Chapter 81: Showdown

The avatar in front of me was making a loud fuss.

Seeing such a delicate and elegantly designed avatar speak in such a sharp, high-pitched voice was a bit jarring.

The unique intonation of the Chinese language made my face involuntarily scrunch up the longer I listened.

“What are they saying? Can anyone translate?”

[Ah ㅋㅋ can anyone understand this?]
[The same people who were translating Japanese so easily…]
[Chinese is a bit tough;]
[Isn’t there anyone studying Chinese here?]
[With 20,000 viewers, at least one should be able to speak it.]
[Would there be someone in this chat who knows “Jjanggolla” (a slang for Chinese language)?]
[They’re saying you entered the room they created and should pay a fee.]
[Wow, someone actually translated it.]

“Oh, really?”

Thanks to a helpful viewer, I was spared the trouble of figuring it out myself.

I almost had to resort to using Papago.

So basically, according to the translation, they were demanding payment for entering a room they created.

“I haven’t even done anything yet. And if they don’t want others to enter, why not just make a private room?”

Even though I’m not fully experienced in VR Worlds, I assumed there had to be a feature that allows solo play or restricted access.

There must be plenty of people who want to play privately with friends or alone.

[Yeah, their logic makes no sense.]
[Maybe they don’t know about that feature?]
[Should we kindly inform them?]

“Why should I?”

Sure, I could do a good deed and explain, but I was still a newbie myself.

I was still fumbling around asking viewers, “What does this button do? What does that feature mean?”

Besides, I had a gut feeling that getting more involved with this person would be exhausting.

Just as I was about to leave, they spoke up again.

-$!$#@

“What now?”

The Chinese player approached me and kept talking.

To make things worse, the game bugged out, and I couldn’t exit the room.

“This game is being annoying now.”

I had heard that the game had some minor bugs.

I debated just force-quitting and re-entering.

[They’re challenging you to a match.]
[To what?]
[Maybe a VR game or something?]
[A Chinese player challenging the room owner…]
[A suspiciously rich mainlander.]

“They want to face off against me? Just like that?”

Unexpectedly, this player had a competitive spirit.

As their words kept coming through the translator in the chat, I slowly pieced together the situation.

[They want to do a match, and the loser has to leave the room.]
[They’re basically giving you free content.]
[You could just kick them, but I guess they were really bored.]
[LOL, they were just lonely.]

Did they just want someone to play with?

Was this a cry for attention?

Fine, I didn’t really have a reason to refuse.

I was planning to explore VR Worlds anyway.

“Alright, let’s do it.”

-%#@$!

As soon as I nodded, the Chinese player opened a portal.

They gestured toward it with an emote, signaling me to step through.

“Hopefully, this isn’t some weird trap. But, well, I’ll check it out.”

[It could be the abyss.]
[There are all kinds of strange maps, so be ready to leave immediately if needed.]
[Curious to see what kind of game this will be.]

I stepped into the glowing blue portal.

“Alright, I’ve caught one. Let’s see what this person is like while playing a game.”

The mysterious Chinese player, Lin Xiaomei, had successfully lured a random Korean into her domain.

She mumbled as if talking to someone, fiddling with her screen.

[That person, Korean?]
[Yeah, they’re Korean.]
[How did you even know? You were only speaking Chinese, Xiaomei.]
[Why didn’t you just speak English?]
[Do they even understand Chinese?]
[Koreans seem to know a bit of Chinese more often than you’d think.]

Lin was a streamer on a Chinese platform.

She often hosted content where she wandered around VR Worlds and interacted with different people.

Her viewers found it entertaining to watch her communicate with foreigners and explore various cultures.

That day, as she was wandering around, she noticed an interesting figure.

Their movements were jerky, and their control of the avatar seemed clumsy, marking them as a clear VR newbie.

Her plan was to engage them in a friendly game, help them get used to the controls, and maybe even offer a prize if they managed to beat her.

Of course, she wouldn’t reveal that she was a streamer just yet.

Whenever she mentioned she was live, some people tended to leave immediately, so she made it a habit to keep quiet about it at first.

However, an unexpected factor had appeared in her plans.

[Lin, that person you invited is a streamer.]
[Wait, what? A streamer?]
[Yeah, they stream on Switch.]

“For real?”

So they were also a streamer.

Even though they were on a different platform, knowing that they were in the same line of work made Lin more interested.

“How many viewers do they have?”

That was the first question that popped into her mind.

Lin had been streaming for over a year.

She typically maintained around 7,000 to 8,000 viewers, placing her in the mid-tier category among Chinese streamers.

It was still ongoing.

That’s why I was surprised.

[There are 20,000 viewers watching right now.]

“20,000?”

That was quite a significant number.

I had assumed it wouldn’t even exceed 5,000 at most.

[This is the number one Korean streamer.]

[For a small country, that’s quite a number.]

[Even by mainland standards, this is mid-tier corporate level.]

[Lin is about to get completely crushed.]

[Checked their broadcast history—hasn’t even been streaming for half a year, very recent.]

[They’re a newbie.]

[Total defeat. A disgrace to the mainland.]

[Step up your game, Xiaomei.]

“Hah, is that so?”

Lin suddenly felt a surge of competitiveness.

Originally, she had planned to make lighthearted small talk, asking about their age, how they got into VR, and what they did for a living, all while playing the game.

That was how she usually conducted her streams, and the audience response had always been positive.

But this time, things were different.

The reactions from the viewers, and her own instincts, told her so.

A fellow streamer, randomly encountered, who was doing even better than her.

Something inside her shifted.

“I have to win this.”

As soon as they stepped through the portal, Lin quietly flexed her fingers while eyeing the blonde Korean avatar before her.

“Is there no explanation or anything?”

[Doesn’t seem like the type to explain things kindly.]

[Not like you’d understand even if they did explain.]

[There’s a translator in the chat ᄀᄎ]

[Are they still here?]

“Right, if there’s no translator, I won’t understand anything anyway.”

Still, explanations weren’t the most important thing right now.

What were they going to compete in?

As soon as they entered through the portal, it became clear.

There was only one thing they could do in this location.

“Bowling, huh.”

It was a bowling alley.

The only experience I had was rolling a ball once in the previous arcade map.

Might as well test it out first.

I gestured for a quick practice round before the actual match.

“Test, just test, okay?”

-$@#@!

[Oh, they understood that.]

[English is a universal language.]

[Host speaks decent English.]

The Chinese player nodded, signaling they understood.

Now, let’s check the controls.

I picked up the bowling ball and rolled it down the lane without hesitation.

• Kururung!

The sound effect accompanied the ball as it sped down the lane.

“So, it’s like this.”

The ball curved slightly to the right.

Three pins were left standing.

I rolled again, attempting to clear the remaining pins, but once again, the ball curved and missed.

Looks like I need to adjust the sensitivity a bit.

“This game is unexpectedly realistic.”

Come to think of it, it had been a long time since I last went to a bowling alley.

Even before I became a woman, I hadn’t gone for a while, so I couldn’t even recall the last time I played.

Maybe I should suggest going bowling to Jiyeon or Ryuah sometime.

Bowling was an easy sport for anyone to get into.

Just rolling the ball was fun enough for everyone.

It was definitely a better alternative than getting dragged to karaoke all the time.

Next time we meet up, I’ll try to steer the plan toward bowling instead.

With that thought, I kept rolling the ball.

After adjusting the sensitivity, my accuracy improved.

I had rolled a few more times when the Chinese player approached me.

-!%!@$@

“You want to start the match now?”

Even though we didn’t speak the same language, we seemed to understand each other just fine.

As I waved the ball around in my hand, she nodded.

[They’re managing to communicate?]

[That’s how it is when you go abroad.]

[Body language is the best method.]

-%@$!@

After fiddling with some settings, a scoreboard appeared.

My nickname was displayed at the top.

The opponent’s nickname was listed below.

Judging by the layout, it seemed like I was going first.

“You want me to go first?”

• Nod, nod.

The Chinese player offered the first turn.

I didn’t refuse.

Channeling my practice, I carefully moved my mouse as if I were handling a real bowling ball.

• Kururung!

“Strike.”

A clapping sound effect played in response.

Now it’s your turn.