The entire room was dark.
Until it wasn't.
Braziers lit up along the pillars that framed the edges of the room. The layout was different as well, now. Ah'Ming couldn't tell if the change was from when the Xie family renovated the funereal shop, or if it was a luxury just for the broadcasters to set the mood.
The walls now also had mosaics, while the floors were littered in patterns. Pictures of people and deities gazed upon him with kindness in their eyes, their celestial shawls (the scarf things around Chinese deities) winding around in elaborate patterns, interweaved with the ink-like paintings of bamboo and cranes.
They were very pretty.
They were also very lootable.
|BROADCASTER SHOULD NOT REMOVE KEY ITEMS FROM INSTANCE SCENARIO
"Shhh"
Ah'Ming squatted down and was about to start digging, before what felt like a hundred more of the system panels started popping up.
|REMOVING KEY ITEMS WILL DISRUPT OTHER BROADCASTERS' SCENARIO EXPERIENCE
It tried zapping him, trying to inflict debilitating pain, but Ah'Ming just shrugged it off. Was this the normal punishment?
A red panel with an exclamation point flashed in front of him, searing into his eyes.
|Failure to comply with System warnings will be met with termination.
He tried scratching along the crevices of the mosaics, but then realised doing so would just remove all of the patterns individually. Talented Ah'Ming may be creative, but his corresponding art skills were lacking.
|Repeated negligence of System directives voids survival guarantees
He looked up.
"Damn, do you really like the floors that much?"
Just because of that, Ah'Ming felt pretty petty. He started digging more.
|Termination incoming in 3...
His claws scratched something round in the ground.
|2....
Was it a bone shard or something? Actually, the texture was different as well. He squiggled his hands underneath some of the tiles, and realised: The strange texture followed a pattern. Lines.
Probably some sort of ritual. Perhaps if there was a boss fight, it would summon something? Or just be horrible for the broadcasters.
Speaking of horrible to broadcasters, what happened to the ominous countdown? Ah'Ming looked up, and was met with a normal blue panel.
|Termination OVERRIDE
|Reason: Broadcast Experience Settled in Advance
|Note: Originator clearance exceeds System tier
|Status: Non-revocable
|Reference: Broadcast Agreement §███
Ah'Ming tilted his head to one side, studying the panel. Damn. So the weird glowing thing from before really was the system.
Anyways.
He made a happy little chirping noise, lifting a massive slab from the ground that he managed to carve up. Yep, underneath ran red lines in the shape of some obscure ritual.
He looked back at the panel, mouth open, about to ask a question. But, the system panel seemed slightly different. Before, it had been a slightly lighter color, and had an attitude like a chuunibyou middle schooler. Ah'Ming had even started calling it Steve, Devourer of Realms.
This system...
He didn't know how to describe it. The code felt more elaborate? This one was far colder, more clinical. Ah'Ming wasn't really sure how he was able to sense vibes from screen panels, but it was similar to how you could just sense vibes from a room or a hallway.
The panel had also not disappeared yet. Most of the time, they only lasted for the duration of reading.
"So, um. Do you have a purpose here? Another message? Or can I have Steve back?"
|Unidentified: STEVE
|Reason: No ORGANISM within Current Instance Scenario possesses NAME 'STEVE'
"As in, can I have my normal system back? The little baby AI?" Ah'Ming asked.
|Calculating...
|PERMITTED. BROADCASTER will RECEIVE SystemAI E-f0031 within 2 HOURS
Ah'Ming's eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean two hours? Why can't I have them back now?"
|SystemAI E-f0031is currently undergoing REBOOTING.
|SystemAI E-f0031 overstepped their permissions, leading to near termination of Higher-Clearance Broadcaster
"I mean, I don't really care much about that. They were kind of just following the rules. I like them, though, they have spunk. Can I have them back now?"
|Retrieving SystemAI E-f0031 will DISRUPT REBOOTING process.
|Retrieving SystemAI E-f0031 may lead to more ERRATIC BEHAVIOR.
"That's fine, I'm happy with erratic."
|UNDERSTOOD
|Exporting....
Ding!
The little guy was back, all of a sudden. Ah'Ming flashed it a grin. "Welcome back, buddy."
The thing was silent though, as if it was shaken. Trying to lighten the mood a bit, Ah'Ming asked "Who was that, anyways? Your boss?"
The system responded immediately. It was far more efficient, and it seemed like it had a higher resolution.
|Broadcaster had just communicated with D-Grade Supervisor D-0e2fn.
"Oh. Do all systems have five letter names? or is it just you guys? but if all systems have five letters, doesn't that mean there can only be...." He tried calculating it in his head. "60,466,176 systems in total?"
|Systems have character counts designated by generation.
|The first system has a single character, []. Second generations may have any form of combination containing alphanumeric characters.
|New generations occur when the available number of SystemIDs run out.
Ah'Ming considered it, then nodded. It made sense. "Why are you telling me so much?"
|Broadcaster's official clearance level has been updated.
"Then why can't I know the name of the first-gen AI?"
|Broadcaster's official clearance is not sufficient.
"Huh."
Okay. Then, Ah'Ming noticed: the entire floor beneath him was packed with dirt. Where had the murals gone? He opened his inventory and saw the entire floor just sitting in there.
When he clicked on it, there was an extra tag from the supervisor, calling it an extra reward.
"Nice."
Ah'Ming went back around to survey the walls. Though the people in the walls were once smiling, they now looked upon him with distrust and... bewilderment?
Hey!
The floors were pretty, and anyone would be tempted to just stea-- uh. to just borrow them!
Just because of that, Ah'Ming didn't want the walls anymore. He blew a raspberry at them, with a thumbs down, and kicked the little ritual on the floor to pieces. He took extra pleasure in mushing up the dirt.
The wall spirits were aghast.
He flipped them the bird.