Taken into Custody (End of Volume)

The biggest problem for game companies isn't just their control over the game itself. In this respect, they could easily adopt a free-play approach, allowing players to explore freely within the game world, only lacking control over the storyline. Players' gameplay wouldn't be significantly affected.

The game company's biggest problem right now is actually the data rollback issue. While the rollback freed the controlled adventurers from the Overlord's control, it also means that all the characters players have leveled up over the past three years are gone. Now, all players have probably been kicked out of the game and returned to the login screen.

What a huge loss! It's unimaginable. Many characters, especially the VIP templates, were bought by players with real money and countless resources to level them up. Each one costs hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. Ordinary players have also invested a great deal of time and effort, and now it's all gone. Who can accept that?

This could mean the direct loss of hundreds of billions or even trillions of dollars, and the entire game company will face immense legal pressure, potentially leading to bankruptcy.

Of course, because of the game agreement, the game company theoretically has the final right to interpret the game, and it can also be explained by 'unexpected plot events in the game'. However, the problem is that the game agreement is not law. It has binding force but no enforcement power. It's good enough if the game company doesn't go bankrupt.

Right now, among all the players still in the game, Xiao Yu is probably the only one left, because he directly traveled through time and thus retained his original attributes.

However, he doesn't play the game much anymore. With Shen Yuan's incident, he'll probably get into some trouble too. And since there are no other players, he can't just play the game like a single-player game all by himself. But he does need to make some arrangements for what he has.

Xiao Yu looked at the Scepter of All Gods and the Hourglass of Time in his hands.

The divine power within the scepter was not completely exhausted, but very little remained. Originally, it contained over 10,000 units of divine power, but now only a little over 500 remain, barely enough to seal a deity of Lesser Divine Power.

He turned and glanced at Medivh. "By the way, what's your rank now?"

Medivh checked his stats. "I'm currently a nine-star hero."

"Ha, that's enough."

Both nine-skull-level BOSSes and nine-star heroes can be deified. As Xiao Yu spoke, he directly performed a Godhood Bestowal Ritual on Medivh.

With a flash of golden light, Medivh instantly became a god.

"You've made me a god? Why?" Medivh asked curiously.

Xiao Yu shrugged. "This game is obviously going to be shut down, and my account is probably pointless now. Plus, I might get sued, so I won't be able to log in for at least a while. So, I'll just give it to you."

With that, Xiao Yu tossed the Scepter of All Gods to Medivh.

"While I also believe that games shouldn't be influenced by external factors, I think a certain degree of guidance is still necessary. At least if this world is invaded by demons or ancient gods and is on the verge of destruction, it would be good to have someone step forward to lead everyone. Why don't you play that role?"

Medivh gave a wry smile. "Well, what can I do? I'm the Guardian."

As the two were talking, suddenly a voice rang in Xiao Yu's ear.

System notification: The computer program is closing. The game will disconnect soon.

Xiao Yu was immediately startled. He knew what was going on; clearly, someone was forcibly shutting down his game program in reality.

He nodded to Medivh, "Goodbye, Medivh. I hope we'll have the chance to meet again."

The next second, everything went black before Xiao Yu's eyes, and he vanished from the spot.

Screech! With the sound of an airtight compartment opening, Xiao Yu sat up from the game pod, only to find more than a dozen fully armed police officers standing in his bedroom.

"Good evening, Mr. Xiao. I think you know why we've come to see you. Please come with us." The lead policeman said to Xiao Yu with a stern face.

Xiao Yu nodded. It seemed that Li Mingfei had indeed reported the case, and it appeared that the anomalies in the game had attracted the attention of the National Cybersecurity Bureau (National Network), and the impact seemed to be quite significant.

The most powerful police department of this era is neither the one investigating arms nor the one investigating drugs, but the domestic internet surveillance department.

Due to the rapid development of the virtual world, the virtual economy has even surpassed the real economy. In order to curb cybercrime, network surveillance has also grown from a small department to a behemoth. The National Network has a powerful police force and enormous law enforcement authority.

Xiao Yu found a set of clothes to wear and followed the police officers into the police car outside.

An hour later, Xiao Yu was taken to the rest area of the National Cybersecurity Bureau.

Sitting on the bench in the lounge, Xiao Yu couldn't help but feel uneasy. What kind of treatment would he receive next? Would he be treated as an accomplice in a cyber terrorist attack? Or as a hero who saved millions of players? He wondered how Shen Yuan and the others were doing now.

Just as Xiao Yu had hoped, the door opened again before he could come up with a solution. Shen Yuan and Merlin were brought in by the police, looking dejected.

Upon seeing Shen Yuan, he immediately widened his eyes and struggled to rush forward, but was stopped by the police. Merlin, on the other hand, did not react much. Instead, he smiled at Xiao Yu, looking completely unconcerned.

The two men were quickly taken to separate rooms for interrogation.

After waiting a while, the door opened again, and this time it was Li Mingfei who was brought in. Although he wasn't handcuffed, he clearly looked like he had been forcibly brought in. There was a policeman standing on each side of him, and he was treated much like Li Mingfei.

This surprised Xiao Yu. Logically speaking, Li Mingfei should be the victim, but he didn't expect him to be treated so severely.

This made him realize the seriousness of the matter; the fact that even Li Mingfei had been brought in indicated that this incident was clearly not being treated as a typical economic crime.

Seeing Li Mingfei also taken into the interrogation room for investigation, Xiao Yu felt increasingly uneasy.

This feeling is terrible. The feeling of having your fate controlled by others is definitely not as good as the feeling of being an overpowered player in a game.

He was even a little regretful now that he hadn't become a god in the game—just a little.

A dark figure suddenly appeared opposite him. Xiao Yu looked up and saw a man in his Xiao Yu smiling at him. "Mr. Xiao, please." The man gestured for him to enter.

A few minutes later, Xiao Yu sat in a chair in the interrogation room, with the man sitting opposite him.

"First, let me introduce myself. My name is Lin Yaoguang, and I'm a member of the Cybercrime Investigation Team, responsible for investigating this incident. So, where shall we begin?" The man rubbed his hands together, seemingly hesitant about what to ask first.

"Stop!" Xiao Yu interrupted abruptly, "Don't ask anymore, I'll start from the beginning."

He was too lazy to play these roundabout games and went straight to the beginning, starting with how his Balrog Lord character was killed off by the plot, how he played a Goblin character, and how he met Merlin.

Like telling a story, he recounted the entire process of getting to know Shen Yuan and the others, as well as all the interactions they had.

"So, that's how it all happened. I didn't realize Shen Yuan had such a huge conspiracy until the very last moment. I just wanted to play the game properly. Of course, after finding out about Shen Yuan's plot, I immediately turned against him and saved everyone. But you don't need to admire me too much. I'm tired of destroying the world, so saving it once in a while isn't a big deal."

The man nodded. "I must say, Mr. Xiao, you did the right thing. You didn't do anything that would have made things unmanageable and you even salvaged the situation. However, I must say that this incident has had a huge impact. Although the impact hasn't fully materialized yet, it's safe to say that this incident has touched upon the legal rules of online games. It's very likely that this incident will lead to a major upheaval in the entire online gaming industry."

As someone who saved the players, I personally admire Mr. Xiao greatly. However, I cannot guarantee that Mr. Xiao can remain uninvolved this time. At most, I can only guarantee that Mr. Xiao will be treated fairly.

Xiao Yu was taken aback. "You mean, I can't leave yet?"

Lin Yaoguang nodded. "In fact, I'm afraid Mr. Xiao will have to stay and cooperate with our investigation for a while. As I said before, the impact of this matter will be very far-reaching, very, very far-reaching. Mr. Xiao will probably have to live in this safe zone for some time."

The so-called "safe zone" is actually another way of saying prison. Of course, you can call it a safe zone because it is indeed very safe. The safe zone is an independent prison directly under the National Cybersecurity Bureau. The living conditions are much better than those in ordinary prisons. It is generally used to detain people who are related to crimes but have not been convicted, or witnesses, as well as other people who are related to crimes and need protection.

Xiao Yu didn't know which category he belonged to, but he didn't really care. He shrugged and said, "Okay, I don't have anything to do anyway, so staying won't hurt. Oh, by the way, are there any games to play in the safe zone?"

Lin Yaoguang was taken aback for a moment, then thought for a moment and said, "Of course, our safe zone has very complete living facilities, and we also provide gaming equipment for our 'guests' here."

"Then what are we waiting for? Hurry up and arrange a room for me. If there's nothing else, I'm going to play some games now. Call me if you need anything later."

Lin Yaoguang was taken aback. It was clear that this was the first time he had encountered someone so oblivious. They were already in jail and still thinking about playing games. But there didn't seem to be any rule against it.

He nodded with a wry smile, "I'll arrange a room for you right away."

A few minutes later, Xiao Yu was taken to a private suite in the safe zone.

Sitting on the bed in the room, Xiao Yu looked around and thought to himself that the accommodations in this safe zone were not bad. It seemed that he would be spending the next period of time here.

He was a very easygoing person, and the panic he felt earlier had disappeared with the passage of time. Thinking about it, the worst outcome this time was just being sentenced and going to prison. But now the prison provides gaming equipment, so he could lie in his room playing games all day. It wouldn't be any different from his previous life, so what was there to be afraid of?

I glanced at a gaming helmet on the bedside table, and my mood immediately relaxed. I lay down on the bed and put on the gaming helmet.

(End of Volume 4)