NOVEL NEXT Ch. 9
Chapter 9: GM’s Emergency Meeting
The Huaxia Region Operations Center of 《Aincrad Era》.
Inside the top-floor conference room, the atmosphere was oppressively heavy.
Over a dozen staff in suits, each bearing the “GM” identifier above their heads, sat upright, not daring to even breathe too loudly.
At the head of the conference table sat a refined-looking middle-aged man with gold-rimmed glasses, his expression stern as he stared at the massive holographic screen before him.
He was the chief director of the Huaxia Region, codenamed 【Pangu】.
On the screen, a video played in an endless loop.
The content was recorded from 【HealsTheEntireServer】’s perspective: Mophis, wearing a nightgown, pushed open a window and revealed a gentle smile.
Every frame of the footage was magnified several times.
Even the faint pink beauty mark on Mophis’s collarbone, nearly invisible to the naked eye, was perfectly clear.
“Who can explain to me what on earth is going on here?”
【Pangu】’s voice was not loud, but it struck everyone’s hearts like a hammer blow.
“The final boss of Chapter One wasn’t defeated by the players, but instead has become the idol worshipped by the entire server?”
“The hidden quests she issues offer rewards so high they’ve disrupted the balance of the in-game economy at this stage?”
“And this… this…” He jabbed a finger toward the close-up of Mophis’s nightgown, the veins in his temples throbbing.
“How did this sort of material—clearly edging into ‘soft-erotic’ territory—pass the system’s review? We’re supposed to be making an all-ages, wholesome game!”
A young GM in charge of monitoring NPC behavior rose nervously and answered, “Reporting, Chief… we… we checked. All of NPC ‘Mophis’s’ behaviors are, from the data layer’s perspective… ‘compliant.’”
“Compliant?” 【Pangu】’s tone sharpened.
“You call this compliant?”
“Yes.” The young GM forced himself to continue.
“Her model and clothing all exist in the initial preset database. That… nightgown is categorized under ‘noble daily attire’ standard templates, not a violation. Her pushing open the window and smiling—these fall under standard ‘friendly interaction’ behavior modules between NPCs and players. As for the rewards… they’re generated by the ‘Hidden Encounter’ system, randomly.
While the numbers are high, they do not exceed the system’s cap threshold.”
“As for why she did all this…” The young GM hesitated, then delivered a conclusion that left everyone dumbfounded.
“According to our ‘world evolution model,’ the system determined that this series of actions by Mophis was the ‘optimal solution’ for her to ‘survive’ in the current environment.”
“Optimal solution?” 【Pangu】 frowned.
“Yes.” Another GM in charge of data analysis took over, bringing up another set of reports.
“Since ‘Mophis’ went viral, the player online rate in the Western Wastelands has risen by 300%! Related consumables—like return scrolls, potions, equipment repairs—are five times higher than in other regions! Forum activity has also hit the highest peak since launch!”
“From a data standpoint, she hasn’t broken the game. On the contrary, she’s massively boosted player activity and spending. She… she’s practically a perfect KPI engine.”
The room fell silent.
Everyone was stunned by this conclusion.
A boss that was supposed to be toppled… a bundle of system bugs… had, by sheer coincidence, become the driving locomotive behind the entire game’s KPI?
It was absurd beyond belief.
【Pangu】 fell silent.
He looked again at the frail yet beautiful girl frozen on the screen, then at the endless stream of crimson-highlighted data reports, his thoughts running deep.
As the chief director, his considerations went far beyond what his subordinates could see.
He knew that 《Aincrad Era》 was not just a game.
The so-called GMs, titled as “game administrators,” were in truth “maintainers” of the experiment.
Their foremost duty was ensuring that the experiment followed the preset “script.”
And Mophis’s existence was undoubtedly the script’s greatest “accident.”
According to the script, she was supposed to be defeated on launch day by the player army led by 【Mad Blade】—the stepping stone for players to embark on their journey, symbolizing the “end of the old era.”
But now?
Not only was she alive and well, she had become the “herald of a new era,” the “wife” of every player.
This was a complete derailment of the script!
From an experimental standpoint, he ought to immediately use his highest authority to “format” the abnormal data that was “Mophis,” reverting her into a standard NPC who only repeated preset lines—or simply delete her outright.
But…
He glanced again at the terrifying KPI numbers.
If he did that, the backlash from the player base would be inevitable.
These players had already made Mophis their “faith.” Touching her would be like desecrating their ancestors’ graves.
When that happened, there would be mass uninstalls, protests, floods of negative reviews across platforms… the project would fall into chaos.
And the capital investors would not be pleased either.
It was a dilemma.
Maintain the purity of the “script,” or safeguard the “profits” before his eyes?
“Chief… should we conduct an emergency server maintenance, and directly patch the BUGs in her?” one GM carefully suggested.
“No!” 【Pangu】 instantly rejected it.
“The players’ enthusiasm is at its peak right now. A sudden maintenance will only worsen things. Besides, her BUGs are deeply entwined with a bottom-layer code logic flaw. Forcing a patch might destabilize the entire Western Wastelands map, or even crash the servers.”
“Then… what should we do? Just let her continue to ‘make trouble’ unchecked?”
【Pangu】 tapped his fingers lightly on the table, his mind racing.
Blocking her was no longer an option.
But… could they “divert” instead?
If she couldn’t be erased… could she be used, to guide the derailed script back on track?
A bold plan slowly took shape in his mind.
“Relay my orders.” 【Pangu】 finally spoke, his eyes sharp.
“First, do not interfere with NPC ‘Mophis’ for now. Maintain 24-hour top-level monitoring, but do not intervene in her actions.”
“Second, immediately establish a ‘Narrative Guidance’ task force. Your job is not to fix BUGs, but to ‘explain’ them. Players love speculating, don’t they? Then we’ll give them ‘official’ material to fuel their speculations!”
“For example, release a lore article on the official website right away—title it *‘The Tragic Song of the Forgotten Dynasty’s Last Descendant.’* Make her backstory as miserable as possible, and paint her loneliness and helplessness to the extreme. We want players to feel like everything they’re doing is rescuing a tragic princess, participating in an epic storyline—not just fangirling over an NPC!”
“Third, and most importantly.” 【Pangu】’s gaze swept across the room.
“Since players adore her, we’ll go with the flow—make her the ‘core’ of Chapter One.”
“The next main storyline won’t be about subjugating her anymore. Instead, it will be about… ‘helping’ her. We’ll design a chain of quests: repairing the library’s wards for her, finding lost ancient grimoires, uncovering the truth behind the dynasty’s downfall…”
“We’ll convert players’ obsession with her into the driving force of the main story! While they’re busy ‘protecting their wife,’ they’ll unwittingly be doing everything we want them to do!”
All the GMs in the room were dumbstruck.
This… this was possible?
Not fixing a BUG, but using it to perfect the plot?
Turning players’ spontaneous behavior into official main quests?
The idea was… insane.
“Chief, will… will this really work?”
“Whether it works or not, we’ll only know by trying.” 【Pangu】’s lips curled in the faintest of smiles.
“Aren’t these ‘Chosen Ones’ known as the ‘Fourth Calamity’? Let’s see whether their imaginations are wilder, or our writers’ pens are sharper.”
“Go. Remember—our new goal is to transform this BUG-fueled carnival into a grand epic… under our control.”
The conference room doors opened, and the GMs left with expressions like they had just seen ghosts.
【Pangu】 remained alone, his gaze falling once more on the screen.
The frame was frozen on Mophis’s shy, smiling face.
“Mophis…” he murmured softly.
“Just what kind of existence… are you really?”