The Rice-Eating Hero’s Capitalist Streaming - Chapter 74

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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 74

 

Constellation’s Game [Lyka]

 

Nearly three hours had passed since filming began.

 

This meant that Phase 3 of <Frozen Seoul> was coming to an end.

 

And Jeongmin Lee, watching this scene from the monitoring room, wore an extremely satisfied expression.

 

The structure of Phase 3 had developed into a more intense battle than expected, and at the final moment, even the matchup he had been secretly hoping for had come to fruition.

 

That was… the situation where the biggest players from both black and white teams were facing off in the heart of the ‘Last Stronghold’.

 

‘Park Hajun, was it? He’s truly an incredible guy.’

 

Actually, when the structure of Phase 3 was first established, Jeongmin had thought it was quite disappointing.

 

To capture good footage angles, naturally the balance between the black and white teams needed to be appropriately matched…

 

But even at a glance, the balance had tilted too heavily toward the white team.

 

Seven of the participants that the production team ranked in the top ten had all gathered at the White Furnace.

 

“Wow, Seong-hwan Lee and Kwon Yuna, Park Jinwoo and Inwook Jeon are on the same team?”

 

So at first, he thought the Black Furnace would collapse before Phase 3 even ended, and Jeongmin found that too disappointing.

 

But when it actually unfolded, that wasn’t the case.

 

Even at this point with only 5 minutes left in Phase 3, both furnaces were still burning brightly.

 

And the monster who created this entire situation was… the production team’s hidden card, Park Hajun.

 

‘Could he really end up beating even Seong-hwan Lee?’

 

In fact, the participants defending the Black Furnace were at their limit.

 

Compared to the White Furnace which still had some leeway, the furnace’s durability was down to only 1/3, and about half the personnel were in a state of serious injury.

 

So it should have been a situation where the White Furnace would ultimately win, but suddenly Park Hajun took unexpected action.

 

He made a deal with some stragglers hiding among the monster horde, then abandoned the furnace and broke out with several players.

 

[Participant ‘Park Hajun’ has left the ‘Black Furnace’.]

 

[Participant ‘Jisang Yu’ has left the ‘Black Furnace’.]

 

[Participant ‘Sohyeon Yang’ has left the ‘Black Furnace’.]

 

The positions they left were filled by stragglers, and the three who had voluntarily become stragglers moved toward the White Furnace.

 

Their purpose was destruction.

 

Naturally, their target was the White Furnace.

 

That was the only way for the Black Furnace players to survive.

 

“Over there! It’s the Black Team participants!”

 

“Damn…! We were so close to finishing!”

 

“Park Hajun? That guy was incredible.”

 

“Don’t worry, we should be able to block them sufficiently.”

 

And from Jeongmin’s perspective, having planned this entire structure, this situation was extremely interesting.

 

‘It’s really a smart choice.’

 

Stragglers don’t receive the furnace’s body temperature maintenance effect, but in return, they don’t get preemptively attacked by monsters.

 

So if top-tier players among the participants made deals with stragglers like this to attack the opposing camp.

 

It was enough to completely upset the balance of power.

 

After all, the ‘straggler’ system and the hidden rule of ‘sabotage agents’ were designed to create exactly this kind of situation.

 

‘If it were the early stages when the monster waves were weak, it would be impossible… but now it’s wave 14.’

 

No matter how overwhelming the specs of the White Furnace participants were…

 

They couldn’t afford to be relaxed while facing monster waves reaching level 50.

 

But if a top-tier participant like Park Hajun joined as an enemy in this situation?

 

Even Seong-hwan Lee couldn’t guarantee the outcome.

 

It was truly impossible to know how the results would turn out.

 

So even just this much was endlessly thrilling… but the butterfly effect didn’t even end there.

 

‘If the match doesn’t conclude within 5 minutes and this structure continues into Phase 4… it could really become the best scenario.’

 

The highlight of this <Frozen Seoul> dungeon, and the phase that all production staff were most anticipating – the final Ice Age Phase 4.

 

They would even get to see the hidden gimmick designed to activate only when both furnaces were preserved.

 

“But Producer Jeongmin.”

 

“Yes, TL.”

 

“What was your reason for specifically designing that final gimmick to appear only when both furnaces are fully preserved? If we can’t activate it, it’ll just be a waste of resources.”

 

To the technical director’s question, Jeongmin smiled and immediately answered.

 

“Because I couldn’t be certain of the participants’ capabilities.”

 

“Huh? What do you mean…?”

 

“If the participants get swept away too easily by the final elite wave, nothing would be more anticlimactic, right?”

 

“Ah…?”

 

“If both furnaces aren’t capable of surviving until wave 15, I thought this hidden monster wave shouldn’t appear. To endure this wave even a little… the participants’ abilities are important, and the remaining personnel count is quite important too.”

 

“If the hidden wave starts when participants are in no condition to face it… it would have the opposite effect?”

 

“Exactly.”

 

“I understand completely.”

 

In any case, thanks to Park Hajun’s performance, Jeongmin could now anticipate the best scenario he had designed.

 

The fierce competition for survival between the White Furnace and Black Furnace.

 

At the end of that… the desperately difficult elite monster wave that would appear with the final Ice Age.

 

The moment this wave begins, the two furnaces merge into one massive furnace.

 

All players who survive until then become one team to block the final monster wave.

 

Competition and conflict.

 

At the end of that, the arrival of great unity.

 

It might seem grandiose for an entrance mission, but it could be said to be a structure where the narrative of <Frozen Seoul> would be perfectly completed.

 

‘Well, if this happens, not a single participant will survive the entrance mission… hehe.’

 

He even loved the fact that it had become difficult for any survivors to emerge from the first mission.

 

This way, not a single participant could take the mission victory reward ‘Badge of Honor’, and the production team could save that much budget.

 

Though not yet revealed to participants, this Badge of Honor was essentially currency equivalent to LP.

 

Participants could collect Badges of Honor to purchase items from the production team before the ‘mid-term evaluation’ event, and naturally, the more badges they had, the better items they could buy.

 

All of that would be absorbed into production costs.

 

‘The participants’ capabilities were so good that it would have been troublesome if more than 10 survived…’

 

While Jeongmin was having such thoughts, a full-scale battle between participants was unfolding at the White Furnace.

 

Bang- Crash-!

 

Park Hajun, who had naturally blended into the monster wave, was now charging at Seong-hwan Lee who stood blocking his path, like a wild beast.

 

“Wow… this is incredible.”

 

“Both of them are pretty fierce.”

 

And the more intense the battle between these two became…

 

It was only natural that the production staff’s smiles stretched from ear to ear.

 

“Man, with this much today… the editing team is going to have a blast working.”

 

Therefore, at this moment.

 

Almost all production staff were as deeply immersed in the battle unfolding at this ‘Last Stronghold’ as the audience.

 

So at this point, the fact that Jeongmin had momentarily forgotten about his friend’s whereabouts…

 

Couldn’t really be called his mistake.

 

* * *

 

Clang- Crash-!

 

Even while blocking the monsters charging at him, Choi Minseok’s gaze was directed elsewhere.

 

‘How… can someone be this strong?’

 

Where Choi Minseok’s gaze was directed was the battlefield where Seong-hwan Lee and Park Hajun were fighting.

 

Besides Park Hajun, two other participants had come to attack the White Furnace.

 

But their attacks were being blocked without much difficulty by other players.

 

However, that man who was driving Seong-hwan Lee like a wild beast.

 

Park Hajun.

 

This person was at a level that would be absolutely impossible to face unless you were Seong-hwan Lee.

 

‘Honestly, I thought there wouldn’t be any participants at this level besides Seong-hwan Lee…’

 

In fact, even Kwon Yuna, the mage who had been a fellow party member, was objectively a player one level above Choi Minseok.

 

However, even that level was something Choi Minseok could reasonably aspire to reach, and so his original thought had been that with more effort and dedication, he might be able to at least step on Seong-hwan Lee’s shadow.

 

But now, watching Seong-hwan Lee going all out against Hajun Park… he felt like he was facing a massive wall.

 

When Hajun Park first appeared in front of the fireplace.

 

It hit him even harder because he himself, Choi Minseok, had been the first person to try blocking that attack.

 

‘I never dreamed that a single ordinary charge attack, not even a skill… would make me dizzy.’

 

If Seong-hwan Lee hadn’t been there.

 

The White Furnace might have been destroyed by that single participant named Hajun Park.

 

So honestly, Seong-hwan Lee and Hajun Park seemed to be outside the normal specifications even among the participants of <Hunters School 3>.

 

It was somewhat deflating…

 

But rather, acknowledging it that way seemed to make Choi Minseok feel a bit more at ease.

 

‘Now that it’s come to this… talking about being first in the mission feels pretty embarrassing.’

 

Watching the battle between two people who wouldn’t give even an inch, Choi Minseok became increasingly curious about who would win.

 

And that was probably… not just Choi Minseok’s thought alone.

 

Perhaps that was the greatest concern of all the participants on this battlefield right now.

 

“Did you say your name was Hajun Park?”

 

“That’s right.”

 

“You have considerable skill. I learned a lot today.”

 

“…”

 

“Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m going to back down.”

 

However, that curiosity of many participants including Choi Minseok couldn’t be resolved right here and now.

 

Ding-!

 

[In 60 seconds, a bitter cold blizzard approaches.]

 

[※Warning! Too much heat still remains in the ‘Last Stronghold’!]

 

[Before the ‘Ice Age’ begins, if neither the Black Furnace nor the White Furnace is destroyed, the ‘Winter General’s’ minions will awaken from their deep slumber!]

 

“What’s this?”

 

“Winter General?”

 

“That… if I remember correctly, that was a boss monster’s name?”

 

In the end, before the 3rd phase ended, the match between Seong-hwan Lee and Hajun Park wasn’t concluded…

 

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

 

[Neither the Black Furnace nor the White Furnace has been destroyed.]

 

[The heat from the Black Furnace and White Furnace is being integrated into one massive ‘Last Furnace’.]

 

[All players who have survived so far will receive all effects of the ‘Last Furnace’ while staying within the ‘Last Stronghold’.]

 

[All players receiving the ‘Last Furnace’ effect will automatically consume 1 ‘Heat Bead’ every 10 seconds.]

 

…Omitted…

 

[Due to the generation of excessive heat, the ‘Winter’s Master’ opens its eyes.]

 

[Winter General’s minions have awakened underground.]

 

[‘Elite Monster Wave’ begins.]

 

And so the final Ice Age phase, a joint combat phase for all players, had begun.

—————
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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