Clank!
Several figures began to file out from a white steel door and into a white room—ten in total, with Kyle at the front. He was dressed in a dark suit that stood out sharply against the stark white of the room. Without pause, he crossed to the nearest table, where a pair of white gloves lay waiting.
He slipped them on in one smooth motion.
It was also then that he heard the sound of a voice coming from behind him.
"What's the rank of the Gate that we're about to enter?"
"....Hm?"
Kyle turned back and caught sight of a pair of dimples aimed in his direction.
He pulled the gloves lower.
"Nothing major. We're only about to enter an rank gate. You still need to get accustomed to how the Gates work before you can go without any supervision."
"Oh, I see."
Myles warmly smiled and nodded.
"...I'll listen to you."
Kyle smiled back as he looked at Myles. His impression of him was rather great. He listened well, and sucked up information like a sponge.
He was glad such a trainee was assigned to his squad.
"If you have any—"
"Pftt—!"
If only everyone were so good.
Kyle slowly turned his head and spotted a blonde figure leaning casually against the wall, a phone in one hand as she stifled a snicker.
"Keuk!"
He could see tears forming in the corner of her eyes.
'What's up with her?'
Frowning, Kyle casually walked up to Zoey.
"What's so funny? You do know that we're about to enter a gate, right?"
"Oh, Kyle."
Completely ignoring his words, Zoey flicked her head up to Kyle and flipped her phone to him.
"Keuk... look at this shit... pfttt!"
"What sor—Ah."
Kyle's words abruptly cut off the moment he stared at her phone and caught sight of a very familiar figure, standing in the middle of a dark room with a pair of... sunglasses?
"What the..."
"Kak!"
Zoey held onto her stomach and cackled.
"This is too damn funny! Sunglasses...!? Kaaaak!"
Kyle's mouth twitched.
He didn't even have it in him to laugh. Mostly because... this just felt like something Seth would do.
'He really does hate horror after all...'
If Kyle had to make a guess, Seth had probably worn the glasses to cover his vision. This was so that he wouldn't be as scared.
It was comical to see, and Kyle could see the chat going wild at the sight.
"Haha, look! The views are rising up because of the shit your friend is doing."
Indeed, looking at the viewer count, Kyle could see it slowly rising.
It was currently at 991 live viewers.
—Sunglasses, really? Hahahaha!
—I'm dying. I'm cramping!
—First the puking, and now this. This stream is too funny!
The chat was very lively, with most of the viewers laughing uncontrollably.
"What's this?"
Right then, Myles arrived to see the situation, and the dimples on his face faded for a brief moment as he looked at Seth in the stream.
"Isn't that..."
"Don't even mention it."
Kyle sighed, unsure of how to react.
'Well, at least, I won't have to worry about him not being able to make any sales.'
He could see some people buying his game just for his antics.
Kyle was just about to speak again when all of a sudden, the door to the white room burst open, causing Zoey to drop her phone as her face winced with each turn her phone took on the floor.
She was just about to pick up her phone when she stopped.
All noise ceased from the place.
With deep black eyes that looked as though they'd stared into the heart of the abyss, shoulder-length black hair, and what appeared to be a toothpick tucked in the corner of her mouth, the team leader of Delta Squad stepped into the room.
Her gaze stayed fixed on the stack of documents in her hand.
Moments later, her expression twisted.
"Tch."
She flung the papers onto a nearby table before sinking into a chair, crossing one leg over the other. The white blazer draped over her shoulders slipped back, revealing a crisp black shirt tucked neatly into long gray pants that accentuated her well-proportioned frame.
Drumming her fingers over the wooden table, her gaze eventually fell on Kyle and Zoey.
"You two."
Immediately, the smile was wiped off Zoey's face as she stood straight.
Kyle similarly stood straight.
The room turned tense as the beautiful team leader rolled her tongue beneath her bottom lip.
Then, as the silence started to turn suffocating, she spoke.
"I need the two of you to handle the newbie training. There has been a recent shortage of scouts. No fuc—keum, I mean... There haven't been any bad people we can use for that. Everyone has been too obedient lately."
Kyle could only wryly smile. When she meant bad people, she meant death row inmates.
Scouts were typically comprised of death row inmates. This was something decided by the Bureau. Since they were going to die anyway, why not put them to good use?
If they did a good enough job, they'd be able to relieve themself of their death penalty.
...The issue, however, stemmed from the fact that the mortality rate of scouts was extremely high.
In short, there weren't enough very naughty people around, and as such, there was a shortage of scouts.
"...How troublesome. Does that mean I have to scout the places myself?"
The Team Leader clicked her tongue, her fingers drumming with even more force.
In the end, clicking her tongue again, she stood up and looked in Kyle's and Zoey's direction again.
"I guess I have no choice. You two take care of the situation over here while I go fix this stupid mess."
Massaging the back of her head, the team leader draped her blazer over her shoulders and was just about to make her way out when her eyes paused on the phone on the floor.
Her brow raised the moment she saw the stream, and caught sight of the figure with sunglasses.
That was when the corner of her lips curled, and she mumbled,
"...That's funny."
Then, without waiting for anyone to say anything else, she directly left the room.
Clank!
It was only a minute after she left that the noise returned. Kyle and Zoey both looked at each other, and then the new recruits all stared in their direction.
"She definitely made that up, didn't she? We're not running out of scouts."
"...Yes."
They both groaned.
Damned Team Leader!
***
At the same time, Velora Art Museum.
'Holy shit! The viewers are actually going up!'
Jamie could hardly believe his eyes.
● Live
Viewers: 1001
Although the number of viewers was still below his average, the fact that it was rising was in itself crazy! He was exploring one of the most boring abandoned buildings on the island. One that had been explored many times before.
He expected the viewership to dwindle with the passing of time, not rise!
And all of this was thanks to the weirdo next to him.
Whatever he was doing, it was working.
'Hahaha, how much will the viewers rise once I get him to scream?'
Jamie's eyes shone at the thought, and just as he was about to open his mouth to talk to Seth, his eyes suddenly shot up.
"Uh?"
That was because he suddenly saw him move.
With his gaze directed towards the distant door, Seth stepped forward, ignoring the baffled Jamie, who could only stare at his back with a blank look.
Then—
"Hey, wait! Where are you going!?"
He quickly rushed to catch up to him.
This was a decision he deeply regretted not long after.