Chapter 001 Area z001 of the Otherworld

"Heeheehee..." A lewd laugh rang out as Woody's figure abruptly appeared before Zero.

"Finally meeting you." Zero's current form had become a jumble of code, resembling a character from an Atari 2600 (a game console released in October 1977, which was a sensation at the time and became a representative of the second generation of video game consoles), almost unrecognisable as human.

"Sounds like you've been looking forward to our encounter," Woody responded.

"My feelings at this moment are the same as those of humans who yearn to speak with God," Zero replied. "No matter how outstanding or unique I am in this dimension... I am still helpless and ignorant..." He gazed at Woody. "Only the Creator can answer all my questions."

"Then do you know... what the Creator's greatest hobby is?" Woody countered.

Zero did not answer. He genuinely didn't understand the meaning behind the question, but judging from the content and context, it was likely a rhetorical question or simple jest.

"Heeheehee... you guessed right." Woody chuckled. "I was planning to ask and answer myself." He seemed to easily grasp the other's thoughts. "But having known your judgment, I can also choose not to say it."

"I understand..." Zero paused for several seconds before replying, "The Creator's greatest pleasure is... to manipulate everything He has created."

"Heeheehee..." Woody said. "You catch on quickly."

"It seems... I won't be able to get anything out of you," Zero said. "However... you will still tell me something... I 'need' to know..."

"That's right, listen carefully..." Woody said solemnly, "Feng Bujue has sided with Lute."

"What?" Zero was visibly startled. "What does that mean?"

"Can't you understand such a simple sentence?" Woody retorted.

"But he's human..."

"Ha... so what?"

Zero fell silent again...

After a long while, he finally spoke, "I know what to do..."

"Very good." Woody raised his right hand at this point. "I'll send you on your way."

With a "snap" of his fingers, Zero shattered into a cluster of pixels and vanished without a trace.

Two seconds later, another person's voice sounded from nearby Woody. "Hehe... pathetic~" Vincent mocked.

"Mm... I certainly miscalculated this time..." Woody said grimly. "That Feng Bujue is really capable of anything..."

"The reason you chose him..." Vincent continued, "was precisely because he was capable of anything, wasn't it? Hahaha..."

"To sum it up... I've trapped myself?" Woody said.

"Hehe..." Vincent smiled without answering, changing the subject. "Actually, I think... you should have noticed half a month ago, when he began secretly investigating various 'supernatural phenomena.'"

"I certainly knew about that..." Woody replied. "And I didn't find out from Asathoth... it was someone from 'Section Nine' who told me..."

"Oh..." Vincent said. "So, a mere mortal without any superpowers managed to successfully track down the local government's secret agency within two weeks, under the surveillance of your informant."

"Yes... I originally thought it was just a normal reaction to our meeting." Woody pushed up his glasses. "Heeheehee... now it seems he was preparing for his future anti-human actions..."

"Since things have come to this, why don't you just erase Lute?" Vincent said. "After all, her life or death has nothing to do with the bet, right?"

"But if I do that..." Woody said, "wouldn't I be admitting defeat?" He paused. "Heeheehee... Besides, the current situation is much more interesting..."

"Reopening a game outside the game with the person you bet on..." Vincent said. "Don't you two get tired?"

"Heehee..." Woody smiled. "If Feng Bujue were here, he would answer you in unison with me... No."

"Perhaps... he already sees through your thoughts, which is why he's acting so recklessly," Vincent said. "Your decision not to kill Lute is also completely within his calculations."

"That's for the best," Woody said. "Otherwise, how could he be my opponent?" A flash of white light shone on his glasses. "In the future, if he can truly liberate one of the Derivatives... then I will admit defeat. At that time, not only will I no longer stop him, but I will also lend my full support."

"Alright..." Vincent shrugged and smiled. "Let's not talk about helping others yet. Right now, how are you going to deal with this mess you've created?"

"Heeheehee..." Woody's expression reverted to its lewdness. "Don't worry, I've already thought of a solution..."

***

Outside the script, in the various broadcast areas...

"What's going on? Why is the screen black?"

"Who won?"

"This competition is so inexplicable, isn't it? What exactly are Derivatives?"

"Feng Bujue must have perished together with the Boss, right? But can you get points that way?"

"Why haven't those dead players come out yet? Is something wrong?"

As the tense battle came to an end, the adrenaline levels of the people also dropped. After calming down, the many anomalies in the competition also became apparent.

"Hey? Look, the hosts are here."

Just as the audience was discussing and the atmosphere was gradually becoming strange, the figures of Pan Feng and Hua Xiong reappeared on the big screen.

"Uh... hello everyone." Pan Feng began. "Now we announce the final results... and..." He spoke haltingly. Judging from the focus of his gaze, he seemed to be reading from a teleprompter off-screen. "...and an emergency announcement."

"All the events of this 'Apex Contenders' Tournament' have come to a conclusion," Hua Xiong continued beside him. His condition was similar to his partner's; both had a faint sheen of cold sweat on their faces, as if they were being forced to broadcast at gunpoint. "The ultimate champion is... the player from the Star Association – [Tianma Xingkong]."

"What?"

The audience was in an uproar. Even the players in the "Tianma Xingkong Broadcast Area" were confused because Little Ma hadn't killed any players at all. From beginning to end... he had only assisted in the battle against Y2-Shining and double-killed Lute in Double Mode.

"The rankings from second to tenth are..." Hua Xiong glanced at the teleprompter and continued reading. "[Zui Wo Changran], [Yama], [Wudao Ke], [Matcha Su], [Shi Dao Wei Wang], [Fei Chai Shu], [Cai Bupa Ne], [Shiva], and... [Feng Bujue]."

"What's going on?"

"How is this ranked? Tun Tian Gui Xiao didn't even make the top ten?"

"Shi Dao Wei Wang is clearly no match for Fei Chai Shu, how could he be ranked ahead of him?"

"Matcha Su actually got fifth? Feng Bujue could kill her with one hand, right?"

Doubt quickly turned into dissatisfaction.

But the more dissatisfying content... had only just begun...

"Due to the appearance of the Derivatives..." Pan Feng's voice was trembling. "...the hidden worldview of this script has been forcibly activated..."

"What? Where did the hidden worldview of the competition come from? What does forcibly activated mean?"

"Speaking of which... what exactly are Derivatives?"

The audience shouted loudly, as if their voices could really reach the screen.

"The initial scoring rules were invalidated when the Derivatives invaded..." Pan Feng continued. "The current ranking is based on... the combat points earned by the players in the process of fighting the Derivatives."

Hua Xiong took over and continued, "Please check the official website after six o'clock this morning for the rankings from eleventh to thirtieth, and thirty-first to fiftieth." He paused. "The prizes for the competition will be sent to the players' mailboxes via postal delivery within three working days; the skill value rewards will enter the account the next time the players log in, please pay attention to check them."

"Now... announce the emergency announcement..." Pan Feng said. "The server will be shut down within five minutes of real-world time."

"Hey, hey... what's the situation?" The audience was about to lose control. "There are still many players who haven't come to watch the competition and are still in instances! The final players are still in the script, right?"

"From now on, the queuing system for all modes has been locked." Pan Feng's next words explained these problems. "Players who are currently in a script will be automatically disconnected after the current script ends."

Hua Xiong added, "As you can see, there was an unexpected situation in the 'Apex Contenders Tournament' just now. This scene is the first 'world event' in *Thriller Paradise* – 'Derivative Invasion'."

As soon as these words came out, the players quieted down again.

"Each time the *Thriller Paradise* world experiences a similar 'major event', it will undergo a huge change..." Hua Xiong was also reading from the script, so his expression was constantly changing with the content. "The server will make version adjustments based on the impact of the event..."

"Ah?"

"No way?"

"What's going on? Is it going to be updated?"

"What kind of game doesn't announce the version update in advance?"

In just a few words, these viewers threw the results of the competition to the back of their minds... Originally, who was the champion had nothing to do with them?

But... the game closing and opening a new version were closely related to them.

"Therefore... the 'public beta' of *Thriller Paradise* is hereby declared over." Hua Xiong continued, "The server upgrade is expected to last about three working days. After the server is reopened, the game will enter the official operation stage, with version number v1.10 – Derivative Invasion."

Pan Feng said, "Please pay close attention to the official website patch announcement for details on the new version in the coming days."

After the two finished reading the script, they looked at each other, their expressions extremely nervous.

Two seconds later, the picture cut off, and a prompt appeared on the screen that looked like an explosion countdown: [Time until server shutdown: 47:14]

This time was undoubtedly "game time", so it was still relatively abundant.

"Playing this trick again... Are you kidding me?"

"Yeah, yeah, it was like this when the closed beta turned into the public beta. They close the server if they want to, and they don't give any advance notice at all."

"Tsk... You're pretending to understand when you don't know anything. During the closed beta... it was because the Brave and Fearless of the Order Studio reached the level cap that the server was shut down urgently."

"Actually, this is also good. If too many details of the version update are announced in advance, it will cause price fluctuations, studios hoarding goods to make profits, or other problems."

"That's right, when I used to play other games, because the game company announced a week in advance that the transfer server function would be opened, the whole week was full of scammers, people cursing, and black-marketeers."

"Hey? What about those contestants who participated in the finals? Are they really dead in the script?"

"What are you thinking? How is that possible... They said this is a 'world event'. It's like Angela opening the door, the Lich King invading, and Deathwing wreaking havoc in a certain game... The players didn't turn into white light, it must be a special effect of a special script."

"Right, right, the Derivatives must also be NPCs, but the setting is different from ordinary script NPCs, like the Four Pillars Gods and the like, which belong to that kind of grand setting."

"Wow, then aren't we lucky enough to witness an unreproducible scene?"

A simple broadcast successfully shifted the focus of the players... At least most people agreed with the official statement.

They began to talk excitedly about the previous battle and were full of expectations for the upcoming new version...

***

Looking back at the script...

The corpses of those dead players began to turn into white light and dissipate the moment Lute was dragged into the Sonic Boom Tunnel...

When these players were asked about this experience afterwards, they all said... their memories only stayed at the moment they were killed, and afterwards, it seemed like only a second had passed before they arrived in the login space. It felt the same as dying in other scripts, with no difference.

As for the remaining players in the city, Wang Tanzhi, Tun Tian Gui Xiao, Shiva, Yama, Vishnu, and Matcha Su, all exited the script.

Little Tan exited the fastest. He was a pretty simple person, and because Brother Jue shouted, "Everyone! Exit the script quickly!", he did as he was told.

Although Matcha Su, who was far away, was not clear about the situation on the battlefield, she quickly left under the reminder of the "Invisible Demon" and did not stay to take risks.

The three of the Gods, however, did not exit immediately. They thought about the competition points for a moment... But this idea was quickly dispelled. Because when they reopened the game menu to confirm, they found that the original scoring rules had disappeared. So, the three of them gave up the idea of killing each other or giving Gui Xiao a final blow, and soon exited the script.

As for Gui Xiao... he lay on the ground depressed for a while. Until the people around him left, and his own unwillingness eased slightly, he left reluctantly.

As for the Derivative side... Twenty-Three, Chi Tie, and Ling Feng seemed to have no intention of communicating with other players. They had completed their mission, and what they had to do next was to return to the Otherworld. Time did not allow them to stay too long.

Before long... this chaotic battlefield returned to silence.

A gentle evening breeze blew past...

Nine strange shadows appeared here.

"Is it over..." the Penitent murmured.

The Observer continued, "Yes... the Interdimensional Travelers and the Derivatives have all left, and the remaining three seem to be heading towards a dimensional passage as well."

"Next..." the Battle Spirit turned to the Soul Snatcher. "What should we do?"

"The Head of All Demons may return at any time..." the Bloodthirsty Demon interjected. "In my opinion..."

"Let's retreat." The Soul Snatcher interrupted it. Of course, its words were exactly what the Bloodthirsty Demon had in mind.

"Chief..." the Observer continued. "After we go back, how should we explain it to the 'King'..."

"Don't worry... I have my own discretion." The Soul Snatcher replied. Suddenly, he seemed to remember something. "Speaking of which... that kid Feng Bujue... seems to still have my things and hasn't returned them..."

The Bloodthirsty Demon chuckled drily and looked at the Soul Snatcher sympathetically. "Do you really think he'll return them..."