I Quit Being an Idol and Became a Youtuber - Chapter 26
Enter the Vtuber CafeThere are many kinds of internet cafes.
Specific topics gather and form groups.
Hundreds of cafes already existed on the internet, but even among them, there were large cafes that could be called the ‘main base’.
The main base for actors was the celebrity cafe, and the main base for idol fans was the K-pop cafe.
So, where exactly was the main base for virtual fans?
#[Update on that Korean Vtuber from before]
(Video clip of Cheongha playing Battle Field)
=A few days ago, she got a 100,000 won mission during her stream, and even though it looked like she was going to fail, she didn’t give up and played until the end.
Seeing that, it feels like she has the will to try something, which warms my heart.
[-Agree, it was good to see her determination to stream]
ㄴ Many streamers just get angry and turn off the game when they fail a mission, so it’s good she didn’t.
[-Yeah, I saw that too.]
She seems promising.
[-Streaming is a battle of perseverance.]
Unlike the Streamer Cafe, this place was dominated by positive opinions about Cheongha.
This was the ‘Kitsune Airi’ fan cafe.
Kitsune Airi.
Anyone even slightly interested in Vtubers who had looked up information online would know that name.
The world’s first Vtuber, primarily active on YouTube.
As the monumental first Vtuber, this place could be called the true main base for Korean Vtuber fans.
And in such a cafe, talk about a new rising star began to emerge.
#[Honestly, me]
=Honestly, I had some preconceptions seeing a Korean Vtuber, but at this level, I think we can acknowledge her?
Seems like she’s putting in a lot of effort.
[-Agree, I thought only Japan could do it, but it’s fascinating that we’re getting some traction too.]
ㄴ But the person inside is J*p, right?
ㄴ ??
What are you
ㄴ Get lost, you troublemaking f*cker
[-But wasn’t she Japanese?]
Her Korean is amazing.
ㄴ She’s been like that since way back lol
ㄴ Honestly, until she said it herself, I thought she was Korean
ㄴ How does a foreigner speak Korean so well
[-Heard she failed that mission and is playing a horror game lol]
ㄴReally?
What game?
ㄴAlien: Isolation, a horror game from ’15
ㄴWTF is that weeb crap
ㄴHonestly, Alien isn’t weeb crap though
ㄴAgree, it’s f*cking famous lol
ㄴYou’re a spy if you don’t know that one
ㄴ Nah, even spies would know that one
A Vtuber, thought possible only in Japan or the US, had appeared in Korea.
Although she was a foreigner, her excellent Korean meant people didn’t care much.
Moreover, what she was about to play was a horror game, practically a guaranteed hit.
Thus, at the news of the Vtuber who had landed in Korea, the fan cafe instantly heated up.
“Still, thankfully, he doesn’t seem like a bad person.”
After a few incidents, Cheongha continued playing the game.
The person who pointed the gun at her was the bald man who newly joined as a companion, Axel.
He was a bit sensitive from surviving the Aliens, but he accompanied the protagonist and offered various pieces of advice.
As the two were searching for equipment to escape, another survivor approached Axel from behind.
「He’s here! There are two of them!!」
「Ugh?! What the!!!」
「Be careful!」
As the man put Axel in a chokehold, a blue text box appeared, telling her what action to take.
[Use weapon to save Axel: Left Mouse Click]
“Where does this guy think he’s going.”
She approached from behind and slammed the wrench into the back of the head of the man choking Axel.
「Uaaargh!!!」
Bang-!
Axel, succeeding in escaping the man’s grasp, shot him in the head with his pistol.
「Y-You. Just now, a person—!」
「Get a grip, this is about survival here. ……Still, thanks for saving me.」
“……That guy knows what’s up.”
Cheongha muttered, watching Axel advising the protagonist.
In an apocalypse setting, the most fearsome thing isn’t monsters, but fellow humans.
Unlike monsters, where you can tell just by looking that they’ll attack you, there’s an inherent fear that you might be betrayed at any moment.
‘And right now, this is practically an apocalyptic situation with human-killing aliens roaming around.’
In short, it meant traveling with others was difficult.
They might stab you in the back whenever a crisis arises.
In that sense, she didn’t fully trust Axel either.
[-You killed him]
[-You murderer!]
[-You really shouldn’t trust people in places like this]
“What are you talking about?”
“He shot him.”
Although she couldn’t move the technician’s hands, Cheongha professed her innocence as much as possible without such means.
Thus, the group evaded the pursuing survivors and reached a junction point in the station.
Plip- Plop-!
“……What’s this?”
At that moment, something sticky fell onto Axel’s shoulder.
「What is this……?」
Schlick-!
And the moment he noticed the anomaly, something sharp instantly pierced through Axel’s body.
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaak?!?!”
Cheongha, witnessing the scene right in front of her, let out a bloodcurdling scream.
[-Oh lol Alien entrance]
[-Alright, let’s gooo]
[-Bro, just handle it appropriately. Okay?]
[-Eat it however you like.]
[-Grilled or fried, it’s all delicious!]
“Could you please be quiet!”
Reacting to the chat window laughing as if enjoying it, the extremely agitated Cheongha yelled.
The image she had maintained until now was already on the verge of crumbling.
Thump Thump-!
The thing, looking like a beast’s claw, impaled his body, lifted him up, and then slammed him onto the floor.
Then, holding his body, it disappeared into the darkness beyond the ventilation shaft.
“…………”
Having watched the entire brutal cutscene, Cheongha quietly uttered a single sentence.
“……Everyone, you all had fun, right?”
[-????]
[-Huh?]
[-What, did she decide to collect dislikes?]
[-Streamer, stop laying the groundwork]
[-It’s just about to get fun, what are you talking about…]
‘I want to turn it off.’
‘More than ever, I want to end the stream.’
Without even revealing its full form, it lifted a sturdy adult man and disappeared into a narrow vent.
And the surroundings were completely splattered with blood.
It was a defense mechanism the body automatically remembered to prevent the owner from losing consciousness.
[Guardian of Small Streams donated 5,000 won]
[-Where do you think you’re running off to ^^]
—But permission was not granted.
The donation alert, arriving without fail, held her feet captive.
No, perhaps even without the donation, there might have been no escape route.
Nevertheless, the expectation contained within that 5,000 won figure was enough to prevent her from turning her back on the horror.
“Hooo……”
After taking a deep breath to calm her startled heart, Cheongha started moving again.
[-Why are you walking so hunched over?]
[-Let’s move a bit faster]
[-At this rate, when will you ever reach the station!]
“Then you guys do it.”
Even if it was just an NPC appearing for the story, the difference between having someone nearby and not was huge.
‘Please just give me one more normal companion……’
That being said, she couldn’t just team up with anyone.
As explained just before, there was a high chance they’d try to kill her.
The station’s AI or androids?
It was standard practice for those things to glitch or rebel and attack humans.
Her original companions were caught in an explosion, and she didn’t even know if they were dead or alive.
So, it meant she really had to survive alone now in this place full of aliens.
“This is really f*cked up.”
Realizing the reality of the situation, Cheongha cursed.
She no longer even had the mental capacity to censor her own thoughts.
[-Now she’s just cursing openly lol]
[-Streamer, let’s maintain the image a bit…]
[-Honestly, if I were dropped there? I think I’d go crazy too lol]
[-What happened to our cool Cheongha?]
[-Lolll Oh, it’s good to hear]
[Viewer Count: 158]
The viewers in the room had already surpassed 150.
‘To think over 100 people would gather just to watch me suffer.’
‘Did I do something wrong…?’
‘Maybe I sold out the country in my previous life or something?’
‘At this point, I felt like I should probably reflect on my life.’
[-Still, don’t be too scared]
[-Agreed, we’re here too, Captain.]
[-But where did that ‘Captain’ title even come from?]
[-Just ’cause she was charismatic in Battle Field lol]
[-That thing is all fake, made of code, Captain]
[-It won’t attack you in this section anyway]
“Yes…… That’s certainly, comforting.”
‘Right.’
‘No matter how scary it looks, no matter how brutal the cutscene, isn’t it all just AI made of code?’
‘No matter how scary, those things won’t actually come find me, so I don’t need to worry that much.’
—Right?
After performing such self-hypnosis, Cheongha headed towards her destination.
[Mission: Head to the communication facility via the transit system]
The place she needed to go was the communication facility storing the flight recorder.
If she could just get there, she could send a transmission to the spaceship the protagonist arrived on.
[Specific component required. Press E key to interact.]
“Component?”
“You mean this, right?”
Inserting the component she obtained from her recently deceased companion, the transit car’s headlights turned on, and it began to move.
[Arrived at destination.]
“—Seriously, I get finding Grandma, but do I really have to go through this much trouble to find my parents?”
‘Seriously, isn’t my life more important than my parents’ lives?’
[-Ah lol You think they’d let you off that easily]
[-The protagonist is a filial daughter, so she wouldn’t do that ㅎㅎ]
[-The game wouldn’t be fun if it just ended like that]
“I know, I was just saying.”
Cheongha turned the camera to look outside.
The beautifully embroidered stars of space came into view.
“Still, this is kind of pretty.”
Although it wasn’t real, her eyes were captivated by the sight, something absolutely impossible to see from Earth.
‘Looking only at this, nobody would know this game’s genre is horror.’
Screech-
How long had passed since she started admiring the stars?
The continuously advancing transit car eventually reached the next station.
“—You want me to go in there.”
Skreeeeeeeek-!
A station filled only with pitch-black darkness.
From beyond it, the ear-splitting roar of an alien could be heard.