One-Sided Collab

The sudden one-sided collaboration became a hot topic almost instantly, even if the scale remained relatively small.

The VTubers matched against Myeong-yun each possessed subscriber counts large enough to be considered major corporations.

The four of them combined boasted over 1.3 million total subscribers, while live viewers had just crossed the 100,000 mark.

Even when including those watching multiple streams at once, the concurrent audience hovered around 80,000.

“So roughly more than 100,000 people are watching this broadcast right now.”

Sang-hyun, who had been monitoring Myeong-yun’s stream, felt genuine delight at the sudden surge of interest, yet he could not help worrying about the impending backlash.

V Game Girls.

A Japanese production company that trained and supported virtual YouTube creators. With more than ten affiliated talents and an enormous fandom behind them, the group carried considerable weight.

When one factored in their hardcore gachi koi enthusiasts and the extreme pseudo-romance fandoms, a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠faint sense of unease was unavoidable.

‘Once the game ends, that fandom is going to learn that the killer currently blowing up in Korea is Myeong-yun.’

Depending on how the match unfolded, their reaction could swing between frenzied hostility or an opportunity to pull in new viewers.

“Did I push things too far? It’s going to be difficult, isn’t it? The wuxia genre is practically dead in Japan, after all. Maybe if it were just a stepping stone…”

What Japan called wuxia was essentially samurai.

There were already hordes of samurai-concept VTubers. Central Plains murim-style wuxia, rooted in Chinese tradition, only truly thrived in Korea and China.

Even so, Myeong-yun possessed an inexplicable quality that made people anticipate greatness.

Sang-hyun watched with the pure heart of a fan, hoping Myeong-yun would once again cause absolute chaos.

“Kill them all!!”

“This is a map I’ve never seen before.”

The game began.

Myeong-yun scanned his surroundings. This time it was an entirely unfamiliar map. Every previous stage had been outdoors; this one was indoors.

Walls stood everywhere. Countless windows allowed survivors to vault through quickly. Scattered beds and medical equipment lay all around.

The place reeked of a sealed psychiatric ward.

One glance told him the map heavily favored the survivors. On top of that, the opponents were veteran players who deserved to be called survival demons.

As usual, the viewers immediately concluded that Myeong-yun was at a disadvantage this time.

The matchmaking imbalance caused by the expanded queue was severe. The gap between Myeong-yun and the survivors was enormous.

The special traits that strengthened killers and survivors—called Perks—were completely unavailable to him. He had only just started playing; where would he have the currency to purchase any?

The fact that he had been slaughtering survivors without perks until now was already abnormal.

“Well then…”

Just as Myeong-yun was about to move, two consecutive missions arrived.

The missions were brutally demanding. Handing over two of the five required generators for free, then sealing the special ability Predation belonging to his chosen killer, Roar—the tiger-themed character.

It was the same as asking him to fight with his limbs chopped off.

Roar, a close-range specialist Myeong-yun had chosen at the viewers’ request, stacked buffs by using his special skill Predation to devour survivors caught in ropes. Without stacks he was weaker than any other killer, commonly called a “trash pick” in the early game.

No perks. An unfamiliar map. Two generators deliberately forfeited. A weak killer.

Yet Myeong-yun was not the type to back down.

He lifted the corners of his mouth and accepted the missions.

“Yes. This much of a handicap is only fair if you wish to balance the scales against This Seat.”

While accepting the missions, Myeong-yun sat on a nearby windowsill and tapped the wall with his fingers.

The mission required him to wait until two generators were completed. Any other actions were unrestricted.

‘The physical laws of New World are all based on reality.’

Anything possible in reality was possible inside the game. This was the fundamental principle behind every virtual reality title created through New World.

It was precisely because of this principle that Myeong-yun could display transcendent movement inside games.

“Two in the northwest, two in the southeast.”

Using the principle of realistic physics, Myeong-yun had generated vibrations by tapping the wall and used them to pinpoint the survivors’ locations.

It was even easier indoors than outdoors. Outside he had to read the wind; inside, a few taps against the walls were enough to map the entire structure.

“This Seat merely tapped the walls to create vibrations and determine their positions. It is not difficult, so cease your commotion.”

‘If all four of them had taken one generator each it might have been slightly troublesome, but I seem to be blessed with luck.’

Myeong-yun wore a gentle smile as he waited for the survivors to finish repairing the generators.

The moment two generators activated, the hunt would begin in earnest.

To calm the viewers who kept spamming questions about how he had done it, he decided to tell them a story.

“Since waiting will be boring, This Seat shall recount the time during my days as Young Cult Leader when I went out on a wolf hunt.”

“What? The killer didn’t come to your side either? Where did he go? Newbie?”

“There’s no way a newbie would be in our rank.”

“True.”

Northwest from Myeong-yun’s location.

There, Croba and Megane—who had linked up quickly—were repairing a generator.

The four of them had equipped the “Walkie-Talkie” perk to enable smooth communication. It allowed voice chat even across long distances for a limited time.

“Maybe he’s AFK? But going AFK would get him penalized immediately.”

“…Well, if he’s just handing us free points then that’s good for us.”

“Yeah but then it’s boring! Wait, is this Namepu?! Against us?!”

Namepu—a Japanese gaming term for deliberately playing down to opponents, an arrogant display of superiority.

“If it really is Namepu then we can’t let this slide. I am Croba, Guardian of Justice. I don’t know who this killer is, but I shall show him despair!”

“Shut up and repair the generator.”

“Megane, aren’t ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you angry? I can’t believe someone would Namepu against us.”

“We’ll find out soon enough whether it’s Namepu or not, won’t we? Once one generator is done we move. Two more are about to pop—let’s split up and finish them.”

“Roger! Alright then…”

With a bright ding!, the generator was repaired.

The moment it completed, the two dashed in opposite directions. They planned to finish several generators in the blink of an eye by rushing to the ones they had scouted earlier.

At almost the same moment, another ding! rang out from the opposite side. Tio and Tenshi had also completed their generator.

Three generators remained. With four people, they could have one person distract the killer while the rest powered the remaining three and opened the gate. It should have been simple.

However—

“Kyaaaaaaaaaah—!!”

“…?!”

Someone had gone down instantly on the opposite side.

Croba, who had been running toward a generator, froze mid-stride after confirming the crawling survivor icon.

“Megane! Take the generator! I’ll go cover! Tio, what’s happening over there?!”

A survivor downed in a single hit. While Croba tried to think which killer could possibly do that, the reply that came back from Tio made her doubt her ears.

“D-don’t come! Don’t come here! Stay away! Kyaaaaaaaaaah—”

There was no situational briefing, only a terrified voice and continuous screaming pouring through the voice chat.

Whatever was happening on the other side, Croba could not even begin to imagine it.

“…I’m heading there to cover first!”

“Thus, This Seat safely concluded the wolf hunt. Five were taken down with arrows alone.”

While ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Myeong-yun was in the middle of telling the wolf-hunting tale from his days as Young Cult Leader, a ding! sounded as one generator finished. Then another followed shortly after.

The instant the second generator activated, Myeong-yun rose from the windowsill and clasped his hands behind his back.

“Now then, it is time for the human hunt. Or rather, were they not human? One angel, one devil—what are the other two?”

“It does not matter much. They are right ahead.”

Exactly in the direction Myeong-yun had indicated stood Tio, the pink-haired survivor preparing to flee.

The moment their eyes met she spun around and began running. However, Myeong-yun did not chase her.

He stopped in front of a bed near the newly activated generator, then thrust his thick, furry arm—ending in razor-sharp claws—straight through it.

His arm pierced the mattress, the frame, and the back of Tenshi, who had been hiding underneath.

“Kyaaaaaaaah—!!”

Tenshi instantly entered the crawling state. Normally it took two hits to down someone, but this attack had satisfied a special condition.

An attack the survivor had not perceived registered as an Ambush, downing them in one strike. It was a rare occurrence among battle-hardened veterans.

Myeong-yun withdrew his arm from the blood-soaked bed and turned his head. He looked at Tio, who had not run away, with eyes that regarded her as nothing more than an insect. Drops of blood fell from his fingertips.

A horror-movie atmosphere formed around him, so thick one could momentarily forget this was a game.

“Hurry and run, little devil. Only then can This Seat chase after you.”