Chapter 15 : Discussion
Chapter 15: Discussion
Because it was human nature to want to try something at least once when people kept making a fuss about how amazing it was.
And attempting it wasn’t very difficult either.
[General] No Assist No Gun challenge is so hard;;
[General] Is this even clearable?
[General] Without assist, supernatural abilities won’t activate at all?
[General] 45th attempt at breaking through guards
[General] I’m going to try the no assist no gun challenge too
It was from that point that public opinion began to twist.
Before trying it directly, it ended with admiration like ‘Crazy!’, but after experiencing it directly, they felt it.
‘Is this really possible for a person?’ —like that.
[General] Absolutely impossible unless it’s a hack;;
[General] 67th attempt at breaking through guards
[General] After trying for three hours I get it lol Impossible lol
[General] Even pros probably can’t do this ㄹㅇ
[General] Baek Woohyun <- Isn’t this a hack??
Hack suspicions flowed out from right there.
It meant that the appearance Baek Woohyun showed was at such a superhuman level that it rather drew suspicion.
The hot post he first saw, ‘Reasons why the no-assist no-gun video is hacking.txt,’ was the final destination reached by those suspicions gathering and gathering.
“Tsk.”
To be suspected of hacking because he’s too amazing.
Baek Woohyun, who clicked his tongue, looked at Kokoatalk he had put down for a moment.
-Baek Woohyun: I read it all but… it’s absurd
-Jeong Nayeon: Right? When I first saw it I was so dumbfounded I burst out laughing lol
-Jeong Nayeon: But setting aside the validity of the controversy
-Jeong Nayeon: Have you thought about how you’ll respond?
‘Response…’
Baek Woohyun tapped his smartphone with his finger.
Although there was a ten-year gap, he too had once been one of those who enjoyed virtual reality games.
Naturally he knew how big a controversy it would be when talk of hacks came up. He could feel how big the controversy was just by looking at Reverse Time.
However, he was unclear about whether a response to this was necessary.
If he was trying to become a personal broadcaster, or if he was going to be a pro player, he would feel he needed to firmly uproot this hack controversy before proceeding, but that wasn’t the case.
For an ordinary civilian, wouldn’t hack controversies be like affairs of a distant country?
-Baek Woohyun: Well. I don’t see the need for any response
-Jeong Nayeon: As expected, seems you were thinking of just leaving it
-Jeong Nayeon: Let’s meet in VR first ㅇㅇ
-Jeong Nayeon: It’ll be too long to talk about in chat
-Baek Woohyun: Got it
Baek Woohyun slowly got up from bed.
While he thought a response wasn’t particularly necessary, he thought there was no need to reject even Jeong Nayeon’s concern.
In any case, since he woke up refreshed for the first time in a while, he was thinking of getting up and doing something anyway.
“I’m here!”
“Yeah.”
Not long after Baek Woohyun, who connected to virtual reality, entered his waiting space, Jeong Nayeon in workout clothes appeared.
Unlike what he had seen at the previous dinner appointment, she raised her hand in greeting while yawning long with a “Huaam~,” her hair roughly tied.
Still, perhaps because her appearance fundamentally supported it, rather than looking disheveled, her unpretentious charm shone through.
As Baek Woohyun also raised his hand in greeting, she moved her steps familiarly and plopped down on the sofa.
“So what are you going to do?”
Jeong Nayeon got straight to the point without beating around the bush.
Her attitude was to spill it if he had thought about how to resolve this controversy.
“What do you mean what am I going to do.”
“Then you’re just leaving it?”
“I’m not going to broadcast like you, and I’m not going to go pro either. I’m just one ordinary user, so even if there’s controversy about hacking or whatever, wouldn’t it not really matter.”
“That is true.”
Hearing Baek Woohyun’s story, Jeong Nayeon bobbed her head. Because it was indeed as he said.
Right now it was a controversy with all communities related to ‘Reverse Planet’ burning up, but in about a week it would die down anyway.
After another month or so, even those who remembered such a thing happened would become rare. Of course, they would recall it if told, but.
So it was a controversy that could be left alone.
As long as the person’s mental state remained intact.
“Still, if you’re going to keep playing RePla, I think it’d be good to appropriately clarify and move on.”
“Is that so?”
“It’s unpleasant to be called a hacker by everyone you meet. If by any chance you get caught on video again later, the hacker talk will definitely come up.”
“Hmm-”
He couldn’t assert that such a thing wouldn’t happen.
Right this time, didn’t he coincidentally meet someone broadcasting and appear on that broadcast?
In an era where, in vulgar terms, every Tom, Dick and Harry tries their hand at personal broadcasting, thinking he wouldn’t be caught on video would be a judgment that failed to see reality.
“With privacy protection mode, a mask covers the face so isn’t it okay?”
“No. Your fighting style is unique so there’s no way it won’t be obvious. There’s no style that fights without using supernatural abilities like you even among pros. Plus your name is already known.”
Jeong Nayeon said decisively.
It wasn’t particularly an exaggerated story.
Even she, who had made ‘Reverse Planet’ her main content for several years, had never seen a combat style like Baek Woohyun’s.
In a game where the main combat method is supernatural abilities, to not use supernatural abilities at all and only raise physical abilities to beat everyone up. It couldn’t help but be considered unique.
“Even these days, even if you hide your identity, they reveal everything through your build and habits shown when fighting. They even found all the sub-accounts that pro players had hidden that way.”
“Persistent.”
“Of course, if you’re really thinking of completely ignoring everything, this doesn’t matter either. Even if they find out, if you don’t care it’ll be a wasted effort.”
“…Mm.”
“Oh right, did you get any contact from that person? The person who was hosting the broadcast you appeared on. Was it Kang Soyul?”
“I did.”
The Kokoatalk messages piled up over 300 that he saw as soon as he woke up.
Among them, some were things sent from Kang Soyul’s side.
She seemed to have grasped the controversy that started from dawn almost immediately, and regarding the relevant matter, offered an apology along with two countermeasures.
The first countermeasure was just ignoring it as Baek Woohyun had thought. As expected, she also said she didn’t recommend it since there would be a lot of noise going forward.
The second countermeasure was to clarify actively and definitively, and surprisingly, for this she had brought one method.
“A method? What is it that you’re like that?”
“……”
The moment he heard Jeong Nayeon’s question, Baek Woohyun’s pupils shone pitch black. Eyes where terribly eerie madness could be felt.
Jeong Nayeon, who suddenly received that gaze head-on, trembled without realizing it.
Because fear as if she was in the same place as a brutal murderer in a horror movie assaulted her body.
Even though it absolutely couldn’t be, as if Baek Woohyun would immediately raise a knife to slash her throat and be drenched in the spurting blood—
‘Ah.’
Belatedly noticing his mistake by seeing Jeong Nayeon, Baek Woohyun steadied his mind.
Even if it was light emotional turmoil for him, it could be felt as a serious threat to others, so he needed to be more careful.
Suppressing the emotions boiling up inside, he spoke in a low voice.
“They said Planet Earth sent an email wanting to personally verify whether I use hacks.”
“From Planet Earth?! Crazy, really?”
“Well, that said, it’s not the headquarters in America but the Korean branch.”
In short, it was a story that ‘Planet Earth Korea,’ not ‘Planet Earth,’ had contacted him.
Planet Earth Korea was merely a Korean company that had been granted authority over Korean server operations from Planet Earth headquarters.
The kind of place that didn’t even have authority to hold events on their own, let alone game development, and had to inquire with headquarters.
Therefore, even if he accepted this proposal, he could safely assume he would absolutely never meet the ‘real developers’ of ‘Reverse Planet.’
‘That’s natural.’
It had only been a few hours since the hack controversy started flaring up, and it was an incident on the Korean server, not the American server.
No matter how much it was Planet Earth, reacting that quickly would be impossible.
“That’s amazing! The game company is directly stepping up to verify whether a user is hacking! It’ll draw tremendous aggro and be noisy for a while!”
Unlike the indifferent Baek Woohyun, Jeong Nayeon got extremely excited and started chattering.
Having done personal broadcasting for several years, she realized this situation could be a huge opportunity if turned around.
Of course, the precondition that the hack controversy clarification had to go well was attached.
‘If Planet Earth Korea directly proves it, game over! What more needs to be said!’
A situation already boiling hot just from the hack controversy following the challenge. If you pour Planet Earth on top of this—even if it’s the Korean branch—what would happen?
She’d bet that at minimum for a week, Baek Woohyun’s name would ceaselessly go up and down the communities.
Perhaps… it might go even longer.
‘I’m jealous-!’
And what that meant was that if Baek Woohyun chose clarification, Kang Soyul could greatly pull up recognition, an important element for personal broadcasters.
And that in a good way, not bad.
For personal broadcasters where attention directly connects to profit, there couldn’t be better good news.
Enough that it wouldn’t be strange for Jeong Nayeon to be jealous about why the opportunity went over there when clearly she was the one who made the broadcast promise first.
“For now, I think it’s better to go with the second option.”
However, being envious and thinking for a friend were separate matters.
Jeong Nayeon made a cool judgment and opened her mouth.
“There’s no reason to refuse when the game company will give you a certification mark that you’re not a hacker. Plus, the bigger the topic, the more widely that news will spread.”
“I see.”
“And this is a bit of unpleasant talk, but if you choose to just ignore it rather than a clarification broadcast, Kang Soyul’s broadcast will also take considerable damage.”
“…Why? She and I have no relationship.”
At Baek Woohyun’s question, his eyes slightly widened, Jeong Nayeon shook her head.
“Would that matter to the people making a fuss about the hack controversy now? At first they’ll only curse you, but if you don’t react, the arrows will quickly turn toward her.”
She’d bet backstories would continue coming out saying she aimed for noise marketing by calling in and featuring a hacker.
Since Jeong Nayeon actively participated in various communities and called herself a community specter, she could be certain about this much.
“……”
Baek Woohyun recalled Kang Soyul.
Her who somehow resembled that girl who was like a younger sister he met at the research facility.
If he chose to ignore it to make himself comfortable and she would be harmed, did he need to pick such a choice? It was just one broadcast appearance anyway, wasn’t it?
“Moreover, if later you change your mind and want to broadcast, or appear on my broadcast, you should definitely go with the second option. Right?”
Baek Woohyun looked at Jeong Nayeon with narrowed eyes.
As if gauging her who was revealing her desires so blatantly it was beyond calling it subtle.
Receiving that gaze, Jeong Nayeon grinned slyly.
***
Meanwhile, around that time at the Planet Earth Korea building.
“Team Leader. A reply came to the email we sent earlier about hack verification. He says he’ll accept.”
“Really?”
At his subordinate’s report, Team Leader Park Geumhyeon of Operations Team 1 pushed up his thick horn-rimmed glasses. An action he invariably did when thinking deeply about something.
However, he soon shook his head with a complexion worn by fatigue. Because his head wasn’t working well. It was understandable since he had been working overtime consecutively for days.
Exhaling deeply, he opened his mouth.
“He agreed to the condition of showing it on broadcast too, right? Well, since he’s the one in trouble, there’d be no reason to refuse.”
“Yes, he accepted including that part. But why are you going so far as to appear on broadcast, Team Leader?”
“If you conduct confirmation behind the scenes for something like this, only backbiting comes out. Rather, it’s better to go on broadcast and just verify while showing it openly.”
Park Geumhyeon continued while massaging his throbbing temples.
“But that, who was it. Baek Woohyun? Are you sure nothing came up when you tore through that person’s logs?”
“Yes, that’s correct. Just in case, we checked everything from character creation, but there were no modification records by external programs at all.”
The subordinate employee, who confirmed the investigation records again, asked with a tilted head.
“Looking at how we tore through all the logs and there’s nothing, it’s definitely not a hack, so do we need to verify it by even going on a personal broadcast? Couldn’t we just appropriately announce it’s not?”
“If we appropriately announce it’s not and post results on the official site, would the people making a fuss now believe it?”
“…Um, I don’t think they’d believe it.”
“Right, they won’t believe it. So that’s why we’re going so far as to appear on a personal broadcast to let them directly see the verification. To firmly nail it down. And while at it, show that we’re working.”
“I see. I understand.”
“Well, that aside.”
Team Leader Park Geumhyeon let out a hollow laugh.
“If nothing came up even tearing through the logs, that means that’s just skill.”
“…I don’t really believe it either, but that’s what the investigation results show. Unless it’s a hack with extremely low probability that we haven’t discovered.”
“Well, that’s why we bothered putting in a verification cooperation request.”
In the hologram screen filling one wall, Baek Woohyun was rampaging like crazy.
And that with the insane method of evading right before shooting a gun.
It was a sight even Team Leader Park Geumhyeon, who had joined Planet Earth Korea and risen to the position of Operations Team 1 Leader, was seeing for the first time.
“If it’s not a hack… that’s a real crazy bastard. An utterly crazy bastard.”
Crazy bastard.
Really, there were no other words to say.
Probably anyone, not just Team Leader Park Geumhyeon, would be the same.
That’s why with just one broadcast appearance he overturned the entire community.
“……”
“……”
“—So Team Leader. When will we get off work today around-”
“—I don’t know either, you bastard!”
“Ah, Team Leader please…! If it’s overtime until today, it’s already been three weeks…”
‘……’
Park Geumhyeon ignored the subordinate grumbling beside him and gazed intently at Baek Woohyun’s video.
At that appearance where the color-reversed inverted eyes shone eerily.