Chapter 387: Interference [2]

Blocked?

"What do you mean by blocked?"

"Have a look!"

Noah turned the monitor in front of him, displaying a large notification.

——

:

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the game you are attempting to launch is temporarily unavailable. Our team is actively working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

If you require further assistance, please contact us at

[email protected]

We appreciate your understanding and patience.

——

I read the notification once. Twice. Three times.

The more I read it, the colder my heart grew. Eventually, I closed my eyes and sat back down in my seat.

"Boss...! What should we do?! No, give me a second. Let me just try again!"

"What just happened? Why are they blocking our game from launching?"

"This doesn’t make sense! Let me quickly contact them. No, let me call them!"

The entire Studio was a mess. Everyone quickly moved to do their own thing. I just remained seated, absorbing the chaos around me.

"....."

Honestly, I didn’t feel very sad.

Rather...

I felt a boiling rage that simply wouldn’t die down.

I had been feeling like this quite a lot lately, but this was the first time that I felt such anger that my hands were twitching.

’Relax. Calm down.’

I kept telling myself to keep calm. To not explode.

However, maybe because of the nightmare, the Cognitive Shard, or the constant stress I’d been under for the past few months, something in my mind just... snapped.

Snap.

When I opened my eyes again, everyone in the studio was gone... only I remained. Everyone had gone out to handle the aftermath of the situation. My gaze fell to my shadow, where a faint shape stirred within it. As I watched it move, I activated my second node.

[Trait Transfer]

I watched as my entire body began to darken, turning pitch black from head to toe. The lights around me flared, growing painfully bright, and before I could react, I felt myself slowly sinking into the floor.

A certain cold gripped me as the surroundings changed, and soon—

"....."

I found myself sitting in the same seat again.

This time, however, the world felt different. Everything around me looked exactly the same, and yet different.

Looking around, I saw Mirelle, the Conductor, and Mr. Jingles looking at me.

This was when I knew.

I was in the anomaly realm.

Standing up from my seat, I headed towards the door.

There was a certain place that I had to be.

***

"Thank you very much. I owe you this favor. Please don’t worry. I can guarantee you that you won’t be implicated in all of this. Yes, please don’t worry. Thank you again."

A voice echoed quietly within a large office.

With a kind smile, Theodore, the CEO of Nightmare Forge Studios, talked on the phone with a certain figure.

He kept his tone polite the entire time, his hand holding onto the phone very carefully.

"...I’ll take care of this matter quickly. Please don’t worry."

Theodore hung up the phone shortly after, the smile wiping off his face.

Making sure the phone call was off, he turned his attention towards the other figure that stood in the office.

"It should be done."

"That’s great news to hear."

Daniel, the CEO’s direct assistant, smiled.

"With this, it should be hard for him to get the game released. At the very least, it should be impossible for him to release the game in the upcoming weeks. This should halt his momentum further."

"That’s the plan."

The smile finally returned to the CEO’s face, his back leaning against the chair as he chuckled.

"Hur. Hur."

He wasn’t a CEO for nothing.

Although Nightmare Forge Studios wasn’t exactly the biggest gaming Studio, they were still relatively big. In that regard, most of it was due to the CEO’s connections. He was well acquainted with the Regional Head of Dock.

As a result, one quick call and he was able to halt the release of Seth’s game.

His plan was obvious.

To use this as leverage in order to get Seth to hand over the programs.

Given the amount of money he had invested in the game, he was certain that he was running dry. The more the launch of the game, the more he’d operate at a loss.

He was bound to cave in to their demands sooner or later.

Of that, he was sure.

"Here."

Taking out a small USB from his deck, he passed it across the table.

"This is a copy of the game that I’ve managed to acquire from the Station Head. Try to see how the game is and see if you can alter it a bit. Make sure that when it launches, it’ll be the worst game that people can play."

The CEO’s smile grew even more arrogant as Daniel’s lips curved into a faint grin, his eyes lingering on the USB.

Picking it up, he nodded.

"I’ll do so immediately."

He left shortly after that.

Staring at the door, Theodore didn’t stop there. He focused his attention on his monitor and quickly drafted an email.

——

To:

BUA (Bureau of Unusual Affairs)

Attached to this email is a certain game. I’m reaching out because I believe there’s something suspicious about this product. While I don’t usually jump to conclusions, I’ve noticed something strange about the soundtrack. Please look into it, and make sure that...

——

It didn’t take long for the CEO to draft the email quickly.

"Hur. Hur."

The occasional laugh escaped his lips as he stared at the email. He wasn’t planning on sending it immediately, but he was surely going to use it once Seth contacted him.

Theodore wasn’t stupid. Neither was the BUA.

He could easily tell that there was some sort of foul play in the kid’s game.

"I did see that he’s been making a name for himself in one of the Guilds. I’m sure he must’ve used some trick from there."

Theodore made sure to report everything.

This was just how he was. It was also how he had managed to survive in this industry for so long.

His hands weren’t clean.

There had been many other people he had done similar things to in the past.

This was all so that he could propel the company to greater heights.

"Hur. Hur."

He laughed once more.

"Yes, this is all for the compa—"

"This is the next step that you’re planning on taking?"

A cold voice sliced through the silence, making the CEO freeze in place.

The temperature in the room dropped sharply as the shadows around the CEO began to twist and writhe. From the reflection in the glass pane of his wardrobe, he caught a glimpse of a dark figure standing right behind him.

The CEO’s entire body shuddered at the sight.

But it was too late.

A hand came, grasping against the back of his neck.

"Very well."

A cold voice followed right after.

"I was trying too hard to keep it civil. I realized that I shouldn’t be like this. I’m too much of a pushover. For situations like these..."

His grip over the CEO’s neck tightened, his voice growing colder.

"...It’s best to get rid of the problem at once."