Sorry, I'm a GM

Finally, the God of Holy Light was depleted of his last drop of health. With a loud bang, all around fell silent, and the people who were fighting stopped.

"What's going on?" Xiao Yu was taken aback, only to find that he could no longer use his skills; it seemed that the system had forcibly stopped everyone's battle.

Shen Yuan knew what was going on. As the final boss of the Pantheon, he wouldn't die immediately, but would have a pause to deliver his lines.

This was added intentionally by Li Mingfei when he designed this instance, in order to enhance the dramatic aspects of the game's storyline, and also to allow the God of Holy Light to make some final pronouncements or similar gestures.

This blank period is only ten minutes long. The God of Holy Light can recite some lines or make some arrangements before it explodes.

Shen Yuan flew over to face the dimmed God of Holy Light, "It's all over, Li Mingfei. Everything is over. I have seized the game's control panel. Next, I only need to output the code, and the entire game world will be completely shut down. The Sky World will become a truly independent world."

Li Mingfei was shocked. "What!? Are you crazy? The players haven't logged out of the game yet! Once you shut down the game, their consciousness will be trapped inside. If the connection is lost for more than 24 hours, they will have no way to go back."

Shen Yuan laughed loudly, "Hahaha, this is exactly what I wanted, you idiot."

Xiao Yu was also completely dumbfounded at this moment. What was going on? Did Shen Yuan's words mean...?

"Hey, you never said you were going to do this. Are you going to lock us all inside the game? How is that possible? Has the game always had this feature? But why have I never heard of it?" he asked urgently.

Li Mingfei was taken aback. "Oh, doesn't this person know the truth?" He still clung to a sliver of hope. "This function exists in every quantum computer, but the government doesn't allow it to be made public. Because if they did, many people might choose to live in the virtual world and never come out, which would have a huge impact on the entire country. Therefore, all game companies that own quantum computers have signed an agreement that absolutely forbids permanently storing players' consciousness in the quantum computer."

Xiao Yu was shocked upon hearing this, never expecting such a thing to exist. But thinking about it, it made sense. If players could live in the game world forever, many would probably abandon the real world altogether. However, for a country, this would be a huge problem. What kind of country is it without people? How can a country function without taxpayers? Moreover, it would inevitably have an unimaginable impact on society, and could even cause the country to lose hundreds of millions of people.

He looked at Shen Yuan, "Is what he said true? Why did you do this?"

Shen Yuan grinned maliciously. "Of course! Don't you understand? As long as players have the ability to quit the game, it will always just be a game. What does it matter how realistic it is?"

Even if we become the gods of this world, if there are beings completely unrestrained by us, able to freely enter and leave our world, then we so-called gods are nothing but a joke.

And don't forget, the game company owns the game's copyright. If they don't shut down the game, once we quit, we'll be in prison. What do you think will happen to us? But if they shut down the game and cut off all access to the outside world, then we become gods in this independent world! It's that simple."

Xiao Yu said anxiously, "But, but we can't involve innocent people! Why don't we send the players out and then shut down the game?"

While he aspires to become a god, it would be excessive if the price were the enslavement of countless other players.

These people are trapped in the game. What will happen to their families? What will happen to their friends? How desperate and angry will they themselves feel? Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you. Xiao Yu asked himself if he could be so indifferent to human life. Moreover, if he were trapped in this world for the rest of his life, he had not thought about whether he would actually do so.

Shen Yuan laughed loudly, "Hahaha, you're so naive. If there were no players, who would we gods rule over? Those NPCs? Apart from the high-level NPCs, most of them have practically no intelligence. What's the difference between ruling over a bunch of people and ruling over a bunch of robots? No, we must keep these players. They will become our subjects. Besides, without other players, how could the game company continue to operate the game? They could easily format the quantum computer, and then we'd be finished."

However, as long as the consciousness of these millions of players remains within the quantum computer, we will never need to worry about being formatted. Public opinion will ensure that the game company keeps the quantum computer running.

As for whether it's fair to the players, you don't need to worry about it. Living in the quantum computer, these players can achieve immortality. We can create the Underworld, create Heaven, and open a reincarnation system. These players will live in a truly mythical world, without having to worry about the threat of death. In reality, there's no such thing as a free lunch. Otherwise, why do you think the government won't let us announce this feature? It's because they're afraid too many people will abandon reality. So, in a sense, these players should thank us.

Moreover, aren't all the people who are willing to play this game fans of fantasy worlds? How lucky they are to be able to live in a real fantasy world.

Shen Yuan's reasoning, however, was a series of elaborate arguments.

Xiao Yu was speechless. (Damn, this guy makes a lot of sense.) I have no reply! Xiao Yu thought to himself, but something still felt off.

Yes, a realistic fantasy world sounds really interesting, but what if you get tired of it?

His mind was in complete chaos, and he finally understood what Xiao Yu had said before.

So that's how it is. So this was Shen Yuan's plan. No wonder the future Xiao Yu said that Shen Yuan had other plans.

Seeing Xiao Yu's confusion, Li Mingfei seized a glimmer of hope. "Xiao Yu, is this what you want? Are you really willing to live in a fake world? To be a god in a box? And to let millions of innocent players perish with you?" Li Mingfei questioned loudly.

Shen Yuan also noticed Xiao Yu's hesitation. "Ha, how do you know that the so-called real world we live in isn't just a box? Everything is an illusion. So-called reality is just everything we hear, see, smell, and feel."

"You're insane! You're completely unreasonable!" Li Mingfei shouted. "Listen up, all players who don't want to be trapped in this world forever! Stop him now!"

Some monster players actually tried to make a move, but they were immediately eliminated by the heroes and bosses. These heroes and bosses understood that once Shen Yuan sealed this world off from the outside world, they wouldn't have to worry about those random adventurers. Naturally, they couldn't be happier with this.

Li Mingfei continued, "It seems you've really managed to sway quite a few people to help you. But don't think I have no backup plan. Do you think you can succeed? I already have a trump card up my sleeve, just in case."

Shen Yuan laughed and said, "Haha, you mean the time-rewind function of the Hourglass of Time?" As he spoke, Shen Yuan took the Hourglass of Time out of his bag and threw it on the ground.

The empty hourglass rolled to Li Mingfei's eyes, and he stared wide-eyed. "You actually... you actually used up all the Sands of Time!"

"There wasn't much left anyway," Shen Yuan said. "Just surrender. Hand over the Scepter of All Gods, and I can reserve a divine position for you. After what happened, how many lawsuits do you think the game company would face if you went back to reality? Stay here, and you can become a god."

As he spoke, Shen Yuan ordered the Overlord to lower the altitude. With the Overlord controlling hundreds of thousands of adventurers here, he was confident that he could seize the Scepter of All Gods in the first instance.

Although he was the leader of the Council of Sages, no one in the Council of Sages was willing to be subordinate to anyone, so he still wanted to be absolutely sure of success, and thus directly used his verbal skills on Li Mingfei.

"Millions of online players are trapped in the game, haha, do you still want to keep the company running? I bet the families of those players would eat you alive. Even if these players manage to escape, you've violated the agreement with the country, exposed the closed functionality of the quantum computer, and almost caused millions of players to be trapped in the game. Do you think your game can still continue operating?"

Li Mingfei, however, was completely unconvinced. "Don't even think about it. I can distinguish between virtual and reality. What's so great about a god in a box?"

Xiao Yu's mind was in chaos. On one hand, Shen Yuan's words seemed to make sense, even if they were not entirely true. Living in this virtual world and being a god, an immortal god, didn't seem so bad.

But on the other hand, he always felt that things weren't that simple. Yes, these people still have so many relatives and friends in real life.

Imagine the chaos that would ensue in the real world if millions of people were trapped in the game.

However, another voice says, "What's there to be afraid of? Reality has nothing to do with you anymore."

No, the reason games are fun is because players don't have to bear the consequences; if they can't continue, they can quit, and if they die, they can revive.

If the game became reality, would it still be as appealing?

Xiao Yu was unsure whether he should consider his own feelings or those of others, and his mind was in turmoil.

He wanted to stop Shen Yuan, but he was worried about failing, and even more worried that if he did stop Shen Yuan, he would be purged by the game company, since he was also a participant in this incident.

Li Mingfei suddenly glanced behind Shen Yuan, and a hopeful look finally appeared in his eyes. With only a few seconds left before the blank time ended, he immediately sent out an announcement.

World Announcement: I am the God of Holy Light, and also Li Mingfei of the game company, GM number 9527. Heed my command and immediately execute Emergency Plan No. 666.

This announcement was a global announcement, so Shen Yuan saw it too, and immediately laughed loudly, "Haha, GM9527, did you perhaps arrange for some expert? I'd like to see who dares to touch me."

"I dare to touch you!" A voice suddenly rang out behind him, and the next second, a strange magic suddenly struck him, instantly imprisoning him in a black sphere of light.

It all happened in the blink of an eye, and no one had time to stop it. By the time everyone reacted, Shen Yuan was already trapped by the black sphere of light.

Shen Yuan whirled around, staring at the person behind him with an expression of disbelief. "Medivh, why did you!"

A complex look flashed in Medivh's eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm the GM."