Minutes after the emergency statement, the Association released its first official statement:
> "Aether Corp is under investigation for a confirmed breach into Peak Art Studios' core infrastructure.
The intrusion endangered player safety, AI behavioral integrity, and violated global development ethics.
Compliance teams are mobilized.
All affected parties are ordered to stand down."
This announcement resounded across the global network.
The world didn't even wait for the news cycle to catch up.
Social media exploded instantly.
….
The moment the news hit, the world split clean down the middle.
At first, the reactions were a storm of disbelief and anger.
Some were furious:
"Ground Zero was literally attacked live!"
"Aether crossed every line."
"This is industry-level terrorism."
Others just stared at their screens, confused:
"How did it escalate to this?"
"Isn't this just game drama?"
"What even happened?"
And then there were the stubborn skeptics:
"Aether makes top-tier shooters, why would they steal anything?"
"Leo's a newcomer—maybe he faked it?"
"This has to be staged."
But confusion didn't survive long.
Because what spread next wasn't rumors. It wasn't edited screenshots. It wasn't some anonymous leak.
It was raw, unfiltered evidence.
Packet logs. Stack traces. Compiler fingerprints. Stolen asset names showing exact directory paths.
Hard facts. Not opinions.
Ground Zero players uploaded their clips of the live intrusion alert. Streamers explained the event to millions in real time. Cyber forensic specialists dissected Aether's exploit routes frame-by-frame on social feeds.
Forums strained under the surge of traffic. Reaction channels scrambled to cut the moment the red alert flashed across the player HUD. Analysts paused their regular content to break down the breach line by line.
And the tide turned—fast.
Because this exposure wasn't something a PR team could bury or spin. It wasn't a staged stunt. It wasn't a glitch.
It was the truth happening LIVE inside the most-played VR title on the planet.
Aether hadn't just been accused. They had been caught.
Caught while breaking into a rival game. Caught while pulling data in real time. Caught while Leo's system recorded every fingerprint of the intrusion.
The comment sections exploded:
"Wait… Aether actually stole code?"
"They were caught LIVE?"
"This is insane—industry history."
"Aether is DONE."
"Peak Art handled this like a titan."
There was no denial, no excuses and no chance of interpretation.
The world watched the crime as it happened.
And in that moment — not because of drama, not because of hype, but because of undeniable fact — Aether's reputation collapsed in front of millions.
…..
Aether Corp attempted what every collapsing company does:
panic PR.
They released statements denying everything.
Then retracted them.
Then posted new ones accusing Leo.
Then leaked edited footage claiming Peak Art stole ideas from them.
Then sent lawyers to media outlets threatening lawsuits.
Then pulled those threats when the GGA warned them to stop interfering.
It was chaos.
Their "New remastered" game — the one built off stolen Ground Zero code — updated within hours in an attempt to shift public attention.
But the same plan will not work a second time.
The public is not that dumb or foolish.
As Gamers dug into the assets. Modders ran hash checks. AI-assisted compilers highlighted identical patterns.
The verdict emerged quickly:
It was Ground Zero's engine wearing a new skin.
Even non-experts noticed.
Social media comment:
"It's literally Ground Zero with Aether's UI pasted on."
"This is stolen code, not a new game."
"They didn't even change the loot table names."
And once the GGA confirmed the match…
The second public wave collapsed Aether's support entirely.
…..
News channels switched to emergency coverage.
Headline rotation:
"Aether Corp Caught Using Illicit Access to Build Competing Product."
"Source Code Theft Confirmed — Association Moves to Freeze Aether Ops."
"Peak Art Developer Leo Becomes Center of Global Investigation."
"Live Exposure Footage Reaches 47 Million Views in 6 Hours."
"Is This the Biggest Corporate Sabotage in VR History?"
….
Inside Peak Art Studios, Leo watched the global storm unfold in silence.
Tina approached, still shaking her head in disbelief.
"They panicked instantly. GGA already dispatched a task force. This level of response only happens in AI safety violations."
Leo didn't look away from the screen.
"They attacked us in front of the entire world. The outcome was predictable."
Melina slid over a set of real-time analytics.
"Player count is skyrocketing. Retention spiked. People who jumped to Aether's game are coming back in waves. I've never seen numbers behave like this."
Leo leaned back slightly.
"Let the Association handle the law. Let the public handle the noise. We continue development."
Tina frowned. "You don't care at all?"
"It's not that," Leo replied. "It's just out of our hands now. Aether committed the worst possible violation at the worst possible time. There's nothing left to do but keep building."
The team fell quiet again, watching the chaos ripple across the world.
Tina checked her phone, then exhaled sharply.
"This is unreal. Every newsline, every forum, every stream—everyone is talking about them… and us."
Melina kept scrolling through system reports.
"GVGA's forensics division just pulled all Aether servers into hold mode. Their engine license is suspended. Their R&D hub is sealed. They're in full lockdown."
Leo still didn't react outwardly.
He just monitored the live stats:
Concurrent Ground Zero players: climbing fast.
Retention: stabilizing at record highs.
New accounts: tripled.
"People choose based on reality," Leo said quietly. "Not statements."
Tina nodded, still stunned. "Still… this is historic. No studio has ever been caught live like this."
Leo shrugged lightly.
"It no longer involves us. If we interfere, we complicate the investigation."
Melina hesitated. "What about Dark? The hacker Aether hired?"
Leo typed a single command, pulling up the trace logs.
"I checked the exit patterns. He's gone."
"Gone?" Tina echoed.
"He disconnected everything within minutes. Aether never knew who he was. Regulators can't track him either."
"So he escapes?" Melina asked.
"For now," Leo said softly. "People like him always vanish when the spotlight hits."
And with that, Leo closed the monitoring window. And that was it.
Leo refused to chase a ghost.
The world had bigger things to worry about.