Chapter 17 : Fury
Chapter 17: Fury
However, such clear facts weren’t very important to those who had come this far.
Because what they needed was only something they could curse at.
That’s why they didn’t answer the question and only repeated brainless spam like ‘falling to hell’ or ‘Hacker OUT’ or ‘Hack defending broadcast ㅅㄱ’.
“Phew-”
Kang Soyul, who glanced at the chat window, sighed as if she knew this would happen.
“You won’t believe just verbal clarification, right? So to prove it’s not a hack, I invited Woohyun-nim back on the broadcast. Woohyun-nim! Please come out!”
“……”
As the promised signal came out, Baek Woohyun slowly walked into the broadcast screen.
Needless to say, the chat window blazed even more fiercely when he appeared on broadcast.
Not only fierce criticism like hacker or whatnot, but also personal attacks related to appearance were randomly poured out even though he wore a mask due to privacy protection mode.
It was such an intense reaction that one would think the chat window would have 100 percent exploded if it had been normal mode instead of slow mode.
-Fucking look at that shameless hacker bastard lololol
-He comes out? Really thick-skinned;;
-What is Planet Earth doing~ Why aren’t they banning him~
-What’s fun about playing games using hacks?
-Fucking vermin hacker bastard is so shameless
‘Ah, this is a bit…’
Kang Soyul made a disgusted expression at the raw profanities and criticism pouring out ceaselessly.
She had deliberately called Baek Woohyun first without talking about the proof method for dramatic reversal effect, but the reaction was rougher than expected.
If Baek Woohyun just had the thought, he could easily sue dozens of people in the chat window!
‘I hope he’s not too angry seeing this…’
Kang Soyul subtly gauged Baek Woohyun’s mood.
If by any chance he showed displeasure, she was thinking of setting it to emoticon chat only.
Because not offending him was more important than clarifying while communicating.
“……”
But Baek Woohyun’s actual expression was extremely calm.
Even though he was clearly looking at all sorts of malicious chats, it was a face where no anger could be felt at all.
As if such things had no value to him.
Somewhat relieved by that, Kang Soyul faced forward and shouted loudly:
“And! To prove it’s not a hack! The Team Leader of Operations Team 1 from Planet Earth Korea will be coming soon!”
-? Who from where?
-Did I hear wrong? What did she just say?
-Did she really say the Planet Earth Korea Operations Team Leader is coming ㄹㅇ
-Why would an operator come on a personal broadcast;;
At Kang Soyul’s shocking announcement, the viewers fell into confusion.
Because even those who had been recklessly throwing out criticism and profanity couldn’t help but react to the words that Operations Team 1 Leader from Planet Earth Korea was coming.
Well, who could have expected Planet Earth Korea to appear on an individual personal broadcast?
-Fuck lololol Planet Earth Korea lololol
-To prove it’s not a hack they just call an operator? lololololol
-Hack parrots group shut up lololol
-Good thing I stayed neutral ㄹㅇ
-There’s a personal broadcast summoning operators pew pew?!
-Hack parrot OUT! Hack parrot OUT! Hack parrot OUT! Hack parrot OUT! Hack parrot OUT! Hack parrot OUT!
The chat window, which had stopped for a moment as if lagged, soon began explosively pouring out all sorts of chats more than ever before.
It was a speed that made one’s mind hazy watching it.
As if shouting ‘Slow mode? What’s that? Is it edible?’
At the dozens of chats pouring out per second, Kang Soyul completely gave up reading and turned her eyes away.
Thinking it was impressive the chat window was holding up.
And there was one number that entered her eyes like that.
‘Wow, the viewer count exceeded thirty thousand…’
At a number where she couldn’t even feel reality anymore, Kang Soyul admired blankly.
When it was ten thousand or twenty thousand, she could still somewhat grasp it, but a number far exceeding thirty thousand only made her laugh.
Being at this level, it could boast frenzied chat speed even in slow mode.
She smiled faintly and looked forward again.
“Do you understand now why I called it a malicious rumor? Soyul-ssi and Woohyun-nim plan to definitively prove through this broadcast that it’s not a hack, but I’m curious what those who claim it’s a hack will do.”
-Operator certification is ㅇㅈ lololol
-Prove it first then talk^^
-Lots of people will go delete posts when it’s revealed it’s not a hack ㄹㅇ lol
-While at it, sue those who crossed the line too?
The public opinion in the hotly boiling chat window had already flipped.
Because the momentum of those claiming it was a hack—in other words, the ‘hack parrots’—had completely died before the ultra-strong move of summoning an operator that Kang Soyul pulled out.
Thinking logically, if it really was a hack, there would be no reason to call even a Planet Earth Korea representative to attempt verification.
-Hack verification content is also new lololol
-5252 I was believing~
-I watched it all live and I thought it wasn’t a hack
-What’s the verification method?
“I was informed the verification method will be watching combat to check if there’s assistance from external programs like hacks. That’s why Woohyun-nim appeared on my broadcast again. Right?”
“That’s correct.”
“Oh, come to think of it, what do you think about this hack controversy, Woohyun-nim? Your physicality was so amazing you were suspected of hacking, do you have anything to say about that?”
“Well, just…”
At Kang Soyul’s question, Baek Woohyun chuckled.
A sneer lifting only one corner of his mouth.
It was a sneer viewers couldn’t properly see due to privacy protection mode… but there was an emotion thickly oozing from his tone.
Even if covered by a mask, the blatantly revealed emotion was clearly conveyed.
“I think it’s absurd. That even something like this becomes a controversy.”
-‘Something like this’
-Overturning Reverse Time is ‘just’ lololol
-Fuck that sneering is annoying
-Is this… a Colosseum ranker…?
“Wow! Tremendous confidence!”
“Confidence… should I call it that? To me this is just natural.”
“That’s-right? At least you’ve firmly stated that a controversy involving tens of thousands is ‘something like this.'”
“Hmm.”
Baek Woohyun tilted his head.
An action as if he couldn’t understand at all.
Of course, he wasn’t really thinking that way.
He was just following the script for ‘image making’ he had discussed with Kang Soyul before the broadcast.
In fact, thinking about it, his true feelings could also be summarized as ‘worthless,’ so it didn’t seem particularly different, but in any case.
As the two people chattered like that for a few minutes.
Kang Soyul, who subtly checked the time, brought it up.
“By the way, it’s about time for the Operations Team Leader to come… Ah, you’re here just in time!”
Discovering a cluster of light forming in the air, Kang Soyul quickly adjusted the broadcast screen.
Thanks to that, viewers could see a man in a neat suit walking out from the pale cluster of light.
The GM title was shining proudly above the appearing man’s head, which made the hack parrots that still remained let out sighs.
Because the GM title could only be used by operators authorized by headquarters to prevent in-game operator impersonation scams.
In other words, that alone was as good as the man proving to everyone that he was a real operator.
For those who were ready to drive him as not an operator if anything happened, it was a result that completely deflated them, so they couldn’t help but lose strength.
“Hello, Kang Soyul-nim. Baek Woohyun-nim.”
The man wearing thick horn-rimmed glasses, Park Geumhyeon, spoke with a faint smile.
“I’m Park Geumhyeon, Operations Team 1 Leader of Planet Earth Korea, as I contacted you earlier. Nice to meet you.”
“Yes, nice to meet you, Operations Team Leader Park Geumhyeon!”
“…Nice to meet you.”
-Wow lol a real operator came lol
-Today’s broadcast is legendary lololololol
-Fuck does the operations team leader have nothing to do, why appear on a hacker’s broadcast??
-To stop kids like you from talking shit heh
The three people shaking hands in turn.
As the atmosphere was roughly organized, Kang Soyul naturally proceeded with the conversation.
“You came directly like this to verify, so could we briefly hear how Planet Earth Korea currently judges this hack controversy?”
“Of course.”
Park Geumhyeon pushed up his thick horn-rimmed glasses.
“First, to tell you the conclusion, we are fairly certain that user Baek Woohyun did not use external programs.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. This is a conclusion reached after immediately conducting precise inspections of user Baek Woohyun’s logs several times right after encountering the relevant controversy.”
Park Geumhyeon, who asserted they couldn’t find any traces of external programs in Baek Woohyun’s logs, continued speaking.
“Yet we requested this verification process to prepare for any possible situation. Because there’s a very slim possibility of external programs appearing that can’t be detected simply through logs.”
“It’s just preparing for what-ifs.”
“That’s correct. At the point you accepted the verification request, we’re already seeing it as almost not the case, but I came out thinking the user might be troubled by this unpleasant controversy.”
-Translation: Came out to wipe out hack parrots
-It’s not a hack so stop making a fuss~
-Where did all the hack parrots that were so many earlier go??
-I’m watching ReTime and hot posts keep disappearing right now lol so funny lololol
“Now we’ll move locations for verification. Is that alright, you two?”
“It’s fine!”
“…Yes, let’s do that.”
Hearing the two people’s answers, Park Geumhyeon smiled faintly again and snapped his fingers.
The surrounding scenery changing with a snap! sound.
The forest clearing where the three people had originally been standing was swept away by bright light and disappeared in an instant.
“This place is…”
Baek Woohyun slowly looked around.
It was a spacious room surrounded by gray ceiling and walls.
Somehow reminiscent of research facility interior facilities.
However, one difference was that this place was several times wider than commonly seen research facility interiors.
Even just the ceiling looked over ten meters high, and the area was almost the size of a soccer field.
“It’s a personal training room. A place where you can practice using supernatural abilities or conduct combat training.”
Park Geumhyeon explained about the changed location while ceaselessly moving his hands.
Accordingly, semi-transparent blue system windows appeared and disappeared in succession, clearly showing in various ways that he was working.
After fiddling with something for about three minutes like that, he soon turned his gaze toward Baek Woohyun and Kang Soyul again.
“I’ll enter the formal external program usage verification procedure—but you don’t need to be too nervous. Even though it’s called verification, in the end it’s just fighting a combat training bot.”
“Understood.”
“Then first…”
Kwung!
An object that formed from empty air fell to the floor making a heavy impact sound.
A pure white shell drawing smooth curves, a form somehow reminiscent of humans, and even red light quietly gazing this way.
Baek Woohyun’s eyes narrowed seeing it slowly rise.
‘Etinel.’
And a mid-version one that had undergone some improvements.
Having combat intelligence so developed it was hard to even compare with the early version he had faced before.
“…I’ll start with an intermediate combat training bot.”
-Roughly got it? Kill each other from now on
-This is strange;; I think I’ve seen this somewhere
-Tutorial first battle. But now with an operator added
-No assist and a build with only the first Core Element picked against intermediate training bot… Can he win?
Kiing-
The two red lights shining from the Etinel’s head part trembled making a strange sound.
An appearance as if it was looking this way and shining its eyes.
“……”
Baek Woohyun looked at the Etinel with heavily sunken eyes.
His two eyes had already become inverted eyes with black and white reversed. He had drawn up the power of [Perfect Being] without a sound.
Not only that, but his body was also in a tense state ready to react at any time.
He knew the danger of mid-version Etinels better than anyone in this world, and therefore not even a trace of carelessness existed in him.
That’s why in the next moment he could react to the Etinel rushing at him.
Swish-!
Distance suddenly shrinking sharply.
Simultaneously a sharp strike flying in!
A straight punch so strong and fierce it was pointless to compare with the early version aimed at Baek Woohyun’s head.
If he allowed the hit like this, he would surely suffer tremendous damage.
As long as he allowed the hit—that is.
“──”
There was no way Baek Woohyun, who had already prepared, would quietly offer his head.
Like during the previous tutorial, he strode toward the Etinel to meet it and twisted his body at an exquisite moment.
It was evasion at such a dizzying timing that those watching from behind would think he ‘definitely got hit!’
But in any case he evaded, and the Etinel’s fist merely grazed his cheek.
‘…Not yet.’