G-Star was indeed a festival for everyone involved in the gaming industry. While some aspects thrived, others faltered. For example, the volume of online mentions.
<em>[How many "Spicy Challenge Points"?]</em>
<em>[Wow lol, Changbae really sucks at this lol]</em>
<em>[CutiePie''s rhythm game is simply the best…]</em>
Nearly every streamer turned out to broadcast live at G-Star, and mentions of various streamers flooded in, preventing any single spotlight. Consequently, most streamer-rted posts didn''t be trending topics. With a fixed amount of user attention avable, too many were vying for the same spots.
Amid all thispetition, one person started receiving rampant rmendations.
<em>[Breaking News! Almond gets scammed]</em>
<em>— ??</em>
<em>— lol what is this? lol</em><em>— lol lol</em>
<em>— They inted it tenfold lol fools lol</em>
<em>— That expression lol</em>
<em>— Does he still not get it? lol</em>
It was Almond, fooled by the false promise of ten million won. His reaction was so amusing that it sparked further posts.
<em>[Live stream: Money-crazed Lotive Yu Sang-Hyeon lol]</em>
They clipped his "Ten million won!?" reaction, seamlessly linking it to a <em>RunGuys</em> scene. It seemed like he was frantically running for the ten million won.
<em>— lol lol lol</em>
<em>— So funny lol</em>
<em>— Too cute lol lol </em>
<em>— Running seems pitiful now that he’s been deceived </em>
<em>└ 222 lol </em>
<em>— Viewers are incredible too; they all colluded to deceive him lol</em>
<em>└ It’s like a joint military exercise lol</em>
Then, thisposite image emerged.
<em>[Money-Crazed Lotive Moneymans]</em>
Everyone had probably seen Thomas the Tank Engine with his uncanny valley face at some point. Now, imagine Almond as a bean photoshopped onto that train.
<em>— lol lol lol lol</em>
<em>— Thomas... it was your face all along that was bizarre?</em>
<em>— Why so handsome even there?</em>
<em>└ Moneymans no, Handsomemans yes</em>
<em>└ lol really Handsomemans lol</em>
<em>— “Pleasantly Uncanny Valley”</em>
An animated gif of Almond as Thomas running on tracks circted themunities.
<em>[Wow, is Moneymans leading now? lol]</em>
<em>[He’s running live now?? lol]</em>
<em>[Almond ying RunGuys lol]</em>
These posts spilled over, leading to a flood of upvotes on the original post.
<em>20. Breaking News! Almond gets scammed</em>
It eventually made it to the trending topics list.
<em>— Conned into thinking he’s participating in a killer race...</em>
<em>— Bro… so you joined Squid Game after all.</em>
<em>— lol thought he really got swindled</em>
<em>— So, does Almond really finish first?</em>
This interest naturally turned toward the oue of <em>RunGuys</em>. It even spurred curiosity about whether Almond could finish first in challenge points.
***
“Only the top three have a chance now! The rest are too far behind!”
Realistically, the only contenders to win were the top three yers. First ce with the mallet, second with the rocketuncher, and third ce Almond pursuing them with his bow.
“It’s interesting that the top three all have different weapons! What will happen?”
“Of course, the third ce weapon seems a bit underpoweredpared to the first and second! But this is Almond we’re talking about!?”
Among them, only Almond had a level one weapon and chose to not switch. He had his reasons for sticking with the bow.
“Yes! Almond had the chance to pick a level two weapon, but he skipped it! The bow probably suits him better!”
He didn’t have any grand strategy since it was his first time ying the game.
“He’s just mostfortable with the bow.”
“But the first ce yer, Stir-Fried Pork, is famous as a tanker.”
<em>— Tanker, really? lol that nickname </em>
<em>— lol</em>
<em>— Stir-Fried Pork has a cool nickname and position</em>
<em>— A real man''s dish</em>
“Yes, that''s right! Tankers handle weapons like the Wobbly Hammer well because of their crowd-control capabilities!”
During the<em> RunGuys</em> challenge, many professional streamers participated and most of the top performers were well-known for their skills. The first ce yer was no exception. He showed a considerable understanding of the Wobbly Hammer, a weapon he was handling for the first time.
“He''s using it really well!”
<em>Boom!</em>
When he struck the ground with the hammer, it caused the ground to undte and disrupted the other runners for a while.
“Perfect timing!”
He cleverly used this effect on uphill stretches or tight corners, making it nearly impossible to avoid.
“Using the hammer''s abilities, he continues to widen the gap with second ce!”
“First ce Stir-Fried Pork is way ahead! Unless a major reversal happens at the next checkpoint, he''s practically secured first ce!”
“Second ce must be so disappointed! A hit with the rocketuncher could turn things around!”
Second ce with the Dance Dance Rocket Launcher was itching to fire it within range. However, things weren''t going as nned. Now, he was more worried about not being overtaken by third ce.
<em>“All uses of the hammer skill are now exhausted!? But still! He’s entering the new checkpoint first!”</em>
“Yes! What does it matter if it''s all used up!? That''s what it''s there for! Currently, Stir-Fried Pork is in the lead! He looks most likely to win!”
First ce was already entering thest checkpoint.
<em>[Third Checkpoint: MacModernTimes]</em>
The third checkpoint''s title was quite cryptic.
“MacModernTimes?”
“What''s this? MacMorning and ModernTimes?”
“You''ll see once we get there!”
This was a new checkpoint with no information about it avable. In such cases, the first entrant was usually at a disadvantage. If they failed, they would have to return to the start of the checkpoint. This would also give the followingpetitors hints about the checkpoint.
<em>''I need to seed on the first try.''</em>
Stir-Fried Pork was tense, knowing he needed to make it in one go. Then─
“Oh my!?”
“The ground is moving!”
<em>Ziiiiiiing!!!</em>
It was like running on a treadmill as the ground suddenly started moving backward.
“Ah! A conveyor belt!”
“So that''s why it''s called ModernTimes!?”
<em>Tap tap tap tap!</em>
Stir-Fried Pork sprinted forward.
“He''s advancing well despite the challenge!”
The conveyor belt wasn''t as fast as he anticipated. Simply running could ovee it. Although he was moving slower, it wouldn’t prevent him from reaching the finish line.
<em>''There must be more to it.''</em>
That wasn''t the end.
<em>nk...!</em>
Far ahead, a giant cannon appeared.
“Something''sing out!”
<em>Boom!</em>
Something long and yellow shot out. It was a giant French fry, almost the size of a telephone pole, flying at the speed of a baseball.
"Yikes…?!"
<em>Thump!</em>
Hit squarely by the French fry, Stir-Fried Pork was dragged off the conveyor belt and dropped into an unknown space below.
“Ah! Stir-Fried Pork is instantly out! He''ll respawn soon...!”
“Even if he respawns, the second ce yer has almost caught up!”
Although it wasn''t aplete turnaround yet, the distance had significantly closed for second ce.
“Second try now!”
Stir-Fried Pork quickly sprinted back onto the conveyor belt. However─
“Tankers aren’t good at dodging!”
<em>Boom!</em>
Hit by another cannon shot, he couldn’t focus properly and avoided a catastrophic fall with all his might. Still, he was pushed far back.
“This could allow second ce to catch up, right!?”
“Second ce can fire the rocketuncher now!”
Too much time had passed and second ce was now close enough to aim the Dance Dance Rocket Launcher.
"<em>Ha! Hahaha!?</em> You''re done for!"
Predictably, the second ce yer was panting heavily andughed maniacally as he prepared to fire. He didn''t get on the conveyor belt.
<em>Click!</em>
At this moment, he loaded the rocketuncher with the one shot he saved for such an asion.
“Oh! He ns to shoot from outside the belt!”
Even without climbing onto the belt, Stir-Fried Pork was within range.
Stir-Fried Pork pleaded, "Please let me go just this once!"
"What do you mean, let you go? I thought I was about to throw up because of you!"
He was about to pull the trigger of the rocketuncher.
"Goodbye… What?!"
<em>Thump.</em>
The second ce yer suddenly fell powerlessly. The rocketuncher flew off in the wrong direction and exploded.
<em>Boom!</em>
Pink smoke rose from the stray rocketuncher. A ck silhouette emerged through the slowly rising smoke.
“!?”
It was Almond, hidden in a kidney bean suit. He had shot the second ce yer in the back of the head with an arrow.
Almond stepped on the unconscious yer''s head as he climbed up and muttered, "Ah. I should have shot a bitter. I wondered why it stopped."
After assessing the situation, he realized that the second ce yer had been trying to shoot the first ce yer. From a distance, it was hard to tell what was happening.
“<em>Hahaha! </em>I survived!”
With the realization that he was now truly first ce, Stir-Fried Pork joyously continued running on the conveyor belt.
Almond tried to shoot him with an arrow. A rocketuncher would have worked, but it was too far to reach for a bow. The rocketuncher had already rolled far below.
<em>‘I have no choice then.’</em>
Almond had topete by running. He threw his body toward thest gate.
***
“Almond is joining inside the gate!”
“And, as Stir-Fried Pork crosses half the gate, the cannon upgrades!?”
“Yes! He’s not making it easy!”
<em>Bang! Boom!</em>
Stir-Fried Pork sweated as fries continued flying at him.
“<em>Ha… Ha…</em> Just let me go!”
Maybe it wasn''t just shooting fries because it was thest gate.
<em>Rumble rumble!</em>
A hamburger as big as a house started rolling toward him.
<em>— Lololol</em>
<em>— Hamburger lol</em>
<em>— Lol</em>
<em>— McMorning~!</em>
<em>Bang!</em>
It was bursting and scattering its fillings here and there.
<em>Boom!</em>
<em>— Such a mess, this mess lol</em>
<em>— Oh lol</em>
<em>— Feels like it’s bursting (for real)</em>
<em>Plip plop…</em>
The fillings fell like rain. For Stir-Fried Pork, each strike was a disaster.
“Crazy!”
Stir-Fried Pork rolled this way and that, somehow surviving. He barely made his way through the ordeal. He was covered in ketchup, struggling but somehow managing...
<em>‘Almost there.’</em>
Yes, he could see the goal now. A crown was shining golden in the distance. If he could just grab that, it would be his victory.
<em>[Victory Crown]</em>
Then—
“!?”
<em>Whisk!</em>
Someone''s shadow whisked past him from behind.
<em>‘What?’</em>
He caught up already? That didn’t make sense.
“Almond! Almond! Such incredible speed!”
“He''s like a runaway train!!! Crazy!”
“He jumps as if there are no obstacles!”
“He avoided all obstacles perfectly… Unbelievable!!”
Almond overtook the first ce yer.
<em>— Wow, this is the top survivor of the Stay Alive Challenge!</em>
<em>— Insane, wow</em>
<em>— Avoiding like this is child''s y for a dog lol</em>
<em>— If you want to stop Almond, bring along a Burger King lol</em>
“He''s overtaken him! Almond!!!”
“Oh, Stir-Fried Pork! Are you going to have the crown snatched right in front of you!?”
Almond stood between Stir-Fried Pork and the crown. Stir-Fried Pork could not let the crown be stolen just like that.
Weapons existed here. This was a ce where running was tantamount to murder!
“Dieeeee!”
Stir-Fried Pork pulled out a hammer and swung.
<em>Whump!</em>
“!?”
An arrow, shot at an unknown time, struck his crown.
“Huh?”
Stir-Fried Pork was dumbfounded. He hadn''t seen when it had been shot.
“What in the world?”
To that, Almond replied, “Running is murder to me!”
He shouted as he picked up the crown.
<em>Ding!</em>
<em>[Mission Clear!]</em>
<em>[Win and shout “Running is murder to me!”]</em>
<em>[200,000 Won]</em>
<em>— Lolololololol</em>
<em>— Lol</em>
<em>— This timing lol</em>
<em>— The mission lol</em>
<em>— Mission master Almond wow</em>
<em>‘What the heck is wrong with that guy?’</em>
Stir-Fried Pork, having no idea that this was a mission, fell with a look of disbelief. Slowly, he let himself go on the conveyor belt and slid back.
“Ahhh! Almond!! Oohhh!”
“Wow! He finally takes first ce!!”
Almond won and aplished his mission. The celebration didn''t end there.
<em>Bam bam bam!</em>
<em>[BigSon has donated a whopping 1 million won!]</em>
<em>[Since the prize money might not be enough! Here''s a little extra!]</em>
<em>— Wow</em>
<em>— 1 million won omg lol</em>
<em>— Wow, ssy</em>
<em>— Ah... lol</em>
<em>— Prize money lol</em>
He received a sudden influx of huge donations.
"Ah. A million won! Such a generous donation! Thank you! I will use it well!"
After that, a few morerge donations came in.
<em>[RubySword has donated 200,000 won!]</em>
<em>[Please, add mine too...]</em>
<em>[SoRyongPo has donated 300,000 won!]</em>
<em>[Wow, victory]</em>
"Wow. Thank you! RubySword! SoRyongPo!"
Almond still didn''t know. Why were such donationsing in just for winning <em>RunGuys</em>?