficulty. It wasn't designed for you to make money from the beginning. If you tried to earn money in the wild and died by mistake, you'd lose everything and become a beggar.

On top of that, daily taxes collected based on held money. Right now my holdings were small so it was only about five percent, but once cash started piling up it was obvious I'd lose even more. Holding onto money as cash in this situation was stupid. That was the design, which was why the server actively encouraged investment and gambling content.

[General Store]

[Exchange]

Casino

Anyway, to invite Latte, it was time to change strategies. That way I could use her as a stepping stone to try networking with other streamers. I threw the question out to the viewers as if testing the waters.

"Should I keep just enough for taxes and try coins or gambling?"

"......Everyone, please observe a moment of silence. It's not like that."

The viewers suffering from the sudden surge of 'nonexistent memories.' It was understandable. These days, if you mentioned an idol famous for gambling, there was only one person who came to mind. 'But if it's at Do Hamin's level, she's actually a good kid.'

Surprisingly, even someone like Hamin was basically an angel by Zenith standards. She was just a pure(?) kid who really liked dopamine.

"......"

Of course, the moment she touched drugs she was morally a total bitch. But surprisingly, someone at her level was about average in the entertainment industry. Anyway. I banned the person who just donated and continued speaking.

"I'll head to the casino first. I should at least take a look at what's there."

I immediately headed toward the building with huge letters reading Casino. Luxurious red exterior walls, decorations plated entirely in gold. Lights sparkling so brightly it was dizzying. As I admired the building's dazzling exterior and was about to step through the large doors, I suddenly heard someone's crying.

"Hic... kuhuk..."

"Kuhuk, kuhuuuung...!"

"......?"

A crying voice that was vulgar like an old man's, completely at odds with its youthful, girl-like tone. Hearing it, I looked around in surprise and soon spotted someone squatting near the casino entrance.

SaintNoa

A silver-haired saint character with a familiar nickname. As I approached, she sniffled and lifted her head to look up at me.

"Khung, snuffle... Y-Yume...?"

Looking down at her, I asked in a bewildered voice.

"...Noa?"

Saint Noa, the five-hundred-thousand-subscriber VTuber. Our reunion was the worst possible.