Season 3: Chapter 31: Stream Sniper (2)
Following the one million won donation, another significant contribution from a major donor arrived. This time, it was a mission.
[Mission]
[1000 won per meter]
A mission not for every kill, but for the longest distance kill. Although it was a somewhat unfamiliar concept, the principle was the same as per-kill missions.
"Thank you for the mission, BigSon. I will definitely do well."
— Is this good? lol
— I'll empty your wallet ^^
— Let's snipe from the moon~!
"Hannah? What did you say the record was?" Almond asked again about the record for the longest distance snipe.
He thought he heard something earlier, but seemed to have misheard.
"The record is... simply put, about the length of three subway stations."
He hadn't misheard after all. He wondered if subway stations in New York were that closely spaced, but it was definitely not when she converted it to kilometers.
"Exactly 3.5 kilometers."
Being an archer, Almond had a pretty good sense of distance and understood immediately.
'That much...?'
He knew how unbelievably far 3.5 kilometers was.
— ??
— Wow lol
— 3.5 kilometers? (Can't feel it lol)
— How can you even see the target?
— You want to do that now?
"Of course, Agent. You're not expected to snipe that distance right away. It's just a reference for the maximum distance."
Almond wasn't listening. One thousand won per meter. One kilometer was a thousand meters, which meant one kilometer would earn him one million won. That meant 3.5 kilometers...
'... That’s 3.5 million won?'
This mission was potentially worth a whopping 3.5 million won.
***
Having some time, Ju-Hyeok's eyes flickered as he looked at the screen.
"... BigSon? You're coming by often today?"
BigSon was a well-known major donor on Treevy. He truly lived up to his name, but no information was released about who he was or what he did. That wasn't strange.
'No, that's even better.'
Ironically, having no information in this scene proved that someone was clean. Most scammers tended to flaunt their wealth, but BigSon? A true light of Treevy, he quietly made donations based on interest without any personal exposure! That was why he was highly regarded on Treevy.
— Wow BigSon wow
— He's here again??
— Wow
— Is he settling in now?
— 90,000 viewers came because of him lol
— Brother!
Unlike other major donors, BigSon received quite a positive response from viewers. There were no backdoor advertisements or deals. It was a real donation.
— One thousand won per meter lol
— A gas station?
— lol that's creative
This time, BigSon had set a mission instead of a donation.
'This isn't common.'
As far as Ju-Hyeok knew, it was very rare for BigSon to set a mission. While he frequently made major donations, he rarely set missions.
The reason was unknown, but he had set a mission this time that was very helpful for the stream. One thousand won per meter for a snipe kill.
— Wow, I've never seen a BigSon mission before.
— I've never seen BigSon talking in units of a thousand won either lol
— A thousand won? Is he a cheapskate? lol
Ju-Hyeok momentarily tapped away on the calculator in his mind.
'A thousand won per meter means...'
Although a thousand won could sound misleading, it wasn’t a small amount. Succeeding at a 500 meter shot alone would bring in a whopping 500,000 won. Even regular trainees shot 150 meters with a K2 rifle.
In a game, what could a skilled player do with a sniper rifle? Five hundred meters wasn’t a difficult task.
If Ju-Hyeok's expectations were correct, Almond would aim for a snipe over one kilometer. He would probably even attempt three kilometers. It was worth trying with the game's adjustments.
'Then, three million?!'
Almond had already shot a million won earlier. What about now?
Ju-Hyeok knew BigSon was generous, but this was beyond expectations. It was like shooting someone’s monthly salary in one day.
'His reputation isn't for nothing.'
Previously, BigSon had only made a one-off donation. He hadn't come back for a while after making a big donation. Would this time be different?
'Will he stick around a bit longer?'
Ju-Hyeok merely hoped, but he felt BigSon would stay a bit longer today.
"Ah. Manager, have you been waiting long?"
"No, not at all."
The person had briefly gone to fetch some documents and returned.
"Here it is."
It was a proposal for advertising Hitman Simulator.
***
"Hey, hey. Right now, the manager and Almond's manager are talking."
The rest of the booth staff whispered among themselves.
"Looks like they're trying to get Almond on that contract, huh?"
"Right. The CEO told us to focus all our efforts on the best streamer who comes to our G-Star booth."
"It's only the first day... Are they deciding already?"
Among the streamers who had come, the CEO said to pick and concentrate on the best one. To make a choice already seemed strange, yet there was a sufficient reason for it.
"Firstly, it gets more expensive as time goes on."
"That's true."
In such a free market, it was always cheapest to make early agreements.
"Secondly, no more streamers are likely to come."
"...?"
The staff were momentarily puzzled, but soon understood what that meant.
"Ah..."
They were running out of challenge points. At this rate, they didn’t have enough points left for a well-known streamer to come and play the game.
"The CEO said to focus and concentrate on the best streamer who comes today at G-Star, but no more streamers are coming."
Because that person had cleaned them out.
"So, we have no choice but to follow the CEO's orders, right?"
"Right. Who else would come to a booth without any points left?"
"Ah..."
That was right. For them, the only option was to make a deal with Almond or pray that Almond wouldn't take all their points.
"You never know. Has he never tried sniping?"
"Ah... That's true."
Their only hope was that Almond was a complete novice at sniping.
"..."
A moment of silence passed.
"But, Deputy Park. Do missions often occur on Almond's stream?" one of the employees who possibly foresaw this situation asked Assistant Manager Park.
After all, Assistant Manager Park had said he was a regular viewer of Almond's channel.
"Ah... Missions don't normally appear often, especially those incentive-type missions. Viewers avoid them because it costs too much when it comes to Almond."
"Huh?"
The questioner was taken aback.
"But there have been two missions set in our challenge?"
"That's because..."
‘That's because Almond is mistaking the prize money of one million won for ten million won. They're trying to fill in a bit beforehand to prevent any future trouble.’
This explanation nearly slipped out, but Assistant Manager Park held back his words.
"In summary, it's just bad luck."
The detailed situation was actually meaningless. From their perspective, it was simply a case of bad luck.
Almond had chosen this game as the last one to earn as many challenge points as possible. Today, he happened to have a misunderstanding involving nine million won.
Their booth had nothing to do with it. It was just a natural disaster-like coincidence.
Assistant Manager Park responded evasively, "Well, it seems our game is good for setting missions."
They decided to think positively.
***
Vroom.
Almond and Hannah had changed vehicles and kept moving. Unlike before, they were driving a small inconspicuous car this time. The back seat was just large enough to snugly fit the sniping-related equipment.
"Agent, I will send the sniping locations via the map."
Zing.
As Hannah drove and waved, information popped up on Almond's lenses. The key target’s likely location was marked in red. The places from which he could snipe were marked in yellow.
"You can choose the place you want."
Naturally, the sniping distances differed from place to place.
[Point - 1] [1.2 km]
[Point - 2] [0.8 km]
[Point - 3] [1.3 km]
[Point - 4] [2.9 km]
...
They ranged from as short as 800 meters...
[Point - 8] [3.5 km]
And also a distance of 3.5 km, which was referred to as the record. Seeing it directly on the map, the distance was no joke. Could anyone imagine being sniped from such a distance and dying?
— Snipers are no joke wow
— The one dying must feel so futile
— Is he going for 3.5 million won?
[Point - 8] [3.5 km]
[Chosen]
Almond selected Point 8.
— 3.5 million won lol
— Blinded by money lol
— He's choosing that??
— Has Almond ever sniped before?
— What's this confidence?
Viewers were curious about his experience, given his fearless choice of the farthest location.
Bam!
[RubySword has donated 100,000 won!]
[Almond, have you ever tried sniping before?]
"Ah, thank you for the 100,000 won, RubySword. I've never sniped before, but I've been sniped."
— lol
— He's been sniped a lot lol
— Real sniper lol
— Wow 100,000 won wow
— Insane donation
'Today's donation luck is really good.'
RubySword usually donated in ten thousand won increments. Was it just his gut feeling? She had been donating at least 100,000 won each time since earlier.
"Agent? Are you sure about the chosen location?" Hannah asked, looking into the rearview mirror.
"Yes."
"It's excessively dangerous."
"It's okay."
She had now gotten used to Agent Almond's style.
"Sigh."
She didn't try to persuade him further.
"Moving to Point 8."
***
Point 8 was a high-rise building being used as a luxury hotel. Almond and Hannah moved to the top floor with the sniper rifle parts hidden in their travel bags. To avoid suspicion, they even booked a room.
"We'll unpack the basic luggage and move to the rooftop."
The rooftop was originally locked, but Hannah had a master key.
"Normally, we would secretly request cooperation. Due to the urgent change in operation and budget issues, I just stole it."
— Startup Assassination Company lol
— No lol
— Why are you telling us this? lol
Clank.
Once they reached the skyscraper's rooftop, the first thing they felt was the wind.
Whoooosh.
The wind was much stronger up here than it was below.
'This could introduce variables.'
Even with a gun, the bullet traveling 3.5 kilometers could significantly deviate due to the wind.
"I'll set it up here."
Hannah installed a gun rest on one side of the railing. The installation was done in an instant. Almond placed the gun on it and looked through the scope.
'...!'
— Wow
— Eh?
— Can't even see clearly??
— lol
The scope could zoom over a distance of 3.5 kilometers. The magnification was extreme to the point of being fatal.
'What's what…?'
It was unclear exactly what or where he was looking at. Was it a person moving out there?
"I'll make the adjustments for you."
After confirming the enemy's location with binoculars, Hannah came up behind Almond and adjusted the gun while holding his hand.
"About here..." Hannah whispered into his ear. "Do you see it, Agent?"
— ??
— Is that the right posture? lol
— Aren't they too close!?
— Does this game also have Face ID? lol
— It's bugged for real
The viewers were going wild.
'Let's focus.'
Almond took his eyes off the chat and looked at where Hannah pointed. The focus was much better than before. And...
'That's it.'
A red dot was marked above the target’s head.
"I'll lock it in."
Click.
The gun rest and the gun itself almost became one, making it nearly impossible to move without considerable force. Nevertheless, even a slightly heavy breath could cause one’s aim to sway by tens of meters relative to the target. There was a chance of hitting someone entirely unintended.
"I will explain the sniping mission," Hannah began explaining while they remained in the same position.
— Why explain it like that? lol
— Are we supposed to do this too? Should I buy this? Or sue them?
— What's the life of an alpha male? lol
— It will be easier to hear right next to each other.
— Hannah has finally become possessed... Insider Satan...
"If the first sniper shot fails, the success rate for the next one is very low. According to our elite agent statistics, it's only about 9%."
Hannah paused to catch her breath before continuing.
"Also, if the enemy notices the presence of the sniper, the sniper's probability of death is very high. About..."
There was really no need to know the specifics. Hannah did not mention the exact probability.
"Agent, our company recommends that if the first shot fails, you should immediately flee. Do you agree?"