Chapter 3: Be my ice punch

5

It felt like little girls playing house with their doll friends.
Everything in the broadcast was under my control.
Our eyes and brains often lie, but this wasn’t a dream or an illusion.
A broadcast where everything I said came true.
That was only possible because I was Lathy Teparon.

“Try writing a relay novel.”

[BlackHound / Live – 28 viewers]
— An unprecedented disease, TSVID, has appeared on Earth.
— Choi Sihyeon, the HR manager, has contracted the disease.
…

Due to Lathy’s power, viewers who entered the broadcast and heard my voice became perfect puppets.
However, supernatural beings like IcePunch are somewhat free from this power’s influence.
Unlike ordinary people diligently writing relay novels, they possess a concept called “resistance.”
When the broadcast is turned off, the effect disappears, and viewers return to their daily lives.
And they forget they were controlled by me.
What happened with me remains in their memories as a natural phenomenon, without the slightest sense of awkwardness.

If I had accepted IcePunch’s offer and appeared on his show yesterday, I could have achieved explosive growth in a short time.
However, for now, going out was impossible.
My most pressing need was to get Father’s permission to leave, so I had to slowly grow my channel, even if it was like this.

While my head was set on making a fun show, I kept wanting to do something inexplicably bizarre.
That indescribable researcher’s desire to play with humans.
This kept painting chaotic ripples in my mind.
Even receiving donations didn’t bring joy, and the feeling of desecration I felt whenever I tried to devise ordinary broadcast content was proof of this.

In this isolated space, surrounded by white walls with no light, the only source of illumination was a single computer monitor.
Sitting in my chair, melting into the darkness, I recall the moment I fell from the rooftop and met my savior.
The illusion of being in a vast, billowing cloud engulfed my body, and I could almost hear the eerie drum and flute sounds from back then.

As expected, these complex thoughts wouldn’t go away unless I smoked the black cigarettes Father gave me.
That was the only way to calm Lathy Teparon’s body.
But I couldn’t smoke cigarettes 365 days a year, so I needed to adapt to Lathy’s dizzying thoughts.

I accepted the encroaching weariness with my whole body and gave an order to the onlookers.
I had to play a prank to relieve the boredom.

“From now on, you all eat mint chocolate every day.”

If I remember correctly, five years ago, the mint chocolate controversy was still reigniting.
Saying that would surely confuse someone.
Isn’t it baffling to imagine family and friends eating mint chocolate every single day?

6

— Hey, think carefully, this isn’t right.
— Who am I gonna watch if you die, you piece of sht!

IcePunch Kim Bingkwon.
He chose to save BlackHound, even knowing it was dangerous.

“You piece of sht. My precious sidekick, what? She’s trapped in the fog right now!”

— Doesn’t this guy feel it?
— Anyone would think he’s been mind-controlled, lol.
— Mr. Lee, ah!

[Sponsored by ㄴㄴ! (100 D)]

— Hey, take this and don’t go… You’re the only one I watch these days.
— For real, listen to me too.
— Want the worst death? Want the worst death? Want the worst death? Want the worst death? Want the worst death?

Kim Bingkwon wasn’t ignorant of the Chaotic Area’s dangers.
Didn’t they say everyone who enters loses their sense of self and becomes a crazed monster?
There were even rumors of some appearing in the city as hybrids with half-shattered egos.
As someone who makes money streaming and hunting villains, Kim Bingkwon knew this better than anyone, and his viewers knew it too, thanks to his mentions on BlackHound’s stream.

But to think he’d enter the Chaotic Area like this.
He even said he’d find a woman to mess around with.

— Loose woman, loose woman, loose woman, loose woman, loose woman.
— For real, lol, he called her a nobody and now he’s risking his life?
— I’m telling you, it’s a trap…
— Bet you anything, there’s nothing at those coordinates, lol.

— Don’t gooooo!

Kim Bingkwon advanced slowly toward the thick, heavy fog.
He couldn’t quite pinpoint why he needed to save her.
But his body moved on its own.
His mind urged him to get closer to her, to be by her side no matter what.

— I can’t watch this…
— Fck, I can’t see sht ahead…

“Aboongis, set up a mission.”

— A mission in this situation?
— Stop screwing around and turn back.

“Let’s bet. If I bring BlackHound out, I win. If I don’t… you win. Call?”

As soon as he said it, a named viewer of IcePunch, now nicknamed RIP, slammed a thousand Dreams into the mission.

[RIP has created a mission!]
[Mission: Bring out BlackHound]
+ 1,000 D

— You fcking better not bring her out.

Fueled by a strong start and a flood of donations, the mission pot skyrocketed past 10,000 Dreams in no time.

[Mission: Bring out BlackHound] – 15,240 D

An astronomical amount, unseen before.
The viewer count had already surpassed 8,000.
New viewers, drawn by the buzz, were cheering—or rather, egging on—IcePunch’s insane stunt.

Everyone watching knew.
As long as it’s entertaining, thrilling, and juicy, that’s enough.
The only ones genuinely worried about IcePunch were the old-timers who’d watched him since he took down his first villain.

“Sht…”

Seeing the amassed amount, Kim Bingkwon turned from the camera, his body trembling as if moved.

“Now I have no choice but to come back alive… you fcking bstards…”

His shoulders shook a few times, as if pretending to cry, before he slowly secured the camera to one side of his filming bag.

“From now on, you’ll only hear my voice. Brace yourselves.”

— Argh, I can’t watch…
— I’m out…
— Lol, hurry up and go in, how long you gonna drag this out?
— For real, stop stalling and go already.
— Newbies crossing the line.

After fixing the camera, Kim Bingkwon pulled a small can from his bag’s side pocket and popped the lid.
Printed in bold, rugged font on the can was “Anti-Void.”

As he opened it, a blinding light, like a flashbang, briefly enveloped his surroundings.
Just as you’d wear a hazmat suit in a radioactive zone, Anti-Void Water was a must for entering the Chaotic Area.

“Alright. You all got spare panties ready? You know there’s a ton of Nemeses in there, right?”

— Ugh, I hate those things even from news clips.
— Honestly, my little sister feels like a Nemesis sometimes.
— LOL, fck.

As vomiting emojis flooded the chat, IcePunch silently vanished into the fog.

A suffocating fog where you could barely see a meter ahead.
The high Void energy concentration made breathing difficult.
Even with Anti-Void Water, there were limits.

For Kim Bingkwon, with zero Void adaptation, this was already a blessing.

[Kim Bingkwon / Abilities]
— Skadi’s Strike (A), Winter Skin (B), Light Steps (C), 「NEW!」 Void Walker (E), SP (59/60)

Thankfully, an ability boosting resistance to Void energy, Void Walker, had naturally awakened in this harsh environment.
Though its low level didn’t make a huge difference, it still let him move faster than if he had no resistance at all.

— Yo, how far have you gone?
— No landmarks, it’s driving me nuts, lol.

Some viewers roughly calculated his steps to estimate his position.

His destination was Incheon International Airport’s Terminal 1, once South Korea’s largest aviation hub, 40 km from his starting point.
Thanks to Light Steps, he couldn’t match a car’s speed but could manage half of it.
Since he only needed to follow one highway to the end, there was no worry of getting lost.

— Yo, you’re already halfway there.
— Youngjong Bridge is next, Bingkwon!

“Oh, already?”

He’d made better time than expected.
Checking old map data, he’d estimated about two hours, but at this pace, he might arrive in one.

— Staring at fog for 30 minutes is creepy as hell, go faster, you bstard.
— For real… It’s not even night, and I’m about to piss myself.
— Only one sitting on the toilet here?
— Sleeping with Mom tonight, lol.

“You whiners. I’m the one dying out here.”

But something felt off.
According to TriadWiki, there’s supposed to be at least one Nemesis every kilometer in the Chaotic Area.
Yet, after nearly 20 km, Kim Bingkwon hadn’t encountered a single one.
The only obstacles were rusted, overturned old cars scattered about.

‘This might be a good thing… Let’s grab her and get out fast…!’

A bit further, and he finally reached the halfway point, Youngjong Bridge.
The fog was so thick he only noticed the gentle slope of the bridge’s pillars when he was right on it.

— It’s the bridge!!
— Holy sht, halfway there!
— Yo, I’ve seen this on NewTube, lol.

[ScaredShtless sponsored! (10 D)]
— (Voice clip) Silent Hill 8 OST

And then, a malicious viewer’s horror background music played.

“Fck, are you insane? Who plays creepy sht like that?!”

— Big bros, I think I pissed myself.
— Mute that sht.
— Too scary… Too scary… Too scary… Too scary… Too scary…

Kim Bingkwon yanked out his phone and muted the audio.
The now-silent stream calmed the viewers.

— Bingkwon’s the only one for me.
— I was suffocating, lol.
— Horror games were fun, but real-life horror games are fcking terrifying.

“Audio blocked. Who’s the bstard who played that? You’re banned for a week.”

— Paid ban, sweet.
— Mood-killing genius, lol.
— 100% a newbie, lol.

Letting out a long sigh, Kim Bingkwon started running forward again.
The TTS service diligently read out the ongoing chat.

— Yo, you’re deep in the Chaotic Area. Why’s the stream still on?

Did they have to read that one out?

— Uh…
— Mommy 😭😭😭
— Nope, we’re done!
— Fck, lol, I’m losing it, lolololol.

The chat turned to chaos, but Kim Bingkwon couldn’t stop.

‘It’s weird. There’s no way a cell tower’s out here.’

He wondered why the stream hadn’t cut out, but there was no time to dwell on it.
He had to find BlackHound and escape this hellish place as fast as possible.

But as he ran, a wide-open space suddenly appeared before him.
The bridge, where pillars were barely visible, now revealed its grand suspension piers for the first time.

— What?
— Why’s there no Void Mist here?

Both the viewers and Kim Bingkwon, still running, were baffled.
Then, someone sitting in the middle of the open space stood up.
As the figure, hidden among old cars, emerged, the viewers screamed.

— Ew, you bstard!
— Run!!
— Run, you bstard!

“Huh? Huh? Do I run? Is that a Nemesis?!”

It definitely wasn’t a Nemesis.
Even from a distance, the figure was unmistakably human.
But, spurred by the terrified viewers, Kim Bingkwon turned around.
The moment he did, the red-haired girl he’d seen earlier was standing there too.
Startled, he spun 180 degrees, only to see another girl.
Viewers watching the woman through the camera, tracking Kim Bingkwon’s gaze, wailed one after another.

— AAAAAAAAH!
— Sht!
— Bro… My panties aren’t big enough…

After looking back and forth several times, Kim Bingkwon finally spoke, trembling.

“This is really f*cking annoying.”

Everywhere he looked, a red-haired woman stood.