Chapter 270: Catastrophe (1) (1)

A red square with a white play button.

The icon of the world’s largest video channel, MyuTube(tm).

I tapped the icon floating in the hologram and went to my subscription feed. As expected, a new video has been updated.

[MyuTube(tm)]

[Channel of the Pick Me Up Master, ‘Anytng’]

[Subscribers: 318,119]

The subscriber count had surpassed 300,000.

It was large enough to call her a popular MyuTuber. Compared to a few months ago when it wavered around 10,000, it was unbelievable growth.

I scrolled down.

The title was Townia, 75th Floor.

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The comments were more filled with criticism of Pick Me Up in general and rumors about Anytng than with genuine reactions to the video.

Comments ranged from complaints about ranking in a dying game, conspiracy theories that Anytng and Loki were working together to dominate the second server, to calls for quitting the game altogether. The frustrations were understandable; there were too many suspicious details.

Anytng had reached the 75th floor of Pick Me Up, which was said to be nearly impossible, in less than a year. Being within the top 100 out of millions of Masters was an extraordinary feat. The community even coined a term for an obscure group called “Amjinyo,” demanding the truth about Anytng. They were convinced Anytng was using an operator’s account with cheats.

And I was also under suspicion. Any Master who picked a fight with Anytng ended up decimated.

The theories circulating on the boards claimed:

Anytng is Loki’s alt account.

They are married.

They’re both using operator accounts.

No matter what, one thing was clear…

The game was on a decline.

Before I got sucked into this world, Pick Me Up was the most popular mobile game worldwide. But within a year, that glory faded. It had dropped out of the top 10 revenue games long ago and was bombarded with criticism as a “luck-based money pit” where whales ruled. The steep learning curve, veteran players’ gatekeeping, and aggressive PVP had deterred new players significantly.

Above all, server issues and bugs plagued the game. Servers would crash every few days, which became a routine occurrence. Previously, these outages were spaced out, but now, they happened at least once or twice a week. Complete server breakdowns weren’t unheard of either. Players reported missing heroes and forced stage terminations due to bugs.

More than just a decline.

If things continued this way, Pick Me Up would soon fall into obscurity or even face a complete shutdown.

All games have a lifespan.

As the moon waxes and wanes, every popular game eventually sees its prime pass and decline set in. Three years was already a long run for a mobile game. Revenue had been milked dry, and even a public service termination wouldn’t come as a shock.

“But still… This is problematic.”

“What’s problematic?”

I looked up.

Jenna, dressed in her dark blue leather coat, was tilting her head at me.

“Oppa, we’re ready to go.”

“Already finished?”

I glanced around.

The view unfolded below the railing.

A vast space. Simply calling it large didn’t do it justice.

[* Caution!]

[This mission requires over a hundred parties! If you’re short on members, use the paid or free summons to recruit more heroes!]

I’m currently Translating the following novels: Pick Me Up! | A Frontline Soldier Awakened as a Gamer In The War! | The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player. If you want to support me and read more chapters please subscribe to my Patreon!