Chapter 157. Innovative New Technology
Chapter 157. Innovative New Technology
"Hmm... Good work, everyone."
A sultry voice quietly flowed from the square frame.
At the same time, the brief notification chime for 'Stream Ended' sounded and the screen went dark.
"Uuuuugh...!"
A woman with long, straight black hair and a cold impression stretched her arms out from her chair.
Even with the lights off, her sharp eyes and expressionless face still exuded a chilly, aloof aura.
She was a streamer on Pajijik who played the concept of a 'Demon King'.
In reality, she was just as haughty and chic as her character. Dealing with customers in her old job hadn't lasted long.
- Then how about trying to be a VTuber? You wouldn't have to show your face in person.
That was the first stream she started, all because of a single suggestion from a close friend.
- A VTuber...?
She had wondered if viewers would actually like someone as blunt and stoic as herself.
But now, she had built a small castle's worth of an audience, with triple-digit viewers who genuinely liked her.
Just then, a quiet vibration buzzed.
[ You Can Be a Hunter, Too - Meeting Info ]
The stoic woman's cheeks flushed slightly pink.
"I got in..."
The corners of her lips curved up before she even realized it.
Anyone watching might have called it 'cute'.
---
Meanwhile, at the same time, in another room.
"Kyaaaaaaa!!"
She was the complete opposite of the mature Demon King.
A sudden burst of cheers sent the cat scrambling away and knocked a few dolls off the desk.
"I-I-I really got in...! Awesome!!!"
She had a small, cute face and a petite frame barely reaching 160 centimeters.
She was a VTuber with a Hero roleplay concept.
And at the same time, she was the very definition of 'over-the-top excitable'.
"Oh, what do I do...! What should I wear? There are definitely going to be tons of famous people!"
She yanked her closet open and began rifling through her outfits.
She had always liked subculture, so she owned quite a few cosplay costumes.
"Hehehe... they said the Saintess is coming too... c-can I ask her to hold my hand...?"
Including these two, other streamers who had received their acceptance notices were also lost in their own joy, spreading the news here and there.
---
Finally, the day of the meeting arrived.
The banquet hall of a hotel rented out for the event.
Vehicles provided for the streamers pulled into the hotel entrance one by one.
"Oh, is that them?"
"Some are actual Hunters, not just ordinary people, right?"
"But where are the S-rank and the Unknown Hunter?"
Reporters lined up neatly to avoid causing any disruption, moving busily.
The press crew looked oddly bare, carrying only microphones and recorders without a single camera in sight.
"Is it true cameras are completely banned?"
At someone's question, the journalists nodded with wry smiles.
"Yes, the Unknown Hunter strongly requested it. Out of consideration for streamers who don't show their faces."
"Well... some Hunters will smash a camera without warning... a request like this is rather polite, all things considered."
The banquet hall.
A space with a high ceiling, where a chandelier glittered and cast a soft glow.
Streamers were gathered in small groups here and there, quietly chatting.
"Whoa... Lucia, big sis, did you see her cosplay? She looked amazing!"
"Nudungji, nice to meet you! I really enjoy your streams!"
"Wow... isn't that person also pretty well-known as a Hunter?"
Major streamers and smaller streamers.
But no one was there to intimidate anyone else.
Because everyone was in that room for the same reason, with the same qualifications.
- If anyone uses their status to pull any nasty, eyesore behavior, I'll kick them out without mercy.
The Unknown Hunter had stated that firmly on stream.
Besides, any streamers who would do such things had already been weeded out anyway.
"Ah, so you're that person?"
"I read about you in the application!"
They personally took care of the smaller streamers.
Ordinarily, this would be the kind of place where multiple cameras would be rolling and countless flashes would be going off.
"There really aren't any cameras."
"It's so strange. Even at the year-end party, there was a dedicated cameraman to take photos..."
The right to first announce the existence of this meeting to the world.
That privilege wasn't given to the media; it was given to each streamer's own channel.
"By the way, when are those two arriving?"
"Right. Lucia, have you heard anything?"
"You're pretty close to them, so..."
No sooner had they started talking than the entrance to the banquet hall quietly opened.
The chatter naturally died down, and every gaze turned toward the door.
The Unknown Hunter, Song Hoon, and Laila.
Song Hoon, dressed in a casual suit, raised a hand in a nonchalant greeting and let out a slightly embarrassed chuckle.
"Please don't be too nervous... shall we eat first?"
The reason he had deliberately set the time for early evening.
His intent was for everyone to gather, share a meal, and get to know each other.
As if on cue the moment his words ended, hotel staff filed into the banquet hall in an orderly line.
Fine silver-lidded dishes made a soft clatter as they were arranged in rows on the tables.
"Ah, hold off on the alcohol for now. I'll make sure you can drink your fill once the meeting is over."
Little laughs rippled across the tables, and the tense shoulders of the smaller streamers gradually relaxed.
"If you'd like to stream right now, feel free to do so."
At Song Hoon's words, a few people began pulling out their smartphones.
"Just please be careful not to show anyone else's face without their consent."
The VTubers and half-cam streamers who had been slightly nervous let out sighs of relief.
Some connected their smartphones to selfie sticks in earnest.
Others were already checking their chat windows and casually starting to talk.
"This is crazy... everyone, can you see this? It's a hotel buffet!"
"Wow... they say a single meal here costs 175,000 won...!"
"Can you see over there? That's the Unknown Hunter!"
"The Great Hero, simply granting us a dinner like this..."
While the freeform streaming was underway, two figures made their presence clearly known.
"Wow, thanks to you, I get to eat at a fancy hotel buffet like this."
Nudungji approached, resting a hand on his stomach.
Lucia bounded after her with a bright smile.
"Lailaaaa~!!"
She practically lunged at Laila, hugging her tightly and burying her face in her chest.
Laila was a bit startled at first, but then, seemingly used to it, she affectionately stroked her hair.
"Big sis, it's been a while."
"Snuuuff... haa... this is the best. I missed you so much~"
As expected, Song Hoon shook his head slightly at Lucia's excessive display of affection.
Then, as if sharing a secret, he lowered his head and whispered.
"By the way... have you thought of any fun content ideas? I'm good at gate raids, but..."
At that, Lucia and Nudungji both tilted their heads at the same time and spoke.
"Content worries? Just get ideas from the viewers or the other streamers here."
"Huh?"
"The very process of worrying about content is content itself."
"Yeah. Like he said, getting the viewers to join in and brainstorm with you is good too."
Song Hoon nodded as if something had just clicked.
Turning the process of worrying about content into content itself...
They truly were professional streamers.
"You two really do operate on another level..."
"Pffft... that's just how it works."
"Oh, they refilled the desserts! I'm gonna go grab some~"
Once the meal was winding down, Song Hoon and Laila stepped up onto the small podium at the front of the hall.
The ambient lighting dimmed slightly, while the podium lights deliberately brightened.
The gazes of the streamers who were finishing their meals turned toward them once more.
"Ah, ah, I hope everyone enjoyed the prepared meal?"
He spoke into the microphone with practiced ease.
In the past, he might have shown some awkward, introverted sides, but after meeting so many people and high-ranking nobles, his nature had naturally changed.
"Can we pack up the leftovers and take them home!?"
"Hero, I'm a fan!!"
"Laila big sis, you're so pretty!"
It felt less like a meeting between streamers and more like a fan meeting.
But Song Hoon just chuckled and continued.
"First, before the meeting, I'd like to introduce the people who helped make our little 'trip' possible."
The reaction was as unenthusiastic as students anticipating a long speech from the principal.
"Of course, there won't be any cliché spiels like 'Thank you for choosing our company~'. I can't stand boring stuff either, so..."
At that, small smiles and giggles scattered throughout the room.
He had already gotten each company's consent for this kind of introduction in the first place.
"This is the director of the Special Equipment Research Lab under Nova Group!"
He gestured to the side, and the streamers' gazes shifted over.
A middle-aged man, perhaps in his fifties, walked over looking rather tense.
"Ahem... N-Nice to meet you. I'm Research Director Park Hyun-tae."
This was the same research director who had once analyzed Song Hoon's artifacts and tossed the Hypernova Vision X1 Pro onto the ground.
Director Park Hyun-tae took a deep breath before speaking with an awkward smile.
"I'm a bit older, so I'm not very familiar with internet streaming... but I know some of you would be in trouble if your faces got out. Our newly introduced technology will completely erase that worry."
At those words, the eyes of a few streamers who were especially sensitive about being outed lit up.
'His pitch felt a bit like a snake oil salesman...'
Of course, he didn't doubt him.
He was, after all, the director of a lab recognized for its genuine ability.
"Until now, sensitive raid information has been blurred out by corporations and guilds. But doing that live was never easy..."
The director then pulled out a tiny chip and showed it to the streamers.
A piece of gleaming metal no bigger than a fingernail.
"Originally, these are meant to be embedded in secure areas... but you can wear that chip as a hairpin or earring. The entire area will then be automatically blurred in real time. Meaning there's absolutely no chance of your face being exposed on stream."
The atmosphere in the room shifted in an instant.
This was technology that went far beyond a simple blurring function.
"Furthermore... I understand some of you have your own 3D models. Using those, you can overlay your 'character's face' directly instead of a blur."
"Whoa..."
"Wow, seriously cool?"
"What is this, some kind of augmented reality?"
Quiet exclamations of awe leaked from the streamers.
This essentially meant they could achieve an immersion without any sense of disconnect.
"Of course... it wasn't originally a feature designed for streaming."
Naturally, it wasn't.
It was a feature made for corporations who wasted manpower on chronic security issues.
For them, taking a pre-made 3D character and overlaying it was child's play.
This revolutionary technology suddenly brought to mind a meme he had seen not long ago.
A short clip of two wealthy Arab men fiddling with a car's features.
'T-Tech... nology...'