The Rice-Eating Hero’s Capitalist Streaming - Chapter 66

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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 66

 

Constellation’s Game [Raika]

 

Kangmin-woo felt wronged.

 

He was so maddeningly wronged that he wanted to go outside right now and grab the collars of those production team bastards who planned this mission to demand answers.

 

“Hah… Damn it.”

 

He leaned against the wall of the ruined underground concourse of Myeongdong Station, breathing heavily.

 

His appearance was miserable.

 

The shirt he had worn was torn to shreds like a rag, and his hair that had been set with wax was covered in dirt and sweat.

 

The reason for this state was naturally due to fighting monsters without a single piece of equipment.

 

‘This is rigged. It’s clear class discrimination.’

 

Kangmin-woo bit his lips until they bled.

 

His class was [Magic Gunner].

 

It was a ranged dealer that created and fired bullets with mana, but this class had a fatal structural flaw.

 

That was the fact that it had a much higher equipment dependency than other classes.

 

‘If I had been unlucky enough not to farm even this basic magic gun… the progression itself would have been impossible.’

 

In fact, this characteristic of the Magic Gunner class had worked very favorably for Kangmin-woo until entering this dungeon.

 

High equipment dependency meant that the performance when wearing good equipment was also much better compared to other classes.

 

And for him, being the third grandson of the mighty ‘Seikwang Group’, ‘good equipment’ was… an element that could provide incomparable advantage over anyone else.

 

‘Setting up this kind of mission from the start? When they clearly know I’m a Magic Gunner?’

 

So now that all these advantages had been stripped away.

 

Kangmin-woo was essentially no different from any ordinary level 40 Hunter.

 

And Hunters of that level… naturally didn’t have the capability to apply to 【Hunters School】.

 

[In 30 seconds, a severe blizzard will approach.]

 

[Everyone evacuate to the Underground City (Central Area).]

 

So when the first phase was ending, it was perhaps too natural that Kangmin-woo only had thirty Heat Beads.

 

And when the severe cold arrived.

 

[The ‘Ice Age’ of ‘Frozen Seoul’ has begun.]

 

[The ‘Ice Age’ will last for 60 minutes.]

 

The crisis of mission failure immediately befalling Kangmin-woo could also be said to be too natural.

 

‘I absolutely can’t give up like this. I need to find some way.’

 

Actually, as the host had said, there were no eliminations in this first mission.

 

So if he could recover his ranking in the next mission where he could use equipment normally.

 

It would be a system where making a comeback was entirely possible.

 

But the problem was…

 

For Kangmin-woo right now, a low ranking result in any mission would be unacceptable.

 

‘Grandfather… would never tolerate it.’

 

The only being in this world he feared… and the one he wanted recognition from more than anyone else.

 

His grandfather.

 

To get this single opportunity, what kind of promise had he made before that grandfather?

 

“I will prove it, Grandfather.”

 

“Absolute victory. I know well that anything less is meaningless.”

 

But after saying that… to receive a D or F grade evaluation for failing to even reach average in the first mission?

 

Suddenly Kangmin-woo’s legs began trembling.

 

If he went out like this, embarrassment wouldn’t be the problem – he might actually get beaten to death.

 

He might be forced to withdraw midway without even a chance to restore his honor.

 

What about the contract signed with the production team?

 

‘Contract or whatever, Grandfather will just tear it up.’

 

So Kangmin-woo’s feelings right now were beyond desperate – they were tragic.

 

He could already picture his brothers who would mock him when that situation came… appearing before his eyes.

 

[You have used the ‘Heat Bead’ item.]

 

[Body temperature recovers by 0.1°C.]

 

[You have used the ‘Heat Bead’ item.]

 

[Body temperature recovers by 0.1°C…]

 

…Omitted…

 

[Participant ‘Kangmin-woo’ currently possesses Heat Beads: 25]

 

Though it was hard to know precisely, by feel Kangmin-woo could endure for about 5 more minutes at most.

 

So he had to come up with something within that time.

 

[You have boarded ‘Subway Line 4’.]

 

[You will move to the ‘Underground City’ shortly.]

 

So through the Jamsil Station underground passage he had entered recklessly, Kangmin-woo boarded the freight car.

 

‘Please.’

 

He couldn’t know exactly what would happen in this ‘Underground City’.

 

But with just the single thought that he had to go in and do something.

 

Clatter-

 

Screech-

 

So when Kangmin-woo arrived at the underground city and discovered someone.

 

His eyes flashing with killing intent was too natural a progression.

 

‘Another participant!’

 

He remembered the next rule of 【Frozen Seoul】 precisely.

 

* When ‘participants’ are eliminated, you can obtain the [Heat Beads] they possessed.

 

There would be no easier way to extend his life than succeeding at PK here.

 

‘Anyway, PK is also one of the rules…!’

 

The participant Kangmin-woo discovered was even two people, and they hadn’t noticed him yet.

 

Click-!

 

So if he utilized sniping, the specialty of the Magic Gunner class.

 

Surely an opportunity for reversal would be created here.

 

With that thought, Kangmin-woo aimed at the male participant first with trembling hands.

 

‘Good… I absolutely have to hit in one shot.’

 

But the very next moment after thinking that.

 

Thud-

 

Suddenly some unfamiliar stuffed doll dropped at his feet with a thud.

 

– Ugh… Bani is annoyed.

 

– Bani wants to sleep here…

 

Then with eerie sounds that even felt bizarre, suddenly his strength drained away.

 

[You have been exposed to the ‘Absolute Sloth’ status ailment.]

 

[Movement speed and attack speed decrease by 40%.]

 

Attack speed reduction was quite critical for snipers in certain situations.

 

Sniping-type attack skills themselves consumed considerable pre-delay.

 

The slower the attack speed became… the longer that delay would also become.

 

“…!”

 

So the very moment Kangmin-woo pulled the trigger.

 

Tang-

 

With a sharp metallic sound, the muzzle twisted…

 

Clang-!

 

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it was because of this momentary debuff.

 

If the delay hadn’t suddenly increased drastically.

 

That heavy steel pipe wouldn’t have flown over before Kangmin-woo’s bullet could fire properly.

 

“Kugh…!”

 

So when a cold woman’s voice pierced his ears.

 

“Obviously… you were prepared for elimination when you did that, right?”

 

Kangmin-woo instinctively knew this was the end.

 

Since he had aimed his gun first, he didn’t even have justification on his side.

 

Should he at least try a final desperate struggle?

 

The moment he dropped his gun to the ground, such a thing became impossible.

 

“Kill me. Obviously I won’t hold any resentment.”

 

But when the man’s voice that followed was heard.

 

“Wait, Sohee.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Hold on.”

 

Kangmin-woo’s nearly extinguished spark of hope was surprisingly rekindled.

 

“Kangmin-woo… sir.”

 

“…?”

 

“You have exactly one way to survive here.”

 

“What?”

 

“Are you interested in hearing it?”

 

* * *

 

Jeongmin Lee thought the ‘brazier’ system that appeared from Phase 2 was like the flower of this entrance mission’s gimmicks.

 

It had an interesting structure that could naturally group participants who had been focused on individual play until Phase 1 into 3-person parties, while encouraging various conflict narratives.

 

“But PD.”

 

“Yes, TL.”

 

“I understand that brazier efficiency drops sharply with 3 or more people, but couldn’t someone selfish and strong just use a brazier alone? After all, ‘supply boxes’ come in if you hold out at the brazier.”

 

To the technology team leader’s question as he watched the screen with interest, Jeongmin shook his head and answered.

 

“Absolutely not, team leader. The structure doesn’t reduce the number of orbs needed for the brazier just because there are fewer people.”

 

“Ah…?”

 

Jeongmin curled up the corners of his mouth and continued speaking.

 

“Moreover, the moment fire enters the brazier, field monsters start getting aggro drawn to it… So defending a brazier alone would be quite difficult.”

 

“I understand.”

 

“Team leader, you’ve done recreation activities at retreats when you were young, right?”

 

“Uh… probably?”

 

“You know that group game that regularly appears at those times.”

 

“Ah, the partner matching game?”

 

“Right. You can think of it similarly to that game where you spin around and get eliminated if you can’t form pairs according to the number the host presents.”

 

The planning intention of Phase 2 itself was simple.

 

It was to see how well participants with no prior relationships could quickly form parties and display decent teamwork against monsters rushing toward the braziers.

 

“Team luck would be quite important too.”

 

“Right?”

 

Moreover, as time passed, the dopamine from this system would come alive more and more…

 

The reason was in the 5-minute interval gimmick.

 

“Wow, then it’ll be worth watching when the number of braziers starts decreasing.”

 

“I’m looking forward to that too.”

 

“Starting 20 minutes into Phase 2… 3 random braziers go out every 5 minutes, right?”

 

“Right. The initial 30 small braziers will have only 12 remaining after exactly 50 minutes.”

 

Even players who were relieved after completing 3-person parties would face situations where they had to steal other teams’ braziers or defend their own as time passed.

 

This was where the real conflict phase began.

 

During participant PVP processes, some teams would lose team members, and some team members would betray their teams.

 

The production team expected at least 40% of players to be eliminated during this process.

 

“So it’ll be fun to watch, hehe.”

 

“Hearing about it definitely makes it more exciting, PD.”

 

Jeongmin’s eyes sparkled pleasantly as he stared at the monitor.

 

The monitor he was watching was naturally Seong-hwan Lee and Hajun Park’s.

 

“In that sense, the most fortunate part is that the probability of these two monsters being on the same team has been eliminated.”

 

“Haha.”

 

“Seong-hwan Lee has already formed his complete party.”

 

Now that all the most concerning points from a planner’s perspective had been safely passed, Jeongmin Lee felt a bit more at ease.

 

So Jeongmin Lee set up the third monitor that had been left alone for the first time.

 

“TL, could you bring up participant 99’s screen here?”

 

“Number 99 would be…”

 

“It’s probably participant ‘Geon-ryul Lee’.”

 

Now that the tension had eased a bit…

 

He instinctively became curious about what his friend was doing right now.

 

‘I hope he hasn’t been eliminated already.’

 

Beep-!

 

But the next moment.

 

‘Huh?’

 

Jeongmin Lee had to show a considerably flustered expression upon seeing the scene that appeared on screen.

 

First, his friend, whom he had hoped would at least not be among the 7 already eliminated…

 

Was occupying a brazier in such pristine condition and at such an early time, which was itself surprising.

 

‘What… exactly is this situation?’

 

Moreover, the lineup of the other two players partying with him was too spectacular(?) in every sense.

 

‘Chloe Kang and Kangmin-woo? How is he with such big shots?’

 

Two of the ten participants the production team was keeping a close eye on were Geon-ryul Lee’s party members.

 

“There’s already a team that found a brazier besides Seong-hwan Lee’s?”

 

So he was being surprised when…

 

Buzz-!

 

Just then, a message from PD Jang Seyeon arrived on Jeongmin Lee’s smartphone.

 

-Hey, Jeongmin Lee. Where did you pick up this kind of talent?

 

Excuse me??

 

-Participant Geon-ryul Lee, didn’t you say he was your acquaintance?

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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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