novelburst
Chapter 638
Chapter 638
"Alright, no pushing, please. You can take a tour and shake hands within 10 minutes. However, ordering food and sitting at a table is not allowed."
"Once your phone alarm goes off, please leave the premises. The Mecha recruits are watching! Please exit when time is up to allow those waiting outside a chance to enter!"
"<Ah, it’s definitely more fun when there’s a crowd.>"
- I should’ve gone to Songdo earlier!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Wow, so jealous lol
- I had a feeling this would happen lol
- If the maid service had opened a day earlier, I would have been dying of envy, but it’s a good compromise lol
- Why are there 500 people gathered here? lol
3:00 PM, Songdo Expo, Building A, Starbucks Reserve Roastery, Songdo.
People, a truly large number, were bustling around inside, exchanging greetings with the Mecha recruits who were scattered about like chocolate chips in a cookie. Despite the movement, the place didn't smell of coffee or anything sweet. Although people were constantly moving, orders were blocked, and no food was being served.
So, what was this situation? In simple terms, it was like a second opening event.
"...I was a bit worried it would feel too impulsive, but it turned out okay. It’s just a fan meeting of sorts, so it should be fine…"
"It feels a bit uncomfortable, seeing so many people waiting outside in the heat, but I think we can handle it. I’ve made sure to map out the flow of visitors, and as I mentioned earlier, it can double as a fan meeting."
"...Though the third-year students didn’t make it."
"Well, there’s nothing we can do about that."
- So, does that mean those over there saw all the third-year recruits in the red pills? lol
- From the looks of it, they were probably told beforehand by Biyam and kept outside until now?
- These lone wanderers, though, really? Can’t even do proper public activities, what a joke lol
- That’s… holographic idols for you….
- If you’re jealous, just get hit with the TS Beam like Iris lol
We must protect the dreams and hopes of the people…
Just a joke, of course. As I’d mentioned before, the drone cams were set to overlay avatars on top of people, so there would be no public reveal of the red pills. Additionally, the entrance to Building A was shielded from external sight.
Now, to briefly explain the second visit event, it went as follows:
- All visitors entering the cafe for a tour and fan meeting are allowed to stay for 10 minutes.
- The timer in the Expo application activates when crossing the sensor at the cafe entrance. After 10 minutes, it will ring, signaling that visitors must exit. Re-entry is not possible.
- Inside the cafe are myself, Dice, Harmonie, the Mecha recruits, and the Hotteok crew. Visitors can freely request autographs or take photos within the 10-minute window. Olivia is an exception.
That’s basically the key points.
However, there was one special event not listed in the Expo application.
"Hey, you there, come here for a second."
"Me? Ah, wait, it’s Rain! I’m a fan!"
"Thanks, thanks. Alright, now do the ‘Aang’ pose."
"Aang… Wow! Cake! Mom, Rain just fed me cake—!"
"Wow, no way! Me too, please!"
- ???????
- What the hell lol
- Why can’t I do this???????? Ahh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- If I had known, I’d have gone to Songdo today!
- What’s this live event?!
It was, in fact, a hidden service from the Mecha recruits.
Cake, while it could last for a day or two, was no problem, and small portions could be sold as slices. The fact that the cake was all meant to be consumed today, as ordered by the parents who were watching the broadcast, made it even more urgent.
The fridge was plenty big, but since the official opening would be tomorrow, and there was a large order for new desserts, there was no real issue in finishing the cake.
As a result, about 30 cakes in total had been sliced into six pieces. With 480 people, it was easy to distribute without worrying too much.
The visitors were being lined up in advance by holograms, and each one, in turn, was being fed cake by the Mecha recruits. Everyone left with content smiles.
Naturally, the crowd grew, and soon Nasty and Iris joined in as well.
The reactions to Nasty's debut were particularly entertaining.
"Human! Open your mouth and accept the cake!"
"...Nasty?"
"Hehe, by slowly building up my recognition, more people will support my return as the original... Ugh!"
"Stop talking nonsense and focus on your work, kid."
"Uu… the fourth’s work environment is so harsh..."
- Lol, so cute, Nasty’s killing me
- What a childish Biyam lol
- Ahhh! I wanna go to Songdo so bad!!!
- Is it too late to go now???
The Mecha recruit with the fourth rank was truly a handful, with their unpredictable speech patterns.
While the first and third rank recruits were popular, it was clear that Nasty’s emergence was met with the most excitement. People were lined up, staring enviously, but ultimately everyone would be leaving with a cake and a smile.
But there was a surprising realization elsewhere.
"Wow, it seems like the Mecha recruits' popularity is spread evenly. Especially Marv, that's a surprise."
"Really? I thought it was natural since Marv joined Eugene’s team, but I guess people don’t think that way."
"Well, she made a brief appearance in Operation Wasted Silver."
Jin and Rain had an exceptionally solid fanbase. They were practically a guaranteed hit.
Jin, who had shown off his silliness during the Unidentified Zone Escape mission, and Rain, the villain-turned-ally who fit the cliché perfectly. They both worked hard during Operation Ouroboros too...
But Marv’s fame had mostly been due to breaking through AI management systems, though she made waves for dealing a serious blow to Nasty.
Well, I guess it’s just that people like Mecha Biyams.
"Just ignore it. It’s better that popularity is evenly spread, right? It would be weird if it all concentrated on one person."
"Well, Mecha recruits all look alike, don’t they? And anyway, you can’t really pick a line. Iris had to step in because there were so many people."
"True enough."
- Popularity redistribution, on
- Come to think of it, that’s true lol
- So why aren’t Dice and Harmonie over there?
- Those two are busy feeding cake to the Biyams lol
- I hear Logan’s house is melting from over there lol
Maybe I should’ve sent Dice and Harmonie over there to help?
Just a joke. With Iris joining, there were now about five people, so the lines started moving a bit faster. Mecha recruits could be active indefinitely, so there was no issue with their stamina.
Although the café had turned into a cake-feeding service, everyone seemed satisfied. I looked at the now significantly less crowded interior.
It was around 4:30 PM. Through the transparent variable glass on the first floor of the café, I could see people taking photos, walking around, or returning to their tasks.
The third-year students, who had realized the atmosphere had calmed, began making their way back inside as the cafe started to tidy up.
"Could we become EM-level if we stick by Iris?"
"...If you all actually change into avatars, it might cause a huge headache."
"You didn’t say it wouldn’t be possible."
"…"
- Keep your mouth shut, lol
- If there’s an example, don’t speak freely, lol
- Seriously, Eugene just has three EM-levels near him and can't say a word lol
- You brought this on yourself, Eugene-lead lol
- Why are they calling him a lesbian, lol
...Yeah, that's right.
Since there's a precedent, I didn't want to trigger some weird situation by saying something dumb again. But I didn’t exactly want to voice it out, so I kept quiet.
At 5 PM, once the last person had exited, Iris, wiping sweat from her forehead, let out a deep sigh as the Mecha recruits excitedly chattered about how much fun they had today.
‘Now, I just need to lock the door and leave, and the cleaning robots stored in the walls will handle the cleanup and ventilation...’
I’d already made sure they understood that part, so there was no issue there.
I smiled as I told everyone, "Good job," and we all headed out through the front door.
It was just 20 minutes ago that the story of the Biyams appearing at Ttukseom Hangang Park was about to flood the internet.