“Who the heck did this?!”

Gou Yuan slammed the table, showcasing his frustration in a fit of powerless rage.

“Well…” Lin Tong, who was sitting beside him, waited until he calmed down a bit before speaking. “Technically, it was one of our own.”

It was widely known that the first person to unearth the so-called hidden boss was the streamer Qiao Zhihui, a signed host of Lin Jiao Live, which had recently been acquired by Endless Sea.

Naturally, no one would suspect Xie Shuangxue.

When they reviewed the backend logs of Endless Sea, Xie Shuangxue had stayed quiet and compliant, sticking to his designated storyline. He merely showed some surprise upon seeing the skeleton ghosts get slaughtered, but even after thinking about it, he chose not to show himself.

This reaction was completely normal for an intelligent NPC responding to a storyline deviation, without anything suspicious.

There wasn’t any stone-throwing visible either. The stones scattered on the grass seemed to be regular set decorations.

Every channel had the same layout, with the slight wrinkles in the grass covering interpreted as one of SEA’s auto-generated, realistic details.

The Testing Team had run so many rounds, and no one had pointed out any differences compared to the testing phase.

And who would pay attention to such minor details? All attention was focused on the main characters and key storylines.

As for Qiao Zhihui’s explanation that he was “attracted over after being hit by a stone,” the Tech Team came up with their own rationale.

Most likely, it was due to him setting his pain sensitivity to 100% and diving immediately into the updated version, where he would have experienced some sensory points of pain during the adaptation period, fleeting but noticeable.

Maybe he just exaggerated, as streamers do, and it happened to lead him to the hidden skeleton ghosts.

So far, this seemed the most reasonable explanation.

…There’s no way someone intentionally threw a rock to lure him over, right?

“Those Lin Jiao bastards! Stabbing me in the back!” Gou Yuan, now convinced by this theory, roared in anger. “Aren’t they supposed to be our ‘brother department’?!”

Lin Jiao Live was now technically part of Endless Sea, and for the past few days, employees had been moving in to work from offices on the floor below the Gods and Demons department. The streamer in question, now seeing a huge surge in popularity, was even featured on the main site’s top recommendations.

After all, even a brother department had KPIs to hit, and they seemed thrilled about the success.

Just a short while ago, the reshuffling at Lin Jiao had everyone worried about the uncertain future, but now, with this wave of popularity rushing in, they couldn’t let the chance slip away.

Gou Yuan knew that blaming others wouldn’t help, though. Bugs were part of any game, but what bothered him most was that this was the first time SEA had refused a backend modification request.

When they first noticed the issue, they quickly devised a patch and attempted to adjust the settings temporarily, proposing that the skeleton ghost boss hadn’t truly been defeated and could be resurrected when the Feather Clan arrived. They could simply add an attack sequence at the storyline trigger point.

But the upgraded SEA outright rejected it.

The Main Brain deemed it a violation of fundamental logic, contradicting the established game rules. Just as things can’t randomly resurrect or appear out of thin air in real life, the skeleton ghosts within the scene couldn’t return to meet the storyline requirements in the allotted time.

SEA rejected their modification requests repeatedly, and all technical methods they tried proved futile.

As time passed and bosses in every channel were taken down, this set of events became a confirmed reality, one that SEA would gradually recognize.

Just as President Yu Haiqing had mentioned, with each upgrade, Gods and Demons would become more realistic and less subject to human control.

There was still a way to force changes if they wanted.

Using the highest privileges in President Yu Haiqing’s possession, they could alter the skeleton ghosts’ basic attributes, making them NPC characters immune to player attacks. But making such adjustments mid-game would cause a cascade of issues.

Lin Tong immediately dismissed this idea.

“President Yu Haiqing is busy. If he heard about this, it would make us look incompetent,” she replied, uninterested in technical matters. “Gou Yuan, look at it from a different perspective. This situation isn’t all bad.”

Gou Yuan looked at her, his gaze bleak. “What are you suggesting? Treat a dead horse as if it were still alive?”

Lin Tong showed him some data, instantly catching his attention.

“Damn, Dreamscape is at it again?!”

His anger flared again.

Back before Legend of Radiance launched, Dreamscape’s Chen Xian, his old rival, had tried sneaky black-marketing tricks but was sent packing. Now, he was back for round two.

Dreamscape had long planned for their new game to go live on the same day as Gods and Demons’ anniversary, even poaching several streamers from Gods and Demons, pulling them and their fanbases over to stream Legend of Radiance. They’d prepared flashy slogans and were clearly aiming for revenge.

The two games launched simultaneously, and initially, Legend of Radiance indeed outshined Gods and Demons.

Lin Tong had been worried for a bit, but soon the tide turned.

Thanks to the sudden appearance of the so-called “hidden boss,”

Dreamscape’s brief celebration was cut short when the hashtag #HiddenBossGodsAndDemons# quickly skyrocketed, drawing in a flood of curious players.

Right after this, the scheduled storyline between Chun Yao and Luo Yin, a major plot point in itself, gained even more attention under the trending “hidden boss” tag.

Not that Dreamscape was ready to give up—they added fuel to the fire, and right now, Gods and Demons was locked in a close popularity battle with Radiance Continent.

“We might as well ride the wave,” Lin Tong coolly suggested. “Some players have already defeated the boss and claimed rewards, while others haven’t even started the mission. If we announce it’s a bug and make the boss untouchable, the inconsistency will create backlash, and Dreamscape would seize on it. We need to settle internal matters before external ones.”

After all, it was just a side quest. Though disrupted, the effect was minimal, and Xie Shuangxue’s villainous character arc didn’t hinge solely on this event. It could still be addressed later.

The most important thing was the player experience.

From the players’ perspective, they’d lost nothing; in fact, they’d gained excitement and rewards.

Gods and Demons had done everything under the sun for its third anniversary, yet this was the first time they’d created a hidden boss. As long as players felt they’d won, then it wasn’t a bad outcome for Gods and Demons.

Lin Tong knew Gou Yuan’s temperament well. As a perfectionist, he hated taking hits to his pride, and announcing a major storyline bug at the start of the anniversary would crush him.

As expected, Gou Yuan didn’t take long to decide. He waved a hand at Lin Tong and gritted his teeth. “Fine, we won’t change it. Let’s take down Dreamscape first.”

Lin Tong’s expression softened into a satisfied smile. “Understood.”

In fact, she’d already received several messages from Lin Jiao Live regarding this matter. They were just waiting on Gou Yuan’s approval.

Before long, Lin Tong and Lin Jiao Live had pushed a few more trending topics. There were plenty of angles to explore.

The skeleton ghost boss was tough, forcing most players to team up, and any slip-ups could lead to a party wipe, making it a measuring stick of player skill.

The streaming platform and several prominent strategy accounts from Lin Tong’s side capitalized on the buzz, rolling out guides for optimal team composition and positioning to take down the hidden boss, drawing plenty of attention from frustrated players.

Soon, videos emerged of skilled players taking down the boss with teams of three or even two.

And in the gaming world, the desire to compete is everything.

A well-known player then posted a video of a solo kill just as interest peaked.

The caption read: “Is that all?”

Cocky? Sure. But he was known for his attitude, and his impressive skill earned shouts of admiration from fans, while others, unwilling to admit defeat, were spurred on.

Some of the top skill-based streamers were pressured by fans during their streams to take up the challenge, and some even switched from Radiance Continent to Gods and Demons to slay the boss.

The loot and points were secondary—what mattered was not losing face!

As Gods and Demons’ popularity surged, the Player Forum was flooded with discussions, and it gradually overshadowed Dreamscape’s well-planned launch, leaving Chen Xian on the verge of smashing his coffee cup in Dreamscape’s office.

This storyline alteration was now truly set in stone.

As Lin Tong kept a sharp eye on trends, she noticed a new term climbing the ranks among Gods and Demons’ hot topics.

#XieShuangxue#

“Is our beauty about to make an entrance?”

Lin Tong took another look, considering whether to promote this tag as well, when she heard Gou Yuan muttering beside her.

By now, he’d come to terms with the situation, and with the launch going well against Dreamscape, he was actually quite pleased.

What was that saying again? A blessing in disguise?

The only question weighing on him was whether to inform President Yu Haiqing.

On the one hand, it was a minor issue, and they’d turned it to their advantage, benefitting both their department and Lin Jiao’s. They didn’t want to bother the higher-ups unnecessarily. But considering that SEA’s programming had been modified by President Yu Haiqing himself, Gou Yuan wasn’t sure.

Something about SEA seemed a bit strange now.

After much deliberation, he finally worked up the courage to send a message to his esteemed president. When he didn’t pick up, Gou Yuan sent a lengthy update, but there was still no response.

Hmm?

That wasn’t like their workaholic president at all.

Where could President Yu Haiqing be?

Meanwhile, in the game world, Xie Shuangxue was also making new moves.

He took in his surroundings for a while and heard some movement outside again. It sounded like someone had climbed over the wall and stopped, staying there without leaving. He couldn’t tell what they were up to.

Most players who saw the skeleton ghost boss in Channel 1 had already left after a quick glance, yet this player hadn’t budged.

Strange.

Xie Shuangxue peeked outside. Normally, he could only see players’ legs, and he noticed this one was dressed in sleek black clothes, similar to that streamer’s assassin outfit. But upon closer look, there was subtle dark embroidery—a touch of refinement.

The next second, the figure crouched down, gazing straight toward the rock garden.

No one had ever noticed this spot before. Most players only gave it a passing glance and saw nothing unusual, let alone Xie Shuangxue hidden inside.

Yet this person’s gaze was fixed directly on the ventilation hole, as if he wanted to lock eyes with Xie Shuangxue.

Xie Shuangxue blinked, surprised. For the first time, he saw someone above shoulder height from inside here, but he still couldn’t make out the face, only a half-silver mask that concealed the person’s lower face, leaving just a pair of eyes exposed.

“Found you again,” the stranger said.

Xie Shuangxue didn’t understand what he meant. He sensed that this person wasn’t like a typical player.

Naturally, he didn’t respond, and the silence stretched between them. After that statement, neither had the chance to say anything further.

Because time was up.

A while had passed since that team had defeated the skeleton ghosts, and Xie Shuangxue’s storyline trigger had activated. There was movement by the wall, not the sound of someone climbing, but the flapping of wings.

The Feather Clan member sent to rescue him had arrived on time.