Chapter 48 :Bad Relationship

Due to Jericho drawing Group 1, position 1, I had to cancel my plan to take a break today.

I wanted to stream tomorrow, but being forced to stream today put me in a bad mood.

In that state, Team Whistle kept banning with the intention to counter specifically, making me feel even worse.

“What are you playing mid? Twisted Fate?”

As the last pick approached, Antenna asked what pick I would choose.

Out of the seven champions used in scrims, the opponent banned five, and took one. The only one left was Twisted Fate, but I didn’t want to pick Twisted Fate for this match.

Twisted Fate had clear strategic advantages but wasn’t a champion whose performance varied greatly based on mechanics.

Not wanting to secure an easy win against the opponent who had already annoyed me, I continued to ponder and then spoke.

“Pick LeBlanc.”

“LeBlanc… Okay.”

Antenna, who seemed like he wanted to argue but held back, quietly picked LeBlanc.

It made sense for Antenna to be doubtful since I hadn’t played LeBlanc even once.

Despite that, the reason Antenna let it go might have been Jericho.

Jericho was the streamer who placed the most significance on the platform battle within the team.

Seeing Jericho not object to my LeBlanc pick, it was clear he thought there was a reason. His strong situational awareness and decision-making were extraordinary.

With the selection of LeBlanc, the ban-pick phase ended.

After swapping champions, the game began.

Due to Jericho drawing Group 1, position 1, I had to cancel my plan to take a break today.

I wanted to stream tomorrow, but being forced to stream today put me in a bad mood.

In that state, Team Whistle kept banning with the intention to counter specifically, making me feel even worse.

“What are you playing mid? Twisted Fate?”

As the last pick approached, Antenna asked what pick I would choose.

Out of the seven champions used in scrims, the opponent banned five and took one. The only one left was Twisted Fate, but I didn’t want to pick Twisted Fate for this match.

Twisted Fate had clear strategic advantages but wasn’t a champion whose performance varied greatly based on mechanics.

Not wanting to secure an easy win against the opponent who had already annoyed me, I continued to ponder and then spoke.

“Pick LeBlanc.”

“LeBlanc… Okay.”

Antenna, who seemed like he wanted to argue but held back, quietly picked LeBlanc.

It made sense for Antenna to be doubtful since I hadn’t played LeBlanc even once.

Despite that, the reason Antenna let it go might have been Jericho.

Jericho was the streamer who placed the most significance on the platform battle within the team.

Seeing Jericho not object to my LeBlanc pick, it was clear he thought there was a reason. His strong situational awareness and decision-making were extraordinary.

With the selection of LeBlanc, the ban-pick phase ended.

After swapping champions, the game began.

League solo queue and tournaments are different games. The difference between solo queue and tournaments is clear enough that people often say so. For example, solo kills are common in solo queue, but rare in tournaments. In tournaments, what’s important isn’t the individual skill difference but the teamwork necessary for the team game.

But what if a first division team plays against a second division team? The gap between the first division and the second division is larger than the difference between heaven and earth, and that gap will never be bridged. Naturally, the first division team will crush the second division team and lead the game.

[They can’t be stopped!]

Just like the ongoing game between Team Curry Breaker and Team Whistle.

Barely 16 minutes into the game. In the phase where the laning phase is ending, Barcode’s LeBlanc got her fifth solo kill. If Barcode’s mechanics were mid-tier in the first division, the enemy mid laner’s mechanics were bottom-tier in the second division.

They used all their ban cards to counter Barcode, but the result was devastating.

As the other members of Team Curry Breaker, who weren’t countered, began to crush their opponents, the balance of the game rapidly collapsed.

As the game entered the mid-game, Team Curry Breaker hunted the Herald and gathered mid.

Team Whistle also gathered to stop Team Curry Breaker’s advance, but their movements were sluggish, possibly because they had lost their will to fight.

Overwhelmed by the huge gap, the opponents had no choice but to watch as the summoned Rift Herald demolished their tower.

The twin towers were destroyed.

The nexus under concentrated attack exploded.

The game ended with the Herald dancing.

“Finally, Team Whistle’s nexus was destroyed, ending the game!”

“Indeed, an overwhelming difference in skill. Team Curry Breaker is amazing!”

“Isn’t this match-fixing?”

“It feels like Barcode is playing alone.”

“If a girl can do that, then as a guy…”

[Men in Silver-Gold rank should stop chatting from now on ^^]

[lol]

[Yogurt-level gameplay]

[You can tell their rank just from their chat]

The official channel’s chat was a chaotic frenzy.

Viewers expected that Barcode wouldn’t perform well due to the heavy focus on countering her.

Contrary to those expectations, Barcode dominated the game, leading to confusion.

The name “Barcode” was imprinted in the minds of those watching the official channel.

Disbelief turned into curiosity, leading viewers to Barcode’s stream.

Streamers participating in the tournament had to start their broadcast before the match and set a 3-minute delay.

Due to this rule, Barcode and other streamers were live.

Viewers watching the tournament on the official channel moved to the streams that piqued their interest.

Of course, the losing team was quickly forgotten.

“I didn’t know you were good with LeBlanc too. Did you practice separately?”

“I didn’t practice separately. I’ve known how to play her for a long time.”

It was obvious that Jericho expected me to do well with LeBlanc.

I smiled at Jericho’s act of pretending to be surprised and praising me.

Since the lawsuit incident, Jericho has been considerate and caring about me in small ways, similar to Curry.

“I originally planned to have a feedback session after the match… but it ended too easily, so there’s not much to feedback on.”

“No matter what, we should address even minor mistakes, right?”

“Hmm… From my perspective, both Latte hyung and Barcode didn’t make any mistakes. Including myself, of course.”

Jericho added that because the game was focused on the top side, he couldn’t pay much attention to the bot lane.

“The bot lane didn’t make any mistakes.”

“Really? Then there’s nothing to feedback on.”

With Antenna, responsible for the bot lane, confirming there were no issues, there really wasn’t anything left to give feedback on.

Today was the only match for Team Curry Breaker, and despite the early hour, we decided to disband.

“Good work, everyone.”

“Everyone did well. The next match is in four days, right?”

“Yes, it’s in four days.”

“Great job.”

With that, I left the call, having successfully and smoothly completed our first match.

I skimmed through the chat messages that were popping up.

[What’s Barcode bad at?]

[Five solo kills in 16 minutes;;]

[She killed as many as her main champs were banned, lol]

[Hehehe… noona…]

[The ace of Curry Breaker! The ace of Curry Breaker! The ace of Curry Breaker!]

[Breaking news: Curry Breaker wins]

[Spoiler alert, get out!!!]

[Even if I get spoiled, it’s not a bad feeling]

[What’s the point of spoiling a predetermined ending]

With a 3-minute delay set, viewers were chatting from the past.

A few annoying spoilers from the future popped up, but Ji-hye quickly cut them off.

Seeing Ji-hye working diligently without supervision made me feel proud. I thought, “At least I picked the right person.”

As the game concluded, I disabled the 3-minute delay.

[Baha~]

[Baha~]

[3-minute delay off?]

[Baha~]

[Great match today]

[You just crushed them with power]

[If Barcode noona crushes, isn’t that a reward?]

[Hehehe…]

[You’ve finally lost your beginner’s mindset]

[Explain why you sniped Curry during your break]

“Why did I snipe Curry? Because he told me to.”

I smiled slightly, recalling yesterday’s memories.

The sound of Curry sighing, screaming, and expressing frustration…

I was stressed about being forced to stream.

But recalling last night’s memories quickly lifted my mood.

[If he told you to snipe and you didn’t, he’d be disappointed]

[This is why you shouldn’t say things you can’t handle]

[When are you and Curry getting married? This is true love]

[If you type that in Curry’s chat, you’ll get a free ban]

[So, when are you two doing a real-life collab?]

“A real-life collab?”

Just as I was about to end the stream, one chat caught my eye.

A real-life collab meant collaborating in person.

What would happen if I actually met Curry for a collab?

I don’t usually like going out.

But for a real-life collab with Curry, I could go out multiple times.

“Well, do you think Curry would want to do a real-life collab with me?”

[Would he?]

[Would he, lol]

[It’s like a rabbit collabing with a lion]

[Would the real-life collab be a mukbang?]

[Barcode’s Curry mukbang, oh yeah]

[Oh my]

[That person is good at walking a tightrope]

[Curry is tasty]

[Today, I quickly finished my 3-minute Curry]

My thoughts matched the viewers’ reactions.

If I were Curry, I would definitely refuse a real-life collab request from a streamer like Barcode. The real Curry wouldn’t accept a real-life collab proposal either.

But Curry is a streamer, and streamers have to consider public opinion.

“I don’t think a real-life collab would happen just because I want it. But if public opinion sways, it might happen, right?”

[Ah, lol]

[That’s our specialty]

[?? What are you all talking about]

[If you don’t get it, just shut up and go to Curry’s stream]

[Time to return as a top-tier troll…]

[Mass deployment of mindless fans on]

As soon as I openly dropped the bait, the viewers started reacting.

“I’ll end the stream here and host Curry.”

[Ending the stream at this moment, lol]

[No wonder she’s called the Challenger Goddess]

[Let’s go~ Let’s go~ Let’s go~]

[Curry has been too mild lately, lol]

[Let’s go, let’s go~]

[Time to taste some spicy Curry]

On the first day of the representative selection, thanks to the first match buff, my stream’s viewer count exceeded 30,000.

I preemptively offered my condolences to Curry, who would be hosting these 30,000 viewers who took the bait I set.

[Hosting Curry (rnjsxoqkr123)…]

After hosting Curry, I ended the stream.

Watching the replay of Team Curry Breaker’s match, Curry sighed in frustration.

He couldn’t understand why someone with such skill had sniped him for years. Nor could he fathom how she had the audacity to become a streamer and participate in the platform battle.

Surely, she didn’t start streaming just to snipe him in the tournament.

Suddenly feeling a chill, Curry turned off the replay video.

The thought of meeting her in the finals of the representative selection made his heavy heart even more burdened.

He was collecting evidence that Barcode and Nayeon Queen were the same person.

Naturally, there was no progress, and it only added to his staff’s fatigue.

The only thing they found during the investigation was that Nayeon Queen’s activity cycle was irregular.

There were times when she suddenly disappeared during her active sniping periods.

In fact, Nayeon Queen’s sudden disappearances were frequent.

Like the ‘mysterious Yone master’ who set a record of 50 wins and 0 losses and then vanished.

The more he searched, the more circumstantial evidence he found that Barcode and Nayeon Queen were the same person.

But he couldn’t find definitive proof that they were the same person anywhere.

How could he obtain definitive proof?

While pondering, Curry suddenly remembered what happened just before ending his stream today.

The hosting from Barcode and the flood of 30,000 refugees spamming the chat with requests for a real-life collab.

Just recalling the situation made him dizzy, but Curry found a clue to break this persistent bad relationship.

“A real-life collab…”

Maybe he should meet Barcode in person and ask her directly.

Of course, he didn’t foolishly think she would answer honestly just because he asked.

If he met her in person, Curry planned to request a list of accounts under Barcode’s name.

It was a rude request, but there was no more certain method.

‘…Do I really have to?’

The thought of meeting Barcode in real life gave him chills.

Even the virtual harassment made him feel like he was losing his mind and hearing things.

Could he endure real-time harassment right next to him?

After much contemplation, Curry made a decision.

Before the new season starts after this platform battle ends,

He would break this persistent bad relationship with her.

Curry firmly resolved and steeled himself.