Chapter 128 : Chloe Martinez
Chapter 128: Chloe Martinez
“It’s been revealed that Hackphysical suddenly started talking to himself in order to create a mission.”
“The Fully Responsive Story System responds to every single action of the player, so he must have expected it to respond to his monologue and give him a mission, right?”
-Creating a mission through monologueㄷㄷ
-It’s almost like he demanded ‘give me a mission!’ and snatched it awayㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-So this is another way to use the system
-But what’s the Tempest-L specimen?
“Hmm. Tempest-L specimen. I’m somewhat weak when it comes to story. Nayeon, do you have any guesses?”
“I’m not really sure either. It definitely seems related to the TL series drugs, right? Since the first letter of Tempest is T. But I can’t guess what L means. It feels like it has some other meaning…”
‘StoryLover’ donated ‘1000 won’!
[At least it’s certain this only appeared in Hackphysical’s story ㅇㅇ]
“…Right. Ah, wait a moment.”
Jeong Nayeon, who had been answering Cha Seongcheol’s question, noticed an icon flashing in the corner of her vision. It was an envelope-shaped icon indicating a message.
The icon notifying her of a new message kept flashing even after she noticed it. Indicating that new messages kept arriving.
Someone—specifically one of the important people she had pre-registered—was bombing her with messages.
After all, she had set it not to react to ordinary messages so they wouldn’t interfere with the broadcast.
“Should we think about what words start with L? Let’s see, Like? Love? Or maybe Legend? A word that could follow Tempest—”
‘—Huh?’
While Cha Seongcheol was speculating about L’s identity with the viewers, Jeong Nayeon checked the message and her eyes widened.
Just like when Anonymous Viewer 62 had offered a three million won mission reward.
This news was equally surprising.
And for good reason.
-Chloe: Nayeon! Please!
-Chloe: Invite me to the Hack Tour content!
-Chloe: You know I’m an expert on ‘Reverse Planet’ story, right?
-Chloe: I have a guess about the Tempest-L specimen too!
Because the sender was none other than iTuber Chloe Martinez, who boasted ten million subscribers.
And she was bombarding her with dozens of messages begging to be invited as a panel member for the ‘Hack Tour’ content.
She had received requests to participate as a panel member before, but she had thought it was just expressing a desire to do it someday when the opportunity arose, not that she would request it during the broadcast itself.
‘What should I do?’
Jeong Nayeon desperately wanted to accept Chloe’s request.
She was certain that if a ten million subscriber iTuber appeared as a special guest on the ‘Hack Tour’ content, it would become a huge topic in the community.
Especially if it happened because she requested an invitation during the broadcast.
The problem was that the ‘Hack Tour’ content wasn’t entirely hers alone.
Adding a new panel member in the middle of a broadcast without consulting both Baek Woohyun and Cha Seongcheol was absolutely unacceptable.
‘So, let me ask first.’
-Jeong Nayeon: Seongcheol
-Cha Seongcheol: What is it?
-Jeong Nayeon: Actually, right now I—
Jeong Nayeon quickly told Cha Seongcheol about Chloe Martinez and her request, and his reaction was extremely enthusiastic.
He actually exclaimed “Eok?!” out loud—naturally, the chat filled with question marks and laughter—and whipped around to look at her.
His eyes looking at her were filled with anticipation.
-Cha Seongcheol: I’m absolutely in favor!
-Cha Seongcheol: We can’t miss such a great opportunity! We needed a panel member for the story side anyway!
-Jeong Nayeon: Okay, then I’ll ask Woohyun’s opinion too
-Cha Seongcheol: Understood!
‘Seongcheol approved, so if Woohyun just approves—’
Having overcome one hurdle, Jeong Nayeon now sent a message with the situation explanation to Baek Woohyun.
-Baek Woohyun: I don’t mind
-Baek Woohyun: Do what you want, Nayeon
‘As expected.’
As always, she received an answer saying he didn’t care, so she should do as she wished. It was exactly the answer she had anticipated before sending the message.
Originally, Baek Woohyun had completely delegated broadcast-related matters to Jeong Nayeon and showed no interest in the studio side.
He seemed to find even this kind of checking bothersome, but she couldn’t add a new panel member without at least asking.
Anyway, with this, the obstacles to bringing Chloe as a panel member had disappeared.
Jeong Nayeon smiled brightly and spoke.
“How about we invite someone with extensive knowledge about the story to hear their speculation?”
“That’s a good idea. I’m in favor.”
-Suddenly?
-Must be a special guest
-Who are the broadcasters who are well-versed in story?
-Don’t tell me they’re calling Zarael
“Then! Let’s invite Chloe Martinez, an iTuber specializing in ‘Reverse Planet’ story, and have a conversation!”
“Oh, Hello!”
-?
-Who…?
-I think I’ve seen this person somewhere
-A foreigner suddenly appearsㄷㄷ
With Jeong Nayeon’s introduction, a white woman appeared, excitedly waving her hand in greeting. Her very distinctive pink hair swayed dramatically with her actions.
The viewers were initially confused about who she was, but fortunately their confusion didn’t last long.
As an iTuber with ten million subscribers, Chloe had appeared in photos and videos circulating in the community, so she was quickly recognizable.
She was also famous in the community as ‘the pink-haired Western girl who explains RePla story.’
“Nice to meet you! I’m Chloe Martinez!”
“Yes, nice to meet you. I’m Cha Seongcheol.”
“I’m Jeong Nayeon.”
-Yo Chloe~
-ㅎㅇㅎㅇ
-Who would’ve thought the new panel member would be a foreigner. Surprising!
-A ten million iTuber appears on Hack Tourㅋㅋㅋㅋ
‘IfHackphysicalLaughsHackHaha’ donated ‘1000 won’!
[This too is Hackphysical’s prestige]
“Should we get straight to the point? It was Tempest-L specimen, right? The moment I saw it, I thought I had to get on here somehow!”
As soon as the greetings ended and she sat down, Chloe brought up the topic of the Tempest-L specimen.
Her tone was so excited it could be felt even through the real-time translation.
“That’s why I bombed Nayeon with messages, and thank you for accepting. Nayeon, Seongcheol!”
-She bombed her with messagesㄷㄷ
-Just what is this Tempest-L specimen
-She must have some guess
-I see, that’s why Ms. Jeong was doing something earlier. That was her checking messages
“Haha, not at all. Anyway, Ms. Chloe, what do you think L means in Tempest-L specimen?”
“It’s Lord. In other words, the official name of the specimen Hackphysical mentioned is Tempest-Lord specimen.”
“Tempest Lord? What’s that?”
“Based on my exploration of the ‘Reverse Planet’ worldview so far, it’s a designation referring to one of the Otherworld Lords.”
“Other…world…”
“…Lord?”
Jeong Nayeon and Cha Seongcheol looked at each other.
They couldn’t immediately recall what an Otherworld Lord was.
It felt like something they had heard before, but they couldn’t remember the exact details.
Of course, they could guess from the name what kind of existence it was. Surely some great being related to the otherworld.
But conversely, that was all.
They couldn’t remember exactly what role Otherworld Lords played in ‘Reverse Planet.’
This sentiment was shared by most viewers, so the chat was filled with questions about what exactly Otherworld Lords were.
“I want to explain it in a way that’s easy for even those uninterested in the story to understand. Hmm~ Oh! You know the boss monsters that appear in the current raid content, right?”
“Of course we know.”
“Those boss monsters are Otherworld Nobles who work under the Otherworld Lords.”
“”…!””
The eyes of Jeong Nayeon and Cha Seongcheol who heard Chloe’s explanation widened.
From hearing that the boss monsters appearing in the current raid content were Otherworld Nobles, one rank below Otherworld Lords, a certain guess arose.
After all, in PRGs, ‘higher existence’ was synonymous with ‘next stage.’
“So that means, could it be…”
“That’s right. I’m speculating this might be a harbinger of raid content at an even higher level than now.”
***
“……”
Baek Woohyun, who had come outside, narrowed his eyes. He felt some presence near the research facility. Presences that had been hiding ominously, watching the entrance.
Moreover, they moved stealthily as soon as he came out, clearly indicating they had been waiting for him through their actions.
And at this point in time, the only ones who would do such a thing were those entangled with the research facility and corporations.
‘Hunting dogs.’
It was similar to when he was attacked after clearing a Reverse World in the past, so guessing the enemy’s identity was too easy.
Even the way they quietly surrounded him and appeared triumphantly was so similar that it was impossible not to recognize.
However, that didn’t mean there was no difference from that time.
Not only did the six hunting dogs who revealed themselves prepare for battle without a word, but there was one person acting completely differently.
‘That one is…’
Baek Woohyun paid no attention to the hunting dogs surrounding him. He simply stared quietly in the direction where he felt a presence still watching without stepping forward.
As if angered by his attitude of clearly ignoring them, the hunting dogs gritted their teeth and simultaneously launched attacks at him.
“[Flame Spear]!”
“[Lake’s Judgment]!”
“[Steel Claw]!”
Swiiish!Kwagagak!
Various supernatural ability techniques came rushing in instantly!
A spear made of flames, a sword composed of mysteriously colored water, crescent-shaped steel, and other projectiles flew toward Baek Woohyun.
Each projectile was filled with power to crush and trample the enemy according to its master’s will.
“……”
Only after such a seemingly dangerous situation developed did Baek Woohyun turn his head toward the hunting dogs.
It was as if he had only just realized their existence. Because they were that worthless to him.
But it couldn’t be called Baek Woohyun’s arrogance.
Swish.
Just a light gesture.
That alone was all the response Baek Woohyun showed to the supernatural ability techniques targeting him.
But the phenomenon that followed showed that he never needed anything more.
The projectiles of the supernatural ability techniques all failed to overcome the telekinesis manifested with his gesture and kwang! crashed everywhere with explosive sounds.
“…Crazy!”
“Tremendous power! Be careful!”
“……”
Neither the shocked exclamations nor the hurried movements to hide.
None of the hunting dogs’ actions could draw Baek Woohyun’s attention. Because nothing they did posed any danger to him.
However, he soon smirked and looked at the hunting dogs with his ash-gray eyes.
‘Let’s see if you’ll stay still even after all these bastards die.’
Gooooo—
As always, the manifestation of supernatural ability signs was an expression of will.
Transparent flames blazed fiercely around Baek Woohyun, who had decided to kill the hunting dogs.
And the moment he raised his right hand prominently and clenched his fist.
Kwadeudeukt!
“Kkeueok—!”
The space around the six hunting dogs forcibly twisted, crushing the bodies inside.
It was such a subtle use of [Distortion] that even though they were watching, they couldn’t think the attack was aimed at themselves.
Originally, Baek Woohyun couldn’t use [Distortion] this quietly, but thanks to his experience in the last PVP allowing him to grow, it was now possible.
Though the person himself seemed not very satisfied, going “Hmm.” and dusting off his hands.
“…Well now, what useless bastards.”
That’s when a cocky voice was heard.
“Who would’ve thought they’d all die in one shot like this. That’s why they’re only used as hunting dogs. Phew.”
What appeared while mocking the dead hunting dogs was a man in a neat suit.
He kicked aside the hunting dog corpse in front of him with his toe and clicked his tongue, his expression seeming to say ‘Really, useless bastards!’
There was no sign of sadness over his comrades’ deaths. Rather, he was only blaming them for being unhelpful to him.
“……”
However, despite the man’s actions revealing a personality as shallow as his expensive suit was incongruous, Baek Woohyun didn’t let down his guard.
Because he saw the deep crimson brooch depicting hell’s watchdog pinned to the lapel of the man’s suit.
It was the mark of Hellhound, which only a select few ‘special’ powerhouses among the hunting dogs employed by the Corporate Alliance could receive.
In other words, this thug-like man before him was the most powerful and dangerous force of the Corporate Alliance.