Season 3: Chapter 39: G-Star Settlement (4)
Everyone, including Pickled Radish, looked up enviously at the reward.
"It's not ten million won, but one million won!"
At that moment, no one immediately understood what was happening. It wasn't immediately comprehensible through words. The power of the subconscious and instinct was indeed frightening.
"!"
Small pieces that felt odd in Almond’s mind suddenly fit together like a puzzle.
Thump!
A realization hit him heavily.
"Oh no."
The embarrassment rushed in and a sound involuntarily escaped him.
"No wonder there were so many donations..."
— Just when I thought my luck was good today!
— So embarrassing lol
— ??? The drops have arrived! Why can't they be consumed!?
— lol
— This has become a reality
In stark contrast to his shock, the people around him either held back laughter or outright laughed.
Almond’s mind went blank, and his face flushed red.
— Spicy Almond lol
— His face turned red lol
— Ah, so cute
— Flushed Almond paradise
"Ah... uh... Almond? Did... the viewers trick you?"
Tricked? As if he would admit that!
"Ha... sigh."
He took a deep breath and struggled to respond.
"No, I just played along for fun..."
Almond claimed he had played along.
“Pff...!”
The host felt a need to hold back laughter. It was undeniably funny.
"Ah... that... it happens often, right? Viewers trying to tease streamers. Like... when they tell you to take off your shoes before boarding a plane... things like that?"
Almond's expression wasn't great. It seemed like he would really get upset.
Then, another fan interjected, "It's okay, Almond! The people have filled up nine million won with donations!"
Hearing this, Almond's expression relaxed again quite miraculously.
— lmao, you can see it all over his face lol
— ??? Oh right, I got nine million won?
— Suddenly all smiles lol
— Hey, hey, trust only your fans(?)
At the mention of nine million won, the host also probed further with the microphone.
"You received nine million won!? So you weren't tricked, right? You really made ten million won!?"
At this, Sang-Hyeon managed his expression and tilted his head.
"I did receive a lot of donations, but whether it's nine million won..."
"Ah. You haven't calculated it exactly? But you did receive a lot, it seems."
"Yes, I did receive a lot. I played along for that... haha..."
His inability to lie was obvious as he awkwardly scratched his head. Anyone could tell.
Sang-Hyeon himself knew that he was not skilled at lying. Despite this, he seemed reluctant to admit that the viewers had tricked him.
"Ah, so it went according to plan... something like that?"
"Yes. Well... something like that."
The audience could no longer hold back and laughed. The chat full of viewers also laughed.
— After all that, "according to plan" lol
— lmao
— Pretending not to be tricked~~
— lol
— Ah, so cute lol
— That's the face of someone whose plan worked, right? haha
— Ah, you had a plan all along...
The host patted him on the shoulder and concluded the award ceremony.
"Well, regardless. Almond has made nearly ten million won. Everyone, you see? Trust is important! It really does work out as you believe!"
Trust indeed paid off. It wasn't wrong to say that. The viewers had donated because he had believed them too naively.
"Almond, you've topped the final tally. What will you do now? Anything you'd like to buy at the auction?"
"I'll have to find out first."
"Find what? Is there an item you're looking for?"
"Who lied first."
"…!"
Whoosh!
Flames seemed to spark from Almond's eyes as he spoke.
— He said he played along lol
— lmao he's done it
— lol
— I'm here~ if you think it's you, come and bow your head~
***
After the rather unusual award ceremony concluded, various auctions and product sales using points started. Announcements spread through the speakers around the venue.
“Starting now, goods produced by game companies will be displayed at each booth. Contestants wishing to purchase may use their points.”
The time had come for everyone to spend their accumulated points, much like saving up a paycheck for a big shopping spree.
Clack.
Sang-Hyeon and Ju-Hyeok sat down at a table and engaged in a serious conversation.
"Did you know?" Sang-Hyeon asked Ju-Hyeok cautiously.
Although his tone sounded cautious, the intention felt like it could grab someone by the collar.
Ju-Hyeok vehemently denied it, "Ah, no!? I had no idea!"
"Really? You?"
"No, I've been busy with the contracts. I couldn't even watch your stream!"
"Sigh…"
Ju-Hyeok was telling the truth. Had he seen it, his personality would have compelled him to preemptively warn Sang-Hyeon to avoid any trouble.
"Then…"
Sang-Hyeon's gaze naturally drifted towards the chat window. After all, the culprit was among them.
"If you confess, I'll halve your sentence."
— lol
— Scary lol
— Could we go shopping instead? haha
[Mond-sama has donated 10,000 won.]
[Hey! They filled up ten million won for you! It was money that didn't exist in the first place!]
"They filled up ten million won? Ah…"
Indeed, that statement was true. The original prize for the challenge was one million won.
The ten million won didn't originally exist. It was the viewers who actually filled it up.
"However, money cannot buy justice."
Money was money and a lie was a lie.
The audience, no longer holding back, laughed openly. The viewers' chat window was also plastered with laughter.
— lmao
— Why so serious? lol
— Sounds like something a hero would say lol
— What is this, Kant? lol
"Since you're not confessing, I'll find out who brought it up first and ban them."
Tatatatat...
Before Sang-Hyeon could even speak, Ju-Hyeok unfolded his laptop next to him and began searching through the chat. It was clear to the viewers that the net was closing in on them.
— shudder
— Just not me~~~
— Are you really going to find them? lol
"Confess and I'll halve your sentence~"
— What's the sentence?
— Half?
— Half? That's a profit lol
"A thousand years."
— ???
— lmao
— So even if it’s reduced, isn't it still five hundred years? lol
— A thousand years means five hundred years if halved, who would confess? lol
— Just don't confess then lol
Confessions were not actually needed. Finding the first person to mention the lie wasn't a difficult task at all. They just had to search for ten million won and see who mentioned it first in today's chat.
Sang-Hyeon was just teasing them just as he had been teased.
"Confess now and I'll reduce it to a quarter. Last offer~"
— lmao
— 250 years? If you're lucky, the ban might be lifted lol
— If it turns into a cyberpunk world, maybe swapping some parts could help you survive?
— They really know how to spin it lol
No one took the absurd negotiation seriously. They had already identified the instigator.
"Yukino07."
— Gulp!
— They found them lol
— Really? lol
— My heart's dropping
Sang-Hyeon opened a private chat with them to begin the judgment.
"I'll give you a chance for a final plea."
[yukino07: I have severe astigmatism, I saw an extra zero...]
— Astigmatism lmao
— If you have severe astigmatism, shouldn't you be seeing double zeros?! haha
— Did you think of that excuse on the spot? lol
— Goodbye
"Ah... I understand."
As Almond nodded, Ju-Hyeok moved the mouse to make the selection.
[yukino07: Save me! Plea—]
[(Viewer banned)]
— lol
— Is it really a thousand years??
— "I understand" = Execution lol
— That final chat scream though lol
— Gone in real time...
— He was a good liar...
According to later stories, the suspension was actually not 1000 years but 1000 hours.
***
In fact, dealing with the instigator didn't completely resolve the issue.
[Breaking: Greedy Almond's award-winning speech, "Give me one more zero"]
Almond's speech on stage about missing one zero was misinterpreted and became perfect fodder for mockery. The audience openly laughed and the chat was also filled with laughter.
— lolololol "There's one zero missing!"
— I can't handle this lol
— Wow, Almond's fans really pulled it off, damn
└ Almond gets tricked so easily lol
└ He really doesn't understand the internet lol, so innocent
└ Easily tricked Almond lol
— Reminds me of when he jumped out of his seat in Zombie School because he thought he saw a ghost lol
└ lmao that was legendary too
Since the community always responded well every time he was mentioned, his viewers didn't miss this opportunity.
Click!
Click!
They tirelessly took countless clips and began spreading them all over the internet. Creating sensational titles was too easy, making it hard not to share them.
[Almond's Legendary Award Speech “One Zero Short”]
[Almond turns red with anger after receiving a prize, claiming "a zero is missing"]
[Almond's Lucky Day: “No wonder I got so many donations today…”]
[Almond's face looks like he lost a nation when he checked the prize money]
Among these numerous posts, some naturally rose to prominence. He was mentioned not only in gaming communities, but also in unrelated celebrity forums.
— Hey, Almond's fans did it~
— Damn, he got tricked into world-class status lol
— How could something like this happen at G-Star lol
— The record he set in the midst of this is so funny lol, all that passion because he was tricked lol
└ For real lol, while others were seeing a million, he was seeing ten million lol “Ten times the passion”
└ Really lol, “Tenfold passion”
These videos also spread as video donations to other streamers who weren't at G-Star.
Ding.
[BreakingNews has donated 10,000 won.]
[Today’s legendary award speech by Almond lol (Video)]
Ding.
[YEP has donated 4,000 won.]
[Breaking: Streamer asks for an additional 9 million won to his 1 million won prize]
Ding.
[Legend has donated 3,000 won.]
[Almond's award speech “The prize money is one zero short” (Video)]
The reactions of the streamers who saw these video donations varied.
"Eek..."
"What do we do!?"
"Hahaha! Ahh! I can't watch this!"
They either widened their eyes in shock, covered their mouths in embarrassment, or ducked out of the camera as if it were happening to them. The common denominator was that they all laughed uproariously.
The chats were no different.
— Give me one more zero damn lol
— lololol
— I hid under my blankets while watching this in bed lol
— Insane lol, legendary
— It would be insane if it happened to me lol
One person was collecting all these reactions. A woman with messy hair switching between two monitors and clicking her mouse.
Click. Click.
"We really hit the jackpot."
It was Almond's editor, Ji-Ah, who felt pleased with the variety of angles for more videos.
"Really... it's amazing. In many ways."
Nothing had turned out as she expected.