The Innkeeper
chapter-1143

Lex was moving across the planet in a straight line towards Sim, breaking every barrier he came across. As a result, not only was he skipping the numerous trials set up across the planet, he was allowing other contestants to move forward as well.

The director of Lover's Island was sitting on Dunya, ripping out his hair as he watched all the potential of the show being wasted. Since he could access the viewership numbers, he knew how much of a hit Lex was. Yet all of it was being wasted since the filming crew on site did not know how to leverage it, or build suspense. They were just doing the bare minimum, keeping the show running without bothering to add any dazzle.

Indeed, on one of Dunya's moons, the filming crew members that were essentially running the show now were having a meeting to discuss what to do. For reasons they did not know, neither the director, nor the special effects team or even the usual team of really powerful guards had shown up.

The guards served as protection for the filming crew, since Lover's Island really was not a safe place. The contestants knew what they signed up for since they had many benefits to gain, not to mention the hope of finding true love. But that didn't mean that the filming crew were content to risk their lives to keep the show running.

Fortunately, the various formations around the planet were running, which would automatically film everything. But without the director subtly guiding everything and everyone towards one big finale, there was a big chance that the show this time around would be a big failure.

On top of everything, there was Lex. He was a big hit, but his interference was directly speeding up the resolution of the show as various teams were meeting one another without appropriate trials to put them against one another. Not only that, without their guards around who usually helped put a stop to such things, there wasn't much they could do. After all, most of them were in the Nascent realm with a few of them being Earth immortals.

That did not give them the confidence to get close to Lover's Island. All their interference was via the many formations around this planet.

"I say we just let him meet the person he's looking for. That'll put an end to his interference, and we can run things normally with the rest of the contestants," said a particularly stubby Druid.

"Don't be ridiculous. That would fix the issue, yes, but it would not be sensational," responded the self designated assistant director and external consultant, a thin, pale devil with green burning hair. The zeal and passion in his eyes was overwhelming, causing everyone to look away. No one could maintain eye contact with him.

"What do you suggest, then?" asked someone else.

"If we try to stop him ourselves, then at every step, we'll be the ones who have to fix things in case something goes wrong. You should not underestimate someone crazy enough to kidnap a dragon. Instead, we should let the other contestants deal with the matter."

That gave everyone a pause. They had actually forgotten to account for that. They were just looking at his viewership numbers and thinking about how to keep him around longer.

"So what do you want to do?" asked the stubby Druid, a hint of fear in his voice as he asked the question. Was this devil any less crazy than the dragon kidnapper? There were rumors around that the reason his hair was green, and made of fire, was that he made a deal with an evil, sentient planet once. No one knew the outcome, but the devil had been changed ever since.

"It's simple. Initiate the Haram protocol."

"It's called the Harem protocol."

"Same same. Initiate the protocol, but make one small adjustment. Instead of a fixed reward for being admitted into his harem, give them vote protection for every minute they spend around him. Let's say, every minute equals one hundred thousand votes. Also, place a beacon on him so that he's easy to find. That way, the other contestants themselves will find ways to keep him around longer. Trust me, random chaos is always more fun than orchestrated chaos. Not to mention, controversy is great for views. This is sure to drive all the viewers who are beginning to like Lex mad."

The crew members looked at one another, unsure about this idea. But since none of them had a better idea, they quickly began to implement the suggested changes. After all, they didn't have time to spend only on Lex. There were thousands of contestants, and there were quite a few of them who could cause major problems if left unsupervised.

Back on the planet, Lex had just teleported over a chain of countless small islands, ready to break the next barrier, when he paused.

His instincts were suddenly warning him that there was grave danger all around him, and there wasn't anything he could do to avoid it. But if that were it, Lex would not have paused. Danger was not something he was unfamiliar with, and he was more than confident in his ability to handle things. The issue was, this was a kind of danger he had never sensed before.

Lex spread out his spirit sense and looked around himself, trying to identify where the danger was coming from, when he noticed a blue light shining around his body. The light continued to grow until it eventually became a beacon, rising high into the sky.

The light was clearly visible for miles around him, and as he tried to move it followed him around. It seemed he was being marked for breaking the rules of the convention.

But instead of being worried about it, Lex looked forward to the challenge ahead. Maybe he'd finally find a worthy opponent for his sword.

He sensed movement on the right so he turned, ready to face the worst that this planet could throw at him.

Instead, he saw a girl in a bright yellow bikini running towards him, and… was she… moving in slow motion?