Chapter 183

The call from Sung-jae was quite a shock.

It was a story that easily overshadowed the sense of accomplishment I felt from clearing .

“Why should I go there?”

“You’re currently the hottest streamer in Korea, and you’ve subtly scored points with parents through cable TV shows… Could that be the reason?”

“There are many other suitable people besides me. And wasn’t that topic famous a while ago?”

“They’ve officially started movements to designate gaming as a disease again.”

“Well… Do I really have to do it?”

“You don’t have to. But… isn’t this a chance to gain national recognition easily?”

Fine.

Appearing on terrestrial TV would certainly have a positive impact on my future.

But I hadn’t expected to receive such an offer from that kind of program.

I held my forehead with my hand and replied.

“…You know I only have a high school diploma, right?”

“Yes, I know.”

“I’m not someone who boasts about rich talk like Dong-su hyung. My only content is swearing.”

“You used to be. Now, you have plenty of content to brag about, don’t you?”

Why did he have to argue every single point?

The reason I was so hesitant about appearing on terrestrial TV was because of the planning intention and format of that program.

“I’m not smart enough to participate in a debate hosted by a broadcasting company. I’d just get humiliated and ruin my image, wouldn’t I?”

It was a debate titled “Games and Addiction,” scheduled for 8 p.m. on Saturday on the terrestrial broadcaster SBC.

Debate.

A war of logic that any ordinary student would have experienced a few times in their school curriculum.

Usually, such things are done by well-educated people.

For someone uneducated like me, it was easy to get severely beaten if I dared to try.

Sung-jae must have known that. At least he was more educated than me and had a natural business sense in this field.

Without Sung-jae’s appropriate advice and help, I might not have reached this point.

The fact that Sung-jae was reviewing this positively meant that, in the end, this debate was likely to be beneficial for me.

“If this debate were a battlefield where knowledge and ideology clash, I wouldn’t have sent you.”

“And?”

“I never send my people to losing battles. You know that, don’t you?”

“Sung-jae.”

“Yes.”

“You have a plan, don’t you?”

The fact that he had spoken to me this much meant he had already prepared numerous alternatives.

Having reached this point, there was no need to hesitate any longer.

I paused for a moment before answering slowly.

“I’ll see you at the Chicken Box office tomorrow.”

“Excellent choice. I’ll explain the details when you arrive.”

And with that, the call ended.

Sung-jae ended the call with a pleasant greeting, and I lay back on the sofa with a satisfied smile.

Where else would I find a constant stream of work like this?

“Hyung, are you challenging terrestrial TV?”

Jin-hyuk, who had somehow appeared next to me eating chocolate, asked quietly.

I lightly nodded in response to his question.

“It seems so.”

“Hyung, you’ve already appeared on terrestrial TV a few times.”

…Me?

“I saw you reported a few times on the 9 o’clock news.”

“Oh, right.”

There were indeed a few reports on the news during the time I was fighting seriously against China and Japan on the internet.

But this time, it wasn’t just a news report but a debate participation.

To be honest, I still didn’t understand why they had scouted me, but I believed Sung-jae would kindly explain everything.

Still, I had a good feeling about it.

“They asked if I would participate in a debate?”

“What? You in a debate? You don’t even know the ‘D’ in debate.”

“True.”

“Honestly, you don’t know enough to argue logically…”

Crossing the line.

I put my arm around Jin-hyuk’s shoulder and grinned.

“I might not know the ‘D’ in debate, but I can make you throw up.”

“Gulp!”

Lately, my arm exercises had been going very well, increasing my muscle mass significantly.

Wasn’t this a perfect opportunity to check if I could break a person’s neck?

As I applied pressure to my arm, Jin-hyuk soon tapped the floor, signaling his surrender.

This brat.

He only comes to his senses when I rough him up a bit.

Having confirmed my visit to the Chicken Box office, I began searching through the remaining videos on MiTube for debates on similar topics.

This had been a long-standing debate, after all.

While most of the preparations would be handled by Sung-jae, it wouldn’t hurt to be prepared in advance.

So, I accessed MiTube and found a debate video from over 10 years ago, and I couldn’t help but be speechless while watching it.

“Legendary.”

Sung-jae had mentioned that the participants from back then would appear again, right?

As I watched the video, I frowned.

Only then did I understand why Sung-jae had said it was a battle we couldn’t lose.

4.

The next morning.

After finishing breakfast and my workout, I left the house and took the subway to the Chicken Box office.

It took about 25 minutes by subway?

Since I planned to get a car next week, I just had to hold out until then.

Unlike my previous residence, the subway timing was a bit inconvenient, making it all the more clear how much I needed a car.

When I arrived at the Chicken Box office, unfamiliar faces greeted me.

“Oh! You’re Shia, right? Hello, I’m Ryu Sung-min, the new employee!”

“I’m Hwang Ji-yeon!”

“Oh, hello.”

I had heard they were hiring new employees recently.

Thanks to the promotion of affiliated streamers, Chicken Box was rapidly expanding its size.

With Huh-su joining, our recognition in China had significantly increased, and the business direction was more aggressive than ever.

It was true that the growth of Chicken Box wasn’t entirely thanks to us, as Sung-jae’s ability was outstanding.

He always procured work beneficial to the streamers from anywhere.

“Haha, what do you think of our new employees?”

As the new employees looked at me with sparkling eyes, Sung-jae walked out of the room with a sign that read .

“How have you been?”

“We’re always well, thanks to the streamers. Thank you for coming all this way. Oh, I haven’t given you the new business card yet.”

Saying that, he pulled out a business card and handed it to me.

-Chicken Box CEO Lee Sung-jae

Oh!

“CEO?”

“Haha, I actually became the CEO of Chicken Box last week.”

The company, which used to be run by Dong-su hyung’s sister, had now elevated Sung-jae to the CEO position.

But it wasn’t particularly surprising.

Most of the company’s operations had been handled by Sung-jae anyway.

I smiled and extended my hand for a handshake with Sung-jae.

Sung-jae also smiled and shook my hand.

“Congratulations, Sung-jae.”

“Thank you.”

“Now, as the CEO, you can even modify contracts as you please? This is why people need to align themselves well.”

Though it was a company without any real hierarchy, Sung-jae laughed out loud at my cheekiness and soon led me to the instead of the . ɽАΝȱBÊS

“Please, have a seat.”

In fact, the title had changed, but not much else. The employees still served tea, and I comfortably sat beside Sung-jae.

Despite being a company, it was a place where I felt no discomfort.

“The reason I called you here today is because of SBC’s debate program. Here are the program’s planning intentions.”

As he spoke, he handed me a few sheets of neatly organized documents.

I slowly examined the documents he handed me.

While I was carefully reviewing the papers, Sung-jae’s voice seeped in gently.

“There’s nothing to worry about. Our side will bear the burden of preparing for the debate. You just need to practice the script a few times.”

“Is this really going to benefit me?”

At my words, Sung-jae took a sip from the cup of coffee in front of him, then nodded softly as he replied.

“Isn’t it about time to reinforce Chan-sik’s character once more?”

We live off our image. Like celebrities, we had to constantly establish our image and remind the public of our existence.

That’s why streamers tried to venture into cable or terrestrial TV whenever possible.

But to be honest, there’s not much difference between internet broadcasting, cable TV, and terrestrial TV in this era.

Many cable channels have already entered internet broadcasting platforms, with VRN notably achieving results through cooperation with Twipod.

This means the boundaries between streamers and celebrities have blurred significantly.

Many people currently active on terrestrial TV started out in internet broadcasting.

So what Sung-jae meant by “reinforce” was…

“It’s the perfect time to boost Chan-sik’s value. We’ve been gaining momentum, so it might be good to make a mark with this opportunity.”

To do that, we needed impactful content, and this debate seemed fitting.

Alright, I understood.

I nodded slightly at Sung-jae’s explanation and took a sip of the honey water in front of me.

“This is honey water made from stone honey. Knowing how much you love honey water, I asked a well-connected person to get it. Take some stone honey with you when you leave.”

Stone honey?

Isn’t that extremely rare honey?

Hearing that, the honey water in my mouth tasted even more fragrant.

I felt like I had boundless energy.

Becoming the CEO has certainly expanded his scale.

“Does it suit your taste?”

“The aroma is different from the honey water I used to drink.”

“You should only have the best. I’ll send some to you occasionally. Now, shall we start discussing the matter at hand?”

A debate specially organized by SBC.

The official title was .

At first glance…

“It’s a special targeting gamers.”

“That’s right.”

“They’ll probably use examples of some criminals who couldn’t distinguish between virtual reality and real life?”

“Most likely. And the opposing panelist is… quite a famous person.”

“No way?”

“Yes. The legendary figure.”

Was it around the mid-2010s?

There was a famous debate among gamers.

A well-known game MiTuber also participated in that debate.

The representative of the parents came out and baselessly criticized games, inciting the fury of many gamers.

The main character from that debate was set to appear again this time.

I nodded in admiration at Sung-jae’s words.

“This is a fight we can’t lose.”

Sung-jae nodded.

“A typical old-fashioned style, right?”

“And my role in the debate will be representing the younger generation resisting the old-fashioned?”

“That’s right.”

“You know that I’ve built quite a good image among parents through Si-eun School, right?”

Si-eun School.

It’s short for . When I mentioned this, Sung-jae smiled more wickedly than ever.

“Now, listen to what I have to say.”

For about three minutes, I quietly listened to Sung-jae’s words.

And soon after.

I opened my mouth slightly and spoke.

“Wow…!”

“What’s the matter?”

“I can see Satan weeping before my eyes.”

The position of CEO was definitely not won through a game of Go-Stop.