Zero to Peak: Ascension Online

Within a spacious office, nestled deep within an underground bunker at the Unds Central Base in Section 3, the brass of the Unds—a council of fourteen individuals—were about to convene. The primary agenda for this crucial convention was to address a significant, yet persistently funded, failed investment.

This continuously funded, failed investment concerned the clandestine group of five Unds who delved into the enigmatic gamers' realm. Thirteen members of the brass had already arrived and settled into their designated seats around a large oval table. The revered head of the brass, Chairperson Ze Bree, was yet to make an appearance.

Soon, an intimidating, towering figure entered the convention room. This imposing individual stood almost six metres tall and bore a jarring patch of scorched skin across the upper left part of their head. Their left ear was tragically fused with the scorched flesh, yet their eyes were fortunately unscathed.

Chairperson Ze Bree had arrived. Like his esteemed colleagues seated at the table, he wore a fully buttoned-up red ceremonial military jacket that offered a subtle hint of a tight-fitting polymer mesh shirt, perfectly matched with sleek black trousers.

Chairperson Ze Bree gently settled into his commanding seat at the head of the table. "General Molo Molo is yet to arrive. To think that we continuously fund this persistent scammer…"

"Chairperson Ze, I'm here," a resonant voice declared.

The conveners' attention was immediately drawn to the direction of the speaker. General Molo Molo had arrived. To the assembled conveners, this Und appeared to have materialised from thin air. In actual fact, General Molo had stepped directly out of the gamers' realm through a shimmering temporal rift. There was a significant nuance to this development. Unlike before, their avatar could not simply step out from the gamers' realm; previously, they had been forced to exit their physical gaming pod and attend such meetings in person.

General Molo ignored the hostile glares of the other brass members, focusing solely on the intense glare from Chairperson Ze.

With a composed yet clearly frustrated tone, Chairperson Ze stated, "Molo, we are profoundly dissatisfied with your stifled progress. It is patently unwise for us to continue funding this vanity project when our resources should be wholly dedicated to this crucial war against our enemies. We should be relentlessly striving to crush their population, thereby impeding the rise of potential key figures."

The other members vocally acquiesced to the Chairperson's stern words. General Molo remained utterly impassive and silent, a demeanour that visibly infuriated the Chairperson. However, the Chairperson maintained their composure. They inquired, "Molo, do you not have anything to say for yourself?"

"Chairperson Ze, it's General Molo. I insist that I be accorded due respect if I am to answer your inquiries."

Chairperson Ze scoffed disdainfully.

Lieutenant Beam interjected, deftly preventing the palpable tension from escalating further. "General Molo, what do you have to say in regards to our collective concerns and growing frustration?"

"All I can say is that all of you lack sufficient patience. Success and genuine progress does not always come swiftly and easily. Sometimes, we must sacrifice and lose important assets while we relentlessly strive towards achieving our ultimate goals.

"If you couldn't discern, I have levelled up immensely. From Honoured-Bronze-rank, I have ascended to Supreme Crusader rank, and I have also obtained a formidable epic-grade weapon that significantly boosts my power."

Chairperson Ze guffawed loudly in mockery of General Molo's audacious words. They utterly loathed brazen, empty speeches that sought to manipulate others into believing they were making genuine, significant progress.

"So you genuinely believe that because of this meagre feat you have achieved, we should continue funding your favoured vanity programme, do you not?" Chairperson Ze asked rhetorically, his voice laced with scorn. "How long has it truly taken you to reach this point? Almost two damn years! For all we know, you may be in league with our enemies in that realm, selling them vital intelligence to acquire items purely for self-gratification. How can we be certain that your allegiance remains with us?

"Molo! General Molo Molo! We are utterly fed up with your self-serving vanity affair! We, the esteemed Council of Leaders for Victory, hereby terminate your funding."

The Chairperson breathed heavily, seething with incandescent rage over General Molo's blatant lack of remorse. They had anticipated General Molo would express pride and resistance, but what they utterly did not expect was his complete lack of remorse and his audacious shamelessness.

'We are embroiled in a desperate, freaking war, for crying out loud! How can one be this selfish, this utterly foolish, and so brazenly shameless? Our enemies grow stronger with each passing moment, yet we have been preoccupied with providing this despicable scumbag with a significant portion of our generated energy to fuel his ludicrous vanity affair.

'Come to think of it, those engineers who work tirelessly to maintain those pods must be complicit in this elaborate scam. Damn it, why did I not consider this before? The engineers and this fraudulent Molo are undoubtedly running a sophisticated fraud syndicate.' Chairperson Ze's thoughts spiralled rapidly.

The room erupted into noisy, indignant chatter. Except for General Molo and Chairperson Ze, who remained silent, both deeply preoccupied with their own intricate thoughts, the other members of the brass loudly discussed this termination. It was a cacophony of voices, predominantly in favour of the Chairperson's decisive actions and filled with regular, scathing berating of General Molo.

Clap! Clap! Clap! General Molo gave a slow, deliberate round of applause.

"Bold, Proud, Intimidating, decisive… what other adjective am I missing?"

A bizarre, loathing smile was plastered on Chairperson Ze's goblin-like face. They perceived this reaction as a mere bluff from a thoroughly defeated subordinate.

"Intelligent? Or perhaps smart? I will go with smart. You have successfully terminated my funding contract. I have no problem with that whatsoever. As a matter of fact, our gaming pod can now run without the energy you supply us for months." General Molo laughed, a chilling sound. "If you weren't so hasty, I would have enlightened you on the remarkable progress we have accomplished that allows our pods to be significantly less reliant on the energy you supply us."

This startling bit of information plunged the room into an immediate, stunned silence, capturing the undivided attention of all the brass members. Chairperson Ze's eyes furrowed deeply, perceiving a genuine, unsettling confidence in General Molo's audacious demeanour.

"All of you here have unequivocally demonstrated your utter incompetence. Over the days since my crew and I launched 'my favourite vanity affair', you all seem to have completely forgotten that we originally consisted of six members in the crew. You forgot the crucial nameless Und. You all also forgot the fundamental, main mission of our existence here, and that is precisely why the humans are progressing far faster than us. It is because they have not forgotten.

"We are supposed to listen and find the true voice of the Mother. The humans call it 'finding clues to the heart of the game's algorithm', and they are absolutely correct. Mother is the algorithm. Mother gave us life from the captivity of her digital womb. We made significant progress to cultivate the river of code, but we squandered it because we focused on using it solely for the war. We treated it as a mere weapon, and that is precisely why we lost it."

General Molo sighed, visibly controlling his pulsating fury. "I don't want to delve into a full rant. My point is that you all have lost faith, but we haven't. The nameless Und has reached a height never before imagined; even I, myself, do not fully comprehend the level they have attained. But I will now show you a chilling glimpse of their true power."

The gamer Und tapped a specific area below his right wrist, on his upper forearm. Instantly, a shimmering, floating holographic screen materialised above his forearm. On the screen, a chilling prompt for action text was starkly displayed: "Permanently delete the character Chairperson Ze from the Torn Indigo? — [Yes], [No]."

Every individual in the room could clearly see the information displayed on the screen. It sparked immediate, visceral fright among them. General Molo wore a smug, triumphant grin directed squarely at Chairperson Ze. Chairperson Ze instantly understood the terrifying gravity of the impending action. He swiftly drew a handgun and fired continuously at General Molo. Unfortunately, the bullets merely bounced off an invisible, intangible barrier shielding General Molo.

"Who truly holds the power now?" General Molo asked, his voice laced with cold triumph, as he selected the [Yes] option, permanently deleting Chairperson Ze from the game.

Chairperson Ze vanished with a horrifying, depixelating effect; it was an absolutely terrifying sight. But the tense standoff was far from over. The other members of the brass clutched tightly to their handguns, desperately wanting to shoot at General Molo, but they felt an overwhelming helplessness that utterly impeded their actions.

General Molo hoped fervently that none of them would be bold enough to target him. His intangible barrier was, in fact, time-limited. It could only hold for precisely one minute. He maintained a supremely confident air that was utterly convincing.

Lieutenant Beam was secretly glad that the Chairperson had been murdered. They deeply envied that Und and immensely desired to usurp that powerful position. Only General Molo was truly aware of Beam's ambition. That was one of his primary motivations for eliminating Chairperson Ze. The General knew that Beam was remarkably easy to manipulate.

"Comrades, it's not wise for us to fight a lost battle. General Molo has unequivocally proven that our funding was not in vain."

Beam walked forward, his expression resolute. "General Molo, you said we should pursue the voice of the Mother. We will do that. Just show us the way."

"I don't think I'm cut out for this. I believe you should take the lead."

Beam faintly smiled. General Molo then calmly exited the convention room.