Season 3: Chapter 32: Stream Sniper (3)
To succeed in one attempt?
"If that’s just a recommendation... then it's not strictly necessary."
Almond thought succeeding at sniping with just one shot would be difficult.
However, Hannah shook her head and spoke again, "Our company strongly advises this. You are an asset."
"..."
— When Agent A died, you just coolly handed it over to Almond??
— Is that really a company recommendation, Hannah?
— Seems like very personal advice lol
"Please respond. We need your confirmation."
It seemed like he just had to agree to proceed with the game.
"Got it."
Hannah seemed to slightly lift the corners of her mouth.
"Operator 03. Sidekick Hannah. Agent Almond. We will proceed with the operation. The plan is to snipe from Point 8 and aim to escape and survive if the first shot fails."
Hannah listened to the operator saying something for a moment.
"Yes. Survival."
Crackle.
Then, Almond's in-ear piece immediately relayed a voice.
“This is Operator 03. Agent Almond. Eliminate the target…”
"Now, I will block the in-ear communication so you can concentrate."
She suddenly cut off the communication.
— ??
— What?
— lol typical
— Hannah wants to save him
— Wow
— Please fans, restrain your fantasies~
***
Actual long-distance sniping required far more than just good shooting skills. Regulating one’s breathing and pulling the trigger with perfect steadiness were essential requirements.
It required the patience to wait for hours and the willpower to remain motionless even as insects crawled on one’s body. That wasn’t all. Even choosing a shooting position was challenging.
Bullets seemed to fly straight, but followed a slight parabolic trajectory. At close range, this wasn’t a big deal. One could shoot thinking it was straight just by adjusting the gun’s sight, but what if one were to shoot over a distance of one kilometer or more?
They’d have to think of it as firing a small shell. A sniper had to calculate this angle themselves or have a soldier beside them to help with the calculations.
Here was another problem. This calculation involved too many variables. Elevation and distance, but also the strength and direction of the wind, the bullet's velocity, and even the Earth's rotation and slight changes in temperature and humidity.
These factors were insignificant in short-range shooting, but became enormous variables in sniping.
As the bullet traveled longer distances, these factors exponentially increased in influence.
Of course, the game did not require players to consider all these details. Otherwise, no one would succeed.
"I will do the basic calculations for you."
First, Hannah set the basic shooting point. This significantly reduced what the player had to consider.
"However, as the wind changes in real-time, you must adjust for it directly. If the enemy's position has changed, you must adjust for that too."
A sniper had to consider the wind and the target's movement. The wind was the only variable since the target would unlikely move much. He still had to aim, but it was much simpler than actual sniping.
'It's still challenging though.'
Even without the other variables, this was a mission that only top players in FPS games could succeed in. Sniping at 3.5 km was such a challenge.
"The target has sat down in the conference room."
Hannah looked through the binoculars and said, "Please begin aiming now."
Almond looked through the scope again. A long table was visible through the sparsely covered blinds. The shapes of several people sitting around could also be seen.
'What’s what?'
The distortion in the lens was too severe to distinguish clearly. Among them, a single red dot was just barely visible.
'... Is that it?'
The information was provided by a satellite, pinpointing the location for shooting. There, Hannah marked the suggested shooting point. It was green.
Almond swallowed dryly.
Gulp.
The movement of his Adam's apple and the resulting slight facial muscle movements caused his aim to deviate significantly before returning.
'Breathe.'
Almond controlled his breathing according to the method he learned in archery. He inhaled and exhaled. His aim slightly shifted accordingly and he discerned this pattern. No human could remain completely motionless. There was always some movement. However, it was about predicting this movement and shooting closest to the point of aim.
— It's tense wow
— Wow...
— Is it possible?
At some point, even the chat started to thin out.
He inhaled and held his breath. Then, without a moment's hesitation, his finger pulled the trigger.
Click.
***
Rustle.
Ju-Hyeok flipped through the documents and asked again, "So... it's not really a gameplay advertisement, but essentially an advertisement for the game's lead model?"
He expected quite a different type of advertisement.
"Yes, you could see it that way. However, the advertisement itself will be a gameplay video, so we're not renting a fancy studio to make a separate ad or anything."
It was a method commonly used in advertisements involving models nowadays. Streamers naturally played the game and introduced it as an advertisement. It seemed a bit cheap, but it was more effective than fancy ambiguous advertisements.
'In any case, it's a model-style advertisement.'
Whatever happened, Almond's face would be featured in their broadcast advertisements. If so, Almond's image would be consumed along with their image.
'This method does make more money though.'
They would use Almond’s image, but the pay was higher. That was why such offers usually went to celebrities with much higher image value. It was quite rare for such offers to come to streamers.
Usually, streamers were asked to play the game naturally because familiarity was their strength. However, they were proposing that Almond be a model for the advertisement.
For Ju-Hyeok, it was a tremendously generous offer that was hard to understand.
'The contract looks right though.'
He scrutinized it for a while, thinking he possibly misunderstood. There was nothing unusual.
"The pay is..."
"Ah, here it is."
Swoosh.
The figure was written separately on a piece of paper.
"... Hmm."
Ju-Hyeok tilted his head slightly.
'It's a bit below industry standards.'
Considering the company's size and Almond's status as a streamer, it seemed about right. As mentioned, this was usually something celebrities did.
'Honestly, it's on a very good level for us...'
Industry standards aside, it was a good offer for them. However—
"It's significantly below industry standards."
Thud.
Ju-Hyeok put down the contract with a displeased expression.
"Yes... yes?"
His resolutely stern tone made the other party flinch and their expression also hardened.
"Cough. No, Manager, I didn't expect you to react this way... it was tailored to the conditions of streamers."
They seemed a bit offended. Was it a performance? Or was it genuine? Either way, it wasn't particularly surprising. Actually, the conditions they offered were decent for a streamer.
It wasn’t as if they had offered something ludicrous. Of course, Ju-Hyeok took this stance for a reason.
'I think we can get more.'
He sensed an opportunity.
'For some reason, they really want this deal.'
Didn’t they say that the one who loved more loses in a love fight? Contracts were similar. The one who wanted it more ended up paying more. Thus, this deal was overwhelmingly advantageous for Ju-Hyeok.
Why? Ju-Hyeok's eyes scanned the room.
'Why? Why…?'
If only he could figure out why these people wanted this deal so badly, he could push harder.
'Should I just ask?'
He could just ask them outright.
‘Why are you proposing a model deal to us? You don't usually do this for streamers.’
Just like that, how straightforward and convenient would it be? Being nuanced was the challenge.
'It's like asking why they’re offering us such a good deal.'
It was too good of a deal. They could interpret his question like that.
'So…'
He could eliminate that nuance with a slight change in wording and still get the answer he wanted.
Ju-Hyeok decided to rephrase his question, "Hitman Simulator… doesn't seem like a fitting game to associate with Almond's image. Did you take that into account when you set the pay?"
Almond's image didn’t match. Therefore, the pay should be higher. It sounded like Ju-Hyeok was arguing this.
They would have to explain in their response.
"His image?"
"Yes, Almond is mainly associated with bows. This game is all about shooting guns. Moreover, it’s not even as a secret agent but as a hitman. Isn't that basically a contract killer?"
"…"
They would have to explain why Almond suited this advertisement. In doing so, they would inevitably reveal why they chose Almond as the model.
***
"Ah. Well…"
Manager Lee had his reasons.
"Our company is in a tricky position. We're fairly sizable, but our brand recognition is low. Investors tend to hesitate because of this."
It was because of what their production company’s CEO had said.
"This is exactly when we need a well-known advertising model…"
Yes, he was suggesting a celebrity ad model. They would ideally want a celebrity for that, but didn’t have the money.
"How about this? Let's contract with a streamer from G-Star who produces the best videos. Someone with decent recognition and good skills. Someone presentable."
That was it. The CEO had proposed contracting with one of the streamers at G-Star.
"Ah. Mr. CEO, all our other options have disappeared."
Almond suddenly showed up and it seemed like he would take all their challenge points. Then, no other streamers would come. They needed to gain something, right?
"We may not have the money, but we have brains. Let's set up the points in a tempting way… generously…"
They decided to propose a challenge with points per kill, which made the maximum earnable amount look incredibly high. It was actually really hard to succeed.
This was the CEO's idea.
"Mr. CEO, that’s a great idea. Yes."
The CEO really blew it this time. Following what the CEO said, they had no choice but to contract with Almond.
The CEO had thrown down the gauntlet at this G-Star to find a decent advertising model.
'What am I supposed to do about it?'
"Manager?" Ju-Hyeok asked again when the manager did not respond for a while.
"Cough. Ah... um..."
The manager struggled to find the right words.
"That..."
He couldn't tell the truth as it was.
'This guy is no ordinary person.'
Revealing that they were cornered was too risky, given the opponent they were facing. Under these conditions, other streamer managers would have taken the deal while negotiating. This guy seemed to have sensed something as if trying to take everything he could. Just like that guy playing the game right now!
'The real problem is we have no choice but to be stripped bare.'
After composing his thoughts briefly, the manager decided to focus solely on defending against Ju-Hyeok’s attacks.
"So, we are not asking you to act as a hitman. We have considered such differences in image and decided to substitute it with gameplay videos…"
He thought he was explaining it well.
Bang!
"!?"
Startled by the gunshot from the screen, the manager inadvertently turned his head.
'Did he succeed? Or fail?'
He knew Almond was attempting a 3.5 kilometer snipe from the ongoing sounds.
After a long delay, Almond finally attempted the shot. If he failed, there could still be a chance for other streamers to come.
Had he succeeded?
'Then, it's over.'
The manager glanced at the challenge points written on the employee's tablet. It really was time for them to close shop for the day.
His train of thought lasted only a moment, like the short time it took for Almond’s bullet to travel. That was all it was.
Then─
'Oops…'
Ju-Hyeok was smiling.
'Did he notice…?'
The sound of the gunshot had inadvertently attracted the manager’s gaze.
Ju-Hyeok had not missed a single thing while observing him.