Chapter 225

Chapter 225: Selling Half-Finished Products? Completing DLC Is Industry Practice!

"Ah?"

"Why is this still the same question?"

"Are you even competent?"

"Do you know how or not!"

Trilobite saw the image appearing in his mind and flew into a rage!

This fury resembled a teacher seeing a student repeat yesterday’s corrected mistake.

It was still Sharovisaurus, still asking how to fly.

"Did you even listen during my lecture—"

"Oh…"

"Sorry, I get it now…"

Trilobite suddenly recalled: last time, he’d given the consulting customer a "trial version" usable only temporarily.

Now, the trial period seemed to have ended. Pleased with the product, the customer was demanding the full version.

"That’s odd."

"Paid knowledge… with a free trial?"

"Could the ‘model’ I built for the customer during the trial have self-destructed when time ran out?"

The theory made sense.

After all, Trilobite had used trial software requiring purchase keys after expiration.

Of course, that was history.

Nowadays, most software offered clunky basic features—barely functional but frustrating. To avoid hassle? Pay for membership and unlock the full version.

"Fine, I’ll give the customer the complete edition…"

"Hmm…"

Trilobite checked the Chaos Energy offered…

[Target possesses 50,000 Chaos Energy. Sell at discount?]

"Well…"

"Get lost!"

Trilobite obviously refused.

The trial version cost 30,000 last time! Did they think 50,000 could buy the full version?

At most, he’d double their trial period.

Wanting permanent ownership for peanuts?

Not a chance!

"How do you expect to get stronger without spending money!"

"However…"

Considering that guy… no, the customer only had 50,000 points of Chaos Energy, Trilobite realized demanding more was pointless. Yet he desperately needed Chaos Energy to escape his embarrassing seal-like state.

Trilobite began scheming.

"Heh heh."

"I recall biological evolution is gradual, requiring a process."

"It doesn’t happen like *Duang* where suddenly fish crawl ashore or pterosaurs take flight."

"There must be numerous transitional stages in between."

"Focusing on this should work perfectly!"

He was absolutely right.

Yet transitional creatures proved notoriously hard to find. Older fossils suffered worse preservation, and ideal fossil-forming conditions didn’t exist in every place during every geological period.

If a creature’s transitional form existed when fossilization was unlikely, leaving pitifully few samples, paleontologists faced a nightmare.

Pterosaur evolution exemplified this.

Even today, paleontologists remain clueless how pterosaurs evolved from land dwellers to flyers.

This, however, didn’t stump Trilobite.

In his past life, he’d been an expert in the pterosaur evolution domain, possessing unique insights. He’d published papers in core journals, earning recognition within the field.

He recalled his hypotheses on pterosaur evolutionary stages from one paper. These stages, he realized, could be broken down and exploited.

"Heh heh, I’ll create a series of evolutionary DLCs."

"Selling half-finished products with DLCs is standard practice. Don’t like it? Don’t play!"

"My past life was ruined by these unscrupulous merchants!"

"Now, it’s my turn to scam others and vent my frustration!"

"So then…"

In his dream, Trilobite let out a sinister chuckle; with a grand wave, he began modifying the "model" the customer provided.

[This modification is permanent and will consume all your Magic Power. Proceed?]

Thanks to his Increased Size, Trilobite’s Magic Power had soared to a staggering 7,000 points!

Still…

"No matter."

"Magic Power recovers anyway."

Though his recovery rate remained 50 points per minute, replenishing 7,000 points would take merely 140 minutes.

Besides, his combat spells were still the initial two—"Flipping the World Off" and "Ball Joint Armor Shield"—each costing only 100 Magic Power.

A mere half-hour of recovery would provide ample Magic Power.

"Then, let the modifications begin!"

"Heh heh."

"Your structure grew completely crooked."

"Scrap it and start over!"

"For the first step, forget about flying."

"Go run and jump instead!"

Trilobite sneered, using an "evolution eraser"-like tool to wipe away the wing membranes between Sharovisaurus’s legs and arms!

—-

Calling Chaos Demon Gods "chaotic" is utterly wrong—they embody destruction and annihilation, not disorder.

Effective destruction requires organization.

The Chaos Council coordinates powerful demon gods’ relations. Though it can’t make them obey, it prevents outright fighting.

At least on the surface.

But undercurrents persist. Scheming and backstabbing are routine; rules bind only when violations go unseen, unproven, or covered up.

Barbatos embraced this logic when plotting to ambush Gimmerly.

Now, those same rules ensnared him.

"Damn it!"

Barbatos cursed.

As a Chaos Demon God who cherished art, song, and freedom, Barbatos epitomized elegance.

He marveled at annihilation’s grandeur and scored symphonies for cataclysms—treating each as a stirring tragedy.

One might call him the "God of Art" in some respects.

Explosions, too, were art.

Such an artistically inclined deity ought to be refined, yet now he snarled curses.

"Damn it!"

"Lady Xidi!"

"You owe me an explanation!"

Barbatos glared at Xidi, reptilian pupils blazing with fury.

How could he not rage?

Lady Xidi had chosen *his* domain as the battleground against the Star-Eater Plutonium Dragons!

Rumors said she’d labored to lure those universally despised dragons into Barbatos’s territory for a "decisive battle."

Publicly, she declared overwhelming victory.

But surveying the nearly stripped Fantasy Tree of Subspace, counting his fallen subordinate officials, and noting the unscathed retreat of the dragon clan—Barbatos seethed at Xidi’s audacity.

*This* counted as victory?

Who taught her to write such battle reports?

"Oh?"

Lady Xidi remained elegant.

"Explanation?"

"Interesting."

"I am the Commander of the Star-Eater Plutonium Dragons war; the battlefield and tactics are all under my command."

"Now, haven’t the Star-Eater Plutonium Dragons been driven back? My tactics worked well."

"You have no right to question me."

"But you…"

"About Gimmerly, shouldn’t you give me an explanation?"

Barbatos wasn’t the only well-informed one.

As a core councilor, Lady Xidi had information sources equal to Barbatos’.

She knew very well that Barbatos sent Outer Gods from the Void to intercept Gimmerly, and then Gimmerly "disappeared."

"You!"

Barbatos was speechless for a moment.

He had indeed sent Outer Gods to intercept Gimmerly, and she had truly vanished. These were facts.

Worse still, Blais’s Divine Core ended up destroyed by Lady Xidi due to his own miscalculation. He gained no leverage against Lady Xidi from this move.

A total loss.

"Hmph."

Barbatos snorted coldly.

"Your smugness won’t last."

He decided to force Lady Xidi to give up some command authority—he couldn’t let her monopolize this war against the Star-Eater Plutonium Dragons.

"Honestly."

"The Star-Eater Plutonium Dragons are just dim-witted, scattered clans."

"They couldn’t possibly fight Lady Xidi like this."

"Especially since our forces hold absolute advantage."

"The Star-Eater Plutonium Dragons only raided Fantasy Trees of Subspace outside Lady Xidi’s territory, mostly belonging to demon gods who oppose her."

"Clearly, she’s using the Star-Eater Plutonium Dragons to weaken rival demon gods!"

"We must trip her up!"

—-

Lady Xidi was wronged.

Had she known Barbatos thought this way, she’d have laughed in fury.

Truthfully, nobody wanted out of this war more than Lady Xidi.

Her mind was now completely occupied by that "Giant God."

He wondered what surprise They might bring next time they met.

He imagined how much knowledge he’d gain if he brought Them back tied up.

He longed to face that fellow once more!

But this wish was thwarted by the "Plutonium Dragon War."

Infuriating!

Besides, Xidi was truly being led around by the nose by the Star-Eater Plutonium Dragons, leaving her no breathing room.

All of this was because…

"Buzz—!"

An Outer God from the Void landed on Ye’s Foolish Act’s back.

"Here’s the intelligence you requested."

"Should other council movements arise, I’ll report promptly."

Ye’s Foolish Act, one of the Three Kings of Star-Eater Plutonium Dragons, nodded.

"Well done. Here are 100 shards of divine rank."

"Your payment."

After the satisfied Outer God flew away, Ye’s Foolish Act addressed the "void" visible only to her.

"Mr. Avatar."

"Was this acceptable?"

【Timing matters less than terrain, terrain less than unity.】

【In war】

【Soldiers distrusting commanders fail. Commanders distrusting rulers ruin nations.】

【Now our enemy loses inner harmony—like wheels mismatched to their axle. Such carts soon break; such foes soon fall.】

【Victory’s channel nears completion—dig deeper, Bohimond. The fruit hangs heavy—your triumph draws near.】

Ye’s Foolish Act pondered with a headache before grasping Mr. Avatar’s meaning.

"Remarkable."

She marveled.

"Whoever ‘rents’ such ‘avatars’ as us is a great benefactor to our Star-Eater Plutonium Dragons!"