Chapter 95…
The actual business performance was, frankly, disappointing.
[Well, it’s only week two. There’s no way anyone has top-tier coolants yet…]
[Everyone’s got mid- to high-grade stuff at best.]
[Will this be enough? Will the prosthetic even run properly?]
[Still, not bad profits, I guess? Something like that.]
[Whatever. Let’s just buy them up first.]
Of course, Lee Ji-han had somewhat expected this.
Even aside from the familiar faces who came to help him, plenty of others were putting up their coolants for sale.
But most of them fell short of top-tier quality.
Even so, Ji-han bought them all up—every last one.
He had no other choice, really.
He’d decided to use credits anyway, and he couldn’t disappoint the people who had come all the way here because of him.
“Hey, you sure it’s okay to buy that much?”
“Ji— I mean, HAN. Isn’t it risky to spend that many credits?”
Mari and Park Luna asked with worried faces.
They’d also offered up their own coolants, even though they knew he was after “top-tier” ones.
Feeling a bit embarrassed that their contributions weren’t good enough, they watched him pay extra for them anyway.
“I think I’ll find some use for them, don’t worry, noona.”
Ji-han tried to sound upbeat, role-playing cheerfully,
but the purple flickers inside his fishbowl helmet betrayed his troubled thoughts.
There has to be a way.
Among the perks he’d studied for the “Punk Loader” class, there was one related to alchemy—
a perk that let you combine lower-grade items into higher-grade ones.
Of course, the success rate was terrible,
and it took an absurd amount of time and credits.
There was a path forward—but it was as narrow as a needle’s eye.
Still, Ji-han was ready to bet everything on it.
“By the way, do any of you know someone who’s taken the alchemy perk?”
Everyone paused to think.
After a while—
“Oh, right. I think Yeo-eun took the alchemy perk.”
That came from Kim Screw—the “familiar face” among them.
“Yeo-eun?”
“Yeah, she’s with the Hyangwoo Guild. She’s the one who asked for my number earlier in the elevator.”
“How do you know she has the perk?”
“She had a bunch of potions hanging from her holster. Anyone with that many potions in week two has to be an alchemist.”
Ji-han’s flame flared brighter.
“Could you contact her for me?”
If she’d gone as far as asking for his number, that meant they were on friendly terms.
And now Ji-han could potentially recruit the most important resource—an alchemist.
“Well, I could call her, but…”
Kim Screw’s expression didn’t look too happy.
“Is there a problem?”
“…She asked me out on a date.”
[LOL]
[Kim Screw’s face right now lmao]
[What’s the issue? Just go on the date, bro!]
[Didn’t you see her stream earlier? She’s wild.]
[Her avatar’s busted-looking as hell, lol.]
[Think she intentionally made it ugly.]
[But her voice is cute tho. Probably a VTuber or something.]
“A date? …Oh, congratulations.”
“No! Hey! It’s not like that yet!”
“Not yet?”
“Uh, we’re… getting to know each other?”
[LOL]
[So they’re kinda flirting, huh?]
[He’s just trying to make good content lol]
[Would be hilarious if he actually goes on a date]
[But how’s a bald guy supposed to date, lmao]
The chat was exploding with laughter.
Ji-han quietly congratulated his friend’s “new romance” in his head but steered the topic back.
“I’m trying to use alchemy on the coolants, but I don’t have anyone with the perk.”
“So you’re planning to fuse them to raise their grade?”
“Exactly. Can you reach out to her?”
Kim Screw frowned, thought for a moment, and then nodded gravely.
“I’ll call her.”
He lifted his device and put the call on speaker.
“Oppa! You called first—missed me already?”
“Uh—uh, well…”
“Are we going on a date? Good thing I sent you to the lower zone. Did you meet that friend I told you about?”
“Uh, yeah, I met him.”
Her voice was bright and cute.
But Kim Screw’s face was pale.
The people who’d seen the earlier chaos in the mid-zone were all smirking.
“How’s the upper zone?”
“Oh, you know, still fighting the Shadow Merchant NPCs! I wanna finish up soon so I can go on that date!”
Cough, cough!
Kim Screw almost choked trying to suppress his reaction.
“So, Yeo-eun… did you take the alchemy perk?”
“Of course! I’m a professional alchemist! I took it so I could heal you, Oppa~”
Cough, cough!
[LOL, didn’t they just meet today?]
[She’s good at this, holy crap]
[Got real roleplay talent]
[This VTuber’s gonna blow up someday]
The chat was eating it up.
Then Kim Screw got to the point.
“Ji-han—uh, HAN—needs an alchemist right now.”
“HAN does? I thought he only needed coolants.”
“Seems he wasn’t satisfied with what he got. He wants to upgrade them with alchemy.”
“No way! Does that mean I can meet HAN? The hero of the lower zone?!”
Her excitement was palpable.
Kim Screw seized the opportunity.
“Of course! And—uh—you could even go on a date with HAN!”
That made—
Cough!
—Mari choke violently.
Her face twisted like a demon’s, but everyone else just looked awkwardly away.
“No~ Oppa! I’m supposed to go on a date with you! If I help, do I still get that date?”
[LOL]
[He tried to pass it off—failed miserably]
[This is gold]
[Can’t wriggle out now, Kim Screw]
“Y-yeah! Sure! The fate of the lower zone—no, of HAN himself—depends on you! Hurry and get down here!”
“Yay~ I don’t know about HAN’s fate, but I’ll come right now for that date!”
[LOL]
[He’s literally bartering romance for business now]
[Kim Screw is wild]
“Oppa! Be there in one minute!”
Click.
The call ended.
Kim Screw, pale as a ghost, shakily gave a thumbs-up to his friend.
“HAN, you see that? That’s what a real bro does.”
A touching sacrifice for a friend—
but Ji-han’s flame flickered orange as he said,
“When did we become that close, ‘bro’?”
[LOL]
[Bro got disowned instantly]
[Honestly deserved]
[Timing was perfect tho]
RP server rule:
Keep real-world stuff out of RP.
Since they’d never met in-game before, Ji-han pretended not to know him.
“Right, right! Good job, kid! Never call someone ‘bro’ unless you know them well!”
Kim Mari’s teasing “final blow” made Kim Screw stumble again.
One minute later.
The elevator doors opened in the lower zone—
and out stepped… a man (supposedly) with a shocking appearance.
Tall, yellow-skinned half-orc.
Shiny bald head, tusks glinting under the light.
“Oppa! Yeo-eun’s here~”
Cough, cough!
[LOL]
[Her avatar’s insane]
[That’s… a violent amount of ugly lol]
[She’s killing it tho]
“Anyway! HAN Oppa—wow! It’s my first time seeing you in person! That fishbowl head really is legendary!”
Her bubbly energy instantly lifted the mood of the whole lower zone.
[She’s actually good though]
[High energy is contagious]
[No wonder people are into her]
“Hello, Ms. Yeo-eun.”
“Yep~ I’m CuteYeo-eun!”
Her name literally floated above her head: CuteYeo-eun.
[Her avatar’s busted but somehow endearing lol]
“So, you need coolants, right? I’ll whip them up fast so I can go on that date with Screw Oppa~”
“Yes. Here they are.”
Ji-han began unloading piles of coolants—from low-grade to high-grade.
At first, Yeo-eun nodded calmly, checking the numbers.
Then—
“…Wait.”
Her eyes widened.
“All of this? How long do I have?”
“Hmm, about four in-game days? Since the sun just rose, three real days.”
“…Until server shutdown?”
Her RP broke instantly.
No bubbly tone. No cutesy act.
Just pure horror.
That much alchemy would take days of nonstop crafting—no time for dates or streaming content.
“…Is that a problem?”
Ji-han asked gently, tugging discreetly on Kim Screw’s sleeve.
“Wh—why?! You little—didn’t you just say I’m not your bro?!”
“Come on, Screw hyung~.”
[LOL]
[He’s turning sly now]
[What happened to innocent Ji-han??]
For the first time, Ji-han was networking—using tact and charm.
“Collab stream.”
RP shattered again.
Kim Screw whispered so only Ji-han and the viewers could hear.
[LOL, bruh not the collab bargaining]
[What kind of deal is this]
“…Plus a coffee coupon.”
Ji-han, breaking RP too, whispered back.
[Can’t stop laughing]
[This is top-tier chaos]
“Deal.”
Kim Screw turned to Yeo-eun with a suddenly serious look.
“Yeo-eun. If you pull this off, I’ll spend all day tomorrow on that date.”
“Oppa, and you’ll join me at the closing concert on the last day of PunkSulri.”
“…D-deal.”
“Okay! HAN, I’ll make them for you right now~!”
Her face lit up with energy.
His face turned into despair.
Their fates had clearly diverged.
