Season 5: Chapter 97. Frog Sous Vide (1)

At that moment in Streamer Garden...

[1. The Almond haters are screwed lmaooo]

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(photo)

Came out of the truth room with his nickname changed to Dumb Young Man

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Public opinion, as always, had flipped 180 degrees once again.

— "Streaming god"

— LOL

— What even is this

— What a reversal lmaooo

— Are you sure they didn't literally throw hands in there? How did she break that guy's stubbornness?? LOL

— Godlike instincts

While people marveled at how Almond’s stubbornness had been broken, the prevailing opinion was that the nickname change showed a sharp broadcast instinct. On top of that, Almond's expression had barely changed, which also helped his image.

— The fact that Almond looked so unbothered is honestly so funny lmaooo what even happened in there?

— Below a world championship level he doesn't even show nerves

— The little triangle smile is so funny lmaooo

— Somehow cheerful lmao godlike instincts

To be fair, Almond had never been particularly expressive, especially when it came to negative emotions. The maximum was a neutral face he had trained since his archery days. No matter what feedback came, the bow had to be drawn without trembling.

— His negative expression barely changes to begin with

└ Fr...

└ Then why was he always grinning during the Lord era?

The puzzled viewers were mostly those who had come from Cheese Village. They argued that he had a much wider range of expressions back then. The Survival Craft avatars were exaggerated by design.

└ Because he was king and having the time of his life?

Lord Almond's life satisfaction had simply been off the charts.

└ lmaooooooooooooo

└ lmaooooooo

└ When you can just roast anyone you dislike into Fertile Soil and the masses still worship you, how could you not smile?? lmaooo

└ Kind of like how there are lots of photos of Kim Jong-Un smiling lmao

With this, all the misunderstandings and rumors about Almond and Best Yi Sun-Shin's relationship evaporated.

— ??? Something something parachute~

└ lmaooooooo where did all the antis go?

└ fr obliterated

└ Are they cockroaches? Light appears and they just scatter! Lmaooo

Those who had been trying to defame Almond became invisible as if they'd never existed.

— The trending post even got deleted and they ran away lmaooo ugh...

└ It's real lmaooo

The person who had pushed the parachute theory had deleted their own post and fled.

— But what on earth did she DO to break that guy's stubbornness LOL

Now, their collective curiosity had nowhere to go. What exactly did Choi Sa-Rang do? That was the most remarkable part.

└ fr Best Yi Sun-Shin

└ No but seriously what did she do?

└ Almond didn't get hit with the face ID thing, did he? That shouldn't work through sheer force

— What did Choi Sa-Rang do? Did she crack a whip?? lmaooooo

— Choi Sa-Rang discipline is insane

— The way everyone naturally assumes violence was involved is so funny lmaooo

└ Just shows how insane his stubbornness is

The discipline theory, the whip theory, and even a honeytrap theory existed. Various hypotheses flew out, but none of them were quite imaginable. Only the positive knock-on effect was clear. Namely, it was Sweet Radish's happiness.

— FYI: This alone means Sweet Radish will genuinely follow Choi Sa-Rang...

└ lmaooooooo

└ Fr lmaooo

└ She solved the thing he absolutely could not solve himself lmaooo

— Sweet Radish happiness reel lmaooo

***

"How many times do I have to say it? Just figure it out."

"Oh, sorry...!" Sweet Radish apologized without even knowing why he was apologizing.

'When did she say that?'

Choi Sa-Rang complained about repeating herself, but he couldn't even remember when she'd said it.

— Just type lmao fr~

— Scary...

— The energy

— But Sweet Radish is a former pro lmaooo he has dignity

— Radish...

Sweet Radish was puzzled at himself too.

'Hey, Radish. Get it together. Who is this woman that you're this rattled? I was a pro. I finished second a lot, but second place is still good, isn't it?’

Thinking that, he looked back at her.

Zap.

"You're not going in?"

Their eyes met.

"Yes! Going in right now!"

Sweet Radish bowed ninety degrees and headed to the lobby.

— His speech pattern just slipped out lmaooo

— Going right away sir~ LOL

— lmaooooo

— What can you do... this guy's always been like this lmaooo

Servant... no, Sweet Radish headed to the lobby without once getting the upper hand over the coach. Waiting for him there was a gift from said coach.

[DumbYoungMan]

Dun dun.

'What?'

There, he saw Almond's new nickname. LazySoldier was gone, and the Dumb Young Man had arrived. The other Knight Order members also whispered in surprise.

Black Tea strongly advocated the discipline theory. “He got a beating. He definitely got a beating.”

Meanwhile, Sweet Potato couldn't let go of his Cheese Village memories and even claimed it was a test. “No. This is actually a test on us~! Didn't you see the Lord era?”

— A test lmaooo

— Sweet Potato... get out of Cheese Village!

— LOL

— That period really was scary lmaooo

— That can't be it lmaooo

'No. No. Forget it. Just don't say anything.'

Sweet Radish didn't want to touch this phenomenon. It was like a pristine courtyard after fresh snow. If anything was mishandled, this fantastical timeline where the Smart Young Man had become the Dumb Young Man could disappear. He wanted to just let it be and move on.

Fortunately, the other members didn’t continue either. Not because they were following Sweet Radish's lead, but because it simply felt too difficult to voice.

'Because nobody knows what happened in there.'

Nobody knew what had happened in the truth room.

— Nobody is saying anything LOL

— lmaooo what is this

— Someone ask!

— The shock must have been something

The natural flow demanded that someone ask, but Almond didn’t say anything either. The Knight Order played along.

"Hmm? The queue isn't running?" Almond asked as the queue suddenly went up.

"Oh, oh, right! Now..." Sweet Radish quickly hit the button.

'Don't disturb this harmony.'

"Huh? What? The queue is already going?! I said I was going to the bathroom!"

Lemon, who had been in the bathroom, came back.

'Oh...'

Sweet Radish had forgotten. Lemon had gone to the bathroom while waiting for Almond and Sa-Rang. Her avatar had just been standing there without saying anything.

'Damn. Here it comes.'

He had a feeling that Lemon would say something.

"Heeeeee!?" She jumped in shock. "D-Dumb Young Man!?"

— LOL

— lmaooooo

— ROFL

— Said it!!

— RELIEF!!

— Lemon lmaooo

— She’s so cute

— Heeee? Baka!?

"..." Almond responded with silence.

A brief silence fell.

— ??

— Say something LOL

— He decided not to explain?

— What right of silence is this?!

— Is he pouting?

— He's definitely pouting lmaooo

Fortunately, he wasn't pouting.

Almond opened his mouth. "I've been advertising that character for too long. No payment is coming in either."

He explained why he'd dropped the LazySoldier username. It was just an excuse he'd come up with in that brief pause, which actually sounded reasonable.

— lmaooooooo

— That's kind of convincing...

— Fair enough lmao

— Some people genuinely thought the Lazy Soldier game had shut down

— lmaooooo

— Too much free advertising fr

Why he changed it to the Dumb Young Man remained completely unexplained.

Sweet Radish immediately ran with it. "Oh! Unpaid advertising is unacceptable! Boss! Ah, that’s totally understandable! Makes complete sense!"

— LOOL

— lmaooo too obvious man

— Sweet Radish just wants Dumb Young Man...

— lmaooooo

— Just how much did he hate the Smart Young Man...

“Ahahahaha!” Sweet Radish's laughter rang out bright and clear through the lobby.

***

Some time passed.

"JUMP!"

The game started, and everyone successfully landed in the Abyss Shadow.

Thud.

Sweet Radish started to make the call after landing. "Alright... for the route..."

Then, he glanced sideways at Almond, who might suggest an early route himself.

'Ugh. This reflex of reading the room.'

Sweet Radish wanted to just barrel through, but his personality made that hard.

"Anyone with a route in mind...?"

Nobody said anything, including Almond.

'Phew. He hasn't thought of one, I guess.'

At this point, he figured he'd just go ahead and proceed.

"Hm? Hyung. No thoughts?" Sweet Potato, seemingly trying to lift the Dumb Young Man's spirits or something, suddenly asked once more.

'Damn him.'

Sweet Radish glared hard at Sweet Potato, but the two weren't quite making eye contact.

Almond smiled and clapped. "Oh, right..."

'Damn, he has something after all.'

Sweet Radish was internally cursing his own personality.

"Nothing."

"...?"

— "Oh right, nothing" what LOL

— Seemed like a lot passed through his head hahaha

— He's got an inhibitor on his brain lmaooo

"Wh-what?" Sweet Radish found himself asking without thinking.

'You idiot! Why would you ask?!'

'Well, he acted like he had something to say and then said nothing, so I just asked without thinking!'

'Are you proud of yourself...!?'

He cursed himself and carried on a full internal argument. Then, Almond's real answer came.

"Well..." Almond pointed up at his own ID. "I'm the Dumb Young Man."

— lmaooooooooooooo

— LOL

— hahaha

— So that's how this works...

Almond had directly referenced the ID that nobody would mention.

"The calls should go to the Smart Young Man."

Almond pointed at Sweet Radish, who had become the Smart Young Man.

— Choi Sa-Rang, how exactly did you do this...?

— The Smart Young Man has been passed on lmaooo

— What the?!

— The Nuts universe is undergoing a massive shift

— Choi Sa-Rang killed the Smart Young Man...

— lmaooo what even happened?!

— You can just hand off a whole character concept??

— No fr how did she rewire a person?? lmaooo

Every other Knight Order member wore a dumbfounded expression, except one.

Lemon was cackling. "This is so funny! Dumb Young Man~!"

She seemed to genuinely love the Dumb Young Man nickname.

— lmaooooooo

— It's funny~

— HAHAHA

— loooool

— The nickname change alone is godlike instinct

“Pfft!”

The rest of the Knight Order all broke too. After all, the Dumb Young Man username floating above Almond’s head was funny. It suited him perfectly.

'Either way, the Smart Young Man is dead, right?'

Sweet Radish checked the time and hurried.

"Alright! We don't have time!"

He projected the map onto the floor and started laying out the route.

"Let me set a route! The shadow pattern makes the Vault angle look sharp again. Coach said she wouldn't give us direct feedback, but going for the Vault first would almost certainly be off the table in competition. Let's intentionally take a slightly more stable and by-the-book meta approach this time..."

— Radish seems pumped lmaooo

— Remember that Almond can see your face ^^

— lmao Sweet Radish's mouth keeps curling into a smile

— Bro. This guy is smiling.

— If Almond comes back after this as "Smart Young Man" that would be insane lmaooo

Viewers tried to scare and tease Sweet Radish. Once he focused on the game, he didn’t really pay attention to the chat.

Sweet Radish drew out the route as all the Knight Order members leaned in and listened.

"Like it's a real tournament. Coach said she's watching exactly three games. Concentrate completely. Okay?"

"Okay!"

Everyone high-fived and ran toward the weapon crates.

'We're winning this.'

For Sweet Radish, the Dumb Young Man’s arrival was a golden opportunity to build a solid team.