Peninsula: My cheat code is unscientific

Chapter 122 Starting with a Mouth (2.8K)

"At this point in time... Ethereum seems to have just been released, and the price should still be low... Buy 2 million for Ethereum, and add another 1 million to my Bitcoin holdings! Hmm, perfect."

He recalled vague memories of his past life. Although he couldn't remember the details, he was certain that Ethereum would make money in the future.

Without hesitation, he quickly swiped his fingers across his phone and completed the purchase process. A huge weight was lifted from his shoulders, and he could almost see the wonderful life of financial freedom beckoning him.

Just as he was indulging in his fantasy of getting rich quick, Li Shengji also received a call from his agent.

“Seungji, I’ve found out. The regular cast members for PD Na’s new variety show, ‘New Journey to the West,’ are Kang Ho-dong, Lee Soo-geun, Eun Ji-won… and Im Yoon-ah.”

"What?! Lim Yoon-ah?!" Lee Seung-gi's pupils contracted sharply, and his voice rose:
"Are you sure? How could it be her?"

"Confirmed. And judging from the looks of it, the person who replaced you is probably her." The agent paused, his tone somewhat complicated:

"Her role on the show... overlaps a lot with your previous role."

"Lim Yoona... Lim Yoona!"

Li Shengji gritted his teeth and repeated the name, unconsciously clenching his fists. The humiliation of being beaten at the airport surged into his heart instantly, coupled with the fact that the resources had been intercepted this time. Old and new grudges combined, and a surge of anger rose to his head.

His eyes darkened, and he spoke coldly into the phone:

"Fine, very well. Since she's so heartless, don't blame me for being ruthless too. You do this, this, this... understand?"

The agent paused for a moment, seemingly hesitant.

"Shengji, isn't this a bit too much...?"

"Do as I say!" Li Shengji interrupted him rudely.

“…Yes, I understand.” The agent ultimately did not argue further.

After hanging up the phone, Li Shengji revealed a ruthless smile.

Several days passed peacefully.

Jiang Che hasn't been idle these past few days either. He created a new League of Legends account and gave it a flamboyant ID: "Wuhu Takeoff".

Most of the time, he used this new account to duo queue with Sunny. Occasionally, Kim Taeyeon would join out of curiosity, and the game room would often be filled with Taeyeon's shouts and Sunny's various "Aish" complaints.

Yoona would sometimes move a chair and sit next to Kang Cheol, watching his dazzling operations on the screen, or playing on his phone by himself, creating a rare harmonious atmosphere.

Whether it's because their ID names are too bizarre or not, this duo managed to gain some fame in low-skill games.
They even acquired the eerie nickname "Black and White Duo"—one of them was known for wiping out entire areas, while the other was responsible for sending people through a path.

The game had just started that day.

Jiang Che is giving instructions over the voice chat:
"Sunny, don't go! There's no view from those bushes!"

Sunny: "What are you afraid of! Look at me... Ugh! Why are there so many people?! Jiang Che, save me, save me!"

Jiang Che: "..." He knew it.

Just as he was controlling his hero to help collect the corpses, Yoona, who had been quietly playing on her phone, suddenly received a phone call.

"Hello? Unnie, what's up?" She answered with a lighthearted tone.

But as she listened, her expression gradually changed, her brows furrowed, and her tone became serious:

"...Hmm, when did this happen?...Are you sure?...What are the company's plans now?...Okay, I understand. I'll check the situation first."

Although Jiang Che was wearing headphones, he had been keeping an eye on Yoona out of the corner of his eye. Hearing that her tone was off, he subconsciously slowed down his actions and turned his head to look.
After Yoona hung up the phone, her face turned extremely pale.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

Yoona took a deep breath and tried to keep her voice calm:

“My manager said that some bad things about me suddenly surfaced online, and... Lee Seung-gi just posted a breakup statement on Twitter.”

Jiang Che's first reaction was: "Isn't breaking up a good thing?"

But seeing Yoona's expression, he immediately realized that things might not be so simple.

He took off his headphones, stood up, and gently ruffled Yoona's hair.
"You play the game for me while I go check on things."

"Huh? Me? But I... I don't know how to play!"

"It's okay, do whatever you want, just let it all out." Jiang Che put the headphones on Yoona's head and pressed her down into his computer chair: "It's fine if you die, Sunny is already super ghostly, it won't make a difference if you die a few more heads."

After saying that, he picked up his phone and started checking the situation.

Yoona, wearing headphones still warmed by Kang Cheol's touch, sat in front of the computer, staring blankly at the intense battle scenes on the screen.

She gripped the mouse and keyboard helplessly, completely unsure of what to do.

Sunny's loud shouts came through the voice message:
"Jiang Che! Jiang Che! What are you standing there for? Are you AFK? ...Huh? Why is your hero starting to spin in circles?"

Yoona then realized what was happening and quickly took action.

Then, Sunny saw the hero "Wuhu Takeoff" start twitching in an extremely bizarre way, randomly casting skills at the air, and finally charging bravely towards the enemy's turret before collapsing at lightning speed.

Sunny's roar immediately came through the voice chat:
"Jiang Che! Did you deliberately set me up?!"

Yoona coughed awkwardly twice: "Sunny unnie, it's me... Yoona. My manager unnie just said there's some bad stuff about me online, and Lee Seung-gi unilaterally issued a breakup statement. Kang Cheol said to take a look, and told me to play around with it for now."

"Dirty secrets? Breakup?" Sunny's tone changed immediately, forgetting all about the game. "Is it serious? What happened?"

Yoona, controlling her hero, once again fed the tower:

"My manager only gave me a general overview, and I don't know the specifics yet, before Jiang Che sent me here to play games with you."

Sunny paused for a moment, clearly realizing the seriousness of the situation. But then she was filled with immense confusion:

"But... what can Jiang Che possibly see? Can he even handle this?"

This was also Yoona's question, and she said helplessly:

"I don't know Jiang Che either... I'll ask him later."

At this moment, Jiang Che was frowning as he browsed Li Shengji's Twitter account. The breakup statement was extremely insidious:
Hello everyone, this is Lee Seung-ge. After careful consideration, Ms. Im Yoon-ah and I have peacefully parted ways today. Thank you all for your continued concern and support. The specific reasons are private and cannot be disclosed in detail here.

Because of some unresolved issues from our past relationship, and for the sake of our futures, we've decided to return to being friends. We hope everyone can respect our decision and refrain from making unwarranted speculations. Thank you.

The comments section has exploded:

[My heart aches for my brother! What's he so upset about? Did Yoona cheat on him?]

[I've always felt they weren't a good match; it must be Yoona's fault!]

It seems Yoona did something to offend Oppa, didn't she?

The screen was filled with all sorts of malicious speculation and foul language, clearly indicating that an organized online troll army was stirring up trouble.

Jiang Che was furious, so angry he almost crushed his phone:

"Damn it... This scumbag! What kind of talk is that? The manipulation is so obvious! He's clearly trying to pin all the blame on Yoona!"

He suppressed the urge to confront Li Shengji physically, took a deep breath, and let his mind race. Recalling the various methods celebrities used to handle public relations crises in his past life, a sly smile gradually crept onto his lips.

"Trying to play dirty, huh? Fine, let's see who comes out on top."

He sneered, his fingers flying across the phone screen. He first skillfully logged into an account called "Protect Hyun's Light," entering Byun Baekhyun's fan club. After scrolling through a few pages, he found it was still full of posts praising "Oppa is so handsome" and "Oppa is the best," and he curled his lip in disdain.

"Tsk, this atmosphere is like a cult event."

He left the fan club and switched to a hater account—the one he had registered a long time ago along with "Guardian of Xian's Light".

He scrolled through the haters' accounts, his gaze suddenly sharpening as it landed on a recently posted thread: "[Rational Discussion: Is it confirmed that Im Yoona is stealing resources and acting like a diva? Did Lee Seung-gi oppa's statement imply anything?]"

The poster was clearly a troll trying to stir up trouble. Jiang Che clicked in to read the content, but it wasn't original at all.

"Heh, is that all you've got?" Jiang Che scoffed, his fingers flying across the screen as he typed, secretly chuckling to himself, feeling like a genius, a shoo-in for the Oscar for Best Screenplay.

He created a new post with a highly provocative title:
[In-depth gossip: Why did Lee Seung-gi suddenly break up? It turns out to involve military service and a shocking romance?! Byun Baek-hyun, this time I salute you as a true man!]

Then, Jiang Che began writing the main text:
Many people say I've been a professional hater of Baekhyun for 100 years, and I admit it. I've always thought he's just a pretty boy who relies on his looks, terrible at singing and dancing, and his acting is so cringeworthy it's unbelievable.

I received many private messages today asking me to talk about Li Shengji's post. I actually didn't want to, since he's not really related to me. But I couldn't resist my curiosity, so I looked up information about this 'nation's little brother'—wow!

This search revealed a serious problem: Li Shengji had been saying he would enlist in the military since the end of 2014, but he's been putting it off until now. Can you guess why he chose this moment to release the breakup statement?

(End of this chapter)