Season 3: Chapter 106: Unemployed Fleet (2)
Many surprises took place in Group E where Korea belonged, but France's defeat was the biggest shock recently covered by foreign and domestic gaming webzines. Although the coverage was ongoing, articles labeled it a complete defeat due to France’s dismal performance.
[France National Competition “Eliminated in Qualifiers” A Shock in Group E]
[France, A Predictable “Fall”, Paid the Price for Stopping]
[France's National Competition Stuck in a Rut]
France had been eliminated in the group stage after the match against Korea. While their elimination provided hope for the remaining teams, it was also bad news for Spain.
The comments left by angry Spaniards were very telling.
— Damn French. Making fun of us with their Invincible Fleet talk and they can't win a single match.
— Now I understand, Koreans don't eat dogs; they eat France.
— France should stick to making bread.
— It's either bread or death for them. And they chose death.
— You’re out of Europe.
Comments full of anger were directed toward France.
The French national team felt unfairly targeted since they were being criticized not only by their own people, but also by the Spaniards. Their only fault was not performing well.
A few days later, the Spanish viewers' anger shifted from France to another target.
Ding.
[Fake Opponent]
An interview video appeared on Almond's channel.
— Not even fake, but fake opponent lol.
— Everything’s fake except his archery and interviews...
— Editor recovered?? It's already uploaded.
— Just a regular video for a change.
— Oh, straight upload without a premiere lol.
***
Even those who supported winning teams rarely watched post-game interviews.
Few Spaniards watched the interviews of games that didn't involve their own team. Some players waited specifically for Almond's interview. However, the general public worked from nine to six and watched highlights in their free time. They didn’t have any time for interviews, especially games that didn’t involve Spain.
Therefore, as before, they saw Almond's interview on YouTube.
[Fake Opponent]
This video of Almond's post-match interview after France’s defeat featured multiple subtitles in different languages including French, Spanish, Russian, and English. It was clearly made to be seen by their opponents.
With Almond’s channel seeing an increase in foreign viewers, it was bound to appear with the help of algorithms related to Civil Empire.
— No respect for the opponent?
— Got lucky in one match and talks like they beat Rome too.
— Korea isn't even a match for Spain. Know your place.
And so on. Explicit negative comments appeared mostly in Spanish.
Many Korean comments appeared too.
— Die die die die die die...
Such spam comments could also be seen.
— Please shut up. Please shut up. Please shut up.
The insulting comments only used simple language likely due to Spaniards using translators to spam Korean comments.
However, as much as the enemies disliked it, allies enjoyed it even more.
— Spain is so pissed lol.
— Just forget about it. You got a problem?
— They get mad whether he mentions them or not lol.
└ True lol.
└ He mentioned the Invincible Fleet and they got mad. When he didn’t mention it, they were still mad. What do you want?
Netizens found the opponents' anger amusing and the conflict added excitement to the game.
— This is like watching pro wrestling lol.
Someone compared it to pro wrestling. Although all pro wrestling fights were staged, people loved the conflicts and rivalries created by them. Having a storyline definitely drew in more viewers.
Almond unintentionally created such a setup in the national competition. Perhaps that was why...
[330,000 Views]
In a short time, the video surpassed 300,000 views. Statistically, it would reach over 1.5 million views.
"… He’s not just good at archery," Ji-Ah muttered as she watched the trending graph.
Her complexion had improved since uploading the last video. She would be able to upload today’s video too.
"He’s a natural at noise marketing."
She knew Almond didn't intend for this in his interviews. Anyone who knew Yu Sang–Hyeon would understand. If he intended to verbally attack someone, it wouldn't have been so roundabout.
This time, he was just thinking about the Rome match and the previous Invincible Fleet comment was just a funny joke he wanted to make. Despite that, the reactions were always intense. There was no other word for it but natural talent.
This interview video required no special editing. It was just a cut of the interview.
"This is all I did."
At the end of the video, Ji-Ah simply added the news that Spain had lost to Italy. That was all she did. It made it seem like Spain lost because of Almond's interview, but only Spain knew the truth.
Of course, they would deny it to the end.
— Spain didn’t lose because of the interview. Don’t be arrogant.
— Do you think the world revolves around you? Nutty Almond.
— I want to roast him.
Negative comments from abroad continued to increase.
"OMG."
[Turn Off Translation]
Ji-Ah clicked the button to turn off the translations. This way, she couldn't understand the Spanish comments.
Even if there were Korean hate comments, so what? The video views were soaring and everyone else’s reactions were positive.
It felt satisfying and amusing.
"But…"
As she observed the video’s progress, she realized something.
"There’s nothing for me to do."
Because Korea lost against Italy, the only interview was this video. There wasn’t much to upload from Almond’s recent brief streams.
"No interviews mean there’s nothing to do."
Even winning wouldn’t guarantee an interview. There would be even less to do if they advanced to the finals.
Ji-Ah would end up being unemployed. She stared at Almond’s channel.
The top three trending videos were all popular uploads.
[Fake National Team ep.1 The Heart Is Real]
[Fake National Team ep.2 Release]
[short: Fake National Team Cookie Video]
Ji-Ah hadn’t participated in the Fake National Team’s production. Another company made those videos.
Someone else made the top three videos on the channel that she managed. It felt strange. At first, she didn’t want to admit it.
However—
"It’s different."
One couldn’t help but acknowledge the Fake National Team series after watching it. The production team consisted of top-tier professionals. They had created something unique. It reminded her of the quality and organization that only a company could pull off. She had almost forgotten about that fact since she left her company a while ago.
‘Their production was quite good too…’
Memories of her previous company surfaced.
‘No.’
She shook her head, trying to brush off the memories, but they flooded in once they surfaced.
“Why did Mr. Lee pass this? I’m so curious.”
“Ji-Ah, sigh… never mind. I’ll just do it. Explaining everything is exhausting.”
“Didn’t you learn this at school?”
"… Ugh."
Ji-Ah grimaced. She wasn’t confident in dealing with people and clashing over work. She preferred working alone.
Even if she worked alone, she also had Ju-Hyeok and Almond.
"Sigh."
She sighed and lay her head on the desk.
Ding.
A notification rang out from Almond's channel.
[Fake National Team ep.3 Unemployed Fleet]
[Premieres in 1 Hour!]
Today was the match against Spain, so a new Fake National Team video had been uploaded.
— Finally!!
— It's here~!
— Carrot, please come out!
— Best choice 3 hours before the match.
— hi hi~~!
— Another premiere!!
***
As always, the video started with familiar noisy static.
Bzzzz.
"Hey, boss."
Chi-Seung stood in front of the camera.
He was talking to someone off-screen on the phone and asked in disbelief, "What do you mean I should quit?"
The audience couldn’t hear the phone conversation, but they didn’t need to.
"─── said I confessed? What kind of…?"
Chi-Seung had to repeat the absurd words he heard, revealing the conversation.
— Backlash of the confession attack, lol.
— Insane lol.
— LMAO.
— Wow, she’s really cold-hearted.
"Ah, no. I really did confess. Yes… You said no dating among part-timers. Yes… Not to flirt… you did say that."
The viewers could tell what kind of conversation was taking place just by Chi-Seung’s words.
— Sounds like the boss is getting at him lol.
— He’s the type of person who just talks and doesn’t listen to others.
— No hope for this one;;
Chi-Seung tried to explain, but to no avail.
"Yes, I really did confess. But…"
Chi-Seung grew frustrated and beat his chest.
— He admitted that he confessed lol.
— How does he explain this? lol
— LMAO.
— Let’s just get another part-time job, Chi-Seung.
"I honestly work better, right? I’ve been there longer too!"
Explaining the confession attack was difficult, so he tried to argue that he was the better worker. This strategy didn’t work either.
"Yes… she does bring in customers. Yes… she is an important asset."
The girl who received Chi-Seung’s confession was also a key employee.
"Then, are there any customers who come because of me? Ah… no, I wasn’t joking. Yes, I’m listening seriously."
— ???
— What is he doing? lol
— Chi-Seung…
— Guess there are none, lol.
Trying various arguments turned out useless.
"Sigh. Fine. I won’t do it anymore. Can you at least pay me my remaining pay… Boss? Hello?"
The call abruptly cut off.
"My paycheck…"
Chi-Seung’s face turned red, veins popping in his temples. He had reached his limit and couldn’t hold it in any longer.
He opened his mouth wide and let out a roar full of rage, "Ahhhhhhhhhh! This! ─! ──! Ahhhhhhh!"
Thud!
With his shout, the screen went black and the title appeared.
[Fake National Team]
[Fake Athlete]
— LMAO.
— I’m laughing so hard, hahahahha.
— Funniest intro I’ve seen!
— So satisfying~
— How many beeps were there? lol
— Is this why it’s called Unemployed Fleet??
— So pitiful, but so funny, lmao.