Season 4: Chapter 168. Team Rocket (2)

“I will now announce the verdict. Death!”

Bang, bang!

Almond swung his gavel like the most natural thing in the world. His avatar’s wide, innocent grin didn’t betray a single thought of hesitation.

Zelo, dumbfounded, shouted in protest, “Wait, Your Honor! What about those two on either side of you? Are they just props?! Why are

you

the only one deciding?!”

— LOL so true

— Why even have a jury then?

— No deliberation, just vibes

— Dictatorship speedrun

Almond shrugged as if the question itself were absurd. “Because I’m a dictator.”

— WHAT

— LOLOLOL

— Correct answer, I guess?!

— This man is insane...

— Peak Almond

Zelo muttered on his channel mic, half-laughing in disbelief, “

Ha...

I’ve got nothing to say.”

He was rarely at a loss for words, but facing this kind of honest tyranny left him speechless.

— Even Zelo is stunned lol

— That’s rare

— The Demon of Interviews finally silenced him

Still, Zelo wasn’t done. “Do you even

have

the right to hold a trial, my lord? Is this even a real courtroom?!”

“Oh.” Almond glanced to the side.

Radish Servant stood, eager to explain. “Ladies and gentlemen, this place you’re standing in is the Assembly. Check your map.”

[Assembly]

It was true. The Knights had constructed the building themselves.

“We came across the blueprint while... poking around a few places. An NPC gave it to us.”

— Poking around = waving swords at people

— Diplomatic inquiry, huh?

— NPC probably had no choice lmao

“This building handles

all

legal proceedings in Cheese Village. And...”

Ding.

Radish Servant held up a shiny medal. “You can exchange a coin for an Assembly Member badge here.”

— Parliament Servant

— From slave to senator lol

— Gold badge, baby

“Wait, Assembly members make laws! Why are you acting as judges?!”

“Because we made the law that way.”

— Checks out

— He planned for everything

— No escaping this man’s bureaucracy

“According to Cheese Village law,” Radish Servant continued, “Assembly members also hold judicial authority.”

They instantly blocked every attempt that Zelo made.

Still, he tried one last desperate move. “So, that’s it? Death, just like that?! After all the times we shook hands, my lord?!”

In other words, Zelo was trying to say, “If you’re a dictator, can’t you show mercy to your friends?”

“Oh, don’t worry.” Almond rose from his chair and stretched out his hand with a smile. “The execution will be spectacular.”

He winked like someone promising a fireworks show.

“Huh...?”

— ??? what kind of reassurance is that? lol

— Even his comfort lines are terrifying

— Execution plans were already made LOL

— Don’t argue, just accept fate lol

Zelo blinked, lost in the situation, until a donation alert popped up.

[Commentator has donated 20,000 won.]

[Even if you die, at least the stream will live on~]

“Ah...”

Now he understood. A flashy execution meant good content. Almond remembered how worried Zelo was about his viewer numbers in prison.

— OMG it’s for the content!

— You’ll die but your channel will thrive lmao

— The Knights are marketing geniuses

Zelo glanced down at the corner of his screen. His already high viewer count was climbing fast.

[Current Viewers: 297,000]

In seconds, he would break three hundred thousand for the biggest numbers in all of Cheese Village.

Zelo pressed his palms together and bowed his head. “This too... must be the Lord’s grace.”

***

A reason existed for Zelo’s meteoric surge in viewers. Every streamer forum and every gaming community was talking about Zelo’s execution. His status in the industry was massive. Just hearing, “Zelo is being executed,” drew attention like wildfire.

It was like clicking on a breaking-news headline, “

Famous actors caught in affair!

” only to find out it was just a drama plot. Still, the clicks came pouring in. Especially on LIL Pro, where the meme had taken over the Big trending board.

[(Big) BREAKING: Top streamer with 200k viewers, Zelo, sentenced to death on stream]

[(Big) Streaming gone too far—Zelo’s trial ends in execution]

[(Big) Internet broadcast collapses into chaos—viewers cheer execution verdict]

— These titles lmaooo

— They make it sound like a real death penalty LOL

— Clickbait mastery at work

— Half the people clicking don’t even know it’s a game

Some news portals even covered the story. Not because they believed it, but because readers might.

[Headline]

[Top live streamer Zelo, with 250k viewers, sentenced to death—execution likely imminent.]

==== ====

Currently, the popular streamer Zelo has been sentenced to death, drawing cheers from viewers.

The event occurred within the survival-based streaming world of the new platform, Cheese...

==== ====

— That reporter is insane, hahahaha!

— Yo, reporter, shut your stream down already!

— Seriously, what is this? Internet broadcasting has gotten so depraved these days that even the death sentence isn’t enough, they’re actually executing people now?

└ Hahaha, yeah, they’re really doing it!

└ Right? I was thinking the same thing. Guess we’ve finally hit rock bottom.

— How about you get the death penalty, reporter?

└ Hahahahahahahahaha!

└ For real!

└ Ha... I’d love to be the one executing him.

— Excuse me, reporter, what’s your mother’s name again?

Users cursed out the reporter in droves, but the article’s view count continued to climb.

[#3. Internet Streamer Zelo, with 250,000 Live Viewers, Sentenced to Death — Execution Highly Likely...]

This became third place in real-time searches. Even the production team hadn’t expected this outcome.

“PD Jang... I-Is this really okay?” Park Oh-Hoon worried that this could negatively affect the Cheese event.

The veteran PD Jang only snorted and waved him off. “Why not? The reporter gets the hate, and we get free publicity. Leave it.”

If anything, he decided to fan the flames.

“Change the title on our main broadcast channel while you’re at it.”

“Uh... yes?”

“Title it, ‘Live Execution of Zelo.’ Right now. Hurry.”

“Ah, y-yes!”

Clack, clack, clack!

PD Jang wasn’t about to miss out on their main channel viewership.

[LIVE: Zelo Execution Broadcast]

— What’s with that title? hahaha!

— Damn, that’s brutal.

— And this is supposed to be a healing game?

— Come visit Cheese Village!

— Hahahahahahahaha!

Even the main channel garnered explosive reactions.

***

Meanwhile, Almond and the Servant duo prepared for the execution.

“Boss... are we

really

using

that

?” Radish Servant looked uneasy.

“There are a lot of people watching. Bit risky, don’t you think?” Potato Servant nodded in agreement.

Almond hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. “My grandma once told me...”

“To burn Zelo alive?”

— Hahahahahahahahaha!

— How far ahead did Grandma foresee this? lol

— Grandma out here predicting Zelo’s fate, hahaha!

“No. To never waste even a single grain of rice.”

“...”

For a moment, the Servants went silent. Comparing Zelo to rice made them realize that they were dealing with someone on a different level.

— Zelo the grain, omg.

— Shivers.

— Never underestimate a rice worshipper.

“So, we’ll go with Plan A just like we discussed earlier. Oh, and of course, we’ll consult with Zelo first.”

“Excuse me?”

They couldn’t believe their ears. Consulting the condemned about how he wanted to be executed? That reached a new level of cruelty.

— Hahahahahahahahaha!

— “So... how many hits do you want? You decide.”

— LMAO, is this a 90s school punishment vibe?

“Zelo is a big name in the industry. We gotta show some courtesy.”

And so, in the waiting room, Zelo sat imagining how the execution would go. How many clips would be made, and how viral would it become? For a veteran streamer, getting executed as a traitor in Cheese Village was pure gold content. Still, even he hadn’t expected things to go quite like this.

“S-So... I get to choose?”

“Yes, here are the options.”

Rustle.

A set of horrifying mock-ups spread out before him.

— ???

— LMAO what the hell!?

— He’s insane, for real!

— Hahahaha!

— Actually kinda love this.

— LMAOOOOOOO

“Pick whichever one you like best.”

Zelo studied them carefully. The drawings looked like they’d been done by a child with crayons, which somehow made them even creepier.

“So, this is me in these, right?”

“Yes.”

Two things stood out immediately. First, every version of him was smiling. Second...

“Why are they all on fire?”

“Ah...

hahaha

.”

“

Hahahaha...

”

Almond and the Servants laughed awkwardly.

— “Not wasting a single grain of rice,” huh~

— Hahaha, he caught on!

— This is why I hate sharp ones like you...

Fortunately, Zelo had only been joking.

Radish Servant managed to fumble out a half-baked explanation. “Fire gives the best performance, doesn’t it? It’s symbolic like a witch trial.”

“Ah, that makes sense. I can’t really think of a better alternative myself.” He flipped through the mock-ups, mumbling into his stream almost unconsciously. “What am I even doing right now...”

— For real, lol

— He’s basically picking his own coffin.

— Feels like choosing a life insurance plan.

— It’s all death either way, hahaha!

In the end, Zelo made his choice. “This one is good. Does it go up into the air?”

“Yes, it does.”

“Oh, I like it. Let’s go with that one.”

“You’ve got a great eye, sir.”

They all laughed. The mood was surprisingly cheerful.

***

A little later, the execution began. The setup was exactly as Zelo had chosen.

‘Why am I... actually excited about this?’

He felt a strange mix of dread and anticipation.

MC Servant Lemon took the stage. “Alright, everyone! The first ever execution of Cheese Village 2036 begins nowwwwwww!”

The villagers roared back, “

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!

”

“Zelo! Execution! Zelo! Execution!”

Boom-boom!

Boom!

Drums thundered as a knight shoved Zelo from behind. “Walk, traitor.”

And so, Zelo walked to the platform. Even now, he couldn’t resist a bit of dramatics and shouted to the crowd, “I didn’t abandon Cheese Village!”

“Silence!”

“Boooooo!”

The villagers’ protests drowned him out, but he’d said his piece.

“Cheese Village abandoned me! You! You all threw me away!”

— Damn.

— Goosebumps.

— Hahaha this guy!

— Is this a rage performance?

Feeling oddly refreshed, Zelo kept walking to the gallows.

“Whatever. I’m done. Just kill me already. I’ll respawn and stream after,” he nonchalantly said.

The rising viewer count made it hard to hide his grin. Still, an old saying came to mind.

‘One foolish ally is more dangerous than five brilliant enemies.’

He didn’t know why that line popped into his head. Maybe it was just a streamer’s instinct.

Rumble, rumble, rumble...

“Huh?”

The ground beneath the platform began to shake.

— ???

— ?

— What’s going on?

— Hello?

The earth suddenly bulged up and exploded.

KABOOOM!

From the crater, twenty black-clad figures emerged.

Their shouts echoed out like amplified thunder. “Knights, hear us! We are Team Rocket!”

Team Rocket was Paprika’s squad name.

“We’ve come to rescue the democratic activist, Zelo, from this dictatorship!”

“Don’t worry, Zelo!”

Flames burst behind them, painting the sky red.

Fwoooosh!

The effect looked surprisingly convincing.

— Oh damn.

— Epic rescue scene!

— LOL he’s a confirmed traitor now.

— Actually badass tho.

— Are they here to surrender instead?

— The Paprikatsuki are back!

— Style points: Paprika.

Meanwhile, Zelo had already been tied to the execution device.

‘How are you guys always screwing it up for me?!’

All he wanted was to just get executed.