Chapter 49
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Illegal Program
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"Wow! Did you just see that? It was a pull shot!"
"Yes! I've never seen anyone handle it so skillfully!"
The commentators were going wild.
At first, they marveled at 'Midas A''s bomb-tossing skills, then at Jang Seongtae's sniper prowess.
'If the commentators knew Seongtae was originally from LapL, they'd lose their minds.'
Kangyul chuckled to himself as he watched the match.
After that, it seemed like all the focus would stay on Jang Seongtae until 'Midas A''s game ended, but another standout emerged.
It was Im Honggyu, rampaging with a shotgun.
Crossport map had relatively long engagement ranges.
Shotguns lost power drastically at distance, so they weren't much use.
Im Honggyu wasn't bad, but he didn't draw much attention because of it.
But in the second and third maps, his potential exploded once more.
The second map was Dragon Road, the third was 3 Supply Depot.
On Dragon Road, it was like, "Get too close and you're dust," or "That guy's shotgun skills are insane." But on 3 Supply Depot, he was a massacre machine.
'Im Honggyu is the main man on 3 Supply Depot.'
Jang Seongtae's sniper held the long-range B zone, while Im Honggyu dominated A.
The enemy team had no choice but to charge straight into his line of fire.
Bang!
Bang!
"Shotgun! It's spitting fire again! Why does Midas A Clan have so many treasures?!"
"Exactly! Speaking of which, doesn't Cheolppak know shotguns inside out?"
"Me? Yeah! I lost this eyebrow to Meerkat in a bet against some bastard named Honggyu with a shotgun."
A hush fell over the commentator booth for a moment.
Kim Yongjin quickly checked the 'Midas A' clan info he'd been reviewing.
"...Are you talking about that Im Honggyu?"
"I don't know that far, but 'Charming Guy Honggyu'..."
That's when Cheolppak checked the clan info too.
[Charming Guy Honggyu]
[Name: Im Honggyu]
"Aaaah!! That bastard!! Hey, you son of a bitch!!"
Cheolppak finally recognized Charming Guy Honggyu and started freaking out.
"W-Wait, Cheolppak! Calm down!"
"No, caster bro! How can I stay calm?! Look at my eyebrow! Because of that son of a bitch!"
Those who knew the backstory snickered at Cheolppak's outburst.
Of course, the players couldn't hear the commentators, so Im Honggyu kept playing unfazed.
Bang!
Bang!
His gun barrel heated up as his kill count skyrocketed.
"That's where that bastard got me too—3 Supply! He's like a damn ghost there!"
"Come on, calm down. They're not even hearing you."
At Kim Yongjin's urging, Cheolppak sat back down.
But he kept rubbing his eyebrow, clearly haunted by the memory.
Kangyul and the audience laughed at the sight.
'Good thing it's a recorded broadcast. Live would've been a disaster.'
The match ended without further incident, a clean win for 'Midas A'.
"Yes!"
Im Honggyu jumped up the moment they won, raising his arms.
Lee Jaeyoung and the rest of the team followed suit, celebrating.
Clap clap clap—
"Midas A Clan is awesome!"
"Charming Guy Honggyu oppa! You're so cool!"
The crowd's cheers poured in right after, like an encore.
Not knowing what had gone down in the booth, Im Honggyu and the team awkwardly exited amid the applause.
"Great job!"
Kangyul greeted the returning team in the waiting room with encouragement.
While others snacked and drank, Jang Seongtae eyed Jang Deokcheol nervously.
Kangyul had given the okay, but it still felt awkward.
"My boy's the best! Strongest gun too!"
"...Mine was a sniper."
Jang Deokcheol awkwardly grabbed a pastry from the table and handed it to Jang Seongtae.
"...Good work. Hungry? Eat up."
"...Yeah."
Jang Seongtae took the pastry and brought it to his mouth.
He hadn't said it outright, but it felt like praise, and it eased his mind.
There was about two hours of break before the second match started.
Once it ended, the clan headed back to the arena.
A few spectators recognized 'Midas A' entering and clapped.
'At this rate, we might end up with a fandom.'
The round-of-16 opponents were a clan called 'Notorious'—an odd name meaning "infamous" in English.
'They look so innocent though?'
They seemed like total goody-two-shoes who'd never thrown a punch.
Huddled together, whispering strategies.
Glancing over at Kim Min-a and pointing.
'Planning their moves?'
The clan ranked just inside the top 1,000, so no real threat.
Play like they did in the round of 32, and it'd be an easy win.
But Kangyul's optimism shattered in the first map.
'...We lost all five rounds?'
It was absurd.
Sure, Provence map nerfed Im Honggyu, but the others shouldn't have flopped too.
'Seongtae barely got 5 kills, rest around 3.'
Kangyul scowled, staring holes through the broadcast screen.
'Notorious' didn't even move that well.
They just overwhelmed 1v1s with pinpoint aim, snagging kills first.
'No way every one of them is Seongtae-level. There weren't pros like this in the future!'
Even if they were a flash in the pan, too many red flags.
First, their aim was eerily uniform.
Body shots early, then instant headshots or kills.
The sniper never missed a headshot.
'No doubt—illegal program.'
But the tournament provided all gear: PCs, mice, keyboards from sponsors only.
No personal peripherals allowed, precisely to prevent hacks.
'Mice and keyboards are sponsor-provided, right?'
Kangyul scrutinized the enemy PCs but saw nothing off.
Meanwhile, round two began.
Second map: Crossport.
Bang!
"Damn! How do they aim like that?!"
"I'm dead too!"
Kangyul hoped for a comeback, but it got worse.
This round, they got more kills from bombs than guns.
Anyone could see something was wrong.
"Whoa. Getting crushed like this? Fans from the round of 32 are super disappointed."
"It's not that Midas A is bad—the opponents are just too good. Headshots on demand!"
Bang!
Right after Kim Yongjin spoke, Jang Seongtae dropped to a headshot.
'Hack!'
Kangyul replayed the moment and confirmed 'Notorious' was cheating.
That angle: Seongtae could see them, but they shouldn't have.
Normally, Seongtae would've fired first.
'But they aimed right at Seongtae like they knew his position behind the wall.'
Too precise for prediction—Seongtae's position was off his usual.
'Question is, how are they running it?'
From then on, Kangyul ignored the screen, laser-focused on the 'Notorious' PCs.
No dongles, nothing suspicious.
'Huh? What's that?'
Then he spotted a glint on the back of a PC.
A USB port reflecting light faintly.
'Could it be?'
Kangyul immediately relayed to Jang Deokcheol.
"Looks like the opponents are using illegal programs. Something's plugged into the back of their PCs—can you check right away?"
"Illegal programs?"
Jang Deokcheol startled, then called over a staffer and approached 'Notorious'.
Round two had just ended.
"Mind if we check behind the computers?"
"...Why?"
"Th-This is match interference."
'Notorious' got weirdly defensive—over the top.
Even the accompanying staff sensed it.
"It'll just take a second. Refuse, and it's automatic disqualification. Still refusing?"
The clan members exchanged looks, hemmed and hawed, then stepped aside.
"...Hurry up!"
"Better not find anything!"
Jang Deokcheol inspected the backs: just mouse, keyboard, monitor cables. Nothing else.
'No other plugs?'
He shook his head at far-off Kangyul.
But Kangyul pressed on.
From afar, it still glimmered faintly.
Kangyul went down to the PCs himself.
"Hold on. Let me take a look."
He spun the PC around, checked every inch.
'Gotcha!'
And finally uncovered the source of the shine.