Chapter 38: It’s Just Skill, Is There a Problem? (Part 3)

-Ring ring! Ring ring!

-Click!

In a dark room. As soon as I confirmed that the other party had answered the phone, Sosorang immediately asked about the matter.

“What happened?”

[Huh? What, ah… That?]

Sosorang’s attitude had no context at all, but CEO Hwang over the smartphone immediately understood what she was talking about and sneered as if he couldn’t help but laugh.

[More than that, you’re really showing your true colors, aren’t you? You said you weren’t interested back then.]

At that sneer, Sosorang bit her lip slightly.

“Just answer.”

[Ah, yes. If our great celebrity says so, I must.]

“You, really…!”

[It’s taken care of.]

“……!!”

Taken care of.

At that, a slight surprise spread across Sosorang’s face.

Perhaps noticing that surprise, CEO Hwang joked.

[Hey, what do you take me for? I’m Hwang Seonwook, Hwang Seonwook. Do you think I’d waste time because I couldn’t take down some nobody?]

“…….”

[I’ve already taken care of everything. You don’t have to worry about that Shihyun or Sihyeon or whatever. I’ll take care of everything.]

It’s already been taken care of?

This fast? What method did you use?

Sosorang asked with a puzzled face.

“…How did you do it?”

[Huh? What? It’s different from last time. You’re curious about this. Didn’t you say that it’s best not to know about these things?]

“Answer the question first.”

At Sosorang’s voice, which became sharp again, CEO Hwang answered smoothly.

[I told a nobody to accuse them of using a hack. The results will come out soon.]

Accuse them of using a hack.

At that short sentence, sparks flew from Sosorang’s eyes.

“Hack? What are you talking about? Don’t tell me you’re going to bury them with a hack accusation? Are you crazy?”

Sosorang immediately shouted.

Because I was dumbfounded.

‘Accuse them of using a hack?’

Bury someone with such an outdated method?

Do you think that’s possible?

[Hey, hey. My ears hurt. Why are you so angry? Anyway, it doesn’t matter what it is, as long as you smear sh*t on their face, right? What does the method matter?]

But CEO Hwang was confident.

That confidence made Sosorang even more dumbfounded.

“Does a hack even make sense in Arfellium!”

[Whether it makes sense or not is up to the headquarters. But have you seen that headquarters move so far? It’s the same this time. Arfellium Corporation will never give an explanation.]

“But…!”

[Hey, and this is a structure where you don’t lose anything anyway, right? Even if there’s a backlash, only the sniper dies. Only that nobody dies and it’s over. Why are you so angry?]

That’s right.

The only person who knows that Sosorang is involved in this is CEO Hwang.

Therefore, even if a reversal of public opinion occurs, Sosorang will not be harmed at all.

Realizing that fact, Sosorang’s voice softened a little.

“…But they won’t be properly damaged.”

But Sosorang couldn’t help but be nervous.

It was important for her that Shihyun collapsed.

Isn’t the number of viewers still decreasing right now?

In order to calm my anxious heart, I needed evidence that Shihyun would definitely fall.

“You can’t bring that woman down just by accusing them of using a hack. You must know that, right?”

At Sosorang’s answer, which contained such an inner thought, CEO Hwang burst into laughter.

[Hahaha! Yeah. That’s like you. Don’t pretend to be nice and act like you were born. Then I won’t be awkward.]

“…Do you think I’m joking right now?”

[Trainee. It’s just the beginning. This is.]

“……?”

To Sosorang, who had a puzzled face, CEO Hwang muttered.

[Did you hope that that b*tch would collapse in just one go? You’re too greedy. We’ve only just started one. One. If controversies like this pile up one by one, anyone will fall.]

“…….”

[So you just sit there and watch.]

Until I take care of that b*tch myself.

CEO Hwang answered that and hung up the phone without saying a word.

Sosorang looked down at the disconnected smartphone and muttered.

“F*cking gangster b*stard.”

You’re an annoying person. Sosorang muttered so.

However, on Sosorang’s face, who was cursing, a cold smile was drawn.

[…And look at this video. Do you think this movement is possible? With a woman’s body? No matter how diligently you attend a swordsmanship academy, there is a clear limit to gender. But the fact that this is possible is evidence that they are using a hack, no matter who sees it…]

“Stop watching.”

Kim Ji-eun popped out through the hologram screen I was watching.

She put her hands on her hips and scolded me.

“Why are you watching that?”

“No, that. It’s interesting.”

I scratched my cheek and answered that.

It’s inevitable that it’s interesting.

A hack.

‘I’m being suspected of using a hack.’

Isn’t this something I only saw on internet broadcasts?

It’s inevitable that I feel subtle.

‘It’s a strange feeling.’

While I was doing that, Kim Ji-eun frowned.

“Shihyun-ah, aren’t you being too carefree? This is something you should think about seriously.”

“Ah, that’s right. The stream was stopped because of me. I’m sorry.”

“No, that’s not what I’m talking about….”

Kim Ji-eun slapped her forehead and sighed.

I smiled awkwardly, looking at that figure.

Actually, it couldn’t be helped.

I still didn’t feel like this situation was my business.

If I had that thought, I would have been confused or angry by now.

However, the fact that I don’t have such a thought at all means that I’m still watching this situation from a distance as if watching a fire.

I don’t realize it’s my business.

“Sigh.”

Rather, it was Kim Ji-eun who was angry as if it were her own business.

A sudden hack sniping incident by a random person named Hong Chunseok.

As soon as I confirmed that, Kim Ji-eun immediately stopped the stream that was exploding because of me and made efforts to understand and resolve the situation.

Of course, nothing has been resolved yet.

“First, let’s organize. You don’t know the person named Hong Chunseok, right?”

“Once? I met them once in a multi-player ranked game.”

“…Well, I looked it up, and they’re the person who got beaten badly by you with their alt account, too. So it seems like they’re doing this out of resentment….”

Kim Ji-eun scrunched up her face.

“Even so, going with a hack accusation is crossing the line. Really, isn’t it too cheap of a snipe? Besides, it’s dirty. This makes it annoying to explain….”

“Is it difficult to explain?”

The past hack controversies weren’t that difficult to explain.

Has something changed with virtual reality?

When I asked that, Kim Ji-eun rubbed her forehead and answered.

“There are no hacks in Arfellium. Shihyun-ah. That’s why I’m not asking you if you used an unauthorized program like a hack. Of course, there’s no need to ask this….”

“There are no hacks, so how can there be a hack controversy?”

“Well, it hasn’t been officially revealed that there are absolutely no hacks.”

Kim Ji-eun’s explanation was as follows.

Arfellium Corporation, which made Arfellium Saga, is a company with almost no external feedback.

That is to say, they don’t communicate with the outside world at all.

Therefore, even when hack controversies have occurred so far, they have never given a clear answer.

“There’s no standard for what is certified as a hack, right? So it’s practically like there are no hacks.”

“Ah.”

Of course, there have been no hacks in Arfellium so far.

However, there have been constant hack controversies.

The problem is that the headquarters does not clearly resolve that controversy.

“Because the company doesn’t clearly say, ‘It’s not a hack’. It’s not a controversy that disappears once it sticks. Besides, to explain, there has to be some standard, but in virtual reality, the standard is the company. It’s not like you can show your handcam like in old PC games.”

“I see.”

“What do you mean, ‘I see’? It’s your business!”

“Haha….”

Kim Ji-eun shook her head and then muttered.

“This is dangerous.”

“Huh? Dangerous?”

“Shihyun, it’s never a good thing to have this kind of label attached to you before you even start streaming. It will be a big obstacle to your future streaming activities.”

“Hmm.”

“Of course, the hack controversy won’t last long anyway. This is a story that has no answer in the first place. But it’s not a good thing to have a negative perception built up, is it? That’s why early response is important, but….”

Saying that, Kim Ji-eun sighed again.

“The person involved has no thoughts. I’m the only one who’s worried.”

I felt sorry for that.

I asked with an awkward face.

“But you said there’s no way.”

“That’s… Right.”

It’s not a controversy that can be explained.

As such, there was no particular way to deal with it.

“If you were an active streamer, pushing with fandom would be a way, but… Shihyun, you have popularity but no fans, so that’s difficult too. You’re not even streaming right now.”

It’s a shame.

But it can’t be helped.

Kim Ji-eun said that.

Right, at that moment.

-Ding!

A message notification window appeared in front of me.

“Huh?”

“What?”

“I got a message.”

A message?

Leaving Kim Ji-eun, who was tilting her head, behind, I pressed the message.

I was curious about how the message came when I definitely blocked everything last time, and I had an instinctive feeling that this message was very important.

-Tok
The message opened at my touch.

And I doubted my eyes.

[Sender: Areuperium Corp.]
[Wishing you infinite development…]

This message.

It’s from Arfellium Corporation.