Chapter 141
Chapter 141
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 141
Chapter Title: Rodeo Bookstore and Arcade
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Thud. Kwong.
"To Rodeo Bookstore, please."
"Yes."
The taxi sped off down the cool, open road.
I still couldn't get used to these quiet mornings when everyone had already headed to work.
💬 Live Chat — ⚔️ Viewer Why the bookstore again? "I've got to head to an uninhabited island, but I need at least a rough idea of what I'm doing."
— ⚔️ Viewer Just look up videos. — ⚔️ Viewer Video platforms have everything. "Not buying a swimsuit?"
— ⚔️ Viewer Let's go right now. — System Ka-ching! ⭐ Sponsor — Ariel Land Donated 10,000 won — Ariel Land Please, a thong... — ⚔️ Viewer Kick that bastard out. — ⚔️ Viewer Why kick lol — System Ka-ching! ⭐ Sponsor — Ariel Land Donated 10,000 won — Ariel Land In a world where speaking rightly brings condemnation, I alone rise into the darkness as a single ray of light... — ⚔️ Viewer Ugh, just kick him. — ⚔️ Viewer lololololol He's a manager too lol Watching the chat made my eyes feel noisy.
By the time I reached the market, my ears would be noisy too.
"Hoo."
Snowy slid down to my lap and fiddled with my fingers playfully. At least my hands were happy.
"We've arrived."
"Thank you."
Click.
After walking about a minute from the taxi, the familiar bookstore came into view.
"Hello, noona!"
"Eek, you scared me."
A booming voice suddenly erupted from the side.
Looking over, four burly guys in crisp suits were bowing deeply.
"Noona, heading to the bookstore?"
"Yeah. What are you guys up to?"
"Scouting businesses around the area."
"What you guys do is just water carting, right?"
One of Manwook's underlings grinned and pointed across from the bookstore.
"What's that?"
"We acquired an arcade. Noona, diversity is key these days, isn't it?"
"An arcade all of a sudden?"
Following his finger, I spotted a faded sign bleached by the sun.
Rodeo Arcade.
It looked like it had held its spot for quite a while.
"You guys are doing arcades now?"
"Just a good location. Buy it cheap, gut it, turn it into an adult arcade, cash in big, and bail..."
Smack!
"Guhk!"
"Knew it."
The spot where I'd flicked him seemed to hurt bad; tears welled up in the underling's eyes.
"You operating it?"
"Still in normal operation."
"Hmm, kids. Wanna hit the arcade?"
— ⚔️ Viewer Sounds fun? — ⚔️ Viewer Lame. "Yeah?"
Faint memories surfaced of heading to the arcade as a kid with pocket money.
Over time, coin arcades had become spots only for enthusiasts.
"You guys get back to work. I'll swing by to play in a bit."
"Yes, noona."
They must've been busy—they huddled among themselves before leaving.
"Snowy, let's buy some books and go play."
"Yeah!"
Opening the bookstore door revealed a spacious interior welcoming us.
Having been here once before, my steps were light.
"What should I search for?"
— ⚔️ Viewer Survival? — ⚔️ Viewer Survival I fiddled with the available computer and searched according to the viewers' advice. Quite a few books popped up.
"People even write autobiographies about survival books."
— ⚔️ Viewer It was super popular back in the day. — ⚔️ Viewer Influencers even went to deserted islands. "Oh ho."
Sales were low compared to other books, but one stood out overwhelmingly in the survival category.
I checked the sector number on the computer and found it quickly.
— ⚔️ Viewer That's by a famous overseas video creator. "Really?"
The cover showed a bare-chested man holding what looked like a stone knife from the Stone Age.
"He looks pretty reliable."
— ⚔️ Viewer For real lololol — ⚔️ Viewer If you can take just one thing to a deserted island, take that guy lol I picked a few more books and checked out at the counter.
— ⚔️ Viewer The kids? Real underlings? — ⚔️ Viewer Boss is a real gangster? "You think?"
— ⚔️ Viewer Right...? — ⚔️ Viewer lolololol Crossing to the other side, the thumping sounds grew louder, unmistakably announcing an arcade.
There was a punch machine at the entrance, and a coin exchanger right inside.
"Been ages since an arcade."
— ⚔️ Viewer Peak nostalgia. Even in the daytime, plenty of people were enjoying the games.
"Snowy, what do you wanna do?"
Snowy scurried down to my chest, so I picked her up. Her ears perked as she looked around curiously.
"Toy stuff."
She didn't even know what arcade machines were, but her focused little head was adorable.
"That one!"
The machine she pointed to had a floating rabbit raining down carrots, bananas, and grapes from above.
It was a rhythm game where you timed button presses for the falling fruits.
"Wanna try that?"
"Yeah!"
— ⚔️ Viewer lolol Can Snowy even do it? I fed coins into the machine, and it started a countdown.
"Snowy, see these buttons? Press the one matching the color of what's falling on screen."
"Yeah!"
I set her on my palm and positioned us in front of the buttons.
Even the small joystick buttons looked huge up close to her.
"Think you can do it?"
"Yeah!"
She answered sharply, plopping her butt down on my palm to settle in.
Her front paws raised high to the sky made me feel determined too.
"Fighting!"
— ⚔️ Viewer lolol Fighting! — ⚔️ Viewer She's insanely smart lol Countdown over—veggies and fruits began falling slowly.
Tok!
"Oh."
— ⚔️ Viewer Whoa, she actually hit it? — ⚔️ Viewer Perfect! lololol Tok. Tok. Tok.
Her tiny front legs moved frantically, her ears twitching busily in sync.
"Wow, Snowy's doing great."
Beginner mode was slow, but considering it was a rabbit playing a game, she was crushing it.
"Snowy, grapes on the right!"
— ⚔️ Viewer lolol Streamer coaching a rabbit? — ⚔️ Viewer Insane lol is it really a rabbit Her ears flicked nonstop.
From behind, it looked like a rice cake rabbit hustling hard.
"Good job, my baby."
— ⚔️ Viewer Rhythm rhythm — ⚔️ Viewer This is it A bunch of grown adults cheering on a bunny the size of a pinky toe made for a hilarious sight.
Tok. To-dok.
— ⚔️ Viewer Kya combo hits lolololololol — ⚔️ Viewer Beats me at trill lol — ⚔️ Viewer Snowy's a rhythm game pro Snowy nailed even the tough sections.
Wild rabbit or not, she was a natural.
To-dok. To-dok.
Fueled by the cheers, she cleanly cleared the rapid-fire drops.
"Waa, Snowy's awesome."
"Excited!"
She was really pumped, wagging her tail—or was it her butt wiggling? Hard to tell with how short it was.
"Wanna do more?"
"Yeah!"
But contrary to her words, she seemed done and climbed back up to my head.
Wild rabbit or not, her responses were always top-tier.
"What should I try?"
— ⚔️ Viewer Fighting game — ⚔️ Viewer Bullet hell? — ⚔️ Viewer Rhythm Requests poured in—all niche games beloved by my gamer friends.
Thud thud!
While browsing games, heavy thumps came from the back of the arcade.
Closer up, a guy was drenched in sweat atop a machine, showing off his footwork.
"Isn't that DDR?"
— ⚔️ Viewer Diagonal arrows mean Pump, not DDR. — ⚔️ Viewer Pump master here "Oh, right."
Feet-based game, so unlike hand rhythms, it ramped up hard at high BPM.
Notes looked slow to the eye, but the player on the platform was moving like mad.
Clear!
"Hoo— hoo."
Done? A guy panted heavily as he stepped off the pump.
"Damn, Young-woo, your skills leveled up. Level 21 bomb hits are brutal."
"..."
I made eye contact with Pump Guy.
"Hey, what're you doing."
Pump Guy, ignoring his friend's praise from the side, stared me down.
"What does that mean? Want me to win you a prize?"
— ⚔️ Viewer lololololol — ⚔️ Viewer Teacher please lol As I chatted quietly with viewers, Pump Guy slowly approached.
"Um... excuse me. Here to play?"
"Just watching your skills."
"Y-you can play."
"Ah! Thanks."
He'd been giving intense stares but graciously stepped aside.
Coin in—loud effects, menu up.
"Double means together?"
"Yes, two players or solo controlling both."
"Got it. Thanks for the tip."
He claimed done but lingered behind, staring intensely.
"Snowy, wanna do it together?"
"Sure!"
Stepping on the arrows changed difficulty.
With Snowy, easiest mode.
"Snowy, feet game, so press hard."
"Yeah!"
Lowest difficulty—slow notes rose.
Thud! Kwong!
Syncing with Snowy was surprisingly fun.
Thud thud! Kwong kwong!
— ⚔️ Viewer Two cuties wtf — ⚔️ Viewer My baby girl's having a blast today Thud kwong thud kwong!
— ⚔️ Viewer lolololololol — ⚔️ Viewer Too cute overload "Ta-da!"
"Taa-daa!"
Clear!
I held out a finger; Snowy tapped it with her paw.
"Fun, right?"
"Excited!"
"Gotta shop for clothes, so let's head out."
"Yeah!"
As I scooped up Snowy to leave, the ever-present Pump Guy approached.
"Um, if it's okay... your number..."
Ring ring!
"Sorry, hold on. Phone call."
"Ah, sure."
Click.
-It's me
"Yes, Grandpa."
-Just calling so you don't forget tomorrow
"Of course not. Don't worry."
-See you tomorrow
Grandpa, who seemed to live by "keep it brief," hung up after exactly that.
"Sorry about the call. What were you saying?"
I walked slowly, expecting the obvious; sure enough, Pump Guy followed.
"If it's cool, your number..."
—You here, noona!
Pump Guy's words cut off again.
Outside the arcade, Manwook's underlings stood in a line, bowing deeply.
"The boys said they saw you, so we came to greet."
"Yeah. Thanks."
He was the one always by Manwook's side, like the family's number two.
All the guys looked pretty rough around the edges.
Glancing back, Pump Guy's face was ashen.
"Give you my number?"
"...No."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Sleepy?"
Snowy asked out of nowhere.
"Huh? Nah, not me."
"Sleep together?"
"Snowy, want a nap?"
"Yeah!"
"Alright, c'mere."
"Yay!"
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