I Became the Cute One in the Troubleshooter Squad

This world was Earth, but decades had passed since otherworldly races began appearing.

Perhaps because of that, many aspects of technology here were far more advanced than in the world I came from.

For instance, humans could replace their limbs with prosthetics as easily as shopping for new clothes.

Or they could insert a chip into the back of their neck and replace their eyes with mechanical ones, enabling them to shop just by looking at items.

Large airships floated silently in the skies above the city without making any noticeable noise.

Of course, this was Nighthaven, a city teeming with non-human races whose bodily structures differed from humans.

Still, if I looked far enough out, I could sense that this was a world of the future.

These luxuries, however, were mostly reserved for the wealthy.

On the other hand, perhaps due to the lingering effects of war, cultural development had stagnated compared to technological progress.

Social media and online communities were still alive and well, which felt familiar.

Even creative works often resembled ones I’d seen before, as if someone had simply changed their titles.

The most notable difference was that non-human races were prominent on the internet, but even with that, adapting to this world’s online culture wasn’t particularly challenging.

‘Hmm, interesting. Nearly half of the rising influencers are non-human. In reality, they’re avoided or feared, but online, they’re incredibly popular.’

It was a fascinating phenomenon.

In offline reality, non-human races were seen as something to fear or avoid.

Yet, online, there were so many people who adored them. Why was that?

When I thought about it, though, it made sense.

They say life is a tragedy up close but a comedy from afar.

Non-humans might seem frightening or repelling when they’re nearby, but through a screen, they probably just appear beautiful and unique.

Moreover, if you looked at the list of famous influencers, they were mostly stunningly beautiful elves, succubi, or beastfolk who catered to niche preferences. Maybe people here were just honest about their desires.

‘Okay, I think I’ve got the gist of it. This world’s internet is like this. Got it. Now then… Echo, can you find out where most people hang out online?’

[Searching…! Ah, based on human traffic analysis, the most popular category on the site Pioneer is "Meta-Humans."]

‘Hmm, is that so? It always comes back to non-humans, huh. I’m curious. Show me.’

[Accessing now!]

I was eager to see what kind of conversations were happening there.

Lying upside down, I held up Echo with both hands, urging it to hurry.

Echo spun a loading icon on its screen before a notification popped up: access denied.

[It seems this community blocks access for anonymous accounts. You’ll need a verified account to proceed.]

‘Then just make one. I just want to look around a bit today.’

[Understood! I will create a verified account based on the most frequently used details within the site.]

Ding.

Almost immediately, the screen changed, revealing the inside of the community.

Wait, that was fast. Is this legit?

Curious, I poked at the screen to check the account details.

The profile showed minimal but plausible information:

Name: Jane Smith

Gender: Female

Age: 25

The account even had a realistic-looking email address and a "Plus Membership" that granted access to premium features.

To think Echo whipped up such a convincing account in mere moments—it was almost scary how capable it was.

Still, it worked out for me, so I wasn’t going to complain. This account was disposable anyway.

Shrugging off any lingering doubts, I scratched my cheek and moved on.

Expecting common sense from something with "Invader" capabilities was a waste of time, after all.

These were beings who had already destroyed entire worlds. Of course, they’d be capable of something like this.

‘Alright then… let’s see what the most popular online community is talking about.’

I began scrolling through the titles of the top posts, sorted by popularity.

[Photo] There was a huge fight between a woodman and a merman at my local mart, and suddenly an orc joined in – 29k likes

[Video] A shocking method used by mermen to alter the ocean environment – 23k likes

[Video] Do you know how elves react if you touch their ears? – 21k likes

[Photo] Recent dramatic changes in Fixer rankings, starting at year’s end ㄷㄷㄷ – 18k likes

I got dumped because of my fetish for non-humans…. – 17k likes

What caught my eye was the sheer draw of clickbait.

How could every single one of these titles be so tempting? It was impressive, honestly.

I couldn’t resist the top one: "Woodman vs. Merman vs. Orc."

What on Earth had happened there? Why was an orc getting involved in a fight between a woodman and a merman?

I completely forgot my original plan to mess around online with Echo.

Instead, I rolled on the blanket, enjoying the posts and their comments.

The content was richer than the short videos I’d watched earlier, and the sheer novelty of observing the bizarre happenings of the world from the comfort of my closet was delightful.

‘Hehe, even watching people argue over who’s the strongest Fixer is fun. Then again, rankings don’t always reflect actual strength.’

What intrigued me the most was the post about Fixers.

It made sense, given that many Fixers were non-humans, so discussions about them naturally popped up on a non-human-focused community.

And the hottest topic was, of course, "Who’s the strongest Fixer?"

Huh? Why would that be debatable if rankings exist?

Tsk tsk. That’s such a naive question.

Fixer rankings were based solely on achievements and popularity.

Believing a higher rank automatically meant greater strength was something only clueless fans would do.

There were also issues of compatibility due to fighting styles and plenty of cases where circumstances could dramatically weaken or strengthen someone.

Ultimately, debating who was the strongest Fixer was a pointless argument.

But, much like "Lion vs. Tiger," "Baseball Bat vs. Dagger," or "Shark vs. Crocodile," speculating on who’s stronger had always been inherently entertaining.

Of course, I wasn’t above jumping into such a discussion.

‘My pick would be the Dragon Mayor in their prime. Everything under a dragon’s feet is basically the same anyway.’

That said, in the end, the undisputed strongest was always the Dragon Mayor.

Satisfied with that conclusion, I gracefully exited the endless battlefield of debates.

No point wasting words on people who didn’t even know how Fixers fought.

What do they know? Have they seen Fixers fight? I have! Well… in comics.

Feeling smug, I hummed a tune and moved on to browse other posts.

Then, a comment that made me frown appeared among the discussions.

00apart: "I can’t believe there are still people who think this is real, lol. Even if non-humans are real, magic? Come on, are you all idiots? Science already proved it’s impossible. Smh."

What is this? A new breed of attention seeker?

Curious, I scrolled through the replies beneath the comment.

There were over 100 responses.

As I skimmed through the heated exchange of insults in the comments, it became clear that this troll genuinely believed that magic couldn’t possibly exist.

Wow, people like this actually exist, huh?

Well, given the world we’re in, there must be some people who’ve never encountered a non-human race in their lives.

Claiming it’s all fake? Of course there’d be people like that.

Still, the sheer aggressiveness of this troll’s remarks was astounding. What a spiteful person. Just reading their comments put me in a bad mood.

Frowning at the troll’s stubborn refusal to back down despite getting slammed by countless replies, I found myself smiling.

‘Oh, I’ve found the perfect target. I felt a bit guilty about messing with someone at random, but this one? No guilt at all.’

Picking fights by spouting malicious comments for attention? This person had it coming.

I pressed Echo against my forehead and addressed it while keeping an eye on the troll, 00apart, who was actively replying to people.

‘Echo, this site notifies users when their comments get replies, right?’

[That’s correct.]

‘Then send this person a random reply, and delete it immediately after. Do this about… oh, a hundred times.’

[That’s… extremely easy!]

The Infinite Notification Hell begins!

Chuckling mischievously, I watched the troll closely, waiting for their reaction.

One minute, two minutes, five minutes passed…

Just as I started wondering if it wasn’t working, a personal message popped up.

To my surprise, it was from the troll, 00apart.

[00apart: Who the hell are you?! Are you a bot or something?! My device froze because of you! Couldn’t win in an argument, so now you’re attacking me with a second account, huh? Bring it on, you bastard! I’ll report you and get your account banned!]

Oh-ho, looks like it worked.

Giggling at the troll’s panicked reaction, I pressed Echo to my forehead again.

‘Send a hundred more!’

[The target has blocked notifications.]

‘Can you bypass that?’

[...Of course.]

Wow, Echo could even bypass notification blocks? This thing was amazing.

Satisfied with Echo’s response, I nodded as the troll’s notifications were overridden once again.

About ten minutes later, the troll messaged me again, clearly rattled.

[00apart: How the hell did you bypass my block?! You goddamn hacker! Whatever, I’ve got other accounts. Delete this one all you want—I’ll just make another. Waste your time, loser!]

‘Echo, restore that person’s account.’

[Account restoration complete.]

‘Now send 300 notifications.’

No escaping now. I wouldn’t stop until they said the words I wanted to hear.

This time, I threw triple the notifications at the troll. Their device was probably drowning in endless dings and pop-ups by now.

It did feel a little cruel… but they should’ve been more polite in the first place.

I spent the time browsing other interesting posts until, much later, another message came in.

[00apart: What the hell did you do?]

[Jane Smith: 🌀 (a spinning roulette emoji)]

[00apart: Why won’t the notifications stop, even if I delete my account, delete the app, or disconnect the internet?! WHAT DID YOU DO?!]

[Jane Smith: 🐓 (an ugly chicken pecking the ground emoji)]

[00apart: Fine! I’m sorry, okay?! Stop this now! What do you want from me?!]

Oh, they’re completely broken now.

I rolled my eyes for a moment, looking at the utterly defeated troll’s messages, and then closed the chat window.

That’s enough. They’ve learned their lesson. I’ll let it go for today.

Feeling content with the outcome, I went back to browsing posts when suddenly, a glaring red notification appeared at the top of the screen.

[The administrator has permanently banned your account. To appeal, please submit a request via this link.]

Oh, I’ve been banned. How’d they figure it out?

Blinking in surprise, I realized that I’d essentially been kicked out of the community. If it was a permanent ban, they must’ve noticed the account was fake. Sharp admin.

I pressed Echo to my forehead again, mulling over my next move.

‘Alright, how about we mess with the admin this time? Let’s try not to get caught.’

It was a truly villainous thought.

[Uh… Miss Yuria… My energy’s running a bit low…]

Oh? So you were using rift energy for this?

That was… an unexpected revelation.