172: Chapter 172 Platform Scandals, Hegemonic Terms

Seven seconds after Supreme Council Speaker Morpheus sent out the peace talk invitation—

The entire Myriad Dimensions Sandbox platform went dark.

It wasn't a technical glitch; it was a literal, forced shutdown of all broadcasts across all dimensions and all live-streaming rooms!

Two hundred billion viewers were simultaneously kicked out of their live streams!

Lin Chen's broadcast studio was instantly plunged into darkness, with only the faint emergency red light of the backend system flickering.

"What's going on?!" Zhang Hao exclaimed in shock.

"Platform self-preservation protocol," Su Qingyu quickly pulled up data. "The Council has activated the highest authority's 'Silence Protocol'—forcibly cutting off all external broadcast signals to prevent the scandals from spreading further."

In the darkness, the trembling voice of Customer Service 007 came through:

"Mr. Lin... the Council's wrath is more intense than anticipated..."

"They just voted to pass the 'Emergency State Act,' authorizing Speaker Morpheus full authority to handle this crisis..."

"The methods of handling include... physical disconnection."

"Physical disconnection?" Lin Chen frowned.

"Just as it sounds," 007's voice was filled with fear. "If the talks collapse, they will directly destroy the physical server housing your world—that is, your plane's 'Dimensional Anchor.'"

"At that point, not only will the live stream stop..."

"Your entire world will... fall apart from losing its dimensional anchoring."

"Like a shattered mirror, breaking into countless fragments drifting into the dimensional turbulence."

Dead silence.

Not even bullet comments—because all signals were severed.

The emergency lights in the broadcast studio illuminated everyone's pale faces.

Just then—

"Ding."

A crisp system notification tone sounded.

A pure white video call window forcibly popped up on Lin Chen's backend interface.

On the other side of the window was an old man sitting behind a massive bronze desk, dressed in a classic suit, his hair meticulously combed.

He looked like an ordinary human corporate executive, except his eyes were pure black—no pupils, no whites, just two swirling pools of darkness.

Speaker of the Myriad Dimensions Sandbox Supreme Council—

Morpheus.

"Mr. Lin Chen."

Morpheus spoke, his voice unnervingly gentle:

"First, congratulations."

"Through your efforts alone, within twenty-four hours, you have caused our platform's daily active users to plummet by 47%, revenue to evaporate by 89%, and our credit rating to drop from AAA to C."

"This level of destructive power..."

He paused, then smiled:

"In our platform's 1.37-million-year history, you are the first."

Plot Twist:

Before Lin Chen could speak.

Struggling and muffled groans suddenly came from the shadows behind Morpheus.

Two Blood Emblem Agents dragged a battered figure wearing a shattered mask and roughly threw it in front of the desk.

It was Scavenger 07.

Its white uniform was torn, its mask half-broken, revealing the blurred face composed of data streams beneath. Those data streams were constantly disintegrating and dissipating—it was being formatted.

"As for this one..."

Morpheus nudged Scavenger 07 with the tip of his shoe:

"Our outstanding Correction Department agent, momentarily confused, accepted certain streamers' 'reporting fees' and Unauthorized alteration of law enforcement records."

"According to the rules, it should be permanently deleted."

He raised his hand, a pure white spear of light coalescing at his fingertip.

Aimed at Scavenger 07's core data module.

"Wait," Lin Chen spoke.

Morpheus stopped his motion, his black eyes turning towards the camera:

"Does Mr. Lin wish to plead for mercy?"

"No," Lin Chen said. "I want to make a deal."

"My 'surrender' in exchange for its life."

Upon hearing this, even Su Qingyu sharply turned her head to look at him.

"Boss, you—!"

Lin Chen raised his hand to stop her, continuing to speak to Morpheus:

"I will cease all resistance, disband the Underworld Guild, return the contracts of the 370,000 streamers to you, promise to follow the script from now on—"

"You spare it, just demote it, don't delete it."

Morpheus was silent for three seconds.

Then, he laughed.

"Mr. Lin Chen, you've misunderstood one thing."

"I am not here to negotiate."

"I am here to... pass judgment."

He lightly tapped his finger.

The spear of light pierced Scavenger 07's core!

"No—!!!" 007 screamed in his mind.

Scavenger 07's body convulsed violently, data streams gushing out wildly. In the final moment before dissipating, it used its last bit of strength to roar an encrypted data packet towards the camera—

That data packet traversed the dimensional barrier, directly pouring into Lin Chen's backend system!

[Warning! High-security intelligence received!]

[Decoding...]

[Decoding complete]

Three seconds later, Lin Chen saw the intelligence Scavenger 07 had traded its life for:

'Myriad Dimensions Sandbox Platform · Internal Audit Report (Top Secret Edition)'

The report's contents were horrifying:

1. Platform's true revenue composition: 80% comes from 'plot-kill live streams'—i.e., stimulating viewer donations through tormenting the protagonist, killing supporting characters, and creating tragedies. Behind every 'highlight death character' lies a complete industry chain.

2. Streamer promotion blacklist: The so-called 'Secondary Shareholders' are actually 'high-quality puppets' screened by the platform. The promotion condition is not popularity, but 'obedience level.' Long Aotian Immortal Emperor won twelve consecutive seasons because he perfectly executed all torment-the-protagonist scripts.

3. Audience truth: The 'viewers' behind the bullet comments—70% are the collective subconscious of low-dimensional civilizations, 25% are 'Observers' from other high-level civilizations, and only 5% are truly autonomous individuals. The platform manipulates the emotions of the collective subconscious through algorithms to create fake 'audience interaction.'

4. The most terrifying clause: [Final Interpretation Right Clause]—The platform has the right at any time, under the pretext of 'data optimization,' to forcibly reclaim ownership of any streamer's world without compensation or notification.

And at the very bottom of this clause, there was a small signature field.

The signatories were—

Lin Chen's parents.

To be precise, their digital signatures.

Signing time: Twenty-three years ago.

Note: [Voluntarily signed the 'World Ownership Transfer Agreement' in exchange for their son 'Lin Chen's' protagonist status and growth resources.]

Shocking Revelation:

Lin Chen stared at the report, stared at the familiar handwriting of the signatures, his entire body feeling as if plunged into an icy abyss.

Twenty-three years ago...

When he was just born?

"It seems you've seen it."

Morpheus's voice sounded again, tinged with pleasure:

"Correct, your parents were our platform's 'senior content suppliers.'"

"They created the world you reside in—of course, within the 'World-Building Engine' we provided."

"As payment, they received generous dimension points, and... the promise of making you the 'protagonist.'"

"What a pity..."

Morpheus sighed:

"Three years ago, they died accidentally during a 'plot experiment'—to test 'the impact of parental death on protagonist growth,' we arranged a car accident."

"The data was perfect; your growth curve met expectations."

"We just didn't expect..."

His black eyes fixed on Lin Chen:

"...you would awaken to this extent."

Lin Chen's fingers trembled.

Not from fear.

From extreme fury.

"So," his voice was hoarse, "my life... from start to finish..."

"...was a business deal," Morpheus finished. "A business deal jointly invested in by your parents and our platform."

"Your mother was responsible for designing your 'inherent kindness,' your father for adding 'business talent.'"

"We were responsible for providing the stage, the audience, and..."

He paused:

"The whetstone."

"Those villains, those crises, those desperate situations—"

"All were meticulously designed by us to sharpen you, this 'sharpest blade.'"

"Everything was perfect, until you started rebelling against the script."

Morpheus stood up and walked towards the camera:

"Now, I give you two choices."

"First, continue to resist. The cost: I will immediately initiate the formatting program, deleting you, your world, and everyone connected to you—including the digital signatures of your parents you just saw."

"Second, kneel and admit your mistake, sign this 'Permanent Obedience Agreement,' and become our next 'Long Aotian Immortal Emperor.' We will give you more resources, make you more popular, earn you more money."

A golden contract materialized in his hand:

"Choose."

"You have... thirty seconds."

The countdown began.

30.

29.

28...

The bullet comments remained silent—the signals were still blocked.

Zhang Hao was sweating profusely with anxiety: "Boss! What do we do?!"

Su Qingyu grasped Lin Chen's hand: "Whatever you choose, I'm with you."

Lin Chen didn't speak.

He looked at his parents' signatures in the report.

He looked at the final expression in Scavenger 07's eyes before it dissipated.

He looked at a line of hidden code in the backend system that had been accidentally unlocked due to the impact of the data packet—

It was a backdoor Scavenger 07 had planted with its life:

[Detecting highest authority conflict...]

[Initiating backup protocol...]

[Connecting to 'Platform Founder Emergency Communication Channel'...]

[Connection successful]

Suddenly, an aged, weary, yet powerful voice sounded in Lin Chen's mind:

"Child, don't sign."

"I am 'Shang.'"

"Founder of the Myriad Dimensions Sandbox."

Lin Chen's pupils contracted sharply.

The countdown reached 15 seconds.

Morpheus seemed to sense something amiss, frowning: "Are you stalling for time?"

"No," Lin Chen suddenly laughed.

He looked up, towards the camera:

"I'm waiting for someone."

"Waiting for whom?"

"Waiting..."

Lin Chen spoke word by word:

"...for your boss."

As soon as the words fell—

The entire platform's power was restored.

Not restored by the Council.

Restarted forcibly by some higher authority entity!

All live-streaming rooms lit up again!

Two hundred billion viewers reconnected!

And Morpheus's video feed suddenly distorted violently!

On the bronze office wall behind him, a massive, slowly materializing emblem composed of countless gears and data streams—

The ∞ emblem.

It was the Founder's insignia!

"Morpheus."

That aged voice came from the void:

"I gave you 1.37 million years of trust."

"Is this how you... manage my life's work?"

For the first time, cracks appeared on Morpheus's perpetually composed face.

"F-Founder... you weren't already..."

"...in deep sleep? Indeed," Shang's voice held a cold edge. "But someone called me awake with their life."

"Scavenger 07, the child you just deleted, its father was my first assistant back in the day."

"Before being formatted, it activated the highest-level 'Founder Awakening Protocol.'"

"Now, I am awake."

The ∞ emblem slowly rotated, releasing an indescribable pressure:

"And you—"

"—should be dismissed."

Cliffhanger:

Morpheus's face turned deathly pale, but in the next second, a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes:

"Founder, times have changed."

"We now hold 70% of the platform's shares! You only have a nominal title left!"

"At my command, all shareholders will vote collectively to remove you!"

"Oh?" Shang's voice held amusement. "Then try it?"

Morpheus immediately pulled up the shareholder voting interface—

Then, he froze.

Because on the shareholder list, the shares originally belonging to him and his faction were plummeting wildly!

70%... 60%... 50%...

And a newly appearing shareholder name was skyrocketing in ownership percentage:

[Lin Chen (ID: MF-001)]

[Current Shareholding: 31%]

[Source: Secondary market acquisition, debt-to-equity swap, agreement transfer...]

[Real-time Ranking: Second-largest shareholder]

"This is impossible!" Morpheus shrieked. "Where did he get the money?!"

It was then that Lin Chen leisurely spoke up:

"The 40 billion in bonds I issued, did you really think they were for buying streamer contracts?"

"That was just a smokescreen."

"The real purpose was—"

He pulled up a recently completed transaction record:

[Completed hostile takeover of 'Platform's circulating shares']

[Acquisition funds: 39.8 billion dimension points (bond proceeds)]

[Acquisition method: Leveraged short selling + block trading]

[Collaborators: Customer Service 007 (provided internal trading data), Scavenger 07 (provided shareholder weakness intel)]

"You thought I was on the first level."

Lin Chen smiled:

"Actually, I was..."

"...in the stratosphere."

Morpheus collapsed into his chair, his face ashen.

And the Founder's voice sounded once more:

"Alright, the farce should end now."

"Morpheus, you and your faction are hereby formally stripped of all positions."

"As for the platform's new manager..."

The ∞ emblem turned towards Lin Chen:

"Child, are you interested..."

"...in becoming your boss's boss?"

Complete silence filled the scene.

After a full ten seconds of blank bullet comments—

The server was utterly overwhelmed.