Chapter 143: A Long-Awaited External Collab!

Read on KatR​eadingCafe

Ha-neul had been in an exceptionally good mood lately.

Her own streams were thriving—so much so that “smooth sailing” was the perfect phrase to describe them.

Blue LUV had also found its footing with the release of Erin’s first original song.

Thanks to all this, her days were so blissful that she could hardly remember what worries even felt like.

“Hmm…”

But it was precisely during times like these that she needed to push harder for growth.

Only then could they survive in the cutthroat market of VTubing.

This wasn’t the time to grow complacent just because they were riding a wave.

It was no different from seizing the moment to propel a nation’s development.

With that in mind, Ha-neul was planning a large-scale collab for the first time in a while.

Some might wonder why she placed so much significance on collabs but in this industry, they were a crucial element and how they were utilized could make a stark difference in growth momentum.

Aside from the Last Collab held during Blue LUV’s earliest days, she had rarely done external collabs since.

She’d judged that overdoing them could risk diluting their image.

For now, she believed establishing each member’s individual character and brand, then growing their personal streams’ audience and reach, took priority.

This was also why she hadn’t actively pushed for collabs among the members themselves.

Of course, chemistry within the group was important—just look at overseas VTubers.

But without a solid individual fanbase, that chemistry meant little.

Frankly, no matter how entertaining the chemistry between two 10K-subscriber channels might be, it was hard to attract broader attention.

So until now, she’d focused on strengthening Blue LUV’s foundation.

And the result? Every member had successfully reached 200K YouTube subscribers.

Now, it was time to actively pursue external collabs and content, expanding Blue LUV’s reach beyond its domestic niche.

In that sense, what would make for a good collab this time?

‘Minecraft is safe, but it’s still too early for a large-scale server.’

She considered the “cheat code” of VTuber games but decided to hold off for now.

She also debated hosting a tournament for mainstream games like League or PUBG, but since Overwatch had just wrapped up, it didn’t feel right.

‘For now, I want something the kids can relax and have fun with.’

Competitive tournaments inevitably led to intense immersion, which might take away from pure enjoyment.

So she wanted a game where everyone could gather, chat noisily, and collaborate—preferably one that encouraged interaction with external streamers.

‘Maybe I should ask the kids for ideas?’

After wrestling with it alone, Ha-neul finally gave up.

With no clear answer, she decided to hop on Discord to brainstorm with the Blue LUV members.

The first lucky winner was none other than Da-jeong.

Ding— Ding—

“Ah, CEO! What brings you here?”

“Yeah, Lulu. Are you streaming right now?”

While she used real names in KakaoTalk, Discord had the risk of exposure if someone was live, so Ha-neul always addressed members by their VTuber names unless offline status was confirmed.

“No, I’m off today. I was clipping the others’ streams from yesterday.”

“Oh, uh… I see?”

Just how deep does this kid’s dedication to simping for her members go?

On a rare day off, when she could’ve slept or relaxed, she was clipping streams. Ha-neul could only shake her head in disbelief.

She still occasionally saw people in the community dismiss Da-jeong’s personality as “just a bit,” and she wished she could show them Da-jeong’s everyday self.

“Actually, I was thinking of setting up an external collab soon.”

“An external collab? With other streamers?”

“Yeah, like the Last one.”

“Have you decided on the game yet?”

“Not yet. That’s why I called you—I thought you might have ideas.”

Hearing Ha-neul’s honest answer, Da-jeong finally understood why she’d reached out.

Since games that could host large servers were limited, it seemed Ha-neul was grasping at straws for suggestions.

“In that case, I do have an idea, CEO.”

“Oh? What is it?”

“There’s a game that just came out recently. I was actually thinking it’d be perfect for all of us to play together. It supports a lot of players, so it’d be fun for an external collab too.”

“You’ve been thinking about this too?”

This kid—what a gem.

Ha-neul mentally ruffled Da-jeong’s hair and pinched her cheeks, her expression full of fondness.

Of course, every member was precious to her, but Da-jeong held a special place in her heart for this very reason.

She cared about Blue LUV as much as Ha-neul herself did.

“So, what’s the game called?”

“It’s called ‘Project Zomboid.’”

＊＊＊＊＊

Project Zomboid.

A survival game set in an apocalyptic world.

Unlike typical FPS games, it focused purely on surviving, with a top-down (quarter-view) perspective.

In Da-jeong’s world, it had initially flown under the radar

but gradually gained traction as a popular collab game.

Its large server capacity made it ideal for collabs, and its detailed, immersive systems created endless storytelling opportunities.

As Da-jeong explained the game’s mechanics, potential fun with server setups, mods, and content ideas, Ha-neul found herself drawn in.

Her decade of streaming experience told her one thing:

This is going to be fun.

“Thanks. Only our Da-jeong could’ve come up with this. As a reward, I’ll treat you to something delicious later.”

“Ehehe, it’s okay. Helping you is reward enough.”

If Da-jeong were here, Ha-neul would’ve squished her cheeks on the spot.

Her heart swelled with pride at the girl’s adorable response.

Ha-neul’s grin widened.

How can something so lovable exist?

She made a mental note to take Da-jeong out for a full-course meal soon.

＊＊＊＊＊

I couldn’t stop smiling the moment I turned on my PC today.

Why, you ask?

Because today’s the day of the Project Zomboid collab I’ve been waiting for!

Admittedly, the game is still new in this world, but in my original world, it became a cult classic over time, especially in the VTuber scene.

Most streamers had played it at least once.

But the sad part?

In my world, the Blue LUV members never got to play it together.

I’d always wanted to see them try it.

So when Project Zomboid launched here, I silently vowed to suggest it to the CEO for a group playthrough.

The timing couldn’t have been better.

Just as the CEO was brainstorming collab ideas, the game released.

“Hehe, hi everyone!”

• Hi!
• Lulu!
• Why’s Lulu’s voice so bright today? LOL
• Someone’s in a good mood!

The thought of collabbing again after so long— and with the game I’d been dying to play—had me so excited my voice was practically sparkling.

The Cherries noticed too, flooding chat with questions about my mood.

I cheerfully explained: “Heh, it’s our first group collab in ages! Plus, it’s our first external one since Last. I’m so hyped!”

• True!
• Fr tho
• Wait, really? It’s been that long?
• Overwatch was a thing, but that wasn’t really a collab.
• Lulu’s vibes are super cute today.

Ugh, whatever!

Everything I do is “cute” to them.

What’s so cute about me?

Stop calling me cute! Enough!

“Alright, let’s pick our jobs and traits first!”

I joined the server the CEO had set up, selected a region, and clicked on character creation.

A status screen popped up for assigning jobs and traits.

• Go soldier!
• Cop’s good for late-game combat.
• Firefighter’s the easiest for beginners.
• Thief is fun too.

Since many had already played the game since its recent launch, chat was full of unsolicited advice.

Not that I minded—our community’s pretty chill about backseating.

Hmm, lots of these look good.

I haven’t played ProZom myself, but even as a newbie, some traits stood out.

But nothing really grabbed me.

Combat-focused jobs don’t suit me.

Anything more unique?

“Oh? This looks fun. I’ll go Burger Flipper!”

• ?
• Burger?
• Why…?

Why? Because it looks fun, duh!

• Burger Flipper lowkey solid.
• Weapon’s kinda weak, but not bad.
• Traits are decent.

And judging by chat, it’s not a terrible pick.

Must have some niche perks.

Perfect!

I’m not planning to frontline anyway.

I’ll support the team from the back, cooking delicious meals and helping however I can.

Burger Flipper it is!

“The traits are weird, huh? You adjust positives and negatives?”

• Yep.
• Mhm.
• Correct.

Traits—basically skills and stats—worked like this:

Pick a negative for bonus points, or a positive for a point cost.

The goal was to balance penalties and benefits to net zero.

So I needed negatives with tolerable downsides but high point yields.

Let’s see…

From what I’d heard in my world, Smoker was a must.

• SMOKER?!
• Lulu nooo…
• Are you gonna smoke with Cherries now?

“Smoke together?! I’ve never even touched a cigarette!”

I didn’t smoke even as a guy!

What are you implying, you dumb Cherries?!

After tweaking traits, I finalized my character and hit Create.

[“The final hour approaches.”
“Abandon all hope of survival.”
“This is the story of your death.”]

Eerie BGM played as the messages appeared.

The game loaded—

“Kyaaaah!”

A sharp scream echoed in my ears.

Huh? Was that a player?!

“Someone’s nearby.”

• Go check!
• Find them!
• Scared the crap outta me.

I abandoned looting and rushed outside, heading toward the scream.

There, surrounded by three zombies, was a player.

Wait—Nyangtamon?

The username matched.

“L-Lulu! Help! I’m bitten!”

“Huh?!”

Noticing me, Nyangtamon screamed for salvation.

Wait, already bitten?

Though this server had the vaccine mod, finding one this early would be tough.

Whoosh—

After a moment’s hesitation, I turned away, creating distance to avoid zombie aggro.

“L-Lulu?! Don’t leave me! Please! I’ve looted so much! I’ll give you all my good stuff! Kyaaaah!”

• LMAOOOO
• Should’ve traded first.
• Lulu’s ice-cold…
• Ruthless.

Nyangtamon’s desperate cries followed me, but what could I do?

In this world, you can’t save everyone.

Sorry, Nyangtamon…!

“Hey, didn’t Nyangtamon say they’d looted a lot?”

• Yep.
• Mhm.
• Sounds like it.

Mid-retreat, their last words echoed in my mind.

Wait—in this game, when players turn into zombies, they keep their loot, right?

Which means…?!

“Hehe, time to go back and ‘handle’ zombie Nyangtamon. Should’ve waited nearby.”

• …
• Lulu’s a psycho…
• No remorse.
• I’m scared.

Scared? Nonsense!

This is just survival in a cruel world.

Thud— Thud—

I found zombie Nyangtamon, smashed their skull with a frying pan, and looted their corpse.

They’d hoarded quite a bit.

This’ll last me a while.

Thanks, Nyangtamon.

I won’t forget this!