Parallel World Game Developer

Chapter 44: Chapter #44: Interrupted Speech

A wave of quiet, knowing laughter rippled through the massive auditorium.

The host hadn’t even announced the result yet, but the answer was already burning in everyone’s mind.

Dead Cells.

The sheer volume of the public vote was simply too massive. Industry analysts had already run the math; even if the media jury completely boycotted the title, the player base alone mathematically guaranteed the victory.

"Maybe everyone in this room already knows the answer, but I still get to make it official," the blonde host smiled.

She took a deep breath as she looked down at the sealed results card in her hand, knowing the production team had deliberately clustered all of Ethan Vale’s nominated categories together for maximum dramatic effect.

Behind her, the massive multimedia screen suddenly cut to black. In the digital darkness, a pulsating mass of green sludge dropped from the ceiling with a wet splat, seamlessly attaching itself to a headless corpse.

"The winner for Best Independent Game is—Dead Cells!"

A high-octane montage of brutally fast gameplay immediately exploded across the screens.

The Beheaded perfectly parried a flurry of incoming attacks, dodging through a hail of blades.

In the background, the massive silhouette of the Collector could be seen continuously chugging from his glowing flask.

Instantly, a blinding white spotlight cut through the darkened auditorium, locking dead-center onto Ethan’s seating block.

The broadcast cameras frantically pivoted, zooming in on the exact spot the host was looking at.

"I knew it! We all knew it was going to be him!" Silver yelled, watching the live broadcast from his stream setup.

His emotions were a tangled, overwhelming mess; even though he had predicted this exact outcome for weeks, actually seeing it happen live made his heart race uncontrollably.

The stream chat instantly exploded into an unreadable blur of hype.

[GoonSlayer99: HE IS LITERALLY HIM]

[Pixel_Prophet: Nova dropping a masterclass on the entire AAA industry!]

[LoreMaster: The sadist didn’t even have to show up, the players handled the rest]

[xX_Thot_Patrol_Xx: ABSOLUTE CINEMA]

[CasualScrub: ONE MAN EMPIRE LETS GOOO]

Silver threw his head back and laughed loudly at the scrolling text.

The gaming community was absolutely unhinged tonight, but their chaotic energy perfectly mirrored his own.

It felt like the entire player base was experiencing the overwhelming pride of watching their own kid graduate at the top of their class.

After all, they had been the ones in the trenches, watching the sadistic developer fight his way up from absolutely nothing.

Right now, they were ready to scream to the world that their favorite developer had officially ascended to industry godhood.

Ivan and Carter both clapped Ethan heavily on the shoulder, offering him wide, deeply approving nods.

The two executives were grinning so hard their faces hurt.

The higher Ethan climbed, the more monumental their partnership became.

Ethan casually stood up from his velvet seat, buttoning his tailored jacket.

The brilliant spotlight tracked his every movement as he walked down the aisle and stepped up onto the main stage, coming to a stop right next to the blonde host.

Although he had done plenty of localized media interviews before, this was the very first time he was standing on a global broadcast stage.

As he approached, the host couldn’t help but look him up and down, her striking blue eyes wide with genuine awe.

"Are you really Nova? The chief developer of Sprout Studio?" she asked softly over the microphone.

It wasn’t that she hadn’t expected a young developer, but compared to the staggering weight of his current achievements, he just looked way too young.

"That would be me," Ethan replied, offering a polite, easy smile.

From the wing of the stage, a production assistant was already walking out carrying a gleaming trophy.

The massive LED wall behind them was still looping the incredibly hyped Dead Cells combat montage.

Every single sword swing and parry was perfectly synchronized to a heavy, driving drumbeat.

The host gently took the trophy from the assistant.

She adjusted her microphone stand, turning to look seriously into the young designer’s eyes.

"Let us all formally congratulate Sprout Studio for taking home the award for Best Independent Game!" she announced, raising the heavy crystal trophy high into the air.

Her sweet voice actually cracked a little with excitement as she handed the award to Ethan, letting out a frantic, celebratory cheer.

"Thank you so much. To win this award tonight, I really have to thank all the friends and players who supported—" Ethan began, his fingers brushing against the freezing cold crystal of the cup.

Before he could finish his sentence, the blonde host suddenly held up her hand in a stopping gesture.

"I think you should hold onto that acceptance speech for just a minute," she interrupted, winking at him playfully.

’Nani?’

Ethan blinked, tilting his head in confusion as he watched the host reach over and pick up the results envelope again.

Before Ethan could even begin to process what was happening, the host turned her face directly toward the main broadcast camera.

"Phew," the girl exhaled softly, raising her microphone once more.

The heavy background music echoing through the auditorium instantly cut out. "Next up, I’m going to announce the winner for our next category. The award for Best Action Game!"

The moment the words left her mouth, a tidal wave of deafening applause crashed through the venue. "Oh, wow. It seems like everyone in the room already knows the answer to this one too."

"And you are absolutely right. The winner perfectly mirrors the incredible voting results we all watched online!" The blonde girl turned her head, looking intently at Ethan standing beside her.

He was incredibly quiet on the stage. He wasn’t screaming, crying, or losing his mind with excitement over the results.

He just stood there with a faint, knowing smile, looking exactly like a master tactician who had the entire board under his absolute control.

"The award for Best Action Game goes to—Dead Cells!"

The broadcast camera briefly panned toward the backstage shadows, catching a glimpse of several more assistants waiting in the wings.

Sharp-eyed viewers immediately noticed the lineup of girls in elegant white dresses, each holding a distinct, shining trophy.

The assistant carrying the Best Action Game trophy didn’t rush forward to hand it to Ethan.

Instead, she quietly walked out and stood directly behind him.

The host blinked her large eyes, offering Ethan another bright smile. "We aren’t done yet".

Technically, she didn’t officially know the results of the remaining awards.

The winners were still hidden beneath the thick scratch-off ink on her cards.

But she already knew the truth; there wasn’t a single element of surprise left in the building.

"We still have a few major awards left to hand out, but I firmly believe everyone watching already knows exactly how this ends." The blonde host gripped the ceremonial coin in her hand tightly.

"The Best Narrative Game, the Best Family Game, and the Most Anticipated Game," she listed rapidly. "The organizers explicitly told me to scratch these off one by one, but I honestly can’t wait."

"Because I already know every single one of these awards belongs to the exact same person." She spread her hands, aggressively scraping the coin across the foil coating as she let out a breathless laugh.

"I knew there wouldn’t be any accidents."

"Let’s get all of our trophy assistants out here on the stage right now!"

"Best Narrative Game—This War of Mine! Best Family Game—Overcooked! And the Most Anticipated Game—Bloodborne!" Standing right next to Ethan, her voice rapidly crescendoed from a professional register into a triumphant shout, emphasizing every single syllable.

The row of assistants in flowing white dresses stepped out of the shadows. Each of them possessed their own unique, striking elegance, and the heavy crystal trophies in their hands glittered brilliantly under the stage lights.

Offering sweet, polite smiles, they walked in perfect synchronization and formed a line directly behind Ethan, holding the awards high.

In that exact moment, the blonde host felt her vision swim slightly, her brain completely starved of oxygen from the sheer adrenaline rush.

She knew with absolute certainty that this was the undisputed peak of her entire hosting career.

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