Cha Jin-Hyeok felt a visceral surge of fury, but he could not pinpoint why it was so. Perhaps deep within him, he recognized Egan Paul as his rival.

‘I am disappointed in you, Egan.’

Egan’s performance was starkly different from that of Bong King and Kang Mi-Na, who had evolved considerably as a Streamer. Egan had no unique Traits or character; he was just passively capturing the view for the livestream.

“Did you lose your touch?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“…”

“Is this the performance of America’s top Streamer?”

When Jin-Hyeok took a closer look at Egan, the latter seemed to be affected by, perhaps, a mental attack or brainwashing. It was puzzling why a Streamer would be affected by such an attack as any real Streamer should have Imperial Resilience, but Jin-Hyeok had no idea what Egan was doing.

‘How is this guy my rival? How dare he eye my top spot?’

Jin-Hyeok slapped Egan again. The strange thing was, with every slap, Egan’s eyes became clearer.

“…Hit me,” Egan said.

“What?”

“I said… hit me again.” .𝒎

“If you insist.” Jin-Hyeok wrapped his arm in flames and repeatedly slapped Egan.

After just a few hits, Egan’s lips burst with blood and his cheeks swelled.

“Don’t you do any physical training?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“…”

‘Wow, it’s so disappointing! How can a Streamer not do any physical training? How does he plan on livestreaming in extreme conditions? He isn’t relying solely on his Skills, is he?’

Unable to hide his disappointment, Jin-Hyeok slapped Egan again multiple times. “This is a rather mysterious phenomenon.”

Slap! Slap!

“My Black Flame Martial Art, or rather, my Black Flame Slap Art is purifying Egan’s mind. It seems his mind was poisoned.”

Jin-Hyeok assumed it was the doing of Humphrey Millen. Humphrey was known as a famous Anesthetic and Potion Mage when he was working with Jonprich. An expert in handling poisons, he had probably used toxic herbs on Egan and disguised them as mental attacks.

‘How can a top-ranked Streamer fall for something like that?’

Just the thought of it irritated Jin-Hyeok.

Slap! Slap!

“My Black Flame devours the deadliest poisons.”

His flame could remove poison. This was new information for Jin-Hyeok as well. He was not just resistant to poison below the Snake King Grade, but he could also remove poison from others.

“Activate Broadcaster’s Barrier.” At some point, Egan seemed to have regained his senses.

‘Oh? Not bad. But that’s not gonna stop me.’

Jin-Hyeok paused for a bit and slapped Egan again. Egan momentarily deactivated Broadcaster’s Barrier and reactivated it to block his slap. The transition was pretty smooth and quick, which pleased Jin-Hyeok.

‘Well, at least he did that correctly.’

Jin-Hyeok could have fooled Egan and hit him again, but he chose not to. Repeating the same things could make the livestream boring.

With his senses fully restored, Egan managed to speak. “Don’t waste your time on me, Chul-Soo.”

“What does that mean?”

“Humphrey’s real target is not the Golden Guardian Tree.”

? ? ?

Egan had begun to regain his senses the moment Jin-Hyeok had started to slap him. When he had somewhat regained his consciousness, he was puzzled.

‘Chul-Soo is not questioning me about trying to kill his Guardian Tree at all.’

Obviously, Chul-Soo had already figured out who was behind all this.

‘That’s why he is healing me with that black flame or whatever.’

Of course, that had not been the case. Jin-Hyeok had wrapped his right arm in the black flames only to make the slap look cooler. The purifying effect of the flame had been activated inadvertently. However, given the situation, it was easy for Egan to misunderstand.

‘And just now, he read my Broadcaster’s Barrier perfectly.’

As the one getting hit, Egan knew this very well. Chul-Soo could have hit him even more.

‘But he didn’t.’

That meant Chul-Soo’s real intent was not to assault him. Chul-Soo was waking him up using his purifying effect, allowing him to escape from the fog-filled abyss.

‘He is considerate of me in many ways. Is it because we are Players in the same field? Or because we are rivals?’

Egan could not figure out why Chul-Soo was being so considerate.

‘I tried to cut down his Golden Guardian Tree.’

No matter how much Egan had been brainwashed, it was no excuse.

‘And yet, he…’

Chul-Soo was critiquing the quality of Egan’s livestream while showing a competitive spirit. Egan was moved.

‘Joseph was right.’

Egan finally understood why Joseph had left him to assist Chul-Soo. Today was a complete defeat for him, and Chul-Soo was the grand victor.

‘I have no choice but to tell him.’

It was the least he could do.

“Don’t waste your time on me, Chul-Soo.”

“What does that mean?”

“Humphrey’s real target is not the Golden Guardian Tree.”

Jin-Hyeok looked surprised. Seeing his expression, Egon felt a strange emotion.

‘He’s acting? Hm… he doesn’t seem to be particularly good at it.’

“Then, what is his real target?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“I can’t say. It’s bound by a contract.”

“Speak.” Jin-Hyeok lifted his Greatsword of La’kan and pointed it at Egan’s neck.

“I’m not refusing to tell you. I just can’t. I am bound by the System contract.”

“If you don’t speak, I will kill your comrade, who you care for.”

Egan continually felt something was off. Chul-Soo gave off a strange aura, something he could only sense now that they were face to face.

“Kill my comrade?”

“Black Butterball. I’ve forgiven her six times and was prepared to do so for another. But depending on your answer, I might not.”

Egan finally realized the strangeness.

‘This is scripted!’

The way Chul-Soo talked was unnatural. Chul-Soo was definitely spouting lines he thought sounded cool.

‘He is not actually curious about the real target.’

It seemed like Chul-Soo was only thinking about how to make his viewers more engrossed at that particular moment. Cold sweat trickled down Egan’s back.

‘Chul-Soo already knows that Humphrey’s real goal lies in Scanorbia.’

? ? ?

Pufangculi, one of the great warriors of Scanorbia, gripped his axe. He did not look favorably upon the decisions of the Great Leader Khan.

‘How could he offer land to Players from another Server, especially those who are not even warriors?’ Pufangculi thought.

It was an act unacceptable for a warrior.

“Brothers, take up your arms!”

“Whaaaa!”

The warriors following him lifted their weapons high.

“Show the cowards of Earth what a true warrior is!”

“Whaaa!”

Leading a force of nearly a hundred warriors, Pufangculi headed toward the Central Plains, which used to be called the Central Forest of Scanorbia. There, newcomers from the Earth Server, mere farmers, were tilling the soil.

“How dare these Earthlings invade our territory, we shall slaughter the—”

Just then, a figure appeared in mid-air. It was a dwarf-sized old man with a long white beard, someone Pufangculi knew well.

“Barman?” Pufangculi said.

“Stop this instant!”

“Why is a GM intervening?”

“He will explain everything.”

A magic circle appeared beside Barman, who used to manage the Central Forest and now oversaw the Central Plains, and a man in a suit appeared.

“I am Omur, GM No.1 of Gangnam-gu, Korean Region, Earth Server.”

“What is a GM from another Server doing here?”

“We have consulted with GMs from the Scanorbia Server to declare the Central Plains a temporary demilitarized zone.”

“A demilitarized zone?” Pufangculi frowned.

‘How can there be a demilitarized zone in a land of warriors?’

“What’s a demilitarized zone?” Pufangculi asked.

“Simply put, it is a zone of peace. Any form of PvP or hostility against Players is prohibited inside it.”

“I have never heard of such a thing in my life! Step aside. I must cleave these Earthlings.”

Barman struck the ground with his staff. Green lines stretched out in all directions, then light began to leak out of them.

The Light of Peace is enveloping the Central Plains.

This place has been declared as a 「Demilitarized Zone」 on the System’s authority.

This was happening all because a VIP member of the Trinity Club, Choi Gap-Soo, had visited the Central Plains of Scanorbia a while ago.

“I have to see firsthand whether the MK Foundation’s Player development policies are working,” Gap-Soo said.

Gap-Soo strolled around the Central Plains, looking pleased as he picked on various issues here and there.

Unable to contain her curiosity, Lilia eventually asked, “Why do you look so happy when you keep pointing out issues?”

“You don’t know?”

“I asked to learn so I can serve you better.”

“Doesn’t the M in MK stand for Michelle?”

“…Ah!”

Gap-Soo was trying to exploit this inspection to get on Michelle’s nerves. Lilia felt like she now understood why Gap-Soo was so delighted.

“Now, do you know why I am so happy?” Gap-Soo asked.

“Yes, I think I understa—Why are you here?” Lilia stood in front of Gap-Soo, ready to protect him.

Gap-Soo chuckled and gestured for her to move, and she did. “Lilia, do you know this man?” .

“Yes, his name is—”

“Allow me to introduce myself.” Humphrey interrupted Lilia, bowing deeply. He continued with a steely gaze, “My name is Humphrey Millen. I am the one who planned the Fall of Yeonhui-dong Scenario and the Central Plains Massacre.”

“Ah, I see. The Fall of Yeonhui-dong must be the ongoing Scenario in Seoul, correct? But what exactly is the Central Plains Massacre?”

“It is a plan to mobilize the discontented warriors of Scanorbia and slaughter the Earth Players who have invaded the Central Plains.”

Gap-Soo stroked his chin. “Are you referring to Players affiliated with the MK Foundation? You do realize you are discussing this in front of a non-executive director of the MK Foundation.”

“Aren’t you curious to see how Chul-Soo will respond to this? How he will overcome this crisis?” Humphrey spoke quickly, eager to make his point. “Chul-Soo is dealing with many crises right now. Seoul is likely to be engulfed in significant chaos, and he will face a lot of criticism for that.”

“Hm…”

Both Humphrey and Gap-Soo had not seen Chul-Soo’s livestream.

“But what if the MK Foundation’s Players are massacred here? Chul-Soo will undoubtedly be stuck between a rock and a hard place. Aren’t you curious to see how he will overcome this? It will make for enjoyable content. Give me just one opportunity, and I promise you a great deal of entertainment.”

“That does seem likely, but I need to ask you one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Have you seen this?” Gap-Soo took a crumpled piece of paper out of his coat pocket.

Humphrey will come to tempt you with something interesting. Do not fall for it because he is not truly desperate.

A sensation of being smacked in the head washed over Humphrey.

‘Has information leaked? From Scanorbia? Or from Earth?’

As he was trying to collect his thoughts, Chul-Soo’s voice echoed in the area. “Hey, old man. I’m here.”

“Oh? You’re earlier than expected,” Gap-Soo said, surprised.

Jin-Hyeok was about to say that his enemies were weaker than he thought and that half of them had fallen to just a single artillery shot, but he held back.

‘That would reduce the sense of crisis, wouldn’t it?’ Jin-Hyeok pondered his next words, especially considering Gap-Soo was a VIP viewer.

“Twists make things more interesting, right?” he said to Gap-Soo.

“That’s true.” Gap-Soo chucked, thoroughly pleased with the response.

Chul-Soo continued, “Humphrey Millen, let me prove to you why you lack desperation.”

.