Season 4: Chapter 177. The World’s Secret (2)

The capsule opened, and Sang-Hyeon pushed himself up.

“

Phew.

”

It had been another long session in

Survival Craft

today.

“You finally crawled out. You sure your body is holding up?” Ju-Hyeok spun lazily in his chair and greeted him.

Viewer analytics and community tabs covered his monitors.

“Ah... yeah. It’s not like I need to stay fully focused in there anyway.”

“Black Pepper will sulk if she hears you say that.” Ju-Hyeok snickered.

Sang-Hyeon only tilted his head. “Huh? Why?”

“Nothing. Forget it.”

‘This guy is hopeless.’

Ju-Hyeok quickly changed the subject. “Anyways, Cheese Village is going wild right now.”

“What? Why? Am I even allowed to hear this!?” Sang-Hyeon flinched and already raised his hands to cover his ears.

He thought maybe something disastrous was happening in Cheese Village.

“No, not that. I mean, the community is going crazy about it.”

“Ah...”

Ju-Hyeok pulled the screen up so he could see.

[#1. This Survival Craft content is legendary lmao]

“Oh.” Sang-Hyeon blinked.

He wouldn’t have reacted much if only Cheese Village had reached #1. Moments like Zelo flying or Green Tea showing up at the trial made sense. However, the top post wasn’t even such a scene. Instead, it talked about how fun the content itself was, which was new.

“The Team Rocket vs. Knight Order arc is getting insane praise. That’s probably why posts like this started popping up.”

“Is it really that big?”

Ju-Hyeok seemed to know exactly what confused Sang-Hyeon.

“With content like this, the key is whether the event happens naturally instead of whether it’s actually fun. Everything flowed too well from Team Rocket arriving to rescue Zelo and the Knights stepping in to stop them. The devs barely stepped in at all, and that...”

Ju-Hyeok continued to ramble and analyze their success with increasing excitement.

Sang-Hyeon could only scratch his head. He had no idea what Ju-Hyeok was talking about.

Ju-Hyeok only smirked knowingly. “Yeah, yeah. I just needed to vent somewhere.”

“N-No, I mean... the planning really

was

good, Ju-Hyeok.”

“Yeah, yeah. Shut up, you punk.”

Sang-Hyeon just laughed awkwardly.

“You think smiling like that works on me? I’m not a girl, you know.”

“Let’s get late-night food. My treat. BBQ?”

“Where should we order from?”

The moment Sang-Hyeon mentioned food, Ju-Hyeok forgot everything and reached for his phone.

***

While the two debated late-night menus, Cheese Village continued to churn with chaos. One unfortunate soul suffered more than anyone.

“W-Why!? Guys!? It’s me, Zelu!? Really!?”

Zelu was the dust-covered son of the infamous village traitor. His world was nothing but despair.

Whack!

Thud!

A stone struck him the moment he was born.

“You’re the shame of our village, Zeluto!”

— LOL

— holy crap looool

— they’re too much omg

𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

— he’s just a kid... baby Zelu...

“H-Hey! Everyone! This is too...!”

No one listened.

Thwack!

Another stone hit him.

“We don’t need trash like you!”

“B-But I’m useful! I inherited my father’s mining talent!” Zelu tried to insist that his lineage wasn’t all bad.

No one accepted him. No, no one could.

“What? Miiiiiner?!”

Step.

A knight in obsidian armor strode forward with a sneer. It was a special recruit of the Knight Order belonging to the Worker class.

[Onion]

Worker Onion was the former mid-laner of the GreenTeaBagging team, who got destroyed start-to-finish by Almond in the mid lane. He had been mocked endlessly for it in the past, but was now Almond’s devoted hound.

The hound glared at Zelu.

“So, you’re a miner?”

“Yes, I have a fairly high Mining level.”

Onion burst into laughter. “That’s what you’re proud of?”

“Uh, yes?”

“In Cheese Village, mining is filth! Idiot child!”

Wham!

Onion kicked him and laughed hysterically. “The higher your Mining level, the lower you are! Trash!”

Zelu muttered, “Freaking... idiot...”

“What was that!?”

“N-Nothing. Y-You’re Worker Onion, right?”

“Yes. Why.”

“Just a lowly worker...”

“?”

“Nothing!”

— LMAOOOOO

— mouth-dodging like a pro

— kid’s got talent lmao

— as expected of Zelo’s son^^

— classic wind-style smack-talk

Bam!

Onion kicked him again. “You brat... Looks like someone needs discipline.”

He raised his chin like a third-rate villain, shadows pooling under his brow.

— looooool

— his acting is insane

— is Zelu the main character now?

— hero’s trial arc incoming

— Onion deserves an award omg

Clack.

Onion raised his club.

“NOOOO! STOP!”

A woman screamed and threw herself between them.

[ChocoShroom]

“Z-Zelo... What’s happening!?”

— BRO

— THE MOMMMM

— please lmao

— ChocoShroom has no idea what’s going on

Onion slowly lowered the club and glared in disgust. “Choco Shroom, you barely escaped punishment because they said Zelo gaslit you. I still don’t buy it.”

He stalked closer, every inch of him oozing a sleazy villain.

— KOREA DRAMA ENERGY

— Onion is fully committed

— Oscar-worthy menace

“W-What are you talking about?”

“Got gaslit so hard your eyes went cloudy, huh? Huh!?”

“W-Why are you doing this!? What does Zelo...?”

Step.

Zelu moved in front of her. “L-Leave my mom alone, you jerk!”

His face was flushed red for some reason.

Choco Shroom blinked at him, utterly baffled. The mother had just learned she apparently had a son.

— LOOOOOOL

— I’m losing it

— She didn’t even know she had a kid

— help

— I’m crying

“W-What are you talking about...? M-Mister Zelo, why am I the moth...”

“

Pahahahahaha!

” Onion burst out laughing, dripping with contempt. “So, even trash protects his mother, huh? Those vicious eyes are just like the son of the villain Zelo!”

— holy shit lmao

— Choco Shroom’s pupils are shaking

—I can’t breathe

“W-Wait, wait, so... he’s Zelu... Zelo’s son... and I’m the mom?” Her face flushed red as she trembled.

Zelu answered swiftly, “Yes. That’s how it worked out since I was executed.”

— BRO WHAT

— this kid is not a kid, he’s reincarnated or something

— Zelo reincarnated

— he’s speaking like a veteran omg

— baby adult hybrid

Choco Shroom immediately snapped into character. “Ah... r-right! Then that settles it! How dare you bully my son!?” She stormed toward Onion. “You call yourself a knight!? Bullying a child!?”

“W-What!? You filthy widow!”

“W-Widow!? I’m a Miner, you idiot!”

Whack!

Choco Shroom smacked him.

Onion fled in panic. “J-Just you wait!”

— ??

— lmfao

— obsidian armor bodied by one slap

— Onion exit stage left

— Mom is the strongest species confirmed

Onion seemed to have decided that further bullying wasn’t worth it and scurried off, making for a perfect bargain-bin villain exit.

Choco Shroom turned to Zelu. “Z-Zelu? My Zelu?”

“Yes...”

The mother and son acted awkward and shy for no reason.

— this is now accidental family roleplay

— I’m dying help

— marriage DLC includes child

— the lore wrote itself

“

A-hem.

Zelu, come home with me. We can’t leave things like this.”

“Yes.” Zelu followed her to her house, which was apparently where he would now be living.

The harassment didn’t stop. Even the child NPCs mocked him, singing made-up songs.

“Zelu is a miner~ Mommy is a widow~”

“Hate Zelu~ hate Zelu~ Santa won’t bring him presents~”

The Bubble Daily

had published an article:

[Zelo, Traitor to the People, was Publicly Executed]

.

— oh my god these NPC kids are ALIVE

— NPCs evolving??

— this system is too real wtf

— collective punishment speedrun

“Hey! All of you get lost!!” Choco Shroom waved a miner’s bomb threateningly.

“S-Sorry!!”

— SHE THREW A BOMB AT KIDS

— I CAN’T BREATHE

— arrest this mother immediately

Then, she placed a hand on Zelu’s shoulder. “Zelu.”

“Yes?”

“Your father was a great miner.”

“B-But everyone says Miners are trash!”

Choco Shroom shook her head gently. “That’s not true, son. Mining is noble. You pull the brightest treasures from the deepest darkness.”

— wow mom mode activated

— hero origin speech

— this is the protagonist's birth cutscene

— sunshine mother + cursed background = peak MC formula

“Then, why does everyone say Miners are worthless!?”

“Because your father, the greatest miner of all, was terribly... misunderstood. And he was executed.”

— misunderstood LMFAO

— he was very correctly understood, actually

— she’s stuttering through the lie

Zelu lowered his head, trembling. “I-I’ll take revenge.”

— Zelu barely holding his laugh in LOL

— his trembling animation is ridiculous

— the acting lessons didn’t pay off

“What?”

“I’ll destroy the village! The one that killed Father! And tormented Mother! This rotten place!”

— CHEESE MASSACRE ARC

— villain DNA strong

— this kid is Uchiha

— betrayal speedrun

He raised his chin. “I’ll melt it down. This Cheese Village, I’ll melt it to nothing.”

Choco Shroom shook her head with cold realism. “Zelu...”

“Yes?”

“The Knights’ Adamantium doesn’t melt.”

— AND THAT’S REALITY BABY

— parenting done right

— dream crushed speedrun

— rip revenge arc

“Let’s go sell iron, son. It’s all your father left behind. We have nothing else. Only that.”

Something about that stung.

“

Urk...

” Zelu was dragged away to help her sell the remaining iron ore.

— iron-selling orphan arc begins

— who will even buy it? lol

— this family is broke

— miners in recession arc

The two trudged down a lonely path. From the corner of a shadowy alley, someone watched them.

[BlackPepper]

She had secretly infiltrated Cheese Village.

Head lowered, she whispered, “You’ve grown well, Zelu. You’re exactly like your father.”

— WHAT IS THIS FAMILY TREE ANYMORE?

— SUDDEN AUNT APPEARS

— PEPPER-PLOT DROPPED LIKE A BOMB

— why does everyone accept the son retcon so naturally?

Meanwhile, the next day, episode three of Cheese Craft was uploaded.

[Cheese Craft Ep. 3: Fertile Soil]

[Premiering in five minutes!]