Chapter 18 The Finals Begin

Although Dream Inc.'s announcement caused a great uproar, as the game's developer and operator, they certainly had the right to do so.

No matter how many outsiders expressed their dissatisfaction about not being able to see the finals, it couldn't change the established outcome.

Two and a half days passed quickly, seemingly in the blink of an eye… the day of the finals arrived.

November 18th, late evening, 11:40 PM.

As midnight approached, the number of online players in Thriller Paradise broke records, reaching the highest peak since the game's launch.

Basically, everyone who had created a game account in Thriller Paradise had already laid down in their game pods early tonight, setting the login time to sleep mode. Even many people who worked night shifts took leave to log into the game tonight, just because the S2 finals were a match without replays…

…………

At the same time, Dream Inc. headquarters, the chairman's office.

Three men in black suits were standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, each holding a wine glass, leisurely looking at the night view of S City below.

In their glasses was a red, sweet-smelling, and somewhat viscous liquid.

Whatever it was… it definitely wasn't red wine.

"Hehehe… it's about to begin…" Woody said with a lewd smile.

Vincent, standing to his left, calmly replied, "The 'Council's' scheme… although not very sophisticated, it can be described as brazen…"

"Teacher," Sid, on the other side, continued Vincent's words, "I feel that… they can only resort to such large-scale actions because they can't come up with clever schemes…"

"Heh… don't be so blunt," Vincent said with a smile.

"Hehehe…" Woody also chimed in with a malicious tone, "Perhaps the Scorched Earth Council isn't very clever in some aspects, but their authority and stance are still reliable."

Vincent shrugged, turned his head, and glanced at Woody: "Reliability presupposes absolute power in terms of 'strength.'"

"Hehe… speaking of strength…" At this moment, Woody seemed to have remembered something, "'Doma'… that guy… was resurrected in the 'Main Universe' not long ago, right?"

"Oh… that 'God of Immortality'," Sid replied, "I've already observed it. Frankly… it's pitifully weak now." He shook his head, "Compared to when it appeared in our universe more than half a century ago, Doma's strength has regressed by at least half. Even in the 'Main Universe,' a plane filled with chaotic and overflowing energy, it can't restore itself to its peak strength."

"Hmph… as expected," Vincent laughed, "Doma's primordial spirit was severely damaged by the Original Water God Sword to the point of near-disappearance. It was already difficult for it to leave a wisp of consciousness and escape into another plane… Over the years, it has neither had the support of the 'True God Cube' nor obtained any 'Power of Faith,' and it has also been sealed in a 'low-magic' area like Tutu Star… It would be abnormal if it could really restore its original strength."

"Hehehe…" Woody laughed again upon hearing this, "But, considering the combat power of the various forces in this 'Twilight of the Gods,' if Doma participates, it will definitely become a competent troublemaker…"

Just as he finished speaking, another person appeared in the office.

Vincent, Woody, and Sid also turned their heads at the same moment, looking at the figure.

"Why is it that every time I teleport near you, as long as you're talking, the first thing I hear is usually some kind of vulgarity?" Simon looked at his three old friends and greeted them with a complaint.

"Hehehe…" Woody didn't answer the question, because it wasn't really a question, he smiled and continued, "Judge Simon, you should be very busy tonight, why do you have time to come over here?"

"I came to inform you of something," Simon replied.

"Oh?" Vincent was very perceptive and immediately interjected, "Could it be… that the Council has another bad idea?"

"I won't comment on whether it's a bad idea, but it's good news for you," Simon replied, "The Council has stated that tonight, the 'Betters' can enter the Main Universe to watch the game." He paused for half a second, then changed his tone, "But… absolutely no interference is allowed."

"Eh?" Sid was stunned, "Mr. Simon, such an important matter… why are we only being notified now?"

"It's meant to be announced shortly before the game, to prevent some guys…" Simon said, glancing coldly at Vincent and Woody, "…from making some bad calculations in advance."

"Tch…"

"Hehe…"

The two of them turned their faces away, revealing a reaction that was three parts disdain and seven parts guilt.

"I know that no matter what… when you heard what I just said, you had already started calculating," Simon said, "So, I'll remind you again…" His arrogant expression became solemn, "Considering that the judges will have a lot of work to do tonight, the Council has sent me some helpers."

"Some?" Vincent's first reaction was to test the number of people.

"Helpers?" Woody wanted to ask what their background was.

"They are all from the Titan race, and I can't reveal the number," Simon naturally understood their intentions, he replied calmly, "At this very moment, they are doing the same as me… conveying the message to the Betters."

"Actually dispatching a group of Titans…" Vincent said thoughtfully, "…This is interesting."

"Hehehe… in that case…" Woody said with a treacherous smile, "…It really means that no one can mess around…"

"Based on the way you two are feigning ignorance, I will personally and especially take care of you later," Simon replied.

"Ah ah~ there's no need for everyone to be so tense, right?" Sid looked at the three seniors and said, spreading his hands, "It's only a 'minute' away."

…………

November 19th, midnight, game world.

The four teams that successfully entered the finals: [Hell Frontline], [Loser Alliance], [Order], and [Warring States], were all present and ready to go.

Due to Dream Inc.'s restrictions, during the Peak Competition S2 finals, all other script modes in the server will be closed except for the competition mode, so… at this time, no one except the twenty members of the four teams can queue for a script.

That is to say… all other players are now concentrated in the login space, conference room, or mall, waiting to watch the live broadcast.

At the moment the midnight bell rang, the players of the four teams simultaneously transformed into white light and entered the finals queue.

Perhaps because this was the only queue being loaded on the entire server, the loading speed was extremely fast. Almost instantly, the players had entered the script world.

Then… the script's opening CG appeared on the various live broadcast screens in the game space.

【Ling yun ai ai jiu kui lin】 (Auspicious clouds gather, nine leaders descend)
【Xue yu xiao xiao mo shou lai】 (Bloody rain patters, demon chief arrives)
【Shi xu yin guo gu zhang jian】 (Time and causality in the palm)
【Zhu jie shan e shui ren cai】 (Who judges good and evil across realms)

In a pitch-black screen, these four introductory lines of poetry sounded first.

Among the audience, some players with good memories remembered that the Peak Competition S1 finals also started with these four lines.

However, the following content was somewhat different…

【Ming yuan ling bian feng yun qi】(The Nether Abyss transforms, winds and clouds rise)

At this point, the narrator's voice appeared, and the screen suddenly lit up.

The black and white camera constantly switched, focusing on corpses.

These were no ordinary corpses, but the corpses of the Nine Underworld Leaders…

Of the nine NPCs who appeared in S1, most are now dead or missing.

Beside the corpses stood a figure…

At first glance, it seemed to be a human female. She wore a white dress, had a slender figure, and her waist-length hair was scattered behind her. However, upon closer inspection… an anomaly could be found on her, namely… the part of her nose and cheeks had no flesh, as if the middle section of her face had been cut off horizontally, exposing the bones of her nose and face.

【Dou mo po xu gui shen jing】(Fighting demons shatter the void, ghosts and gods are alarmed)

Seconds later, the narrator recited the second line.

This time, the screen showed a scorched earth; under the dim sky was a sulfurous blood river, a mountain of corpses and a sea of bones.

In that hellish landscape, a demonic figure wrapped in black aura… was walking towards the camera.

【Si jie shi xu jin li sui】(The order of the four realms is completely shattered)

The third line of poetry followed closely, and the screen switched again.

This time, the camera focused on a dilapidated courtroom.

The courtroom was empty, and it seemed to have just experienced an earthquake of magnitude seven or higher… The ground was full of rubble and debris, in a terrible mess.

On the wall of the courtroom hung a very conspicuous, giant clock… At this moment, the clock face was shattered; both the hour and minute hands… were pointing at twelve o'clock.

【Zhu shen qing yun jian huang hun】(Gods fall, seeing twilight)

After a moment, the last line of poetry arrived.

Immediately afterward, the screen turned dark again…

"What's going on?"

"Hey… what's next?"

"Where's the match footage?"

Everyone thought that the CG had finished playing, and that the match could begin next.

But… a full minute passed, and whether it was the big screen in the mall, the touchscreen in the login space, or the screen in the conference room… they were still black screens, and the voices of the match commentators were nowhere to be heard.

Buzz—buzz buzz buzz—

A minute later, accompanied by a noise that sounded like radio interference, a face appeared… on the live broadcast screen.

"Humans, hello." The owner of the face looked to be in his forties, a white man, he had neat sideburns and a clean face, and he wore a tall top hat and a bow tie, "Nice to meet you, I… Link, am a Derivative."

Link finished his self-introduction politely, and then continued to say something terrible in this gentle tone: "Perhaps some of you will find the request I'm about to make a bit abrupt, but I still have to say it…" He paused for half a second, and then said, "Please… die here."

Before the words fell, an abrupt change occurred.

Just as the players hadn't figured out what the situation was, cracks appeared… on the dome of the Game Exchange (i.e., the mall space).

This wasn't an isolated phenomenon happening in "one" mirrored space, but simultaneously in all phase layers and all regions.

The audience gathered in front of the big screens in each mall space, preparing to watch the match… all discovered this sudden change in the first instance.

Originally… not seeing the live broadcast of the match had already surprised them greatly, but what was happening now… was completely beyond their comprehension and imagination…

"How is this possible?"

"I'm not seeing things, am I… the game space is actually collapsing?"

"Hey! What's that?"

"There… there are things coming down from the cracks!"

Some players with good eyesight had already seen… above the torn dome, in the jagged data cracks, there was a dense crowd of strange shadows… swarming outwards…

They were a group of tall humanoid creatures, their bodies covered in a layer of purplish-black leathery shell, their heads resembled Aliens… arc-shaped, with long necks; their torsos were strong, forearms narrow and long, hind legs were curved and beast-like, and… they had pairs of huge, gossamer-thin fly wings on their backs.

【Warning, the game space is being invaded by Derivative data.】

【Offline and disconnection protection mechanisms are not functioning properly.】

【Emergency plan activated, all player system limits adjusted to 30%.】

【Please stay away from threats under the protection of the guardian robots and take action with your own safety as the top priority.】