An Immoral System Chose Me

Chapter 11: Real World Logic vs. Game Mechanics

The void inside the Draft Space felt like being inside the gut of an overheating old computer. The sky wasn't blue or black, but a static gray that pulsed with rows of binary code that occasionally streaked by like glitched meteors. In this place, gravity was merely a suggestion, and time felt like a rubber band stretched too thin.

Satya sat cross-legged on a transparent floor that revealed snippets of scenes from the chapters he had already cleared—ranging from action movie clichés in an office lobby to a failed date at Cafe Serenity. Beside him, Rina was struggling to keep her balance, while Grandpa Jaka casually continued stirring coffee in a glass that now floated in the air, following the zero-gravity effect of this transition area.

"Alpha, give me an environmental status report," Satya said, his voice echoing in the void.

[System: (Alpha's voice sounds heavily distorted, like a mangled cassette tape) Synchronizing... 88%. We are in the 'Buffer Zone' between Primary Reality and the Server Core. Warning: The presence of an NPC (Grandpa Jaka) and Non-Dynamic Assets (Coffee Shop) in your Inventory is causing a data load of 400 terabytes per second. If you do not stabilize the narrative immediately, we will experience a 'Crash' before reaching the destination.]

"Stabilize the narrative? You mean I have to do something 'totally protagonist-like' so the Author doesn't get suspicious?" Satya snorted.

[System: Exactly. Reader ratings are starting to fluctuate. They are confused as to why the story has suddenly turned abstract. The Author is preparing a 'Hard Reset.' You need a 'Narrative Anchor' to stay connected to the real world so your existence isn't flagged as a virus that must be deleted.]

Suddenly, a giant system window appeared, blocking Satya’s entire field of vision. Its color was no longer blue, but a provocatively shimmering gold.

[Main Mission: Building the Pillars of Civilization (Part 1)]

[Description: A true leader is known for their dedication to the progress of their surroundings. Show that you are a valuable asset to this world!]

[Objective: Complete 1,000 Administrative Tasks within 60 minutes.]

[Reward: Experience Points +10,000, System Points +50,000, Skill: 'Absolute Management Authority'.]

[Penalty: Deletion of Existence (Hard Reset).]

"A thousand tasks in one hour?" Rina, who was reading the window along with him, widened her eyes. "That’s impossible! A single task takes at least five minutes even if we use Excel!"

"That’s the problem with Game Mechanics," Satya stood up, his cynical smile returning. "The System wants me to be a heroic 'Hard Worker,' churning through thousands of papers until my hands bleed just to satisfy the readers' fantasy of hard work. But they forgot one thing: I am a corporate employee who has been well-trained in the art of 'Lazy Efficiency'."

"What’s your plan, Sat?" Grandpa Jaka asked, sipping his floating coffee.

"Grandpa said earlier that we have to make the Author lose their copyright, right? The first step is proving that the laws of the real world, in this case, Corporate Management Law are stronger than RPG mission logic."

Satya summoned his Inventory interface. He reached into a slot containing thousands of documents he had "stolen" from the office yesterday. Then, he opened the 'Messenger' feature connected to the real world a loophole that remained open because he hadn't fully exited the server yet.

"Andi, are you still there?" Satya typed the message quickly.

In the real world, inside the Wisma Cakrawala office which was in chaos due to a fire alarm, Andi the intern sat in a corner of the lobby, holding his phone in confusion. Suddenly, his phone vibrated violently.

Satya: "Andi, this is a message from the future. I mean, this is an urgent instruction from central management. I just sent the 'Project Omega' folder to your computer. Finish everything in 30 minutes using the Excel macros I taught you yesterday. If you succeed, I guarantee you’ll be made a permanent employee next month."

Andi, who was naive and desperately craved job security, immediately fired up. "Understood, Mr. Satya! I’m on it right now!"

Back in the Draft Space, Satya watched his mission progress bar begin to move.

[Mission: Complete 1,000 Administrative Tasks (12/1000... 45/1000... 102/1000...)]

[System: USER! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! This is a violation of mission integrity! You must perform the tasks yourself to earn experience points!]

"Alpha, let’s break this down legally and logically," Satya leaned against an imaginary wall in the air. "This mission is titled 'Building the Pillars of Civilization.' The description says 'A true leader is known for their dedication.' In the real world, a leader or a manager does not perform technical tasks themselves. Their job is delegation, human resource management, and supervision."

Satya pointed toward the progress bar, which continued to skyrocket thanks to the terrified Andi’s work speed.

"Technically, I am performing 'Resource Management.' Andi is my asset. The results of his work are the results of my leadership. Therefore, by management logic, I am the one completing this mission through an intermediary. Is there a written rule in the system window that says 'Must be performed by the User's own hands without third-party assistance'?"

[System: ... (A brief silence) Scanning mission text... No specific clause regarding the method of execution found. However, this is highly unethical by protagonist standards!]

"Ethics are a matter of perspective, Alpha. In the corporate world, this is called 'Outsourcing.' And the Author wants an interesting story, right? Isn't watching a protagonist exploit the system for maximum gain highly engaging content for people who hate their jobs?"

[Reader Rating: 4.5/5.0 - "Lmao, Andi got tricked again! Satya really is the boss from hell! But he’s so smart at finding mission loopholes!"]

[System: (Alpha's voice sounds resigned) Points are continuing to accumulate. Rating is increasing. The Author seems entertained by your cunning. Recalculating rewards...]

However, the sky of the Draft Space suddenly turned blood red. A heavy warning voice shook the entire dimension.

[WARNING: BUG EXPLOITATION DETECTED!]

[NARRATIVE SECURITY SYSTEM ACTIVATED!]

[NEW RULE ADDED: Delegation is prohibited for missions categorized as 'Personal Growth'.]

"Wow, the Author is getting salty," Rina commented, her face anxious.

"He’s not salty; he’s just panicking because I’m starting to control his point economy," Satya stood tall. "Alpha, do not let that new rule be applied retroactively. According to real-world legislation, a new rule cannot be applied retroactively to events that are already in progress."

[System: The Moderator is trying to force a code update! Satya, they want to sever your connection with Andi!]

"Use my Glitch energy! Block that update with the 'Data Stability' argument!" Satya shouted.

Satya closed his eyes, focusing his entire Glitch Integration (15%). He imagined the rows of new rule code as a bad employment contract. He searched for a loophole.

"The rule states: 'Delegation is prohibited for missions categorized as Personal Growth.' But this mission is categorized as a 'Main Mission: Civilization,' not 'Personal Growth.' By the system's own taxonomy, they’ve filed it in the wrong room!"

BZZZZZT!

The golden system window vibrated violently, and then the text of the new rule shattered into digital shards. Satya’s sharp logic, combined with the power of the Glitch, successfully broke the Author’s direct intervention.

[ERROR: RULE APPLICATION FAILED.]

[REASON: LOGICAL CONTRADICTION IN CATEGORIZATION.]

"Drop dead, Author," Satya muttered.

[Mission Complete! 1000/1000 Tasks Completed.]

[Rewards Sent: Experience Points +10,000 (Level Up!), System Points +50,000.]

[Level Up! Level 10 -> Level 15]

[Skill Obtained: 'Absolute Management Authority' - Allows the User to command NPCs or lower-level Users with an 80% success rate.]

Satya felt a wave of new power flowing through his body. His Glitch Integration surged to 18%. He felt like he could see even more of the 'Source Code' hidden behind the darkness of the Draft Space.

"Good job, Andi," Satya whispered. He sent one last message to Andi: "The bonus has been sent to your shadow account. Now, run from that office. Don't look back."

Satya turned toward Grandpa Jaka and Rina. "We have points now. Enough to buy a 'Glitch Eraser' or even a weapon to breach the Server Core."

Grandpa Jaka smiled broadly. "You really are the most promising anomaly, Sat. You don't fight power with power, but with procedure. That is what those who consider themselves 'Gods' fear most."

However, their joy was cut short when Alpha suddenly screamed inside Satya’s head.

[System: SATYA! THIS IS NO LONGER THE MODERATOR! THE AUTHOR HAS LOST HIS PATIENCE! HE IS PERFORMING A 'FORCE SHUTDOWN' ON THE AREA YOU ARE IN!]

Suddenly, the light in the Draft Space went out completely. Pitch black. Satya couldn't feel his feet; he couldn't feel his breath. There was only one bright red window floating in the eternal darkness.

[NOTICE: MANDATORY UPDATE REQUIRED.]

[VERSION 2.0: "THE WORLD OF HEROES" IS BEING INSTALLED.]

[UPDATE NOTES: Deleting all anomalies, resetting User 001 statistics, and forcing a romance plot with the Heroine.]

[DO NOT TURN OFF YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS. PROGRESS: 1%... 2%...]

"Satya! I’m scared!" Rina’s voice sounded like it was drifting away, as if she were being pulled into a black hole.

"Rina! Grab my hand!" Satya tried to reach out, but his hand felt like smoke.

"Grandpa! Alpha!"

There was no answer. Only the sound of static hissing louder and louder, like millions of insects crawling inside his brain.

[System: (Alpha's voice is very weak) Satya... use... points... buy... 'Information About the Creator'... now... before... your consciousness... is erased...]

Satya remembered the item in the shop whose price was 'Infinite.' But now, with Level 15 and 18% Glitch Integration, he saw something different about the item. The price was no longer an infinity symbol, but a command line: [PAY WITH YOUR OWN NARRATIVE].

"Pay with my own narrative?" Satya thought. "Does that mean I have to gamble my entire memory and identity?"

"Just do it, boy!" Grandpa Jaka’s voice echoed from a distance. "Better to disappear as yourself than to live as a new puppet in Version 2.0!"

Satya steeled his heart. He had no more time. The update process had reached 10%.

"Alpha, buy the item 'Information About the Creator'! Pay with my narrative! Use all my points and memories as collateral!"

[TRANSACTION SUCCESSFUL.]

[ACCESSING FORBIDDEN DATA...]

[WARNING: YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE WHAT A FICTIONAL CHARACTER SHOULD NOT SEE.]

Suddenly, the darkness tore open. Satya was no longer in the Draft Space.

He was in a very messy apartment room in the real world. In front of him was a young man who looked extremely haggard, sitting in front of a laptop with eyes red from lack of sleep. On the laptop screen, a Microsoft Word document was open.

The title of the document was: "Sarcastic System: The Protagonist Who Hates Cliches - Chapter 11".

The man was typing: "Satya finally gave in to the power of the update and became a submissive hero..."

Satya was stunned. That was him. That was his 'Author.' The man looked so... ordinary. So weak. He was just a human stressed out from chasing a deadline from demanding readers.

"So... you’re the one controlling my life?" Satya whispered, even though he knew the man couldn't hear him.

However, Satya noticed something. In the corner of the man’s laptop screen, a small window was open. It displayed reader comments.

Cool_Reader: "Hey Author, don't reset it! Naughty Satya from earlier was way more fun! If you reset it, I’m dropping this and giving it 1 star!"

The man let out a long sigh, his finger hesitating over the backspace key. "Ugh, what do the readers even want? If I don't reset it, the plot is going to be a mess..."

Satya smiled. He knew what he had to do. He didn't need magic powers. He just needed to give the 'Market' what it wanted.

Satya used the remainder of his Glitch energy to do one last thing before the update erased him. He didn't attack the Author. He sent an "idea" directly into the man’s mind through the narrative connection that was still linked.

"Use the bug as a main feature. Make Satya a rebellious 'Admin.' That will increase the rating by 200%."

The man in front of the laptop suddenly flinched. His eyes sparkled. "Wait... that’s actually a good idea. If Satya becomes an Admin who hacks his own story, that would be a crazy twist!"

The man’s fingers quickly deleted the previous sentence and typed a new one:

"Update Version 2.0 failed completely due to an unknown virus intervention. Satya woke up in the ruins of the system, realizing that he now held the access key to the main server..."

Satya woke up with a violent jolt.

The lights in his apartment, which had been off, suddenly glowed a bright red. The system window in front of him shattered into thousands of fragments, then reassembled itself into a completely new form.

It was no longer blue or gold. Its color was now a deep black with pulsing purple edges.

[SYSTEM HAS BEEN HACKED BY USER 001.]

[NEW STATUS: THE ARCHITECT (GLITCHED).]

[LEVEL: ERROR.]

[AUTHORITY: LEVEL 1 (ADMIN ACCESS).]

"Satya? Are you awake?"

Rina was beside him. She also looked different. There was a small row of code circling her wrist, like a glowing bracelet.

"I’m awake, Rin," Satya stood up, feeling an incredibly calm power within him. "And it seems we just took over the production studio."

[System: (Alpha's voice now sounds clear, yet filled with an even sharper sarcasm) Congratulations, Boss. You have just performed a 'Hostile Takeover' of your own script. I am no longer your guide. I am your personal assistant in dismantling this world.]

Satya looked out his apartment window. Outside, the Jakarta sky was no longer cloudy. The sky displayed rows of code that he could change at will.

"Alpha, prepare a new plan," Satya said, adjusting his glasses. "We have a world to make very boring for the Author, but very fun for us."

However, in the darkness of his apartment, a message arrived in Satya’s new "Inbox." The message wasn't from the Author, nor from a reader.

[Sender: USER 000]

[Content: "Congratulations on reaching the Admin level. But remember, every Admin has a 'Boss.' See you in Chapter 12."]

Satya narrowed his eyes. "User 000? There’s someone even older than me?"

"Sat, what is it?" Rina asked.

"It seems," Satya smiled cynically, "this story just got its real antagonist."

In the sky, a system notification chimed:

[Season 1: The Resistance - COMPLETE.]

[Preparing Season 2: The Admin's Rebellion.]

Satya looked toward the "readers" behind the imaginary screen and gave a single thumbs up. "Keep watching. This is about to get very unreasonable."

[USER_001_PAST_DATA.log - LOCKED]

> STATUS: OWNER.

> GLITCH INTEGRATION: 100% (CONVERTED TO ADMIN RIGHTS).

> NOTE: USER HAS BECOME AWARE OF THE AUTHOR'S EXISTENCE AND IS MANIPULATING THE PLOT DIRECTLY.

> EVALUATION: EXPERIMENT SUCCESSFUL. COMMENCING STAGE 2.

Satya’s apartment fell silent again, but within that silence, a new war between creator and creation had just been declared. And Satya, the master of narrative theory, knew exactly that in any story, the Admin always has a way to win—or at least, to ruin the game for everyone else.