CHAPTER 81: KILLING A LEVIATHAN

[A.N Kung Fus seems to be a custom fish made by the Author.

A.N2. Apparently Its a Gasopod so changing it to that.]

After the press conference ended, the atmosphere at NetPack headquarters was anything but pleasant. Tanner sat at the head of the long conference table, his expression dark, as a group of high- ranking executives shifted uncomfortably in their seats. The air was heavy, tinged with embarrassment.

Tanner’s gaze landed on a bald man across the table. "Leon... the guy who got picked on stage by New World was that you?"

Leon’s eyes widened, and he quickly shook his head. "Of course not! How could it be me? Do I look like someone foolish enough to do that?"

"It wasn’t you? Then who else? We all heard your voice," Tanner said flatly.

"That’s right," another executive chimed in. "And that long, shiny black hair in the game? It’s exactly the kind of overcompensation someone bald in real life would go for!"

"Yeah, way too obvious."

The other executives nodded in agreement.

Leon was speechless for a moment before muttering defensively, "Fine... I just wanted to knock New World down a peg. Who knew the players wouldn’t back me up?"

"Back you up?" Tanner snorted. "Players aren’t idiots. Instead, you’ve made us look bad. NetPack has never been more embarrassed."

He could already imagine the next few weeks, social media would be full of ridicule aimed at them. Still, he knew the drill, keep quiet, let it blow over, and people would eventually forget. Worst case, they could just blame it on a temporary employee and wash their hands of it.

But what truly stuck with Tanner wasn’t the humiliation. It was the technology on display at New World’s conference. The amount of rendering, the game systems, the sheer polish, it was all far ahead of their current capabilities. It was time, he decided, to officially set their own plan into motion.

---BREAK---

Meanwhile, on a major video site, popular uploader HaTade posted a new video titled.

"Successfully Raised a Ghost Leviathan and Found a Way to Kill It!"

The title alone was enough to send waves of excitement through the player base. One by one, they clicked in.

In the video, HaTade was standing in the shallow waters of Subnautica. Behind him was a neat row of underwater dome houses, each filled with massive aquariums.

After unlocking the aquarium blueprint, HaTade had gone full farmer mode, collecting, breeding, and raising all sorts of sea creatures.

Facing the camera, he grinned. "Hey everyone, HaTade here. Well I went to the Tree of Life and managed to steal a Ghost Leviathan egg."

He leaned in, eyes sparkling. "Well... it hatched. It grew way too fast for my tanks, so I had to release it into the ocean. Want to see it now?"

The moment HaTade finished speaking, he swam toward the open sea. The camera followed closely behind, the water around them growing darker.

Before long, a massive shadow emerged from the blue depths, A baby Ghost Leviathan.

It was still young, barely ten meters in length, only a tenth the size of a fully grown adult. But compared to HaTade’s tiny figure, it was already a sea monster, its body rivaling the giant crab snakes of the Mushroom Forest.

Spotting him, the Ghost Leviathan glided over. Many viewers instinctively held their breath, expecting the beast to lunge. Instead, it circled him once... and lowered its enormous head to nudge him gently, almost affectionately.

HaTade reached out with both hands, running them over the creature’s smooth, glassy blue head. Man and beast floated together in the water, perfectly at ease with each other.

The chat exploded.

"No way... he actually raised it successfully!"

"This guy isn’t just a farmer, he’s the top breeder in Subnautica!"

"Look at it rubbing him like a puppy! How is a Ghost Leviathan this cute?!"

"Does this mean we can ride them in-game?!"

On-screen, HaTade’s voice came through." As you can see, the Ghost Leviathan I raised doesn’t attack me. After keeping it for so long, I’ve realized the game has an invisible ’loyalty system’ for creatures. It’s never displayed, so players have to figure it out themselves. Honestly, the dev really thought this through. Once this guy grows up, I’ll be able to ride him across the entire ocean."

He hugged the Leviathan’s shimmering, translucent blue body, letting it tow him through the water. The sight made half the audience green with envy, the other half already plotting trips to the Tree of Life to steal their own eggs.

After all... who could resist the chance to ride a hundred meter Leviathan?

Then HaTade’s tone shifted. "Alright, next topic, killing the Ghost Leviathan."

The chat went silent for a heartbeat.

"Truth is, I already had a plan to take it down. But after the press conference, I decided to commit. The method? ...Using a Gasopod."

He released the Ghost Leviathan and swam back toward his underwater base. Entering one of the dome houses, he opened a reinforced door.

Inside were two massive aquariums, each crammed full of Gasopod the strange fish like creatures from the game. Around twenty of them filled the tanks, clucking nonstop, their calls overlapping into a deafening chorus.

The audience burst out laughing.

"So many Gasopod! They could start a team!"

"This isn’t a base, it’s a aquarium!"

"Why does this feel like the set of some ridiculous idol trainee show?"

"I can hear their voices in my head already..."

HaTade grinned at the camera. "These are all the Gasopod I’ve been raising. Today, I’m going after the Reaper Leviathan. Just in case things go south, I’m bringing every last one of them. Let’s see if we can make a big score."

"Alright, alright!"

"Haha, HaTade, that’s actually a good idea! With that many Gasopod, you could bury the Reaper Leviathan alive!"

"That’s right! Build a whole Gasopod farm and maybe you can actually kill that monster!"

The chat exploded with excitement.

"Okay then, let’s officially start this plan!"

In the video, HaTade got to work. One by one, he lifted the Gasopod out of the giant tank and carried them into the ocean outside.

The viewers were stunned.

"Whoa, you’re just grabbing them with your hands?! Aren’t you afraid they’ll spray poison eggs in your face?"

"HaTade is insane! He even dares to handle Gasopod directly!"

"Yeah, that poison gas is terrifying. In real life, this would be like grabbing a cobra bare handed!"

As if sensing their doubts, HaTade explained, "I don’t recommend players try this directly. The only reason I can handle them is because I’ve figured out the pet loyalty system in this game. These Gasopod are completely loyal to me and won’t attack."

He added with a grin, "I’ll make a special video later to explain that system in detail."

"Alright!"

"Big brain, HaTade!"

"When I learn this, I’m raising both Gasopod and Ghost Leviathans!"

Soon, over a dozen Gasopod were swimming outside, but instead of wandering off, they stuck together near the farm. When HaTade swam out, they immediately surrounded him, just like fish swarming when you throw bread.

The chat was amazed.

"So they really can be tamed. They’re actually... docile?"

"That’s perfect. Alright, Twenty Two, let’s move out!"

HaTade climbed into his Seamoth and took off in one direction, with his entire Gasopod following behind him.

Their target? A Reaper Leviathan that haunted a dense kelp forest.

When they arrived, HaTade swept the area with sonar. A massive shadow appeared ahead.

"ROAR!!!"

The Reaper Leviathan had found them, its own sonar locking onto HaTade and his swarm. The monster turned and charged straight toward them.

"It’s coming, it’s coming! The sonar says it’s headed straight for us!" HaTade said, his voice full of excitement.

A moment later, the enormous, hideous silhouette of the Reaper Leviathan loomed out of the dark water.

"Alright Gasopod, it’s all yours, kill that thing!"

HaTade spun his Seamoth around and bolted. The Gasopod didn’t understand his words, of course, but as long as they were slower than him, they’d be the ones in the monster’s path.

The plan worked. The ReaperLeviathan plowed straight into the Gasopod and, without hesitation, bit down.

Just as the rumors said, the Reaper Leviathan was pure muscle and zero brains, it didn’t back off at all. It swallowed five or six in just a few gulps.

The surviving Gasopod panicked, letting out sharp, frantic cries.

Puff! Puff! Puff!

A thick, green poison cloud exploded from their bodies, quickly spreading through the water. Within moments, the entire area was shrouded in a toxic haze.

HaTade stopped retreating and turned to watch. The seawater behind him had turned a sickly green, and within it came the Reaper Leviathan’s howls.

Only now, those roars had changed, less terrifying predator, more pained wail that made your skin crawl.

"...Looks like it’s working," HaTade muttered.

Five minutes later, the poison cloud dispersed and he swam closer.

The Reaper Leviathan floated belly up, sinking slowly into the depths. The massive head, once armored in thick flesh, had been eaten away completely, reduced to bare bone.

The chat went wild.

"Holy Shit! It melted it down to the skull?!"

"That poison is way too strong!"

"Reaper Leviathan: You brought THAT many Gasopod? I feel insulted."

"Kinda thinking Gasopod might be the strongest creature in the game... except maybe Ancient Leviathans."

HaTade laughed into the mic. "Guess I underestimated Reaper Leviathans combat power. But hey, looks like I just made history! World’s first successful Reaper Leviathan kill!"

The comments exploded with congratulations.

After his video spread, more and more players tried it themselves. The once feared Reaper Leviathan was no longer an untouchable demon, but just another big boss to farm.

Some players got creative. One player even managed to kill a Reaper Leviathan with a single Gasopod by freezing its head with a stasis gun for just two seconds and tossing the Gasopod straight into its mouth.

Seconds later, boom, mutual destruction.

---BREAK---

At the same time, some players had set aside monster hunting entirely and focused their attention on a brand new feature from the New World platform, custom characters.

They quickly realized something shocking, the customization options were absurdly detailed. From the strands of hair on your head to the tips of your toenails, you could tweak everything.

Naturally, if you wanted to craft a truly perfect character, it was going to take hours, maybe days. Soon enough, countless players were hopelessly addicted to the process, unable to pull themselves away.

Major forums lit up with discussion threads, full of screenshots and humble brag posts.

"Heh, tell me I’m not a dead ringer for Ancient Warrior."

"Get outta here, I’m the real Warrior!"

"Holy crap, how did you make yours look so much like Ozai? Drop the full settings, now!"

"Pfft, why are you guys still wasting time making male characters? Isn’t it way better to switch genders and make gorgeous women?"

"Exactly! Imagine crafting yourself to look like Tifa. Then you don’t just admire her, you are her!"

"Whoa... that’s actually genius."

"Hold up, I’m a girl. If I set my gender to male, does that mean I could..."

"And if I’m a guy who makes himself a girl, I could..."

The more they talked, the more their thoughts strayed into dangerous territory.

After all, they all knew one crucial fact, this was a full VR, full body sensation game.

That meant New World’s custom character system wasn’t just for show like on other platforms. Anywhere else, a beautiful character was something you could only look at. Here, you could... experience it.

The implications sent certain players imaginations spiraling.

Some people thought they’d found a loophole.

"Fine, if you won’t let me interact with Tifa, I’ll just become Tifa. Then I can interact with myself. No rules broken!"

Weird? Maybe for normal people. But in the minds of the terminally online, it was perfectly reasonable.

Hands trembling, they logged into New World and combed through every option in the customization menu... only to realize something horrifying, there was no gender selection option.

They asked around, eventually confirming from NPC Tifa herself, on New World, your in-game gender was locked to your real life one. Men were stuck as men. Women stayed women.

The outrage was immediate.

"You Bastard, you’ve gone too far! Why can’t we pick our own gender?!"

"I’m a guy, but I’ve dreamed of being a girl since I was a kid! Why won’t you even let me live that dream online?!"

"I’m so disappointed in you. You don’t care about us players at all!"

"He’s blocking every single way we could use this system for... fun. The man knows us too well."

"May both sides of your pillows be warm!"

Reading the comments, Tony could only sigh.

These players really were endlessly creative... especially when it came to finding ways to corrupt his platform.

Luckily, he’d anticipated this. With careful design and a few well placed restrictions, he’d snuffed out their more colorful ideas before they could spread. In this eternal tug of war between developer and player, he was still one step ahead.

Thinking of this, he finally relaxed.

Yesterday, he had just finished grinding through the final development push for Sekiro, wrapping up right before launch day.

Game delays were normal in the industry, sometimes even years long, but as a former gamer himself, Tony knew the resentment that bubbled when a promised release date was missed. He refused to betray that trust, even if it meant pushing himself to the brink.

Just then, the study door creaked open. Natalie walked in, holding a plate piled high with grapes.

"Come on, Tony, have some grapes!" she said warmly.

"No time, I’m reading comments. These people are hilarious," Tony replied with a grin.

"Then I’ll feed you," she said, picking up a grape and bringing it to his mouth.

"Well, aren’t you generous today? ...Wait, did you wash your hands?."

Her smile froze, then her tone turned icy. "Nope. I just came out of the bathroom. Open wide."

Before he could react, she popped the grape into his mouth.

"Pfft, blech!" Tony gagged and mimed spitting it out.

"Relax, I was joking. I washed my hands," Natalie rolled her eyes, looking exasperated. Then her expression shifted again, turning sweet. "By the way... you’ve been working hard lately. Want me to give you a shoulder massage?"

Without waiting for an answer, she stepped behind him and began kneading.

"You’re acting really suspicous," Tony muttered with a glance, still deciding to lean back and close his eyes. "Harder."

She obeyed, pressing deeper.

"So obedient. A truly qualified maid," he teased.

She didn’t get mad. Instead, she cautiously asked, "By the way, Tony... you finished Sekiro, right?"

Tony groaned, so this is what she wanted. "How many times are you going to ask that? ...But fine, you picked the right time, yeah, it’s basically done."

Her eyes lit up instantly. "Then can you let me play it on stream first? That way the players can get to know it better!"

2624 Words.