Even though the Dream Company's announcement had caused quite a stir, as the developer and operator of the game, they had the right to do that.
No matter how many people expressed their dissatisfaction about not being able to see the finals, they could not change the result.
Two and a half days passed in the blink of an eye … and the day of the finals arrived.
November 18th, 11: 40 pm.
As midnight approached, the number of online players in Thriller Paradise broke the record. It was the highest since the game was launched.
Basically, everyone who had created a game account in Thriller Paradise had entered the gaming hub early that night and set the time to log in to sleep mode. Many people who worked the night shift even asked for leave to log into the game that night because the finals of S2 would not be replayed.
…
At the same time, in the chairman's office at the Dream Company's headquarters …
Three men in black suits stood before the floor-to-ceiling window. They each held a wine glass and looked down at the night view of City S.
The wine cups in their hands were filled with a red, fishy, and somewhat viscous liquid.
No matter what it was … it was definitely not red wine.
"Hehehe … It's about to start …" Woody chuckled.
Vincent, who stood on his left, said, "The trap set up by the 'council' … is not very precise, but it can be said to be unscrupulous."
"Sir." Sid added, "How come I feel like … they can't come up with a clever plan, so they can only resort to this kind of big move?"
"Heh … Don't be so blunt." Vincent smiled.
"Hehehe …" Woody used a tone that was filled with malice. "Perhaps the Scorched Earth Council is not that clever in certain aspects, but their power and position are reliable."
Vincent shrugged and turned to glance at Woody. "Reliable on the premise that they have absolute power when it comes to 'power'."
"Hehehe … speaking of power …" At that moment, Woody seemed to be reminded of something. "That Duo Ma … was revived in the 'main universe' not long ago, right?"
"Oh … that 'God of Eternal Life'," Sid said. Sid continued, "I've already observed it. Frankly speaking … it's pitifully weak now." He shook his head. "Compared to half a century ago when he first appeared in our universe, the current Duo Ma … has lost at least half of his power. He won't be able to recover to his peak even in a plane like the 'main universe', which is full of energy. "
"Hmph … As expected." Vincent laughed. "Back then, Duo Ma's primordial spirit was severely injured by the Primordial Water Divine Sword and was on the verge of disappearing. It's already not easy for him to leave behind a wisp of his divine consciousness to escape into another plane … All these years, he has neither the support of the 'True God Tesseract' nor has he obtained any 'power of faith'. Furthermore, he has been sealed in a 'low-magic' area like the Bunny Planet … It would be abnormal if he could really recover his original strength."
"Hehehe …" Hearing this, Woody laughed again, "However, with the strength of the various forces in this' Twilight of the Gods', if Duo Ma were to participate, he would definitely become a competent shit stirrer …"
Just as he finished speaking, another person appeared in the office.
Vincent, Woody, and Sid all turned their heads at the same time to look at the figure.
"Why is it that every time I teleport near you, as long as you speak, the first sentence that enters my ears is always some kind of vulgar language?" Simon looked at his three old friends and greeted them with a sarcastic remark.
"Hehehe …" Woody did not answer this question because it was not really a question. He smiled and continued, "Lord Judge, you should be very busy tonight. How come you have the time to come over to our place?"
"I'm here to inform you of something," Simon replied.
"Oh?" Vincent was very sharp and immediately continued, "Could it be … that the council has come up with some rotten idea again?"
"I won't comment on whether it's rotten or not, but it's good news for all of you," Simon replied. "The council has said that tonight, 'those who place bets' can enter the main universe to watch the competition." He paused for half a second and then changed the topic, "But … they are not allowed to interfere."
"Huh?" Sid was stunned. "Mr. Simon, such an important thing … you're only informing us now?"
"It's just to inform us not long before the competition, in case some people …" Simon said and coldly glanced at Vincent and Woody, "… make some bad plans in advance."
"Tch …"
"Hehehe …"
The two of them turned their faces away, showing a reaction that was thirty percent disdainful and seventy percent guilty.
"I know, no matter what … when you heard what I said just now, you've already started to plan," Simon said. "So I'll remind you again …" His arrogant expression turned serious, "Considering that the referee's workload tonight will be very heavy, the council has sent me some helpers."
"Some?" Vincent's first reaction was to test the number of people.
"Helpers?" Woody wanted to ask about the other party's background.
"They're all from the Titan Race, so I can't reveal the number of people." Simon naturally understood what they meant, and he calmly replied, "At this moment, they're like me … passing the news to the various bets."
"A group of Titans has been mobilized …" Vincent said thoughtfully, "… That's interesting."
"Hehehe … If that's the case …" Woody laughed evilly, "No one can mess around anymore …"
"Just based on the attitude of the two of you, I'll personally come and take care of you later," Simon added.
"Ah, ah, there's no need to be so hostile." Sid looked at the three seniors and shrugged. "It's just a matter of 'one minute'."
…
November 19th, midnight, game world.
The four teams that made it to the finals were Underworld Frontline, Trash Alliance, Order, and Warring States. All of them were present and ready to go.
Due to the limitation of the Dream Company, during the finals of the Tournament for the Best S2, other than the competition mode, all the other scenario modes would be shut down. Therefore … at that moment, other than the twenty members from the four teams, no one else could queue.
In other words … all the other players were gathered in the log-in lobby, meeting room, or market, waiting to watch the livestream.
When the clock struck midnight, the four teams morphed into white light and entered the queue for the finals.
Perhaps because this was the only queue in the whole server, the loading speed this time was surprisingly fast. In just a moment, the players had entered the scenario world.
Then … the opening cinematic of the scenario appeared on the various screens in the game space.
"Nine heads of clouds descend."
"Blood rain descends."
"Time lies in the palm of your hand."
"Who will judge the world of good and evil?"
In the pitch-black screen, the first thing that sounded were the four lines of the poem.
Among the audience, some players with better memory remembered that the finals of Tournament for the Best S1 had also started with these four lines.
However, the content of the next part of the story changed …
"Dark abyss rises."
At this point, the scene suddenly appeared.
The black and white camera kept switching until it was fixed on the bodies.
They were not normal bodies but the bodies of the Nine Heads of the Dead.
Of the nine NPCs that appeared in S1, more than half were dead, and a few were missing.
And beside those corpses, there was a figure standing ….
At first glance, it looked like a human female. She wore a white dress and had a slender body. Her waist-length hair flowed down her back. However, if one were to look carefully … one would discover an abnormality on her body. That was … her nose and cheeks had no flesh. It was as if the middle of her face had been cut off, and the bones of her nose and face were exposed.
"War demon shatters the void."
Several seconds later, the second line was read by the narration.
This time, the scene showed a scorched land. Under the dark sky, there was a river of blood, a mountain of bones, and a sea of corpses.
In that hellish landscape, a demonic shadow surrounded by black fog … was walking toward the camera.
"Time of the four worlds shatters."
The third line of the poem followed, and the scene changed again.
This time, the camera was fixed on a dilapidated courtroom.
There was no one in the courtroom, and it looked like it had just experienced a magnitude 7 earthquake. The ground was littered with rubble, and it was a mess.
On the wall next to the courtroom, there was a very eye-catching, giant clock … At that moment, the face of the clock had cracked, and the hour and minute hands … stopped at the direction of twelve o'clock.
"The gods fall to dusk."
Moments later, the last line of the poem was played.
Then, the scene turned black again …
"What's going on?"
"Hey … what's next?"
"Where's the competition?"
Everyone thought that after the cinematic ended, they would be able to watch the competition.
But … after a full minute, be it the big screen in the market, the touch screen in the log-in lobby, or the screen in the conference room … they were all black, and the commentator's voice did not appear for a long time.
Buzz! Buzz!
One minute later, following a noise that sounded like radio interference, a face appeared on the livestream.
"Hello, humans." The owner of the face looked to be in his forties. He was Caucasian and male. He had neat sideburns and clean cheeks. He was wearing a tall hat and a bow tie. "Nice to meet you. I am … Link, an Anomaly."
Link courteously finished his self-introduction. Then, in a gentle tone, he continued, "Perhaps you will find my next request a bit abrupt, but I still have to say …" He paused for half a second before continuing, "Please … die here."
As he finished, something strange happened.
Just as the players were still trying to figure out what was going on, a crack appeared on the dome of the game exchange (i.e., the mall space).
This was not an isolated phenomenon that happened in 'one' of the mirror spaces but happened in all the different layers at the same time.
The spectators who had gathered in front of the big screens in various shopping malls and were preparing to watch the match … all discovered this sudden change at the first moment.
Originally, not seeing the livestream of the competition had already shocked them, but what was happening now … was completely beyond their comprehension and imagination.
"How is this possible?"
"Am I seeing things? The game space is collapsing?"
"Hey! What is that? "
"Something … something is coming down from the crack!"
Some of the players with better eyesight saw that … on top of the broken dome, inside the jagged data crack, there was a group of strange shadows … and they were rushing out …
It was a group of tall humanoid creatures. Their bodies were wrapped in a layer of purple-black leather shells. Their heads were shaped like an alien … with long necks. Their torsos were strong, their forearms were long and narrow, and their hind legs were curved like the feet of beasts. In addition, they had a pair of huge, thin, and cicada-like wings on their backs.
"Warning, the game space has been invaded by derivative data.
"Offline and disconnected protection mechanism is not working normally.
"Emergency plan activated. All players' system limit has been adjusted to thirty percent.
"Please stay away from the threat with the protection of the guard robots. Your safety is your top priority."
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