Chapter 38: Please Say Hello

<Hand-Cam? Hand-Cam? Hand-Cam? Hand-Cam? Hand-Cam? Hand-Cam? Hand-Cam?>

“Is the main character doing a hand-cam? Are they really showing a hand-cam? A hand-cam! A hand-cam!!”

“Calm down, breathe!”

• “Why are they acting like this?”
• “This guy’s losing it, lol.”
• “They’re way too excited;;”
• “I guessed this would happen, so I logged in, and they’re actually like this… haha…”

↳ “Our fans never let us down.”

↳ “Fans just can’t lie!”

↳ “Did you really want to see Kayak’s hands that much…”

<“While we’re at it, can we get a half-cam instead of just the hand-cam?”>

“No, lol, hand-cam or half-cam, it’s basically the same thing.”

“These days, even some streamers without face cams show half-cams. Kayak is one of the OG streamers who could give it a try.”

• “Half-cam streams look good these days…”

↳ “Wait, how do you know if a half-cam looks good or not?”

↳ “Just, you know, because their body looks nice, haha.”

↳ “Lots of streamers without face cams have nice physiques. Some even keep the camera on their torso all the time.”

↳ “If they have a nice body, why don’t they show their face?”

↳ “Well… it’s not always the case that a good physique means a pretty face.”

↳ “This fan has a lot to learn about the world.”

↳ “There’s also the issue of privacy and real-life matters when showing a face.”

• “Like Kayak would do a half-cam, lol.”
• “You must be new here. Originally, it was a no-cam, no-mic, game-only stream.”
• “These new viewers… They should just be grateful for a mic.”
• “That’s practically just watching gameplay with no commentary.”

↳ “The real legend is that 20-30 people watched that silent stream regularly.”

↳ “Kayak, broadcasting in silence, with 30 loyal viewers.”

↳ “Honestly, people probably just tuned in to socialize more than anything.”

↳ “Kayak was the only consistent streamer among the top players of a dead game… It made sense for fans to show up.”

↳ “Just imagine all the fans fawning over Kayak.”

↳ “Sends a PDF file of fan love to Kayak’s email.”

↳ “Kayak probably sees it all anyway. They seem to check the gallery regularly.”

↳ “Even if they do, they probably won’t react much.”

↳ “But Kayak once commented on Camilla’s body!”

↳ “Camilla is a game character, and Kayak is an actual person.”

↳ “This kind of harmless fan banter is probably cute to Kayak.”

↳ “It’s borderline inappropriate, but Kayak’s used to this stuff by now.”

↳ “Do you think the founder of this fan gallery is weak enough to be fazed?”

<Ionix <<< Hats off to this company, haha.>

“Count me in, lol.”

• “This is where the money should go, seriously. They’re the best in terms of investment.”

↳ “After the skin fiasco, their reputation dipped a bit, but it’s back up now.”

↳ “I don’t even remember that now.”

↳ “I’m still mad about it, lol.”

↳ “I mean, come on, what about my Cassia!!!”

“That beetle Cassia really crossed the line, honestly.”

• “An impeccable game company that prevents any possible cheating completely.”
• “So the hand-cam is a definite, huh?”

“People are obsessed with the hand-cam to the point of winning awards.”

“Do you really want to see Kayak’s hands that much?”

“What’s so special about hands…”

“It feels like a hand fetish.”

“Honestly, I’d prefer to see something other than just hands.”

“Floating, floating…”

“Big things come from floating.”

“Faces, we want to see faces;; What are they thinking?”

<“I’m actually scared…”>

“Why are these people so optimistic?”

“Are they not considering the worst-case scenario?”

“What if Ionix opened Pandora’s box?”

“What if the main character is a girl who can eat two pizzas by herself?”

“What if just from looking at the hands, you can guess their body type?”

“What if a future where not using a cam would’ve been much better is waiting for us?”

• “Nah, Kayak can’t even eat three slices of pizza by herself. She did that last time.”
• “Oh, reading this suddenly makes me feel scared.”
• “When they turned on the hand-cam, all we got was a hand that looked like Doraemon’s, lol.”

“It’s said that if your hands start getting fat, you’re really in trouble.”

“Hands are usually the last to gain weight; there’s no fat left anywhere else.”

• “What? Just from hearing her voice, she sounds like a top-tier beauty in the city.”

“Even a big guy puffing on a cigarette in the corner of an internet café has a nice voice.”

“They’re always playing FPS games while wearing headphones and acting cute on Discord.”

“This is too funny, lol.”

“Every neighbourhood has one, haha.”

<“Whether it’s a hand-cam or half-cam, I just wish they’d turn it on already.”>

“Other streams are already all set up; why is the main character lagging behind?”

• “The main character is probably tech-challenged and needs some time to set up.”
• “They say they need to prepare mentally.”
• “I’m ready to love Kayak no matter what she looks like.”

“It’s already a red flag that you’re saying stuff like that…”

“These types are always the first to go dark when things go wrong.”

“That’s the usual tech tree for those types.”

“Kayak isn’t even a female streamer; she’s a pure gamer, yet they still stick to her.”

“Those who are usually like that tend to look better, haha…”

“I trust the main character.”

[I trusted! I trusted! I trusted! I trusted! I trusted!]

[Look at those pretty hands, haha.]

[“Is that all you can say? Just that they’re white?”]

[“Better than being dark and burnt, right?”]

[“All those rumors about the main character weighing three digits will be silenced immediately, right?”]

[“Can such ruthless gameplay really come from those tiny hands?”]

[“Just from the hands, I became a loyal fan…”]

[“Show us your face, show us your face, show us your face.”]

Suddenly, the chat exploded like a dam bursting as soon as Kayak turned on the cam and revealed her hands according to the tournament’s rules.

Even through the somewhat blurry camera screen, her beauty couldn’t be concealed.

Her hands were small and white.

Though not very long, her fingers, stretched out just enough, were so graceful that the term “elegant hands” seemed perfect for them.

Most viewers hadn’t expected Kayak’s hands to be so beautiful.

Whether her hands appeared ordinary or, as some had mentioned, somewhat odd in shape, it wouldn’t have been that strange.

It was just showing her hands that elicited such a response.

Breaking people’s common sense and expectations always brings a great shock.

This was an internet broadcast, a place where even the smallest things could be exaggerated and inflated with additional speculation and idle talk.

Kayak, who had been at the center of attention in the “Abyss” category, had her hands be the simple reason for the chaos in the chat and communities.

Yet, even amidst all this, Kayak didn’t seem to care at all.

To be precise, she couldn’t afford to care.

“‘Crimson Path’ banned.”
“Path… as expected. Then we’ll go with—”
“‘Radiant Glory,’ right?”

Kayak was deeply focused on banning traits while communicating with her team, just like a commander receiving real-time reports.

Before the game began, the strategy would change depending on which traits were banned and which remained available.

Thus, the ban-pick phase was crucial for the players.

Kayak, with her signature white fingers, kept tapping on the desk while continuing to think.

She didn’t have the luxury to interact with the viewers. Even if she did, the delay in the chat would make it impossible to communicate effectively.

As each team made their first ban, and the opposing team banned the second trait, LimeTack shouted excitedly.

“Wow, just like Kayak said in the morning! Banning Crimson Path and Radiant Glory means Unyielding gets banned too. Just like she predicted!”

“That’s spooky, it’s spooky. If she’s even this good at ban-picks, she’s too inhuman!”

“This uncanny ability to predict… I got it. Kayak’s not human!!!”

“Camilla’s Goddess! Camilla’s Goddess! Camilla’s Goddess!”

“Stop joking around and just make the bans like we discussed in yesterday’s meeting.”

“Yes.”

By now, Kayak had grown accustomed to these jokes and didn’t react.

She figured that if they were joking around like this, she could relax.

Once she calmly gave the next instructions, the ban-pick phase smoothly finished.

[Wow, look at those hands.]
[?? Is that the host’s hand?]

The viewers’ chat was reflecting on what had just happened.

It was probably from the earlier moment when Kayak first waved her hand.

After finishing the ban-pick phase, Kayak finally had a chance to properly look at the viewers’ chat, but the fact that so many people were talking about her hands was still something she hadn’t quite gotten used to.

It was then that one chat caught her eye.

[If you’re seeing this chat, please give a quick wave with your hand.]

A hand wave. They were asking her to wave her hand.

Though Kayak wasn’t the type to simply comply with every request in the chat, this one didn’t seem too unreasonable.

Moreover, there was something subtly intriguing about this chat, which seemed to predict the future.

She thought that this moment would probably only reach the viewers a few minutes later.

With that in mind, Kayak waved her pure white hand toward the camera.

Then, she tried waving both hands, and playfully raised her middle finger.

For a few minutes, she communicated with her viewers beyond time.

Finally, the game began.