Chapter 15: The BunnyRun Takeover

Running into the streamer I saw yesterday at my part-time job—what are the odds?

I carefully studied her.

As far as I remember, BunnyRun’s virtual avatar gave off an overall cute vibe. A round face with rabbit ears made the character look gentle.

But reality was a little different.

Should I say she looked intimidating?

If I had met her at school, I would’ve looked away to avoid eye contact.

“I don’t smoke.”

Ah, I had been staring too obviously at her pockets.

Trying to act as if nothing had happened, I took a bite of sushi.

I had only heard people talk about omakase, and this was my first time trying it.

The reason I got to eat this expensive meal was thanks to BunnyRun offering to treat me. When she asked what I wanted, I said, “Anything delicious.” After nodding to her question about whether I had time today, she brought me straight here.

“It’s delicious.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

“It’s really delicious.”

I almost cried.

The golden tilefish was especially exquisite.

So, rich people eat things like this every day?

How can only you guys live happily like this?

“This is unfair. I’ll become the best game developer in the world and eat omakase every day!”

“Even if you have money, you don’t eat like this every day.”

“Well, I will.”

BunnyRun gave a faint smile and poured herself a glass of sake. It was a premium ginjo sake, and when I took a sip, the taste was incredibly smooth.

“BunnyRun, I have a question.”

“Call me by my real name in person…”

“Why did you switch to being a VTuber?”

I was genuinely curious.

When I looked it up on the wiki, I saw she used to stream with a camera.

With her looks, wouldn’t it have made more sense to keep doing face-cam streams?

She opened her mouth slightly, hesitating.

“The wreckers…”

“The wreckers?”

She didn’t mean literal tow trucks, so it had to be the cyber “wreckers” who cause trouble online.

BunnyRun let out a sigh.

“They kept using my face every time I made a mistake.”

“Oh no.”

“So, I switched to being a VTuber… but even as a VTuber, they still use my real face whenever I mess up. I found that out six months ago.”

“Oh no. Can I order more golden tilefish?”

“Go ahead… eat as much as you want.”

Leaving behind a deflated BunnyRun, I ordered more tilefish.

After finishing a few more pieces of sushi, BunnyRun stared blankly for a moment and spoke in a dazed voice.

“Unni.”

“I don’t have a younger sibling like you, Chaewon.”

“Unni, why do I keep screwing everything up? I feel pathetic.”

“Uh… what’s your alcohol tolerance? Didn’t you just have three drinks?”

I waved my hand in front of BunnyRun’s face to check her condition, but she ignored me and kept talking.

“I even cursed at you again today. How could I say those things to you? I treat even people I care about like garbage… I really am trash.”

“So we are friends, huh? Well, if you buy me omakase, I guess that makes us friends.”

“Unni…”

BunnyRun dropped her head onto the table with a loud thud.

I leaned forward to check if her eyes were open.

Though her gaze was unfocused, she was still conscious.

Relieved, I sat back up and asked, “Can I order just one more golden tilefish?”

“…Order as many as you want.”

“Great! I’ll make it three more, just in case.”

After devouring the extra tilefish, my stomach was stuffed.

“I’m full now. Let’s head home, yeah?”

“……”

“Chaewon?”

Later that night, I went live on stream.

[Diamond Massacre Show by a Challenger in Training]

Viewers started pouring in.

100… 200…

In no time, the count shot past 3,000. And it kept climbing, surpassing 5,000. At this rate, I was on track to hit 10,000 viewers.

Dragging people in no matter what I do… It seems I really do have the talent to become a superstar game developer.

I played the OST from Fantasy Life, which I had downloaded earlier, and closed my eyes.

The mournful sound of violins echoed through the stream.

The chat loved it.

[What’s with this song? It’s so gloomy.]

[Isn’t this from Fantasy Life? Why are you suddenly playing this?]

[What even is Fantasy Life, you filthy otaku? LOL]

I cracked open the sake I had bought from the store earlier.

It amazed me how, despite finishing an entire bottle of premium sake earlier, I still didn’t feel drunk.

Whether that was a good or bad thing, I wasn’t quite sure.

After pouring another glass, I placed it on the desk—or maybe it was more like a nightstand—beside the treadmill. Then, I turned on the mic.

Clearing my throat, I delivered the opening line I had prepared.

“Hello? It’s the world’s cutest bunny, BunnyRun! The loneliest bunny in the world!”

The chat exploded.

[?]
[???]
[What was that just now?]

Gulp. I downed another shot of sake. The sound must have gone through the mic because the chat immediately descended into chaos.

[Who the hell are you?]

[Wait… or was it already chaotic from the start?]

I introduced myself again.

“Hello? It’s the world’s cutest and loneliest bunny, BunnyRun!”

While I was at it, I activated the avatar. When I raised two fingers in a V-sign and touched my cheek, the avatar mimicked the movement perfectly.

The motions were so smooth—it was like magic.

So this is what cutting-edge tech feels like. The world’s really come far.

[What’s going on here?]

[Is this BunnyRun’s stream or not? What the hell is happening?]

[Who are you?!]

“I am BunnyRun! Look, I even have bunny ears!”

I reached up to touch my head, and the avatar’s bunny ears twitched in response.

It really felt like I was touching real bunny ears.

Wow. Is this how good VR tech has gotten?

Having way too much fun, I started playing with the avatar’s bunny ears and running my fingers through its hair.

The avatar’s movement adjusted seamlessly to every little touch.

Curious, I kept lowering my hands to see how much more the system could handle.

“Hm.”

I frowned.

The avatar’s chest was… well, way too big.

If I touched my chest in real life, how would that translate into the virtual model? Would my hands clip through the avatar’s body?

Driven by curiosity, I tried it. My hands pressed into the avatar’s chest, and the motion reflected instantly on the screen.

The avatar squished its chest realistically, without any weird glitches.

It seemed the software made real-time adjustments to keep everything smooth.

Wow, impressive. Does this use AI for the corrections?

Come to think of it, AI has improved dramatically alongside VR technology.

It makes sense that something like this could be developed.

Could this tech be applied to games? What kind of books should I read to explore this more?

Lost in thoughts about game development, I absently touched the avatar’s side.

Then I glanced at the chat and remembered—oh yeah, I was still streaming.

[Oh. My. God.]

[LMAO]

[Okay, but seriously… who is this person?]

[Isn’t that Han Yurim?]

“I’m BunnyRun,” I repeated, sighing.

Why won’t they believe me?

Having explored the avatar to my heart’s content, I launched Eternal World and logged into my account.

[Isn’t your nickname Han Yurim in this game? What’s with this BunnyRun thing?]

[Why the hell is she streaming on BunnyRun’s account?]

[Was she hacked? How can someone just start streaming on someone else’s channel like this?]

When I asked earlier if I could stream, BunnyRun had responded with a garbled “Uh, yeah.” That was good enough, right? Sounds like consent to me.

The queue popped. Without hesitation, I locked in Thierry and declared:

“BunnyRun, ready for deployment!”

[OMG, someone stop her with that weird tone.]
[Who taught her to talk like that?]

After quickly scanning the top streamers in the VTuber industry, I figured this kind of speech was the norm.

Why do people hate it so much, then?

“This is just how we speak in Bunny Land,” I added playfully.

My throat felt dry again.

I poured another shot of sake and downed it, humming the OST of my in-development game while heading toward the city core.

The enemy city core, Yuseol, awaited. Yuseol, a character that wields ice, was the most popular pick in the game.

It was powerful and easy to use, especially for a new character, despite being slightly lacking in utility.

The pros might skip it, but it was unbeatable at the amateur level.

I methodically cleared the 5-tier objectives, leveling up at a steady pace.

In Eternal World, the city core area was always a war zone—from start to finish.

It wasn’t just because the city was connected to all other regions. The real reason? Population density.

In the middle or outskirts of the map, you might not encounter enemies for a while, even with scouts actively hunting for the enemy’s main carry.

But in the city core, battles began almost immediately.

Think of it like drawing a circle. The outer and middle areas are spacious, but the center is much tighter.

In such a confined space, everyone competes for limited resources—there’s no way to avoid conflict.

Following the standard path, I hit level 3. My plan was to grab a 4-tier objective, return to base, and pick up some essential items.

That’s when I heard it—a faint rustling sound.

I turned my head and spotted the enemy city core: Yuseol.

“Ah, Yuseol’s strategy. Since it’s strong early game, it tries to hunt down enemies quickly to secure kills.”

With a one-in-three chance, Yuseol had correctly predicted my path.

Even if the attempt failed, the risk was minimal; the core area was so small that the enemy could just switch back to farming without losing much time.

Crunch. Yuseol’s hands touched the ground, creating a sheet of ice.

Suddenly, rabbits burst forth from the frozen surface—Yuseol’s first basic skill, [Ice Family].

In Eternal World, Yuseol’s [Ice Familiar] allowed her to summon one of three different familiars.

This time, she summoned an exploding rabbit that dealt damage and applied a slow effect on impact.

Yuseol launched forward, aiming straight at me, and pointed toward the space behind me.

Instantly, a towering pillar of ice materialized, blocking my retreat.

She intended to cut off my escape route, but I kept my cool and lunged forward instead.

Thud! The ice pillar crashed down behind me as I darted away, riding the shockwave to propel myself farther ahead.

Yuseol wasted no time. She conjured icy weapons around her—a seamless activation of her third basic skill, [Ice Weapon].

These floated as automated defense tools, waiting to intercept me.

Her next move? Firing chunks of ice in rapid succession—just basic attacks, but deadly nonetheless.

It was a well-polished strategy: chip away at the enemy’s health with ranged attacks and finish them off with a follow-up from familiars.

No wonder Yuseol was such a popular pick for solo queues—her abilities were easy to use yet highly effective.

Still, there was a reason pros avoided her.

I dodged the flying ice chunks and closed the gap between us.

Just before I got within range, the rabbit exploded—sending ice shards in all directions and applying a slow effect to anyone nearby.

However, I had anticipated it. I feinted a step and slipped out of the blast zone.

More icy blades shot toward me. Another feint—and I evaded them too.

That’s the thing with relying too heavily on AI mechanics—your actions become predictable.

Even though Yuseol had executed her play perfectly, I emerged victorious from the skirmish.

With a swift strike, I slashed Yuseol’s neck with my sword and muttered, “This is why Yuseol isn’t great.

Her skills are too easy to dodge. There’s a reason the pros don’t use her.”

[Pros don’t avoid her because her skills are easy to dodge. It’s because she lacks utility, ffs.]

[OMG, what did we just witness?]

[Thierry, the god… no, wait—BunnyRun! Thierry’s god-tier play… BunnyRun!]

[Keep it going, BunnyRun!]

I grinned. “Play the music! Time to teach this cocky new character a lesson.”

Hyped up, I annihilated the enemy. Yuseol, who had fallen behind Thierry early, stood no chance of making a comeback.

[Victory!]

“How was that? Perfect, right? Praise the one and only BunnyRun!”

[BunnyRun! BunnyRun! BunnyRun!]

[You’re the pride of Bunny Village!]

[We knew you’d carry with Thierry, BunnyRun!]

“More!” I exclaimed, riding the high.

[BunnyRun, the Diamond Slayer!]

[I wanna grow up to be like BunnyRun, Mom!]

[This is talent! Pure talent!]

“Keep it coming!”

[Sometimes your antics drive me nuts, but honestly, you’re the best, BunnyRun.]

[This one was annoying, but you’ve proven yourself again.]

[Could you tone it down just a little? This is 2024, you know.]

“Keep going!” I shouted, fully immersed in the adrenaline rush.

Suddenly, a weak, weary voice interrupted my flow.

“Han Yurim… what exactly are you doing right now?”

I turned my head toward the door. There stood BunnyRun, her face pale and disheveled.

She’s already awake?

Well, no use hiding it now. I smiled sheepishly.

“The party’s over, folks. Time to head home.”

[WTF is this clown saying now…]