A Clue to the Seventh Fragment / The Penguin Company Bribes the Oasis Administrators ...

"The ghost! Where's the ghost? Where did it go?!"

Chapter 671: Clue to Obtaining the Seventh Fragment

At this point, the entire game has become one-sided, except that the roles that were previously at a disadvantage have reversed.

In a five-on-four situation, where the skill levels are similar, even with some equipment differences, a victory is almost guaranteed.

Shino gripped her heavy sniper rifle, aimed it at the guy with the guokui head opposite her, and pulled the trigger. Now was her moment of revenge.

Bang!

A gunshot rang out!

The opponent's level 3 helmet flew off, and then Lizbeth rushed forward and unleashed her ultimate skill! A massive hammer smashed into the chicken dinner shooter's head, instantly taking down the opponent.

Having slaughtered them all, Shirou and the girls pressed their advantage, destroying roadside towers and charging straight up to the enemy base. They were on the verge of breaching the main city.

"Protest! I protest! There's a traitor among us at Penguin! This match is a conspiracy! Emiya must have colluded with Ghost!" The game manager angrily pressed the complaint button and shouted loudly.

The AI, acting as the referee, instantly shifted its coordinates and appeared before everyone, raising its hand in refusal:

"Protests are invalid. The agreement signed before the start of the match stipulates that the match cannot be interrupted unless evidence is submitted on the spot. Once a result is reached, both players will unconditionally accept it, and it cannot be changed."

The game department manager was speechless. This rule, originally intended to shut Shirou and the others up, had now backfired, leaving them reaping the consequences.

Even more bizarrely, the artificial intelligence failed to detect the ghost's presence. The related record in the match video became a blurry phantom, just like a real ghost, appearing and disappearing without a trace. However, people were already in a state of panic and didn't notice this.

The sound of shattering porcelain could be heard coming from inside the VIP box.

"What's going on?! Isn't Ghost one of our people?!" Boss Ma said angrily. The game he distributed, League of Legends, had become one of the most popular PC games in the world, but his subordinates were a bunch of good-for-nothings.

"Yes, he's a cold-blooded and ruthless killer. He'll slaughter anyone, even friends, until they delete their accounts, as long as they're paid," the female secretary said nervously, sweat beading on her face.

"Damn it! We've been tricked!" The game department manager said through gritted teeth, his face pale.

"Investigate! Arrest that guy!" Boss Ma slammed his fist on the table and said angrily.

A short while later, the game department manager returned, his eyes glazed over, and said, "All the information about that 'ghost' was fake. The address he lived at was demolished a year ago. How did he manage to fool all of us?!"

"Damn it! That bastard!" Aside from the early days of his business decades ago when QQ was facing bankruptcy multiple times due to a lack of funds, Boss Ma hadn't been this humiliated in a very long time.

However, the outcome is now decided, and there is no turning back. Giving your all in a competition, cooperating with your teammates to compete against your opponents, and using your wits and courage—that is the essence of competitive games!

Through analysis of the recorded video, many experienced players also noticed something fishy about the start of the game; it was obvious that the damage data on the penguin's side was incorrect. Therefore, no one questioned Shirou and the others; instead, they all cheered loudly for it.

The enemy's crystal tower was destroyed. As per the contract signed before the match, the golden shards that Shirou and the others had handed over were returned to their original owners' backpacks. The three golden shards from the penguin's side also floated into Shirou's hands.

Six fragments emitting a pale golden glow suddenly released a phantom image, floating one after another into the air before connecting together, shining with a powerful light to form the blade of a holy sword. Only the part connecting to the hilt was broken at an angle, leaving only the hilt with the broken end.

An inscription appeared on the holy sword within the phantom image.

Hint: Once the seventh fragment is found and the Holy Sword is repaired, the gate will be summoned, opening the path to the treasure land.

Then the phantom dissipated, and the fragments lay quietly in Shirou and the others' hands.

"Shirou- nii! Kiriko -nee! Everyone~! That's awesome~! We won!" Silica waved her hands excitedly and ran towards Shirou and her friends, with a small white dragon flying close behind her.

"Well, we finally won. Here, this is your fragment." Shirou handed the girl the third fragment that he and Silica had obtained together in the How to Dragon Tamer.

"Huh? Can I have this?" Silica asked in surprise.

"I already told you it's our treasure, right?" Shirou said with a smile to the girl.

"Well, Silica, just accept it. You deserve it," Kiriko said with a smile.

"Yeah, everyone else took one, it's even stranger that you didn't," Lizbeth chimed in.

This was the best solution that Shirou and the girls decided on after discussing it together. The six fragments were distributed among the six girls, and they would go together tomorrow to find the seventh fragment and open the gate.

Regardless of the outcome, Shirou and Asuna never intended to monopolize the property. The Oasis belongs to everyone, and that will never change. What they need to consider more is how to best give back to all the players and live up to this responsibility if they do obtain this right.

However, the boy and girl who won the competition and secured the seven fragments—essentially unlocking the treasure—had already become a global sensation. Through the live broadcast of the competition, their story had spread throughout the entire Oasis World; now, every Oasis user knew Shirou and the girls.

As Shirou and his friends left the arena, they were immediately surrounded by a large group of players.

"Emiya~! Thank you for sharing the guide, we've successfully passed the first level."

"Miss Asuna, please give me your autograph!"

"Miss Kiriko, I like swords, can we be friends?"

After that, everyone fawned over Shirou and the others, and the girls received the treatment of superstars. Although they remained humble on the surface, they were overjoyed inside, and sweet smiles appeared on their faces.

After all, no girl doesn't want to be treated like a star or Princess.

However, what they are unaware of is that on the other side, someone is targeting them and plotting some conspiracy.

Chapter 672 Penguin bribed Oasis management personnel

The streamers in Oasis World are interviewing well-known players from various fields, making various comments, and saying that they are very familiar with Shirou or other girls.

Silica was my elementary school classmate.

"Lizbeth is my cousin, and I'm rich now. See that? My new phone today, a gold Apple!"

"Okay, Asuna is my great-uncle's neighbor's cousin! We're related for generations."

Weapons and items forged by Emiya that have surfaced on the market have seen their prices double, attracting a frenzy of purchases from admirers and becoming priceless. What were once practical weapons have now become collectibles.

Some people even interviewed psychologists in the real world.

"Hello, Professor Nepal, what new changes do you think Emiya and the others, who have surpassed Penguin Company and become the inheritors of the Oasis World, will bring to this place?"

"Well, judging from his previous actions, he seems to be a generous and friendly person. However, sudden wealth can have a significant impact on a person's mind, and it's hard to say what might happen."

Some interviewed missionaries from various religions within the game.

"Hello, Father Kotomine, do you think your church in the Oasis will continue to receive the same support as Kayaba's?"

"Even if they don't have that intention, there are probably a lot of charities waiting for their donations."

"So, is there anything you'd like to say to them?"

A man with a gloomy, lifeless gaze, speaking to the camera, said, "Enjoy yourself, young men and women, you've finally got the chance to realize your dreams."

For example, the celebrities in the game have also received invitations to variety shows and talk shows, and the topics often turn to Shirou and the girls.

"Back then, the few of us roamed the floating city of Aincrad together, defeating countless floor bosses. Asuna was the leader of the raiding group, the vice-commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath, Kiriko and Shirou... well, Emiya was a famous solo player, and we were the leaders of the Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain group."

"Yeah, Asuna and Emiya had a cooking competition back then, Kiriko was the judge. We were the ones who drooled."

Even Jay Chou, a member of Penguin Company, appeared on a hit show.

"Hello, racing god, I heard you and Emiya are old rivals on the track. What do you know about him?"

"Ah, we often race cars on Mount Akina," Zhou Jiegun said expressionlessly, looking quite cocky.

The individuals involved are now hiding at home, afraid to go out. This is the price of fame. Even if they are unwilling, their personal information, both in the game and in real life, has been gradually dug up and published online.

"Waaah, I can't even go out now," Silica said.

"Hey, I don't think it's a big deal if I don't go out." Kiriko is a homebody and prefers to stay home whenever possible, so she doesn't feel anything about it.

"That's not good at all! We have to go to school. And when my mom heard about this, she fainted. I've explained it so many times, but the outcome is still uncertain," Lizbeth said helplessly.

"Well, my dad also said that too much money can go bad, so he said that I have to save up all my money before I turn 18 and I'm not allowed to touch any of it," Silica said with a smile.

"I'm fine here, but just be careful not to get recognized when you go out." Shino, who lives alone, is no different from before.

Asuna glanced at Shirou furtively.

With the matter escalating to such an extent, her family naturally found out as well. Asuna's family was originally a high-tech company engaged in the development and manufacturing of virtual reality-related gaming equipment. Her father was the chairman of Rect, and her mother was a university professor, belonging to the absolute upper class in Japan.

They were initially opposed to Asuna being with Shirou, the wild boy. However, Asuna's attitude was very firm, so they didn't say anything.

However, because of this incident, her family members said that as long as Shirou can successfully find the treasure, they will not have any complaints in the future and are willing to support him.

Meanwhile, Penguin Company was unusually quiet. All the corporations that had booked out entire areas of the Oasis World had ceased their activities and disappeared without a trace. If it weren't for the fact that its products were still running stably, it would be as if they had never existed at all.

In fact, at this very moment, Boss Ma himself arrived in New York, with a group of men in black, and went directly into an office building, which was the headquarters of Oasis World.

Although Oasis World, as the world's most popular social gaming platform, seems like a behemoth, it actually follows a path of a select few. Apart from leaving a few engineers to maintain servers and other equipment, most of the in-game tasks are handled by artificial intelligence.

Modelers, drafters, programmers, and others are simply responsible for executing the work according to the design proposal submitted by the designer, creating the corresponding new site. Each person has their own role, and even if the company is short-staffed, it can choose to outsource.

Therefore, this is not a very large company, with fewer than sixty employees. Excluding the receptionist, the clerk who prints documents, and the security guard, there are actually only fifty people who run the company.

It's full of Silicon Valley programmers, dressed casually in shorts and flip-flops, working right there.

The Oasis manager, a tall, middle-aged, overweight man with light blond hair, came forward. He was the one who had helped Boss Ma cheat in the five vs. Fifth Holy Grail War, and in fact, he had received quite a bit of benefits from Boss Ma all along.

"Welcome to Oasis World," the light blond fat man said, shaking hands with Boss Ma.

"Long time no see. Then take me to the control panel for a look around," Boss Ma said directly. He waved his hand, and a group of men in black followed behind him, each carrying a briefcase containing computers and various hacker equipment.

The manager stopped Mr. Ma and said:

"Haha, Mr. Ma, you're quite humorous. But I still have to remind you, although you are now the second largest shareholder of Oasis, only the largest shareholder holds 51% of the shares and has absolute control over Oasis."

"Well, I'm not yet, but isn't that just a matter of time?" Boss Ma said with a smile, looking at the manager.

Chapter 673 Boss Ma stole the fragments

Inside Oasis Corporation, a large screen was simultaneously displaying news broadcasts from a social networking game. A poised and elegant blonde woman in a smartly tailored suit was clearly reading the latest news.

"According to the latest news, the bet between Penguin Company and the group of free players involves items related to unlocking the treasure of the Creator God, and the Oasis World may be about to usher in a new turning point."

Meanwhile, on different language channels, such as the Chinese channel, a man with thick eyebrows and large eyes spoke in a strong baritone voice, "Emiya, a well-known Oasis World player, has released the latest news: they will be piecing together the fragments tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM Tokyo time, which is 8:00 AM Beijing time. It will then be open to all Oasis players worldwide."

Russian, Korean, Japanese, French, and German have been sweeping across the world.

This social networking game with a billion daily active users is no longer just a game; it has become a completely new environment closely related to reality, or even an important part of the human ecosystem.

Boss Ma actually began planning several months ago, acquiring all the shares of Oasis World at a high price, except for the 51% stake left by Kayaba Akihiko in Oasis World.

He persuaded some investors to sell to him, and together with the shares he had previously purchased that were publicly traded on the stock market, he suddenly owned 36 percent of Oasis shares, becoming the second-largest shareholder of Oasis. In fact, he was also the largest living shareholder of Oasis World Corporation.

Although Kayaba Akihiko had stipulated from the beginning that no other shareholder, except for himself, had the right to interfere with the operation of Oasis World, this remained true even after his death.

The only people who can truly influence the operation of Oasis World are a few veterans, but they are all genius-level researchers who are not usually in the company.

"But..." The manager rubbed his hands together, a conflicted expression on his face.

Although he had been making his own moves while in his management position at Oasis World, this time Boss Ma's target was the Oasis World control panel. Indeed, apart from the deceased Kayaba Akihiko, he was the largest shareholder in Oasis World.

If he did such a thing, it means that once exposed, he will be kicked out of the company.

"No buts! I'm pressed for time right now, so I won't mince words. You should understand that if those brats who're so eager for equality and freedom in the game investigate who made the changes, you won't be able to escape them either."

"Listen up, Donald! All you need to do now is tamper with a few data points. I just want those six fragments. I've run a game company before. Sometimes there are bugs that need maintenance, sometimes the server malfunctions, sometimes some players' accounts are mistakenly banned, and sometimes when you're trying to rank up, you'll be automatically matched with some elementary school kids if you don't spend money. These are all normal things," Boss Ma said confidently.

"But..." the manager still hesitated.

Boss Ma patted the manager on the shoulder and said, "Donald, we've been old friends for a while now, but I've heard about you for a long time. Oasis was founded less than a year ago, and you're already one of the company's founding members. Even if you didn't make any great contributions, you certainly put in a lot of hard work. But even some of the younger employees who came later have received shares and become billionaires. You, on the other hand, have only received a few measly performance bonuses, which add up to less than a million US dollars a year. Are you really content with that?"

"Hmm... willing? How could I possibly be willing..." The manager got angry when he heard what Boss Ma said; it was true...

At this moment, Donald could no longer recall that when he joined the company, his main job was simply to make coffee for Maochang and a few key executives. The others who received shares were the unsung heroes who created a classic in the Oasis World.

Seeing that his incitement had worked, Boss Ma was secretly pleased and whispered to the manager:

"Don't you think it's very unfair to you that Kayaba is doing this? Six fragments, equivalent to 0.06% of the shares, are worth six hundred million US dollars. I'm buying them all outright. Tencent will appoint you as a special ambassador for global charity, granting you access to benefits that allow you to travel all over the world. Tomorrow you can take the money, board a plane, and go to any country you want."

"This... Kayaba Akihiko... Since you're so heartless, don't blame me for being ruthless too!" The manager's expression kept changing, his mind struggling with conflicting thoughts. Finally, his expression hardened, and he nodded at Boss Ma, saying, "I'll do it! Transfer the money to me now! I'm going home for sick leave later, and I'm flying back to Israel tonight!"

"No problem! A wise person knows when to yield! Let's all make money together!" Boss Ma laughed, clapped his hands, and said approvingly.

Donald took out his ID card and swiped it to open the room where the Oasis World control panel was located. The steel door clicked and moved to the left.

Then, Boss Ma waved to the black-clad hackers behind him. He had successfully bribed the management; now it was up to them. He was going to obtain all the sword fragments and officially ascend to the throne of the Oasis King—no, it should be the World King of Games!

With Oasis World boasting a billion daily active users and Tencent Games, a dominant force in Asia, he is poised to become an unprecedented super giant in the social networking and gaming industries! He will ascend to the title of the world's richest man, leaving his mark on history and becoming an indelible star in Chinese and even world history.

Compared to all this, what do stigma and underhanded tactics matter? It's all about the winner taking all. If he can achieve this, then Jack Ma will become a global business icon, just like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.

How many people care that Bill Gates was divorced, or that Steve Jobs was a scumbag and a fraud? Everyone praises them for their greatness. That's just how the world is: the stronger you are, the more tolerant you are; the weaker you are, the harsher you are.

By then, to outsiders, Boss Ma would only be seen as someone who had a few players' in-game items stolen—just a bunch of data, nothing to brag about. Even if he got a few insults, he was already used to it. Why wouldn't he be happy to have people insulting him while simultaneously sending him money?

Boss Ma glanced at the men in black bustling about inside, then looked up at the sky through the glass window. Nana muttered to himself, "Games may be your area of expertise, but reality belongs to the adult world, not a place for dreamy kids like you."

Tonight is destined to be a sleepless night.

The next morning, Shirou and the others logged into the game and discovered that their keys had vanished from their backpacks.

Chapter 674 Penguins Steal Shirou's Work

That morning, Shirou and the girls arrived at their agreed-upon location, intending to use the clues from the six fragments to retrieve the seventh fragment of the Caliburn. Then, with all the players as witnesses, they would open the gates, ensuring everything was done fairly and justly, allowing all players to participate in this grand event.