Overdrive (Part 2)
Dead by Deadmoonlight.
A one-versus-four asymmetric game of tag.
The killer had to hunt the survivors and slaughter them. The survivors had to evade the killer, repair the generators, and escape.
The company that developed the game commonly known as DbD, Behaimakju, had released numerous modes in the name of user enjoyment.
Among them, the mode that had seized the most explosive popularity with players was none other than Overdrive.
Instead of the standard four-versus-one, Overdrive doubled the numbers to eight survivors against two killers.
On top of that, the game speed was increased by 1.3 times, creating a frantic, chaotic pace. The mode was so popular that some players enjoyed only Overdrive.
Myeong-yun had taken note of the Overdrive mode during his previous session of Dead by Deadmoonlight.
He had thought it might be worth trying at least once.
“It has not been long, yet somehow it feels as though it has been an age since last We partook.”
Myeong-yun remarked as he launched the game.
It had only been about a week, yet so much seemed to have happened in the meantime.
In novel terms, it would amount to roughly sixty chapters.
The record of that single week had clearly left its mark in the viewers’ memories as well.
Viewers existed because of VTubers, and VTubers existed because of viewers.
Myeong-yun gave a small smile at the chat messages declaring how fun the broadcast was and continued.
“Then let us begin the second part of the broadcast—Dead by Deadmoonlight, Overdrive mode.”
Before starting the match, Myeong-yun gave a brief explanation of Overdrive mode to any new viewers.
A simple description: the number of survivors and killers had doubled, and the game speed was faster.
The biggest difference from normal games was that when a survivor was downed, they were not hung on a hook. Instead, they were automatically transported to the location farthest from the killers and restrained there.
“Understood?”
In a normal four-versus-one game, a skilled survivor could draw a massive amount of aggro and buy time for the others to repair generators.
But with two killers, that became impossible.
Two killers working together could quickly catch even a strong survivor.
That was why, in a game where survivors normally held the advantage, Overdrive was the sole mode where the killers held the upper hand.
Myeong-yun, having learned all this from Sang-hyun, was curious what kind of people he would meet.
“Right, then. Let us go.”
Myeong-yun immediately began queuing for Overdrive.
Naturally, he brought none of the perks or items survivors could use.
He intended to play survivor while maintaining the exact same mindset he used when playing killer.
The moment the queue began, he was transported to the campfire area.
A campfire noticeably larger than the one in normal matchmaking.
In front of the fire with eight seats prepared, Myeong-yun sat with his arms crossed, waiting for the others.
As he chatted idly with the viewers for a short while, the other seats began filling up one by one.
“Whoa! We matched!”
“Is the Heavenly Demon here?!”
Among the matched survivors, several looked around to see if Myeong-yun was present.
Since he had announced he would be playing Overdrive, quite a few viewers had come specifically to snipe into his lobby.
“Heavenly Demon Descent, Ten Thousand Demons Worship! Heavenly Demon! This faithful believer of the Heavenly Demon Cult has rushed here in a single breath to attend you!”
One of them even ran straight up to Myeong-yun, dropped to his knees, and bowed deeply.
The excessive display might have been cringeworthy, yet Myeong-yun accepted the viewer’s bow with perfect composure.
“Train diligently. Following behind This Seat cannot be achieved through ordinary effort.”
“…! I will devote myself body and soul to be of service to the Cult!”
“Then return to your seat. It may discomfort those who are not believers of the Cult.”
“Yes sir!”
In a situation that could have been unbearably awkward, Myeong-yun handled the viewer’s greeting with practiced ease and sent him back to his place.
The viewers burst into laughter at his masterful response.
The impossibly natural flow sparked suspicion about Myeong-yun.
Maybe he really did receive such greetings on a daily basis.
The other viewers approached him just like the first one had and offered their greetings.
“Please take care of us! Heavenly Demon!”
“To have the chance to meet you in person like this! It is the greatest honor!”
“I shall consider it the glory of my family!”
Out of the eight matched survivors, four were Myeong-yun’s viewers.
After receiving the continuous stream of greetings, Myeong-yun crossed his legs and spoke.
“It is fine to come offer greetings to This Seat, but do not become a nuisance to the others. We understand your joy, but exercise moderation. Do you all understand?”
The viewers were, as always, completely ignoring his words.
The killers watching this scene must have been utterly dumbfounded.
Survivors suddenly lining up to kneel and bow to a single person—it was surreal.
Perhaps even the killers wanted to greet Myeong-yun.
After all, there was no guarantee they weren’t fans of his.
The viewers matched with Myeong-yun waited for the game to start with pounding hearts.
The survivors who had not come to snipe kept stealing glances at him and whispering among themselves.
“Whoa, isn’t that the Heavenly Demon?”
“Who’s the Heavenly Demon?”
“You know, that super popular VTuber lately. Hit a million subs in a week or something?”
“First time hearing about him.”
“Does your house not have internet? What kind of person racks up five thousand hours of YouTube screen time and still…”
And there was one survivor watching the entire spectacle.
By pure coincidence, a Japanese VTuber who had queued for Dead by Deadmoonlight Overdrive on the same day.
It was Tenta Tio, the succubus-concept VTuber from V-Game Girls.
“What the heck is going on?!”
The matched survivors suddenly walked up to someone, knelt, and started bowing.
From an outsider’s perspective, it was downright horrifying.
It looked exactly like they were greeting the leader of some cult.
With voice chat with the other survivors turned off, Tio continued her conversation with her own viewers.
“That, that guy is the one from last time, right? The one I matched with as killer! What was his name again? Heavenly Demon?”
“You idiots!! This time we’re on the same side as survivors!”
Tio let out a long sigh at her viewers’ teasing messages and glanced at Myeong-yun.
Their eyes met.
Myeong-yun, noticing her gaze, offered a small smile.
“…!”
As if to show he remembered her, that gentle smile made Tio’s breath catch for a moment.
For a brief instant, she felt as if her mind had gone blank.
Despite having the title of succubus, she felt like she was the one being enchanted.
She wondered if her ears had turned red.
She squirmed in her seat and muttered.
“Hey guys… should I go say hi real quick? He seems to remember me. If I’m lucky, maybe he’ll carry us this round?”
After reading the flood of messages, Tio made up her mind.
She would at least try talking to Myeong-yun. Just asking if he remembered her would be enough.
However, before she could even approach him—
the game began.
“Ah, no!”
The moment the game started, Myeong-yun looked around.
It was a map he had never seen before.
The map name floating in the corner of his vision read Chaos Cinema.
“Quite the peculiar place.”
When he looked up, outer space stretched endlessly across the sky, yet the surrounding structures resembled an ordinary residential neighborhood.
In the center of that neighborhood stood a movie theater with flickering lights.
It was a map where survivors mainly had to draw the killers’ aggro from inside the theater.
“It appears the entire area is built around the cinema. In that case…”
Myeong-yun clasped his hands behind his back and quickly moved forward.
Even though a generator sat right nearby, he ignored it and kept walking.
When he smoothly passed by the generator, countless question marks flooded the chat.
Normally, Dead by Deadmoonlight was a game where you listened for the killer’s heartbeat and avoided them.
But Myeong-yun moved in the exact opposite direction—toward the sound that grew louder and louder.
Before long, he spotted one of the killers.
A killer swinging the blade in his hand while chasing a survivor.
Myeong-yun grinned at the sight.
“One alone feels somewhat lacking. Let us take this one and go find the other killer as well.”
There were still many in the chat whose faith was lacking.
Myeong-yun saw this as the perfect opportunity to fill their deficient “faith.”