Chapter 29 : I am not artificial intelligence.

Our intentions were simple.

Show off unbelievable skill, attract a ton of attention with hacking accusations, call in a credible celebrity to resolve the controversy, and reveal my gender at the same time.

Minder’s nerf targeting me would just be the icing on the cake.

“A very standard approach. You could call it a cliché.”

“…You mean the hacking controversy and revealing my gender?”

“No, I mean this way of driving an issue.”

But when does the world ever go as planned?

The world didn’t follow our goals.

First of all.

Minder wasn’t nerfed.

[f*cking hell, are they not going to hotfix Minder? Damn you, Sofle, you bastards?]

[High-ranker rating verification photo]

[Recent match history photo, many games lost after meeting Seong-won.]

This crazy guy is throwing a fit with some insane bullshit, f*ck.

Just hotfix him.

What are these guys even doing?

─It’s a bit much to nerf a hero whose win rate is in the gutter, lol. Objective indicators say this guy needs a buff, lol?

└What buff, you didn’t get hit by him? You couldn’t have been hit by them lol, since you are not likely to be a high-ranker LOL.

└Then you play Minder too, lol. Why aren’t you playing this honey hero?

─Honestly, the only one using him is that Seong-won or whatever, it doesn’t make sense to target nerf him;;

└The company is going to target nerf a single individual? LOL.

└’Controversy On’

└It would be amazing in its own way, lol.

Whether it was because it didn’t get much public sympathy, or because the company was reluctant to target an individual…I couldn’t know the exact reason.

Perhaps they simply didn’t want to tarnish Minder, one of the pinnacles of their technology.

Soulframe is quite notorious for that.

“I’ll use my family connections to gather information. Please wait a little, Master.”

“Hmm. Okay.”

Anyway, the nerf didn’t happen.

But it’s okay.

The Minder hotfix issue was just the icing on the cake anyway.

It’s just a minor sub-issue!

The problem was…the hacking controversy.

[Isn’t this guy really a hacker?]

They said that even if you turn on cognitive acceleration, you can’t pinpoint coordinates, but he still uses skills normally, and his reaction speed. And he also uses skills while taunting in chat.

It’s not something a person can do.

So of course he’s a hacker.

─No, why are there so many of these hacker accusers;; Virtual doesn’t have hackers, you crazy people lol.

└Average intelligence IQ in Soul Gallery is empty-headed, what do you expect.

└No, I think their brains are burnt from using hacks.

└That’s it;;;;;

─Aren’t there people who use external devices? Wasn’t that famous a while ago? I think I saw it on YouTube.

└The conclusion was that the guy using it was an idiot.

└If you use an external device, the probability of becoming a vegetable while playing the game increases by 180 times, lol, try it at your own risk lol.

└Death game at the cost of life.

[I’ll just stay neutral until there’s an official announcement]

What’s with all this talk about hacking and stuff.

Are the people here just nerds whose hobby is dragging down people who are trying to succeed lol?

─Why are you talking about dragging down a streamer who doesn’t even have 3000 viewers, lol?

└What official announcement do we need, it’s obviously a hack.

└No, these dumbasses don’t understand that there are no hacks in Virtual, what did they eat?

─But what is neutral gear?

└Back in the days of internal combustion engines, cars had gears. Just think of it as an old internet term.

└Information.

─No, f*ck, so how did he solve the cognitive acceleration coordinate problem, lol? Explain it, you idiot.

└Am I him? Why are you asking me?

└Because you’re shielding him;; Should I hit you with a shield;;;

─A person can’t play like that; He must have used something.

In the beginning, everything was actually going well.

The Chinese viral marketing agency fueled the hacking controversy with its massive numbers, and the issue started to burn like a wildfire.

It’s an internet comment operation specialist company, and they certainly had the expertise of professionals. They controlled the discussion by appropriately creating sides that shielded me and those that targeted me.

Thanks to that, the snowball of the issue was growing day by day.

“But why a Chinese agency?”

“Southeast Asian labor costs have risen a lot these days. Now, China is cheaper than that.”

CEO Cha scratched his cheek and said awkwardly.

“And as you know, since the continent was split into three, China is very careful about our reactions, right? Thanks to that, it’s easier to manage, both in terms of control and information control.”

“Hmm, I see.”

But.

That happiness was short-lived.

[But, isn’t it just an AI, not a hack?]

Hacks are impossible, and external devices are suicidal.

But Seong-won, he doesn’t use voice. So isn’t it just some company testing with AI?

AI for Soul Frame.

─What kind of bullshit is that?

─But it makes sense.

└If it’s an AI, it explains everything.

└He chats, though.

└Chat can just be done by someone else;;; Or he could have set values, lol. With how advanced AI is these days, can’t they do that?

─Come to think of it, his chat does seem a bit repetitive.

└He keeps saying something about subscription.

└Wow, this is real, it’s creepy.

─I think I’ve heard of this, something similar.

└Really? Is this for real?

└Huh?

Suddenly, the ‘Seong-won AI’ theory started sometime.

Honestly, when this theory first came out, we didn’t even care.

It’s ridiculous to create an AI for a virtual reality game, and to use such an amazing and awesome AI to do internet broadcasting.

‘Who would believe such nonsense?’

They did.

It’s nonsense that no one would normally believe, but when such a theory was thrown into the board we had already fueled, it exploded.

Moreover, there was already a similar case!

[Hey, I found a news article .NEWS]

[News article link, The famous air combat game The Ace ranked 14th… actually a Soviet AI?]

There’s already a similar case?

It was real lol.

─???

─Crazy.

─Why is this real? Why is this real? Why is this real?

─Wow, so is it really an AI test again?

└I guess so?

─What are you talking about, lol? What AI? Now they’re labeling people as AI.

└It’s just a hack.

└It’s not a hack, you idiot.

─Well, he’s really good like a machine;;; His judgment is also ridiculous, he’s not human.

─So is Seong-won also a commie AI?

└Could be.

└But his concept was that he liked Popsicola.

└It’s a disguise. The commies have always been good at deception, a tactic called the two-faced strategy.

Once upon a time, a drone AI belonging to the Neo-Soviet Air Force was secretly deployed for testing in an air combat simulation virtual reality game. The AI, which ranked high with ridiculous movements, was eventually caught and sanctioned by the game company.

That’s right.

There was already a ‘precedent’.

So, now it wasn’t important to them whether it made sense or not. The theory just kept rolling like an avalanche, growing in size.

“Seriously, this is driving me crazy.”

Thanks to that, I was currently being treated as an AI, a commie AI at that, on the internet.

‘I have trillions of won right now…’

Such a capitalist of capitalists is being treated as a communist robot, it’s infuriating. I’m angry, I’m angry….

Of course, because of that theory, my broadcast chat was also being ruined.

TS Media personnel are sticking around to get rid of those who are spreading the AI and communist theories…

“It’s difficult.”

“Hmm. It’s difficult.”

There were so many troublemakers that it was absolutely not easy to manage. It’s not like we can assign all the company staff to chat manager duty.

In fact, if we kick them out, the theory spreads in the community because of that, so it’s a waste of time.

“Why don’t you just go with this?”

Eventually, we decided to change the plan.

“Anyway, we’ve attracted a lot of attention with this issue. It’s not the hacking we originally planned… Well, I think the AI issue is not much different from hacking, honestly.”

“Hmm, that’s true.”

Actually. Hacking, AI, what’s the difference?

Aren’t they both made with programming?

CEO Cha nodded with a determined face.

“Now it’s time to recruit a credible celebrity and reveal the chairman’s gender to shock them.”

“…What did APK say?”

“When we presented the confidentiality clause, the APK front desk was quite uncomfortable. They also seem to think that the chairman is an AI.”

“…Ah, this is really driving me crazy.”

What, even the pro team is buying into the AI theory?

As I pressed my forehead because my head seemed to throb, Vice President Cha muttered, touching his dry lips.

“APK seems to want to stay out of this issue as much as possible. They think they might not know. But, thankfully, Baek Ji-hyeok agreed, so the recruitment was successful.”

“…Baek Ji-hyeok? Who is that?”

Who is that? As I tilted my head with a look that said I had no idea, CEO Cha looked bewildered.

“It’s NoSurrender’s real name.”

“Ah, yes.”

“He’s twenty years old this year. He’s younger than you, Chairman.”

Strangely enough.

As CEO Cha muttered casually, Miley, who was standing next to me like a guardian spirit, frowned.

“That word just now. Explain what you mean, CEO Cha.”

“W-W-What did I say? Ha, haha.”

“You just said…!”

I yawned as I watched CEO Cha being nagged.

‘Oh, my.’

Now that the relationship with Gold 2 is normal, it looks like the target has been changed to Gold 3. Gold, Gold Miley.

*

Baek Ji-hyeok swallowed dryly.

‘…I think I took the wrong path.’

Even though it had been a long time since he came to Seoul, it was still difficult for Baek Ji-hyeok to walk around the dazzling big city.

Of course, it’s been three years since he came to Seoul, so he was now used to this enormous megacity.

He was stuck in the practice room and only ate the food the team gave him, and he couldn’t even go to the convenience store, but he’s not so bad that he can’t read a map!

‘Is this the right place…?’

But, this is a bit strange.

In the middle of Gangnam. Baek Ji-hyeok, standing in front of a large building that looked like it was at least 10 stories high, looked up.

‘It was definitely the place where Seong-won, that person was…’

Why is the destination a commercial district full of companies?

He wondered if she might be waiting inside a cafe on the first floor, so he looked around…

Forget cafes, there are only office workers.

‘f*ck… Was it really an AI?’

Then the face of the man who told him to write a confidentiality agreement came to mind. It was a face that was much closer to an office worker than this kind of internet broadcast… Was it really a trick from some AI development company?

At that moment.

“Baek Ji-hyeok? Is that right?”

At the sound of a man’s voice from behind, Baek Ji-hyeok turned his head. Then he saw a middle-aged man in a faded leather jacket. A somewhat rough-looking impression.

“Ah, yes. That’s right. That…”

“Let’s go up and talk.”

Saying that, the man tapped Baek Ji-hyeok’s shoulder.

Baek Ji-hyeok was slightly offended by the words to follow him without a proper explanation, but he followed him anyway.

“Okay, take this first.”

The man passed through the entrance with a fingerprint scanner, and then put a visitor’s pass around Baek Ji-hyeok’s neck. Baek Ji-hyeok, who was slightly nervous about something that felt very ‘company-like’, swallowed dryly.

“But, where is this?”

“TS Media. I’m the representative here. By the way, from the moment you meet me, everything you hear and see is subject to a confidentiality agreement. So don’t go talking about it elsewhere.”

“…Yes?”

There was such a clause?

Before he could even be bewildered, Baek Ji-hyeok was dragged into the elevator by the man who said he was the representative. When they arrived on the 8th floor, they saw a large sign that said ‘TS Media’.

“This is…”

“Ah, the sound? The lower floor is currently being remodeled. It’s a bit noisy, but please understand. Come on, follow me.”

‘That’s not what I was asking…’

Baek Ji-hyeok entered what looked like a company with a sullen look.

And then.

‘Damn, it really is a company.’

It’s not that noisy, but it’s a busy office. Watching it, he broke out in a cold sweat.

‘Seong-won… Was it really an AI…!’

I’m going crazy. The director told me not to get involved!

How should I clean this up this time? Baek Ji-hyeok was swallowing dryly, and the representative guided him to a room.

Inside, there was a beautiful blonde Westerner, and a virtual machine so expensive that even APK wouldn’t provide it to a player.

“…Huh?”

And.

There was a girl who looked a little older than a middle schooler, around high school age.

A very, beautiful girl.

“…”

Baek Ji-hyeok, who was momentarily speechless, closed his mouth.

At that moment.

“Hmm, are you NoSurrender… Baek Ji-hyeok?”

A somewhat relaxed voice was heard.

A voice he had never heard before, but for some reason, the nuance seemed familiar.

Baek Ji-hyeok saw the short girl sitting in the executive chair, casually crossing her legs. He quickly wiped his sweaty palms on his pants.

“You’re shorter than I thought? So, Safma…”

“Yes?”

At that moment, the person who said he was the representative said with a smile.

“This is the chairman of our company. In Soul Frame, she’s using the nickname Seong-won.”

“That’s my real name.”

“Ah. Hmm. I’m sorry, Chairman.”

The two people started to have a conversation, but Baek Ji-hyeok couldn’t properly hear their conversation.

His mind was only reacting with ‘Ah?’, ‘Eue?’, ‘Eek?’ as he realized that ‘Seong-won’ was the ‘girl’ in front of him. Seong-won, who was quietly watching such a Baek Ji-hyeok, soon smiled slightly.

Seong-won snapped her fingers and said.

“Okay, focus.”

“Yes? Yes.”

“Mr. Baek. We only agreed to meet each other, but we didn’t agree on anything after that, right?”

Saying that, Seong-won jumped up from her seat.

Then she approached Baek Ji-hyeok and muttered.

“But I want to bury that damn commie AI controversy that’s attached to me right now.”

A feeling that tickles the heart.

Baek Ji-hyeok trembled.

“So, can you help me?”

“…I, I’ll help you.”

Baek Ji-hyeok answered without thinking.

Seeing that, Seong-won laughed inwardly.

‘This is too easy.’

Well, of course.

Baek Ji-hyeok. Age 21.

Since he quit school in the middle and became a professional gamer, there was not a single bit of dating experience in his life.