Chapter 26
Chapter 26
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Not a Self-Deprecating Stream
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Wow... what the hell is this guy's deal?”
Frontline Archive programmer, Hwarang.
He let out a gasp of admiration as he stared at the absurd data on his computer screen.
The data displayed on the screen was sensory information sent by a user named Sukka.
Frontline Archive required consent for data sharing to play, which allowed developers like him to review the sensory info submitted by users.
But the sensory data from Sukka's VR device was bizarre—way too bizarre.
There had been a flood of cheat reports in a short time, so he'd checked it out, and every sense—from smell and hearing to all five—was hyper-realistic.
No one seeing this would think it was a cheater using hack software.
If anything, it made him suspect a genuine masochist who'd illegally modded their VR gear.
“Hey! Tech Director! Take a look at this for a sec!”
He spotted the Technical Director passing by and hurriedly called him over.
It was the first time in his game dev career he'd seen a user like this, so he needed advice from a veteran with tons of experience.
At Hwarang's call for help, a graying older guy shuffled over.
The somewhat hollow-eyed Tech Director, Han Jin-tae, took a sip from his paper cup of instant coffee and replied.
“What is it?”
“Found a weird user.”
Han Jin-tae naturally took the mouse and started scanning the screen.
He seemed to notice the anomalies in the data and quietly set down his paper cup.
But Han Jin-tae's reaction was nothing like what Hwarang had expected.
Hwarang had thought he'd be intrigued, but instead, his face darkened as he asked.
“How are you seeing this?”
“Huh?”
“Isn't this Sergey’s data?”
“Uh... who's that? This is from a user named Sukka.”
“Sukka?”
He must have mistaken it for another user's data.
Hwarang was shocked—did that mean there was someone else with data this unusual?
But Han Jin-tae just waved it off like he hadn't heard.
As he examined the data more closely, he furrowed his brow and muttered.
“This is from a Korean user? The sensory info is way too realistic.”
“That's what I’m saying! I mean, how does she even know what gunpowder tastes like? At this level, she must've actually been in a war.”
The realism in VR games came from countless users pooling their data.
They collected info from those who already knew and shared it with those who didn't—sharing sensations ordinary people could never experience in a lifetime.
In that sense, Sukka's sensory data was shockingly valuable.
The smell and feel of gunpowder, the temperature and texture of blood. All those FPS flavor details were captured perfectly.
If they integrated Sukka's latest sensory data into the game, Frontline Archive players would soon taste gunpowder too.
Sukka was a golden goose, a rare resource straight out of game dev heaven.
“But she's feeling pain too?”
“Yeah, that's the issue. It's clearly a game, but the pain seems as real as reality.”
The problem was how realistic the pain data was too.
The agony of skinned knees from a fall, the crushing pain of an arm pinned under a collapsing wall—even unnecessary data like that was hyper-detailed.
Sure, anyone could get some phantom pain from deep immersion.
But pain this intense? No one would call that normal.
It was like a golden goose dying every time it laid an egg.
From a game dev's perspective, they couldn't just ignore it.
“She felt pain this bad and didn't auto-logout? Is she using some junk old VR rig she scavenged?”
“No, the device info shows it's the latest 5th-gen model. I checked earlier 'cause it bugged me—she started streaming a few days ago. Said her VR safety features were busted.”
“Hmm... at this level, maybe she disabled the safeties on purpose just to play?”
“Who'd wreck a hard-to-get 5th-gen unit on purpose...”
“I'm kidding, you idiot. Monitor that user closely for now. Log her out from here if she hurts again. Ignore this lightly and we could lose a player.”
“Got it! So you're cool with it? Means I get to watch cute Sukka on the job?”
“Yeah. Data like this is rarer than hen's teeth these days—keep an eye on her. Turn on her stream, toss some donations to nudge her our way. Carefully, no accidents. But cute? This from a female user?”
“Yeah. She's freaking adorable.”
Han Jin-tae shook his head with a sour look at Hwarang's reply.
Still, knowing Hwarang's diligence, he didn't worry about his work ethic.
Hwarang grinned back at the trust and got ready to work.
He planned to log into Frontline Archive to check if the last patch applied properly.
But the company VR rigs were beat-up, leather peeling off the sofa like things.
Envious of Sukka's 5th-gen, Hwarang whined at Han Jin-tae.
“But Director, can't we get some 5th-gens here? How long do we have to work with 4th-gens? Makes no sense for devs to have crappier gear than players.”
“Hey, you think those are easy to get? Break through the reservation lotteries yourself. Even in the same company, they gotta pay market price—what can I do?”
“Aww... Director, you snagged one recently. At least bring that.”
“That was for company business—repaying a debt to someone at Universe.”
“A debt?”
“Yeah. An aspiring actress whose career got blocked because of us. Not something to brag about.”
An aspiring actress blocked by Universe.
It was before Hwarang joined, but he'd heard the rumors.
“Oh! You mean the Eastern Battlefield incident? The game where someone died during testing?”
“Yeah, you little shit. Talking about that girl who modeled characters back then. Gotta rub salt in the wound, huh? Don't you know I was the lead director? I've been atoning ever since...”
“Ahh... I seriously didn't know that part... sorry...”
“Just get back to work! Keep an eye on Sukka or whatever!”
“Roger that!”
Han Jin-tae snapped irritably and trudged back to his office.
The Eastern Battlefield fiasco had really worn him down—his face looked even more hollowed out just mentioning it.
Hwarang blamed his own lack of tact and stared at his screen.
He'd already messed up and gotten permission anyway, so he'd just shamelessly watch Sukka's stream.
[Healing on a little island.]
Luckily, Sukka was live.
She was still new to streaming—no thumbnail—but had a solid viewer count anyway.
No surprise; a pretty character like that drew anyone regardless of gender.
Chucking at her cuteness, Hwarang dove into the stream.
『Sukka... how long you gonna keep planting trees...』
『Making Jeju Island lololololol』
『Day two of nothing but citrus trees lolololol』
Soon, a girl planting trees in some healing game appeared on screen.
Too bad she wasn't playing Frontline Archive, but he could nudge her with donations from here.
Protect the golden goose from pain while harvesting useful data for dev.
With his goal set, he watched the stream and hunted for bait to lure her.
『Sukka, say ‘Papa Loser♡’ just once?』
『Ah shit lol tons of Frontgal lurkers lolol』
『TBH wanna see real Sukka pussy lolol』
《Um... sorry, gotta decline. No bad words.》
『Your nick's already a bad word lololol』
『Papa: Sukka baby, daddy'll make bank so meet me again plz』
『But Papa's a shit gun, right to ditch lolol』
《Not a shit gun... Papasha's great...》
『Argh... should've been born Papasha...』
『No lol why you simping for Papasha lololol』
『Just go shoot some AKs, same Eastern bloc guns lolol』
《Haven't tried AK... only trust Papasha... But why's everyone on about Frontline Archive? I'm playing Maria right now...》
Luckily, viewers were nudging her toward Frontline Archive too.
Pushing other games on streamers was bad manners, but with most on the same side, Hwarang relaxed.
Plus, he'd already spotted perfect bait just from a quick watch.
She loved Papasha, huh? Then there was something she'd bite for sure.
Would she go for it?
Hwarang tossed out the hook via donation.
【Hwarang donated 1,000 coins!】
〔Info: Frontline Archive has a hidden Papasha easter egg〕
An instant reaction to the donation message.
Sukka, who'd been diligently planting citrus trees, flinched and froze.
She'd bitten—time to reel her in.
Hwarang followed up with the killer hook.
【Hwarang donated 1,000 coins!】
〔Easter egg reward: Tactical Papasha with modernization module〕
The bait? A secret item hidden in the game.
One he'd designed and tucked away himself as a Frontline Archive dev—forgotten and unloved.
Sukka slowly raised her tiny head, frozen no more.
Like a black cat spotting fish—knowing it was bait but unable to resist.
《R-Really...?》
First cast, and he'd hooked her.
《Tactical... Papasha...?》
A seriously cute keeper.