The first player to give up and quit was the one who caused the whole server to burst into laughter.

GM Xiao Zhou stared at the "Insufficient permissions, unable to view" prompt on the screen, his entire body slumped in his chair, his eyes unfocused. He had been working for sixteen consecutive hours, his eyelids were fighting each other, his temples were throbbing, and he had drunk cup after cup of coffee, but he still couldn't find anything in Lin Ye's account data.

"Xiao Zhou, the boss wants to see you." A colleague next to him patted his shoulder.

Xiao Zhou shuddered, stood up mechanically, and dragged his heavy footsteps toward the Technical Director's office. Pushing open the door, the Technical Director was sitting behind the desk, his face livid.

"Xiao Zhou, explain to me, why can't we process even one of the two hundred thousand reports?"

Xiao Zhou swallowed his saliva: "Boss, that Lin Ye's account data permissions are higher than ours, I really can't check it..."

"Can't check it? You are a GM! You are the official staff! You can't check a player's data?" The Technical Director slammed the table, "Do you know what the higher-ups said? They said our technical department is incompetent, we can't even manage a single player!"

Xiao Zhou lowered his head, not daring to speak. What could he say? Say that the SSS-grade Talent was inherent to the game and they couldn't touch it at all? He had said this a hundred times, but nobody believed him.

"I'll give you one more day." The Technical Director said coldly, "Within one day, either figure out his account data, or ban his account. If you can't do it, pack your things and leave."

Xiao Zhou walked out of the office, his legs feeling weak. He had already had his salary reduced twice; if he lost his job again, he wouldn't be able to pay his mortgage. He gritted his teeth, returned to his workstation, opened a private message, and sent a message to Lin Ye —

[Private Message] GM001: Brother Ye, I beg you, please cooperate with our verification work. I'm really about to be fired.

Lin Ye was grinding monsters in the wild map. Seeing this private message, he raised an eyebrow. GM001's tone was completely different from before; before it was "Please cooperate with the verification," now it was "I beg you." It seemed this GM had truly been pushed to the edge.

He replied: "How to cooperate?"

Seeing the reply, Xiao Zhou almost cried with excitement —

[Private Message] GM001: Just... just let me take a look at your Talent data panel. Take a screenshot, don't censor it. I guarantee I won't leak it.

Lin Ye thought about it, a wicked smile curling the corner of his mouth. Fine, then he would play along with him.

[Private Message] Lin Ye: Fine. Come over. I'm in the wild map, coordinates (387, 256).

Xiao Zhou's hands were shaking with excitement, he quickly called up his GM account and teleported to the coordinates Lin Ye gave. With a flash of white light, he appeared on a grassland, and Lin Ye was sitting on a rock waiting for him.

"Brother Ye!" Xiao Zhou quickly ran over, "Thank you for cooperating!"

Lin Ye glanced at him; he was a young man in his early twenties, wearing glasses, looking utterly exhausted, with dark circles almost reaching his chin. It seemed this GM had really been put through the wringer.

"You want to see my Talent data?" Lin Ye asked.

Xiao Zhou nodded frantically: "Just one look! I guarantee I won't leak it!"

Lin Ye opened the Talent panel and turned the screen toward Xiao Zhou. Xiao Zhou leaned in to look —

Talent Name: Perpetual Energy Level Decay

Grade: SSS-grade

Effect: ??? (Insufficient permissions, unable to view)

Unlock Progress: ??? (Insufficient permissions, unable to view)

Xiao Zhou was stunned: "This... why can't I still see it?"

Lin Ye shrugged: "I told you, your permissions aren't high enough. I can't help it either."

Xiao Zhou was about to cry: "Brother Ye, can't you just read the Talent effects to me?"

Lin Ye thought about it: "Fine. Listen carefully."

Xiao Zhou quickly took out a small notebook.

"First, it can stack Decay Debuff on malicious targets, each layer dealing 1% of max HP as true damage, with no upper limit on stacks."

Xiao Zhou scribbled furiously.

"Second, it can precisely castrate target stats, cutting attack, defense, movement speed, etc., down to 1 point."

Xiao Zhou's hand was shaking.

"Third, it can spread the debuff across maps and spaces, and it remains effective even after logging off."

Xiao Zhou's pen dropped.

"Fourth, it can reflect damage; whoever hits me gets the debuff."

Xiao Zhou was completely dumbfounded. He picked up his pen, his hand shaking so much he couldn't write at all.

"And fifth —" Lin Ye paused, "The Talent priority is higher than GM permissions, you can't manage it."

Xiao Zhou completely collapsed. He slumped on the ground, his eyes unfocused, muttering to himself: "It's over... it's over..."

Lin Ye looked at his state and felt a bit sorry for him. But then he thought, this GM was just following orders, so it wasn't his fault. He patted Xiao Zhou's shoulder: "Brother, it's not that I don't want to help you, it's that I really can't. If you officials want to ban me, go ahead and do it. But let me remind you —"

He leaned close to Xiao Zhou and lowered his voice: "My Talent is bound to the core rules of the game. If you ban my account, the entire server will crash. Are you sure you want to do that?"

Xiao Zhou shuddered. Server crash? That wasn't something that could be solved by just getting fired; that would mean legal liability!

"I... I'll go back and tell the boss..." Xiao Zhou stood up, his legs still weak, "Brother Ye, thank you for cooperating. I'm leaving."

Just as he turned around, Lin Ye called him back: "Wait."

Xiao Zhou turned back: "What is it?"

Lin Ye had a wicked smile on his face: "I'll give you a little gift."

He raised his hand and applied an exclusive debuff to Xiao Zhou's GM account.

[System Prompt: Target [GM001] has been afflicted with [Work Decay] effect. Effect description: When writing a report, the content is automatically replaced with 'Lin Ye is a beast'; when answering player report calls, it automatically mutes.]

Before Xiao Zhou could react, the system popped up a prompt —

[System Prompt: You have a report that needs processing, please fill it out in time.]

Xiao Zhou opened the report template, and just as he typed a few words, the content on the screen automatically turned into —

"Lin Ye is a beast Lin Ye is a beast Lin Ye is a beast..."

He deleted it frantically, but couldn't get rid of it. No matter what he typed, it would eventually turn into "Lin Ye is a beast." He was so angry he smashed his keyboard, but it was useless. He tried answering a report call again — as soon as it connected, the player on the other end was cursing up a storm, but he couldn't hear a single word, it was all muted.

"Brother Ye! What did you do to me?!" Xiao Zhou yelled in despair.

Lin Ye laughed: "Nothing much, just added a little buff for you. Don't worry, it doesn't hurt, it's just a bit annoying."

"You're trying to kill me!" Xiao Zhou was about to cry, "I can't write reports, I can't answer calls, the boss will definitely kill me!"

Lin Ye shrugged: "Then tell your boss it was me. Let him come find me."

Xiao Zhou looked at Lin Ye's smug expression and completely broke down. He closed the private message, returned to the office, slumped in his chair, stared at the "Lin Ye is a beast" line on the screen, and was beyond tears.

He thought about it, since he couldn't survive anyway, might as well — give up!

He opened the server-wide channel and sent a message —

[Server Channel] [GM001]: Dear players, regarding the reports on player "Lin Ye", after official verification, no violations have been found. Effective immediately, all reports against "Lin Ye" will no longer be accepted. Please play the game harmoniously, thank you for your cooperation.

The whole server exploded instantly —

[World Channel]

[Player "Wocao Wuqing": Holy crap! The GM personally came out to stand up for Brother Ye?!]

[Player "Brick-Moving Expert": No violations found? Then what's up with Brother Ye's Talent?]

[Player "Invincible Sword God": Even the GM can't manage Brother Ye? This is too ridiculous!]

[Player "Yes Little Follower": Hahaha! The official staff gave up! Brother Ye is a beast!]

[Player "Onlooker": I'm dying of laughter, even the official staff can't do anything about Brother Ye!]

Xiao Zhou looked at the messages on the World Channel and secretly felt bitter. He didn't want to stand up for Lin Ye, he really couldn't manage him! But he couldn't say that; saying so would prove the official staff was incompetent. He could only swallow his teeth and bear it.

He was just about to close the server-wide channel when the boss's message popped up —

[Private Message] Technical Director: Xiao Zhou, what did you post? Who told you to post this?

Xiao Zhou took a deep breath and replied: "Boss, I checked, there really are no violations. If we keep checking, we're going to get sued."

The other side fell silent.

After a long while, the leader replied: "Forget it, never mind. Don't bother with that Lin Ye anymore, just let him fend for himself."

GM Xiao Zhou let out a long sigh of relief and slumped into his chair. He had finally gotten through it.

Meanwhile, in the Creation Space of the Novice Village, Zhao Kai was staring at the messages in the server-wide channel, his eyes unfocused.

Even the GM couldn't handle Lin Ye? The official team had just given up? Then how was he supposed to get revenge?

He opened his character panel and looked at the dense list of debuffs, wanting to cry but having no tears left. Although the health-draining effect had been cleared, the social death effects remained—forced voice broadcasts, vibrating pop-ups upon logging out, and NPC favorability reset to zero. He didn't even dare to breathe too loudly, for fear of being heard by players across the entire server.

He wanted to find someone to help, but no priests on the server dared to take his commission. He wanted to pay to make the trouble go away, but his money was already spent. He wanted to delete his account and restart, but the debuffs were bound to the account; deleting it wouldn't help.

Zhao Kai slumped in his chair, staring at the ceiling, and muttered to himself: "It's over… completely over…"

Just as he was in despair, a private message popped up—

[Private Message] Heavenly Temple Qin Wentian: Kai, I heard you've been having a rough time because of that Lin Ye?

Zhao Kai shuddered all over and hurriedly replied—

[Private Message] Master Kai: Guild Leader Qin! Please help me! I'm willing to pay! Any amount is fine!

[Private Message] Heavenly Temple Qin Wentian: No need for money. I just want to ask you one thing—do you want revenge?

Zhao Kai's eyes lit up: "Yes! Of course I do!"

[Private Message] Heavenly Temple Qin Wentian: Good. I have a plan that requires your cooperation. After it's done, that Lin Ye will die a miserable death.

Zhao Kai was so excited his hands were shaking: "Tell me, Guild Leader Qin! I'm willing to do anything!"

[Private Message] Heavenly Temple Qin Wentian: It's simple. Although you're currently crippled, your account is still active. I want you to use your account to lure that Lin Ye out to the Novice Village. Leave the rest to me.

Zhao Kai hesitated for a moment: "But… everyone on the server can hear me whenever I speak…"

[Private Message] Heavenly Temple Qin Wentian: That's exactly why I need him to hear you. The more miserable you are, the more smug he'll be. The more smug he is, the easier it will be to trick him.

Zhao Kai gritted his teeth: "Fine! I'll do it!"

He closed the private message, took a deep breath, opened the server-wide channel, and sent a message—

[Server-wide Channel] [Master Kai]: Lin Ye! Get out here! I'm not done with you!

All the players on the server saw this message and laughed—

[World Channel]

[Player "Onlooker": Hahaha! Master Kai still dares to come out? Aren't you afraid of being mocked?]

[Player "Yes Little Follower": Master Kai, we can all hear your breathing, don't pretend!]

[Player "Brick-Moving Expert": Master Kai, you should just log off, stop embarrassing yourself!]

Zhao Kai looked at these taunts and was trembling with rage, but he held it back. He gritted his teeth and sent another one—

[Server-wide Channel] [Master Kai]: Lin Ye! I'm waiting for you at the Novice Village square! Come if you have guts! If you don't come, you're a coward!

Lin Ye was farming monsters in a wild map when he saw Zhao Kai's message, and he raised an eyebrow.

"This guy still dares to show up?" he said to Su Qinghan.

Su Qinghan frowned: "Something's not right. Zhao Kai has already been scared out of his wits by you; it's impossible for him to dare to provoke you on his own. Someone must be behind this."

Lin Ye nodded: "I think so too. However…" A wicked smile curled at the corners of his mouth, "Doesn't matter who's behind it. A fat sheep delivered to my door—it would be a waste not to shear it."

Su Qinghan shook her head helplessly: "You really are… fearless."

Lin Ye stood up and brushed the dust off his body: "Let's go, let's see who's playing tricks behind the scenes."

The two walked side by side towards the Novice Village.

Meanwhile, in the Novice Village square, Zhao Kai was standing in the center, trembling all over. He didn't know if he could walk out of this square alive, but he knew this was his last chance.

Hidden in the crowd behind him were dozens of elite players from the Heavenly Temple, led by none other than Lingtian of Heavenly Temple—the one who had been wiped out by Lin Ye last time. This time, he had brought fifty people, fully armed, just waiting for Lin Ye to take the bait.

"Well done, Kai," Lingtian of Heavenly Temple whispered, "Once that Lin Ye arrives, he's going to get what's coming to him."

Zhao Kai gritted his teeth and nodded. He could only pray now that Qin Wentian's plan would succeed.

At this moment, Lin Ye and Su Qinghan had already reached the entrance of the Novice Village.

Su Qinghan suddenly grabbed Lin Ye: "Wait."

"What is it?"

Su Qinghan pointed towards the square: "Look at the surroundings of the square, there are many unfamiliar faces. And their positioning is very professional; it's not something ordinary players could pull off."

Lin Ye followed where she pointed and sure enough, saw quite a few people hiding around the square, distributed evenly, with clear tactical positioning. This was definitely not something Zhao Kai could have organized.

"People from the Heavenly Temple." Lin Ye smiled, "It seems Qin Wentian is going to make a move himself."

Su Qinghan frowned: "Are you sure you want to go in? There are over fifty people, and Qin Wentian is commanding from behind. It's too dangerous."

Lin Ye shrugged: "Dangerous? Isn't it just over fifty people? It's not like I haven't fought them before."

Su Qinghan looked at him and shook her head helplessly: "You really are too bold."

Lin Ye smiled: "It's not boldness, it's strength." He paused, "Besides, aren't you here with me?"

Su Qinghan was stunned for a moment, then smiled: "Fine. I'll go in with you."

The two walked side by side into the Novice Village square.

Zhao Kai saw Lin Ye, shuddered, and instinctively took a step back. But he quickly steadied himself and pointed at Lin Ye, shouting: "Lin Ye! Don't even think about leaving here alive today!"

Lin Ye smiled: "Brother Kai, are you here to give me money again?"

As soon as he finished speaking, over fifty people instantly poured out from around the square, surrounding Lin Ye and Su Qinghan completely. The leader, Lingtian of Heavenly Temple, stood at the very front of the crowd and sneered: "Lin Ye, you were lucky last time. This time, you won't be so fortunate."

Lin Ye looked around, a wicked smile curling at the corner of his mouth: "Over fifty people? Is this all the trash Qin Wentian sent?"

Lingtian of Heavenly Temple's expression changed: "You're courting death!"

He waved his hand, and over fifty people attacked simultaneously—

But Lin Ye had been prepared. He raised his hand and activated "Mass Decay Domain"—

Within a fifty-yard radius, all hostile targets were automatically inflicted with the Decay Debuff.

The fifty-plus people were instantly hit.

"Wocao! This move again!"

"Priests! Dispel it quickly!"

"Dispel my ass! This Decay Debuff can't be cleared!"

In less than ten seconds, all fifty-plus people had fallen. Lingtian of Heavenly Temple was the last one to die. He watched helplessly as his health bar hit zero, his level dropped from 18 to 13, and half of his purple gear dropped.

"Ding! Player [Lingtian of Heavenly Temple] has died, level dropped: 18 → 13."

He stood up at the respawn point, his face ashen.

"This… how is this possible?!"

Meanwhile, Zhao Kai was slumped on the ground, looking at the corpses all over, trembling. He hadn't expected that over fifty Heavenly Temple elites still couldn't defeat Lin Ye.

Lin Ye walked up to him, crouched down, and patted his face: "Brother Kai, next time you want to give me money, just say so. No need to make it so complicated."

Zhao Kai shuddered, unable to say a single word.

Lin Ye stood up and turned to leave. Su Qinghan followed behind, unable to help but laugh: "You really are… wicked to the core."

Lin Ye shrugged: "It's professional."

The two walked side by side out of the Novice Village, leaving behind corpses and equipment scattered everywhere.

Meanwhile, in a distant main city, Qin Wentian was watching the live broadcast of the battlefield, his face ashen.

"Over fifty people, and they couldn't even hurt a single hair on him?" he whispered, "Just what kind of monster is this Lin Ye…"

His underling behind him asked cautiously: "Guild Leader, should we continue?"

Qin Wentian remained silent for a long time, then shook his head: "Not for now. Observe him first, and see exactly how much he's capable of."

He looked at Lin Ye's character model on the screen, his eyes cold and sinister.

"Lin Ye, you will fall into my hands sooner or later."