Chapter 43
Viral.
An adjective derived from “virus,” meaning something spreads or is transmitted like a virus.
In marketing, it was close to word of mouth.
At the same time, there was also the meme.
A trend built around a particular joke or event that originated on the internet.
And what were the defining features of these two things...?
They spread for no particular reason, couldn't be stopped even if you tried, and only spread more fiercely if you tried to stop them.
On Ryan Spencer's channel, at first he thought the meaningless garbage comments were spam and started deleting them.
He also blocked the accounts posting those comments.
But the backlash only made the trend stronger.
“H-Hahaha...”
Ryan Spencer was on the verge of losing his mind.
The reaction to a dungeon-clear video he'd gritted his teeth and psyched himself up to make...
─Kkyu?
└Kkyu-Kkyu?
└Kkyu-Kkyu-Kkyu!
Was an absolute mess.
The trend had started with comments in Korean...
Japanese.
─999
└9999
└99999
Since the Japanese pronunciation of 9 sounded close to “kyu,” Japanese commenters kept posting strings of 9s.
In English...
─QQQQQ
It was Q, also an abbreviation for “cute.”
The expressions varied, but the result was the same.
─Kkyu-Kkyu!
─99!
─QQ!
Looking at the comments plastered with Kkyus, 9s, and Qs, Ryan Spencer felt like he was going insane.
“Fucking shit!”
Spencer swore and slammed his laptop shut.
“If I’d at least had a proper showdown with Kim Segyun, I wouldn’t feel so cheated... What the hell is this, all because of some ridiculous slime!”
Hillian, Spencer’s manager and the person in charge of expanding into the East Asian market, was too drained even to get angry and could only laugh hollowly.
People did say cuteness ruled the world, but who could’ve imagined that a slime that was simply ‘cute’ would ruin everything?
“If there’s a silver lining... nobody cares anymore that you trashed Kim Segyun.”
It had been buried, all right—but in the worst possible way.
“Spencer, didn’t you say you keep dogs at home?”
“A Malinois and a German Shepherd. Robert’s got a cat.”
“...Should we switch to pet content, too? Hunter pets... something like that.”
“......”
He knew it was crazy talk...
But the situation was so absurd that even that crazy idea sounded tempting.
**
To be honest, I’m not exactly handsome.
It’s not like I look disgusting, like some “Germ Guy” or anything...
Still, compared to Hunters who get halfway there on looks alone, I’m at a disadvantage.
Just look at this guy in front of me. Zephyros was famous because he was a powerful Hunter, sure, but also because he was handsome.
He attracted flocks of fangirls when he was young, and was famous as a silver fox even as he got older.
And compared to him, me?
─Segyun oppa, you’re so cool! (swing)
└Right, there’s no way Germ Guy could have female fans.
└The Germ Squad solemnly declares that 99.999% of our members are men!
└There are 0.0001% women? Are you looking down on our Segyun hyung?
...Fuck...
There were several reasons things had turned out this way...
First, as I said, my looks played a part. Second was my dungeon-clearing style.
My exhilarating approach of disassembling everything made me especially popular with men.
The third reason was...
Why the hell was the fandom called the Germ Squad?!
What woman in the world would want to join the Germ Squad!
I knew it was because of my name! But still...
Ha... never mind.
To think a day would come when I was surrounded by female fans.
‘Eek! Show us Kkyu-Kkyu! Kkyu-Kkyu! Not Germ Guy—we want Kkyu-Kkyu!’
The problem was, they hadn’t come to see me.
In barely a day, several hundred people had already gathered at the airport.
And if I went outside now...
I had no idea what would happen.
“Ah, I can finally breathe.”
Zephyros was just laughing away, completely unbothered.
He’d laughed until tears came to his eyes, then wiped them away and gasped for breath.
Pfft! He burst out laughing again.
“No, the situation is hilarious. Don’t you think it’s funny?”
“...It’s making me feel pathetic.”
“Hey, even idol groups have separate visual members and talent members. That one’s the visual, you’re the talent. Sounds good, doesn’t it?”
“The talent members still have to meet a minimum standard.”
“That’s true.”
That made me feel even more dejected.
“Hey, how many guys are out there desperately doing whatever it takes to make a name for themselves in this industry? There must be tons of people praying for a chance to get famous, even if they have to bring in a pet—or the pet’s grandpa. A cute pet like that is a talent, too.”
I guess he had a point...
I sighed and gave Kkyu-Kkyu a matsutake mushroom.
Gyuseon said mushrooms were fungi, too, so I bought various kinds at the supermarket, laid them out like a buffet, and let it try them.
Enoki, wood ear, matsutake, reishi, and so on...
The fact that it had such expensive taste and liked matsutake was something to think about.
Hey, it’s going to be a problem if you develop expensive tastes this young.
Back in my day...
“Whoa, what am I thinking?”
I shook my head, set Kkyu-Kkyu on my shoulder, and stood up.
“Where are you going?”
“I have to go to work.”
I couldn’t stay at my place in Gangnam because its security was too lax, so I’d been staying at Zephyros’s house for a while.
Since things had turned out this way, I should get myself a proper place in Gangnam.
Somewhere with top-notch security.
“What are you going to do about the broadcasting offers?”
“I’m thinking about it.”
Under normal circumstances, I would’ve refused without a second thought...
But if I wanted to fight Kaiser, which was actively using the media to expand into East Asia, I might have to borrow even a tiny helping hand... or slime hand.
Though a slime didn’t have hands.
“Still, that slime... Kkyu-Kkyu’s your little blessing. Or should I say, a daughter? Is it male or female?”
“Do slimes have genders?”
“...Don’t they?”
“......”
“Ahem, anyway... For someone of your stature, you’ve actually been lacking in public recognition. You’ve raised your profile among the dungeon industry and Awakened through several global announcements, but you don’t even do livestreams.”
I never imagined I’d make up for that public recognition this way.
I glanced at Kkyu-Kkyu on my right shoulder, which went “Kkyu?”, and patted it.
“Oh, right. Director Jo was looking for you.”
“What does that guy want now?”
“Maybe... he’s ready to get started?”
“Already?”
“The sooner, the better.”
Zephyros spoke with a deeply serious expression.
“We need to consolidate as much as we can before the dungeon market opens.”
Project name: Vertical and Horizontal Alliances.
And the first step...
“I think it’ll start with RHS.”
“I see.”
“It’s the easiest one to start with.”
“I’ll leave that completely in your hands. Use my name as much as you like. If you need it... even Kkyu-Kkyu.”
─Kkyu?
Kkyu-Kkyu’s innocent cry rang out louder than ever.
**
The presidential residence of the Republic of Korea.
President Kang Min-guk was still hesitating to sign the documents Minister Jeong In-hyeon of the Awakened Management Department had presented to him.
“Mr. President.”
“Mm. All right.”
Having deliberated long enough, President Kang nodded and briskly signed the documents.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“What hard work?”
President Kang leaned back in his armchair with a deep sigh.
“It’s a shame that the times leave me no choice but to make a decision like this. How will future generations judge me? A corrupt politician guilty of collusion between business and government... no, collusion between Hunters and the government?”
“It does give one person an excessive amount of power.”
“Yes. It’s just like the companies right after liberation. We need to at least match their scale if we’re going to compete in an open market.”
Kaiser Corporation, Triain Network.
There were plenty of other giant dungeon-development companies backed by Wall Street hedge-fund capital.
On top of that, there was the City of London’s capital, as well as Chinese capital.
All that capital would flood in as soon as the market opened.
President Kang Min-guk’s conclusion was to combine Korea’s major dungeon-development companies and hand them over to Kim Segyun.
“That’s right. And don’t think of it as simply concentrating our country’s companies in the hands of one person. Look at it the other way around.”
“How so?”
“If we concentrate that much power in him, as we’re doing now, won’t he bring foreign currency in from overseas? Korea is too small a territory for him anyway. Just think of it as laying the groundwork for him to operate properly on the international stage.”
At Minister Jeong In-hyeon’s words, President Kang smiled.
“Hearing you put it that way does put my mind at ease.”
“You asked how future generations would judge you, didn’t you? They’ll see you as a hero who protected dungeon security through a decisive act to save the country.”
“Enough self-praise. How do you plan to proceed with the initial plan?”
“First, we’ll help acquire RHS Dungeon Development. With the support of the Dungeon Development Corporation and the National Pension Service, it shouldn’t be difficult. Hunter Ryu Hyeonsu has also agreed to work with us from within.”
“The press will make a fuss about the government interfering in a private company’s merger and acquisition. Have you planned how to manage that?”
“I have a few ideas, but...”
Minister Jeong, with a hint of embarrassment and a touch of bewilderment...
smiled awkwardly.
“It seems there’s a better way in the current situation.”
“A better way?”
“Yes, probably...”
**
CEO Shin Jung-geol.
He was the president and one of the co-founders of RHS Dungeon Development LLC.
Recently, CEO Shin had been brimming with big ambitions.
Kaiser Corporation had approached him.
Several other massive dungeon-development companies backed by Wall Street capital had also reached out.
Until now, he hadn’t been able to sell even if he wanted to, because of something called dungeon security. But the global dungeon market was going to open soon, wasn’t it?
“I should sell, of course. Obviously I should.”
For a company the size of RHS, the valuation would’ve been higher in Europe or the United States. But CEO Shin thought it had suffered immensely from being trapped on the Korean stock market, often called the “Boxpi.”
“Sell what?”
Startled, CEO Shin toppled out of his chair.
Recognizing the owner of the voice, he snapped angrily.
“Make some noise when you walk!”
“I did. You were probably lost in thought.”
“What do you mean, lost in thought?”
“I asked what you were selling.”
“...That’s private.”
“Tsk.”
“Say what you came to say and leave.”
It was a face CEO Shin didn’t particularly want to see.
He’d originally brought him in as a figurehead, but the public thought of RHS as the company of Ryu Hyeonsu, Zephyros.
They were both founding members, sure.
And the name RHS was also derived from Ryu Hyeonsu.
Even though he was the one who’d led the company all this time.
Maybe it was that inferiority complex, but despite Zephyros doing little of note, the relationship between CEO Shin and Zephyros Ryu Hyeonsu had gradually soured.
That was why Shin had even unilaterally terminated the sponsorship contract Zephyros had arranged for a rookie named Kim Segyun.
Kim Segyun had become such a huge figure that it had caused quite a problem recently.
At this point, any sponsorship ad on his chest would probably start at hundreds of billions of won.
Thinking about it made Shin’s stomach burn.
“Actually, I have something to sell, too.”
“...What?”
“I’m going to exercise my stock options now.”
“...You’re planning to sell?”
“Of course. Would I exercise them just to hold on to them? Keeping them as options is much more convenient.”
Other than CEO Shin himself, all the founding members had the same options.
The exercise price was 100 billion won.
At the current stock price, they’d be worth around 500 billion won.
It was a large sum, but not huge compared to RHS’s current market cap.
However, Ryu Hyeonsu’s stock options had far greater symbolic significance.
“If you dump those on the market, the stock price will crash.”
“So what? Once I dump them and leave, it won’t be my company.”
“Sounds like you’re saying the company’s leaving with you.”
“That’s right!”
CEO Shin suddenly clutched his head as a headache washed over him.
What the hell was wrong with this bastard?
Had he heard something?
No. That couldn’t happen.
At the very least, he had to stick around until Kaiser acquired the company.
That way, Shin could sell his shares for more than their actual value.
If Ryu Hyeonsu left, the most they could get for the company would be its base value, based on the dungeons it owned and so on.
How much had the stock price risen recently thanks to Ryu Hyeonsu’s return to active duty?
That entire gain would just vanish.
“Wait a little. I’ll buy them in a block trade. That’ll be better than dumping them on the market right now.”
“Don’t want to.”
“What?”
“Who would that benefit?”
“You bastard! Hey! Why are you suddenly acting like this? Have you gone crazy?”
“Actually, I already sold them. By now, it’s probably in the news...”
Without asking CEO Shin’s permission, he used the remote on the table to turn on the TV, and an anchor’s voice came through.
[Breaking news. Ryu Hyeonsu, a founding member of RHS Dungeon Development, one of the Republic of Korea’s five major dungeon-development companies, is reported to have sold all of his company shares in a block trade at today’s closing price. According to an interview...]
“There it is.”
“You crazy bastard!”
Zephyros grabbed CEO Shin’s wrist just as he hurriedly reached for his phone to check.
“You... what the hell are you doing?”
“Before you make that call, listen to just one thing I have to say.”
“...Go on.”
“Your stake is around 10%, right?”
Unlike the other founding members, CEO Shin had steadily increased his stake while running the company, so his was overwhelmingly large.
“...And?”
“You have two choices. First, the stock crashes, you hesitate and can’t sell, then you lose control of the company, they inspect the books, and you wind up in prison on embezzlement and breach-of-trust charges.”
“What? You bastard! You think you can say anything you want? Embezzlement and breach of trust, my ass!”
“Second, you quietly hand over your shares in a block trade at today’s closing price. I don’t want to become the villain for no reason. I’d like to settle this cleanly before the minority shareholders get hurt.”
“......!”
CEO Shin’s eyes widened. He let out a hollow laugh and said to Zephyros,
“So you’re doing all this because you want control of the company? You?”
“Yeah. I’m doing this because I want control.”
“You crazy bastard. Do you know how many friendly shares I have?”
“Around 54%, right? First, take 27% off that.”
“27%...?”
“The Dungeon Development Corporation and the National Pension Service will never side with you. And you have to subtract another 8%. The other founding members like me a little more. I’ve already spoken with them.”
Once the founding members’ 8% and the sovereign wealth fund’s 27% were removed...
In an instant, the friendly shares left—including his own 10% stake—amounted to just 19%.
“The easy way is to scoop them up after the stock gets crushed tomorrow. With 35% in friendly shares, I’d only need to gather another 15%. How hard could it be to gather just 15% during trading? Everyone will be panic-selling.”
Still, he wouldn’t escape suspicion that he’d deliberately driven the stock price down.
“But we can’t let our country’s retail investors take a loss.”
The government was openly handing major companies over to him.
If ordinary investors—in other words, the people—lost money in the process, his image would inevitably suffer even more.
Zephyros intended to proceed with the acquisition as cautiously as possible and avoid making a fuss.
“Oh, and this.”
Zephyros took something from his pocket and handed it to CEO Shin.
“What’s this...”
An application for a search and seizure warrant.
Just seeing the words made CEO Shin recoil in shock, and he dropped it.
As he picked up the paper from the floor, Zephyros said with a smile,
“If you don’t accept the offer, apparently this application will be filed with the Central District Court later.”
“You son of a bitch... Just what kind of strings have you gotten hold of? No, you never cared about control of the company—why? Why now?”
“Yeah, well. That Kang Min-guk fellow isn’t as soft as he looks. He says he won’t just drop his pants and surrender to American capital. As a citizen, don’t I have to do something?”
The moment the president’s name came up, CEO Shin’s face turned white as a sheet.
“Let’s do this the easy way while I’m asking nicely, my friend.”
Zephyros’s pale smile looked like the grin of a devil to CEO Shin.
**
The next day.
At the news of Zephyros’s block-trade sale, retail investors who had invested in RHS let out one sigh after another.
Stock streamer Nam Bo-won was no exception.
“Ah, fuck, I shouldn’t have held it overnight.”
─Nam Bo-won, you bastard! You said RHS was going to the moon!
Reading the comment in the chat, Nam Bo-won furrowed his brow and shouted.
“Hey, you bastard! How was I supposed to know that crazy Zephyros would sell and walk away? Am I God? Huh?!”
─LOL, fuck, that’s a fair point
─Ugh, damn Zephyros...
─So how far do you think it’ll drop?
“We’ll have to brace for a 30% drop at the floor.”
The daily lower limit was all but guaranteed, so at least a 30% loss.
And there was a chance they’d lose half their money.
Just as he was smoking one cigarette after another and sighing...
─Whoa, holy shit, look at this article!
Nam Bo-won frowned at the link that popped up, thinking it was just the usual clickbait.
He blocked the poster and said,
“Clickbait’s an insta-ban. Don’t bait people.”
But then—
─Hyung! It’s not bait! Fuck! It’s real!
─Hey! Breaking news! It’s Kim Segyun! Kim Segyun bought the block-trade shares!
“What?”
After seeing the chat spam the same thing, Nam Bo-won went to a portal site and searched RHS.
[Ryu Hyeonsu’s block-traded shares—was Hunter Kim Segyun the buyer?]
[Hunter Kim Segyun Announces Acquisition of RHS Dungeon Development!]
“Kyaaaaaaaaa!”
A shriek that couldn’t possibly be human erupted from his mouth.
And...
The chat...
─Long live the Germ Squad! Long live Germ Guy!
─Hey, idiot, who calls it the Germ Squad these days?
─Then what?
─Kkyu-Kkyu!
─Oh? Kkyu-Kkyu!
─Long live the Kkyu-Kkyu Squad!
─Not “long live”—just Kkyu-Kkyu!
And so, the chat window began to be flooded with Kkyu-Kkyu for a while.
Even the streamer, who was supposed to stop them...
“Kkyu-Kkyu! Kkyu-Kkyu! May Lord Kkyu-Kkyu protect us!”
Almost... everyone was going crazy.