Chapter 505

Chapter 505. There was a reason for everything.

—

“Wow, there are really some crazy people out there in the world.”

“Well, that’s just how the world works, right?”

—

For a while, I was busy upgrading the base, watching Kraken No. 3 follow No. 1 and 2 like a baby bird, or dealing with the aftermath of No. 3 suddenly biting another user’s Dreadnought, forcing me to pay for repairs.

Though these were minor inconveniences, they kept me from paying attention to the gallery for a while…

—

“But Jessica, don’t you think it’s a bit much for a lunatic to dig into the secret details of other top-ranked players?”

“You’re right about that.”

—

I never thought there’d be someone out there collecting and organizing information about top-ranked players to that extent…

—

Along with other users, I rushed in, spammed block beams, and collectively agreed to delete the posts and ban the crazy guy from all communities for 15 days, five times over.

At least for me and some other top-ranked players who aren’t as exposed, there’s no mention of body measurements.

But for famous users like Antares, Betelgeuse, and Arcadia, who lead large clans…

—

—

**Title:** There’s one thing I’m most curious about with that crazy guy.

**Author:** ㅇㅇ

**Content:** [A user’s post about being stalked.jpg]

For female users, you could figure out their measurements from photos of them in uniforms or bodysuits, but how the hell did he know Antares’ or Mona Lisa’s *specific lengths*?

—

**Comments:**

– [How the hell did Namgung know that?]

– [That guy was kinda scary.]

– [I freaked out when I saw Menaldu’s tail length and Indypatible’s horn length listed.]

– [Wait, isn’t it Königs, not Indypatible? Indypatible is just a humanoid.]

– [Oh, right. My bad.]

—

—

**Title:** Guys, you’re misunderstanding something.

**Author:** ㅇㅇ

**Content:** [A paragraph listing Betelgeuse’s toe length.jpg]

That guy wrote all that based on tips he received.

Meaning, someone *directly* knew and reported stuff like Betelgeuse’s toe length or Arcadia’s minty scalp scent.

—

**Comments:**

– [Thinking about it, you’re right.]

– [That’s terrifying. There are lunatics like that lurking around top-ranked players.]

– [Mona Lisa even had her erogenous zones listed. What the actual…]

– [Wait, seriously?]

– [Yeah, it was buried in the middle of the post.]

—

—

With things escalating from just measurements to detailed body parts being exposed, it’s no wonder the top-ranked players were freaking out.

I, too, was shocked by the appearance of such lunatics and could only shake my head in disbelief.

—

—

Meanwhile, while Icarus and other users were busy panicking over their personal info being leaked…

—

“Commander, is it really okay to spread that information so recklessly?”

“Huh? Oh, you mean that clueless guy?”

“Yes, even your physical details were included.”

“Well, yeah.”

—

At the Loki Clan’s new headquarters, the Level 9 base “Scrap Port,” inside the command center, Betelgeuse, with her long pink hair, giggled while watching the chaos in the gallery and among the users.

Her adjutant, Arpio, looked worried, but Betelgeuse just shrugged it off.

—

“Most of the info that guy posted was leaked by us under the guise of tips from other users.”

“I’m not sure what you mean…”

“It’s to keep the other top-ranked players in check!”

—

That’s right.

Our pink-haired genius Betelgeuse’s plan was to intentionally leak top-ranked players’ info under the pretense of random tips, creating chaos among them.

Through this, she aimed to destabilize the other top-ranked players…

Especially towards Clan Leaders like Antares, Arcadia, and Mona Lisa, who lead massive clans just like herself, it was a grand plan to stir up trouble and keep them in check.

Of course, the goal was to ensure that no one would notice that this was her own operation.

The information collected by the spies of the Loki Clan about other rankers, as well as some of Betelgeuse’s own information, had to be mixed with a bit of “truth” before being sent out…

“But Commander, isn’t it too much to release such sensitive information?”

“Kuhuhuhu, what’s so important about something like body measurements? The point is to make them believe the truly important information by mixing in some useless nonsense.”

Meanwhile, our pink-haired Betelgeuse filled the “truth” with information related to her own body.

As for the rest of the stories…

For example, spreading information like, “Betelgeuse may seem like a dictator, but in reality, she’s just the representative of a clan full of trolls, moving through collective intelligence like Antares!” while hiding the fact that it’s actually a strict one-person dictatorship where Betelgeuse’s will is the will of the Loki Clan.

Or, during the last faction event, the coup attempt within the Loki Clan—while the surface story was written, the truth was that Betelgeuse had orchestrated it to purge the opposing faction or “Anti-Faction” users lurking within the clan.

In such a cunning manner, she showcased her trolling skills, ensuring she wasn’t the one getting fooled while making others fall for it.

Thus, her adjutant, Arpio, showered Betelgeuse with praise, as always, for her brilliant intelligence.

However, even as he reacted this way, Arpio couldn’t ignore the painful reality staring him right in the face.

“You’re truly amazing, Commander.”

“Of course, it’s only natural for me!”

“Then, perhaps it’s time to take off those… things you’re wearing underneath?”

“Huh?”

“Even though you’ve been spending so much time with the Pirate Empress, and it feels strange without them…”

“Well, uh… the truth is, I feel too anxious without them lately…”

Perhaps due to spending too much time with the Pirate Empress amidst all the purging and other issues.

Even though the Empress herself had left to be with her husband, Betelgeuse remained closely attached to something modeled after the Empress’s hand.

“So… uh… don’t tell anyone else, got it?”

“…Understood, Commander.”

Arpio, who had been with Betelgeuse since the day she first opened her eyes, couldn’t help but feel a pang of sorrow as he saw the traces of corruption intertwined with her brilliant intellect.

‘Oh my god…’

Unknowingly, he felt tears welling up from deep within his heart.

And while Betelgeuse was busy proving to her adjutant that she had been corrupted by the Empress, our eternal 3rd place and protagonist, the ever-mysterious Icarus The 3rd, was up to something else entirely…

==========

At the same time, somewhere in the lounge inside Icarus’s Astral Base.

“It’s been a day since the base upgrade started.”

“That’s right, you’ll have to wait 44 more days for it to complete.”

“That’s an ominous number.”

After unleashing a massive barrage of ban beams on the lunatics causing chaos in the gallery, I had already started the base upgrade and finished all the daily quests long ago.

“But is it okay to just water it like this?”

“The rest is being sent to the roots through the equipment installed under the soil.”

“Ooh.”

-Drip drip drip…

With nothing else to do, I leisurely watered the “Parts Tree Botanical Garden” I had set up in a corner of the base, accompanied by Jessica and other superhumans (Gryanarr, Nero).