Chapter 119
Chapter 119
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 119
Chapter Title: The Star Streamer
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Soo-hyuk stepped out of the shop.
Swipe-.
A few minutes later, the beggar who had first guided him returned to Greg's room.
In his hand was a bottle of strong, pungent liquor and a single cigar.
"Figured it was about time for you to run out."
"Ah, yeah."
Greg lit the cigar first from the offerings.
A harsh, thick aroma filled his mouth. Feeling a slight buzz in his head, he kept staring at the name of his new client.
"What's up?"
"It's a fake name."
"That customer from earlier?"
The beggar looked puzzled.
Clients using aliases were a dime a dozen. Among those who didn't trust Dark Map, some were bound to be involved in shady dealings.
Especially if the info involved a major guild—they'd want to stay hidden even more.
"Something bothering you?"
"Guys who request that kind of info are usually one of two types. They either hide their faces... or they're already in our guild's info network."
Dark Map had records on pretty much every player worth noting. Not just the rankers, but even up-and-comers from the lower floors—all in their network.
But...
"Nothing. Anywhere."
His face had never been captured in Dark Map's network.
"Could be a proxy?"
"A proxy, huh..."
Greg exhaled the smoke from his mouth and tilted his head at the beggar's plausible guess.
"Maybe."
"Doesn't seem worth stressing over. Client info isn't something we can sell anyway, right?"
Greg nodded after a moment of silence.
True enough.
Dark Map never sold client information under any circumstances. The one exception? When a client didn't pay the proper price for the info.
Unless that mess happened...
Digging into the client's identity right now was a waste of time.
"Fair point."
With that, Greg let go of his curiosity about the client.
'If I don't know him, he can't be that big a deal.'
Leaving Dark Map, Soo-hyuk put his mask back on.
This was only the second time he'd shown his bare face. The first was when Unhyang had caught him by accident.
'Actually, going barefaced might be safer now.'
Lee Soo-hyuk's mask was too well-known. Better to avoid drawing eyes than risk unwanted attention by using an unknown face to start fresh.
Soo-hyuk had worn the mask consistently since becoming a player.
Before that, he'd rotted away at a player training institute, so even Dark Map wouldn't have this face on file.
'If they mistake me for a proxy, even better.'
He'd considered getting another mask to hide behind, but that might backfire.
Dark Map didn't care much about client identities anyway—hiding his face would just make him look suspicious.
Far better to pass as some nobody player or a proxy.
'Greg, huh...'
Dark Map, the massive info guild, had branches scattered across the tower.
The 4th floor wasn't that high up. He hadn't expected much from the locals here.
He'd just wanted to tap into Dark Map's vast network via the request.
But...
"If that's the case, it's probably true."
"Otherwise, I can't picture Lee Soo-hyuk failing."
Just a guess, but he'd nailed the truth.
Well, not exactly. The betrayal wasn't from Blue Zone's target—it was their leader, Kim Il-su.
Still, sharp enough to impress.
And one more thing.
"Does it matter?"
"Counterwar."
He seemed to know something Soo-hyuk didn't.
'I'd love to know that too, if possible...'
He smacked his lips in regret.
'Bet that costs a fortune too.'
Everything in Dark Map revolved around money. And from the feel, that tidbit Greg had dropped was just a teaser—and pricey.
With his current funds, this was the limit.
'All points, damn it.'
Never thought he'd scrape by on points like this.
But on the flip side, it was a relief.
After reincarnating, he'd found ways to rack up points fast.
These were problems money could solve, after all.
'I'll find out eventually.'
50,000 points.
No small sum.
But if it revealed what Blue Zone did there—and if another comrade survived—he'd pay ten times that gladly.
Two worries, though.
One: the price too steep to afford.
Two: even Dark Map couldn't uncover it.
If they couldn't, no one could.
'For now, leave it to them.'
This was the best he could do.
Next up: earning the info fee.
Crunch-.
Soo-hyuk headed straight back to the inn.
Through the slums, into the bustling city center.
He opened the inn door.
Ding-a-ling-.
On the first floor, groups of guests ate, drank tea, or rested.
Among them, one group by the window caught Soo-hyuk's eye.
Unhyang and Cheongryang. And across from them, three others.
About three hours had passed.
"Perfect timing."
As always, Unhyang spotted him first.
Soo-hyuk waved back at her gesture. The three guests turned to him.
"Nice to meet you, streamer Lee Soo-hyuk."
Among them...
A white guy with striking blue eyes approached with a greeting.
"Bald Soo-hyuk here. Call me Pak Soo-hyuk."
"...?"
Soo-hyuk shook the offered hand, puzzled.
Pak Soo-hyuk's first impression was simple.
Handsome.
Insanely so.
His mysterious eye color was cool, but every line of his face was sharp. His nose bridge was impossibly high, like a sculpture.
Hard to believe this was the goofy, dumb guy from the streams. A total heartthrob.
"See? This reaction! Told ya, right? Huh? Huh?"
Pak Soo-hyuk boasted to his two companions at Soo-hyuk's response.
"That's why you guys underestimate me. Say you'll treat me wherever."
"Got it, got it. Quiet down and sit. You advertising or what?"
The plump-faced guy and the glasses-wearing woman sighed in unison, reining him in.
"I told you to tone it down outside how many times-."
"Let him be. He's just not used to the face thing."
The troubled man and resigned woman.
Pak Soo-hyuk introduced them late.
"This is my manager, Nets, and video editor Ameri. Teammates from the early days."
"Ah, hi. Lee Soo-hyuk."
"We know. Real name too, right? Wild."
The noisy, drawn-out handshake ended.
Soo-hyuk had watched Pak Soo-hyuk's streams a few times. Thought he'd be chill, but nope.
Face totally mismatched the stream vibe. Personality spot-on.
'Different? Or the same...?'
After that intense intro, Soo-hyuk sat. Pak Soo-hyuk still eyed him curiously.
"You wear the mask here too, Mr. Soo-hyuk."
"Don't misunderstand. It's not about distrusting Pak Soo-hyuk. He's just always like this."
Cheongryang hurriedly explained.
More polite than Soo-hyuk had ever seen her.
Pak Soo-hyuk was Baehae Entertainment's top streamer, after all—even if he seemed playful.
"Oh, really? Almost got offended."
"Why hide your face, Pak Soo-hyuk? You'd blow up if you showed it."
Cheongryang asked genuinely baffled, and Pak Soo-hyuk grinned, pleased.
"That's why."
"Pardon?"
Cheongryang blinked.
"Gaining fans from looks is boring."
Cocky, but cool.
He pulled a mask from inventory, covering his handsome face.
"I'm streaming for fun. Right?"
After that, the group's talk shifted to collab content ideas.
"Contrasting skill gaps would be the most fun."
"Can't do trials together, though..."
"Rent a virtual exam hall?"
"Ugh, snooze."
"...So what then?"
"How about..."
The four chattered busily.
The two sidelined streamers' eyes met.
That moment.
Pak Soo-hyuk fake-yawned boredly, pointing outside.
'Let's bail.'
Soo-hyuk nodded.
Better leave content to the pros. His input would just disrupt.
Plus, he wanted to chat one-on-one with Pak Soo-hyuk.
He was the first streamer Soo-hyuk had ever watched, after all.
Swipe-.
They slipped out quietly.
Out of the busy streets, toward the quiet city outskirts.
"Just do it, why overthink?"
Pak Soo-hyuk shuddered at the thought.
"Right?"
"You always stream like that?"
"Like what? Just winging it?"
"Yeah."
"Exactly. Show fun, and they love it. Manager plans content sometimes, sure."
After a few exchanges, Soo-hyuk pegged Pak Soo-hyuk's character.
Lazy genius.
Not as a player. As a streamer, absolutely.
Pure, passionate. No awkwardness in talks, no fakeness. Confident without arrogance.
Impossible not to like.
"I've watched your streams a few times, actually."
Soo-hyuk blinked, surprised.
That was his line. Pak Soo-hyuk's was his first stream.
"Honestly, not that fun. Cool skills, but I don't get player stuff."
"Really?"
Not fun. Embarrassing.
But he'd said "a few times."
"The fun part was your reactions."
"My reactions?"
"You don't get how huge your popularity is, do you? Or you do and play it cool?"
"...Pardon?"
What was he getting at?
Those handsome eyes smiling seemed... different now.
"Wild. Viewers spiking by thousands live, and you're chill."
Soo-hyuk had forgotten, amid the boyish purity.
"Like you've had that fame before."
Pak Soo-hyuk.
The star of streamers—with millions of subs and hundreds of thousands of viewers.