Genius’s Godlike Game Broadcast-Chapter 49 : GGG Meeting (2)

GGG Meeting (2)
The car carrying Lee Gyeongbok and Park Juho smoothly sped down the road.
"We were just trying to attract some inflow, but we ended up catching a big one."
Lee Gyeongbok said this as he checked the email from GGG once more. Park Juho nodded in agreement.
"It's because the bait was on a different level. It was impossible to just ignore it."
"But doesn't it feel a bit rushed? Usually, it's rare for an advertisement contract to get confirmed within a day."
"In my estimation, it's one of two things."
"And those are?"
Adjusting his glasses lightly, Park Juho replied.
"You might have already been on GGG's recruitment list. They must have been monitoring community trends. There have been plenty of talks about collabs with Genome, so they'd know your name."
"Uh-huh, so what's the second?"
"Someone with some clout at GGG was keeping an eye on you."
"Huh? Me?"
"Yeah. Judging by how fast things are moving, I think the latter is more likely. Maybe it's even both."
While driving, Park Juho skillfully projected a hologram with one hand.
"The email is technically a confidential proposal for an event, not just a simple promotion. That's probably why they asked you to come to HQ yourself."
"So it's different from the Bark situation..."
If it was like with Bio Crisis, sending an employee would've been enough. However, gGG requested that Lee Gyeongbok visit their headquarters.
"Well, I'll know once I go."
"There's just no tension with you, huh?"
"And why would I be tense?"
"Hah, you've always been like that."
Park Juho let out a small laugh.
Whenever Lee Gyeongbok had to do something new, he almost never worried or got anxious. In fact, he was more likely to show interest or enthusiasm.
'In that regard, being a streamer might be his calling.'
A streamer is a job that's sensitive to trends and innovation – anyone who can't embrace change gets left behind.
* * *
After arriving at headquarters, the two were promptly guided to the meeting room.
"This way, please."
"Thank you."
They expressed thanks for the staff's kindness and stepped inside, where three people were already standing and waiting.
"Ah, you must be streamer Purple?"
"Yes, that's right. This is my manager."
"Thanks so much for coming on such short notice. Please, have a seat first."
After they sat down, the three introduced themselves.
"Nice to meet you. I'm the master sergeant of the planning team..."
"I'm the head of development..."
"You're even better looking than I expected! I'm the marketing master sergeant..."
They were the master sergeants of the planning, development, and marketing teams. Hearing this, Park Juho's eyes widened in surprise.
'Three master sergeants showed up?'
He'd figured they were somewhat high-ranking based on their appearance, but he hadn't expected master sergeant level.
A bit nervous, he glanced at his friend.
But Lee Gyeongbok simply smiled leisurely as usual.
"Normally, we'd come to you to propose a contract, but today we had to bring you in for unavoidable reasons. Thank you again for your understanding."
At the marketing master sergeant's words, Lee Gyeongbok waved his hand dismissively.
"No, it was nice to get out and see the city. I don't leave my neighborhood much because I'm always streaming."
"Ah, your broadcast is really amazing. Isn't it?"
"Yes, I was genuinely surprised after watching the Purple channel videos."
"Even from a developer's perspective, your in-game movements seemed almost impossible."
As they chatted about the Purple channel, the mood softened. After some small talk, they got down to business.
"So, the reason we invited you, Purple, is that we're organizing a promotional pre-experience broadcast and are recruiting influencers."
"A pre-experience?"
"Yes. As we mentioned in the email, this is confidential. We're currently developing a new event mod."
Gunner Ground had regularly featured 'event' mods that applied special rules.
Catching the others' glances, the planning master sergeant continued.
"This event mod is called 'Time Warfare.' Unlike the modern-warfare-focused gameplay, we wanted to mix things up."
The development master sergeant immediately projected a hologram presentation. A three-dimensional image appeared at the center of the table.
"Robots...?"
Park Juho wrinkled his glabella slightly. What appeared before them was a human-shaped machine.
"Yes, exactly. This NPC is called the 'Killernoid.' In this event mod, we're introducing Killernoids as a third enemy in addition to existing player battles."
Gunner Ground was originally player-versus-player, or 'PvP,' but this event mod was designed as 'PvPvE' by adding hostile environmental elements.
"The story is that these are killing machines sent from the future to eradicate humanity of an old era."
"Ah, like an 'Eliminator'."
When Lee Gyeongbok referenced a similar movie, the planning master sergeant smiled and nodded.
"Yes, that's where the motif comes from. But, no, they don't turn into liquid metal. Instead, they use futuristic weapons."
Gesturing with their fingers, the planning master sergeant switched to a different image, displaying sci-fi style armaments.
"Pulse rifles, railguns, laser swords..."
"These are items dropped by defeated Killernoids. Of course, since they're powerful, you can't get them easily. As mechanical enemies, killernoids don't die easily and are meant to be formidable enemies that multiple players must team up to defeat."
"Wow, that's a really fresh idea."
Seeing Lee Gyeongbok's eyes light up, the planning and development master sergeants grinned.
Though salaried employees, they were also creators. There isn't a creator in the world who doesn't delight in seeing their creation draw attention.
"Yes. So, before officially releasing the event mod, we're planning a preview stream, and we'd like to invite you, Purple, as our guest."
On the other hand, the marketing master sergeant didn't seem as emotionally invested. Riding the positive atmosphere, she immediately handed over a contract.
'They wanted us to come to HQ so event mod information wouldn't leak out. But is this really something for master sergeant level staff to handle?'
Just as Park Juho pondered this and started reading the contract—
"And also, Purple, there's another proposal we'd like to make just for you."
The marketing master sergeant pulled out another contract.
"For me?"
"Yes. Development master sergeant?"
"Ah, yes, right."
The development master sergeant cleared his throat and projected a new hologram: a graph at the periphery with a triangle in the center.
[Body Control]
[Targeting Ability]
[Reaction Time]
Each vertex of the triangle had a label.
"As we said, the Killernoid needs to be leagues beyond ordinary players. What you're seeing here is the average data of our Gunner Ground player base."
"In case you're worried, the collection of player data is mentioned in the terms of service. We use it for balance patches."
With the planning master sergeant's note, Lee Gyeongbok and Park Juho simply nodded. Who really reads and remembers the dozens of pages in a membership agreement anyway?
"And this is the average data of the top 5%, the master-rank players."
The development master sergeant projected another, much larger triangle next to the first. It was clearly different.
"There's about a threefold difference between the overall average and master-rank data."
"We plan to make Killernoids so tough that even master rankers can't defeat them solo. If masters can easily beat them, they'll just monopolize the event items."
Since it was an event mod, new MMR would be applied and players of various ranks would be mixed in each game. If master rankers took all the items, everyone else would complain.
"So, originally, we were going to base the Killernoid's behavior on the top 1% of skilled player data..."
"That's when Purple appeared!"
The planning and development master sergeants looked at Lee Gyeongbok with sincere eyes.
"Me?"
"Yes. You have no idea how shocked we were when we saw this."
Voice quickening, the development master sergeant projected a third triangle.
[ID – PerfectPlay]
[Percentile – 0.00001%]
A gigantic triangle filling the graph, labeled with Lee Gyeongbok's ID and its percentile.
"At first, we wondered if we finally had a core in virtual reality."
"Or if maybe it was a data collection software error."
"Yes, honestly. I almost came back to the office last night to check."
It might have been a joke, but the two master sergeants laughed. When they realized only they were laughing, they quickly coughed to change the mood.
"But after watching the video released yesterday, we saw it was no error."
"Yes. Well, I just played the game. But why are you showing me this data?"
Lee Gyeongbok asked with a smile.
At that, the previously silent marketing master sergeant seized her moment.
"We'd like to buy and use your data, Purple."
"Buy it?"
"Yes. We'd like to implant your behavioral patterns into the final boss of this event mod—and the Killernoid."
Lee Gyeongbok's eyes widened in surprise.
The very notion of buying and selling behavior patterns was unfamiliar to him. After the master sergeants explained further, he turned to his friend.
"We'll step outside and talk this over."
"Ah, yes, of course."
Taking Park Juho outside, Lee Gyeongbok asked:
"Well?"
"To put it simply, they want to buy your experience."
"My experience?"
Park Juho explained in a low voice.
"Remember MasterDissection? Genome said he bought dummies' weapon skills data."
"Oh, right."
Genome's words flashed through Lee Gyeongbok's mind.
'These are motion-capture sources from real masters of weaponry.'
With the advent of virtual reality, even personal experience was now seen as a commodity, as abstract experiences could be converted into tangible data.
This meant even Lee Gyeongbok's genius-level skill could be sold as a product.
"The offer is ten million won, with usage allowed until 30 days after the event mod ends."
Park Juho had already finished reviewing the contract while Lee Gyeongbok listened.
"... Ten million won?"
"Yeah. It's bigger than I expected. The pre-experience broadcast contract is five million, apparently calculated based on your Q-tube subscriber count. Not bad."
A total of fifteen million won for both contracts.
Tempted as he was, Park Juho didn't push. After all, the decision was entirely Lee Gyeongbok's.
'Something feels off, though.'
Lee Gyeongbok glanced at the three master sergeants once again.
From the planning and development master sergeants, he sensed positive energy. The marketing master sergeant, however, gave off an ambiguous vibe.
Not bad, but he felt some resistance to working with her.
He hesitated for a moment before returning to the room. Instantly, all eyes were on him.
"Thank you for your proposal."
Three smiles bloomed instantly. But their expressions soon shifted.
"To be honest, I've never had an offer like this before. I'd like some time to consider it. If you have a more suitable candidate, please go ahead and sign with them first."
"Huh? No..."
"Excuse me?"
The master sergeants' faces turned to panic, but Lee Gyeongbok just smiled and bowed.
"Thank you for the offer. I'll contact you again soon."
"Ah, yes."
"Take care on your way back."
"We look forward to hearing from you!"
As they left with a definitive farewell, the three master sergeants saw them off. After the two disappeared, the planning and development master sergeants looked at each other.
"Ha, this is..."
"... Let's go."
With that, the marketing master sergeant's face hardened as she followed them to the development chief's office.
The chief greeted the trio warmly as they knocked and entered.
"Oh, so? How did it go?"
"Well, um..."
There was no need to explain. He could tell from their faces.
"Hah, so what was the issue? Did he dislike the event mod?"
"No, not at all. He was very positive."
"So what, was it all too much pressure or something?"
"I don't think so either. He didn't seem shy or anything—even when complimented."
"Well, he seemed that way on the broadcast, too."
The development chief nodded, then wrinkled his nose as he addressed the marketing master sergeant.
"So it's a money problem. Everyone else out. Only Choi stays."
At his order, only the marketing master sergeant remained. Once the door closed, the chief propped his jaw and spoke.
"I know what you're thinking, Choi. The figures I gave you got cut by the business division. I get it. It's always nice to save budget. Do you honestly think I want to spend more company money for no reason?"
"... I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what? Saying sorry won't bring him back to sign, will it?"
The marketing master sergeant pressed her lips together, and the chief snorted while tapping his desk.
"This stuff kills me. For the resources we need to make the game, I wish the devs' opinions counted, but things just don't work that way. Everyone sees things differently. We see the streamer's experience, but the business side just looks at numbers."
His tone was gentle, but she swallowed nervously.
"If we can't get this data, our development schedule gets delayed. And who makes up for that? And who gets blamed? Hm?"
"I'm sorry..."
"Why keep apologizing? Answer the question. If we don't get his data, the Killernoid is just a tanky player. I told you he was irreplaceable. There aren't many data sets out there for fighting against so many players at once. That's why I said to pay special attention, didn't I?"
That was the reason he had chosen streamer Purple. Sure, there were other streamers and players who'd fought multiple enemies solo.
But the only one who had utterly triumphed against many foes was Purple.
"So what now? Just put out an average data-based bot? Or, no, better yet, let's buy something from Outlaw Universe. They're good at that stuff. How much would we owe in royalties then?"
The development chief asked sarcastically.
This event mod was also meant to attract users from the rival title, outlaw Universe.
It was a way to show that Gunner Ground could pull off SF vibes if it wanted, as well as to test out the next project's potential.
In the end, penny-pinching caused them to lose precious data. This was a classic case of losing big to save small.
"I'll go visit him again, personally..."
"Oh, never mind. Tsk. I'll tell the higher-ups to raise the signing bonus to thirty million won and just let him know."
Clucking his tongue, the development chief spoke.
There was no real solution in berating the marketing master sergeant; it was just venting.
"... Yes, understood."
* * *
Meanwhile, on the way back, Park Juho couldn't help but wonder.
'It was a pretty decent offer, so what didn't he like about it?'
He couldn't quite guess the reason his friend turned it down. Lee Gyeongbok didn't bother to explain either.
It was just then they received another email from GGG.
"Huh?"
Park Juho projected the hologram contract. Lee Gyeongbok grinned at the revised numbers.
"Wow, thirty million won? Now I have to accept!"
"Huh... what the...?"
Park Juho turned to his friend.
"What exactly did you do?"
"What do you mean? You saw the whole thing, didn't you?"
Lee Gyeongbok let out a quiet laugh.
"I just took a step back from the clouds, you know?"
"... And that step turned out pretty lucky, huh?"
Park Juho chuckled and shook his head.
"Looks like I'll need to consult a tax accountant soon."
"A tax accountant?"
"Yeah. Making money this easily might get me hit with a big tax bill."
"Should I ask Genome about it then?"
"Hmm, not a bad idea. There are differences between accountants. Might as well get a recommendation."
At that, Lee Gyeongbok nodded with a smile.
"Now I have even more reason to make this collab a success."