Season 2: Chapter 227: Chicken Game (4)
Almond had grabbed BubbleSniper's collar and started running toward the shrinking danger zone afterward.
"Almond is throwing himself into the danger zone!?"
"What is this?!"
"Sometimes, this can happen when you're too shocked!"
The commentators were understandably flabbergasted. After all, the perimeter system was designed to kill players. Entering it meant death.
Beep!
An alert also appeared for Almond.
[You have entered the perimeter area! Escape from the foot soldiers' attacks as quickly as possible!]
[The foot soldiers' stats far exceed players. Do not confront them. Run away!]
At the very frontline of the perimeter were foot soldiers. At first glance, they appeared ordinary in their Joseon dynasty foot soldier attire.
"Get out of here!!!"
They swung their spears and swords at an astonishing speed.
Whoosh! Hwoong!
'Wow.'
The air being torn sounded alarmingly vicious, and they possessed incredible accuracy. However—
"Ah, Almond!? He's dodging the foot soldiers' attacks!?"
Almond dodged their attacks and even ventured deeper into the ranks of the threatening foot soldiers. He didn’t just stop there.
"Uh-oh!?"
Click!
As he passed by, he even snatched a weapon around one of the foot soldier’s waist.
— Is this even possible?
— Wow, damn
— What is this? lol
— So he went into the death zone and… lol
— But he's going to die now…
Having snatched a weapon, Almond could now deflect some of the foot soldiers' attacks and entered deeper into the danger zone with much more ease.
'I need to go deeper. Otherwise, I might not survive.'
Beep!
[You have crossed the boundary of the perimeter! If you stay any longer, guards will appear.]
The foot soldiers positioned at the very front were nothing to Almond. As if the perimeter system knew this, it introduced the guards. Dressed in red robes and large hats, they had a formidable size and bellowed out commands.
"You there! What do you think this place is!!!"
They exerted incomparable pressure compared to the foot soldiers and their stats were likely several times higher. They even wielded qi.
— Qi sword now?
— Are these martial artists? lol
— So scary
— What are you doing, Almond…?
The guards' swords shimmered with qi. Even if Almond blocked their sword strikes, he would still take damage.
"Capture him!"
"Get him!"
Escaping these powerful guards numbering in the dozens was literally impossible, yet Almond smirked as if this situation was even better for him.
"Almond!? He's smiling!"
— What's happening?
— World class madness lol
— Finally, Almond has gone crazy
— Cheetah: ???
How could one not smile considering what would happen next? With that thought, Almond formed a seal.
[Location Swap Technique]
***
Meanwhile, BubbleSniper blankly stared as Almond disappeared into the danger zone.
"Could it be... Could it be what I think it is…?"
He prayed that it wasn't the scenario he was thinking of.
"Please. Please."
It seemed silly, but BubbleSniper really couldn’t do anything else. There wasn't anyone left to attack and following Almond would be suicide.
All he could do was pray, but the gods were indifferent. His ominous prediction became a reality.
"!?"
Suddenly, BubbleSniper started to shake.
"This, this damn..."
His face contorted in frustration.
[Location Swap Technique]
Thud.
Almond reappeared.
— LOL, so this was it, lol
— Wow lol
— Location Swap Technique evolved to swap people too
— Damn man lol
— Kyah~!
Almond waited for BubbleSniper to die. When he thought the timing was right…
Click.
He gave a thumbs up.
"Chickencha~"
Bam!
Like a lie, this message popped up.
[1st Place]
[Chicken for dinner tonight!]
"Wow, the location swap technique! We didn't see this coming!"
"Despite losing his swords, he showed such an ending! Truly, what an intelligent player!"
After understanding the situation, the commentators screamed at the top of their lungs. The chat rooms, whether it was the broadcast or Almond's stream, became flooded with messages.
— Chicken!
— JeonJaPa, here comes Almond!
— Almond, you crazy guy, stop being so good!
— Almond! Almond! Almond! Almond! Almond! Almond!
— Only Almond knows the end of this world!
***
[Game Over]
Pop.
The virtual world that expanded in every direction folded away. Once again, Almond was facing the capsule's black background.
'It's over.'
Wheeze…
Due to the high temperature, the capsule’s cooling system was running vigorously. It had been like this for a while.
'It's not custom made, so I shouldn't overdo it.'
He lightly touched his forehead and felt it damp with moisture. He avoided being drenched in sweat thanks to the cooling system, but the moisture remained.
Ping.
The black background disappeared and the glass of the capsule became transparent, revealing the silhouettes of people outside.
People murmured and gathered outside to see the winner, Almond.
'Where was it…?'
Almond reattached the goggle cable, which he had set aside like a USB, and put on the goggles again.
Immediately, a notification popped up.
Ding.
[Congratulations! Challenge Successful!]
[Reward: 100 BBQ Chicken Bonus]
Following that, the endless stream of messages caught his eye.
— Wow
— Almond! Almond! Almond! Almond!
— Yu Sang-Hyeon, stop being so handsome! Yu Sang-Hyeon, stop being so handsome! Yu Sang-Hyeon, stop being so handsome!
— The world is not dominated by mammals but by nuts! The world is not dominated by mammals but by nuts!
The murmurs outside were just as loud as the chat messages.
"Sigh."
Almond leaned against the backrest, which was cooling down to its maximum.
'I'll rest a bit before going out.'
Although he somewhat cooled down and stopped sweating, fatigue was still accumulating. The heat within him hadn't subsided yet.
Almond closed his eyes for a moment. He wanted to cool down a bit more before going out even if it was just for ten seconds.
***
"Ah, Mr. Almond? Why isn't he coming out?"
"Is something wrong? He usually uses a custom capsule."
"Mr. Almond!?"
The crowd gathered in front of Almond’s location with their mobile cameras pointed at the capsule. They grew anxious because Almond hadn’t come out yet even after all the other players already exited.
In reality, Almond hadn’t even rested for three minutes. They were just impatient.
Creak…
The hydraulics echoed, and the capsule’s glass became completely transparent.
"Ah?! He's coming out!"
"Wow!"
"Congratulations!"
After the lid opened, Almond stood up and came out.
Pop!
The cosplay models and the broadcasting team even shot confetti for him.
— Wow
— They're really celebrating lol
— So many fans wow
Not only the officials from Fantasia, but fans also surrounded him. It was a significant number of people even by rough estimates.
"Congratulations, Mr. Almond!"
Someone beautiful enough to be recognized by just their silhouette approached and handed him a bouquet.
'It's Miho.'
The voice sounded familiar. Indeed, it turned out to be Miho.
"Ah... Why even a bouquet…?"
Given that sixty players participated in the challenge, the winner received quite a special treatment.
Following the bouquet, she handed him something large.
"This isn't the end~! Please take this as well!"
[100 BBQ Chickens Awarded]
He received the sign with large letters, reminiscent of something given for a photo op after donating. Immediately afterward, someone thrust a microphone toward him.
Click.
"You’ve just received one hundred BBQ chickens to give to your viewers! How do you feel?"
It felt somewhat easier to talk since a familiar face like Miho was in charge of the interview.
"Ah, yes. It's an honor to be able to give chicken to the viewers. I'm also glad I could properly fulfill the mission."
"The mission?"
"Yes, I had a per-kill mission. I'm happy I performed well."
— ???
— The crybaby is sobbing lol
— How much did he get? lol
— lol
"Ahh!"
The broadcasting team suddenly seemed to understand his last act and exclaimed.
"Then, did you jump out at the end to kill even just one more person?"
When the commentator approached to ask instead of Miho, Almond nodded. The audience and the fans in the broadcasting station were flabbergasted.
— lol, did he really do that just to earn an extra ten bucks?
— This guy is really crazy lol
— That's a man for you lol
— Almond lol
Miho regained control of the interview and held the microphone toward him again.
"Excellent. Mr. Almond! That's very much like you! The one hundred chickens are being sent out individually as gift certificates right now!"
When Miho finished speaking, viewers who received the chicken certificates started shouting in the chat.
— Wow!! I got chicken!!!
— Yessss! I won!
— Damn...!
— Guys! Dad's bringing home chicken!
After glancing at the chat, Miho asked him another question.
"Mr. Almond, did you know that player number eighteen, your last opponent, was BubbleSniper?"
Thinking it was a simple interview, the unexpectedly sharp question caught him off-guard. He didn't quite catch her question.
"Bubble... who?" Sang-Hyeon blinked and asked back.
Although he knew it was BubbleSniper, he pretended not to know as a tease. Sang-Hyeon's response felt like he was killing BubbleSniper twice, no, three times over again.
"Wow! That sounds like a sufficient answer, doesn't it!?"
“Hahaha!”
A burst of huge laughter swept through the audience. The broadcasting camera prominently displayed a sign held high by RubySword that read, "BubbleSniper, go die."
Seeing herself on camera, RubySword waved the sign even more excitedly.
Then, Miho asked one last question.
"Lastly! Thank you so much for participating in the Fantasia challenge! Mr. Almond, do you have any thoughts on what challenge you might want to try next?"
"Ah. The next challenge..."
Almond briefly checked the challenges that appeared in his goggle view. Many challenges had arrived while he was playing.
One caught his interest.
[JetPumped! You Do It, Developer!]
It was a challenge to fight and beat the game developer.
[Angry about the recent balance patch, the developer has stepped forward! Fight directly with the developer to prove the balance is a mess!]
[Reward: A vote in the balance patch, 1000 random jets, 1000 pumping rights, 100 chickens]
Although he was unsure about the specifics, the rewards seemed tremendous. Plus, the content would be interesting. A duel against the developer to change the game. It sounded absurd, but intriguing.
"This looks fun."
Yenmazing's Thoughts
I've only seen the "winner winner, chicken dinner" screen ONCE playing PUBG. Too many Almonds running around destroying me ;_;