Season 2: Chapter 245: Group Project (1)
Sang-Hyeon's first thought upon seeing one hundred fifty-seven pending donations was this.
"Why are there so many?"
People generally avoided waiting in line even for popular restaurants and here were one hundred fifty-seven people lined up to donate. Indeed, it was as if they literally lined up to give him money.
Sang-Hyeon couldn't comprehend it with his common sense.
He speculated, "Ah, because of the JetPumped patch?"
He said he would ask the players for advice about the patch. It seemed like this was their way of voicing their opinions in advance.
"I'll accept the donations."
However, the first few donations had nothing to do with the balance patch.
Bam!
[RubySword has donated 300,000 won!]
[Chikicha! As expected, our nut is the best!]
— Wow 300,000 won
— Princess must be happy
— LOL so cute.
These donations were made even before Almond started the interview. They were sent around the time when he finished off his opponent with the last strike.
"Ah, RubySword, thank you for the 300,000 won donation. Yes, of course, among the nuts I must be the strongest…"
Sang-Hyeon stood in place and bowed slightly, expressing his thanks for the donation.
— LOL for real
— That’s right LOL
— LOL right, the legless ones, where do they get off acting all high and mighty~? LOL
— But the walnut seems a bit strong? LOL
Following RubySword, it seemed a JetPumped player also donated.
[Jetson has donated 100,000 won!]
[Jetsoooon! I believed in you, Almond!]
— Not Jensen but Jetson LOL
— What’s a Jetson? LOL
— Hey hey~ I believed in you~~~
— Was this donation made during the Chikicha moment? LOL
— Wow, that's a crazy amount
Apparently, defeating Kim Yi-Seo was a big deal given the large donations.
"Thank you, Jetson."
The donations that followed were even higher.
Babam!
[ShyNapoleon has donated 500,000 won!]
[Wow, I went to see something and by the time I came back, you had already won LOL. I’ll watch the replay and freak out LOL]
— Better watch it in the bathroom LOL
— Wow
"ShyNapoleon, thank you for the whopping 500,000 won."
When Kim Yi-Seo was defeated, nearly forty donations came in.
"Thank you. Thank you~"
Sang-Hyeon could only keep saying thanks as there was barely enough time to mention nicknames due to the rush of donations.
— The novelty of the nut is getting old LOL
— Wow, how much does he make in a day???
— Is he making a thousand today???
The donations that followed came in around the time of the interview.
[Eggplant has donated 100,000 won!]
[Wow, the hero of JetPumped Garden!]
— Must have been during the interview LOL
— Could have been~
— LOL LOL if it hadn’t been for the baseball comment, he would have been revered forever in the JetPumped Garden LOL
"Wow. Thanks for the 100,000 won donation. Eggplant really puts his heart into it."
Eggplant wasn't usually one to donate large amounts. By his standards, 100,000 won was nearly throwing in his entire fortune. Knowing this, Sang-Hyeon added a bit more to his comment.
— The donation is being made by that guy, but the big heart is from his sibling, haha.
— Eggplant’s 100,000 won? This is precious
— Why is his sibling also putting heart into it? Really asking because I don't know.
Following this were donations accompanied by jokes about the interview.
"Thank you Mr. Kwon for the 50,000 won. The baseball just felt like that. Thank you Mr. Ho for the 10,000 won. Yes, we'll also do the next challenge. RubySword, thank you for another donation."
— Wow, damn, how long will this last? haha
— But how many donations are backed up???
— The broadcast content is just begging for donations, haha.
Ding.
Ding.
Naturally, the donations continued. They reached the seventieth to eightieth donations out of one hundred fifty-seven. Up to this point, the donations were sent with the pure intention of celebrating or joking with the viewers.
[Someone has donated 3,000 won.]
[I will take opinions (paid)~]
[NoiseMakerAtTheFirstBirthdayParty has donated 10,000 won.]
[The comments on the baseball were freaking hilarious hahaha]
[GeographyBoy has donated 5,000 won.]
[What's that~? I don't usually see ones for 1,000 won~?]
— Hahaha, time for a pilgrimage
— Taking opinions (paid) haha
— That must be when he said he'd gather opinions during the interview haha
Then, a turning point occurred. From here on, donations with a real purpose began appearing.
[BoyBoy has donated 1,000 won!]
[Almond! Mr. Almond! Don't you think the mecha series should be nerfed?]
[TooMuch has donated 1,000 won.]
[I think the engine pumping itself should be nerfed.]
[PumpDemon has donated 2,000 won.]
[Let's nerf the engine pump and the high-density pump, shall we?]
These were not Almond's usual viewers as the donation amounts were relatively small. Mostly, the donations revolved around criticizing the JetPumped patches. It felt impractical to go through all of them on the stream.
— 1,000 won? Throw it out! ??
— How dare you voice an opinion for just 1,000 won?
— Doesn’t feel sincere, right bro?
— ??? Bro, I'm not Almond who used to end his streams with a butt show for 100,000 won?
At this point, Almond thought it was best to stop.
"Ah. I'll look at the JetPumped related donations later. I don't have time to go through all of them now."
Ultimately, he decided to skip all the balance patch related donations.
— Kya~
— Ah, refreshing. This is Almond~
— The luxury of the wealthy, haha
— I'll just pass (already got the money)
— So the donations mentioned above were indeed the holy ones, haha
— 1,000 won can't be heard? (I really can't hear)
***
After the donation train ended, Sang-Hyeon began distributing one hundred chicken coupons and drawing rights. It was easy since he only had to press the distribute button on the top of his goggles.
— Wowwwww
— Ah…
— Wow, I got it!!
— Thank you!!
— Missed it again...
While some were disappointed, others felt overjoyed.
"Don't be too disheartened if you didn't get it. I'll do another challenge and give more out."
— The mindset of always being number one in challenges, haha
— Wow~
Almond looked over the list of challenges for the next event. Surprisingly, this message arrived at just the right time.
[Bubblegum: Hey Almond haha, I saw how you defeated Kim Yi-Seo. I haven’t been able to give my viewers any gifts... Could you possibly help with just one challenge?]
Almond stared blankly at his goggles for a moment, wondering if such a feature even existed.
'Do the viewers not see this?'
— Really looking forward to the next challenge
— Let's go for 100 chickens again, bro
— But now, there are too many viewers, wonder if it'll work haha
It seemed that the viewers couldn’t see this message. Almond tried using the reply function. He could send messages by simply looking at the keyboard.
[Almond: Ah, of course.]
[Bubblegum: Phew! That's a relief!]
[Almond: What kind of challenge will it be?]
Almond declared his decision after some back and forth, "Ah... um... it seems the challenge has been set."
— ??
— What?
— Really?
— Suddenly?
The viewers were taken aback as he decided much faster than expected.
Almond explained, "Bubblegum sent me a message."
Although it was more of a call for help than a message, Sang-Hyeon expressed it this way to preserve Bubblegum's dignity.
"Let's do a team challenge."
— Are you getting on the bus?
— lol
— Ah, you've figured it all out, huh? Lol
Despite Sang-Hyeon's considerate attempt, the perceptive viewers already figured it out. Bubblegum had failed all the challenges and eventually sought Almond's help.
"I've heard what game it might be. It sounds like something you would all enjoy. I've played it before."
— Oh?
— Really?
— Civil Empire? The prize for Civil wasn't a joke
— Don't tell me King... dom?
"It's finally the official launch of Zombie School. Wow!" Sang-Hyeon clapped quietly and added a small cheer.
— ?
— What are you doing? lol
— So cute lol
— Wow!
— Why are you clapping? Lol
— Eh, Zombie's my favorite!!
[RubySword has donated 10,000 won.]
[But how do you do a team challenge in Zombie School??]
"Ah. Thank you RubySword for the 10,000 won donation. It seems that Zombie School now has a team mode."
— Wow Ruby with another donation
— What?
— Oh…
Most viewers in general seemed unaware and flooded the chat with question marks, which made sense since G-Star often introduced new modes or games. Unless someone was very interested, they likely wouldn't know.
"I don't know the details either. Let's go see."
***
"Eeewww..."
"Krrr..."
Models dressed as zombies wandered around the Zombie School booth.
— Wow
— Feels like a theme cafe
— The atmosphere is awesome
Moreover, the Zombie School booth was decorated like a school with a creaky wooden floor, broken doors, and windows. Bodies were littered around for a spooky atmosphere. Even a stranger could instantly recognize the concept.
[Hipster has donated 10,000 won.]
[Oh my, bro! This cafe is so hip! The building is dying!]
— lmao
— Honey, this isn't a cafe…
— lol
— It's not just the building that's dying, right? lol
— ??? Please send the restroom password by DM (Prayer Con)
[MatchTalker has donated 3,000 won.]
[Wow, hipsters even make cafes in buildings that are dying. Now they're doing it with people too]
— lol
— Seongsu Cafe in 10 years lol
— lmao
— Ah, this is the vibe!
The interior seemed to have taken quite a bit of effort as the viewers had much to say about it. Sang-Hyeon looked around the booth without paying much attention.
"Hey! Almond!"
Even in the dark, one particularly glowing orb greeted him.
"Tako."
"Ohhh! You came!"
Bubblegum felt most delighted and shook his whole body.
"My savior who came to ruin my life! Ah! Almond!"
Tako stood beside him and threw in a sharp comment, "No, you're the one ruining things."
"... Ahem."
— Really lol
— Exactly lol
— Right, what did Almond ruin? Lol
"Anyway! Let's line up! My manager is standing in line for me right now."
Thanks to that, it didn't take long for them to get inside.
"Alright~! You've waited a long time! Challengers! Everyone, please enter!"
It took about ten minutes to follow the staff's instructions and enter the challenge room.
Once inside, the host's voice boomed loudly, "Contestants, please enter the capsules!"
As they entered the capsules, all noises disappeared and it became pitch black. In the darkness, faintly glowing text appeared.
[Objective]
[Escape by saving as many students as possible.]
They received a rather straightforward objective. Everything else was still pitch black. Had around five seconds passed?
"Ummm..."
A familiar tune rang out along with the sound of waking from sleep.
Ding-a-ling ding-a-ling di~ng ding-a-ling ding-a-ling di~ng??
His view lit up. What caught his eye was…?
"!"
An empty classroom appeared with dark bloodstains and toppled desks as if a typhoon had passed by and bodies littered the ground.
'Wait, bodies...?'
Almond suddenly stood up after seeing the bodies.
Scurrrr!
In the eerily quiet classroom, the loud scraping of the chair echoed out.
— So scary.
— Like a horror game
— Where's the team??
Almond looked around. Perhaps he could use something as a weapon.
Creeeak...
The old wooden floor creaked. The sound didn’t come from Almond.
"Kruk... kr..."
A corpse in a blood-soaked white shirt stood up.
Crunch crunch...
The horrific sound of stiff muscles tearing could be heard. The figure approached, swinging a broken arm.
"Grrrr..."
'I don’t have a weapon. Maybe I should just run.'
Almond tried to move, but...
Boom!
[Panic]
He couldn't.
"Kaaaaaaaa!"
The zombie opened its mouth wide. Instead of approaching, it just widely yawned and tore its own mouth open.
"Kyaaaaa!"
Boiling gastric juices surged up.
— Wow
— Oh no…
— Seems like the zombie's drooling over Almond
— Wow, bring the instant rice!
— Is this a special zombie?? Wow, this is serious.