A Rocky Start for the Hero Party

The hero party's first impression was a bit rocky, but I kept the conversation with Prism going like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"It's been a while, Streamer Prism."

"...I'm sorry about what happened last time."

"It's fine. It wasn't really your fault anyway."

I answered Prism's apology as if it were no big deal. For the ringleader of an attempted mutiny, he was acting remarkably normal. What happened back then wasn't Prism's fault—it was all because of Bad Dog's gaslighting. Besides, Angel bore some of the responsibility for the probability manipulation incident too.

"By the way, what did you want to talk to me about...?"

"Ah. The thing is, I need your help with something, Yume."

"My help?"

"It's only a request. You don't have any obligation to help."

But, Prism continued.

"If you do help me, I'll return the favor later by helping you with something too, Yume."

"Helping me... with what?"

"Anything."

"......"

The sudden blank check made me look at him with suspicion. Prism paused for a moment before continuing.

"I'm planning to hunt Bad Dog."

Bad Dog had crossed the line. Most streamers knew it, but none of them had tried to get revenge. 'To be honest, I've been wondering about this for a while.' It didn't make sense that a psychopath who greeted people with "Hey whore" on first meetings was still broadcasting without any consequences. He should've been sued for sexual harassment or defamation ages ago.

Then Prism's explanation helped me piece together why.

"Every single streamer who's tried to get revenge on Bad Dog has ended up caught in some scandal and disappeared."

"Every single one?"

"Bad Dog might not look it, but he's actually pretty cautious. He never makes the first move unless he has his opponent's weakness firmly in his grasp."

"......"

He was more annoying than I'd thought. Not an emotional hothead like Kim Youngho, but a cold, calculating type like Park Kiwoo.

Prism continued with a sigh. "Well... it's just my suspicion for now. I don't have any solid evidence yet."

"...Then shouldn't you not be saying this on stream?"

"Who cares? Everyone who matters already knows."

"Ah, I see..."

That made sense. Even ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Latte, the ultimate cyber loner, knew about Bad Dog. If she knew, then pretty much everyone in the industry probably did. And Bad Dog himself wasn't the type to care about things like this. That's why Prism wasn't bothering to hide it and was talking about it on stream.

Prism then told me, "In that sense, Yume, you're one of the few people who can stand against Bad Dog."

"Me...?" I asked, dumbfounded. Prism nodded and explained.

"Yes. From Bad Dog's perspective, you're someone who has 'nothing to dig up.'"

"......"

More accurately, there was nothing left to dig up because he'd already dug up everything. Prism seemed to know that too, since he didn't go into detail.

I let out a small hum and started thinking. "Hmm..."

At this point, Bad Dog couldn't touch me recklessly anymore. My reputation was at an all-time high. If I just kept streaming and enjoying the server, I could safely build up my recognition. There was no reason to get involved with Bad Dog and tarnish my image. It would be like willingly walking into a mud pit.

But.

"I'll do it."

When had I ever weighed the risks before charging in? I'd already stabbed a knife into the belly of Korea's biggest corporation. Why would I be scared of a mere million-subscriber dog?

'If that's how it is, I'll chase him to the other side of the earth and stab him there too.'

Anyone who messes with little Yume is screwed. Completely and utterly screwed.

With that thought in mind, I gave Prism a deep smile and said, "But Prism. Do you really think just the two of us will be enough?"

"...What do you mean?"

"I figured this would happen, so I already recruited one more person."

Having said that, I immediately turned to look beside me.

"Isn't that right, Saint Noa?"

"......"

Noa, who had been slowly backing away ever since Prism first mentioned Bad Dog, smiled awkwardly and stammered.

"Ahaha... um, well..."

"You borrowed 10 million won. You have to pay the price, don't you?"

"......"

To her, who had clamped her mouth shut and was desperately playing dumb, I spoke with a full-faced smile.

"Please become Fire Punch for us."

It was an incredibly gentle smile.

"You fucking bitch!!"

Slap!!

Angel’s head snapped to the side from the representative’s backhand. Her pure white skin was covered in bruises. Trembling with fear, Angel spoke to Kim Youngho in a shaking voice.

"I-I couldn't help it... Bad Dog wasn't moving the way I planned, and I never expected Prism to step in..."

"Cut the pathetic excuses!! Do you think I poured money into this server just to hear this crap??"

In truth, most of the money spent on the server had come from Kim Youngho's own pocket. But it was nowhere near enough to make a proper server. Creating a large-scale server like this normally required an astronomical amount of money. Just last year's server project led by the MCN Hypercent had been a massive endeavor costing over a billion won.

But there was no way Kim Youngho knew the details of the industry. On top of that, the deadline had been tight, so Angel had no choice but to hire a subcontractor. Yet that subcontractor had caused a scandal with Bad Dog, putting her in danger instead.

She was barely holding on thanks to her title as a 2M NewTuber and her usual reputation, but if she acted recklessly now, she'd plummet straight to rock bottom without even a bone left intact.

But Kim Youngho didn't care about any of that as he continued furiously.

"This is your last chance. If you fail to drag Sung Eunha into another scandal this time, then..."

"......"

She already knew what would come next. He was probably going to use her little brother with the rare illness as leverage to threaten her again.

Angel clutched her stinging cheek and answered in a trembling voice.

"...I understand."

Her blue eyes clouded over darkly.

There was a party formed to cut off Bad Dog's head. A party formed under the eager eyes of countless viewers.

Prism, the 1M-subscriber game streamer.

Saint Noa, former saint and leader of the hero party.

Yume, the idol-turned-idol VTuber.

And...

"W-what the...?"

The famously terrible 1M-subscriber VTuber, Latte, as well.

"Why am I suddenly...?"

"Prism and Noa said they're hunting Bad Dog together."

"Bad Dog...? N-no way...!! I was just planning to play the server normally...!!"

The moment she heard the name Bad Dog, Latte instinctively recoiled. I tried to calm her down.

"I invited you, remember?"

"......"

It was an invite ticket she'd bought for a whopping 10 million won. On top of that, I'd given her the remaining 30 million won of my entire fortune, so the justification was more than enough.

Despite that reality, Latte started throwing a fit and yelling at me.

"I don't need it!! Take it back!! Just thinking about how I've been harassed by people because of the money you gave me...!!"

"So you're really going to give it back?"

"......"

Well, I already knew her personality well enough to know she wouldn't return money once she'd received it. I hadn't given it expecting ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to get it back anyway.

'Besides, she's such a loner she wouldn't have anyone to play with anyway.'

If anything, I was doing Latte a favor. I was giving her NewTube content, connecting her with Prism, and while I was at it, we'd hunt that bastard Bad Dog together. I'd done everything for her, hadn't I? What more did she want?

"Ugh... damn it... they say raising a kid is pointless..."

"Why am I your kid?"

"Fine, I'll do it!! You heartless, tearless child!! I'll do it, okay?!"

"You should've just said that from the start."

Honestly, I just wanted to tease Latte a bit. After all, she was the one who debuted this idol VTuber. She should endure this much with pure spite and willpower.

Anyway, after Latte's participation was confirmed, Noa, who had been fidgeting anxiously the whole time, asked Prism,

"So... what exactly are we going to do about Bad Dog...?"

"Yeah, yeah! What are we even supposed to do? It's not like we're going to cause a scandal or anything."

Latte nodded vigorously in agreement with Noa. She must have been acquainted with Prism, because she immediately started speaking casually to him.

Prism answered the question right away.

"Of course we won't use illegal methods. We're not terrorists... and there's no way we'd use the same tactics as him, right?"

"We'll drive Bad Dog out of this server using completely legal methods. We'll make sure he can never set foot here again."

Fortunately, it didn't seem like he was planning to use illegal methods like I'd feared. In a way, that was only natural. None of the people here were ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ordinary, and any scandal would cut off all their livelihoods. The only person here crazy enough to hunt Bad Dog even at that risk was probably me.

Prism continued. "Everyone remembers the server rules, right?"

"Ah, we know them well."

"...Even if you don't remember, I'm sure you know Rule 4."

At Noa's enthusiastic agreement, Prism awkwardly mentioned the fourth rule.

Rule 4. You become a slave if you go bankrupt.

One of Bankruptcy Heaven's simplest yet most powerful rules. If your balance went into the negatives, you became someone else's slave.

"So far, no one's actually become a slave in the server. There's no system that forces you to pay money aside from taxes yet, and even if you get PK'd you don't lose your cash."

"But starting tomorrow, the competition content begins with the update. And that's when we'll be able to forcibly take money from Bad Dog."

I already knew about the competition content. While fixing various bugs with Angel, I'd heard that an update like that was coming.

'It was called the "Company" system, right...?'

While I was recalling what Angel had told me, Prism kept talking.

"Anyway. The important thing right now is money... I have about 20 million won."

"How much do you all have?"

"I have about 1 million." I answered first.

After giving Latte my entire fortune, this was what I'd earned streaming whenever I had time. It wasn't as lucky as day one, so I hadn't accumulated that much.

Then Noa spoke up. "I have 30 million won."

"30 million??"

"Yes... ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I got all the invite ticket money back..."

"......"

"...What? I need to eat too."

"No... it's nothing."

I wasn't doubting Noa's personality. There was an even worse cheapskate with an even worse personality right nearby. I was just remembering the sight of Ali trapped in the mines trying to earn 10 million won.

In times like these, should I be grateful there are no cotton fields or salt farms in Minecraft...?

...Anyway.

After everyone's money brag was over, only one person remained. When my eyes, Prism's, and Noa's all turned to her, Latte panicked and stammered.

"W-what, what is it? Why are you all looking at me like that...?"

"......"

"Okay, fine...!! I'll say it!! I'll say it...!!"

Under the silent pressure, she screamed like a traitor revealing the location of an independence fighter. Finally, in a voice as small as an ant crawling, Latte revealed her assets.

"1..."

"1?"

"...Hundred million."

"......?"

The chat window was instantly flooded with question marks at the word "hundred million." Latte finished in an even smaller voice.

"80..."

"...Insane."

The server rank 1 was standing right next to me.