-!@$#%#@!
An avatar making a loud ruckus in front of me.
Hearing such a sharp voice coming from an avatar adorned with a pure concept is a bit jarring.
Perhaps it’s the unique tone of Mandarin that makes me frown the more I listen.
“Is there anyone who can interpret what you’re saying?”
[Ah, ㅋㅋ can you understand?]
[People who translated Japanese instantly…]
[But Chinese a bit;]
[Is there no Chinese department?]
[With 20,000 people, there should be at least one.]
[Is there anyone who understands the ‘Zhangguola’ language in this room?]
[They say it’s their room, so why did they come in?]
[And they’re interpreting this.]
“Ah, really?”
Fortunately, thanks to the capable person in the chat, I was able to save some work multiple times.
I almost had to resort to using Papago.
Anyway, listening to the words of a viewer who could speak Chinese, it seemed they were asking for a seat fee since I entered the room they created.
“I’m not doing anything yet? And if you don’t want others to come in, just create a room where you can be alone.”
Although I haven’t mastered the VR world yet, like most games, this one probably has such a feature.
There must also be people who want to enjoy the game alone or with their friends.
[Right? I don’t understand the reason.]
[Maybe they just don’t know the function.]
[Teacher, please let us know there is such a function.]
“Why should I?”
I could tell them as a good deed, but I’m a newbie too.
While I fumbled with the functions, asking the viewers, “What’s this? What’s that?”, I felt that getting more entangled with this person would become very exhausting.
While I was thinking of escaping this place…
-$!$#@
“Why again?”
A Chinese person approached me, continuing to speak.
To make matters worse, perhaps they were stuck in a bug, as they weren’t leaving the room.
“This is causing a fuss too.”
I had heard this game had various annoying bugs.
I was contemplating whether to forcibly close it and come back in when…
[That person wants to duel you?]
[Duel for what?]
[Isn’t this a VR game?]
[The Chinese person wants to duel the room owner…]
[A suspiciously wealthy woman from the continent.]
“They want to duel me? Suddenly?”
This friend had an unexpected competitive nature.
As the Chinese person’s words continued alongside the translation in the chat, I roughly grasped the situation.
[They say the loser should leave the room.]
[They’re suddenly providing content.]
[You can just kick them out, but maybe they were bored.]
[Were they really just lonely?]
Were they simply longing for human warmth?
It seemed they were just asking me to play because they were bored.
Well, I had no reason not to respond.
After all, I was planning to continue my VR exploration anyway.
“Okay, let’s do it.”
-%#@$!
As I nodded in agreement, the Chinese person dug a portal in front of me.
Seeing them express emotions while pointing at this made it seem to be a transportation device to another world.
“This isn’t some weird place, right? But I’ll go for now.”
[It might be the abyss.]
[There are many different maps, so keep in mind you can escape directly, ㅇㅇ.]
[I’m curious about what it will be like.]
I stepped through the bluish glow of the portal.
“Okay, one successful recruitment. For now, I should play a game with this person and think it over.”
The mysterious Chinese Lin Shaomei succeeded in abducting an unnamed Korean.
She muttered as if speaking to someone while manipulating the screen.
[That person is Korean?]
[It’s a Korean.]
[She managed to understand despite only using Chinese.]
[Use some English.]
[Can she speak Chinese?]
[There are many Koreans who can speak Chinese.]
Lin was a streamer who broadcasted on a Chinese platform.
She often interacted with her audience in VR, doing content focused on communication with others.
Her viewers were fascinated just by chatting with foreigners in a global cultural exchange space.
Today, while wandering the world, she found a suitable person.
The way they moved or controlled things seemed choppy, as if they were new to VR.
She planned to hold a broadcast where she would teach them how to operate VR and give prizes for winning against her.
Of course, she would reveal later that she was a streamer.
She had developed a habit of not disclosing that she was a broadcaster, as many people would leave if she mentioned it.
However, an unexpected variable emerged that changed her plans.
[Lin, the person you invited is a streamer?]
[Streamer?]
[Someone broadcasts on Switch.]
“Really?”
So they were a streamer.
Perhaps since they were categorized in the same field despite being on different platforms, she felt a little intrigued by the Korean she met earlier.
“How many viewers do they have?”
What first piqued her curiosity was the size of their stream.
Lin had been broadcasting for about a year now.
With an average of around 7,000 to 8,000 viewers, she considered herself a mid-tier broadcaster by continental standards.
So she was surprised.
[There are currently 20,000 watching.]
“20,000?”
Isn’t that a considerable size?
She thought it wouldn’t surpass 5,000 at most.
[They’re first place among Koreans.]
[That’s a significant number for a small country.]
[Even by continental standards, they’re a strong small business.]
[Lin can’t compete and is overshadowed.]
[According to the broadcast record, they started less than six months ago; the time is short.]
[A newbie, huh?]
[They’re a newbie.]
[It’s a complete defeat; a national disgrace.]
[Do better, Shaomei.]
“Hah, I see.”
Lin was suddenly filled with an inexplicable competitive spirit.
Originally, she planned to chat casually about age, how they got into VR, and what they were currently doing while playing.
She always conducted her streams that way and had decent responses.
But this time was different.
The viewers’ reactions, and even Lin felt it.
A peer who was doing better, whom she randomly encountered.
Something shifted within her.
“I have to win this.”
As she crossed through the portal, Lin quietly loosened her hands while looking at the blonde Korean avatar in front of her.
“Is there no explanation or anything?”
[They don’t seem to be the friendly type.]
[Even if they explained, you wouldn’t understand anyway.]
[It’s fine since there’s a translator in the chat.]
[Is that person still around?]
“True, without a translator, I wouldn’t understand anyway.”
However, it wasn’t a situation where such explanations were vital right now.
What would they compete in?
After stepping through the portal, I quickly figured out what game we would be playing.
There was only one thing we could do in this place.
“Is it bowling?”
It was a bowling alley.
The entirety of my experience was rolling a ball once in the earlier mixed game map.
For now, I thought it would be good to roll it once as a warm-up.
I asked for understanding, indicating it was not a real match, but just practice.
“Test, just a test, okay?”
-$@#@!
[They understand this one too.]
[English is a universal language.]
[The room owner can speak some English.]
The Chinese person nodded in acknowledgment of understanding.
Let’s see the controls first.
I picked up the bowling ball and rolled it down the lane without hesitation.
-Kururung!
With the sound effect, the ball started to roll sharply.
“This is the feeling.”
The ball curved slightly to the right.
Three pins were left standing.
I thought to roll the ball again to clear the pins, but once again it curved, and I failed.
It seemed I needed to reduce the sensitivity a bit.
“This game is surprisingly realistic.”
Now that I think about it, it’s been a while since I went to a bowling alley.
It’s been long enough since I went even before I became a woman that I barely remember the last time I went.
Should I ask Ji-yeon or Ryu-a to go to the bowling alley later?
Bowling is a sport with a low entry barrier.
Anyone can enjoy it just by rolling the ball.
It might be much better than being dragged to karaoke again, so I should lead them to the bowling alley next time we meet.
Thinking that, I rolled the ball several times in succession.
Perhaps because I reduced the sensitivity, my accuracy improved compared to earlier.
How long had I been rolling the ball when the Chinese friend approached me.
-!%!@$@
“Shall we start the game soon?”
Somehow even without a language, it felt like I could roughly convey the meaning.
As I shook the ball in my hand a few times, she nodded.
[The communication is working?]
[When you go abroad, people do it like this.]
[Body language is the best, ㅇㅇ.]
-%@$!@
After manipulating the world’s functions, the scoreboard appeared.
My nickname was displayed at the top.
Below it, the opponent’s nickname appeared.
From the structure, it seems I’m going first.
“Am I going first?”
-Nodding.
The Chinese friend conceded the first turn.
I didn’t bother to decline.
Using my practiced feel, I carefully moved the mouse as if I were handling a real bowling ball.
-Kururung!
“Strike!”
I could hear the sound of applause.
Now, it’s your turn.
