Ho Myung-hwan scratched his head and sighed. Ho Myung-hwan also had dark circles under his eyes like someone who hadn’t had enough sleep in days. Ho Myung-hwan loosened his tie and said.
“Over the past few days, the Planning Department…..no, Global Exos has been in an emergency situation.”
“Emergency? Why?”
Ho Myung-hwan looked astonished at Hyun-woo’s question.
“Why? Ark-nim doesn’t use the internet?”
“Internet? What does that have to do with it?”
“Ha, where have you been for the past few days?”
It had been more than a fortnight since he entered seclusion. He had been killing monsters inside the secluded area. It had been 18 days since he entered the secret dungeon and he had only crept out of seclusion at dawn today. The whole time he had been capturing the dungeon, he had barely eaten or slept and just stayed inside the dark cave. So he hadn’t even checked the internet or even the TV. Ho Myung-hwan sent him a pale look at that explanation.
“But didn’t you see the whole system message which appeared in New World a few days ago?”
“Whole system message? Was it about the episode update?”
Hyun-woo remembered something from a few days ago. He didn’t have any concept of time before there was no sunlight in the secret dungeon, but it had occurred when Ark was capturing the 57th floor. He had been in the midst of fighting the monsters when a message window stating appeared in front of him. And less than 10 minutes afterwards, another message window stating . Hyun-woo looked at the messages doubtfully. Hyun-woo remembered that the appeared when Seutandal rose. Yet two messages and had appeared within 10 minutes of each other. So Hyun-woo had though the message was because of a system error and ignored it.
“Now you know. That is the reason why the Planning Department and PR Department has been so busy. There have been questions and protests on the home page, various forums and even over the phone.”
“Then it wasn’t a system problem?”
“It would’ve been great if that was the case.”
Ho Myung-hwan sighed and shook his head.
“That problem is why we called Ark-nim here.”
“Huh? I don’t understand at all. What does this have to do with me?”
Why would they consult with Hyun-woo about a system problem? Did they think he was a genius programmer or something? Hyun-woo made a confused expression and Ho Myung-hwan took out a cigarette and said.
“I’ll tell you this first. Everything that we discuss from now on has to be a secret. You can’t talk about it anywhere else. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Yes, that is……”
“Based on our conclusions, I believe the message isn’t a system error.”
“It’s not an error? But……”
“Wait a moment. I know what you’re going to say. Of course it isn’t normal for two episodes to update at the same time and to skip an episode. Yes, that’s right. The current system of New World isn’t normal.”
“It’s not an error but the system isn’t normal?”
What did they call him so early in the morning for? He wanted to have an angry tantrum but it seemed like they weren’t joking with him based on Ho Myung-hwan’s expression.
“I know it is difficult to understand. But my words are correct. This isn’t a normal error. If it a little difficult but I’ll try to explain. Two continents actually appeared at the same time the episodes were activated. It had been a while since a new episode occurred.”
“Huh? Then the episodes randomly occurred? No that’s not right. The episodes occur when certain conditions are met. It is common for these conditions to be difficult, for example no one can enter the area, so there is a problem with the restrictions?”
“That’s right. It’s why I said it’s not an error but it also isn’t normal.”
Ho Myung-hwan replied.
“But that’s just the start of the emergency situation.”
“The start?”
“I can’t explain in detail but things have started running out of control ever since the new episodes started. If things progress like this then there is no guarantee a new episode won’t be triggered again. And all the date related to the episodes is focused on the Sinius Principality in the northeast of the continent.”
Ho Myung-hwan entered recall mode as he said this.
————————————————————————————————————
Global Exos had been flipped upside down four days ago. The computers in headquarters being hacked was just a precursor to and . While New World’s system could handle one episode update, the activation of 2 had caused the system to overload and the other computers to be hacked. But that disturbance was just the beginning of an incident which got bigger.
It wasn’t possible for an episode update to run out of control like that. But since the worst situation the programmer Kim Gwon-tae had talked about, data flowing back into the gamers’ brains, the Planning Department could breathe a sigh of relief. However, confusion spread over Kim Gwon-tae’s face again within minutes.
“W-wait a minute. There’s something wrong. The hacking of the computers in headquarters has stopped but the system calculations are still running. The calculations are still in progress even when an A ranked seal has been loosened.”
“What are you saying? There are more operations continuing?”
“I don’t know. Just……”
“Just?”
“The data is concentrated on the Sinius Principality.”
Kim Gwon-tae had been working on the computer for 10 minutes and that was the only information he found out. But Kim Gwon-tae’s efforts were in vain as the Planning Department was able to identify that in real time. Shortly after the episodes were triggered, the monitors of the Planning Department showed a huge dark energy centred on the Sinius Principality and identified monsters raiding NPC villages. While it wasn’t as serious as the Sinius Principality, there were also some reports of unidentified monsters in the Schudenberg Kingdom. It was these monsters and not the episodes update that caused users to complain and make inquiries on the website and through the telephone.
“What on earth? What is happening?”
Ha Myung-woo exclaimed loudly. But nobody in the Planning Department could answer Ha Myung-woo’s question. They also couldn’t understand or guess what was happening.
“Presently everything is unclear. Just…..”
Kim Gwon-tae thought for a bit before replying.
“This situation must be related to the thing we’re looking for.”
“What we’re looking for? Perhaps…..?”
“Yes, the master code.”
Ha Myung-woo flinched at Kim Gwon-tae’s words.
“Did someone get their hands on the master code? Did someone get their hands on the master code and is discriminately destroying the system?”
“No, that isn’t the case.”
Kim Gwon-tae shook his head and explained.
“If someone got their hands on the master code then they would’ve contacted out company first. Anyone with even a little bit of brains would realize the value of the master code.”
“But what if the master code is in the hands of a child who doesn’t know anything?”
“It isn’t that easy to find the master code easy and it also isn’t easy knowing how to manipulate it. The series of events might seem completely random but it has its own rules. Look at the hidden continents that just appeared.”
“What is it then?”
“Park Woo-seong hid the master code so it must be protected by several layers of protections. This is just an idea…..but my guess is that someone is trying to destroy the shields around the master code. It is possible that these series of events will spread as more shields are unlocked. This is what I’ve grasped from the data. If the master code which controls all the systems is triggered then it wouldn’t be like this.”
“Someone is trying to forcibly access the master code?”
Ha Myung-woo’s expression became even more serious at Kim Gwon-tae’s explanation.
“Until now we haven’t even defined what the master code is. But if someone is trying to approach the master code then they must know something about the master code.”
“…….It is like that.”
“They will forcibly penetrate the shields until they get their hands on the master code. That person must have considerable knowledge and the power to act on it. ”
“That’s right. The episodes running out of control isn’t something to do with the operating data. Yet the master code didn’t interfere. So someone must’ve met the criteria to trigger the episode. Furthermore, two was triggered at once so there must be two users involved. And they have the same purpose.”
“I have to ask. Is there any chance that it is just a coincidence?”
“The chances are 1/10 million.”
“…….Then there is only one answer.”
Ha Myung-woo bit his lip and muttered. If there was that kind of knowledge and organizational skills then a group had to be involved. The conclusion he came to was that a rival company had obtained information about the master code and was trying to obtain it.
‘If they get their hands on the master code…….’
Global Exos would be destroyed in a day. Anyone who got their hands on the master code was the god of New World. What would they do if they could access all the systems? If they wanted, they could delete all the users’ information or rest the system to the beginning. Only the company who made the game would have the master code. If their competitors found the master code then they could claim legal rights. But what if the competitor made the data flow backwards into the users’ brains to cause brain death? The problem wouldn’t be solved by discontinuing New World. The thought made cold sweat drip down Ha Myung-woo’s back.
“I can’t allow the master code to go somewhere else!”
Ha Myung-woo e