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88% Game Creator in a New World / Chapter 66: An underlying Scheme

Chapter 66: An underlying Scheme

Of course, John's bold WeChat post was bound to drive some players away from One Piece. But John wasn't targeting real players who were there to enjoy the game. Instead, he knew that One Piece's unforgiving world wouldn't appeal to everyone, especially to those who just wanted to create drama.

This reaction was something John had anticipated. Not all players could handle the harsh and often brutal rules of One Piece World. For those who preferred to complain rather than adapt, the game was nothing short of a nightmare. Unless they were extremely lucky—Ouhuang types who stumbled upon Devil Fruits—they'd need to grind endlessly to become strong or invest real money to buy powerful items. It was the difference between players who put in hard work (known as Liver Emperor players) and the whales (Shenhao players) who paid to win.

For players who didn't want to invest either effort or money, the game's competitive environment wasn't going to be kind. And for those who couldn't take it, leaving early was probably for the best, sparing everyone more trouble down the line. Casual players, however, were still able to enjoy the game without these worries.

But John wasn't done. A single WeChat post would only hurt those game companies' reputations with the players, though not by much—considering their reputations were already in tatters. John decided to step things up and give them a more direct warning.

"Since you claim so confidently that I'm rigging things from the background, let's see if I can prove you right," John muttered, a mischievous glint in his eye.

With that, he returned to One Piece World.

Back in One Piece World

Certain players, sailing on the open sea, shivered suddenly as though a dark and terrible presence had descended upon them.

"Hehe, sailing on the sea?" John mused. "Easy. Let's have a little chat with the Sea Kings."

The unlucky players John had marked found themselves face-to-face with a massive Sea King that surged from the deep. With a mighty snap of its jaws, it swallowed their ship whole, players and all.

"Oh, spending time outdoors during a thunderstorm?" John laughed. "Didn't learn physics? Allow me to teach you."

A flash of lightning struck from the heavens, and the number of players online decreased by one.

"Basking in the sun, are you?" John said mockingly.

A stray flowerpot, somehow defying logic and probability, toppled from a nearby ledge and smashed onto an unsuspecting player's head, knocking them out instantly.

"Walking peacefully down the street? Not on my watch!" John declared.

An invisible pit, dug at just the right spot to escape notice, sent another player plummeting to their doom.

John orchestrated these "accidents" with godlike precision, dispatching troublemakers with creative, yet plausible, deaths. He was like a divine trickster, manipulating every detail of One Piece World to make his point. After all, this was his creation, and he relished the role of puppet master.

Reactions in the Real World

"Daily tomb sweeping… wait, what?! Did John actually come online?!"

"Did he finally remember his WeChat password?" one fan joked.

"What does this mean? Why does it feel like John is pissed off?" another wondered.

Fans who followed John's posts religiously quickly picked up on the situation. Some were confused, but those who understood the drama filled others in.

"Hiss~ He's going head-to-head with them!"

"Wow, John is taking on those greedy game companies directly!"

Even though John's WeChat rant seemed aimed at a select few troublemakers, it was clear to everyone that he was taking a shot at the exploitative game companies backing these players.

"With all due respect, if One Piece is considered a pay-to-win game, then no game in this world isn't about making money. Well, except for John's Second World games," one player defended.

"Wait, isn't this game perfect for part-timers?" someone chimed in. "I work three jobs in the city every day in-game. I already made back what I invested, and now it's pure profit. I'm having a blast."

"I'm just playing it as a fishing simulator," another player added. "Except for the weird-looking fish, it's as realistic as fishing in my backyard. How did he design it so well?"

"Hold on, you have a mountain at home?" someone else replied, surprised.

"You guys are amazing. I'm different," a player interjected. "I started dating someone in-game. Hehehe."

"???" others responded in disbelief.

"You can date in this game?"

"Of course! John's design is incredible. When I first met Feifei, she had this unique charm. I tried my luck, and to my surprise, it worked! Check out our wedding photo [attached.jpg]."

Sand sculpture netizens zoomed in on the photo, and the comment section immediately exploded.

"WTF?!" ×999+

In the picture, a blonde-haired, brown-eyed woman in an extravagant dress, dripping with jewels, stood next to the player. She wore an affectionate smile and had her arm linked around his, leaning in close. The height difference made the couple look adorable, but… something was off.

Anyone who looked at the photo couldn't think of it as a typical couple. It screamed something else: was this… a sugar grandma?!

"Just wait, I'll reach the peak of my life in two years!" the player boasted.

"You're a legend!" someone praised. "Total respect, man!"

"Hiss~ You can actually find a rich woman in this game?! Give me a guide!"

"Add me, I'll share tips for a fee," someone joked.

"Damn, even here you find business opportunities? Count me in!"

"Stop talking, guys. I'm logging in to find my rich lady!"

The comment section suddenly emptied as players rushed back into the game. Half of them were off to try their luck.

In a Secret Meeting Room

In the real-world headquarters of Second World, five ordinary-looking executives gathered around a table. One of them slammed his palm down hard, making the cups on the table jump.

"That little punk! How dare he!" spat the older man who slammed the table. He used to go by Harold Shepherd but was now known as Luke Dillon. He was the largest shareholder of Dillon Entertainment, one of the top five game companies in the virtual market.

"Do we have any evidence?" another man asked, sounding resigned.

Their faces soured even more. Reports had come in about massive player deaths in One Piece World, and they had initially been amused, ready to mock John for it. But the details…

"What? Killed by Sea Kings? Struck by lightning? Taken out by a flowerpot? Fell into a pit?" they repeated, dumbfounded.

"Hmph! Even without evidence, it's obvious he's behind it! How else do you explain all those deaths happening at the same time?" Luke Dillon argued.

"And seriously… what kind of flowerpot kills someone with Devil Fruit powers?!"

They had invested heavily in the game, buying Devil Fruits for their elite players. Now, their anger was palpable.

"But there's no proof," another man, with a square face, grumbled.

True, they had no concrete evidence. John's control over the game world was absolute. He didn't need to go through any backend system, making their accusations difficult to substantiate.

"How do you fight a god in his own world?" they wondered.

It seemed that dealing with John was going to be harder than they'd ever anticipated.

A/N: Thanks for reading, donate some power stones for extra chapters.

Also check out my Patreon if you want extra chapters up to chapter 91: Patreon.com/AncestorX

Enjoy ✌️.


Chapter 67: Tension for opposition

The atmosphere in the room was tense, a heavy silence hanging between the five powerful figures. The quiet tension was broken by a low, thoughtful voice.

"Let's set this aside for now," the bald man with a serious demeanor spoke, his voice deep and commanding. "Have any of you made any progress on the technical front?"

The four other executives exchanged frustrated glances before shaking their heads.

"It's proving extremely difficult," replied the man known as Square Face, his real name being Matthew Hudson, a major shareholder of Apex Games, a company infamous for its copycat strategies. "Our team at Apex has called in a massive number of core programmers to analyze the source code of One Piece, but so far, we've had no breakthroughs."

Another man, a former executive named Luke Dillon, whose company Dillon Entertainment was similarly trying to crack the code, chimed in with rising frustration. "Our company has invested enormous resources. We even managed to acquire the source code for Pokémon at a hefty cost, but it's still useless. We've made no headway."

The frustration was palpable, and Luke looked like he wanted to slam the table in anger but restrained himself. The encryption on Pokémon's source code, put in place by the Dragon Kingdom's virtual security division, was nearly impenetrable. On the other hand, the source code of One Piece was oddly unprotected, available for anyone to take a look at. Yet, even with that, they were getting nowhere.

"If even Apex can't figure it out, how do you expect us to?" another executive replied with thinly veiled sarcasm, his tone dripping with derision. He and another shareholder had their own grievances with Apex, as Apex had aggressively cloned their game ideas in the past.

The gathering wasn't one of comrades but rather a temporary alliance of competing companies united only by a shared enemy: John. They were opportunistic predators, waiting to turn on each other the moment their collective threat was eliminated.

Apex Games, under Matthew Hudson's strategic direction, had built its empire on plagiarism. They dissected the source code of successful games, made superficial alterations, and then released their own versions. Copyright laws in this world were rigorous, punishing even the most minor acts of intellectual theft, but Apex's cunning methods had helped it become one of the five major players in the industry.

Matthew Hudson was a visionary, albeit a morally ambiguous one. A skilled virtual game designer, he wasn't just a businessman playing with investments; he had an instinct for identifying talent and potential in games. Yet even he had to admit, begrudgingly, that John was an enigma.

The tension in the room was escalating, and another executive—a bald man named Richard Burns—sighed and tried to mediate. "Okay, enough. We're getting nowhere by arguing." He rubbed his temples in distress, clearly burdened by the crisis they faced.

Their meeting this time was far more somber compared to their previous one. They'd initially underestimated John, viewing him as a reckless upstart they could squash, and they had been focused on dividing the spoils of his defeat. But now they realized they were up against someone with immense strategic prowess, someone capable of defending his empire with surgical precision.

Richard's voice turned grave. "If the Dragon Kingdom successfully implements game currency exchange between One Piece and the real world, we're in serious trouble. Players will have a new source of income and won't need to spend money on our games. We need information, and we need it fast. Stop guarding your own secrets and start sharing them."

Through their connections, they had learned that One Piece was the testing ground for the Dragon Kingdom's currency exchange model. Their mission was clear: ruin One Piece before this economic model could be proven successful, causing enough chaos to demonstrate the risks associated with it. If they could prove it would destabilize the virtual economy, they could save their own skins.

Matthew Hudson, always a provocateur, smirked at his rivals. "The weak can only bark," he mocked, his eyes gleaming with scorn. The other two executives bristled at his words, ready to lash out, but Richard silenced them with a stern look.

Matthew continued, undeterred by their glares. "If you can't even analyze One Piece's simple mechanics, what makes you think you can handle anything more complex?" His contemptuous gaze swept the room, but then he shifted his tone and became more serious. "Here's the thing. One Piece and Pokémon are more advanced than any of us could have anticipated."

The executives leaned in as he made a gesture, summoning a holographic projection onto the table. "John's first major hit was Pokémon, followed by Happy Farm, then Minecraft, and finally One Piece. Notice anything?"

Richard frowned. "Just tell us already. Enough of your games."

Matthew's lips curled. "Look at the credits for Pokémon and One Piece. John is listed as the sole owner of all the copyrights. Yet, for Minecraft, there's a detailed breakdown of who did what, with every member of the Edge Horizon team credited. John is only mentioned as the visionary, overseeing the project."

Realization dawned on Richard's face. Matthew pressed on. "The code that we're struggling with—the systems that make these characters feel so lifelike—are found in Pokémon and One Piece. This suggests that there's a hidden, highly skilled team working with John. They've mastered a unique programming method."

"A single person couldn't have built One Piece on their own," Matthew concluded. "It's impossible. There has to be a secret team behind John. If we find them, we find the source of his power."

Matthew's words sent a chill through the room. The idea of a hidden mastermind team was both terrifying and plausible.

"If we can track down that team," Richard said thoughtfully, "then John won't be invincible anymore."

The five executives sat in a tense silence, contemplating their next moves. They had underestimated John, and now they were scrambling for a way to turn the tide. But one thing was clear: their enemy was far more formidable than they had ever imagined.

A/N: Thanks for reading, donate some power stones for extra chapters.

Also check out my Patreon if you want extra chapters up to chapter 91: Patreon.com/AncestorX

Enjoy ✌️.


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