Chapter 85
Chapter 85
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 85
Chapter Title: No Guilt by Association
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Running as hard as he could, he'd arrived here before he knew it.
He couldn't tolerate losing a child for lack of money.
So he'd done everything he could—and even things he couldn't.
Money didn't guarantee happiness, but its absence almost certainly brought misery.
Jeon Dae-in knew that all too well, which was why he threw himself into the company's work again today.
Then came the call from the lawyer.
The eight perpetrators sued for defamation, slander, and insult had been caught.
Six of them wanted to settle.
The other two were die-hard Legends with no interest in reconciliation.
"No intention of settling."
He'd already "forgiven" them once.
Seol-a had made it clear on her stream.
Delete the posts they'd written up to that point, and she'd forgive them.
It frustrated him a little, but Dae-in respected his daughter's will.
That forgiveness could be interpreted in two ways.
First, she was kind.
She wanted to give those who erred a second chance.
Second, she was faint-hearted.
She feared incurring the perpetrators' wrath.
He could understand that.
Seol-a, who'd witnessed a bullying victim gun down their tormentors right in front of her, still trembled at the sound of gunshots.
It was no wonder she feared hate crimes.
'Don't worry. Dad's got it all handled.'
That was why Jeon Dae-in had shouldered the hefty expense of sending his eldest to Korea's most luxurious apartment.
Wealthier neighborhoods were safer—an unfortunate but undeniable truth.
The legal world worked the same way.
The poor weren't denied the law's protection, but the wealthy enjoyed it far more effectively.
No matter how much humanity built civilizations and pretended to be special, they remained beasts ruled by survival of the fittest—unchanged from ancient times.
This beast valued money and power over raw strength.
Lawsuits demanded time and money, leaving the poor unable to benefit from justice due to mere survival needs.
The term "settlement farming" was widespread and misunderstood; profitable lawsuits were rare.
True justice required ironclad resolve and substantial funds.
Jeon Dae-in had both.
He couldn't stomach anyone messing with his daughter.
These captured scum were the real deal—unrepentant villains who'd kept harassing even after that one forgiveness.
Settle? No chance.
He'd use every tool at his disposal to make them suffer.
But then came a shocking revelation.
The ones who'd sexually harassed Seol-a, flooding boards with unspeakable posts...
'How do you plaster what isn't there?'
Seven of the eight were women.
Why?
Five had posed as men in their comments before getting caught; the other two just hurled brutal insults.
Why pretend to be men?
One motive even claimed disgust at her acting chummy with Victory.
'Victory?'
Dae-in had heard the name plenty from the ultra-famous gamer.
Heck, he'd known it even before researching Teamfight Arena for his daughter's game.
'With fans like these, it must be exhausting.'
The brighter the shine, the more bugs swarmed—a fated curse.
Fame drew crazies inexorably.
'Doesn't sit right.'
Even knowing Victory was blameless, a father couldn't just feel fondness. Instinct, perhaps.
One thing was certain: online or off, touch his two daughters, and you'd regret it.
Here stood a man with unyielding resolve and overflowing cash.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ It felt like his emotions were being hijacked a bit.
Seol-yun's offer to live rurally together if he wanted.
That wasn't assuming post-med-school life.
It plainly meant she'd drop out right now if he said, "Stay by my side."
But could he quit streaming just because she said that?
The stream had started to ease his family's worries.
If its backlash ruined his sister's life, what a farce that'd be.
He had no idea why she cared so deeply.
Her photo leak was fine, she'd said...
No one hears only praise from everyone.
It depended on mindset.
He knew that, but applying it was tough.
Words were easy; action, hard.
Instead of quitting, how about a break?
He'd considered pausing streams amid fury over the doxxing.
But that felt wrong too.
What about fans who did nothing wrong and just loved his content?
Guilt by association was off-limits.
No handy filter to boot only haters, huh.
'If you hate it, don't watch. Why harass?'
...Could they harass out of twisted love?
That'd be even worse.
'Knows her face, so what? She's pretty. Pretty means nothing.'
Just think of her as a jellyfish, he'd pleaded.
A jellyfish.
...Do it?
Switch to VTuber in a huff?
He toyed with the idea, then dropped it.
With or without face reveal, meat suit farming wasn't his goal.
No more crazy gender-obsessed folks.
'Bury issues with bigger ones.'
His "red pill" nonsense was all speculation, fanfic, assumptions anyway.
Better to claim rank 1, twice over.
Hard running had brought it within reach.
'Third place already.'
He checked the rankings again.
🏆 RANKINGS 🏆 1st: Victory - Challenger 2940 2nd: TP WILD - Challenger 2752 3rd: Jeon Jeonseol - Challenger 2736 Hmm, lined up like this, it stirred old memories.
He missed dead Magical Fight dearly.
'Scores seem insanely higher than before.'
Did diligent play inflate points over time?
Teamfight Arena really was a hit.
Everyone grinding ranks this hard.
'No escaping, you lot.'
Two wins overtakes Wild.
Victory would take more.
'Taking first when I play is a given.'
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 📰 Breaking News Opponent Team Jeon Jeonseol Takes the Field 💬 Comments — Viewer The winner takes 2nd in rankings? — Viewer 2nd place defense battle lol — Viewer Fate's clash begins — Viewer Gotsta defend 2nd place2 - Deleted message. Team Proud streams banned "2nd place."
Even if Lee Jun said he was fine with the nickname.
Fans watching got hurt.
His emotions weren't his alone.
They rippled to cheering fans.
Hence, unfair mockery got banned.
Even if the player was okay.
"No way I'm letting you climb easily."
Jeon Jeonseol as opponent didn't amp his effort.
He already gave every match his all.
Solo rank limits: teammates not syncing.
Voice chat's slow, imprecise pings.
Seemed equal, but Wild—who knew "team game flavor"—felt the discord keenly.
'Coming here.'
No-mic hardcore.
Forgot streaming, hyper-focused Wild.
As predicted, Jeon Jeonseol as the Swordsman appeared where he'd pre-positioned.
She'd racked up games, mastering countless champs.
The close-range dealer Swordsman was high-skill, glassy durability, stellar attack hyper carry.
💬 Comments — Viewer Swordsman vs Twinblades gets my heart pumping — Viewer Who's favored? — Viewer Vulcan says hand-to-hand — Viewer Air said 5.5 to 4.5? — Viewer Who's 5.5? Wild's champ was also close-range dealer: high-skill squishy DPS hyper carry Twinblades.
'Knew you'd come.'
Human instinct was life's accumulated experience, they said.
Wild, who'd gamed endlessly with Jeon Jeonseol, read her strat.
He'd called team support early—but none came.
Solo rank was cruel.
'Once engaged, backing off loses.'
Consensus: even matchup vs Jeon Jeonseol unbeatable.
Though born from Victory's mental tilt loss in Dagger Acrobat mirror.
Minus Victory, no real counter existed.
Yet Wild challenged again.
Approach as eternal loss, when win?
💬 Comments — Viewer Whoa — Viewer Wild on fire today — Viewer Defend 2nd! — Viewer To climb to 1st, defeat me, Wild! Teamfight Arena: kill-heavy speed game.
Recovery scarce.
Sometimes dying beat forced survival.
In that game, Wild slashed Jeon Jeonseol's HP near zero.
Meant a judge's nod to victory.
But not quite.
Enemy reinforcements faster.
Surviving Jeon Jeonseol retreats; teammate fills her spot.
Wild swarmed.
Why no team?
Solo queue is cruel.
No one can truly communicate with him.
"Ah..."
💬 Comments — Viewer Too close — Viewer Such a shame — Viewer Challenger joins this trash? Lol — Viewer Free 1 stack of injustice acknowledged — Viewer Jeon Jeonseol... she's solid?