NOVEL WEB Chapter 102 - Meme
Chapter 102 Meme
* * *
“Welcome! It’s Friday night, just a day before the weekend, and the viewers are already on fire. Their enthusiasm is as intense as the California Gas Storage Facility we’re covering tonight.”
“And just like that, one match has already concluded. The map is relatively small and prone to frequent skirmishes, so a variety of battles occur within the short span of 20 minutes.”
As always, the preliminary ranks had already entered the later stages, and the commentators’ briefings were becoming even more lively than yesterday. This was heightened by the fact that tomorrow was the weekend, drawing in those who couldn’t watch before.
Thus, with a purely Korean audience of 240,000 people, a total of sixteen matches were conducted. This meant that an average of 15,000 people could be crammed into each broadcast room—though there were variations, of course.
Despite opening multiple windows to distribute chat traffic, the constant stream of comments was more akin to a minigun’s ammo feed.
The record-breaking number of simultaneous viewers each year was enough to astonish even the commentators, yet they always fulfilled their duties.
To prove this, they opened a new window and added,
“It’s time to introduce the winner.”
“The winner of this match is… Yoo Jin, it’s Yoo Jin! Once again, she rises above many competitors, hoisting the flag of victory high! Her skill is truly unbelievable every time we see it!”
“The player who constantly surprises us like this is the first we’ve encountered. I think we might be witnessing someone who truly embodies the term ‘Apex Predator’.”
—Yoo Jin, it’s you again!?
—Of course, lololololololololol
—Who keeps assigning matches to Yoo Jin, lol
—Today, she traumatizes strangers once again….
—At least the viewers are entertained, lololol
It had almost become an annual event.
Whenever Yoo Jin had the chance, she usually took first place. Initially, many commentators cheered, but as time passed, their reactions shifted to an expected outcome rather than congratulations.
The one silver lining was that with sixteen sessions running simultaneously, not all 1600 participants had to face Yoo Jin’s rampage every time.
In other words, before the start of each game, participants had a 15/16 chance of not being matched with Yoo Jin. Those who were unlucky enough to be matched with her were one of the sixteen ‘honored’ ones.
Often, some would perish at the hands of other users even before encountering Yoo Jin, so meeting her directly was quite rare.
Of course, experiencing a low-probability event wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
“Let’s take a quick look. The highest kill count this match is eleven, which is also Yoo Jin’s. Similarly, she holds the title for the highest damage dealt. She’s a literal natural disaster.”
“Exactly. Players in the same session as Yoo Jin are essentially playing in an additional kill zone. I can confidently say it’s a playstyle only she can pull off.”
Several screens floated in the air.
Numerous pieces of information about the match that just concluded popped up. Well-organized and easily understandable, they impersonally listed Yoo Jin’s actions.
Her average movement distance.
Her average damage dealt.
Her total kills.
Her weapon choices and MOA, her average accuracy, her most preferred engagement distances, how often she used her secondary weapons… It was like dissecting a single player in detail.
The chat reactions were enthusiastic but, truthfully, not much different from before.
Initially, a few people would analyze with keen interest, marveling at each detail. However, repeated occurrences dulled the excitement over time.
Eleven new screens appeared. These were kill cams, both crucial information and a point of interest for viewers. For professional gamers, it was like a mistake log, and for viewers, it added more content to enjoy— a win-win.
One of these clips was played.
Among the eleven fallen, one was randomly chosen, highlighted from multiple angles in a small segment within the broadcast. With time left before the next match, it was an opportunity for many viewers to gain recognition—though refusal was an option.
At that moment, the username of the selected user and victim was displayed at the top of the clip.
Xi.
Even a first-team professional gamer from a prestigious club couldn’t escape Yoo Jin’s clutches.
Upon recognizing the username, the commentators roared.
“Oh! It’s Xi’s pro gamer, Corvus! Even this player, who always demonstrates exceptional skill, couldn’t escape her wrath! I’m really curious to see what intense battle led to this player’s demise!”
“The death location is near the large warehouse on the way to the main gate, by the management building. Part of the building was caught in the kill zone, but I’m curious if this influenced the cause of death. Let’s take a look together.”
───Boom!
—[Corvus: …What. What is this sound?]
About a minute before the death time, the video played, and a terrifying noise echoed through the corridor.
Corvus, just reaching the first floor and exploring the exit route, and Yoo Jin, swinging a fire axe at the metal fire shutter that had come down the guide rail with all her might.
With each swing, the shutter dented from the force in her hands and forearms. With each subsequent strike, the thin metal sheet tore like paper, and the aluminum bar behind it was relentlessly crushed.
Through the gas mask, her terrifying eyes were visible. She exuded a sense of pressure more akin to a slasher movie character than a participant in the AP.
The reaction was immediate.
—???????????????????
—That crazy woman, what is she doing? lololololololol
—I’d wet my pants if I saw that at night, lololololol
—Is Yoo Jin a god who does crazy things as naturally as breathing?
—How are we supposed to beat that? lololololol
“…Ah, Yoo Jin is dismantling the fire shutter with just an axe! Usually, players choose to find an alternate route within the building or risk using nanomachines to get through the kill zone, but she’s bold in a different way!”
“Meanwhile, Corvus is approaching the intersection where Yoo Jin is. He seems to be looking for a way out of the building.”
The fire shutter, which had been completely smashed, was wide enough for not one but two people to pass through easily.
However, as Yoo Jin was about to exit, she heard footsteps and hid behind the metal shutter. At that moment, Corvus passed by, surveying the cross corridor. What followed was simple. The moment Corvus entered her blind spot, Yoo Jin gripped the long fire axe with both hands and swiftly moved into the corridor.
Corvus was caught up to in an instant.
───Bang!
But at the last moment, he ducked, and the horizontally swung fire axe embedded itself into the concrete wall.
A scream filled the corridor.
—[Corvus: Waaaahhhhh!]
—Dripdripdrip!
“Oh, Corvus managed to evade Yoo Jin’s axe! What an incredible coincidence!”
“That scream truly comes from the heart. It’s a clear, high-pitched sound that wouldn’t be out of place in a horror movie.”
—Please shoot her, you crazy guy, lolololololol
—Kato, how long will he keep winning?
—Even if people call him a coward for donating to avoid close-quarters kills, at least Kato finds peace of mind…
—Stop assigning matches to Yoo Jin, lolololololol
—You’ve won! Please just stop coming out!!!!!!!
The battle continued amidst everyone’s shock.
A firefight finally took place with the corridor between them. But, as expected, Yoo Jin charged down the corridor when Corvus was reloading, threw her axe to prevent him from shooting, and body-slammed him.
While Corvus was stunned after being slammed against the wall, Yoo Jin retrieved the spinning axe from mid-air and grabbed an Ash-12.7 with one hand.
A brief conversation ensued.
—[Yoo Jin: Impressive, dodging my attack.]
—[Corvus: …Seriously… if there’s a next time, let’s fight in open terrain, please.]
—[Yoo Jin: Haha. I’ll try, if possible.]
Thunk.
The heavy gunshot and the large shell casing falling to the floor.
Thus, Corvus was eliminated from the session, and Yoo Jin destroyed another shutter on her way out, retrieving only the minimal necessary items before moving to a vehicle to drive further into the safe zone.
The clip ended with her leisurely driving away.
“Ha.”
An absent-minded laugh filled the broadcast room, its source unknown.
“Hahaha! That was the most brutal death I’ve seen. He might need a day or two to recover.”
“I don’t know, man… I think I’m going to have a mental breakdown…”
Thud.
Corvus, making a strange noise with his mouth, collapsed onto the table, while Whale, who had heard the news late, dropped everything to come and mock him.
It was a peculiar scene, one only seen between these two, who were known to be close within Xi.
Whale sat down and naturally began ordering all kinds of sweet treats on the tablet on the table.
Their eyes met.
He wore an expression as if he’d seen something unpleasant. It was a look reminiscent of a child discovering a horror movie for the first time.
Having played games individually for a long time, Whale understood the emotions such situations brought. He prided himself on surviving many insane scenarios in the Dark Zone, but this was…
“Sigh, I’ll buy snacks this time, so cheer up. Eating something sweet should help. Right?”
“Wow… Chasing someone with a fire axe while wearing a gas mask… I swear, if this was real life, I’d have pissed myself.”
“I usually don’t admit this, but I can’t help it this time. I watched the replay too, and it was brutal. If you hadn’t dodged the axe, it might have been better.”
What if he hadn’t dodged?
With her strength, she might have cleanly decapitated him. At least he wouldn’t have felt the terror of his heart dropping and his blood reversing and draining from his body.
Countless “what-ifs” flashed through his mind, but it was no use. The past was already set in stone. Besides, the real problem was that he didn’t believe he could win, even if he went back in time.
He had felt uneasy since the old tournament ranks opened and had often thought about what to do if they ever met.
To think they’d meet in this way.
In the meantime, Whale tapped my hand. It turned out the dessert we had ordered had arrived. As I carefully raised my body, sweet treats were placed on the table one by one.
There was the sound of ice cracking inside the glass, and a blueberry drink glowing with a transparent blue light. I drank it. Maybe because the cold hadn’t spread enough, it was more lukewarm than I had expected.
“I’m dying. When’s the next match again?”
“In two hours. Don’t even dream of taking a nap.”
“If I eat something sweet, I get deadly sleepy.”
We talked about this and that. Naturally, the main topics were the tournament.
Some might ask if we could coordinate anything, but even though we were in the same Xi and playing the same game, we couldn’t play that way while soloing. With 16 rooms and different spawn points, the system would prioritize splitting users from the same team.
In any case, there was a lot to discuss, and we had plenty to talk about. Even without bringing up other topics, we knew a lot about the game itself.
Before long, the topic shifted to squads.
“Are the squad preliminary ranks next week?”
“That’s right. Monday to Friday. After that, it’s KSM on Saturday and Sunday. And then the Korea Squad Match the following weekend.”
“It’s a hard schedule… it’s going to kill us.”
Squads.
In some ways, it was a different kind of tough compared to soloing, which required individual skills. Just the fact that you had to coordinate with others added a lot of pressure, an undeniable truth.
There were complaints, praises, and points for improvement. As always, it was a topic we could talk about all day.
While we were getting heated in our discussion,
“Hey, what’s this? Why are you all gathered here?”
“How did you know to come here?”
“I don’t know, but the PR department is looking for you. Corvus.”
Kim Hyuk-jin.
His in-game nickname was Ulysses. As expected, he was also a pro gamer like Corvus and Whale.
Upon hearing that someone was looking for him, Corvus hastily swallowed the cake he was eating and spoke.
“Why are they looking for me?”
“Something about Xi and ICARUS collaborating to make a horror-themed cinematic video, and they want to use the clip of you dying this time? They’ll probably ask you about that. You’re a real legend.”
“…No, damn it. What?”
Dark Zone.
A world where even death became a meme.
* * *