The Divine Genius’s Game Broadcasting Chapter 397

Episode 397 – Where's the new figure? (3)

Team Perfect arrived at the restaurant reserved by the Shop Fandom representative. A large crab was perched on the signboard, its legs twitching.

But what caught everyone's attention more than anything was the small certification plaque posted next to the entrance.

“Is this a Michelin 1-star restaurant?”

“No, I never even thought about Michelin.”

“I never thought I’d enjoy such luxury again…”

When the team members were surprised by this, the leader laughed heartily in satisfaction.

"Oh my, you shouldn't be this surprised. Tottori Prefecture is a small city, so this was the best option. The place we had reserved for dinner was the real deal."

“Better than here?”

“Oh, I wonder if this is too much.”

"Hey, it's disappointing to think that way. Our company wouldn't be in such a mess."

Everyone smiled at the CEO's teasing and entered. As we sat down in the large room, the prepared dishes began to arrive.

"I ordered a set so you can try a variety of dishes. If you want more, there's a tablet in the back."

A tablet with a menu was placed behind each seat. The manager joked cheerfully.

"It's translated into Korean and doesn't even tell you who ordered it. Feel free to order."

“Huh? Then the story changes.”

“What do you mean the story is different?”

“Ugh, I’m afraid I’ll be called an editor, so I’m being greedy.”

While everyone was laughing, Lee Kyung-bok grabbed the action cam. Just as he was about to comment, he turned to the CEO with a look of "Oh no."

"Oh, can I film a vlog here? If you're uncomfortable eating, we can change seats and proceed quietly."

"Oh, no. It's not uncomfortable at all. In fact, filming a vlog is more helpful."

The representative immediately waved his hand at him.

"This is a chance to show how we treat influencers. PerTube has a large Japanese audience, so it'll be especially helpful for our promotion."

“Well then, thank you for your understanding.”

As the conversation was ending, Choi Byeong-hun raised his hand to get attention.

“Okay! Just once! I’ll just take one insert and go!”

He quickly circled the table with his camera, capturing the food on screen. Only after he'd made one full circle.

"thank you for this food!"

“Enjoy your meal!”

The real meal began.

Lee Kyung-bok left a comment while filming the dish with an action camera.

“Wow… Can you see this? This yield is incredible.”

“Wow, this soup is crazy.”

"Crabs have real guts. Just mix them with rice like this…"

There were dishes that were boiled to make them easy to eat, including a stew with whole crab legs and a dish where the intestines were boiled separately.

Starting with him, exclamations of admiration erupted here and there. The representative raised his hand with a satisfied smile.

[Tottori Prefecture is famous for its specialty product, the Matsuba crab. Could you give me a brief explanation?]

I was curious about what Lee Kyung-bok was doing, and he showed me a hologram text he had written.

“Oh, I guess this is a breed called Matsuba crab. I learned something new.”

The meal continued in a lively manner. We were almost full.

“Mr. Pugmalion, is this…”

Choi Byeong-hun gathered the crab meat on a new plate and whispered softly. She smiled, nodded, and took the plate.

Park Joo-ho, who was next to him, frowned.

“What, you didn’t ask me for something weird again, did you?”

“No, again? When did I say that?”

While the two friends were chatting away, she returned the plate.

At this, the people around him opened their eyes wide.

“No, what is this?”

“Oh, you just made a horse out of crab meat?”

“Whoa! As expected from Pugmalion! This is the real Gemalcon!”

“Was that done to extract the video angle?”

It was made by rolling crab meat into a small horse shape. Choi Byeong-hun paid no attention to it and placed rice next to it, then lightly poured in some crab sauce to create a bowl of rice.

“Boom! Gemalcone rice bowl complete!”

“…What did you do? I will apologize on your behalf.”

“No, no, I had fun too.”

Amidst the commotion, Jo Dae-han leaned back in his chair. He had already finished eating. Given his small stature, his portion size was small.

'If you want to interpret, you shouldn't overeat.'

Finding a bathroom at such a crucial moment was out of the question. He mustered self-control and quickly diverted his attention elsewhere.

'Fortunately, there's no mention of the boss.'

He was checking Japanese Twitter. He took every precaution to protect Lee Kyung-bok's privacy, but he was checking Twitter trends from time to time just in case.

If someone recognized Lee Kyung-bok, it would definitely become a trend right away.

'…huh?'

Soon his eyes opened wide.

A story about Lee Kyung-bok was posted on Twitter.

But his identity was not revealed.

[Japanese Trends]

[#疑問のゲーマー_PPL (1,012 tweets)]

[#ARCADE_NO.1_PPL (971 tweets)]

[#WHO_IS_PPL? (641 tweets)

There was a lot of talk about him among arcade gamers.

* * *

A gamer named PPL suddenly appeared in Denden Town, broke all sorts of records, and then disappeared.

Arcade gamers were surprised by its appearance, and related sightings were piling up.

I saw it! There was definitely a cameraman there! It must have been a broadcaster!

[Also, I saw him on the third floor. He was clearly wearing what looked like a microphone. Seriously, I can't believe he was so perfect while talking.

[Ah, I was so surprised back then that I searched through all the tryouts! I don't see Mr. PPL in the 'Arcade' category, let alone 'Travel & Outdoors'! Who the hell is this guy!?]

"It wasn't a live broadcast, it was a recording? Maybe a TV program? No, no, there weren't enough people for a broadcasting station! Are you some kind of black company?"

Mr. PPL, even with sunglasses, you were still handsome! Isn't that kind of aura unheard of in the arcade gamer world? No, actually, pretty boys, stay away from arcades!

Although most of the accounts were direct eyewitness accounts of him, there were also quite a few eyewitness accounts of people around him.

[Hey, there was a foreigner around PPL, right? He was a bit short, so it was hard to see him.]

Mr. PPL, you're saying something's strange? You're saying you're moving in with a Westerner who speaks Japanese fluently? That's a really unusual combination!

[Huh? Is Mr. PPL a foreigner? But why is he a Westerner and not Japanese? The more I think about it, the more confused I get.

What I remember most of all was the white man, Cho Dae-han, who spoke fluent Japanese.

But there were also eyewitness accounts of other team members.

Mr. PPL, you were talking to some beauties. They might have been from the entertainment industry. Maybe you were the host of a program.

Oh! Now that I think about it, there was a certain intellectual guy next to that beauty. Was he a PD, perhaps? He seemed out of place in the arcade, so I felt a bit out of place.

[Hey! Mr. Cameraman! He kind of looks like a bear! He looks like something you'd want to pull out from a crane game? Mifuyu likes bear-like men like that!]

Despite numerous eyewitness accounts, no one knew the exact identity. In fact, the truth became even more elusive as speculation and attention-seeking concocted stories arose.

So the arcade gamers returned to a different topic.

[More than that. Is it possible to clear Mr. PPL's record?]

[Eh? It's impossible! It's impossible! It's absolutely impossible! Mr. PPL's record has become an eternal challenge for arcade gamers.

[No, no, I told you, if someone who didn't know saw it, they'd definitely think it was a mistake. If they hadn't seen it themselves, they'd definitely think it wasn't Mr. PPL, but a PPL virus!]

[This, this, I see there won't be any expeditions to Denden Town for a while, right? Mr. PPL has created a holy place.

The topic was the record he had just broken, and because of this, those who had been in first place inevitably fell to second place.

[@Metalpuch_Triple]

[Eh? Eh-!? My best record was pushed back? Really? This is the record I barely managed to set after Mr. Shoulder retired from the arcade! Mr. PPL is going too far, right?

Among those who complained about the damage(?) were some celebrities.

[Oh my, clearing it in 3 minutes? If this keeps up, I'll be second in command for the rest of my life. My motivation to challenge has been sapped.

The owner of the record 'TRP', which had previously been number one in Metal Punch Arcade, was none other than Triple, the Metal Punch Japan champion.

* * *

“You can think of this as the number two position in the industry.”

The afternoon schedule began after lunch. The representative began briefing the third company.

“The name is ‘Gokukiya’, and in Chinese characters it is written as Gekihitang (極喜堂).”

Everyone was puzzled by this. Why introduce the second-ranked company in the industry, let alone the first?

As if he had anticipated the question, the representative answered confidently.

"Of course, there's a reason this place was on my list of places to visit. Not specializing in any one area isn't necessarily a disadvantage."

“Well, we did take a quick look at it, and there weren’t any bad reviews.”

At Park Joo-ho's words, the representative lightly snapped his fingers.

"That's exactly it. Kokukiya may not be the leader in general figures, action figures, or even plastic models. But we can make products that meet all of those criteria."

“I feel like he’s an all-round player.”

“Ah, that expression is very apt. As expected of Purple!”

He laughed at Lee Gyeong-bok's words and raised his index finger.

"But there's another advantage to Kokukiya. Because we handle so many different categories, we sell a significant number of items. That's why, unlike other companies, Kokukiya operates directly managed stores."

“A direct store? A goods shop?”

“Oh, that’s right.”

Cho Daehan carefully struck the janggu.

"As you saw in Denden Town, goods shops operate like a sort of select shop, collecting goods made by various companies and selling them all together. However, Kokukiya collects its own goods and sells them exclusively at its directly managed stores."

"That's right. It's easier for me to explain things to you if you come and see for yourself. Anyway, since it's a directly managed store, customer service is smooth, and customers don't have to go to multiple merchandise shops to find the right products."

Park Joo-ho rolled his eyes at him and nodded.

“So, to sum it up, you’re saying that this company excels in operations and convenience rather than specializing in goods itself.”

“It would be nice if the figure quality could be guaranteed to some extent, at least for the fans.”

Lee Gyeong-bok smiled at Pugmalion's words.

“You’ll know when you check it out yourself.”

Before I knew it, the car had stopped.

The factory manager personally came out to greet them. After introducing themselves and presenting gifts, Lee Gyeong-bok noticed a difference compared to other places.

“Oh, there’s a direct store here too?”

At the factory entrance, a small Kokukiya goods shop was set up. The factory manager guided them inside and explained the situation.

"Oh, that's right. Some customers even come directly to the factory to pick up their goods. After all, there's less risk of damage if you pick them up in person."

“That feels like a direct product from the farm.”

While everyone laughed at Choi Byeong-hun's words, the factory manager lightly clapped his hands.

“Oh, if you don’t mind, I’d like to give you one of your favorite items as a gift in return for the traditional liquor.”

“Oh, that’s not true… huh?”

Lee Kyung-bok was about to humbly decline, but his eyes widened. Among the goods on display, one caught his attention.

"Oh, that's an original product featuring snow crab, a specialty of our Tottori Prefecture. Well, it's not that popular, though."

“Then, can I have one of these?”

“This? No, no, other goods are fine too…”

The factory manager, as well as the other team members, were puzzled. Why would they want such an unpopular figure?

Lee Kyung-bok explained while filming a crab figure with an action camera.

"I bought a present for Ikle, but I haven't gotten Genome's yet. I think this would be a perfect gift for Genome. Since your viewer fan name is 'Genome,' I think he'll put it to good use."

“Aha, this character as a genome?”

“Because there are many overlapping people among our viewers.”

“Well, with your wit, Genom, it’s definitely possible.”

So, Lee Gyeong-bok secured the gift of the genome and began his investigation.

“I definitely have a strong feeling that it’s going well.”

“It seems optimized for standard processes.”

“The results don’t seem to be lacking at all.”

There was no special process involved. Rather, it seemed to focus on stable production across various categories.

While everyone was commenting, the factory manager spoke cautiously.

“Excuse me, if it’s okay with you, can we make a prototype of the Permusae figure?”

Everyone's eyes widened at that question. How did you know about the Permusae figure?

The factory manager explained to him with an awkward smile.

"It's not like we're keeping a close relationship with other companies. Rumors about the Permusae figure are already circulating in various industrial complexes."

It seems that while I was eating lunch and coming back, the story about the persimmon spread throughout the industrial complex.

“I hope you will give us a chance.”

The factory manager bowed politely and made a request. Lee Gyeong-bok exchanged glances with the CEO.

“It looks like the perm is definitely working.”

“Ugh, what did I say?”

Two people whispering and laughing.

Previously, I was the one requesting production, but this time it was different. In fact, the situation has reversed, with the company taking the lead.

Of course, there was no reason to refuse.

“Oh… That’s a pretty good choice?”

“This is my third time seeing this, but I can’t really tell the difference.”

“So. Can you tell the difference…?”

The team members tilted their heads here and there, but Pugmalion just nodded silently.

Lee Kyung-bok laughed at him and got back into the car.

“Okay, then let’s start again. This is the last one.”

Before I knew it, the end of my business trip was approaching.