Chapter 71….
Streamer Mega Server.
This refers to large servers hosted by streamers, mainly for games that support multiplayer on a big scale.
For small streamers—called hakko—it’s a land of opportunity.
Of course, for big-name streamers it’s also a chance to pull in more traffic.
“Hey, Jihan. So, what are you going to do?”
Kim Bbomtta’s voice rang out in the team chat.
A long-awaited joint stream with him.
With his back against the wall, Lee Jihan reloaded and answered:
“Of course I’m gonna do it, but wait—let me clear this out first…!”
Ratatatatatat!
Jihan’s AR roared to life.
It looked like blind spraying, but every shot was on point. The distant enemy’s helmet shattered, and the next bullet drilled right between the eyes.
“So, what game did you say it was?”
—Survive, until the very end. (6/100)
Jihan asked as he sprinted toward the body of the guy he had just dropped.
“—Punk Roader. Think cyberpunk, wuxia, fantasy. Kind of a mash-up…! Hey, hey! Jihan! I need backup here!”
Kim Bbomtta shouted.
The safe zone was shrinking.
Jihan looted the corpse for magazines and supplies, then started moving toward him.
“Punk Roader, huh. Is it that popular?”
Ratatatatatat!
“—You’re asking that NOW!?”
Bang! Bang!
“If not now, then when!?”
—Survive, until the very end. (4/100)
Chatting while in a firefight—that was Jihan’s specialty now.
Not skill in Zero Ground itself, but in streaming. Multitasking like this was his bread and butter.
“One squad left! We can talk after we wipe them!”
Bbomtta whined playfully once Jihan regrouped.
Jihan didn’t let it slide.
“No, YOU asked how I was gonna handle it, Mr. Bbomtta.”
He said it in a jokingly serious tone, then suddenly—
“Behind you!”
He yanked Bbomtta by the collar.
Ratatatatatat!
Bullets rained down where he’d been standing.
“Whoa, shit!?”
Even while being dragged, Bbomtta’s focus didn’t waver—he snapped his aim onto the enemies.
Bang bang!
Clean shooting. The legendary Bbomtta didn’t disappoint.
BOOM!
Jihan finished the job.
—Survive, until the very end. (3/100)
Just one left.
Reloading, Jihan asked,
“So this Punk Roader—does it actually have an end goal?”
“Usually, in open-world mega servers, the aim is building up factions.”
“Factions?”
“Yeah, bigger streamers usually form groups. Then they wage faction wars.”
Bbomtta yanked the pin from a grenade with his teeth and lobbed it across the way.
Clink, roll roll roll—
“You join a faction, grow with their support, and funnel viewers. But hey—you’re basically a top-tier streamer now.”
BOOM!!!
“They’re pushing!”
“Got it, I see them!”
Ratatatatatatatat!
Bang bang bang!
—Survive, until the very end. (2/100)
—Today, we survived.
A clean victory.
[“Kya hahaha”]
[“As expected, legendary!”]
[“Zero Ground really is Lee Jihan’s game!”]
[“Not Kim Bbomtta’s?”]
[“Oi, Bbomtta fans, stop dual-watching and go back to his stream lol”]
[“LOL they’re basically a duo channel now”]
[“Don’t rub Bbomtta all over our Jihan!!!”]
The screen faded to black and switched back to the lobby.
“Anyway, like I said, if you need an invite, just let me know.”
“Okay, I’m definitely doing the streamer server, so I’ll need one.”
“Cool. Hey, Jihan—one more game?”
“Hmm, let me think…”
Jihan checked the stream timer.
3 hours 40 minutes.
Awkward timing for another full match.
His daily stream limit was 4 hours. But Suho had told him—during mega server weeks, he should go longer.
“—But hey, your health comes first, you know. What if you start nosebleeding again like last time?”
“Yeah, even while doing Zombress I started bleeding…”
“Then use your payout for a capsule update, or at least see a doctor.”
He remembered Suho’s worried look.
“…Alright. I should start gradually extending my hours anyway.”
“To practice, huh?”
“Exactly. If not practice, then what else can I do?”
Thinking back to that talk, Jihan nodded.
“Okay. I’ll stream a bit longer today.”
“Nice, then let’s queue up. While we’re at it, we can dig up server info too. All upside.”
Bbomtta grinned.
Jihan smirked back and waited for the queue.
And once again, they dove back into the world of Zero Ground.
Punk Roader.
Its genre is called Fusion Punk.
What’s that supposed to mean?
Steampunk, cyberpunk, hexpunk… the “punk” suffix sticks to all kinds of genres. Even Jihan, who wasn’t that familiar with game genres, got it once explained.
“This is… really…”
Jihan searched for the word.
“…unique.”
“Right?”
“But that’s what makes it interesting.”
Bbomtta, Suho, and Jihan were talking it over at a café.
“Especially Punk Roader—it’s unique because it mixes everything. Like, imagine an orc warrior with a prosthetic arm and implants, using martial arts.”
“Pfft, perfect analogy!”
Suho burst out laughing.
Only Jihan tilted his head, puzzled.
“Something that complicated even works?”
“Well, that’s the whole setting. Here, let’s watch a trailer.”
Suho pulled up a video.
At first, just darkness. Then, footsteps.
Step, step, step.
—The rain falls. A filthy rain.
—The rain that pours on this city is so polluted it’s worthless.
—But the lower class must drink it to survive.
Cruel narration.
Scenes of the slums.
All sorts of races, with scrap prosthetics and limbs, running wild. Shooting, swinging hooks, stealing and killing.
The camera panned upward.
—The mid-levels are a city of hypocrisy.
—They bow their heads to the skies, and look down for comfort.
—The dullest city, the most crowded city.
Well-dressed folks strutted around, wearing fine clothes and carrying weapons. But gangs roamed here too.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A gunfight, ending with splatters of blood.
The camera lifted higher.
—The closest city to the sky.
—The upper district, Skyphia, where everyone wants to be.
—They hold the greatest power, and they’re the dream of the masses.
Races in tailored suits, drugs flowing, wads of cash flying.
A glamorous casino. Betting lives, drowning in pleasure.
The rich win or lose fortunes in a night.
—A city where you can be anything and do anything.
—And you… are its most vile trash. A Punk Roader.
The trailer ended with graffiti sprayed across the screen: “Punk Roader.”
“That’s the vibe. Get the picture now?”
“…So they’re opening a mega server with this?”
“Yeah. Starting areas will probably be different—upper, mid, lower districts. Build factions from there.”
“Or else, you’ll need citizenship, since mega servers let you buy items with supporter points.”
“You can buy items with donations?”
Jihan’s innocent question made them both nod.
“Think of a mega server as a fandom war. Donations convert to in-game currency. Like, 100,000 won in donations might give you 10,000 points. You use those to buy items.”
Bbomtta, a veteran of mega servers, recalled his last one.
“Wouldn’t that put streamers with smaller fandoms at a disadvantage?”
“That’s why you work with bigger streamers. Build storylines, team up. Especially since this one’s an RP server.”
“You told me last time—roleplay server, right.”
“Good memory. Yep, the point is to build deep storylines together.”
Jihan nodded in understanding.
Bbomtta sipped his coffee, wondering if he’d missed any details.
“That’s about it. Any other questions?”
“Are there classes?”
“Not really classes, but perks. Since it’s RP, your role depends on the backstory you create.”
Roleplaying server.
That part made Jihan uneasy.
“How do you even… roleplay?”
“You set a character first. Like if you borrowed your ‘Heavenly Demon’ concept from Gangho Sword Chronicle—you’d learn martial arts skills, and act like you’re that demon.”
“…Do I really have to act?”
“Yeah, it’s required.”
Acting was embarrassing.
Jihan didn’t think he could pull it off.
“But you’re actually good at it.”
Suho teased.
Jihan shoved him playfully, trying to hide his embarrassment.
“You clearly have talent for it. Or if you hate acting, just immerse yourself—like you did in Zombress.”
Zombress.
He’d only treated Marcus and the kid like real people.
Immersion. Wasn’t that the same?
Jihan looked puzzled.
“It was like watching a movie, honestly.”
“What?”
Suho’s words startled him. He shot him a glare.
“No, really. Check the YouTube comments. Everyone says it.”
Jihan knew those comments.
Since opening his channel, he’d gained plenty of subs. Many said his play felt cinematic, immersive, roleplay-like.
“You’ve been roleplaying without even realizing it.”
Suho’s words cleared Jihan’s head, as if the fog lifted.
When he thought of them as real people and spoke with them—that was it.
Yeah. He finally understood.
“Anyway, I think my questions are answered now.”
“Thanks. It’s all thanks to you guys.”
“Then buy us coffee, big spender. I bet you raked in donations.”
Bbomtta grinned.
“Hahaha, alright, my treat.”
Jihan laughed.
But his mind kept turning back to the new game.
Punk Roader.
A new game, a new world, a new life.
In his head, countless personas came and went.
What was the boldest, most eye-catching character he could create?
Jihan kept thinking. And he would keep thinking—
—until the Punk Roader server finally opened.
