The Rice-Eating Hero’s Capitalist Streaming - Chapter 112

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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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The Capitalist Streaming of a Freeloading Hero

Episode 112

Constellation’s Game [Lyka]

Rustle—

A faint friction sound scraped against my eardrums.

That was definitely… not some auditory hallucination from a dream.

I snapped my eyes open.

‘…A presence.’

I didn’t sit up or let out a rough breath.

This was… a sensation I hadn’t felt in a really long time.

I lay on the bed like a corpse, focusing all my nerves on my hearing alone.

‘One… two… no, four?’

This wasn’t the sound of stepping on hotel corridor carpet.

Lifting heels, shifting center of gravity… footwork that kills noise.

This was definitely intentional infiltration.

If not, it was a type of movement that couldn’t be explained otherwise.

‘Grand Arcana’s security was breached?’

This place was the highest-level Hunter-only accommodation in all of Lumis Domain.

Even aside from Hunters School officials, it meant this was a place crawling with high-level Hunters.

So the fact that an infiltration occurred here… definitely meant these weren’t ordinary guys.

‘In that case…’

Naturally, their purpose was obvious.

Probably this troublesome unique equipment.

[Night Stalker (No.967)]

There had been no trouble for a while since Barga Guild’s help…

But I thought it was about time for the hyenas to appear again.

‘Though I thought I’d be safe during the Hunters School camp…’

Perhaps after episode 1 of Hunters School aired, my location was identified.

Plus they might have thought I’d be more off-guard during filming.

But either way, this definitely wasn’t a situation to take lightly.

‘…Did they commission the Assassin’s Guild or something.’

I glanced sideways to check next to me.

I could feel Chloe Kang’s regular breathing as she curled up on the other side of the bed.

Fortunately, she seemed to be sleeping soundly, oblivious to the world.

‘No need to wake her.’

The target was definitely me. No need to involve an innocent civilian(?).

Besides, if Chloe Kang woke up startled and started spewing poison, the situation could get even more complicated.

Right now it was certain that only I was the target, but once she got involved, Chloe Kang could get dragged into it too.

Swoosh.

I slid down from the bed without even making the sound of rustling blankets.

My bare feet touched the cold marble floor, but no noise was generated at all.

I didn’t know what time it was outside, but thanks to the blackout curtains, the interior of the accommodation was pitch black like midnight.

In the darkness, I became one with the shadows and moved toward the entrance.

Beep— Click.

An electronic sound breaking the silence.

It was the sound of the front door lock being released.

Did they secure a master key?

They really weren’t ordinary guys.

First, I prepared for the worst-case scenario, getting ready to use Horus’s Feather at any time.

Creeeeak…

The heavy front door opened very slowly and carefully.

One unfamiliar shadow poked its head through the door gap.

What they held in their hand was… a blunt weapon…?

Something heavy seemed to be held there…

Whatever it was didn’t matter.

The moment the guy stepped one foot into the living room, I launched my body from the blind spot.

Thwack!

“Ugh?!”

The intruder couldn’t even scream properly. I instantly grabbed the guy’s arm and twisted it back, pressing my knee into his spine to pin him down completely.

“Kugh!”

“Stay quiet. Your neck might snap.”

I growled low while crushing the guy’s nape with my grip strength.

Since one guy was completely subdued, I could feel the remaining personnel’s movements had also frozen.

“Who sent you? Black Market? Or Duskport?”

“P-please… spare me!”

“Just answer what I ask. How many companions?”

“M-Morning…! Morning Angel! It’s Morning Angel!”

What?

I frowned. Morning Angel?

‘…Could it be some kind of code word?’

These days assassins sure come up with unique code names.

Thinking that… I twisted the captured arm up further.

“Don’t try any tricks…”

“W-wait! Wait! Geon-ryul Lee participant! It’s me! Assistant Director!”

Huh? Only then did a familiar voice reach my ears. I lifted my head to check the guy’s face. A face pale white with terror.

And what I thought was a blunt weapon in his hand… was a black camera.

“…PD?”

“Oh my, I’m dying! My arm! My arm’s breaking!”

That’s when it happened. The main PD and staff who had been waiting outside the open front door came pouring in.

In their hands were signs that read ‘Wake-up Mission’ and firecrackers.

“S-surprise…?”

The PD looked back and forth between me and the assistant director pinned to the floor with a frozen expression.

My murderous gaze and the assistant director’s bizarre posture stuck to the floor. It was a scene from a crime thriller, not a variety show.

“…Ah.”

Only then did I quietly release the assistant director’s arm I had been twisting.

At least the fortunate thing was that this was inside the Gate, Grand Arcana…

So all the assistant directors here were also Awakened.

If the friend I had just subdued wasn’t actually an Awakened, his arm really could have been broken, right?

“…”

Silence settled over the living room. In the awkward quiet, I cleared my throat and blurted out anything.

“…Please knock before entering. We almost had a real disaster.”

“Well… it’s a surprise…”

This is quite embarrassing.

I didn’t… make a mistake, right?

* * *

Right after the deadly happening with the assistant director, or rather ‘Morning Angel’, came to an end.

The PD and staff made one request of me.

“Um… Geon-ryul Lee participant.”

“Yes.”

“Sorry, but… could you wake up Chloe Kang participant for us?”

Even in this chaotic situation, he was asking me to wake up Chloe Kang, who was sleeping soundly.

“Why? We should surprise her too to get good footage.”

“Well… during the preliminary investigation, writer Kim Yerim earnestly requested this.”

She was probably scared after being harshly dealt with by me.

“She said that participant Chloe Kang might unconsciously emit toxic mana when waking up from sleep… and absolutely no regular staff should approach her.”

It made perfect sense, so it was a request I couldn’t refuse.

‘If the production team gets involved, that would be an accident.’

Even though all the production staff here were awakened ones, most of them were only around level 20.

The moment they’re exposed to Chloe Kang’s toxic mana, they’d all be heading to the emergency room.

“Understood. I’ll go.”

I let out a short sigh and nodded.

Then I approached the bedside… and poked the lump under the blanket with my finger.

“Wake up.”

“…”

No response.

She’s not dead, is she?

“Ms. Sohee. It’s morning. Please wake up.”

“…Mmm.”

A small groan leaked out from under the blanket, but she didn’t seem to have any intention of coming out.

Well, after all that suffering yesterday, her body must feel like it weighs a ton.

But the production team was waiting outside with cameras.

I couldn’t delay any longer here.

So I decided to throw out random words.

“Tteokbokki.”

“…”

“Lobster.”

“…”

“Jjamppong ramen.”

“Really?”

What the.

Did she really want ramen that badly?

Whoosh-!

The blanket was roughly thrown back, and Chloe Kang bolted upright.

Then the production team positioned about 2 meters behind reflexively flinched.

Uh… why do I feel sorry for no reason?

“Now that you’re up, please come out. There seems to be some morning filming.”

“Ugh. I thought there was no filming today…”

The PD, confirming that Chloe Kang had woken up, spoke to me with an awkward expression.

“Then… we’ll go wake up the other rooms…?”

“Good luck.”

Swoosh-

Chloe Kang, who came out after roughly pushing away the blanket, plopped down on the sofa regardless of whether cameras were there and stretched out her hand.

“…Water.”

Wait, she doesn’t think this is her own house, does she?

While I was thinking that…

The PPL staff member who came in at just the right time rushed over and handed her a sponsor’s water bottle.

“Here it is!”

She took the water bottle and brought it to her mouth without even opening the cap.

Um, excuse me.

You need to open the cap before drinking.

* * *

After finishing the non-PPL PPL filming(?), the place the PD guided us to was the ‘Presidential Suite’ located right next to the penthouse.

A super-large room for 6 people, normally used as a common lounge or conference room for group guests.

Creak―

When the door opened, an interior as luxurious as our accommodation was revealed, and Chloe Kang and I slowly walked inside.

A duplex structure… the most expensive ultra-luxury room even in this Arcana.

But the living room that was revealed first after passing the entrance was empty.

It seemed we had arrived first.

“…Yawn.”

As soon as Chloe Kang entered, she crumpled herself into the nearest single sofa.

The way she hugged a cushion and curled up… looked more like an exhausted exam student than a chaebol family’s young lady.

Somehow, she definitely didn’t seem like this kind of image at first… why do I keep seeing Mother’s daughter overlapping?

“…”

Having briefly entertained an irreverent(?) thought, I took a seat across from her and waited for other participants to enter through the open door.

After a while, regular footsteps began to be heard from the hallway.

“Excuse me.”

The first to appear was Seong-hwan Lee.

When he opened the door and made eye contact with me, he paused and then politely bowed his head.

“Ah, you were here first.”

“Were you second, Mr. Seonghwan?”

“Pardon?”

“Oh, that… I mean the wake-up mission.”

Seong-hwan Lee blinked with an expression of not understanding, and participant Sohyeon Yang, who entered behind him, answered my question instead.

“Seonghwan wasn’t at the accommodation when the wake-up mission came.”

“Hmm…?”

Seong-hwan Lee, who finally understood my words, continued.

“Ah, I have a constitution where I must go out and run a lap at 6 AM to loosen up my body… something must have happened while I was away.”

Ah… I see.

“That’s… quite diligent of you.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

Seong-hwan Lee answered briefly and took a seat on the sofa next to me, and participant Sohyeon Yang (sounds like a girl’s name but he’s a guy) plopped down next to him.

But why… is he sitting right next to me so uncomfortably…?

The living room and sofas are just completely empty.

“…”

Anyway, since he sat right next to me, his appearance naturally caught my eye.

An olive-colored functional t-shirt and comfortable shorts that came down to his knees.

‘Wait, shorts in the middle of winter… is this right?’

Rather than pajamas, it was practical clothing that looked like he could jump out and start running at any time.

Even while sitting, he didn’t lean against the backrest and kept his back straight.

In many ways… he was a guy without any gaps.

“Um… Mr. Geonyul.”

Seong-hwan Lee cleared his throat and carefully spoke to me.

“Yes?”

“I heard from the PDs yesterday. You achieved even the hidden clear for the labyrinth mission.”

Ah, was that what he was curious about?

If it’s that, I acknowledge it.

I scratched the back of my head awkwardly.

“Ah, that. I was a bit lucky… and it happened to be a labyrinth I knew some information about.”

“That’s amazing.”

So Seong-hwan Lee asked various things he was curious about, and since there was nothing particularly to hide, I readily answered.

Aside from being a bit overwhelming… it was an awkward but not bad first greeting.

Having a celebrity come over and strike up a conversation first gave me a strangely peculiar feeling.

And there was another good thing.

As soon as I started talking with Seong-hwan Lee…

Ding-!

[‘Uniform Fit Appraiser’ has entered the room.]

The real-time viewer count on the Streaming System suddenly began to explode.

[‘Maiden Guarding the Cradle’ has entered the room.]

[‘Mirror Peeping at Dawn’ has entered the room.]

…omitted…

└ Holy shit… I’m watching Sunghwan’s godly face from the front row? My eyes are being blessed today ㅠㅠ

└ But wait, the sofa is as big as a stadium, so why sit right next to the Room Owner lol

└ Is he really wearing shorts? Did anyone see those thigh muscles rippling?

Seong-hwan Lee coin… sweeter than I thought?

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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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