I May Be a Virtual Youtuber, but I Still Go to Work

One day after Magia’s warning of a terror attack—Day 2 of Week 2.
As usual, the three-man meeting between the East and West station chiefs and Chief Mugeon was underway.

But this time, the atmosphere among the police was far more tense than usual.
“We should be protecting the boss of the Study Abroad Group, since they’re the one being directly targeted.”
“Still… a police force protecting a mafia boss? That’s a bit much…”

“……”
It was one of the most difficult decisions the police had ever faced.
Depending on what stance the police—tasked with maintaining the balance of power in Lightning Metropolis—chose to take, the consequences would vary wildly.

Option one:
Do nothing. Let the terror attack happen, and then respond after the fact.
If they went this route, Darai and Red Hood would almost certainly succeed.

Both mafia factions would be significantly weakened, and Darai—already hard to catch with the current police force—would have free reign to cause even more chaos.
And when that happened, the mafia would erupt in outrage.
They’d accuse the police of sitting on their hands despite knowing in advance that something was coming.

There’d be no chance of cooperation from the mafia in future efforts to capture Darai.
And that would mean Darai would likely never be caught again.
Option two:

Protect Binyeo (Rain), who was named as the direct target of the attack.
This would significantly increase the odds of stopping the terror attempt.
But… it would also look like the police were siding with the West Mafia.

The East faction might cry foul, saying the police were favoring the West to keep them in check because they were too strong.
Not to mention public perception.
Even if it’s to stop a notorious criminal like Darai, it would look like the police were outright colluding with the mafia.
Up until now, they at least had the excuse of offering bounties and having the mafia go after Darai for the reward.

But visibly working together? That was begging for a PR disaster.
Option three:
Have officers stationed at the scene from the start and deploy them reactively to wherever the largest groups of mafia members gathered—to maintain balance and prevent mass clustering.

…That wasn’t feasible either.
The police weren’t uniformly strong across the board.
If the “trash-tier duo” got deployed, there would be a gaping hole in coverage.

And it’s not like the other teams were invincible either.
The reason they were even effective in combat was because they moved as a unit with body armor and S-tier gear.
Let them all operate independently, without any command structure? It’d be a total clown show.
Besides, did anyone really think Darai and Red Hood would just let the police organize like that?

They might even decide to eliminate the police first—before the terror attack even begins.
So yeah, plenty of ideas… but all of them came with serious downsides.
Mugeon clutched his aching head and muttered,

“Give me a second. I need to think.”
It was one of the toughest calls the police had ever faced.
But there was no time to stall—
The attack was scheduled for tomorrow.

Lightning Metropolis was already in chaos with ongoing faction wars and incident responses, and the entire day had been a blur.
(For reference: Faction wars in the mafia RP world only end when the police are alerted and show up on-site.)
“All three options suck… there's gotta be something better…”

And then, just at that moment—a donation popped up on screen.
:: Anonymous Donor has sent 1,000 Clouds! ::
:: Can’t you just secretly cooperate with the mafia bosses? If you get enough people to cluster in one spot, Red Hood’s definitely gonna show up there. ::
— Yeah, right LOL
— The mafia would never cooperate. They’d think the cops were trying to set them up
— Like this guy hasn’t thought of that already
— L streamer backseat gaming again lmao

Mugeon muted his RP server mic and grumbled.
“Sorry, but yeah. That did cross my mind. But just like chat said—like hell the mafia’s gonna trust us. Also, how many times do I have to say: don’t backseat with donos or chat. Banned.”
— RIP
— LOL
— A man has died
— Oof
— Lightning Metropolis newbies need to just watch quietly 😂

Still, about a third of newcomers never listened when streamers told them not to interfere.
Some of them knew they’d get banned, but dropped their hot takes anyway.
:: Anonymous Donor has sent 1,000 Clouds! ::
:: Then what about working with Red Hood instead? LOL ::

— …Wait
— LMAO
— That’s… honestly unexpected
— Huh…?
:: Anonymous Donor has sent 1,000 Clouds! ::
:: What if you just made peace with Darai and used her to control the mafia power balance? LOL ::
This time, Mugeon snapped.

“You think Darai’s just gonna switch sides? That psycho would pretend to help and then BLOW UP the police station! And how many damn times do I have to say—stop telling me what to do. BANNED.”
— Our martyr
— As expected, the viewers take the biggest risks
— Goodbye, king
— Gone but never forgotten
:: Anonymous Donor has sent 1,000 Clouds! ::
:: Bro, c’mon. Do you really think they have enough explosives left over to waste one on blowing up the station? They need every last one for the big attack. ::

:: Anonymous Donor has sent 1,000 Clouds! ::
:: Why are you dismissing ideas without even trying them? LOL ::
“…These little shits…”
But just as he was about to ban the latest wave of trolls—
he hesitated.

Because… they kind of had a point.
If Darai was planning a massive, simultaneous attack during the Wide-Area Faction War, ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) she’d need to use up a serious supply of bombs.
And the only source of explosives for her group was the West Mafia.

Compared to the East, the West had significantly less firepower and couldn’t smuggle in as many weapons.
So if they were going all-out, it was likely they wouldn’t waste a bomb on blowing up the police station just to embarrass the chief.
And if Darai could be persuaded to cooperate—just maybe—she could be used as a tool to keep the mafia factions in check.

Even more surprisingly, chat reactions were turning positive.
— Not a bad idea, but no way Mugeon does it
— Fr fr
— He’s been playing the goody-two-shoes cop since day one, no way he flips
— Nah, he’s been suffering for days. He might finally break
— You know what? Fair
— Honestly, if he gets corrupted now, it’s justified
— He’s been getting his ass kicked nonstop. Let him be a dirty cop, we’ll allow it LOL
:: Anonymous Donor has sent 1,000 Clouds! ::
:: And come on, Lightning Metropolis is such a trash heap. Let the cops snap a little. Honestly, who could blame them? LOL ::

— LMAOOOO
— He’s got a point
— This is the city of "whatever, man"
— Time to officially declare it a failed state LOL
Just then—
Bzzzzt.
The West Station Chief’s phone rang.

Mugeon still needed time to think, so he waved the chief off.
“Take it outside.”
The West Chief turned to leave in a hurry—then suddenly stopped, turned back, and said:

“Chief, it’s the Deputy Director of Central Hospital. She says she urgently needs to speak with you.”
“Put her on speaker.”
“Yes, sir. Deputy Director, can you hear us?”

[Yes, loud and clear.]
“You’re on speaker with Chief Mugeon. What’s this about?”
Taro paused briefly, then spoke:

[Tomorrow, when I call for you—I need you to come to my location. I think I’ve identified a member of the Red Hood organization.]
“…What?”
“Huh?!”

The East and West station chiefs were visibly shaken—but Mugeon stayed calm.
“You’ve identified a Red Hood member? Do you have a name or description?”
[No, not exactly. But I do have a solid idea of where they’ll show up.]

“…Are you saying they’ll appear near you?”
[Yes. They tried to bribe me.]
“…Excuse me?”

The three police officers looked at one another and nodded. They all agreed—this was the opportunity they had been waiting for.
Mugeon, in fact, had been toying with the idea of using Darai to keep the mafia in check. So with Deputy Director Taro reaching out to report a possible lead, there was no reason to turn her down.
Still, a certain instinctive suspicion tugged at Mugeon, and he couldn’t help but ask:

“But why me? The West Chief or someone else could go.”
“You’re the best shot, Chief. I’m sorry to say this in front of the others, but we need someone who can actually hit the target. These people vanish into thin air.”
“Hm… fair point.”

The East and West Chiefs were skilled in their own right, but when it came to taking down a fast, elusive target, Mugeon was definitely the one to call.
And with the request coming directly from the hospital, it wasn’t strange for Mugeon to go himself.
“All right. I’ll go. Let me talk with the other chiefs and make sure everything else is covered.”

“I’ll send the location as soon as it’s confirmed.”
The agreement was sealed quickly. For the first time, it felt like they might finally have a shot at catching Red Hood.
— We might actually get her this time.
— With the Deputy Director’s help, too?
— But like, why approach the Deputy Director? She’s basically a life-saving machine. Doesn’t seem easy to win her over.
— fr lmao
— Red Hood must be falling apart if that’s the plan.

But even with the upbeat mood between the chiefs and the chat, Mugeon’s expression turned serious the moment the call ended.
“Tomorrow, West Chief—you’re going to follow the Deputy Director. Secretly.”
“Sir? Follow her?”

The West Chief looked confused, and Mugeon reinforced his command with more weight in his voice.
“The East Chief will handle all troop coordination for both divisions. You’ll shadow the Deputy Director. That’s the correct move.”
— ???
— Is this actually necessary?
— That feels... inefficient?

It might’ve seemed like an odd decision—but Mugeon had his reasons.
“There’s a chance the Deputy Director has already sided with Red Hood.”
“What?”
“Wait, Chief—what makes you think that?”

“You’ve both met her. She’s obsessed with saving lives. A person like that suddenly asking me to personally come assist her? That alone is suspicious.”
Both chiefs gulped. The logic was disturbingly sound.
Outside of her clashes with Momo, Taro had always been buried in her work—searching for patients, reviving the injured, looking after her staff.

And now she was reaching out to Mugeon? Claiming she might have a lead on Red Hood?
“She might be trying to tie me down in one place while she helps someone elsewhere. Think about how she’s operated until now.”
Deputy Director Taro had never discriminated in who she helped.

Police, mafia, civilians—if someone was reported down, she flew in like the wind, revived them, and left without asking for thanks.
Almost like a machine built only to save lives.
It was possible that Red Hood had asked her, somewhere along the line, to go save someone.

And if that someone was a member of Red Hood, she might’ve requested Mugeon’s help just to keep him out of the way while she worked.
“So keep a close eye on her. That way, if anything happens, we’ll be in position to respond.”
“Yes, sir.”

“If Darai or Red Hood appear, it’ll be either near me or you. Catch them. No matter what, justice has to be served.”
“Yes, Chief!”
The moment they got their hands on a member of Red Hood, negotiations would begin.

Let’s make a deal: we’ll release your operative, and in return, you’ll stop attacking us.
We’ll stop chasing you—but you stop attacking the police.
And if she refused?

Then her operative would be executed—RP style—for aiding the most dangerous criminal in Lightning Metropolis.
At this point, it was likely Darai would give in.
The general consensus was that she was just a puppet anyway—nothing without her crew.

If she resisted, they’d need a new plan. But for now, the top priority was to catch the Red Hood operative who made contact with Deputy Director Taro.
***
But the next day...

"The Wide-Area Faction War is almost over… Why is it so quiet?"
“……”
Darai and Red Hood hadn’t shown up at all.

It was as if the entire warning about a terror attack had just been a bluff.
The six-hour-long war was nearly at its end, and still—no sign of Red Hood.
They hadn’t even helped the West Mafia, who had bought the explosives. The West got pushed back, and aside from a few areas near their main base, they lost everything to the East.

“Stay alert. We don’t know what might happen.”
But by now, it was clearly too late for Red Hood to intervene.
Moments later, the Wide-Area Faction War ended in a landslide victory for the East.

The defeated West, especially the Study Abroad Group, raged at Red Hood’s absence—but with their base still intact, they tried to find solace in that and began regrouping and cleaning up.
Meanwhile, the East celebrated, gathering together to revel in their massive win.
And just when everyone was starting to relax, thinking the terror wasn’t coming...

Darai went live—from a completely unexpected location.
Most of Lightning Metropolis had Darai’s channel followed, so the moment the alert popped up, everyone dropped what they were doing and tuned in.
“Hey, you idiots of Lightning Metropolis. Can you hear me?”

With her trademark smug grin, she stretched her hand toward the building behind her.
“And this—see this?”
It was the shooting club’s hideout.

The East had advanced so far that their rear had been left unguarded, and no one had noticed Red Hood’s movement.
Had Red Hood entered the building through normal means—through the front, as part of the war—it would’ve been noticed.
But instead, she’d flown in on a bike—straight through the sky—rendering the war’s detection systems completely useless.

“I’m about to blow this place sky-high. Everything in the warehouse is ours now. And East Mafia? Don’t be too sad—I’ll blow up your other buildings too. Mwahaha!”
Chaos erupted among the East Mafia.
They were too far from their base now. Opinions split rapidly.

We have to go back.
Even if we do, it’s too late. Let the West surrender first…
Split up and send some people back home...
Tensions soared as accusations flew—some suspected the West Mafia had been in on it.
The West vehemently denied it.

The war was over, but the hostility between East and West was only heating up again, threatening to spark a new gunfight at any moment.
Watching from a nearby rooftop, Mugeon cursed under his breath.
“Was the whole Taro thing just a ploy to keep us looking the wrong way…?”

Red Hood had completely slipped through their fingers during the entire war.
The West Chief, too—he’d tailed Taro the whole time and found nothing.
They’d been played.

Mugeon ordered a portion of the force to break up the rising conflict.
The last thing they needed was a riot distracting them from Darai.
“Doggo, Dolphin—take the rookies and get the mafias to back off. No fighting!”

No answer.
“Trash-tier duo, where the hell are you—why now, of all times…?”
Left with no choice, Mugeon shouted into the radio.

“Police D Team, E Team—move in and contain the violence! Deploy to your assigned zones now!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Roger, Chief!”
“Confirmed.”
“On it!”
“West Chief! Stop what you’re doing and take command of D and E teams!”

“Yes, sir!”
The immediate crisis was under control.
But Darai was still at large.

How the hell do we catch her? What do we even do next…?
Mugeon groaned, frustrated, just as his phone began to ring.
He recognized the number instantly.

A number that had ignored all his calls until now.
It belonged to Darai—the petty criminal who used to loiter around the station. No one could’ve guessed she’d turn into this level of threat.
He turned off his radio and answered.

“Hello?”
Darai’s voice rang out, triumphant and cocky.
“Chief~ How’s it feel to be completely played?”

Gone was the small-time crook who used to hang around the station.
Even if she was just a figurehead, her voice now carried the poise of a true villain boss.
“I’m going to blow up every last East Mafia hideout. Then I’ll wipe out the West’s too. Isn’t that exciting?”

“Wait—”
“The clock’s ticking, Chief~”
He even heard the voices of the trash-tier duo—captured while everyone was distracted.

“Chief, help us!!”
“I’m so sorry…!!”
“If you keep stalling, you’ll be collecting their bodies soon, you know?”
Mugeon didn’t hesitate.

He said the words he’d already been considering.
“Darai—how about we work together?”
— Wait what
— HUH
— No way
— He’s actually corrupting
— He’s doing it LOL
— If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em

The proposal was so unexpected that even Darai seemed momentarily stunned.
She hesitated, then replied:
“Work together? Now? After putting a giant bounty on me and keeping me locked out of half the city?”

“I’ll make it go away. I’ll protect you. No more reckless destruction. You’d be operating with me—undercover, but legal.”
“Oh wow. That’s a thing now? So I don’t rot in jail forever?”
“You’ve got two of our cops as hostages, and this call is being recorded. That’s evidence. It’s leverage.”

“Oh?”
“Or… we trade. I let you take me hostage. You release the two officers, stop your attacks, and in return, you start helping us keep the mafia in check.”
A long silence followed.

Then Darai replied.
“Fine. Come to North Dock Warehouse 1 before morning. Come alone. Turn off your radio and your phone. If I even suspect you’re in contact with anyone—boom.”
“Wait, hang on! By morning? That’s not enough ti—”

Darai cut him off, voice dripping with amusement, like she was watching him from somewhere nearby.
“There’s a helicopter next to you, right? Take it.”