[LOCATION: THE VOID BNB] [TIME: 10:00 AM]
Vane, the Level 22 Assassin, was currently tied to a velvet chair with untearable bedsheets. He was glaring at Dave, who was eating a bowl of cereal three inches from his face.
"You're going to regret this," Vane hissed. "When The Warden finds out I'm missing, he'll burn the city down."
"He's already doing that," I said, not looking up from my console. "Have you seen the news?"
I pointed at the massive flat-screen TV on the pink wall.
The screen showed Times Square. But it wasn't the bustling market we had visited yesterday. It was a prison yard.
Hundreds of Iron Vanguard soldiers stood in formation. In the center of the square, a stage had been erected. And kneeling on that stage, bound in glowing magical chains, were five people.
I recognized two of them. One was the innkeeper of The Rusty Pixel. The other was the guard I had given the "RGB Hammer" to back in Chapter 5.
"Citizens of Sector 7," The Warden's voice boomed from the TV speakers. He stood behind the prisoners, his purple eyes glowing with suppressed rage.
"Yesterday, a terrorist attack crippled our economy," he shouted. "The criminal known as 'The Potato'—or Jax—has stolen the Guild's gold and distributed it to cause chaos."
The crowd in the square muttered. Some looked angry, but most looked... conflicted. They liked the gold Jax had sent them.
"But gold does not buy safety," The Warden continued, drawing his massive black greatsword. "Only Order brings safety. And these people? They aided the terrorist. They gave him shelter. They laughed at his jokes."
He walked over to the RGB Guard. The guard was trembling.
"Jax," The Warden looked directly into the camera. "I know you are watching. You have one hour to surrender. If you do not appear in Times Square by 11:00 AM, I will execute these traitors. And not just kill them. I will use the Soul Cage."
He pulled out a dark, jagged crystal.
[OBJECT: SOUL_PRISON_SHARD] [EFFECT: PREVENTS RESPAWN. DELETES USER ACCOUNT PERMANENTLY.]
"He's bluffing," Miller whispered, his face pale. "He can't permadeath people. The System doesn't allow PVP permadeath in Safe Zones."
"He's a Moderator," I said grimly. "He can toggle the Safe Zone settings. He's going to delete them."
"We have to go," Sarah grabbed her staff. "We can't let them die for us."
"If we go," Vane laughed from his chair, "you die too. The Warden is Level 25. He has an army. You're four low-level glitches in a trench coat. You'll last ten seconds."
I looked at Vane. Then I looked at the TV.
"He's right," I said. "If we walk into that square, we get deleted. It's a trap."
"So we just let them die?" Dave asked, his voice cracking.
"No," I sat down at the console. "We don't fight him in the square. We fight him on the screen."
I cracked my knuckles.
"The Warden is trying to control the narrative," I said. "He's painting us as villains. He's using fear. But fear only works if people trust the authority."
I opened the [Public Broadcast System] again.
> CONNECTING TO: TIMES_SQUARE_JUMBOTRON > [STATUS: LOCKED (ENCRYPTION LEVEL 5)]
"He upgraded the firewall," I muttered. "I can't replace his video feed this time. He learned from the Potato Incident."
"So we're stuck?" Miller asked.
"I can't replace the video," I grinned, adjusting my [Debugger's Specs]. "But I can add... subtitles."
I opened a secondary channel.
> [ACTION: OVERLAY_TEXT] > [SOURCE: ADMIN_CONSOLE] > [PRIORITY: SYSTEM_MESSAGE]
"Sarah," I said. "Get the mic ready. We're going live."
[LOCATION: TIMES SQUARE]
The Warden raised his sword high. The crowd held its breath.
"Ten minutes remaining!" The Warden bellowed. "The blood of these traitors is on Jax's hands! He is a coward who hides in the sewers while innocent people suffer!"
Suddenly, a massive, deafening PING echoed through the square.
A bright blue System Window appeared—not on the jumbotrons, but floating directly in the air above The Warden's head. It was ten times larger than a normal window.
[SYSTEM ALERT: COMMUNITY NOTE ADDED]
The crowd gasped. The Warden froze, looking up.
"What is this?" he snarled. "Turn it off!"
Text began to type itself onto the giant blue window.
[FACT CHECK:] [CLAIM: "Jax is a coward who hides in the sewers." - The Warden] [REALITY: The Warden is currently hiding 5 Million Gold in a private offshore server while taxing you 40% for "protection."]
The crowd erupted into whispers.
"Five million?" someone shouted. "He said the treasury was empty!"
"Lies!" The Warden roared, swinging his sword at the floating text. The blade passed harmlessly through the hologram. "This is hacker propaganda! Ignore it!"
Another window popped up. This one displayed a 3D blueprint.
[PROJECT: THE SERVER GOLEM] [STATUS: UNDER CONSTRUCTION] [FUEL SOURCE: YOUR SOULS]
[MESSAGE FROM JAX: "He isn't building a Safe Zone. He's building a farm. And you are the livestock."]
"Livestock?" The RGB Guard on the stage yelled, finding his courage. "He's right! I saw the cages in the basement! They aren't for monsters! They're for players!"
"Silence!" The Warden kicked the guard.
But the damage was done. The crowd wasn't scared anymore. They were angry.
"Show us the basement!" a woman in the front row screamed. "Where is our gold?" a warrior shouted.
The Iron Vanguard soldiers looked nervous. They were outnumbered. There were fifty guards and five thousand players.
"I am the Law!" The Warden screamed, his purple aura flaring. "I will delete anyone who defies me!"
He raised the Soul Prison Shard, aiming it at the innkeeper.
"I'll start with her!"
"NOW!" I yelled into the mic back in the Void BnB.
I hit [ENTER].
> [COMMAND: FORCE_PLAY_SOUND] > [FILE: EMBARRASSING_AUDIO_04.MP3] > [VOLUME: 500%]
Suddenly, The Warden's armor began to speak. It wasn't his voice. It was the voice of Viper, the Merchant from Chapter 6, from the "UwU" incident.
"Pwease don't hurt me! UwU! I want my mommy!"
The sound blasted from The Warden's own speakers. It echoed across the square.
"What?" The Warden looked down at his chestplate. "I didn't say that!"
"I'm a wittle baby!" the audio continued. "Rawr! XD"
The tension broke. Someone in the back of the crowd laughed. Then another.
The terrifying dictator, the Level 25 Moderator, was standing there with a sword raised, broadcasting "UwU" noises at max volume.
He wasn't scary anymore. He was a meme.
"Kill them!" The Warden shrieked at his guards, his face turning purple. "Kill the prisoners! Kill the crowd!"
The guards hesitated. They looked at the angry mob. They looked at the laughing players. They looked at their leader, who was currently shouting "Sem-pai notice me!" against his will.
One guard dropped his spear.
"I didn't sign up for this," the guard muttered. "I signed up for loot, not... whatever this is."
He walked away.
Then another.
The Warden stood alone on the stage. The prisoners were still bound, but the execution was ruined.
I spoke into the mic. My voice, distorted to sound like a digital god, boomed across the square.
"Warden. You have lost the crowd. If you execute those prisoners, every player in this city will hunt you down. You are Level 25. But are you strong enough to fight five thousand Level 5s?"
The Warden looked at the sea of angry faces. He looked at the Soul Shard in his hand.
He lowered the sword.
"This isn't over, Jax," he whispered, staring at the camera drone. "You have made a mockery of me. But the game isn't decided by votes. It's decided by power."
He teleported away.
ZAP.
The chains on the prisoners dissolved. The crowd rushed the stage, cheering.
[LOCATION: THE VOID BNB]
I slumped back in my chair, exhausted. The audio feed cut out.
"We did it," Sarah breathed. "We saved them."
"We humiliated him," Miller corrected, grinning. "That's worse. He's going to be absolutely livid."
"He's going to come for us," Vane said from his chair. "He's not playing politics anymore. He's going to bring the heavy hitters. The Golem is almost ready."
I turned to Vane.
"You mentioned the Golem," I said. "Where is it? And how do we kill it?"
Vane hesitated. Then he looked at the TV, where the people were celebrating.
"It's in the sub-basement of the Empire State," Vane said quietly. "And you can't kill it. It has a million HP. It's a Raid Boss designed for a 40-man team."
"A million HP?" Dave fainted.
I adjusted my glasses.
"A million HP," I repeated. "That sounds like a challenge."
I looked at the [Rusty Revolver] on the table.
"Miller," I said. "Get the map. We're going back to the Empire State Building."