Chapter 97: Official Apology, Inviting Lin Ye to be a Lifetime Honorary Planner

Less than an hour after Qin Wentian's account was banned, the game's official website posted an announcement. It wasn't a grey suspension notice or a golden update notice, but a formal apology announcement with blue background and white text. The title was "An Open Letter of Apology to All Players and Mr. Ye the Wicked," and it was stamped with the game company's official seal and the CEO's personal signature. Players across the entire server stared at that announcement for a long time before they could believe it was real; the officials had actually issued a public apology to a single player.

The content of the announcement was long, but its core message had several layers. First, a certain Mr. Liu, the former deputy head of the backend security group, had colluded with the fired former lead planner and player Mr. Qin. They had used their positions to steal the Talent data of player Ye the Wicked, an act that seriously violated company regulations and had been referred to the judicial authorities. Second, the official team took full responsibility for the failure of internal supervision; the CEO apologized to player Ye the Wicked on behalf of the entire team, and to all players affected by this incident. Third, to compensate for their negligence, the officials decided to invite player Ye the Wicked to serve as the lifetime honorary planner for gods domain: origin, participating in game version design while receiving corresponding authority and profit sharing.

As soon as the announcement was released, the world channel exploded. "Wocao Wuqing" was the first to spam the screen: "The officials apologized to Brother Ye! A public letter of apology! Signed by the CEO himself!" "Data Emperor" analyzed that the position of lifetime honorary planner had never existed before. Being an honorary planner meant Brother Ye could change versions or kill proposals as he pleased; the official planning department would have to answer to Brother Ye from now on. "Brick-Moving Expert" joked that the previous lead planner, who had been plucked bald by Brother Ye, had already been handed over to the judicial authorities. "Invincible Sword God" summarized it incisively: "Brother Ye has fleeced the officials into submission, and now they're begging him to be a planner. Truly the number one reverse-worker."

In the VIP room on the third floor of the Unscrupulous Business Center, Lin Ye sat by the window drinking tea. Standing before him was GM Xiao Zhou, dressed in a formal suit. For once, he was wearing a deep grey suit with a meticulously tied necktie, holding a gold-leafed folder. Behind him followed two legal specialists from the official headquarters.

Xiao Zhou placed the folder on the table and opened it. Inside was a lifetime honorary planner appointment letter stamped with the company seal, a profit-sharing agreement for five percent of the game's global revenue, an authorization letter for version design suggestion rights, and a joint signature document for game Rule Modification Rights. A legal specialist added cautiously, "The Rule Modification Rights require the joint signature of both you and the CEO to take effect. This is a mandatory regulation at the corporate governance level, not a restriction aimed at you personally."

Lin Ye picked up the appointment letter and scanned it. The term of appointment was listed as "Lifetime," with a small note below: This position is not affected by company personnel changes; even if the company is acquired or reorganized, the appointment remains valid.

Xiao Zhou stood straight, his tone more solemn than ever: "Brother Ye, the company headquarters held an overnight board meeting. The CEO said these exact words—Mr. Lin Ye's Talent is the treasure of gods domain: origin. Not only did he not destroy the game's ecosystem, but he also made huge contributions to the construction of the global protection fee system, the maintenance of a fair game environment, and the recent cooperation with officials to clean up grey industries. The company's previous supervisory failure almost harmed your rights. This appointment letter is both compensation and a sincere request."

Lin Ye put down the appointment letter and looked at Xiao Zhou. "I've already accepted a lot of the things you sent before. Now you're adding five percent profit sharing and game Rule Modification Rights. To be honest, it's a bit much. Just tell me what you want."

Xiao Zhou took a deep breath. "The company hopes you can participate in the planning and design of the subsequent Abyss and Interstellar versions as a lifetime honorary planner, helping the officials optimize the game's underlying rules and continue to improve the cross-server ecosystem. At the same time, the officials are about to hold the first Global Cross-Server Professional League, and we need someone to oversee the tournament rules to ensure fairness and justice. The company discussed many candidates internally and ultimately agreed that only you can command respect and keep the overseas regions in check." He paused and added, "You don't need to worry about being restricted. The CEO emphasized that the company has no right to force you to do anything you don't want to do. This appointment letter is essentially an authorization, giving you the legal right to modify game rules. Before, you could only exploit official loopholes from the outside; with this authorization, you can change them directly from the inside."

Lin Ye was silent for a moment, then turned to look at Su Qinghan. Su Qinghan had already carefully read through the profit-sharing agreement; the terms were clear and there were no traps. She nodded slightly. "The agreement terms are fine. The five percent profit sharing is settled quarterly with third-party auditing. Rule Modification Rights require joint signatures, but you hold the veto power; the CEO is just a formal gatekeeper."

Fatty Wang leaned in and lowered his voice: "Brother, if you take this lifetime honorary planner position, it's like getting the keys to change the rules. If overseas guilds try any more tricks in the future, you won't need to perform cross-border enforcement; you can just change the rules in the backend so they can't even move."

Lin Ye picked up a pen and signed the appointment letter, the profit-sharing agreement, the version design suggestion rights authorization, and finally, the joint signature document for game Rule Modification Rights. Xiao Zhou and the two legal specialists all let out a long sigh of relief simultaneously.

The cross-server channel synchronized a pop-up of the official announcement—player Ye the Wicked had officially become the lifetime honorary planner of gods domain: origin, possessing version design suggestion rights, game Rule Modification Rights, and a five percent share of global revenue. Chinese players collectively fell into a frenzy. On the forums, someone edited a compilation video of all Lin Ye's famous scenes, from toying with the Wolf King naked in the Novice Village, to the launch of the global protection fee system, the annihilation of the Anti-Unscrupulous Alliance, and the banning of Qin Wentian's account. The title was "From Poor Boy to lifetime honorary planner: The Legend of Ye the Wicked, Volume One." Solo players on overseas servers were also spamming the screen; someone lamented, "The name of this game should be changed to gods domain: origin of Ye the Wicked. If those overseas guilds knew this day would come, they wouldn't have dared to provoke him even if they were beaten to death."

Lin Ye closed the cross-server channel and handed the signed contracts to Su Qinghan for filing. Xiao Zhou packed up the documents and was about to take his leave, but he stopped at the top of the stairs, turned back, and asked Lin Ye, "Brother Ye, how do you plan to set the rules for the Global Cross-Server Professional League? The tournament group at headquarters is already waiting for your opinion."

"Just make it fair. No server divisions, no matter how much money is spent, it should rely purely on skill. Zero tolerance for cheats; if caught, permanent ban. During the tournament, the attributes of all players' paid equipment will be uniformly suppressed to the same starting line." Lin Ye picked up his teacup and took a sip. "And one more thing: no collecting protection fees of any form from opponents before or during the match. I have to follow this rule myself as well."

Xiao Zhou froze for a moment, then nodded vigorously. "I'll go back and sync with the tournament group right away." As he turned to go downstairs, his steps were as light as if a mountain had been lifted from his shoulders.

Su Qinghan opened her tablet, which showed an intelligence brief just sent by Ghost. The content wasn't long, but every point was significant. After Qin Wentian was banned, those shell guild accounts were also frozen across all global servers, and all associated assets were cleared. Although most of Liu Jingming's unfinished data analysis report on the Decay Talent had been intercepted, some core data had leaked through overseas channels before the shutdown; the specific recipient had not yet been identified. Several medium-sized guilds in the US Server, which had been waiting on the sidelines, took the initiative to contact Fatty Wang after seeing the official apology and Qin Wentian's fate. They expressed willingness to sign the protection fee agreement on one condition—they wanted to be included in Vile Power-leveling's protection scope to help them clean up the unscrupulous power-leveling gangs that had long occupied their local servers. Fatty Wang was checking the signing applications one by one, and Ghost had performed a quick background check on these guilds, finding no issues for now.

"Any movement from William's side?" Lin Ye asked after hearing Su Qinghan's summary.

Su Qinghan flipped through the US Server branch's reports. "William resigned from the management of the Freedom Alliance on the same night Qin Wentian was banned. The guild held a democratic vote, and most core members decided to keep the guild framework and continue fulfilling the protection fee agreement signed with you. William himself made no statement, but he hasn't appeared in the guild territory again. It's said he's hiding in a remote town on the US Server, crouching by an abandoned mine every day in a daze, occasionally hunting a few mobs in the wild before leaving without speaking to anyone."

Lin Ye didn't comment on William's matter, but simply looked down at his private message box. Kim Hyun-tae had sent a message, his tone much more relaxed than when they first signed the agreement: "Brother Ye, congratulations. When the Korean Server solo players heard you became the lifetime honorary planner, they spontaneously set up a celebration stall in Seoul City square, giving away materials to new players for free. They said they're following your style and making a 'Solo Player Mutual Aid Stall.' When you have time, come visit the Korean Server; they want to thank you in person."

Yamada Ichiro also sent a message, his words filled with Japanese politeness: "Brother Ye, the neon billboard I set up for you in Edo City square is still lit. The solo player warehouse at Sakura Shrine distributed extra materials this month, and the solo players collectively gave me a banner. It's the most decent thing I've received since becoming guild leader. Thank you."

Lin Ye sent back two identical messages: "Keep up the good work."

He stood up and walked to the window. In the Dawn City square under the night sky, that golden custom game pod was still lit, and the line of solo players was as long as ever. Some held discounted Abyss Crystals they had just bought from the material supermarket; some sat on the square steps, opening the cross-server channel to watch the global players' revelry; and some were on the forums, using a dedicated thread to tally Lin Ye's achievements from the Novice Village until today: the Wolf King First Kill, the destruction of the Heavenly Temple, the Lord of the Abyss signing a lifetime contract, the launch of the global protection fee system, the annihilation of the Anti-Unscrupulous Alliance, and the banning of Qin Wentian. The last line of the post read: "In less than one version's time, he has washed all the server rules from beginning to end. He never bullies ordinary people, and he never lets a single scumbag go."

Su Qinghan walked to his side and said softly, "Your status now is no longer just that of a simple game player."

Lin Ye looked out the window without speaking. He knew Su Qinghan wasn't just referring to the title of lifetime honorary planner, but to that larger thing that was quietly approaching. Although most of Liu Jingming's report had been intercepted, the fragments that leaked out would sooner or later attract opponents even more troublesome than Qin Wentian. He glanced down at his Talent panel. While the global players were still reveling in the cross-server channel, the Abyss Source Vein sample handed over by the Lord of the Abyss was lying quietly in a special cross-dimensional storage box in the basement of the Unscrupulous Business Center, glowing with a faint dark purple light.

He turned toward the stairs. Su Qinghan asked where he was going. He only said two words—"Test Server."