Chapter 500: Emergency Maintenance
Chapter 500: Emergency Maintenance
Inner World, Zone 001.
"Hehehe..." A ridiculous chuckle echoed as Wooly abruptly materialized before Zero.
"Finally, I've seen you", Zero said. His form had morphed into a cluster of Garbled Text, resembling a character from the Atari 2600 (a 1977 game console that dominated the second generation of electronic gaming), almost unrecognizable as human.
"Sounds like you've been longing for this meeting", Wooly replied.
"My current sentiment mirrors those humans desperate to converse with God", Zero responded. "No matter how exceptional or unique I may be in this dimension... I remain helpless, ignorant..." He fixed Wooly with a stare. "Only the creator can answer my questions."
"Then do you know... what the creator's biggest hobby is?" Wooly asked.
Zero didn't answer. The question's purpose baffled him, though context suggested it might be rhetorical or just mockery.
"Hehehe... You guessed right", Wooly chuckled. "I'm about to answer my own question." He seemed to effortlessly read Zero's mind. "But now that I've read your response, I might just choose to remain silent."
"I see..." Zero paused for several seconds. "The creator's greatest fun... is manipulating everything he's created at his fingertips."
"Hehehe..." Wooly grinned. "You caught on fast."
"It seems..." Zero broke the silence again. "I can't squeeze anything from you... But you'll still tell me what I need to know..."
"Right. Listen carefully..." Wooly's tone grew solemn. "Feng Bu Jue has sided with Lute."
"What?" Zero visibly stiffened. "What does that mean?"
"Can't you grasp such a simple sentence?" Wooly countered.
"But he's human..."
"Haha... And what of it?"
Zero fell silent again...
After a long pause, he finally spoke. "I understand what to do now."
"Good." Wooly raised his right hand. "Let me send you off."
With a sharp snap of his fingers, Zero shattered into pixels, vanishing into nothingness.
Two seconds later, another voice emerged from Wooly's side. "Hehe... What a pathetic sight~" Wen Sent mocked.
"Yeah... This time, I did miscalculate", Wooly muttered. "That guy Feng Bu Jue... truly went through with it..."
"And the reason you chose him", Wen Sent added, "wasn't it precisely because he's capable of anything? Hahaha..."
"In summary..." Wooly mused, "I've become the architect of my own entrapment?"
"Hehe..." Wen Sent laughed without answering, shifting topics. "Actually, I think... you should've noticed it half a month ago when he started secretly investigating supernatural matters."
"That incident... I did know about it", Wooly admitted. "But not from Assassins. It was the Nine Sciences Division who told me."
"Oh?" Wen Sent's voice rose. "So a mere mortal with no superpower, under your surveillance, successfully traced a secret government agency within two weeks."
"Initially, I thought it was just his normal reaction after meeting me", Wooly adjusted his glasses. "Hehehe... Now I see. He was preparing for anti-human actions all along..."
"With things at this point, why not erase Lute directly?" Wen Sent asked. "Her survival doesn't affect the bet anyway."
"But doing that..." Wooly paused, "wouldn't that mean admitting defeat?" He grinned. "Hehehe... Besides, the current situation has become far more intriguing..."
"Recommencing the game outside with your own bet's target..." Wen Sent mused, "Don't you two Bu Jues get exhausted?"
"Hehe..." Wooly laughed. "If Feng Bu Jue were here, he'd join me in shouting 'Not at all' to that question."
"Perhaps..." Wen Sent continued, "he's already seen through your intentions, which is why he's acting so recklessly. Your decision to spare Lute is entirely within his calculations."
"Even better", Wooly said. "Otherwise, how could he be worthy of being my rival?" A white light glinted off his glasses. "In the future, if he truly liberates a derivative being... I'll gladly acknowledge his superiority. At that point, not only will I cease opposing him, I'll offer my full support."
"Alright then..." Wen Sent shrugged with a smile. "Before we discuss helping others, how will you handle this mess you've created?"
"Hehehe..." Wooly's expression turned smug again. "Don't worry. I've already prepared solutions for this."
...
Outside the scenario, in various Broadcast Zones...
"What's happening? Why did the screen go black?"
"Who won exactly?"
"This match is so confusing! What exactly is a derivative being?"
"Mad Bu Jue must've perished with the boss, but will that count for points?"
"Why haven't the dead players emerged yet? Did something go wrong?"
When the intense battle ceased, adrenaline levels among the audience dropped. As people calmed down, numerous anomalies from the match surfaced one by one.
"Hey look! The hosts are here!"
As viewers debated wildly and the atmosphere grew increasingly strange, Pan Feng and Hua Xiong's figures reappeared on the giant screen.
"Uh... dear audience", Pan Feng began hesitantly, clearly reading from an off-screen teleprompter, "We're about to announce the final results... and... an emergency notice."
"The entire 'Peak Conquest Tournament' has concluded", Hua Xiong interjected. His state mirrored his partner's—both bore traces of cold sweat, as if forced to broadcast under gunpoint. "The final champion is... starsguild player—【Tian Ma Xing Kong】."
"What?!"
Audience uproar erupted. Even players within "Tian Ma Xing Kong Broadcast Zone" found it perplexing. Brother Horse hadn't eliminated a single participant. Throughout the match, he merely assisted in Y2-Shining's battle and double-killed twin-mode Lute.
"The rankings from second to tenth place are..." Hua Xiong continued reading from the teleprompter, "【Zui Wo Chang Ran】, 【Yama】, 【Wu Dao Ke】, 【Matcha Su】, 【Shidao Wei Wang】, 【Fei Chai Shu】, 【caibupainenotafraid】, 【Shiva】, and... 【Mad Bu Jue】."
"What's going on?"
"How was this ranking decided? How didn't tian tian gui xiao make top ten?"
"Shidao Wei Wang clearly lost to Fei Chai Shu—how did he rank higher?"
"Matcha Su fifth? Could Mad Bu Jue kill her with one hand?"
Confusion quickly turned to discontent.
But greater dissatisfaction was just beginning...
"Due to the derivative being's appearance..." Pan Feng's voice trembled, "the scenario's hidden world system has been forcibly activated..."
"What hidden world system? What does 'forcibly activated' mean?"
"Come to think of it... What exactly is a derivative being?"
Audiences shouted questions, as if their voices could penetrate the screen.
"The original point rules became void when the derivative being invaded..." Pan Feng continued reading. "Current rankings are determined by contestants' combat points gained while resisting the derivative being."
Hua Xiong took over the announcement, continuing, "For rankings from eleventh to thirtieth place and thirty-first to fiftieth place, please check the official website after six o'clock this morning. Prize distributions will arrive in contestants' email accounts within three business days via postal service. Skill points rewards will be credited to accounts upon the contestant's next login—please keep this in mind."
"Now..." Pan Feng interjected, "Here comes an urgent notice... The server will close in five minutes real-world time."
"What? What's going on?" The audience nearly lost control of themselves. "A ton of players who haven't even watched the finals are still grinding! Aren't the finalists still inside the scenario?"
"All queueing systems for every game mode are now locked", Pan Feng clarified these concerns. "Players currently inside scenarios will be automatically disconnected once their current scenario concludes."
"As you've seen", Hua Xiong continued, "during the recent 'Peak Conquest Tournament,' an unexpected situation occurred. This marks the first 'global event' in Terrifying Paradise—'derivative being invasion.'"
The players fell silent again.
"Every time Terrifying Paradise experiences such a 'major event,' massive changes follow", Hua Xiong read from the script, his expression shifting accordingly. "The server will adjust the game version based on the event's impact."
"What? No way!"
"Are they serious? Updating the version?"
"What kind of game updates without a maintenance notice beforehand?"
Within moments, these spectators had completely forgotten about the competition results. After all, who cared who became champion? It wasn't like the winner had any connection to their daily lives. But server closures and new version launches? That directly impacted them.
"Therefore", Hua Xiong continued, "Terrifying Paradise's Open Beta phase officially ends here. This server upgrade is expected to last approximately three business days. When the server reopens, the game will enter its official operation phase as Version 1.10—'Derivative Being Invasion.'"
Pan Feng added, "For details about the new version, please closely monitor the official website's patch notes starting today."
After finishing their script, the two men exchanged glances, their expressions tense.
Two seconds later, the screen cut to a countdown-style message: [Server Closure Imminent: 47:14]
This time reference clearly indicated "Gametime", leaving players with plenty of time.
"Again? Are they serious?"
"Exactly! They did this during the Closed Beta to Open Beta transition—shutting down servers without warning."
"Pfft, you're clearly clueless. Last time was because Order Studio's Fearless Hero reached the level cap—emergency maintenance was necessary."
"It's actually reasonable. Prematurely revealing version details would cause price fluctuations, studio stockpiling, and other issues."
"True. I've played other games where announcing a cross-server function a week in advance led to scammers, raging players, and black market equipment trading."
"Hey? What about those finalists? Did they really die inside the scenario?"
"Don't be silly! Obviously, they mentioned this was a 'global event'—like when Angra opened the gate in some game, or when the Lich King invaded, or Deathwing rampaged... Those contestants obviously didn't become white light—it was just special effects for the unique scenario."
"Right! The derivative beings must be Npcs with special settings—like the Four Pillars Deity. They're part of grander world-building."
"Wow! So we were lucky enough to witness a once-in-a-lifetime moment?"
This simple announcement successfully redirected player attention—at least most accepted the official explanation. They began enthusiastically discussing the battle while eagerly anticipating the upcoming update...
...Inside the scenario...
The corpses of fallen players began dissolving into white light the moment Lute was dragged into the Explosive Tunnel. When these players later recalled the experience, they all reported their memories ended at the moment of being killed. Then, as if only a second had passed, they found themselves back in the Login Space—feeling identical to usual scenario deaths.
The remaining six players in the City—Wang Tan Zhi, tian tian gui xiao, Shiva, Yama, Vishnu, and Matcha Su—all exited the scenario.
Xiao Tan left first. Being a simple person, he immediately followed Feng Bu Jue's shout of "Everyone! Exit the scenario immediately!"
Though Matcha Su couldn't see the battlefield clearly from her distant position, she still left promptly after the "Invisible Demon's" warning, not daring to linger.
The Gods trio didn't exit immediately. They briefly considered their competition points but quickly abandoned the idea when they checked the game menu and found the scoring system had disappeared. Thus, they also exited without finishing each other or trying to eliminate gui xiao.
As for gui xiao, he lay on the ground sulking for quite a while. Only after everyone else left and his frustration had somewhat eased did he finally depart in a huff.
Meanwhile, Twenty-Three, Chi Tie, and Ling Feng from the derivative beings showed no interest in communicating with other players. Their mission complete, they returned to the Inner World—time not permitting prolonged stays.
Soon, the battered battlefield grew quiet.
A gentle evening breeze swept through...
Nine strange shadows appeared at the scene.
"Has it ended?" Penitent mused.
Seer replied, "Yes... The otherworld traveler and derivative beings have departed. The remaining three seem to be heading toward a dimensional channel."
"What now?" War Spirit turned to Soulstealer.
"The demon lord might return at any moment", Bloodlust Demon chimed in.
"Retreat", Soulstealer interrupted. Of course, this matched Bloodlust Demon's own thoughts.
"Lord..." Seer asked, "How should we explain this to 'the King'?"
"Don't worry yourselves. I'll handle it", Soulstealer responded. Suddenly, he seemed to recall something. "Hmm... Speaking of which, Mad Bu Jue still has my belongings..."
Bloodlust Demon chuckled dryly, glancing at Soulstealer with mild pity, "Did you really think he'd return it?"
(End of Chapter)
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