Chapter 93
Chapter 93
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: It's Not a Self-Deprecating Broadcast
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Scary! Don’t ever do that again! Got it?!”
“Nyeeng... Yelenaaa... It huuuurts....”
Fortunately, Yelena quickly stopped crying.
She was pulling at my cheeks over and over to vent her frustration, but it seemed she was just startled and hadn’t lost faith in me.
It was a real relief that this cute girl had such a bold and lively personality.
I let her take out her anger on my cheeks as much as she wanted.
『Hwarang: Even if Sukka accidentally fired, Yelena wouldn’t have been hurt. The gun would’ve malfunctioned and failed to fire instead.』
As I did, Hwarang chimed in with an explanation about the essential NPCs.
True to form as a programmer, he focused on the system rather than empathizing with the situation.
But if they were invincible, why the extra details?
It seemed Frontline Archive’s invincibility system was a bit different from the games I knew.
Still, with Yelena gripping my cheeks right now, it was hard to type a question in chat.
I waved my arm to signal for more details, and quick-witted Kukudas asked on my behalf.
『Kukudas: You mean Irina and Yelena are invincible?』
『Hwarang: Yes, exactly. Do you know the Marvel character named ‘Domino’? She has superpowers based on insane luck, and the essential system is modeled after that.』
『Kukudas: Examples would be easier to understand than metaphors.』
『Hwarang: It means essential NPCs have insanely good luck. Guns aimed at them jam on their own, bombs dropped nearby turn out to be duds, enemies suddenly trip—things like that. Of course, it applies to environmental factors too. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t exploit it.』
In short, they’d implemented invincibility in a way that didn’t ruin the gameplay.
It wasn’t perfect, but at least the Morozova sisters were safe.
The tightness in my chest finally eased.
The fact that I could now bond with Yelena without worry was the best part.
Relieved, I flashed a smile, and Yelena, who’d been watching me, smiled back.
She was playfully tugging at my cheeks, so it looked like she’d already forgiven my mistake.
“Visha sis’s cheeks are so squishy. Like a baby’s.”
“Huh? Aren’t yours even squishier, Yelena? But you’re not calling me ‘kiddo’ anymore?”
“Nope! I wanna use nicknames too, not formal names! Can I call you Visha sis from now on?”
“Of course. You and Irina can both use nicknames for me.”
I gently tugged at Yelena’s cheek and grinned brightly.
As expected from a girl from a cold region, it was plump and soft.
I could see why Yelena kept kneading mine.
And so, we began warming each other’s cheeks.
Of course, the chat exploded with envious complaints.
But with no more sexual harassment warnings to worry about, I wouldn’t be mistaken for a creepy kid anymore.
“By the way, how’d you get here? Did Ghost bring you?”
“Yeah! I begged him to come greet you when I heard Visha sis was here!”
“I see. Thank you for escorting Yelena, Ghost.”
“No problem. I forgot to tell her not to prank around. I’ll be more careful from now on.”
“You don’t need to apologize, Ghost. Who could’ve predicted I’d react like that?”
After greeting Ghost, I took a look around.
I’d hoped maybe Irina had come out to greet me too.
But no matter where I looked, Irina wasn’t there.
The only ones around were the viewers who’d logged in after me, smartly forming up in ranks.
Then, Ghost, who’d been looking down at me, spoke with a smile in his eyes.
He’d probably noticed my disappointment.
“Irina’s currently with Ttalgwi.”
“With Ttalgwi sis?”
“Yes. They’re directing the Odessa civilians to evacuate. With Ttalgwi’s viewers helping, it should be easy.”
“Oh, right. A ton of Ttalgwi’s fans came too.”
“I heard it’s battalion-sized. But they might head to Yellow Dune Beach soon. Word of Sukka logging in has probably spread there too.”
“Yeah, let’s hurry to Yellow Dune Beach then.”
I took Yelena’s hand and started walking toward Yellow Dune Beach.
I instinctively reached for Ghost’s hand too, but luckily, the sharp Ghost slipped away smoothly.
But swinging at empty air felt so embarrassing.
As I awkwardly rubbed my thigh, Ghost cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Ahem! Uh, Odessa’s civilians are already evacuating. The munitions factory’s being dismantled to move to the rear.”
“Oh, good. I heard chemical warfare might start as early as today.”
“And Sukka’s party has grown to company size. Your viewers joined while you were logged out. They even elected a squad leader and platoon leader on their own. You’ve got some reliable fans.”
“Huh? So I’m a company commander now?”
“Correct. Quite the rapid promotion.”
“Whoa.”
Amazingly, I’d been promoted to company commander overnight.
I’d expected viewers to show up, but not this many—it was impressive.
And VR gear cost millions of won, after all.
No matter how many viewers, without ‘wealthy ones,’ it’d be impossible.
No wonder my stream had so many big spenders.
Now I understood why missions had bets in the hundreds of thousands.
“So what are the company members doing now?”
“Probably marksmanship training at Yellow Dune Beach. Plenty of newbies jumped into full-scale war in a rush. They’d love if you trained them, Sukka.”
“Yeah, sure. I’ll teach them one by one.”
“I’ll learn a thing or two as well.”
Ghost, who’d seen me as a newbie until recently, was asking to learn from me.
It made me feel like a veteran corporate streamer—my chest swelled with pride.
I looked at Yelena with a ‘Pretty cool, right?’ expression.
Then, Yelena, who’d been listening, grinned slyly.
“Ehehe... What’s up with you two?”
“Huh?”
“First time seeing Ghost oppa smile. And first time seeing Visha sis smile at a guy. You two like each other?”
“.......”
I looked up at Ghost after Yelena’s words.
He was scratching his cheek awkwardly, but didn’t seem upset.
Of course, I thought Ghost was a good guy too.
From our first meeting, he was the only one who hadn’t treated me like a kid.
Ttalgwi had joked ‘He might be a lolicon, so watch out,’ but Ghost’s polite demeanor was always reassuring.
Denying it here would be a lie.
“Yeah, I think Ghost is a good comrade.”
“Heehee, really? That’s it?”
“Uh, well... What else is there?”
“Ghost oppa as your boyf─”
“─No way.”
I scowled and answered reflexively.
Even if Ghost was great, some things were off-limits.
But had I been too harsh? I hoped I hadn’t hurt him.
I flinched my shoulders and cautiously checked Ghost’s reaction.
“Phew....”
But Ghost’s response was a bit different from what I expected.
He let out a relieved sigh and patted his chest.
I hadn’t hoped he’d be hurt, but him being glad made me oddly bummed.
I poked his side and grumbled.
“Ghost... Why are you happy when I said no?”
“N-No, I’m not happy. Just relieved the viewers won’t be jealous. Look, the company members following us are glaring daggers.”
“Oh.”
“Thank you for sparing me. Really.”
Come to think of it, our viewers were pretty jealous types.
A wrong answer might’ve gotten me sniped from somewhere.
Curious, I checked the chat while walking hand-in-hand with Yelena.
The reactions were a sight to behold.
『She survived cuz Sukka likes girls lol』
『Yelena plotting to assassinate Ghostㄷㄷㄷ』
『So that’s why she neutered Ghost for liking girls...』
『Yelena’s an evil shipper lololol』
『SUKKA!!!!!!!!!! RUN AWAY RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!』
『Sukka’s basically decorative lol. Date her and you’ll date in jail lol』
┗ Chat blocked and deleted.
One nickname caught my eye amid the chat.
The viewer yelling at me to run was definitely ‘Wild Boar.’
Our party’s one and only pilot, Wild Boar, was screaming in chat.
No personal chat in full-scale war, so he’d come to the stream.
But with the time limit on chat, it was hard to grasp what was up.
I quickly appointed Wild Boar as manager and asked.
“Wild Boar, what’s wrong? Tell me in manager chat.”
[Wild Boar: Intel says Luftwaffe heading your way]
[Wild Boar: Soviet air force flying south too]
[Wild Boar: Looking for users with radios]
[Wild Boar: Bought fighters and attackers, donation limit exceeded so couldn’t donate more]
[Wild Boar: Currently flying Yak-3]
“Ah....”
Luftwaffe. The German air force was coming this way.
Meaning peaceful Odessa was about to face bombers.
My heart pounded wildly, ending our brief rest.
Chemical warfare had already been underway for a while.