Chapter 39
Mystery Rich HQ, 7th floor.
Manager Han Sang-gu had been having a miserable time lately.
The amount of video editing showed no sign of letting up.
Stuck in overtime hell, Manager Han Sang-gu stared blankly at his monitor and let out a sigh.
'Sigh... the comments are a war zone again today.'
The YouTube comment section was flooded with subscribers complaining.
-Have you no consideration for working people? I'm dying to know what happens next ㅠㅠ
-Editor, please... the uploads are way too slow.
-Please upload Baby's fight clip ASAP.
-Please upload seven days a week.
-Editor, is there any chance you could work 24 hours a day?
-I'll subscribe, so please upload faster.
-We're literally offering you views, so why aren't you uploading?
"I want to upload faster too. But this is the best I can do..."
Manager Han Sang-gu muttered as he skimmed through the comments one by one.
To be honest, the editing itself wasn't difficult.
All he had to do was cut out the fun parts from the livestream and turn them into highlight videos.
Usually, with content like this, about 10% of the footage is usable and the other 90% is throwaway material.
The problem was that Reels' party was the complete opposite.
More than 90% of their footage was good enough to include in the videos.
Reels pulled some bizarre stunt every other day, and Yerin would fire back with something hilarious from the side.
Kim Woong was funny in a random, hopeless-buffoon sort of way, and now even their pet lizard Baby was showing insane screen presence.
Ha...
The videos he'd made so far were already more than 30% Reels-party footage, and at this rate it might climb past 50%.
"But the other contestants need screen time too."
The lines on Manager Han Sang-gu's forehead deepened a little more.
The one consolation amid the endless overtime was that every video he uploaded exploded in views.
The Shorts clip of Baby facing down the snake had racked up a staggering 30 million views almost immediately after going up.
Baby's clip had spread everywhere—online communities, social media, every corner of the internet.
-What the hell is that lizard? It's cool as fuck.
-It fought bravely to protect its owner.
-Better than our own kids^^*
-I thought it was a dog at first, but it was a lizard.
-It grossed me out at first, but the more I look at it, the cuter it gets.
-Baby's really growing on me.
Manager Han Sang-gu let out a hollow laugh.
How on earth had a party lineup like that even come together?
Taking a sip of coffee to fight off his fatigue, Manager Han Sang-gu muttered,
"Did the god of variety attach itself to that team or something...?"
Otherwise, there was no explaining it.
@
'So if we only take out seven more people, we win?'
Then the thought suddenly crossed my mind.
There were currently three people in our party.
So then, what happens if all three of us win together?
I asked Yerin, who was hauling bamboo to the shore and sweating buckets,
"Yerin-nim."
"Huff... huff... Reels. I'm tired, so don't talk to me."
"There's something I'm curious about."
"What?"
"There are three of us, right? So what happens if we get a joint win?"
"Wouldn't the three of us split the prize money...?"
"Hmm... I see."
Well, that's not bad.
It wasn't like I'd joined because I was aiming for the prize money in the first place.
I just wanted to try living on a deserted island.
Even when I filled out the application, it was with nothing more than a casual, 'Huh? That sounds fun.'
But after arriving on the island and scrambling to survive, seven days had already flown by.
And there were only ten people left, counting us.
I adjusted the bamboo balanced on my shoulder.
Was the prize money 200 million won?
Split three ways, that was still over 60 million won apiece.
It was such a huge amount that it didn't feel real.
I'd be perfectly happy just ordering a whole chicken at home, sitting in the AC with Baby, and watching documentaries.
Ordinary people ought to live like ordinary people.
@
After getting his machete snatched(?) by Reels' group, Putty found himself a new party.
More precisely, he was invited, and he accepted.
It happened while Putty was quietly sitting by the shore with his fishing rod in the water.
"Excuse me."
Someone had called out to him.
When he turned his head, he saw two streamers who'd been explosively popular lately.
Girl streamer Baek Seol-ah.
Boy streamer J.
Pushing her sunglasses up onto her head, Baek Seol-ah said,
"Are you on your own?"
Putty nodded.
"Yes."
"Mister, you look pretty good at fishing. How about teaming up with us?"
Putty pretended to think it over for a moment, then accepted right away.
Honestly, there was no downside for him.
Those two were bound to receive an overwhelming amount of donations from viewers.
"Wow..."
After joining their party, Putty doubted his eyes the moment he saw where they were staying.
There were not one but two tents worth 50 million won each.
Inside were sleeping bags and plenty of food available through the API.
From Putty's perspective, it was a deal that cost him nothing.
After that, Putty had effectively become the party's personal fisherman.
Today was no different.
Baek Seol-ah frowned as she slurped ramen for breakfast.
"I'm getting sick of instant food too. I wish they'd add salad or something to the API."
J let out a snort.
"We're already doing insanely well compared to everyone else. The other streamers have probably run out of donation money and are struggling just to get food by now."
With an unhappy look, Baek Seol-ah slurped down some ramen broth.
Putty laughed along with them to match the mood.
"Haha. On a deserted island, ramen is a serious luxury."
Baek Seol-ah suddenly stared hard at Putty.
"But, mister."
"...Yes?"
"Can't you catch something like sea bream?"
Putty's brow twitched at that.
Without a thought in her head, Baek Seol-ah kept talking.
"I want to eat sashimi made from sea bream."
J, standing beside her, chimed in too.
"Wouldn't someone as skilled as Mr. Putty be able to do it? You're amazing at fishing."
Putty couldn't say anything for a moment, and only thought to himself,
'Do they think catching sea bream is some kind of kid's game?'
Sea bream weren't fish that just got caught because you wanted them to.
The fishing spot matters, and so does the bait.
More than anything, luck was the most important factor when it came to catching fish like that.
Putty forced a smile and said,
"Haha... I'll do my best."
Baek Seol-ah nodded in satisfaction.
"Then we'll be counting on you, Mr. Putty."
@
We laid several thick bamboo stalks neatly in a row along the shore.
Patting her stiff shoulders, Yerin asked me,
"We moved it all, but what do we do now?"
"We just have to tie them together carefully."
"That's it?"
"Yep."
Yerin looked like she couldn't believe it.
Tapping the bamboo with my hand, I said,
"Bamboo floats really well."
Bamboo traps air inside its hollow segments.
In movies or documentaries, don't stranded protagonists always lash bamboo together into a raft and escape on it?
Of course, reality isn't as romantic as it is in the movies.
Still, making a buoy is more than doable.
"So if we tie a bunch of them together, it'll float on the water."
"That's all?"
"Yep."
Yerin thought about it for a moment, then nodded.
"Well, if Reels says so, then I guess that's how it is."
We immediately got to work making the buoy.
Using cord, we bound the bamboo together as tightly as possible, wrapping it over and over so the ties wouldn't come loose in the waves.
Kim Woong was looking for rocks of the right weight to tie to the buoy.
"One. Two. Three. Four."
As we busily tied the cord, a strange noise reached our ears.
When we turned toward the sound, we were met with an absurd sight.
Kim Woong was clutching a huge rock to his chest like it was precious,
"Five. Six. Seven. Eight."
and with an expression more serious than ever, he kept lifting and lowering a boulder about my size.
Like someone doing dumbbell reps at the gym.
I couldn't understand at all why he insisted on making his own body suffer like that.
"Kim Woong-nim."
"Yep!"
"What are you doing?"
"Warming up, Benefactor!"
"Why?"
"You have to warm up before getting into the water."
To him, it was a perfectly reasonable explanation.
I quietly looked away from him.
Let's just ignore him.
Trying to understand a gym rat is a losing game.
@
[Is the board's star actually about to win?]
Author: Nongnongnongnongnong
(Updated list of eliminated contestants)
Already top ten.
At this rate, are they seriously going to win?
ㄴThere's definitely a real chance.
ㄴHonestly, at first I thought they'd be out on day one.
ㄴSameㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴI thought Yerin would be the first to run, not Reels.
ㄴThat part was surprising.
ㄴBut that party's more balanced than I expected.
ㄴNow that Kim Woong joined too, who even knows anymore.
ㄴBrains, brawn, and mukbang. Perfect combo.
ㄴWhat do you mean, mukbang?
ㄴHey, at least she's good at something.
ㄴLet's just call her the mood-maker.
ㄴFor realㅋㅋ
[The Nongnong crowd is getting way too carried away]
Author: GirlCamFan
(Pic of Putty's party eating ramen inside two tents)
No matter how hard they try, they can't beat the silver-spoon party.
They can solve everything with money.
ㄴWhat a filthy world where money solves everything.
ㄴYep, we're heading for the capitalism ending.
ㄴThat's not a deserted island, that's glamping.
ㄴMeanwhile Reels' team is living off the land, ffs.
ㄴI'm jealous, sure, but it's not interesting.
ㄴBut it's not like they broke any rules.
ㄴTrue, but it's boring.
ㄴThey saved up points and bought it, so what's the problem?
ㄴThat kind of ability is a skill too.
ㄴThis is the cold realityㅠ
ㄴIn the end, the winner is decided by results.
ㄴSo what if they're good at surviving? If they don't win, it's all pointless.
ㄴYeah, but viewers tune in for Reels' team.
ㄴCan't argue with that.
ㄴOne-click API party vs. Reels' party.
ㄴIf Baek Seol-ah and Yerin run into each other, sparks are gonna fly immediately. Don't those two hate each other?
ㄴI'm waiting for that tooㅋㅋㅋ