I May Be a Virtual Youtuber, but I Still Go to Work

The news of the explosion at the northern pier warehouse quickly spread to the citizens of Thunder Special City through the social media of the only news outlet, TCB.

—⚡Thunder——————————
TCB Reporter Fire_fox @Fire_fox - 1 minute ago
A massive explosion occurred at the northern pier last night.
Here’s an interview with Police Chief Movgun, who was at the scene, to share the tense situation at the time!
(Interview_Video.mkv)
——————————————
It was quite a shock for people that explosives capable of causing such a huge explosion were already circulating.
The police were particularly worried about the possibility of further crimes.
The mafia, of course, were after bomb supplies.

As a result, curiosity about who caused the explosion rapidly surged, and the views on the TCB channel skyrocketed.
At the same time, huge attention was drawn to Miho and Movgun.
The conversation between Movgun and Miho in the interview video went something like this:

“Have you identified the source of the bomb?”
“We are still tracing it. However, we’ve received reports that blasting explosives recently used by Dochi Construction have gone missing in large quantities. Our investigators have been dispatched to look into it, and we expect news soon.”
“Blasting explosives…! That’s quite an incredible concept. Do you believe some of these explosives could have ended up in the hands of criminals, Chief?”

“That is indeed a concern. We are deploying as many police officers as possible to investigate the matter.”
“I sincerely hope the culprit behind the explosion is caught quickly. I’m sure the citizens are feeling uneasy.”
“We will do our best. By the way, is this video being broadcast throughout Thunder Special City?”

“Yes, it is!”
“Then, I have something I need to share with the citizens. Please take a look.”
Movgun soon revealed a photo of Darami that he had taken earlier.

“This is Darami, who has recently arrived in Thunder Special City. A person with a history of frequent crimes, and now, she is the prime suspect in the explosion case.”
“Quite an incredible revelation...!”
“There will soon be a wanted poster for this individual. A substantial reward will be offered for information leading to her capture, so please keep an eye out.”

Since this interview took place immediately after the explosion,
Movgun gathered all available police forces for a strategy meeting as soon as the interview ended.
“How are we doing with increasing police forces?”
“We’re still holding interviews and accepting recruits, but... there are many who seem unfit for the job, so the number of rejected applicants continues to rise.”
“Are there few applicants?”
“No, that’s not the issue. It’s just that there are too many underwhelming applicants compared to the growing power of the mafia…”
“This is no time to be picky. If they’re better than the useless duo, recruit them. If they’re decent enough, take them on. We may soon face a massive evil force in direct confrontation. If our forces are insufficient when that time comes, we’ll just be toying with them.”

“Yes, sir!”
The person responsible for issuing wanted posters raised their hand.
“Should we issue a wanted notice for Darami right away?”

“Do it and notify all citizens.”
“Should we make it clear that she’s to be taken alive?”
“Not just alive—must be alive. Be sure to note that.”

“But… capturing her alive will be quite difficult.”
“Then we’ll offer a bigger reward. Leave the money to me.”
“Yes, sir! Understood!”

It was now 4 AM, nearing the end of day 4 of the server.
Capturing her immediately was nearly impossible, but the sooner they caught Darami after her escape, the better.
After all, it was only the fourth day of the server, and with explosives now spreading all over the place, the already limited police forces would be exposed to the public eye.
Mafia groups were steadily expanding their influence, showing no respect for the police.
Once the public realizes the weakness of the police, this city could descend into lawlessness.

At that moment, the previously shy and useless duo of Orca raised their hands.
“Yes, Dolphin Officer.”
“Do you think… we’ve made the police look weak?”
Luna, sitting next to Orca, glanced nervously.

Movgun shook his head and replied,
“It’s not just because of the two of you. But why were you playing tag after crashing into a fire hydrant and getting soaked?”
“Um...”
“Er...”
The two of them exchanged a guilty look before immediately lying flat on the ground.

“We’re sorry!!”
“We’re so sorry...”
Movgun sighed and waved his hand at them.
“Alright, go on patrol. We may not catch the criminal, but we still need to locate them.”

“Yes, sir!!”
“We’ll go!”
In fact, while the duo couldn’t catch criminals, they were quite good at finding them.
Other teams managed to catch criminals on their own, but Movgun often had to chase and catch them when it came to this useless duo.
However, since they were so ineffective, criminals tended to underestimate them, and once Movgun intervened, the capture rates increased. So, they weren’t entirely useless.

*
In any case, a bounty was placed for the first time on the server.
And it was an enormous amount.
———————
MUST ALIVE
Darami
₩5,000,000
———————

The news quickly spread among the citizens.
Miho, the only journalist, continued to gather more information, moving around tirelessly until the end of day 4.
On day 5, her journey continued, and naturally, she found herself back in a taxi, meeting the taxi driver, Mr. Ma (Magia).
“Hey, Mr. Driver! Long time no see! How have you been?”
“It’s been a while. You’ve been looking really busy lately, haven’t you?”
“Ah, don’t even get me started. It’s been completely chaotic. A criminal with explosives has appeared, and the entire city is in an uproar. Didn’t you hear? I’m sure you get all the news while driving the taxi.”
“I’m just here to drive, not into collecting info.”
“Come on, don’t lie. You overhear everything from the passengers. Don’t you know anything? Especially about the wanted criminal, Darami?”

There were rumors about Darami, but the only real person who had encountered the case was Movgun from the police station.
With the warehouse explosion, the only dangerous element to surface was Darami.
That means Magia and Pino’s involvement was still unknown to the public.
The more they hid, the better the environment was for them to act.
Besides, Magia had to clearly separate her villain role as Tia from her identity as a taxi driver.

Mr. Ma could tell stories to his younger sister Tia about the taxi passengers, passing on information like how she had settled into Thunder Special City and received relocation support, but he wouldn’t share any of Tia’s past mistakes.
So, as per the setting, Mr. Ma could only know about Darami.
“I remember Darami.”

“Oh?! What do you know? Hurry up, spill it! Confidential info!”
“It’s not exactly secret… but the first passenger I drove after coming to Thunder Special City was Darami.”
“Wait, hold on. Wait a second!”

Miho, realizing she had a scoop, immediately made a deal.
“Please give me this info exclusively. Specifically, everything you know about Darami. I’ll make sure TCB gets a boost, and I’ll take care of you so you won’t feel left out. Please?”
“Do I really have to?”

“Of course! That’s how TCB gets recognized! Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you’re treated right. Please, pretty please?”
“Hmmm… I’ll need to think about it…”
“Please, Mr. Driver... Pretty please! Should I tempt you? Femme fatale charm, woo~.”

“Oh, sorry. I’m just not interested in temptations.”
When Magia said this, the chat exploded.
Miho’s usual style, aiming for a cool high school girl persona, was far from the femme fatale type.
It was a rare sight, so the fact that Magia shut it down so swiftly made it hilarious.

— Slug wants to see it...
— Aww...
— Why’d she block it? Why block it? Why block it? Why block it? Why block it? Why block it?
— Is this a fight?
— Did you just block her seduction?
— Please, show us!
— How could she turn down such a precious thing?
Magia chuckled at what she saw.
“Well, since I wasn’t planning on getting any money anyway, let’s just enjoy watching you try to seduce the reporter.”

“Ah, yes!”
As if it had been prepared in advance,
Miho whispered seductively into Magia’s ear with a soft voice.
“You’ve made a really excellent choice, Mr. Reporter. I’ll never forget the favor you’ve shown to this reporter. Ooh~.”

Of course, Miho’s usual tone didn’t quite fit such an elegant sentence.
She seemed to try her best, but the chat was flooded with consonants.
— Hahahahahahahahahahahaha
— Hahahaha
— Hahahahahahaha
— Hahahahahahaha
— Hahaha
— Hah

Every one of these moments contributed to Parallel’s popularity.
In a way, even while doing RP, Miho seemed to have planned her long-term performance, thinking about audience engagement.
Having achieved her goal, Magia knew it was time to provide some information.

“Anyway, Darami was suspicious from the start.”
“Ah, I knew it! Does this mean that a person who commits such a huge crime was different right from the beginning?”
“I don’t know about that, but I do remember her boldly declaring that she’d become a mafia member during our first meeting.”

“Seems like she was set on being a bad person! Was she pretending to help the police chief catch a criminal, when in reality she was planning to kill him?”
“Well… I’m {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} not sure about that, but after touring all the mafia hideouts, the first thing she did was robbery, so it’s not entirely impossible.”
“Crazy!”

“At that time, police helicopters and several patrol cars were dispatched. The police chief even came out personally to catch her.”
“Wow.”
— ?
— Hahaha
— No way!
— Is this how you sell someone out?
— Insane, hahaha
— Hahahaha
— Something feels missing, but it’s still true
— The hard work got erased from memory, haha
— Wow

:: Anonymous Patron donated 1,000 Clouds! ::
:: Darami got exactly what she wanted, becoming the greatest mafia, huh? ::
— Not a mafia, just a villain, haha
— It’s the same thing, haha
— Well, it’s close enough, let’s call it a win!
Miho, having secured a satisfying interview, bid farewell cheerfully.

“Do you want me to make the story anonymous? I’ll even modify the voice. You wouldn’t want to become a target for that vicious criminal, would you?”
“No, no. If I mention my first passenger, Darami will know right away.”
“Uh… aren’t you afraid? I really want to publish this interview for the article’s views… But then you…”

“I’m really fine with it.”
Magia spoke with an indifferent expression.
“If it means catching that vicious criminal, I’m willing to sacrifice myself.”

“Whoa...”
Miho, seemingly moved by the statement, muttered,
“Citizens as brave as you should be rewarded by the police...”

Only the Slugs, who knew the truth, were laughing.
— What?
— Hahahahaha
— Hahaha
— A brave citizen...?
— Hahaha
“I haven’t done anything yet.”

“Anyway, I’ll be going now! If you hear any news about Darami, you have to contact me first! You promised, right?!”
“Yes.”
As Miho left, the chat filled up with discussions about Magia’s greatness.

— She’s a real one
— How can she lie without changing her voice, haha
— Scary, scary
— How many times has she done this to people, Magia!!!
— Honestly, if Magia was scamming the Slugs, they’d fall for it 100%
:: Anonymous Patron donated 1,000 Clouds! ::
:: It’s a good thing someone like her is just working a regular job, lol. Big thumbs up! ::
Magia didn’t argue with the donations and immediately logged out of Mr. Ma's RP to log in as Tia.

She then went straight to Maru’s construction company, “Dochi Construction.”
With little demand for housing or building repairs, the once-bustling entrance of Dochi Construction was now quiet. Magia walked confidently inside and shouted,
“Ugh, it’s so quiet here, huh?”

Maru, startled, jumped up and ran out from behind the counter.
“G-Good grief, when did you get here?! And why are you walking in through the front door? What if someone sees you?!”
“What’s the big deal? The police don’t even know Tia’s name yet. Hehe.”

“Ugh... Alright, come here. Let’s talk inside.”
The two of them headed into the reception room inside. There, Maru had stacked up blasting explosives, meant to demolish existing buildings (the original residents had moved out) to make way for new housing projects.
With the housing market still stagnant, there was no immediate use for them. But all of that was being funneled to Magia.

How did this happen?
When Maru took over the construction company, she was short on funds, and at just the right moment, Magia (Tia) appeared, offering the money needed.
Magia had been keeping an eye on Maru from the start to secure explosives.

Maru, seeing the continual failures in the business, figured she wouldn’t be able to make much money. But with big dreams, she was bound to want a large sum at some point.
Maru asked cautiously,
“What about the payment...?”

“Of course it’s ready.”
Magia placed a bundle of cash onto the table, then aimed a gun at Maru’s head as she tried to touch it.
“By the way, you didn’t tell the police, right?”

“O-Of course not.”
“Don’t even think about telling them. If you do, your boss will become an accomplice to the worst criminal and be hunted down too. You wouldn’t want that, right? Hehe.”
“I swear, I won’t! What do you take me for?”

For those watching the broadcast, this was just more amusement.
But those who had heard about the northern warehouse explosion scratched their heads.
— Wow, hahaha
— So that’s how it was, huh?
— I wondered where the bombs came from, haha
— Damn, hahaha
— That’s right, blasting explosives are still explosives, haha
— Legend, hahaha

But unlike the happy viewers, Maru was uneasy.
She couldn’t help but feel nervous, hearing that the explosives, which had been taken for legitimate use, were now being used for crime.
“But... Tia, what exactly do you plan to do with explosives like these...?”

But once she accepted the dirty money and took over the construction company, Maru’s fate was sealed. She was bound to be manipulated by Magia.
Magia giggled.
“I’ve got a brother of mine who has really big dreams.”

“...Are you talking about Darami?”
“Yep. He said he wanted to be the greatest mafia, the biggest criminal. So, I’m helping him prepare for a glorious debut!”
Magia said it with a joyful scream.

Those words made Maru’s heart drop.
“You can look forward to it! Wherever Darami goes, there will be explosions.”