I Quit Being an Idol and Became a Youtuber - Chapter 24
Cheongha quickly boarded the buggy and moved.
“First, I need to get inside the circle.”
No matter how well one hides inside their house, if they stay outside the circle for too long, they will eventually d*e.
Now that she had secured a vehicle, she wouldn’t have to worry about suddenly dying while wandering outside the circle.
After that, she would enter the game field, find any building, and take a defensive position.
It was a well-known fact that in any game, defense is usually more advantageous than offense.
As she entered the circle, she saw a car in the distance that seemed to be occupied by another player.
Screech—
“I should take a detour.”
Seeing that, Cheongha immediately turned the wheel.
Even though it was possible to sh**t while in the car, that was only limited to users sitting in the passenger or back seat.
The person holding the steering wheel couldn’t fire a weapon.
If the other player wasn’t solo like her and was running a duo or squad, she would be at a significant disadvantage.
It would be much better to take a different route even if it meant going a little further.
Tada-da-dang—
Proving her anxiety, bullets began to rain down on Cheongha.
“Ah?!”
Startled by the sudden noise, Cheongha let out a scream without realizing it.
– I’ve never heard the host scream before.
– I don’t know how many times this is, but her voice is really nice…
– Sounds like a character from a gacha game…
“······Please be quiet.”
Cheongha’s avatar’s face slightly flushed at the viewers’ comments.
No matter how much they were praising her, continuously hearing it would inevitably make her embarrassed.
“······Let’s go back over there for now.”
To hide her embarrassment, Cheongha casually changed the subject.
Fortunately, it seemed the other side didn’t plan to respond seriously, as bullets didn’t fly her way any further.
*
Everyone has a plausible plan.
—Until a fist gets shoved into that face.
This was a quote from a famous boxer in a past life that she barely remembered.
[Oh, what a waste. I should have done a little more!]
{24th place}
“Ah······.”
Just like that, the game ended rather blandly, contrary to the initial plan.
The reason was simple.
While she was trying to enter a building as planned, her head got blown off by a sniper shot from the rooftop.
‘To think someone would be there before me···.’
Still, perhaps because there had been an actual fight this time, her cumulative damage had increased, but her rank was clearly lower than before.
‘I thought the plan was decent in its own right.’
Well, she would have to try again next time.
However, the viewers watching the broadcast seemed to think differently.
– I was worried, but I knew it would be like this lol
– Now, time for a horror game, right?
– Instant failure, huh?
– Get ready for the horror game.
– How about Penny?
Seeing the chat window’s display making a big deal right in front of her, Cheongha immediately stiffened her expression.
“Excuse me? Why me?”
– ??
– What, are you trying to skip out?
– Where are you trying to gloss over?
– There’s evidence above, Your Honor.
“So, I never said I would succeed in this round, right?”
Cheongha started to defend herself against the scrutinizing viewers.
She pointed to the mission displayed on the screen with her mouse.
[Mission: Place in the top 5 (Failing will result in a horror game)]
[Reward: 200,000]
[Remaining time: 1 hour 43 minutes]
The condition for success in the mission was to place in the top 5.
The only condition for failure was the time limit; there was no mention of how many rounds it had to be completed in.
In other words, it meant that as long as she placed in the top 5 before the two hours were up, she would be fine.
– Oh, that’s too bad.
– That’s not wrong.
– But there’s some truth to it.
– It’s okay, there’s still plenty of time left.
– You know the host’s skill, so let’s go easy on her.
“······I have many things to argue, but can you please not say that I’m definitely going to fail?”
She was already sensitive about that due to current circumstances; why would anyone say such ominous things?
There’s a saying that words become seeds, right?
To concentrate on the game, she wanted to exclude as many anxiety-inducing elements as possible.
Honestly, how many more rounds could she play in two hours?
Wouldn’t it be at least once?
*
However, for those who were trying to survive purely with optimistic thoughts, the world of the game was far too harsh.
Tada-da-dang—
“Uh·····?”
With the sound of gunfire, her health began to rapidly deplete.
Turning quickly, she found someone behind her who was already firing a g*n at her.
[Oh, what a shame! You could have placed in the top 5!]
{8th place}
“······Huh?”
In this confusing situation, her mind went blank.
No, I was on the rooftop; how did they appear without a sound?
“No, is this hacker?!”
The chat window responded to her scream.
– Did you just meet a high-level account?
– It could look like a hacker, but high-level players are that good too.
– What?
– Can’t you just parkour up there?
– Just take the plane again.
“d*mn······”
Whether the opponent was a hacker or a high-level player hiding their identity, she had no time to dig deeper into that.
How many times had it been now?
32nd, 56th, 83rd, 22nd.
Those were the ranks she had earned while playing the game thus far.
Her fluctuating ranks were mainly due to a lack of caution.
There was no way to quickly increase that.
It was merely a result of insufficient experience in FPS games.
[Time limit: 12 minutes 14 seconds]
The remaining time had now dwindled to 12 minutes.
Could she clear the mission in that time?
‘That would be impossible.’
Getting into the Top 5 within 12 minutes was a challenge even for someone like Soltree or active professional gamers.
Furthermore, given the nature of the beginner zone, where progression was considerably slow, the game wouldn’t progress at a rapid speed.
Adding in the time to pick up the game could make it even longer.
‘No···.’
Feeling the encroaching grip of the horror game, Cheongha muttered a curse quietly.
It felt as if her throat was drying up in real-time.
– Host, let’s just call it quits now…
– Just give up.
– What horror game will you play?
– I thought it would be like this, and it was lol
– Just hurry and hit the button.
The viewers seemed to be predicting her failure, and calls to give up dominated the chat.
The saying “you won’t know until you try” only applies when there’s even a sliver of possibility.
How could a beginner like her accomplish something that even professionals couldn’t?
Rationally speaking, simply giving up on this mission would be the better choice.
Still—
“·········I don’t know, but let’s run one last time.”
For some reason, she didn’t want to give up.
She had already given up being an idol.
Not just the job of being an idol, but everything she had built throughout her life, including all the connections she had made.
However, if she gave this up too, it felt like she wouldn’t be able to settle down as a broadcaster either.
With a final glimmer of hope, Cheongha started her last round.
– Oh, she’s persistent.
– Just give it a try.
– Is it just me, or does the host look really cool right now?
– ㅇㅇ, there’s something different from usual; she looks cool.
Thus, Cheongha played one last game.
After jumping from the plane with a parachute, she did her best to gather every item without hesitation, even picking up the shotgun she hated so much.
[What a shame, try a little harder!]
{42nd place}
But reality is reality.
There were no cinematic moments where the protagonist triumphs through their struggles.
At the same time, the time limit ran out.
[Mission Failed]
With that message, the mission displayed on the mission window shone red and vanished.
“Looks like I lost in the end.”
– Still, the host did well.
– Even if you can’t win the game, it’s nice to see you go all the way.
– Now, with each of your words, I feel a sense of trust.
As Cheongha wore a bittersweet smile at having failed the mission, the viewers began to console her.
There would be some who wouldn’t watch someone who wasn’t fixated solely on money, participating in the game to the best of their ability and leading the broadcast.
There wouldn’t be many who would dislike someone like that.
[Resident A has donated 5,000 won]
– It’s nice to see you working hard without giving up. Keep fighting in the future.
“Yes, thank you.”
As a somewhat friendly atmosphere formed among the viewers, Ren’s eyes sparkled with life.
Yeah, if it keeps going like this, they could naturally move past it—
– So, what horror game are we playing?
– That’s separate from this.
– True lol
– The moment of emotion is over; now it’s time to return to reality.
– Where are you trying to gloss over it? hahahaha
– How about Penny?
– Why is she so obsessed with the doll?
“Ah.”
Unfortunately, her viewers weren’t that easygoing.
With the last thread of hope slipping away, Cheongha looked as though her world had crumbled.
What she thought was a lifeline turned out to be a rotten rope.
“····What horror game shall we play?”
With no more options to escape, Cheongha decided to quietly accept reality.
‘Help me survive.’
Cheongha murmured in her heart.
But there was no one to grant that wish.