Season 3: Chapter 272. Whatever Doesn’t Kill You (2)

[China: 93%]

[Joseon: 7%]

The overwhelming prediction results stirred up quite the discussion in the

Civil Empire

community, Embul.

[Prediction results from the latest column]

— 93% prediction, seriously? Haha, did they take a bribe?

└ China money, haha

— Is China really this strong??

— Yeah right, just reserve 200 pieces for the Body Exhibition~

— ??? These bastards must have forgotten my temper

Viewers couldn't accept the 93% prediction for China. Such a figure was hard for anyone to swallow. Unfortunately, Joseon wasn't unfamiliar with this situation.

— Fact: The prediction for the Japan match was just as ridiculous, haha. No one cared then...

└ Oh... haha

└ Really? Haha

└ Looked it up, Japan was at 92%, haha

After entering the multi-round format, very few experts predicted a Joseon victory. The difference in player pools was just too significant. What was more intriguing was the opinion of the sole expert who predicted Joseon to win.

[Expert who sided with Joseon]

[I see a possibility for Joseon's victory because they have two commanders. Moreover, the two of them have different playstyles. Despite this, Joseon's soldiers adapt to the different styles every time. This poses a tougher challenge for China than it seems. It's like one side having an extra card in poker.]

— The only advantage seems to be having two commanders.

— Hmm, is that it?

— Oh...

— The Persian and Japan matches with Best Yi Sun-Shin were legendary, so Cookie kind of got overshadowed, but he’s the main reason we got to the finals.

└ Absolutely

└ Cookie is basically the national team’s father, dammit!

Overall, the community held on to some hope while acknowledging that they were at a disadvantage against China. However, LILPro users had a different take.

— Wait, China was undefeated?

— Damn, they haven’t lost at all?

— They haven't lost a single match in this competition? Didn't know that.

— Wow

— Just utterly dominant, winning all their matches easily.

└ Right, haha

LILPro users were relatively new to

Civil Empire

and only just realized the significant gap. They didn't know how strong China was, especially this year. China's team was playing flawlessly without even losing a single game.

— Is there even a chance of winning?

└ Even winning one game would be impressive.

— So intimidating.

— Can they really scrim internally because they have 400 players?

└ What? Haha

— Just on another level.

LILPro users went into panic mode. Such a reaction was typical from the general public who weren't well-versed in

Civil Empire

.

— Is China really unbeatable?

— Wow... So it's going to be tough to win today. I just started watching Civil Empire.

— Can't we win like we did against Japan?

They had heard China was strong, but didn't realize China was this dominant. They had high hopes after Joseon's excellent performance against Japan, but facing reality felt daunting.

[Reason China is undefeated.jpg]

Some users tried to explain that China's undefeated record wasn't solely due to their strength.

[They had an incredibly favorable draw. (photo)]

The users claimed that China had very favorable matchups. The photo showed data

explaining China's match history.

— Oh... makes sense?

— But isn’t it because China played well?

└ No, even Chinese fans acknowledge their favorable draw.

└ Really?

— The civilizations they faced are weaker compared to Joseon.

└ That’s true.

Joseon had notably tougher matches, having faced higher ranked civilizations.

— Joseon had a hellish draw from the start, haha.

└ Spain, France, Rome, haha.

└ Right, haha.

— Honestly, Joseon probably counts as one of China’s most favorable matchups too.

└ Oh... haha.

└ Haha.

└ Dammit.

└ China’s draw continues to be good, haha.

└ China's ranking is so high that any matchup looks favorable.

In reality, China's high ranking made their draws seem favorable. Conversely, Joseon's low ranking made every matchup seem like a nightmare. Among China's supposedly favorable matchups, Joseon looked like the easiest prey. Just as more despairing information emerged, something else attracted everyone’s attention.

[Forget it! The Fake National Team episode is out.]

The new Fake National Team episode finally came out on Almond’s channel.

[Fake National Team ep.9 Believe in Us]

[Premiering now!]

***

After uploading the Fake National Team episode, Producer Jang’s editing team gathered around and eagerly watched the viewer statistics. While they usually didn't obsess over viewer numbers, this time was different.

"Almond's subscribers hit a million, right?"

"And the recent Korea-Japan match had the highest live viewership among domestic channels."

"Isn't the Fake National Team series going to break records too?"

National interest in the competition surged after the Korea-Japan match, raising expectations for the Fake National Team series. Suddenly, PD Jang entered with his scruffy beard and hastily worn cap, smacking objects with a paper roll.

"Hey, hey! What are you all doing? Lost focus?"

"We're watching the viewer graph!"

"Why? We’re artists, remember? Did you forget?"

"Artists working in a broadcasting station..."

"This kid! Look at Ji-Ah over there just sitting calmly. True professionals don’t worry about that."

Ji-Ah, who was suddenly pointed out, gave an awkward smile. On her monitor, the live viewer trend graph for Almond's channel was also displayed. Since she had access to the channel, she didn’t need to huddle with the others.

"

Ahem.

So—"

PD Jang nonchalantly pulled out a chair and sat.

"What's the count?"

"...?"

"I said the count!"

***

The video began in a familiar studio with a white background where players usually did their interviews. However, something seemed different this time. Instead of just a chair, there was also a desk too. Then—

Bzzt.

After a brief video glitch, someone appeared. It was Almond with his feet up on the desk, leaning back fully in the chair.

— ???

— What’s this? haha

— Seriously, haha

— Is this the world class vibe? Haha

— Acting all high and mighty.

— His legs are so long.

— What?

The viewers watching the premiere felt puzzled. Almond was almost lying down with his chin tilted up and feet on the desk. This was a new look. His amused expression suggested he found it funny too. A caption appeared above him.

[What are you doing?]

Viewers wanted to ask the same question. An answer quickly came.

“Waiting for a sponsor.”

— A sponsor??? He looks like a soldier waiting for a superior, haha

— A wise posture to wait for a sponsor, haha

— Seriously, what is this?

Waiting for a sponsor in such a manner seemed absurd to the viewers.

[Where is the sponsor from?]

Almond leaned back even more, bringing a finger to his lips.

“Ah. Sung.”

— What’s this? haha

— Is he pretending to be a detective?

— Cool.

— This is what world class means~

— Haha.

— The necklace of approval given to him.

— Haha.

— What is this concept? haha

[Since they’re giving you money, shouldn’t you be a bit more humble? This could cause controversy.]

Almond leaned even further back. It seemed he intended to lie down completely with each question.

“Hmm...”

— This looks more exhausting.

— Isn't this torture, haha

— Is it just me or is the desk a bit high? Haha

— He’ll be doing a handstand at this rate, haha

— So tired he can’t even answer, haha

“This is a humble posture. It means always looking up from a low position~.”

— Haha.

— The Ah-Sung employees will be impressed.

[What will you do when the Ah-Sung employees arrive?]

“We’ll negotiate how the sponsorship will proceed. The negotiations will be handled by...”

Thunk.

Suddenly, Ju-Hyeok appeared next to him.

“Our management representative.”

— Then why are you there? Haha

— Move your legs. You’re blocking the view, LOL

— Walnut appeared.

Ju-Hyeok briefly appeared and disappeared again. Another question popped up.

[What will you do, Almond?]

“I’ll be discussing content ideas with the Ah-Sung employees.”

Almond surprisingly had a role to play.

[Do you have any ideas?]

“We conducted a viewer poll. I’ll be a military drill instructor and the employees will be recruits.”

— ??

— Didn’t you say there was a meeting? Haha

— When did this happen? haha

— Poll conducted in his brain, haha

— ??? (Suddenly removes watch) You’ve forgotten my temper...

— What? Haha

— Revenge, haha

[What kind of training will you conduct?]

“We conducted a viewer poll and settled on duck walking.”

— In Almond’s mind, we didn’t participate. Delete your comments~

— If duck walking is a compromise, what was the original plan? Haha

[They’ve arrived~]

“!?”

Almond hastily tried to sit up after suddenly hearing that they had arrived, but the chair tipped back.

Thud.

The screen went black as he fell.

— Haha

— Seriously, weren’t we supposed to continue like that?

— “The body remembers Ah-Sung.”

— Yare yare, the body is honest~

— Concept broken.

The title sequence appeared.

[Fake National Team]

[Fake Athlete]

This time, they also added something new.

[Sponsored by]

[Gwaesoo]

[Ah-Sung Electronics]

[Divers]

[Chocola Friends]

[SooYang Motors]

A list of numerous sponsors appeared. All the names were well-known companies. There were almost twenty of them including smaller sponsors.

— Whoa

— Wow, haha

— This is crazy, haha

— No wonder he had his feet up, haha

— He still respects Ah-Sung, giving them the second spot.

— Gwaesoo moved quickly to secure the top spot. Otherwise, they would have been pushed back.

— Chocola Friends, haha. No wonder Almond had a strange character on his shirt.

— “Believe in us” means those companies, right?

— Wow, is this the same nerdy Fake National Team we knew? This is epic...

— With that lineup, you have to believe in them, haha