Season 3: Chapter 34: Unexpected Team Play (2)
“I’m being frank with you because it seems like there’s going to be no progress. If I were you, I wouldn’t do it this way.”
‘What? Speak frankly? This insolent…’
The manager's lips had become tightly pursed. Indeed, he was infuriated. This damned streamer manager was fully aware of the situation.
How was it that this newcomer understood it better than his clueless subordinates? Even though he had explained the current situation repeatedly during meetings, those idiots only asked more questions because they couldn't understand.
Life really was unfair. Was the disparity in capabilities supposed to be this vast?
“Sigh.”
A sigh escaped his lips involuntarily. He checked the screen to cool off. At least it was fortunate that Almond had failed the sniping mission.
‘Let's push a bit harder.’
Now he also had to endure the thought of not signing the contract if it got any worse. The chance of that happening wasn’t absolutely zero, but he needed to change strategies.
“Mr. Ju-Hyeok is right. This is our company's situation...”
He had to go with a submissive and pleading attitude, inducing sympathy. People with such sharp personalities were surprisingly weak against such approaches.
“But! Still, it's difficult to push it any more than this!”
“Then, let’s just not do it.”
“Yes, yes... thank you for your consideration... Sorry!?”
What was he saying now? Not to do it? Was he playing hard to get?
“Yes. Earlier, you said you wouldn't do it anymore. As it stands, it's difficult for us under these conditions too.”
“Ha...?”
The manager couldn't hide his astonishment. This was clearly a good deal for Almond. Who was this guy?
“The game doesn’t match well and the advertising style doesn’t suit the streamer... It's just an advertisement that has to be done for the money. If the money doesn't match, we can't do it.”
“... Ah, no. This condition is... isn’t it standard for streamers?”
Ju-Hyeok shook his head.
“It's not up to Almond’s standard. It doesn’t feel like the cost of sacrificing his image has been considered in the budget,” Ju-Hyeok stated the reasons he had mentioned before.
“...”
No, that had been budgeted so the manager had nothing to say. That guy just didn’t acknowledge it. What could he say?
Moreover, Ju-Hyeok had already said they wouldn't do the advertisement. Was one supposed to yell at someone continuously rejecting their love confession, asking why they wouldn’t date them?
They just didn’t like the deal!?
‘This can’t be.’
Under these conditions, how could they not like it?
‘I have a car, a house, everything! But they just didn’t like it.’
There was nothing to do but step back.
‘This can’t be.’
The manager repeated the same phrase once more, furrowing his brows.
He had to snap out of it. This wasn’t like rejecting a love confession. This was high-level psychological warfare. He had to try and get more out of it. Yeah, he had to push harder and maybe even send him out of the booth.
‘But can you handle that risk?’
That guy had already mentioned it. The situation was already incredibly volatile. It was unknown who the next streamer would be or what kind of person would arrive.
The president had insisted on showing their mettle at G-Star. Indeed, it was rare to find an opportunity for a win-win contract at G-Star.
'Still, let's close our eyes and try.'
Somehow, he didn't want to lose. Yes, one could simply call it stubbornness. He didn't want to lose to someone so physically imposing yet seemingly weak.
“Still—”
Bang!
At that moment, the manager's eyes involuntarily returned to the screen.
'Again?'
Wasn't the sniping mission a failure? Was Almond shooting again?
In Hitman Simulator, the player always had more opportunities as long as they survived. Yes, as long as they survived.
‘The sniping mission failed, but he survived?’
Almond was still strangely alive. The manager thought he would have died by now, but he had survived and was even performing another sniping mission.
On the screen, another bullet was already flying.
***
The bullet flew much slower than in reality at a speed slow enough for the player to fully appreciate it.
— Will it work this time?
— Let’s go!
— Please…
— A 4.1 million won bullet lol
Swoosh…
The bullet lit up a flame from the muzzle and traced a gentle parabola as it flew. It flew through the sky cluttered with buildings, gradually heading downward until it landed.
The car waiting at a traffic signal was transporting the wounded target to the hospital. The target was identified as lying in the third row of the car.
— Wow
— It worked
— Amazing
The bullet flew accurately toward the red dot where the target was expected to be.
Boom!
The bullet precisely struck the red dot. It was the third-row window.
— Damn
— Wow
— Woah!
— Shit
Crack…!
The window shattered into hundreds of pieces.
“?”
Crack!
The bullet was crushed. Then, it bounced off.
— ??? Is this bulletproof glass!?
— Is it really bulletproof?
— Wasn’t he supposed to hit the tire?
— It’s really bulletproof, he screwed up
It was bulletproof glass.
Hannah peered through the binoculars and stood up to scold him, “Agent! Weren’t you supposed to shoot the tire?”
She had suggested shooting the tires and already assumed the glass was bulletproof. Hadn't he heard her?
However, it wasn't over yet.
Thud!
Almond fired consecutive bullets. The second bullet embedded itself in the window at the same location precisely where the previous bullet hole was.
Creak…!
The sticky pieces of glass stuck to each other began to shake.
— Damn
— Wow
— Could it be? lol
— Shocked expression inside lol
It took only a moment for the second and third bullets to embed themselves.
Bang!
Boom!
In an instant, two more bullets forcefully struck the same spot.
“!”
The next bullet made a different sound.
Whoosh!
— Crazy lol
— Did you know? Bullets can penetrate glass
— This one?
One of the security personnel inside suddenly collapsed.
“Cough!”
Whoosh!
Another bullet fired in succession brought down another person. The inside of the car grew chaotic. No, there wasn't even enough time for chaos.
Almond had fired around a dozen bullets at once. It didn’t take long for the remaining fourteen bullets to hit after the first. Everything happened in around five to six seconds, too short a time for humans to react.
“Step on the accelerator!”
“Just go forward!”
“Grrrr!”
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
More individuals collapsed in the car. Eventually, no one was left to shield the dying patient from Almond's muzzle.
Thud!
A bullet precisely penetrated the forehead of the target marked with a red dot.
Brrrrrr!
Subsequently, more bullets burrowed into the target's face, completely destroying it beyond recognition.
“...”
Watching the scene through binoculars, Hannah shivered as she stood up and looked at Almond.
“Amazing!”
— Amazing lol
— Really amazing lol
— ??? I believed in you! You're the hero of our village!
— As expected, Agent lol
— Wow
Hannah cried out in an excited voice for the first time, “Mi-Mission… success! Agent, it's a 4.1 kilometer sniping success! That's a new record!”
Hannah clapped like a seal and was momentarily distracted.
Brrrrrrum!
A loud trumpet blared.
[BigSon has donated a whopping 4.1 million won!]
[Toss~]
Such an amount had been unheard of for a donation.
***
“… A 4.1 kilometer sniping success! That’s a new record!”
Upon hearing this through the screen, the manager felt like the sky was falling.
“It’s a record, you say?”
Ju-Hyeok, fully aware of the situation, grinned and started to nag.
“A 4.1 kilometer snipe, how much does that come out to? Including the numbers he killed while escaping…”
Tat-tat-tat.
Ju-Hyeok was busily punching numbers into a calculator and offered his help.
‘That guy… Does he even know how to calculate points?’
He seemed better than the trained support staff they had brought in.
“Wow. It might have been better for you if it had been a 3.5 kilometer success earlier.”
“…”
The manager was left speechless, merely listening to Ju-Hyeok's relentless calculations. He couldn't deny any of it. He had been excited about Almond failing the 3.5 km mission, trying to push for better terms. Now, he would fail to break even and risked losing the seed money entirely.
They had been uprooted. That was the appropriate word.
Swish.
Ju-Hyeok, grinning from ear to ear, passed over a note.
“You must be distressed. I've set the right price for you. This price takes both sides into consideration. It’s not a price called out carelessly.”
The manager looked at the note Ju-Hyeok handed him with a vacant stare.
‘Both sides considered my foot… This downright swindler, this…’
He was already drained of strength and lacked the mental energy to respond. Unwittingly, his hand moved to sign.
Yes, that's right. This seemed like the right number. He just wanted to rest now, his thoughts continually siding with Ju-Hyeok. When he came to his senses, the contract had already been signed.
Ju-Hyeok walked out of the booth with a beaming smile. The manager, failing to even see him off properly, collapsed exhausted in his chair.
“Sigh.”
He should have called the boss to just overthrow everything. He thought of this too late after the fact. It was already far too late.
***
“Wow…! A whopping 4.1 million won! Thank you for the donation, BigSon!”
It was essentially a record for a single donation. Of course, this was a record limited to Almond’s channel. Still, it was a tremendous amount of money.
— OMG
— Wow, that’s like my salary right there...
— Insane
— Son! You must grow up to be like Almond! Son! You must grow up to be like Almond! Son! You must grow up to be like Almond!
— Wow
— KingGodGeneralEmperorBigSon~
— Son! If you can't study, you’ll have to become like Almond, right? Son! If you can't study, you’ll have to become like Almond, right? Son! If you can't study, you’ll have to become like Almond, right?
After the large donation came through, smaller donations followed suit.
[RubySword has donated 100,000 won.]
[Did you know? People die when they get sniped.]
[SoRyongPo has donated 100,000 won.]
[Oh congrats~]
[BubbleSniper has donated 30,000 won.]
[You sniped almost as good as me lol]
— Ruby princess lol If you get sniped, you die lol
— Oh my stomach, princess. I'm dying~
— BubbleSniper, what are you saying? lol
— BubbleSniper for real? lol
— If getting sniped means death, how many times has BubbleSniper killed Bubblegum
— The real sniper lol lol lol
“Thank you all so much for the donations.”
— Wow, nutty guy lol 100,000 won and he rounds it off to everyone~
— Now your names are known to all, get it?
— Just received 4.1 million won~~
“I've received so much. I can't just pass this by.”
Almond seemed eager to show something for the first time in a while.
— Could it be that?
— Wow, it's been a while
— Nut reaction market price currently 4.1 million won! OMG
— In the old days, he showed us for just 100,000 won lol
— But what will he use, there’s no bow
The viewers guessed that he was about to do a donation reaction. They weren’t wrong.
“Hannah?”
“Yes?”
“Let’s go to the armory.”
However, it was a different version of the reaction they were used to.