"Really?"

"Yes, I'm telling you. The manager suddenly messaged me. I was also surprised. I’ve been watching their stream."

"Hmm."

The woman listening to the employee was the team leader of Police’s marketing department in Korea. She had been informed a few days ago that they had received a message from Almond's manager.

"He's very proactive and even cares about our sales."

"Right? Didn't you say he was making that content to increase the sales for Sori?"

Indeed, the team leader had ordered them to spy on Almond's stream.

"Ah, yes. Right. He was teaching some viewers, who questioned whether or not our broadcast was rigged, a lesson."

"Yes, it turned out to be about Sori’s performance. I thought it was just regular streaming content…"

At first, the team leader thought it was merely for content. Confronting a viewer who left malicious comments was common because it was funny whether they lost or won. However, this was the first time such an event occurred on Almond's stream.

The team leader believed Almond did this for the sake of Sori’s sales.

"He knew what he was doing. He slicked a sales pitch so smoothly during the live stream."

They finally realized this after receiving Ju-Hyeok's message. They had been concerned about Sori and planned to increase sales.

"Hm, it's clear from this message."

The team leader nodded in agreement.

"This guy is built like a bear, but acts like a fox."

"Oh? Have you actually seen the manager?"

"Yes, at the filming site."

"Wow. How was it? I saw the manager in the commercial before."

"He was my type."

"Ah… of course!"

"Not his face. The way he works."

"Ah, come on. I know your type, ma’am."

"What are you talking about? Just get back to work."

"Sure, sure."

Nothing was as precious as an employee who did well without being told. Sometimes, speaking was unnecessary, and sometimes, it was not allowed. In this case, it was the latter. They couldn’t let the streamers know this was related to the company's sales. If they did, that would be the same as pressuring them to rig the performance.

For that reason, they usually invited professional gamers who understood the situation well. The streamers they invited were also usually former pros.

This time, they chose a streamer who didn’t even focus on

LIL

. Some doubted whether it would work out, but the results went beyond their expectations.

"Let's suggest using him again if we have work on our side next time. It doesn't seem necessary to pay more to professional gamers at this point."

Choosing a streamer for

The Avatar of LIL

seemed odd at first. However, they wouldn’t need to pay high fees to busy professional gamers anymore if things continued like this.

"Right? He's also good-looking."

"No, it’s not that."

"I was talking about Almond."

The employee smiled and felt pleased with the team leader's decision.

"Whatever."

The team leader looked at the message with interest.

‘Kim Ju-Hyeok…’

Her lips curled up.

‘He's loyal and smart… and seems to be in a precarious situation with his partner. Could this be an opportunity for me?’

She added one more thing before she walked away, "Oh. Leave a comment when our edited version is uploaded. Tell them about the service we usually offer."

"Oh… that? Is that okay?"

“Heh.”

She ignored the uncomfortable laughter from her team member and went back to her seat.

That

would be revealed the day before G-Star.

Ding.

[The Avatar of LIL - The Cautious Hunter Sori - episode]

They uploaded the edited version of

The Avatar of LIL

that same day.

***

Meanwhile, the G-Star Preparation Committee had reached the climax of all their overtime work. Marketing managers from various game companies had meetings with dark circles under their eyes and disheveled, greasy hair.

They gathered to share information about streamers and investors for mutual benefit. This was one of the charms of G-Star.

"Now that we've covered overseas investments, let's move on to domestic advertising."

Their interests were twofold: securing investments for their games and advertising to promote their games. Both happened at G-Star.

Investors came to gauge the game's potential success while streamers considered how much they would be paid for advertisements. However, top streamers didn’t just accept ads for the money.

"Let's start with some of the bigger streamers. For music-related games, Cutie Pie is absolutely dominating."

Although she would cost a lot, she was the absolute authority for music games and as good as a goddess in this industry.

"If the music game targets males, it's even more beneficial. Even if it doesn’t, she’s still big enough to cover it."

"Our game would be perfect for her, but we're too tight on budget..."

“HAHAHA.”

A marketer from a small game company sighed, which elicited light laughter. This was a common struggle they all faced.

After introducing a few streamers below Cutie Pie, Bubblegum’s face popped up on the screen and some individuals laughed.

"Bubblegum. Needless to say, he's top-tier in advertising games."

"Oh, he's the best for funny games."

"Or for games with high difficulty."

"Right, right. He plays them well."

"If the difficulty is maxed out, he’ll advertise longer because it takes him a while to beat it."

“HAHAHAHA.”

The marketers laughed and exchanged jokes.

The presenter continued with a grin and felt pleased with their reactions.

"Sure, Bubblegum is a given. Besides the advertising fee, he's sensitive to the game's gambling elements or improprieties. It's best to proceed with suitable games for advertisement."

The individuals seated at the table nodded in agreement.

"Our game isn't gambling per se..."

"We're out of the running then."

"Well, I’ve heard he's picky about ads."

"Most streamers under that entertainment company are like that."

The presenter nodded.

"Yes, but of course, that doesn't mean they're opposed to companies seeking profit. It’s hard to differentiate between gambling and a good business model. It's all about public perception in the end."

"Right, who's the next streamer?"

"Ah… next is…"

As the presenter continued, the employees chattered around the table.

"Miho really appeals to the male audience."

"But that booth is already under contract."

"Is Zelo not coming?"

"Zelo… the amount he wants exceeds the budget of all the game companies here. It's uncertain if he'll even come…"

Sighs flowed out around the table.

Then, the presentation moved on to Almond.

"Next is Almond. He's quite popular. According to rumors, Almond is a big fish in the streamer advertising market this year."

The presentation felt vague, but this seemed like a well-known rumor already.

"I heard that too. There hasn’t been any talk about

LIL

from Police yet."

"Ah, that? There aren’t any official statements yet."

"Hm, that was too recent… The information might not be accurate."

The rumor was that Almond significantly contributed to the new

LIL

champion’s sales, reportedly breaking sales records. However, industry insiders found such a claim hard to believe. For a major game like

LIL

, streamers usually made minimal impact. Who would believe such rumors only circulating as financial gossip? It was the perfect example of the boy who cried wolf.

"Right… Besides that, his handsome looks and background could win national sympathy…"

The discussion about Almond ended with mixed reactions because the list had started with bigger streamers, but life was all about timing. Right?

The day of their meeting coincided with the new episode of

The Avatar of LIL

. The identity of that thing ordered by the team leader who liked Ju-Hyeok was revealed.

"Look, it seems that rumor wasn't just gossip?"

Someone held up their phone and caught everyone's attention.

"What's that?"

"

The Avatar of LIL

?"

"Ah, that's from their broadcast, right? What about it…?"

The man holding the phone pointed not just to the video, but also to the comments.

[Police Korea Official: Both handsome and talented @Almond! Thanks to you, sales of Sori were record-breaking! OMG! Let's definitely do it again!]

Such a comment mentioning each other on YouTube typically followed after an advertisement.

— OMG, he was mentioned by Police!

— So Sori being good was because of him, lol.

— Translation: Let's scam again!

└ LOL

└ LMAO

— The Scam Squad!

— Almond… among all the gamblers I've seen, you were the best.

The comment from an official account seemed undeniable.

"No doubt, this is officially from Police."

"Hm, this is unusual… Record-breaking sales, wow."

The conference table suddenly went quiet as a silent battle of glances began.

***

The edited version of

The Avatar of LIL

was much cleaner than the live broadcast, featuring notable elements like official mentions.

The most impressive part was the view count. As a promotional video, having a high view count was key.

#55 in trending videos for the gaming category

It ranked in the trending videos almost immediately after being uploaded. It started in the fifties, which was encouraging for

The Avatar of LIL

team, especially because of the ad video.

Nobody willingly spent their time watching advertisements. Although the format tried to present the ad as a guide to mastering the new champion, it was clearly still an ad. However,

The Avatar of LIL

received a lot of views as if it wasn’t an advertisement.

— New character?

— Nice, been waiting for this!

— Is this the video in question?

└ What are you talking about?

└ the LIL pros were ranting about this being rigged until Almond busted their heads.

└ Link pls!

— Came from the teaching them a lesson video, I recommend ??

└

└

└ Starting with me~

— Mr. A, I won't act up again. I won't act up again. I won't act up again.

└ What exactly happened…?

└ LOL!

The viewer reeducation video on Almond's channel garnered the most views. This fire directly transferred to

The Avatar of LIL

.

As the video raced to the top of the charts, Sang-Hyeon and Ju-Hyeok wore VIP lanyards and entered the exhibition hall where G-Star was being held.

"VIPs, this way!"

Murmurs…

Sang-Hyeon was a bit dull in reality without his VNS metrics, so he didn't notice. Ju-Hyeok felt it immediately when they entered. Industry insiders were all subtly glancing at them.

‘...’

He soon realized it wasn’t just his imagination.