Streamers inevitably faced immediate reactions to their actions due to the nature of their job.

 

They exposed their daily lives and snippets of their existence to an unspecified multitude called viewers and elicited responses from them.

 

This meant that viewers could laugh at the jokes streamers casually threw out or flood the chat with question marks, reveling in the streamer’s suffering in certain situations,

 

and even spread any mistaken words far and wide instantly.

 

That was the very identity and raison d’être of being a streamer.

 

And for that very reason, Harmony’s viewership, which had grown so large that it now exceeded ten thousand, was truly on the verge of going insane.

 

A streamer famous enough to be called a major corporation was playing a game that felt like thorns on the online world if they weren’t talked about for even a single day.

 

However, despite facing all sorts of unimaginable situations, she was barely clinging to life, being carried by her team members who had her by the collar.

 

But.

 

In a situation where it was strange, if not impossible, that viewers did not show dramatic reactions,

 

an unprecedented event occurred where the streamer turned off her attention to the broadcast in an attempt to somehow survive.

 

How unlucky must she have been to be paired with a hardcore user in the party?

 

How unlucky must she have been to get caught in the Unauthorized Zone amidst all that?

 

But how was Harmony still alive?

 

And what was the identity of that user named Yoo Jin, who was dragging Harmony by the collar?

 

Moreover, how could she display such movements despite being in hardcore mode?

 

All sorts of curiosities piled up as much as the muzzle flashes and gunshots that filled the screen multiple times, but the streamer was responding with accidental neglect.

 

It was truly like filling a tank with cola, stuffing it full of Mentos, and then completely sealing the lid.

 

It wouldn’t have been strange if it exploded at any moment, but fortunately or unfortunately, there were numerous related community sites aside from the chat window.

 

And so,

 

it was only natural that the pressure, unable to find an escape, would surge towards that direction like a tidal wave.

 

────────────

 

[Streamer Sub Gallery］

 

[General］Shock）There’s a streamer who stopped communicating with viewers!?!??!?

 

[2025.08.XX Recommended 3 Not Recommended 0 Views 89 Comments 6］

 

Ignoring all chat donations for over an hour and a half and playing an extreme survival game ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

It’s not like I don’t understand, but it’s frustrating as hell ㅆㅂ

 

[All Comments］[By Registration］

 

-If you understand, just shut up and be quiet ㅋㅋ

 

-Die instead of donations and rage quit like a dog vs. scorn viewers and survive no matter what

 

ㄴ[Author］Looking at it this way, it’s a dilemma

 

ㄴShut up, idiots ㅋㅋㅋㅋ HQ will respond to the backlog once they arrive, can’t you wait for that, you morons

 

ㄴWhy is the guy suddenly losing it?

 

-Dying and having Harmony dodge will definitely piss off the Darkcrete, so I’m holding on despite the frustration ㅋㅋ

 

────────────

 

[General］So what exactly is the identity of the team member who partied with Nok Dan-ddo????

 

[2025.08.XX Recommended 0 Not Recommended 0 Views 77 Comments 7］

 

Is she even a hardcore user in the first place? Isn’t it all bullshit?

 

Moving like they have 100% adjustment on reload and actions

 

[All Comments］[By Registration］

 

-Sounds like bullshit, but there’s a high chance it’s true ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

ㄴ[Author］Really? Why do you think so?

 

ㄴThe enemies encountered during the tutorial were all Russian Marine Infantry and such

 

ㄴA screenshot was posted by someone who died meeting that user

 

ㄴ[Author］Wow, f**k ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

-At first, it was just a hunch, but now there’s substantial evidence pouring in

 

ㄴ[Author］I just checked the recent hot posts, she’s totally insane ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

────────────

 

[General］I’ll tell you why the girl who partied with Nok Dan-ddo is in hardcore mode

 

[2025.08.XX Recommended 77 Not Recommended 2 Views 1369 Comments 56］

 

Explaining one by one

 

First, this is something not many people know, but according to the Dark Zone Wiki, the enemies you encounter vary depending on the degree of adjustment

 

As seen in the first photo above, the enemies presumed to be affiliated with the Russian Landing Regiment and the ones driving drones appear

 

The former appear below 50% adjustment, the latter below 30%

 

Regardless of team assistance, this is applied based on the lowest person in the party, so we can infer that Yoo Jin’s adjustment is at least below 30%

 

Secondly, the death warning above

 

This is taken from the Dark Zone sub-gallery, clearly indicating that she died to a hardcore user

 

Of course, it’s so rare to die to a hardcore user in the game that many people don’t know about this warning, leading to suspicions of fabrication

 

But I was convinced after seeing the next part

 

Thirdly, look at the guns those two are carrying

 

If you’ve played Dark Zone, you’d know that ordinary users either buy, make, or pick up guns in contaminated areas

 

But if you’ve watched the broadcast, you’d know that both of them are still in the tutorial and all three methods are impossible

 

Yet they switch guns at will, which can only be explained by the traits of hardcore users who can instantly farm items

 

The comment in the above picture about their item ownership being shattered? They got unlucky and had all their guns and grenade launchers taken, so let’s have a moment of silence for them

 

The fourth picture is the same

 

They beat up every super strong mob on the street, took all the items, and sent them away

 

Considering they didn’t have a flare gun but called a helicopter, it seems they activated the event by shooting a signal flare with a grenade launcher

 

Only hardcore users can do that

 

To sum up, there’s a high chance that user is a former special forces operative, extremely strong even in reality, and a Dark Zone master who created an alt account out of boredom

 

Whichever it is, they’re definitely crazy

 

But am I the only one who finds that snake avatar super hot?

 

[All Comments］[By Registration］

 

-Crazy bitch…crazy bitch…crazy bitch…crazy bitch…crazy bitch…crazy bitch…

 

-Why’s the conclusion like that ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

ㄴ[Author］Damn it, can’t I say I want to get tail grabbed by a snake tail?????

 

ㄴHonestly, it’s kinda hot….

 

ㄴAfter reading this, I went back up to check the avatar ㅋㅋ

 

-Heung heung, snake nuna….

 

-Why is it a proper analysis ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

-Nok Dan-ddo caught a real big one ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

-Is Yoo Jin a god? Is Yoo Jin a god? Is Yoo Jin a god? Is Yoo Jin a god? Is Yoo Jin a god? Is Yoo Jin a god? Is Yoo Jin a god?

 

-Seriously, why is this real????

 

ㄴBecause…it’s reality (nod)

 

ㄴFunkoolsexy ㅋㅋ

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

────────────

 

Of course, there were plenty of streamers focused on Dark Zone,

 

and given its global popularity, it wasn’t unusual for foreign broadcasters to have tens of thousands of viewers.

 

Due to the nature of the game played by numerous users,

 

though not as much as the amazing coincidence that Harmony faced that day, unimaginable things often happened in this game world.

 

In short, it was too much to dismiss as a mere happening,

 

but it wasn’t large enough to be an immortal topic that would burn the gallery for days, weeks, or even months.

 

Of course, this was assuming Yoo Jin wouldn’t do anything further in the future.

 

In any case, whether she continued playing the game or not, people were creatures of the present.

 

In short, regardless of what would happen later, the ten thousand viewers, as if to vent their pent-up frustrations, were busy setting the community on fire.

 

But on the other hand, this meant that the viewers and the streamer were perfectly separated at this moment,

 

and so, what the streamer was doing at that moment was,

 

“Wait a minute! There’s still someone here! There’s a person! A person here───!

 

“Gosh….”

 

“What are you doing? Yoo Jin, you should wave your hand too! Don’t close the door!”

 

Da da da da da.

 

One person ran with all their might,

 

while the other ran leisurely even while carrying an MK.48 light machine gun, an ammunition bag, an HK337, and twelve magazines.

 

Two people, starkly contrasting in appearance, finally managed to reach the vicinity of Central Park HQ after midnight in-game time.

 

“Ha, we finally arrived…!”

 

“…Must you lie down on the ground like that to feel at ease?”

 

In the past, when I occasionally went to the department store to buy groceries, there was a rare sight.

 

Parents looking around with troubled expressions, urging their children to get up quickly,

 

and children clinging to the floor as if they were one with the department store, throwing a tantrum to get the toy they wanted.

 

At those times, I would wonder if I had ever been like that and feel relieved that I wasn’t the one in that situation.

 

But….

 

Why was I witnessing this scene now?

 

She looked like a green cat girl who would be cute if she just lay down quietly,

 

but seeing her lying on the ground, exhaling deeply as if she

 

had lived through the end of the world, she seemed more like my senior who had just come back from a mission.

 

Well, considering what had happened in the past two to three hours, I could understand.

 

She seemed to have started the game around the same time as me,

 

and while I could handle it, she had been through a series of tough situations.

 

Still, lying on the ground where everyone passed by was a bit much.

 

───Swish.

 

“Oh, what, ah, what is this!?”

 

“Now get up.”

 

I gently wrapped my tail around her leg and pulled her close enough, then carefully held her waist and lifted her up.

 

Harmony’s expression turned rather odd. It was hard to describe in words, but it was close to a surprised look.

 

As I loosened the grip around her waist, she asked in a voice that sounded like she was suffering from hypothermia.

 

“Oh, that, tail! What is that? I wanted to ask before we fought, how did you do that!?”

 

“How did I do it? I did it because I could.”

 

“No, that’s not it….”

 

Actually, there was no big deal in telling her everything here, but I didn’t feel the need to.

 

Anyway, we had stayed in one place for too long.

 

Though the heavily guarded base entrance surrounded by a huge optical barrier was a good place to defend, it wasn’t a place to lie down.

 

So we moved.

 

Central Park HQ.

 

Over time, numerous temporary buildings and training grounds had been erected and dismantled repeatedly, so it was hard to say the base had a fixed appearance,

 

but every brick of the buildings and every sandbag filled with hardened concrete was exactly as I remembered.

 

At this moment, I was back in the past.

 

In a place where I couldn’t simply say I never wanted to return.

 

Following a path lit by gentle and soft lights, I walked to the main building and sat on a bench for a moment before registering on the new operator list.

 

The return of safety also meant that the facts I had momentarily forgotten resurfaced like bubbles.

 

Harmony, who had requested to talk for a moment, opened her mouth hesitantly.

 

“…Thank you so much for today. For the party request and everything, I felt like I was just a nuisance.”

 

“Everyone goes through that. You did well with the tasks assigned to you, so it’s okay.”

 

No more, no less. Just what you can do.

 

I hadn’t expected much, so I had assigned her tasks accordingly.

 

But considering there were so many people who couldn’t even handle the tasks and expectations assigned to them, this mint-flavored cat had done enough.

 

That was enough for me.

 

I didn’t know how she would interpret my words, but to me, it was quite a compliment.

 

“Oh, I see….”

 

But she only replied briefly.

 

“I’m mentally exhausted, so I’ll head in first.”

 

“You’ve worked hard. I’ll look around a bit more before I go….”

 

“Oh, wait a moment.”

 

At her voice, which suggested she had something else to say, I stopped from standing up.

 

Given the situation, I decided to adjust the zero of the HK337 and MK48 I had recently acquired.

 

Considering the characteristics of urban combat, where the maximum engagement distance often didn’t exceed 200 meters, I adjusted the NGAL laser pointer to a converging zero….

 

As I diligently pressed the buttons to adjust the zero,

 

“…Oh, it’s done. I sent a friend request, could you accept it if you don’t mind?”

 

­[Safehouse recognized. Message popup activated.］

 

­[You have received a friend request from ‘HarmonyTrue’ (으).］

 

­[You have 100+ unchecked friend / message requests. Do you want to check them?］

 

“Accepting it isn’t a big deal, but there are quite a few other requests too.”

 

“Ah, ha ha… That’s probably because of me. As I mentioned, I’m streaming….”

 

“Ah.”

 

Then it made sense.

 

I fiddled with the device, pushing all friend requests and messages to the end except one.

 

When the acceptance button was recognized, a green IR marker indicating an ally on Harmony’s gear blinked and then glowed faintly.

 

“Uh, how do I turn this off?”

 

“Probably….”

 

As soon as I turned my gaze away from her, the light automatically turned off.

 

It seemed the function to prevent friendly fire was working thoroughly. I hadn’t expected such detailed implementation.

 

Anyway, that was it.

 

“So, why did you send a friend request?”

 

“Ah….”

 

A brief silence.

 

“Since I’m doing streaming and Yourspace activities, I might need to consult with you about those parts. These matters are quite sensitive….”

 

Ah.

 

I roughly understood what she meant.

 

I thought about it briefly, but it was indeed a difficult matter to decide with just a few words here.

 

I hadn’t yet decided on my stance on how I should handle this in the future….

 

I nodded briefly, indicating a positive intention, and she said she’d contact me as soon as she had time.

 

It seemed it was time to say goodbye.

 

She bowed slightly and added in a refreshing voice.

 

“Then I’ll head in. Take care, sir!”

 

“Yes, yes.”

 

With the departure of the one cat girl, I stood up from the spot.

 

Recalling the old manual, each operator was originally assigned a personal room upon registration, where they could rest and make personal adjustments.

 

When I joined ICARUS, all the infrastructure was destroyed, so we shared tents, but according to the manual, that was how it was supposed to be.

 

Since this was a game, I hoped they followed that part, and I headed to register as an operator.

 

The night was still deep.

 

It was a somewhat chaotic beginning.

 

* * *