Chapter 79….
Punk Sully – Day 2.
Lee Ji-han ate breakfast while watching the videos uploaded the day before.
– “Our guild, Ego, is the very first clan in Punk Sully. What does that mean? That this KaiserKim here was the first one to reach the Mid-Layer.”
The Mid-Layer.
Punk Sully was divided into zones: the Tutorial Zone (Lowest Layer), the Lower Layer, the Mid-Layer, and the Upper Layer.
Marie had mentioned before that you could buy citizenship with donations.
“Hm, well… I guess that’s one way to enjoy it.”
Of course, it was an area he himself didn’t really understand.
Marie couldn’t, and neither could he.
After all, progressing to the Mid-Layer with enough donations was something he could do right now if he wanted.
He had regular donors, including the chairman “Ttenam,” who supported him consistently.
But Ji-han simply thought Punk Sully itself was fun.
Taking on requests, meeting other streamers, interacting with them, and laughing alongside Marie while completing quests—last night and dawn were still fresh in his memory.
– “Now, let me show you the Mid-Layer. It’s really wide and comfortable, right? Compared to the sewage-filled Lower Layer, even the air is completely different here.”
A little mocking, a little smug.
The chat filled with lines of “ㅋㅋㅋ” (Korean “LOL”).
Streamers lived on traffic.
In fact, dividing status, qualifications, and class gaps wasn’t a bad way to farm attention.
For them, provoking and stirring up drama with edgy comments was an everyday thing.
But Ji-han was a little different.
He just enjoyed playing games. By chance, he had ended up reaching this point.
That’s why harsh “trash talk” didn’t come naturally to him.
Of course, someone might call him a “boomer saint,” but what could he do?
That was Ji-han’s nature, and his kind of viewers formed a strong, loyal base—what people called the “concrete layer.”
[I like Ji-han’s stream, it’s chill.]
[Not much swearing lol]
[The only ones swearing are us viewers hahaha]
[Hey, that’s not swearing, that’s affection, ok?]
[LMAO some of us are maniacs in other chats, but we behave here.]
[For real though, look at those troll nicknames trying to act innocent now.]
[Even the worst spammers tone it down here lol.]
Thinking of his chat, Ji-han realized—others noticed it too.
Meanwhile, KaiserKim’s chat was full of classist mockery:
[Wow, even the air is different up here.]
[Poor kids rolling in the mud below lol.]
[The lower trash must be raging on forums right now.]
[Who cares? If you’re mad, get donations and climb up.]
[King-zer! Let’s install an elevator straight to the Upper Layer!]
[Gap GOAT! This is what ‘class’ looks like!]
[Don’t even need to see it, the Lower Layer kids must be fuming.]
[??? “My streamer will climb on his own!” (picks up 10-credit scrap paper)]
[LMAO stop roasting them so hard!]
“Like streamer, like chat.”
It was a saying common on Pretzel (the streaming platform).
‘I get the feeling now,’ Ji-han thought with a wry smile, closing the video.
In the end, it was just different ways of enjoying the game.
He didn’t feel like criticizing them.
He was always calm, only burning hot when actually playing.
Finishing his meal, Ji-han prepared to log into Punk Sully.
The servers would open soon.
He sat in the capsule, welcoming the second day morning.
[He’s here!]
[Ji-han’s here?]
[Hey, did you watch Kaiser’s video yesterday?]
[My neck veins popped lol.]
[I usually don’t feel loyalty to streamers, but even I was pissed.]
[Shall we go show those Lower Layer trash some payback?]
[Let’s go Punk Sully, servers are open!]
Loading screen.
Chat scrolled by quickly.
“Haha, good morning everyone. I did watch the video. The Mid-Layer looked really amazing.”
But Ji-han wasn’t angry.
He simply stretched in the capsule and pulled the goggles over his eyes.
[Argh, you sweet potato (frustrating but wholesome) lol.]
[Ji-han really is pure-hearted.]
[That’s why we stick around.]
[Still, KaiserKim was rude as hell.]
[Yeah, even knowing it’s WWE-style hype, I got annoyed.]
[That stream’s always like that.]
[Hey, don’t mention TAS (joking rule about bans).]
[KaiserKim’s a Punk Sully citizen!]
[Right, citizen jokes don’t get you banned haha.]
It was clear—being first in the Mid-Layer had become a hot issue.
Ji-han smiled faintly at the noisy chat.
“Alright then, shall we go pick up some scrap today too?”
[LOL scrap collecting]
[Where did you learn such bad words!!!]
[Scrap (1000 credits) hahaha]
[Yeah but at least we’re climbing on our own power.]
[That’s what makes it tasty. Underdog vibes rock.]
[Alright, let’s go scrap hunting!]
Ji-han chuckled and logged into Punk Sully.
“Whew.”
His vision dimmed briefly.
Then came the familiar grimy backdrop of the Lower Layer.
Currently, the Lower Layer was divided into three sections.
“Oh, HAN! Hi!”
“Haha, hi noona. How old are you?”
“I told you yesterday! This noona’s 52!”
[LOL hilarious]
[That’s not a noona…!]
[If she says she’s noona, then she’s noona.]
[Even Ji-han calls her noona!!]
“You guys here for requests?”
“Of course! I wanna upgrade my gear before heading Mid-Layer.”
These were the self-reliant players—small fry streamers, those without heavy donations, or simply ones who wanted to climb with their own strength.
Meanwhile—
“Thanks for the donation~ Ahn~ love it!”
“Haha, just a little more and I can reach the Mid-Layer!”
“All thanks to you, Chairman!”
Some tried climbing purely through sponsorship, influenced by KaiserKim.
And others…
“Did you hear? Ego’s recruiting combat members.”
“Let’s hurry! We need to catch their eye and get an entry permit!”
“Man, those Ego guys are lucky, their guild’s in the Mid-Layer, they just move back and forth.”
“Dead serious, I’m joining Ego today!”
These people, desperate to join KaiserKim’s clan.
The Lower Layer was already full of every kind of person imaginable.
“Wow! My bro’s already logged in?”
[Marie’s here!]
[Cute as always~]
[God, who is she, too cute again today!]
[Shh! No spoilers!]
[Just let Ji-han smile!]
Ji-han was checking today’s requests when Marie appeared behind him with a bright smile.
“You’re late, noona.”
“Oh, Marie! Hi!”
“Haha, hello ma’am!”
“Hey, I told you, I’m noona!!”
Everyone welcomed Marie warmly.
The request hall had a strong, supportive vibe—those striving to climb with their own effort encouraged one another.
“I picked out a couple of requests.”
[Request: Iron Pigeons, Take Flight]
[Danger Level: ★★★☆☆]
[Reward: 3500 Credits]
[Description: Creating life may be the realm of gods, but building robots from iron? Just another day for engineers. And when robots run amok? Also another day.]
“How about this?”
“Ugh, pigeons? I hate them!”
“Then I’ll clear it myself?”
Ji-han’s shameless words made Marie burst out laughing.
[After running quests all night, they really feel like partners now lol.]
[Ji-han’s smooth af!]
[Cheeky but fun haha.]
“Or this one?”
[Request: A Broken Mana Pipe!?]
[Danger Level: ★☆☆☆☆]
[Reward: 1500 Credits]
[Description: Fixing broken pipes isn’t really Lower Layer work, but sometimes you gotta if you wanna live. Question is, can we fix it?]
“The content sounds grim but the difficulty’s low. Should we do both?”
“Okay, noona. Let’s do both.”
Marie thought of her fellow group members—real-life idol colleagues.
They must be working hard too. The thought made her smile proudly.
“Let’s go! I wanna test my new gear from yesterday!”
“Haha, alright, noona. Let’s start with the pigeons.”
The sky darkened under swarms of gray.
He should have realized—three-star danger for pigeons?
It wasn’t just one rogue iron pigeon.
“Kyaaa!?”
It was an entire flock gone berserk.
[WTF lololol]
[Gross, what the hell are those?]
[Haha Dr. Kim messed up bad.]
[Cancel the quest, let’s beat up Dr. Kim instead!]
[Ew gross, what even is that hahaha.]
The iron pigeons charged at them madly.
Their red camera lenses glowed like sinister eyes.
“H-HAN!?”
Clang!
At Marie’s scream, Ji-han moved.
With his dagger, he smashed one pigeon’s head.
[LOL that sound was so clean.]
[Yep, definitely tin cans.]
“Noona, focus!”
“Y-yeah!”
From then on, their teamwork shone.
Clang!
Bang!
Clang!
Pigeons dived.
Ji-han didn’t allow a single one to reach Marie.
Each strike of his dagger cracked open heads with sparks flying.
“Three on the right, little bro!”
Bang! Bang!
“Thanks, noona!”
Marie covered his blind spots.
When Ji-han had no time to move, she followed through seamlessly.
Her new mana pistol roared to life.
Zzzt! Zap!
Her steps were quick, her aim sharp.
Boom!
The mana blasts pierced pigeon cores, making them spasm before exploding.
[Damn Ji-han’s melee is brutal.]
[Marie’s shooting form is insane, like an idol dance routine.]
[Their teamwork is perfect lol, partnership OP.]
[This ain’t scrap collecting, this is Zom-bress lol.]
[Haha Zom-bress!]
[No, Punk-bress hahaha.]
Together they cleared tasks—tightened pipes, picked up garbage, hunted mutants—until evening came again.
“Whew, another legendary day, thanks to my little bro.”
“Noona, your new gear was amazing.”
“Huhu! You saw my skill, right? But if you hadn’t covered me, I couldn’t have managed.”
The cheerful atmosphere lingered as they counted the credits earned.
“Wow, at this rate we’ll reach the Mid-Layer soon.”
“Right? We made a ton.”
[LOL watch out KaiserKim!]
[So funny, actually climbing by picking scrap!]
[Scrap or treasure—you only know once you use it!]
Everyone laughed noisily—
Until—
BOOOOM!
“Huh?”
“Kyaa!?”
A massive explosion echoed.
Everyone turned toward the source.
Black smoke rose suddenly.
What happened?
As confusion spread, the city lights began flickering out one by one.
At the same time—
[World Event Triggered: Paralyzed Heart]
[Description: The Lower Layer’s power source, ‘Steel Heart,’ has ceased functioning by 80%. Cause unknown. If left alone, the entire Lower Layer will shut down.]
Before every player’s eyes—
A red hologram window appeared.
