Chapter 89.
Team R’s Department Office.
Tap-tap-tap!
Choi Kang-in’s hurried footsteps stretched toward a specific destination.
Toward only one place.
They advanced unhesitatingly.
The streams of sweat running down his cheeks seemed to speak volumes about how urgent the situation was for him.
Halt—!
When Choi Kang-in’s footsteps stopped, a tightly shut door came into view.
Slam—!
Without a moment’s hesitation, he opened the door and stepped inside, urgently shouting to the person in the room.
“Department Head! Right now, on the internet.”
“I know…”
“…Huh?”
Only the cold reply of a woman filled the room.
In her hand was a smartphone, and she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the currently streaming ghost story internet broadcast.
A ghost story broadcast.
Team R’s Department Head, Lee Joo-i.
She knew.
She was aware that countless ghost stories internet broadcasts had been running rampant from the beginning.
There was probably no one in the agency unaware of this fact.
But among them, they had been monitoring the movements of the particularly dangerous ghost story [LIVE_404_NOT_FOUND] to permanently eliminate it…
And yet, someone who should never have appeared on 404’s broadcast.
Had revealed their face on the other side of the screen.
Recently assigned as an S-grade ghost story.
The appearance of the ‘Man with Black Flames.’
The ghost story that had knocked down Department Head Seo Eun-bom in an instant and even boldly left a warning message for them was now.
Appearing on a ghost story broadcast.
Even more shockingly, while speaking about ghost stories selling ghost stories.
They had reappeared before us once again.
‘…Just what… are you thinking… Man with Black Flames?’
And at this very moment.
From this day onward, the existence of the ghost story ‘Man with Black Flames’ was firmly imprinted in the minds of all the agency’s employees.
Never to be forgotten.
Engraved in everyone’s memory.
*****
Fizz—
A spark tingled between my palms.
Twitch—
The projector embedded in the dirt ground and the slender figure’s body convulsed slightly.
I lightly shook off my hand and stared at the camera filming me.
Then, I turned my gaze to the broadcast’s host, who must have been watching the current situation.
With a bright smile.
“Did it turn out well?”
[……Bro, you’re strong.]
404’s small voice crept into my ears.
But,
This was enough.
This was the reaction I wanted.
The same sensation must have been transmitted to everyone else watching this broadcast right now.
What everyone might have wanted was ‘UFC.’ No, surely, even 404 must have wanted that.
But,
What I wanted was ‘WWE.’
This place was a set built solely for my existence.
Merely a grand showcase stage designed to frame me as a powerful being.
Only here.
Only this place could make such a production possible.
All I had to do was show that production without hesitation.
To imprint my existence currently being broadcast on screen into the minds of countless beings.
As the protagonist of this showcase, I would act.
Thud—! Thud—! Thud—!
?
With a tremor in the ground, a grotesque, hulking mass of muscles came into view, charging toward me.
[Muscles! Muscles! Muscles!!]
The moment I saw the figure charging at me like an enraged bull…
I didn’t move.
Without any movement, I simply observed the situation silently.
Let me say it again.
This place was made for me.
So.
‘The protagonist can’t exit this early.’
Halt—!
The furious charge of the muscle mass toward me stopped abruptly.
?
Even the muscle-bound figure seemed puzzled as to why it couldn’t advance further.
Crunch—
“…Good job.”
Our first.
With my smile full of amusement.
Precisely around the figure’s right ankle, our first teddy bear was gripping it firmly.
Confused?
[Muscles?]
The muscle mass stared at the teddy bear, which was tiny compared to its size, with a bewildered gaze.
But.
Flash—!
!!
Soon, the first teddy bear began slowly lifting the massive muscle mass.
Whoosh—!
Whoosh—!
Whoosh—!
Using its own body as an axis, it began spinning the muscle mass with full centrifugal force.
[Mu—! …scle—!]
A deafening roar, as if the air itself would tear apart, echoed throughout the space.
The rapidly spinning muscle mass soon became a blur, rotating so fast that only an afterimage remained.
Tap—!
The moment the teddy bear released its plush hand gripping the muscle mass.
The now unbalanced object flew toward the Colosseum’s wall at an unimaginable speed.
Crash—!
With a tremendous impact.
It was embedded into the wall.
Crushed beyond recognition, its body stuck to the wall.
[…….]
404, watching the scene along with countless cameras, also seemed utterly dumbfounded.
I, too, was taking in that sight.
‘……Muscle porridge.’
Staring at the ghost that had turned into bright red paint, I was reminded once again that our teddy bear possessed power comparable to an A-grade ghost.
‘…Oops.’
I had forgotten for a moment.
My mind was so preoccupied with the teddy bear, who had just shown performance surpassing my own, that I nearly missed the line I was supposed to deliver.
“Dear viewers!”
I slowly gazed at the numerous cameras focused on me, capturing my composed and orderly posture.
With a steady voice, I spoke.
“Did you enjoy my show? Was it interesting? Or perhaps… were you bored?”
I put strength into my voice.
And once again, if the one standing here wasn’t me but that Noise guy…
If it were him in this situation…
‘Would he have said something like this?’
“If you were disappointed, don’t worry. I’ll do it for all of you. For the prosperous lives of our customers! Solely for the sake of a peaceful world!!”
Swish—
Raising both arms high, I delivered my final line without hesitation.
“I won’t let you down. After all, I’m an outstanding employee :)”
A faint smile played on my lips.
Of course.
On the broadcast screen, only the flickering of black flames would be visible.
But I smiled even brighter.
This smile wasn’t for anyone else.
It was solely for the mastermind behind this broadcast.
A quick glance.
404, who had been frozen for a moment, finally parted his lips.
[…Let’s take a look at some ads before you go!]
ㄴ. Huh.
ㄴ. Seriously, an ad break now?
ㄴ. What, it’s already over?
ㄴ. That was more underwhelming than I expected.
ㄴ. ……
With 404’s final remark, the screen truly transitioned to another video.
…….
The cameras turned off.
Everything in the space ceased functioning.
Now, only the heavy silence between two figures filled the room.
Tap, tap—
404, who had been outside the Colosseum, stepped onto the dirt-covered ground and slowly walked toward me.
Clap… clap… clap… clap… clap—!
A slow, deliberate round of applause echoed in my ears.
[That was truly surprising! I never expected you’d handle ‘Muscles’ and ‘Sizzler’ so easily.]
Muscles.
Sizzler.
The names 404 used for those two ghosts. His voice still carried the same calmness as before, but.
Clap… clap… clap—
…….
The tempo of his applause gradually slowed, and I knew why.
‘…He must be annoyed.’
I also knew the reason for his irritation. And soon enough, he began pointing it out.
[Your strength was certainly captured perfectly in my footage. No doubt, it left a strong impression on everyone watching my broadcast.]
[You might’ve even gained some fans.]
Clap—!
“……”
With the final clap resonating through the space, I kept my mouth shut.
There was no particular reason.
I just instinctively felt it wasn’t the right time to speak.
[But, sir… this is a broadcast. A broadcast has a certain rhythm to it.]
[The pacing, the actors’ performances, the balance of intensity, the staged scenes… every little detail matters more than you’d think.]
404’s voice grew heated.
[……I expected better from someone who understands broadcasting.]
Right, that rhythm.
Unlike 404, what I wanted to show was an overwhelming suppression of the ghosts.
And the result was a success.
But 404 would argue that this was the problem.
This wasn’t just a short clip.
This was a livestream.
A small-scale variety show.
And in such a place, the main content ended far too quickly.
In an instant, the main dish was over before anyone could even savor it.
It ended in the blink of an eye.
Swish—
His round, glimmering yellow eyes, which had been shining brightly just moments ago, narrowed into slits.
[You were just busy showing off, weren’t you? A real attention-seeker.]
[Sir… please leave my set.]
His excitement had cooled.
But I couldn’t let my guard down until the very end.
“It was an honor to appear on such a famous broadcast.”
[…….]
Just moments ago, 404 had been responding promptly, but now, he didn’t answer at all.
Though I got no reply…
‘I should at least be polite.’
I didn’t want my head exploding here.
In a low voice, I added:
“I’ll be cheering for your future broadcasts.”
[…….]
Again, no response. But the way he seemed to have completely dismissed my presence.
Fine.
This was fine.
Now I had a valid reason to leave this ghost behind. All that was left was to seal the two ghost story I’d just dealt with into my pen.
That’s it.
Once I stored those two ghosts in my pen, my work for today would be over.
Just as I was about to step toward the first fallen ghost, the projector.
[Where do you think you’re going?]
“…Huh?”
404 suddenly called out to me.
[Even if you strayed from the vision I had for this broadcast, I’m a streamer who keeps my promises.]
[Come with me. I’ll give you the chance to take the prop you wanted.]
“…….”
‘Everything I need is already here.’
I couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud.
Because my head.
Is far too precious.
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