Chapter 9: still living
21
Smoke poured from Lathy’s nose and mouth as she sat in the stolen computer chair.
When Kim Bingkwon turned on the air conditioner, the smoke drifted out the open window.
[BlackHound-Live / 106 viewers]
— Wolf ㅇ
— Let’s go~ Let’s go~ Let’s go~ Let’s go~ Let’s go~ Let’s go~
— Hello 1st, hello 2nd, hello 3rd, …
In the castle, she had enthralled 10,000 viewers.
Now, only a hundredth of that remained, and they didn’t all obey her.
This stemmed from her lack of worshippers.
To make the world her lifelong slaves, she needed more power.
As Lathy pondered, viewers from IcePunch’s channel noticed the background.
— Isn’t this Bing-sht’s room? Lol
— Volunteer work? Haha
— -bing-
— Friend Bee probably paid for the PC.
Lathy, done thinking, stubbed out her cigarette and muttered at the screen.
Her sharp eyes twitched slightly, but she got a response.
“How are you all?”
— I’m dying, Wolf!
— Broth gives high praise!
“Enough nonsense. Thanks to your donations, Bingshin Kwon saved me. Applause for Bingshin Kwon.”
Lathy clapped, glancing at Kim Bingkwon, who stood to the side.
“Not Bingshin Kwon!”
— Bingshin-geon, eunyureug~
— Your whining’s extra annoying today.
— That familiar Bingjin Kwon stench…
No point hiding; they knew it was his room.
Kim Bingkwon poked his head into the frame.
Though viewers teased him, many praised his bold rescue.
— Good job, punk!
— Bet you were the first to barge in there, lol.
— Already hyped for the next stream’s numbers!
— No stream today?
“I said I couldn’t prep content because I was saving her, so deal with me today.”
“Fine, I’ll just watch from the side…”
With Lathy not smoking, Kim Bingkwon could stay nearby, peeking into the camera’s right corner.
Then came a flood of mocking chatter.
— Heuheuung…
— Honestly, Wolf’s enough.
— Tell Bing-kwon to get his head off the screen!
— Wolf… Wolf… Wolf… Wolf… Wolf… Wolf…
— Bing-kwon, get out! Get out, you bastard!
“Shut up and hold your breath, or I’ll smoke for four hours straight.”
— Hap
— Hup
“Good, you’re listening. Now, what’s today’s plan…”
She didn’t light another cigarette to amplify her lethargy, boredom, and listlessness.
For the upcoming content, she needed a clear head.
“Make BlackHound laugh.”
Normally, a cam girl would add flair like “Tta!” or “Right away~.”
But Lathy’s words were dry throughout.
— Not funny anymore…
— You serious?
— Two days, and no one’s seen you laugh.
— Depends on the prize.
Lathy raised an eyebrow and continued.
“Anything goes. Videos, music, stories—post them on the Dreamland BlackHound channel’s bulletin board. As for the prize…”
Without smoking, her mind stalled.
Overwhelmed by mental chaos, she left the decision to the viewers.
“You decide. Whatever you agree on. If I don’t like it, we scrap it.”
— Really?
— We’re doing this?
— This is gonna be huge, lol!
— You’re giving us this?
— Your Majesty’s mercy… This is rare!
Thus began the viewer vote.
A streaming add-on automatically tallied chat suggestions.
[1st – Curse at us]
[2nd – Double curse at us]
[3rd – Double curse while stepping on Bing-sht]
Moments later, the results were in, but the top three were practically identical, differing only in details.
Kim Bingkwon rushed to the screen.
“Hey, you bastards, what’s with number three?”
The third option was his fault, a result of constantly flaunting his taste in women on stream.
— You’d love it, right? Love it, right? Love it, right?
— Want an ecstatic time? Ecstatic time? Ecstatic time?
— Lololololol
— Own it, Bing-sht!!
— Wolf, please, number three… Heung…
— It’s scummy to want it and dodge it.
Lathy, scanning the rest of the list, chimed in.
“Number three it is.”
It wasn’t a request—it was a command.
She turned to Kim Bingkwon, asking,
“Deal?”
“…Uh…”
His eyes wavered, unsure how to process this.
“Number three.”
Three chances to agree, no more.
Beyond that, Kim Bingkwon risked facing that indescribable, amorphous nightmare again.
Not wanting to encounter it, he reluctantly agreed.
“Yes, ma’am.”
— Lololololololol
— That’s it!
— Never seen a prize like this!
— Bing-sht just lucked out, haha!
“And…”
Lathy smiled with sleepy eyes.
Giving viewers prize control was a setup for this moment.
“There’s a special prize for the final winner.”
— ?
— What else?
— What is it?
“A guest invite to meet BlackHound in person.”
The 100-person chat exploded instantly.
— Muya~ho Muya~ho Muya~ho Muya~ho!
— Can’t miss first place!
— Move! It’s mine! Move! It’s mine! Move! It’s mine!
— How do I resist this, haha!
Thus began the showdown: viewers versus Lathy, with double curses, stepping on Kim Bingkwon, and a BlackHound guest invite at stake.
22
An hour into “Make BlackHound Laugh,” no one had succeeded.
Kim Bingkwon, watching from behind, felt his heart burn.
A chance to be stepped on by his “nuna,” yet the viewers kept flopping.
Despite endless LV 999 laugh-resistant videos and memes, Lathy remained unmoved.
[BlackHound-Live / 177 viewers]
— Look at Bing-sht stressing he won’t get stepped on, lol!
— Someone make her laugh already…
— Wolf, I’m dying of boredom… Dying of boredom…
Lathy didn’t laugh.
Unable to stand it, she pulled another cigarette from her jacket.
As the toxic smoke drifted toward Kim Bingkwon, he slipped out of frame.
“Your level’s pretty clear.”
— Not our fault!
— For real, lol!
— She won’t laugh, what do we do?!
— Having a horrible time… Horrible time…
“Pff… snort…”
Shockingly, Lathy laughed at the next post.
Kim Bingkwon, heading out to escape the smoke, froze at the sound.
He stared at the screen, stunned.
It was an outdated dad joke: “When Mom’s not home? Marbly.”
“This is funny?” he muttered, incredulous.
Lathy, face alight with glee, sprang up, kicked Kim Bingkwon’s butt, toppling him, and shouted,
“Urk?!”
“You win! Congrats, here’s your guest invite!”
— ???????????
— ???
— Wolf’s lost it?
— Wolf’s crazy?
— Why this?!
A barrage of question marks erupted, but Lathy ignored them, leaning slightly and unleashing dry curses.
“Here’s your double curse, you shitty bastards. So just move on.”
— ㅗㅜㅑ ㅗㅜㅑ
— Wolf, heung… Wolf, heung… Wolf, heung…
— This is a streaming genius? Streaming genius? Streaming genius?
— Truly Your Majesty.
The crowd cheered, and Kim Bingkwon, unseen on-screen, rejoiced—still under Lathy’s foot.
“Winner, leave your number in a private board post.”
— Damn, I missed it, lol!
— BlackHound: Controversy / Sht-tier laugh.
— This went way too far, lol!
“Accept it, you lot. This is BlackHound.”
She was right.
No matter the viewers’ varied thoughts about Lathy, they’d eventually unite under one will.
This was their only chance to enjoy the stream with unaligned wills.
23
— …R’lyeh awakens. The crawling chaos seeks R’lyeh. R’lyeh awakens. The crawling chaos seeks R’lyeh…
Worse than repetitive noise, a tormenting thought plagued Shin Ha-jun.
A piercing alarm greeted him daily.
[—Ding. Good morning. Dingdingding. Oppappappa ppappa ppappappa, good evening. Ppappappa oppappappa ppappappa good morning. Ppappappa oppappappa ppappana.]
This dreadful alarm, created by a defunct smartphone maker, remained effective for waking up a century later.
He tried other alarms, suspecting it fueled the thoughts, but nothing changed.
“R’lyeh… Chaos… Damn it…”
For five years, Shin Ha-jun suffered the same thoughts.
A soft, calm voice reciting words, repeated for nearly 2,000 days.
No one could stay sane.
R’lyeh.
A mythical island where an unknown, octopus-like evil god slumbered, its location detailed on wikis.
But going there was suicide.
The vast, contaminated Pacific, untamed by humans unable to walk on water, had been polluted for decades.
Marine life, corrupted by VE, had become Nemeses.
Shin Ha-jun was a warrior, a dreamer, a story-finisher.
Yet even he couldn’t clear the mint-colored mist eroding human safe zones.
Surviving Void Mist’s poison while fighting Nemeses to reach the ocean’s Point of Inaccessibility?
Impossible.
So, he ignored the ancient god’s thoughts, casting aside R’lyeh and crawling chaos to enjoy life with his given power.
Ten minutes in a state-of-the-art shower-dryer, he emerged naked and grabbed his phone.
[Nadis]
> Sir, the investigation into the black dog is complete! (๑•̀ω•́)۶
> He recently became a protected person, and Delta-class hero ‘Ice Punch’ registered as his guardian.
> Check this file for details! → ▰ File
> He visited the Younghyup Aviation Research Center for a VE test, no abnormalities!
> He’s living with Ice Punch.
> That’s it! (･ัω･ั)7
Shin Ha-jun tapped the file.
Lathy Teparon’s info appeared.
[Lathy Teparon]
— Age/Gender: 20/Female
— Height/Weight: 162cm/49kg
— Status: Protected Person (Class A)
— Mana Test: Unconfirmed
— Void Energy Test: Negative
— Guardian: Kim Bing-kwon (Ice Punch)
The Class A rank stood out.
Among six ranks, Class A, the highest for guardian assignment, required two conditions:
1. Being alone after losing family to Void Energy, villains, or Nemeses.
2. High potential for supernatural development.
It takes 15 days to verify Class A eligibility… and she got it in one?
Absurd. Even with the Hero Association’s corruption, this was unheard of.
A woman rescued from Incheon Airport’s monster room by Ice Punch, instantly Class A?
Unacceptable.
Shin Ha-jun suspected Lathy used mind control for the A-rank.
No mana test either…
Her info screamed suspicion.
He’d have to verify it himself.
[Shin Ha-jun / Abilities]
— Warrior’s Mantra (-), Text Hypnosis (A), Deep in Eye (A), Dreamer’s Resolve (A), Master of Stories (A) (Only 5 displayed)
Deep in Eye: He sees others’ thoughts in their pupils during eye contact.
If they lie to his question, they must obey one command.
This ability let him read everyone’s true feelings.
Lathy Teparon, who even swayed someone ruined by his Warrior’s Mantra, intrigued the bored warrior Shin Ha-jun.
He wanted to unmask her quickly.
If she was a villain hiding evil plans, he’d eliminate her to protect his peaceful life.
If not?
[Warrior’s Mantra (-)]
— You are the chosen warrior of this world.
— All personalities admire you.
— Designate three as ‘companions’ (1/3).
— Designate one woman as the world’s ‘main heroine’ (Vacant).
She’d be a candidate for his empty heroine slot.
*