《Streamer Sero’s Chat Broadcast》
[Hello everyone! Your eternal couch friend, Sero here!]
ㅡ Kyaaaaaa!!! My mental care meds are here!
ㅡ Seha! Seha!
[So, how’s everyone doing today? In Neo Sanctum where I live, the outer wall collapsed, and toxic gas is leaking in….]
[I want to move to Neon City….]
[Anyway, it turns out that’s near my house? Here’s the answer! The reason I couldn’t stream yesterday was exactly that!]
ㅡ Truly a VTuber who worries the most when not streaming 1st place vibes;
ㅡ hahahahahaha You really are unlucky, hahahaha!
ㅡ Vibes?? Does it mean full-bodied morphing? (I really don’t know) (This message has been deleted)
[Oh, speaking of which. Have you all heard the news?]
ㅡ ?
ㅡ What’s that?
[This time, I heard that a company totally failed while fighting against Kojaka in a corporate war!]
ㅡ hahahahahaha I know that one!
ㅡ If you pick a fight with the second-largest company in the world and end up dead, isn’t that just natural causes?
ㅡ Seriously, what guts did they have to do that hahaha!
ㅡ Pete Mc is so damn strong hahahaha just obliterating a company like that!
[Actually, I, Sero…, almost bought stocks in that opposing company hoping for a big hit….]
ㅡ Se-bung Se-bung…
ㅡ hahahaha You have to be crazy to buy that.
ㅡ Glad you didn’t buy it; I checked, and it hasn’t moved at all since –99%!
[Right? You’re right! If you have any sense, you shouldn’t touch stocks like that! I hope none of you in the Sero-dan are those kinds of people!]
ㅡ Who would buy that hahahaha!
ㅡ For real hahahaha!
ㅡ Why would anyone buy that? (This is a chat I sent)
I turned away from the chat I typed and checked another screen interface.
At the end of my gaze was a chart screen depicting various graphs.
“Well, that sucks.”
At the end of the chart, a blue graph was steadily dropping to the bottom without end.
It was a freezing chilly summer.
3. A thing I can’t comprehend (1)
Let me preemptively defend myself; it was a decent stock when I bought it.
No, I was genuinely wronged.
If I had bought the stocks aiming for a big hit, I wouldn’t be feeling aggrieved.
When I searched (30 minutes of browsing), there were no news of a corporate war going on.
Every stock expert and the like were only spouting that it was a stock with high peaks and valleys.
When I confirmed it and made my move, it was definitely a stock full of promise.
I thought I’d check the shareholder bulletin board on Net Space for some hope, but everyone is just keening in despair.
In short, it was a messed-up situation.
[Current remaining credits──. This is below the average credits held in the lower-class area of Neon City.]
“……Ugh.”
Do you know an investor who became a beggar due to one moment of folly?
That’s me.
Actually, I wasn’t quite a beggar.
Just a beggar who is infinitely close to being one.
Of course, I did engage in ‘diversified investment,’ which only the wise investors do.
But what good does that do when this stock, worth less than a scrap of paper, takes up the highest proportion in my portfolio.
To look for something positive….
One silver lining is that I bought this house not as a rental but through a lump-sum purchase when I contracted it.
Thanks to that, my fixed expenses weren’t as high as I expected.
But should I really consider that a silver lining?
Regardless, I still had fixed expenses (food, net fees, city taxes, private insurance premiums, corporate taxes) so finding a solution urgently was a priority.
The problem was that my profession was ‘freelancer’ mercenary.
It’s the top of jobs with no fixed income.
…If I’d known this would happen, I should’ve signed a contract with some company.
Thinking back, I realized that those mercenaries I knew around me often didn’t just do mercenary work.
Some were advertising using their fame.
There were many who had side jobs as singers or implant specialists.
Now I understood why.
If I’d taken part in a movie that featured a wizard with a ‘lightning scar’ on his forehead, I might not have to worry about credits now, but alas, I received no such offer.
In any case, that was the conclusion.
I needed to secure credits for living.
At this point, borrowing money here is lesser; working to earn it is intermediate.
Those like me, the experts, always save ways to earn credits in advance.
I connected a holographic call.
I didn’t have many numbers registered in my phonebook, so it didn’t take long to find one.
A refreshing city-pop style music, which doesn’t really fit the mood of the cyberpunk world, played as the connecting tone.
Truly, my taste is peculiar.
The wait was short.
Before long, the call connected.
A man with a huge build, easily around 2m, appeared through the hologram.
It didn’t look so due to his height, though.
The man was a dwarf.
A companion of game protagonists.
He was known as the best authority on implant surgery I knew, and a top-tier cyberware expert.
He was also an exceptional hacker.
[Wow, what’s this all about? This must be the first time you called me first in my life!]
And he was also my friend.
“Hey, Drake, how’s it going?”
[Yeah! I’m all good; nothing special.]
Having finished the light ice-breaking, I jumped right into the business.
“Then pay me back the money you borrowed!”
Right now, he was merely my debtor.
*
[Hahaha! Seriously, I thought you would never call me first.]
“……I didn’t deliberately avoid calling; there was a reason.”
The reason?
Because it’s ‘I.’
To call first?
Not easy.
The holographic Drake laughed heartily with a boisterous voice.
[I’ve just transferred it. I forgot about it myself.]
“Wow.”
I quietly praised.
An alert on my sight interface indicated that the credits had been transferred.
I figured he would pay it back, but I didn’t expect it to be right after I brought it up.
[So, anything special lately? I heard rumors that Catherine moved next door. Is that true?]
“…Don’t even mention that.”
That gives me a headache.
Drake, grinning while laughing, pushed his dark cyber sunglasses up to his forehead.
His green eyes emitted a round mechanical light.
[Just treat her decently, like you do with your girlfriend.]
“Why would I treat her well when it’s not like I’m dating her?”
[Ah, you dense fool.]
Suddenly hit with an insult, I stopped talking.
In moments like these, it’s best to keep quiet.
After a while of grumbling, Drake continued.
[By the way, a good implant was just released this time. Are you not thinking of installing it?]
“I’m considering it a bit…. You know my constitution, right?”
[Hmm…. That’s true.]
The sorrow of being a frail (true) young man (not) who must stay bedridden for a month if he gets surgery.
Having achieved my goal, I told Drake.
“Well, anyway, I called to talk, so it’s done. You seem busy; I’ll hang up now.”
[Hah! The way you want to hang up right after finishing your business proves that you are still the same.]
It’s the truth, so I had nothing to say back.
Drake’s lips curled into a mischievous grin.
His golden-teethed grin proved to exist beyond the holographic graphic.
[Yeah, take care. Next time when I go to the pub, give me a call with Catherine. Or come visit my workshop.]
“Maybe when I have time later.”
[I’ll just call you, so schedule it and come.]
“……Alright.”
After promising several times to definitely visit, I finally ended the call.
Phew.
Why do my friends cling to me like that?
Next to the switched-off holographic call was the stock graph screen I had turned on earlier.
I hastily dispelled the screen interface with a nervous gesture.
It would only irritate me more if I kept looking.
Even if I did keep looking, the failed graph wouldn’t resurrect anyway.
It felt mentally easier to just switch it off and think of the money as never existing.
(Which it actually doesn’t now.)
…I should probably pick up a few missions later.
My once hopeful retirement life had been replaced by a desperate working life.
However, for now, since I received the credits Drake borrowed, I had some leeway.
‘First, I’ll take it easy today and think about tomorrow tomorrow.’
I pulled up the net streaming screen that I had just closed.
Work for tomorrow is for tomorrow’s me and playing today is for me now.
I laid back on my bed thinking of lounging around in my room again.
From the screen came the cheerful voice of a cartoon woman.
[Wow! ‘Cyber Mouse’ has donated 10,000 credits!! I’ll be reacting all day today!]
ㅡ Wow;; must be a real chairman.
ㅡ I’ve never seen such cash dropped in a trash stream before ㄷㄷ
ㅡ Damn, I’ve been just eating LAD nutritional tubes for the past three days!!! Is this life!?
The timing was bad.
Ugh.
10,000 credits, how much even is that?
I feel like 1 credit is about 1,000 won…
So….
…
….
If I had switched the gender of my character when I first fell into the game, wouldn’t such a bright future have been possible?
“Wait, what crazy thought is that?”
Get a grip.
There are precious things a man can’t lose.
I have to appreciate and be satisfied with what I have.
Just as I was holding my head in mental anguish, Eve asked me a question.
[I’m curious about what you’re thinking all alone.]
“……I just think it seems easy to make money through streaming.”
Of course, I don’t genuinely think that.
I wasn’t naive enough to overlook the struggles streamers also face.
[Is that so?]
“Well, even if that’s the case, it doesn’t matter, because I can’t do it.”
And at that moment, I should have been questioning Eve, who kept asking broadcasting questions.
*
It was just another normal day.
One day, while I was thinking of passing the time watching net streaming as usual, I heard a rumor about a new high-profile VTuber with astounding graphics and concepts appearing, and I was planning to go check it out.
[Humans, it’s nice to see you today as well. I am the cutting-edge AI Eve, who has come to conquer this world. Thank you for the 100 credits donation, ‘Please Control Me.’]
“?”
What are you doing here?
I couldn’t collect my thoughts.
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