Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Not a Self-Torment Stream
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“Phew...”
I took several deep breaths after logging into Frontline Archive.
The armory, which I’d returned to after just two days, was still thick with the smell of dust.
Knowing what I was about to do next made my head spin with complicated thoughts.
It felt almost masochistic to voluntarily confront my trauma like this—I was starting to wonder if I had some self-destructive tendencies.
At least my PTSD was staying quiet for now, which was a small comfort.
It must’ve been the anticipation for the ‘Tactical Papasha’ that was keeping my fear at bay.
‘I can do this alone...’
I stroked my pounding chest as I quietly prayed.
Shin Ara and hundreds of viewers were watching, but unfortunately, I’d have to tackle this solo without my comrades.
Of course, the safest and surest option would be to wait for Ttalgwi to log in.
She’d been nagging me last night to collab again, so she’d definitely jump in if I asked for help.
But sadly, Ttalgwi was a free spirit with no set wake-up time.
No one knew when she’d stir, so asking Hwarang to wait around wasn’t feasible.
“Okay... I’m calm now...”
With my resolve firm, I slowly lifted my head.
Then I found Hwarang in the viewer list and temporarily promoted him to manager.
His guidance was essential if I wanted to uncover the game’s hidden Easter egg.
The only way to not miss his chats was through the manager-only chat window.
『Hwarang: Alright, I’ll use chat from now on. First time being a stream manager.』
『Hwarang: Didn’t expect the Soviet uniform too. That’s already 50% of the Easter egg conditions cleared.』
“Huh... really?”
『Hwarang: Yes. Entering unarmed in just the Soviet uniform is the basic requirement.』
“Oh...”
Reading Hwarang’s chat, I naturally glanced to the side.
Since I’d last logged out inside the gear shop, a full-length mirror stood right next to where I was.
In the reflection stood a girl in a sharply dressed uniform, her expression serious.
Even now, it oozed charisma—truly ‘Okhuenno.’
Feeling a bit better at the sight, I smiled faintly and straightened my outfit.
Finally noticing my charisma, the viewers showered me with applause too.
『You look so cool! Red Sukka Comrade!』
『Revolutionary yet elegant!』
『What’s this? Why are you guys suddenly like this?』
『Whoa lol so tiny and cute lmao』
┗ Chat blocked and deleted.
“Hmm... I’ll block that one for a bit. Reflect in silence over there.”
『Lololol blocked lol』
『Tone-deaf idiots go to the camps!!!!!』
『You’re purged!!!』
『Aaah... another sacrifice falls...』
『Gulag lololol』
“Uh... it was a joke... everyone calm down...”
『Crazy lol Gulag lololol』
『Gulak!』
『Gul』
『Come back after re-education lol』
『lak』
“......”
I turned away from the chat suddenly flooding with red.
I’d only jokingly blocked a viewer for calling me cute, but now they were throwing around Soviet labor camps out of nowhere. It was bewildering.
How could they toss around ‘Gulag’ so lightly? That place was terrifying.
If I dropped our viewers into the Soviet Union, they’d just slave away until they dropped dead.
『Hwarang: ????』
『Hwarang: Comrade? Gulag? What’s going on?』
“I-I don’t know anything about that... Anyway, can you explain the Easter egg in more detail? I want to know why we have to go in unarmed...”
I hurriedly changed the subject, unnerved by the Gulag spam.
I had no idea who started it, but the other viewers were jumping on the bandwagon like it was stream culture.
It made me anxious even though I hadn’t done anything wrong.
If the Universe Broadcasting folks caught wind of this, it’d be a hassle.
『Hwarang: Hmm... alright then.』
Thankfully, no Universe overseers seemed around—no issues arose.
As I let out a sigh of relief, Hwarang explained the Easter egg.
『Hwarang: I don’t know exactly why unarmed is required. But if a personal guess is okay, I can share.』
“Hmm... even a guess would help. Better to know ahead of time.”
『Hwarang: Sure. Just my theory, but the Papasha Easter egg seems like a parody of a famous war movie scene. It’s about a Soviet sniper from WWII. Know Vasily Zaitsev?』
“Oh, yeah. I know him. Comrade Vasily.”
『Hwarang: In the movie, protagonist Vasily charges without a weapon issued. Soviet troops back then suffered severe shortages. Probably to recreate that iconic scene.』
“Uh... but Comrade Vasily used a Mosin-Nagant, not a Papasha...”
『Hwarang: The gear shop sells modernized Mosin-Nagant modules. So they’ve prepped rare Papasha parts for the egg. Plus, Papasha symbolizes the Soviets, so it fits.』
“Y-yeah, makes sense. Thanks for telling me...”
I couldn’t hide my bitter mood after reading Hwarang’s chat.
First time hearing Comrade Vasily went through that, but I’d joined battles bare-handed plenty of times myself.
Of course, saying Soviets lacked weapons was only half-true.
It wasn’t a shortage of guns—it was supply issues.
In the Leningrad siege, the city was surrounded by Germans; hundreds of thousands starved or froze.
No food supply meant no weapons or ammo either.
‘Back then, I wasn’t a hero...’
Plus, during those supply crunches, I was no hero.
Just a tiny, frail girl soldier who’d somehow been dragged in—more hindrance than help.
So of course I’d go in unarmed. Scarce guns went to sturdy men first, not fragile girls.
That’s why I was seasoned at scavenging guns mid-fight.
Loot from dying enemies or wait for allies to fall. Horrific memories—even now, I wonder how I survived.
If I hadn’t earned merits and become a hero, I wouldn’t be here now.
Sadly, running out of ammo left me bare-handed regardless—even after becoming a hero, similar scraps continued.
“So... start the game like this?”
『Yes. Just the uniform—no helmet or body armor. Head to special ops desk first and request Eastern Front deployment.』
“Okay...”
Mood plummeting, I followed Hwarang’s directions to the special ops desk.
No helmet or vest? Fine by me—they weren’t familiar anyway.
WWII had no vests, and helmets never fit my small head.
My Eastern Front look back then was basically this.
“Welcome, Operator.”
“Oh, hi. Hello...”
“Deploy to special ops zone?”
“Um... I want to go to the Eastern region...”
“Zone confirmed. Exit armory and board transport.”
“Thanks. I’ll be off then...”
“Praying for your safe return.”
Matching done smoothly, I hesitantly left the armory.
Everything felt scary, like my first errand ever.
Outside, an armored car waited with its rear door open.
After dithering forever, I boarded with bungee-jump nerves.
『Lol why polite to NPCs lol』
『Her manners are killing me lolol』
『Lol ‘I’ll be back’ lol』
“I-Is that weird? NPCs are people too...”
『NPCs aren’t people lol』
『Any more polite and she’ll bow from the navel lol』
『She’s such a good kid lolol』
“Stop teasing. Or it’s Gulag for you.”
『Spare me』
『Not the purges plsㄷㄷ』
『Her concept’s gone weird lolol』
The APC soon shut its door and headed to the zone.
Tension dredged up bad memories nonstop, but chatting with viewers helped me endure.
Their messages felt like my last lifeline.
To avoid panic blindness, I kept engaging the chat.
Naturally, I ended up talking more.
Since I knew zilch about survival mode, I asked viewers quick—better late than never.
“So what exactly is survival mode?”
『You started without knowing lol』
『Sukka... maybe wait for Ttalgwi?』
『You’re not actually scared of FPS games, right?』
“N-No, I’m really scared... so can you tell me?”
『Engage, loot, extract. That’s survival.』
『Frontline Archive’s Tarkov lolol』
『Farm valuables, escape, sell at auction house』
“So it’s for making money?”
『Yup, sell for real cash to buy rice』
『Bare now so no biggie, but normally lose gear on death』
『NPCs scarier than players—stay sharp』
“Oh... I get it now.”
Enter ops zone, gather valuables, evade players and NPCs, escape safe.
In short, Frontline Archive’s take on the ‘extraction shooter’ genre.
Relief—no warzone vibes like conquest.
A bit calmer, I asked about next steps.
“So how do I get weapons?”
『Kill players or NPCs and loot』
『Sometimes weapon crates』
『NPCs mostly have shit guns tho』
“Shit guns? What do NPCs usually carry?”
『Mosin-Nagant?』
『Papasha lololol』
『Mosin-Nagant lololol』
“Why Mosin-Nagant and Papasha all sudden... you said NPCs have shit guns...”
『Cuz Papasha’s a shit gun』
┗ Chat blocked and deleted.
『Mosin-Nagant’s shit-tier too』
┗ Chat blocked and deleted.
『Sukka I get what you’re saying but... Mosin and Papasha are shit guns to anyone lol』
┗ Chat blocked and deleted.
“......”
『Blocked again lolololol』
『These guys!! Don’t you know right words = camps?!』
『Gulag!』
『Purges! Purges!』
『Gul』
『Gulag! Gulag! Gulag!』
『lak』
Shit guns? Unforgivable.
How hard did I fight in the war to scavenge Mosin-Nagants and Papashas?
“Liars all go Gulag.”
I stood as the chat drowned in Gulag spam.
We’d arrived—the APC opened its rear door.
Stepping out into ruined city outskirts.
Just like Stalingrad from memory, way scarier than expected.
“Uh...”
Zero to hero for Tactical Papasha.
Time to rise from bare hands to legend again.