Dogry, who had been streaming, finished the game and took a short break to chat.
“Hmm, I think I need to gather a few members for this.”
He was about to start a new game.
The game was called Zombie Survival.
In short, it was a defense-style game where you fended off waves of zombies.
The last one standing would be the winner.
“This game isn’t that fun when you play alone, right?”
— [Yeah, that’s true.]
— [Playing alone… just feels lonely…]
— [Wait a sec, my eyes are tearing up… Why am I crying?]
— [Playing alone is basically admitting you’re a loner, right?]
— [Dogry is a loner. He doesn’t even need to admit it.]
“What do you mean I’m a loner? Don’t you know? Even if I look like this, I’m called the ‘Light of the Streamer World!’ Light! You get it, right? Where there’s light, people gather…”
— [LOL]
— [He is a light, just not in the way he thinks…]
— [Can someone dim the lighting…? Oh wait, that light was coming from there.]
Dogry cautiously patted his head.
There was no more luxurious hair—just smooth, bare skin.
“Now that I think about it…”
That head reminded him of someone.
“Should I try asking Exitra for a collab?”
— [Oh! Exitra!]
— [The brainpower monster!]
— [That could actually work.]
— [Not a bad choice.]
Exitra.
The one responsible for shaving off all the hair on Dogry’s head and body.
A collab with him.
Didn’t sound like a bad idea.
“Alright! Let’s see if I can get Exitra on board~”
— [Ooooh, can he pull it off…]
— [Exitra’s been on a huge rise lately. He’s practically at the top now. Will he agree??]
— [Zombie Survival? LOL, this is gonna be good~]
— [But doesn’t that game require decent physical skills? His brain’s top-tier, but… his physicals are a bit…]
“Exactly why it’s perfect. Since he made me look like this, he should get a taste of the real pain in Zombie Survival.”
Dogry touched his head.
“Now, what should I put on the line this time? A collab with Exitra can’t happen without a proper bet.”
— [Whoa, he’s really building this up…]
— [A wager build-up… classic.]
— [Excuse me, is this the gambling hotline? Yeah, here’s another one…]
— [After all he’s been through, he’s still walking right into it again??]
[Chairman has donated 100,000 won.]
<So, what are you betting this time?>
As always, the Chairman appeared right on cue.
As if he’d been waiting for this moment.
Dogry gave a sly smile.
“Chairman~ You’re here~ Thank you so much for the 100,000 won donation~ So actually, this time…”
Dogry proposed a bet.
The Chairman readily agreed.
— [No way… he’s actually doing it?]
— [That’s insane…]
— [Why is he walking into hell with his own two feet…]
— [Shaking my head… he’s already done for…]
[Chairman has donated 50,000 won.]
<Deal.>
“Excellent! Then I’ll go ahead and arrange everything!”
And so, a four-person streamer collab featuring Dogry and Exitra was about to begin.
***
“Hmm…”
The next morning, Minseop woke up, had breakfast, and was still deep in thought about his reaction segments.
He decided to reuse the same greeting reaction for Stage 3.
Since he had already used that for the Chairman’s subscription, taking it out now would be a bad choice.
That left Stage 1 and Stage 2—those were the tricky ones.
“Son, are you okay?”
“Huh?”
“It’s just… your face looks really serious.”
“Oh, no. I was just thinking about something.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t push yourself too hard with that streaming thing, okay? You don’t have to do it just to make money like other people.”
His mother smiled gently.
But Minseop could feel a deep fatigue coming from her.
She was likely working a lot since there were so many expenses lately.
She was pretending not to be tired—pretending to be strong in front of her son.
‘Sigh…’
He let out a quiet sigh but didn’t let it show.
Soon, he’d be able to lift the burdens his mother was carrying.
‘There’s income coming in now.’
Thanks to streaming, money was coming in steadily.
Through donations and subscriptions, his earnings were growing.
Every month on the 5th, he’d receive his payment.
‘I should probably do some calculations.’
He wasn’t sure how much he made this month, but counting the mission rewards, it was probably a good amount.
‘Maybe I should take Mom out to eat.’
“Don’t worry. I’m doing this because I enjoy it.”
“That’s a relief. And even if the stream doesn’t go well, don’t stress too much, alright?”
All she did was worry about him.
Minseop wished his mother would prioritize herself more.
Take care of her health, eat what she wanted, watch what she liked, buy the things she wanted…
He wanted her to live her own life.
But ever since Minseop’s legs became like this, his parents had lived only for him.
‘Before the regression…’
Things had been different.
Now, everything had changed.
Unlike before, Minseop’s stream was doing incredibly well.
If it continued like this, he would be able to ease his parents’ burdens.
“Got it.”
“Okay. If anything comes up, call me. And don’t forget to take your medicine.”
“I will.”
“Alright then, I’m off to work.”
“Take care.”
His mother left for work.
Minseop was left alone in his room when a message came in.
Ding~
[You’re such a kind mother.]
“Right? That’s why I have to try even harder.”
The motivation was perfect.
Minseop wasn’t doing this for himself—he was doing it for his parents.
He was more determined than ever to put his all into his livestreams.
While thinking about his reaction content, Minseop began planning his stream schedule.
“If I focus too much on a single game, it gets kind of stale…”
There were streamers who stuck with one game for a long time, but Minseop felt it was time for a change.
Heir of a Fallen House was a game with a massive story and content that demanded long-term commitment.
But that didn’t mean he could play only that one game day in and day out.
He needed to mix in other games to keep the tempo fresh.
‘What’s out there right now?’
Minseop paused to think.
‘What games were popular around this time?’
He started by cleaning up his email inbox and decided to use his Flashback skill to check out recent games.
That’s when he spotted a familiar name in one of the emails.
—[Hello, Exitra. My name is Dogry. I’m reaching out because of a game called Zombie… —]
“Collab?”
Ding~
[Oh~ Unlike before the regression, you’re getting collaboration offers from other streamers now? Hehehe, isn’t this all thanks to me?]
“Hahaha, that’s why I’m always grateful to you.”
Minseop opened the email.
It had a brief outline explaining what game they’d be playing and when.
“Zombie Survival…”
He knew the game.
It was a defense-style game where each player became a faction leader, summoned troops, and fought off waves of zombies.
Not bad.
Before the regression, the game had already lost its popularity, but at this point in time, it was still doing quite well.
“This is perfect.”
Minseop had been wanting to switch up the pace of his broadcasts.
A collaboration offer at just the right time—it couldn’t have come better.
“Alright, then…”
He replied to the email.
Dogry was a big-name streamer with a solid reputation.
Doing a collab with him would definitely have a positive impact on Exitra’s channel as well.
“Now then…”
After sending the reply, Minseop closed his eyes for a moment.
Until the exact schedule came in, he planned to review his to-do list using the Flashback skill.
And as he did, he thought, ‘Zombie Survival… Sounds like it’ll be fun.’
***
Ten minutes before 8 PM, Minseop logged into virtual reality.
There were only ten minutes left until his stream began.
While waiting, Exitra gathered his thoughts inside the virtual space.
‘I’ve prepared my reactions, but… will it actually go well?’
He’d spent the entire day preparing reactions for Stage 1 and Stage 2.
He was a bit nervous.
‘Would the viewers be satisfied with them?’
‘Or would they start complaining again?’
It felt like waiting for a teacher to check your homework.
There was definitely a touch of anxiety.
Ding~
[I saw your reactions—no need to be nervous. They’re good.]
Chronos’s compliment helped ease the tension.
“Really?”
Ding~
[Yes, so be confident.]
Thanks to Chronos’s encouragement, Exitra felt the tension in his shoulders loosen.
“Thank you.”
Feeling more relaxed, Minseop checked the time.
It was time to start the broadcast.
Exitra went live immediately.
As soon as he did, the alert rang, and viewers began to pour in.
10 viewers… 50… 300… 1,000… 2,000!
The viewer count soared rapidly.
— [Exhi!]
— [This is the unlucky pro stream, right~?]
— [Hi hi~ I’m secretly watching during self-study at school!]
— [Ahh, finally! Exitra is here to keep me company on my night shift~]
— [Whoa, what’s he going to show us today??]
— [Exhi Exhi~ I’m back again~ I totally bombed my exam today~ Kyahaha!!]
The chat was scrolling at lightning speed.
Exitra responded with his opening line.
“Everyone! The brainpower monster, Exitra, is back~ Welcome to another fun stream~!”
— [Kyaaah!!]
— [It’s starting~♬]
[Trion has donated 10,000 won.]
<Looking forward to another great stream.>
[Retin has donated 50,000 won.]
<Here’s the entrance fee. Let’s go.>
Donations started pouring in the moment the stream began.
It was something Exitra had never experienced before his regression.
Caught off guard by the sudden flood of donations, Exitra looked surprised.
“Wait, Trion… thank you for the 10,000 won. And Retin… 50,000 won—no, guys. What’s going on all of a sudden?”
— [LOL he’s flustered, this is gold]
— [A stream where donations explode as soon as it starts, haha]
And it wasn’t just the donations.
[CacaoChocolate has subscribed to the 3-stage tier for 6 months.]
<You can’t see the sub reaction once the game starts. I was waiting for this.>
“Oh, CacaoChocolate! Thank you for subscribing. You won’t regret this contract with me!”
Exitra hadn’t expected people to actually subscribe like that.
Flustered, he still did the subscription reaction.
That reaction prompted more people to start subscribing one after another.
— [Why are donations and subs exploding the moment the stream starts?]
— [Isn’t it because people don’t want to interrupt the game later?]
— [Ah, that makes sense]
— [It kinda ruins immersion when subs or donos pop up mid-game]
The viewers didn’t want to break the immersion during gameplay, so they were supporting him in advance.
Donate first, enjoy later… something like that.
“You guys… really, thank you.”
Exitra gave a deep bow filled with genuine gratitude.
But his expression was a bit complicated.
He had worked all day to prepare special reactions for Stage 1 and Stage 2…
And yet everyone was subscribing at Stage 3.
‘Was that a good thing… or not?’
He wasn’t sure how to feel.
Straightening up, Exitra said, “Well then… shall we get started with today’s game?”