[TS] Formula One Streamer - Chapter 35

Whether it was due to luck or skill, the stage for the Round of 128 has begun for those who survived in a competition of fifty million.

“As I mentioned during the last game yesterday, starting from today’s Round of 128, both the game content and waiting times will be broadcasted live on the KiwiChi official channel, so please take note.”

The host added that it was completely fine for streamers to do personal broadcasts limited to the KiwiChi platform, so I immediately turned on the stream.

The broadcast title was ‘KING Round of 128.’

Simple is best.

As viewers poured in just as they did yesterday, I greeted them when the viewer count surpassed 150,000.

“Hello. I’m here again today.”

[I’ve been waiting!!!]

[Hello]

[KING~]

[Win it all today!!]

[I was worried you wouldn’t come…]

[Please take down the American representative, the annoying girl!]

[Who can stop KING… somebody please respond!]

《KINGBOBO donated 10,000 won!》

-I love you, KING!!!

Despite only greeting them, the chat and donation messages pouring in from over 150,000 viewers were overwhelming.

Since yesterday was the first broadcast, I could excuse that, but today had to be better than yesterday, so I needed to inform the viewers of something in advance.

“Everyone, before we dive into the actual broadcast, I need to mention something. After yesterday’s first broadcast, I thought a lot about it, and regarding the chat and donations, please understand if I can’t respond to each and every one.”

While this could sound like a way to take advantage of the viewers’ interest and money, realistically, there was one streamer and millions, even tens of millions, of viewers, so it was unavoidable.

Even if I only read the donation messages while excluding the chat, I wouldn’t have enough time to read them all throughout the broadcast.

Yesterday alone, the donation amount reached 36,600,000 won, so how many messages and donors would that result in?

It was impossible for me to handle that massive amount of demand alone.

[Are you wrapping the idea of taking advantage in such a way?]

[Sensei… just say you want to take advantage.]

[KING wouldn’t do such shameless things!!!]

[Information: Originally, the king is shameless.]

[Are you ignoring my donation? That’s fine…]

[Woah, this is a reward in the industry, right?? Haha.]

[More… ignore me more!!]

[This isn’t even a female streamer broadcast, why are we chatting like crazy?]

I watched the viewers’ reactions with a worried heart, but surprisingly, they were positive.

Most of the chat was about ‘taking advantage’ and such, but they were laughing and joking amongst themselves.

It seemed they didn’t genuinely detest me but rather found my shamelessness to be appealing.

Well, since viewers could see the speed at which donations were coming in real-time, they knew that it wasn’t entirely nonsensical.

“Thank you for your understanding. Instead, if a lot of donations come in, I’ll do my best to react to those.”

[??? Who understood??]

[No one understands, but someone is being understood. What a bizarre phenomenon haha.]

[Wow! There’s a streamer who became a cash cow on the second day of broadcasting?! Zoom zoom boom!]

[KING = cash cow.]

[Haha, only reacting to big donations haha.]

[Ah, haha, small amounts aren’t even money for real haha.]

[Sisters, my hands and feet are tingling and my head is shaking.]

Thinking it over, my words might have been a bit rude, but I couldn’t ignore messages from people who donated that much.

It’s greedy to think I could cater to every single one of the hundreds of thousands of viewers.

Even a tree sheds leaves when there are too many.

Those who get shaken off here will fall away, and those who still think my broadcast is worth watching will stay.

That doesn’t mean I’m going to half-heartedly do the broadcast.

Rather, it’s a necessary sacrifice to focus more on the driving that the viewers want to see.

“I will give you what I can provide. Driving, that’s my value.”

The chat was once again praising me, saying things like “KING is KING,” and to my surprise, the viewer count, which I thought would decrease, was slowly increasing.

With a lighter heart, responding to the viewers’ reactions as I waited, the invitation message soon arrived.

[You have been invited to ‘KiwiChi Championship Round of 128, KING VS Sexyback’ room. YES / NO]

“I got an invitation message.”

[KING, win!!!]

[It’s finally starting.]

[Matchup between the 53rd ranked American representative and the mysterious Korean master KING!]

[My heart is pounding…]

[Please take down that annoying girl like Yao-ming, Sensei.]

[Let’s show that we can live up to the name of this championship, KING! KING! KING!]

[Let’s send a Titanic punch to that annoying girl. Punch!]

《QUEEN donated 500,000 won!》

-I wish for your victory and safe return, Your Majesty.

Support messages and donations erupted.

“Thank you, Queen. You came again today. I will definitely win.”

I shouted “YES!” with more confidence than ever.

Accepting the invitation and fine-tuning the settings in the pit, countless questions poured in from the viewers.

Is the analysis of the driving style against Sexyback and the circuit strategy completed?

Is the analysis of the Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit and the weather finished?

How are you going to unfold the race, and so on.

Questions kept coming in one after another.

Since I hadn’t prepared anything specific aside from understanding the circuit and weather, I conveyed the truth.

“Anyway, I didn’t do any background research on my opponent because I’m going to win. The circuit is a well-balanced textbook track, so as long as I drive at my pace, there shouldn’t be any problems.”

It was not boastful; I genuinely wasn’t worried about my opponent.

As the king of kings, there was no reason for me to care about someone who wasn’t even a formal F1 driver.

My only concern was how I could reach a higher level.

This was driven by a desire to provide better content for the viewers, but it was also a problem I had been contemplating since crossing into this world.

The F1 of Jin Hyun-woo’s era and the F1 of Mr. Yooihyun’s world were similar yet different, and because they were different, more research was needed.

For instance, there’s a penalty, but if an incident occurs, recovery is possible, and there are no restrictions on using DRS.

Until now, races had been resolved through overwhelming skill, regardless of whether they were tournaments or ranking matches.

However, as I achieved F1 status and entered the F1 competitions with a team and teammates, the dynamics of the races would surely change.

With less burden concerning incidents, I could also adopt clever strategies to gain advantages by intentionally causing accidents.

Compared to inexperienced me, there would be drivers who had fully mastered DRS based on a vast amount of experience and data.

So to become a champion, it means I need to be able to race fittingly for this place.

As they say, when in Rome, do as the Romans do.

My past as a three-time consecutive champion in F1 held no meaning here.

This place is an entirely different world, and I must become a champion under its rules.

I am still adapting to the rules of this new world.

You could say I am undergoing an evolution.

“Change to Super Soft tires.”

[Tires will be changed to Super Soft, C5.]

The circuit is 4.675 km, a total of 66 laps.

Since it’s a difficult circuit for overtaking, tire strategy is particularly important for Barcelona-Catalunya.

I judged that even if I made an early pit stop, it was sensible to secure a lead initially, so I chose the SS tire.

Being stuck behind my opponent isn’t my style.

[Sure enough, the Spanish circuit is all about the early clash.]

[It’ll be tough managing the Super Soft.]

[Gaining the lead is the right call since overtaking is difficult.]

[It’s only sensible to take the lead; if you can’t, you’ll be bogged down staring at the back of another’s car with SS tires.]

[And if the opponent uses S or M? It’s just a done deal. What good does it do to have faster tires if you can’t overtake and they’re lacking in durability?]

[KING is someone you can trust to perform.]

Choosing the SS tire holds not only good points but also downsides, just like the fiery chat.

However, any choice comes with risks.

Big risks will normally bring big returns.

“Don’t worry, I’ll definitely catch the lead. Did you see me giving up any leads?”

I had never given up the lead.

To be precise, during the 1024 competition, I had given up the lead to Yao-ming due to an accident caused by bad weather, but since then, I had never done so.

Although there is a significant risk that cannot be ignored and the low durability of SS, the nature of the Spanish circuit generally favors a two-stop strategy, so it’s not an issue.

I planned to change tires in the order of SS, S, S.

Considering the weather and tire conditions, if I judged that the S tire from the first pit stop could be used a lot longer, I would aim to replace the last S tire with SS for a late charge.

That would depend on the situation, so I would need to make flexible decisions at that time.

“Race preparation complete.”

[Leaving the race waiting room, heading to the grid. KING’s grid position is on the left, first position.]

Since it’s the first position on the left, the first corner turns right, so I have to start the start favorably.

If I concede corner priority, the meaning of choosing SS tires will be lost.

Vroom!!!

My red race car, summoned to the first grid on the left, roared with its engine.

“Shall we go?”

Tap!

As I lowered the helmet shield, the formation lap began.

Today’s focus is on the basics.

All changes starting with DRS and the fundamentals.

Critical braking, trail braking, acceleration and deceleration, handling, and ultimately, race management.

The opponent is not the American nicknamed Sexyback, but Jin Hyun-woo himself.

It’s a battle against myself to shed Jin Hyun-woo and become the champion Mr. Yooihyun.

*

*

*

Kang Ho-yun unexpectedly chose SS tires.

Starting the race on SS was a significant change and decision for him, who had always sought stable and smooth racing.

Viewers who were aware of his tendencies were equally astonished.

[Bro, are you serious?]

[Are you planning to fight that young kid from New Age?]

[That’s not easy.]

[If you get tangled once, that would be bad… change the plan now, bro.]

[Isn’t it better to just go with S or M?]

[Isn’t it better to just stick to what you’ve always done, hyung?]

[I’m feeling anxious…]

His choice was so irrational that even the viewers who had followed his broadcast for a long time were trying to dissuade him.

Furthermore, considering his opponent, choosing SS was a complete gamble.

Given that their skills were not on the same level and that his opponent held the advantage, going with SS tires seemed unwise.

It would be better to start on M tires and reduce the pit time with a one-stop strategy.

However, unlike the rambunctious viewers, Kang Ho-yun’s determination was unwavering.

“No. I’m going with SS. Trust and watch me.”

To whom was his final comment directed?

Kang Ho-yun’s eyes were burning with determination to win.