Gwanjongcheonma’s Game Broadcast - Chapter 4
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 4
Passing pedestrians point their fingers as if finding it curious.
“Hey, look over there.”
“Where?”
“Over there. That building that’s about to collapse. Isn’t the banner message funny?”
“Our store… operating normally? They’re crazy. What kind of business can you run in a building like that?”
“That’s what I’m saying. It looks like a capsule room, but don’t you think if you logged in there, you’d never come back?”
“Isn’t the owner an idiot? What was he thinking opening a store there?”
“Shh. Someone’s coming out of the entrance.”
A man in his thirties with dark circles hanging down below his cheekbones walks out unsteadily.
The owner of Leon Capsule Room.
Choi Gang-sik takes down the banner with bleary eyes.
“Damn it…”
And some time later.
A new banner was hung above the Leon Capsule Room sign.
【Closing Sale. Selling Capsule Machines. Never Used.】
“Kheuk!”
A sorrowful cry leaked from Choi Gang-sik’s mouth.
“I’m ruined. I’m completely ruined now!”
They say on unlucky days, even falling backward will break your nose.
These were incredibly harsh days for Choi Gang-sik.
Ten years since being subjected to extreme power abuse at an entertainment agency.
Unable to endure it any longer, he had taken his severance pay and invested his entire fortune to create this capsule room.
“They said a road would be built in front of here soon! They said a Seo-tabucks cafe would move in too!”
After being screwed over for ten years in the entertainment industry, to get backstabbed again.
His already prominent dark circles had now become deep enough to jump rope with.
Choi Gang-sik returned to his store and posted listings on used goods markets, Carrot, and all sorts of places.
While he was changing the banner, several messages had arrived.
[Is negotiation possible? Please just cut the price by 5 million won.]
[Can I trade my old CD player and professional baseball player cards, plus a Galaxy S32 with a cracked screen?]
[Dude, don’t you think you’re being a bit shameless? lol The exact same thing you’re selling is listed for half the price?]
[Is this price for real?]
[I live in the provinces, can you negotiate on round-trip airfare?]
“These… damn bastards!”
Choi Gang-sik slammed the desk with his pathetic fists.
There wasn’t a single normal buyer, just people making fun of him.
Choi Gang-sik knew it too.
That his current price was high for used goods.
But he had no choice.
“I absolutely… can’t list them at normal used market prices…!”
Though he had brought them into the store, these were machines that had never been played even once.
How could he sell these babies of his for dirt cheap?
From Choi Gang-sik’s perspective, they were literally no different from unopened new products.
“Sigh. I don’t know how many I’ll be able to sell at this rate…”
Choi Gang-sik, who had let out a sigh that could sink into the ground, suddenly pulled out his phone from his pocket.
Among the closing sale notices, there was one single capsule machine that had actually sold.
While he had no intention of cutting prices for the other guys, he had sold this one at a price much cheaper than used market rates.
Because he was the only one who had kept him company in the empty store, alleviating his loneliness.
-Yes. Boss. This is Hae-rang.
“What boss. Just speak comfortably. I’m not a boss anymore.”
-Yes. Mr. Choi Gang-sik.
“…Isn’t that changing too quickly? Just call me hyung.”
-To call you hyung, I think there’s about a generation’s difference between us.
“What’s a generation? Ah forget it, just call me hyung. I sold you the machine for half of half price, can’t you do that much?”
-I was being short-sighted. Gang-sik hyung.
Look at that speed of changing sides?
I can’t tell if this guy is smart or stupid.
“By the way, did the installation go well? Installing a capsule is no ordinary task.”
-It seems to have worked out somehow.
“Do I really not need to come check? You don’t know much about capsule machines. Usually people call installation technicians.”
-It’s fine, Mother helped me.
At those words, Choi Gang-sik’s eyebrows twitched.
That can’t be that simple, can it?
“So… what does your mother do for work?”
-I don’t really know either. Except that she sits in front of a computer all day.
“…Are you really her son? Whatever. The installation’s done, so shall we start in earnest now?”
-Yes. I’m going to start streaming from today.
“Good. Do well. With the persistence to come to the capsule room every day and watch for hours, you’ll do well at anything.”
-Ugh…
“Hello? Are you hurt somewhere?”
-…I’m fine now. When I succeed later, I’ll definitely repay the favor of selling me the capsule cheaply.
“What favor. And now that the deal’s all done, tell me honestly.”
-What?
“You came to get acquainted beforehand because our store seemed like it would close soon, right? To buy the machine cheaply.”
A brief silence followed.
-That’s ridiculous. Do I look like such a cunning guy to you? Finding that store was purely by chance.
“Haha. I thought so, right? Since the machines weren’t selling, I was having all sorts of thoughts. You’re more of a bear type than a fox anyway.”
Leaving words about meeting when he succeeded, Choi Gang-sik hung up the phone.
Even after the call ended, Hae-rang couldn’t take his eyes off the smartphone for a while.
“Almost got caught.”
Cheon Hae-rang.
He had already blended into this era quite well.
Finding like-new used goods was Hae-rang’s first goal.
Of course, his words about repaying the favor weren’t lies.
Faithful rewards and punishments.
The Heavenly Demon of his previous life gave strict punishment to those with sins,
and generously rewarded those with merit.
Choi Gang-sik was the second person he’d formed a connection with in this life.
He had no intention of easily forgetting his kindness.
‘It really looks like new.’
Hae-rang looked down at the installed capsule machine with a satisfied gaze.
It was worth working at the construction site for three months without a single day off.
The capsule looked like a robot cockpit he’d seen on YouTube.
It had a cool design with an overall white background and blue waves scratched across it.
Click.
Whoosh!
When he pressed the button, translucent glass shot upward.
Hae-rang sat down while suppressing his pounding heart.
‘From now on, this place will be…’
My new battlefield.
My own battlefield where I’ll hear countless praises, acclaim, and compliments.
Hae-rang closed the door and pressed the start button.
Whirrrr!
With a heavy sound, a hologram window appeared on the transparent screen.
【No registered users found.】
【Cannot load user information.】
【Would you like to register new information?】
Despite being a used item brought from the capsule room, there were no saved IDs.
It meant no customer had ever used this capsule.
If Choi Gang-sik had seen this message, he would have shed tears.
Hae-rang chuckled once and pressed the registration button.
【Proceeding with user registration.】
【Please enter a new ID.】
‘An ID.’
Nearly 100 days had passed since he’d been watching game streams.
He naturally knew that he needed to register an ID.
The problem was that most of the IDs he’d thought of were already taken.
【The ID ‘Heavenly Demon’ cannot be used.】
【The ID ‘Heavenly Demon Cult’ cannot be used.】
【The ID ‘Hae-rang’ cannot be used.】
【The ID ‘KingGodSupreme’ cannot be used.】
【The ID ‘ThousandHorse’ cannot be used.】
Hae-rang chuckled.
What bastard dared to take the Heavenly Demon ID first?
When he met them later, he’d show them what’s what.
‘Anyway, I need to think of something different. I can’t keep logging in with a guest ID every time.’
Hae-rang decided to add another word in front of Heavenly Demon.
Combining two words would reduce the chance of duplication.
‘Come to think of it, there was something the Murim Alliance Leader said to me in my previous life.’
The Ten-Year Pact where the Murim Alliance and Heavenly Demon Cult promised not to fight each other.
Before that promise, Hae-rang had crossed swords with Jin Song-baek, the leader of the Murim Alliance.
And then he obtained a declaration of surrender.
[I acknowledge my defeat. Heavenly Demon, we shall divide the Murim as you wish.]
[Your acceptance is refreshingly clean. Unlike the others in the Murim Alliance.]
[I have one thing I’m curious about, may I ask?]
[Speak.]
[Having crossed swords with you, I can tell. You are a natural genius, but you were also someone who worked hard enough to overwhelm that genius.]
[You saw correctly.]
[What was the driving force? What on earth made you strive so earnestly? Was pure strength your goal?]
[Not at all. I’m not particularly interested in being strong.]
[What? Then?]
[What I pursue is simply….]
“Haha.”
Hae-rang, who had briefly recalled that past conversation, soon wrote two characters in front of the Heavenly Demon.
【The ID ‘AttentionSeekingHeavenlyDemon’ is available. Would you like to register it now?】
Attention seeker.
It was a nickname just between the two of them that the Murim Alliance Leader had given Hae-rang when they made the Ten-Year Pact.
Hae-rang gladly pressed the registration button.
【The ID ‘AttentionSeekingHeavenlyDemon’ has been created.】
【Beginning character customization.】
【Would you like to synchronize with your current appearance?】
The higher the synchronization, the more identical the appearance becomes to the user.
Naturally, there aren’t many users who set the synchronization rate extremely high.
This is because they prefer characters that are more handsome and beautiful than their real-life appearance.
However, Hae-rang’s choice was different from the usual case.
“Set synchronization rate to 100%.”
And for good reason.
Hae-rang’s appearance was comparable to any handsome character.
It wasn’t just the name that was the same between his previous life and this life.
Black eyes with a hint of blue.
An arrogantly raised nose bridge and eyes like a gentle breeze.
Skin whiter and softer than white porcelain.
He had been able to adapt quickly to his new life thanks to feeling no discomfort with his reflection in the mirror.
【Proceeding with synchronization.】
【Creating a character that matches the user’s appearance exactly.】
【Synchronization rate 30%… 50%… 80%… 100% setup complete!】
A character that looked exactly like Hae-rang was created on the screen before him.
Hae-rang nodded once and soon pressed the connect button.
【Please select a game!】
Just because you bought a capsule doesn’t mean you can play all games.
To enjoy games, you need to purchase game content separately.
Naturally, each game is damn expensive.
Hae-rang looked at the ‘Purchase List’ screen.
Though calling it a list, there was only one title.
【Street Fighting】
‘Street Fighting’ is a fighting game created when capsule machines first came out.
It’s a 2D game that’s over 40 years old, transplanted into virtual reality.
The graphics are crude and the balance is terrible.
But users gladly enjoyed that terrible game.
No matter what anyone said, ‘Street Fighting’ was the foundation of fighting games.
However, Hae-rang chose Street Fighting for a slightly different reason than other gamers.
The cheap price that was practically free.
That was the only reason.
【Select your character!】
There were eight characters available for play.
Black-haired and blonde-haired fighters in martial arts uniforms.
A blue creature that might be human or beast, and a skinny guy who probably likes curry.
True to the meaning of street fighting, all sorts of characters were gathered together.
When you select a character, distinctive parts like body type, costume, and accessories are reflected in your avatar, while the face remains as customized in the capsule.
‘Which character should I choose?’
Hae-rang slowly moved the cursor while examining each character.
It was interesting how they each said a line when the cursor moved over them.
【Please spar with me!】
【Sonic! Hurricane!】
【Shanti shanti curry curry ya~】
In the midst of this, Hae-rang heard a line that caught his attention.
【Behold! This beautiful body! Train harder! Until your muscles burst!】
A character who looks down at his trained body and ‘praises’ himself.
What an admirable fellow this was.
He also liked the bulging muscles covering the entire body.
Compared to this character, ‘Ryu’ and ‘Ken’ would look like wooden logs.
He was shirtless wearing only red pants, but that wasn’t particularly important.
“You, I like you.”
【You have selected ‘Zangief’.】
【Bwahahaha! Excellent choice! Let’s conquer this street together!】
The selected Zangief looked at Hae-rang and laughed heartily.
Hae-rang’s face, watching this, mirrored the same expression.
【The game now begins!】
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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