NOVEL NEXT Ch. 19
Chapter 19: Counterattack! Starting From Making the Rules!
Library, private reading room.
Mophis lay collapsed on the soft couch, feeling as if she were about to be completely drained.
Not physically, but mentally.
After being bombarded for hours by that so-called “scientific study” post about her three sizes, along with the carnival-like replies of those LSP players beneath it, her brain was now like a tangled mess of paste, buzzing nonstop.
Shame, anger, helplessness… all kinds of emotions tangled together, leaving her without even the strength to complain.
At one point, she even had a terrifying thought: just pull the network cable—no, better yet, smash this server entirely, and let this perverted world and its perverted players all be destroyed together.
But that thought lasted less than three seconds.
She couldn’t bear it.
She couldn’t bear to part with this world which, although perverted, provided her food and clothing without worry.
Even more, she couldn’t part with that magic refrigerator stuffed full of snacks and desserts.
“Calm down… calm down…”
Mophis took a deep breath, forcing herself to pull away from the shame of feeling stripped bare and paraded before the crowd.
She was a professional programmer.
When faced with problems, she couldn’t let emotions rule her.
She had to analyze, find loopholes, exploit the rules, and then… fight back!
She sat up and expressionlessly opened the players’ forum.
Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.
She had to first figure out what those perverts were thinking now, and what they were planning next.
The 【Underwear Research Division】 forum section was refreshing at a terrifying pace, even hotter than the main discussion area.
【The first batch of design drafts is out! The ‘Pure’ Series, thirty styles! Brothers, come vote for your favorite!】
【Materials Group Expedition Recruitment! Target: the birthplace of 【Heavenly Silkworm Silk】—the Misty Swamp! Requirements: fearless, perverted enough! Brave warriors willing to clothe our wife in the most comfortable lingerie, step inside!】
【On the design concept of the ‘Liberation’ Series, I think lace alone is not enough.
We should incorporate ‘Self-Liberation’ magic runes as well…】
Mophis flipped through them one by one, expressionless, feeling her blood pressure beginning to soar again.
These people… were serious!
They were really grinding away like madmen just to make her underwear! From design to materials, every step was filled with a perverse passion and professional dedication.
There was no stopping this.
If she dared to go out right now and say, “I won’t wear it,” those players would probably go insane on the spot, then come up with even more perverse ways to “convince” her.
Since she couldn’t resist, she could only… guide.
Or rather, control!
“You want to send things to me?” A dangerous glint flashed in Mophis’s eyes.
“Fine, I’ll let you send. But how it’s sent, and what’s sent—those will follow my rules!”
She had to seize back the “initiative”!
A bold plan quickly took shape in her mind.
She would use her understanding of code to establish a whole new “set of rules” for these fanatical players!
First of all, the “chimney” loophole had to be sealed!
No—not physically sealed, but abolished from the level of “rules.”
Such a sneaky, ceremony-less feeding method was nothing less than an insult to her identity as a “descendant of a noble dynasty”! —Though that identity had been forced on her by the GM, it just so happened to make the perfect decree now.
She immediately sank her consciousness and began searching for exploitable bugs in the library’s underlying code.
Soon, she found her target.
It was in the logic governing “main quest items.”
To prevent players from exploiting bugs to farm quests, the officials had attached a special hidden “world rule” tag to all main quest items.
For example, 【Shattered Pages】 would only be recognized by the system if obtained from killing 【Book Monsters】.
What Mophis needed to do was “transplant” this logic onto the gifts players gave her.
She began typing furiously into the virtual code only she could see.
Her plan was simple:
First, create a new type of “quest item” that could be mass-produced.
Her eyes locked on the 【Book Monsters】 outside, which were being frantically slaughtered by the players.
She would modify these monsters’ drop lists, adding—besides 【Shattered Pages】—a brand-new item with an extremely low drop rate: 【Faded Royal Letter】.
Second, she would bestow “rules” upon this letter.
The contents of the letter would be personally written by her.
It was a set of extremely tedious, aristocratically arrogant “rules of offering.”
For example:
【To the Lowly Admirer: Thy devotion has been noted. Yet as the descendant of an ancient dynasty, My dignity brooks no slight. All offerings to Me must adhere to the rites of old.】
【First: All offerings must be placed within a ‘Sacred Casket’ forged of Moonlight Wood or Starsteel, unsullied by the breath of the mundane.】
【Second: When offering, thou must stand before the gates of the Library, loudly declaring thy name and the item presented, awaiting My judgment. Any items shoved through dark, narrow passages (such as chimneys or cracks) shall be deemed insults and profanations to My bloodline.】
【Third: Attire, ornaments, and other intimate items are especially sacred. Their design, materials, and measurements must all receive My approval. Any unauthorized attempts to craft such intimate wear shall be regarded as the gravest provocation.】
…
On and on it went, more than a dozen rules in total.
Every one of them dripped with arrogance and prejudice—an attitude of “Who do you think you are to dare send Me things casually?”
When she finished all this, Mophis let out a long breath.
She was going to use this method to tell the players: your passion is fine, but it must follow My rules.
Want to send gifts? Fine—go grind monsters first, and get the “letter” as your entry ticket.
Want to send underwear? Fine—but first, ask if I permit it!
Not only would this greatly raise the threshold for giving gifts, but it would also firmly wrest back control of “gifting” from their hands!
“Hmph, trying to play rules against a top programmer like me?” The corners of Mophis’s lips curled uncontrollably.
“You’re still too green.”
She could already picture the players’ expressions, as if they had swallowed flies, when they finally obtained this “letter” and saw all those demanding rules written on it.
…
Western Wasteland, outside the Library.
A berserker player with the ID 【ILoveADoggo】 was swinging his giant axe fiercely, battling a 【Book Monster】 named 【Angry Calculus】.
He was the leader of the Materials Group in the 【Underwear Research Division】, currently leading a squad as they prepared to head to the Misty Swamp to collect the key material 【Heavenly Silkworm Silk】 for their wife’s “Pure” Series lingerie.
“Brothers, keep it up! Once we clear this wave of monsters, we move out! Within three days, let’s make sure wife feels the tenderness of Heavenly Silkworm Silk!” he roared, hacking the flying math book into a shower of fluttering paper scraps with a mighty “Whirlwind Slash.”
【Ding! You have slain ‘Angry Calculus,’ gaining +800 EXP.】
【You have obtained ‘Shattered Pages’ x3.】
【You have obtained ‘Faded Royal Letter’ x1.】
“Hm?” 【ILoveADoggo】 froze.
Shattered Pages? Normal drop.
But… what was this “Faded Royal Letter”?
Curious, he opened his inventory.
There lay an ancient, yellowed letter, its edges lined with delicate dark patterns, resting quietly in its slot.
He clicked to check its properties.
And then, his eyes widened little by little.
“…Holy crap…”
The exclamation burst from his mouth before he could stop it.
“Leader, what’s wrong? Did you get some rare loot?” a teammate leaned in.
【ILoveADoggo】 didn’t answer.
With trembling hands, he snapped a screenshot of the letter and posted it to the department channel as well as the knights’ public channel.
Then, in a tone like he had seen a ghost, he typed out one line.
“Brothers… something big’s happened… We… we might’ve made wife angry!”