The atmosphere in the room was tense, a heavy silence hanging between the five powerful figures. The quiet tension was broken by a low, thoughtful voice.
"Let's set this aside for now," the bald man with a serious demeanor spoke, his voice deep and commanding. "Have any of you made any progress on the technical front?"
The four other executives exchanged frustrated glances before shaking their heads.
"It's proving extremely difficult," replied the man known as Square Face, his real name being Matthew Hudson, a major shareholder of Apex Games, a company infamous for its copycat strategies. "Our team at Apex has called in a massive number of core programmers to analyze the source code of One Piece, but so far, we've had no breakthroughs."
Another man, a former executive named Luke Dillon, whose company Dillon Entertainment was similarly trying to crack the code, chimed in with rising frustration. "Our company has invested enormous resources. We even managed to acquire the source code for Pokémon at a hefty cost, but it's still useless. We've made no headway."
The frustration was palpable, and Luke looked like he wanted to slam the table in anger but restrained himself. The encryption on Pokémon's source code, put in place by the Dragon Kingdom's virtual security division, was nearly impenetrable. On the other hand, the source code of One Piece was oddly unprotected, available for anyone to take a look at. Yet, even with that, they were getting nowhere.
"If even Apex can't figure it out, how do you expect us to?" another executive replied with thinly veiled sarcasm, his tone dripping with derision. He and another shareholder had their own grievances with Apex, as Apex had aggressively cloned their game ideas in the past.
The gathering wasn't one of comrades but rather a temporary alliance of competing companies united only by a shared enemy: John. They were opportunistic predators, waiting to turn on each other the moment their collective threat was eliminated.
Apex Games, under Matthew Hudson's strategic direction, had built its empire on plagiarism. They dissected the source code of successful games, made superficial alterations, and then released their own versions. Copyright laws in this world were rigorous, punishing even the most minor acts of intellectual theft, but Apex's cunning methods had helped it become one of the five major players in the industry.
Matthew Hudson was a visionary, albeit a morally ambiguous one. A skilled virtual game designer, he wasn't just a businessman playing with investments; he had an instinct for identifying talent and potential in games. Yet even he had to admit, begrudgingly, that John was an enigma.
The tension in the room was escalating, and another executive—a bald man named Richard Burns—sighed and tried to mediate. "Okay, enough. We're getting nowhere by arguing." He rubbed his temples in distress, clearly burdened by the crisis they faced.
Their meeting this time was far more somber compared to their previous one. They'd initially underestimated John, viewing him as a reckless upstart they could squash, and they had been focused on dividing the spoils of his defeat. But now they realized they were up against someone with immense strategic prowess, someone capable of defending his empire with surgical precision.
Richard's voice turned grave. "If the Dragon Kingdom successfully implements game currency exchange between One Piece and the real world, we're in serious trouble. Players will have a new source of income and won't need to spend money on our games. We need information, and we need it fast. Stop guarding your own secrets and start sharing them."
Through their connections, they had learned that One Piece was the testing ground for the Dragon Kingdom's currency exchange model. Their mission was clear: ruin One Piece before this economic model could be proven successful, causing enough chaos to demonstrate the risks associated with it. If they could prove it would destabilize the virtual economy, they could save their own skins.
Matthew Hudson, always a provocateur, smirked at his rivals. "The weak can only bark," he mocked, his eyes gleaming with scorn. The other two executives bristled at his words, ready to lash out, but Richard silenced them with a stern look.
Matthew continued, undeterred by their glares. "If you can't even analyze One Piece's simple mechanics, what makes you think you can handle anything more complex?" His contemptuous gaze swept the room, but then he shifted his tone and became more serious. "Here's the thing. One Piece and Pokémon are more advanced than any of us could have anticipated."
The executives leaned in as he made a gesture, summoning a holographic projection onto the table. "John's first major hit was Pokémon, followed by Happy Farm, then Minecraft, and finally One Piece. Notice anything?"
Richard frowned. "Just tell us already. Enough of your games."
Matthew's lips curled. "Look at the credits for Pokémon and One Piece. John is listed as the sole owner of all the copyrights. Yet, for Minecraft, there's a detailed breakdown of who did what, with every member of the Edge Horizon team credited. John is only mentioned as the visionary, overseeing the project."
Realization dawned on Richard's face. Matthew pressed on. "The code that we're struggling with—the systems that make these characters feel so lifelike—are found in Pokémon and One Piece. This suggests that there's a hidden, highly skilled team working with John. They've mastered a unique programming method."
"A single person couldn't have built One Piece on their own," Matthew concluded. "It's impossible. There has to be a secret team behind John. If we find them, we find the source of his power."
Matthew's words sent a chill through the room. The idea of a hidden mastermind team was both terrifying and plausible.
"If we can track down that team," Richard said thoughtfully, "then John won't be invincible anymore."
The five executives sat in a tense silence, contemplating their next moves. They had underestimated John, and now they were scrambling for a way to turn the tide. But one thing was clear: their enemy was far more formidable than they had ever imagined.
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