NOVEL NEXT Chapter 123
A house left alone after everyone else has departed.
When it gets suddenly quiet after being bustling like this, some people feel lonely, but that’s not me.
Well, I can just turn on the broadcast. As soon as I do, thousands of people communicate with me from beyond the internet.
Mollru is live!
– A dedicated broadcaster
[Moha]
[Hi hi]
[Explain the illegal fan meeting]
[Ah, lol, is there someone who couldn’t make it to the fan meeting?]
[Don’t call me Molbu elsewhere.]
[It was a great day, sis ^^]
“What do I even need to explain? I didn’t even know you guys would come. It wasn’t even a fan meeting in the first place; why did you come?”
That was the truth. Sure, I can’t stop them from liking me, but there was no reason for them to come in the first place. What would they have done if I hadn’t shown up?
I browsed through the fan cafe and exchanged casual chatter. Most of the popular posts were reviews of meeting me. Many of the posts had overwhelming recommendations, even sharing pictures taken with me.
Responses like “Jealous,” “This can’t be real,” “Is the leader’s face really that big?” followed one after another.
[JustMoHwang donated 10,000 won!]
– Are you not having an official fan meeting?
“Fan meeting? Not really interested.”
“Please communicate with fans on your instastory, share your daily life, host a fan meeting.” Every time I hear this, I think: aren’t you all overdoing it? What are these people expecting, something only celebrities do?
I’m just an ordinary person with a somewhat pretty face. There’s no way I could do that. And it made me realize that organizing a fan meeting requires a lot of effort, more than I expected.
From venue rentals to planning how the fan meeting would go, all the logistics for guiding the fans, monitoring for strange people, and dealing with those weirdos… That’s just what I can think of off the top of my head; there must be more to do.
Perhaps feeling my annoyance seeping through my tone, the viewers stopped pestering me.
Instead, they focused on another topic.
[So why didn’t you turn on the cam?]
[Are you not turning the cam on today?]
[Turn on the cam!!]
[Is that it?]
[It has been a while since you last did!]
“Today is a virtual Mollru broadcast. I won’t be turning on the cam.”
A familiar character with blonde hair and wall-eyed features appeared—one I hadn’t shown on screen recently. The viewers who knew my real face and the new arrivals reacted with an intense refusal, but I didn’t flinch.
I had planned not to turn on the cam from the start. If I were to show my face, I’d have to tidy up my hair and wear something nice.
Today, I just felt lazy, not washing up and wearing a stretched-out T-shirt and shorts. I used to shower every day, but with long hair, it takes a significant amount of time just to wash it, making even one shower feel like a chore.
At first, I thought it was gross, but lately, I didn’t really care. I guess my body naturally doesn’t accumulate waste or oil easily, so skipping one day didn’t lead to greasy hair or anything. The same goes for my body.
“It’s awkward to turn on the cam since I didn’t shower. I can’t be bothered to dress up.”
[Oh…]
[Doesn’t matter to me.]
[Even better!]
[Just turn it on, I wanna see your face!]
[That might be nice too?]
[There is a certain demand for it, you know.]
Ignoring the viewers’ whining lightly, I pulled out the game I would be playing today.
Today, I’ll be playing…
“Let’s gather on Animal Crossing.”
A famous calm life simulation game. It’s a game I had been meaning to play someday but had put aside.
[Hmm…]
[Isn’t this trend pretty much over?]
[This game doesn’t really suit the leader.]
[It’s too calm.]
[Mollru, do whatever you want.]
The viewers’ reactions were mixed. The ones who preferred more stimulating content were against it.
However, I had learned from experience that it’s impossible to satisfy everyone with my choice of game.
Moreover, not every viewer contributes to the chat. My current viewership is 20,000, and there’s no way even half of them chat; most of them are probably just tuning in like a radio.
In short, I didn’t need to care about the chat. I firmly believed it was better to do as I pleased as a streamer. I had always done so until now.
– Welcome! Thank you for joining us!
As I started the game, a cute raccoon character welcomed me.
The game begins with me moving to an uninhabited island as a resident. I provide my name, date of birth, and configure my appearance.
[Character creation mode on]
[This will take a few hours again.]
[I’ll take a nap until then.]
“Stop making a fuss. It’ll be done quickly.”
This time I finished character creation with just a few clicks. After all, everyone’s character has a rounded appearance, so what’s the point of putting in much effort? The world was rendered to look very realistic, so I felt motivated at that time.
While illustrating the peaceful island scenery during the flight, this isn’t just a healing game.
– Welcome! I’m the representative raccoon who will help you with all the daily life on this island!
“Ah, nice to meet you.”
– First, let’s set up your home. I’ll give you a tent, so find a suitable place to sleep!
“So this is how the game starts.”
[In this weather, a tent?]
[Are they trying to freeze me to death?]
[The raccoon seems to be plotting something scary.]
Following the representative raccoon’s instructions, I started picking up branches and gathering cherries.
A campfire welcoming the new residents. There are three residents, including me.
One animal resembling a duck and another that looks like a bear.
“I guess more residents will come later?”
[Yeah, up to 8 people, right?]
[You can expand the island.]
As you live your life for the island, it gradually grows, and more residents gather.
For now, let’s see how life goes according to the raccoon NPC’s guidance.
After finishing the campfire on the first day, when I woke up after a nap in the tent,
– Knock, knock.
Morning had come, and I heard a sound outside. When I went outside, the representative raccoon was waiting for me.
– Good morning! Did you sleep well?
I wondered if they were inspecting how the new residents were doing. They might feel a sense of responsibility since they had taken on the role of the village head.
That thought was quickly shattered by what it said next.
– Welcome once again to our island, but there is something important I need to tell you.
I stayed silent, intrigued, as the raccoon began pulling something out from behind.
What appeared from its possession was a bundle of documents.
– This is the relocation package bill!
“A bill?”
With a name that hinted it was money-related, my focus sharpened on its words.
– The total costs including airfare, labor, and equipment… come to 49,800 bells!
“What?”
They hadn’t mentioned any money before I boarded the plane, and now suddenly?
Three options appeared: Got it, can’t pay, no money. My answer was “can’t pay.” No way, I’m not paying.
– Haha, Mollru! You came empty-handed without cash because it’s a deserted island, right?
Of course! Have you ever read “Surviving on a Deserted Island?” If it were a normal deserted island, any money you brought would be used for firewood.
Despite that, this raccoon kept grinning and continued talking.
– Don’t worry! I have prepared something for you.
What now?
– Since you used the special relocation package, you can use the mileage system instead of cash!
“Mileage?”
I learned that points accumulate as you engage in various activities on the island, which could be used in lieu of cash.
– Paying with mileage means you can settle for much cheaper than cash!
They package it nicely, but the core idea was simple.
“So you’re saying if I don’t have money, I have to work for it.”
[That’s correct.]
[This is how the game works, lol.]
[I thought it was a healing game, but…]
[It’s all realistic! We all get scammed like this.]
[Paying off debts while playing a healing game…]
Starting with the contract being shoved in my face, I realized as they talked about my lack of funds that this little devil wasn’t it’s first rodeo.
Did I get scammed?
Was the campfire yesterday welcoming the new residents really just a front for this?
Such elaborate scheming!
– Well then, I’ll be going back now! If you come to the center of the island, you can meet me!
[Raccoon soup sounds tempting, lol.]
[Life is all about reality!]
[Stay strong, Mollru!]
[Guess I’ll have to work like a dog again.]
On my first day on Animal Crossing, I got scammed.