Tump leads the users through a portal into Tump.exe 4.

> Tump.exe 4

• Tump extracts Rin from the amulet, who complains about how uncomfortable the trip was. They reunite, hugging
• using the amulet, Tump proceeds to open another portal through which steps Mess
• he suggests that it might be disorienting having traveled through two systems at once
• through another portal, he leads everyone into what he describes as a safe place to catch up

> Rest.exe [26. The Tump Lounge?]

• he bar is a replica of EXE3's file 10, but the city outside is hidden by a layer of mist. Tump explains that he could only copy and bring part of the file here. The hole we made escaping the follower in EXE3-14 appears to still be there
• Reyleth, Tea Tump, Crazy Tump and Chuuni Tump are already there
• Tump takes a sip of whiskey and shudders, for which Rin mocks him. The two of them talk privately while Red, Caen and Mess discuss the implications of digital alcohol. Tump says only that dying of alcohol poisoning is not possible
• the Tumps approach, and Tea Tump introduces his new weapon, a pistol named Charles (in addition to 'Ellie')
• Red follows suit and orders a whiskey. They roll a 15 for constitution, so they're 'chillin'
• we toast and catch Mess up to speed. When Pristum or Plectum are brought up, Tump and Rin share a faint smile & he squeezes her hand
• we look at our inventory and Mess receives Chuuni Tump's glock, referred to as the 'Super Penetrating Magic Missile'. We also notice that the unidentifiable shell Caen picked up from the beach in Plectum's file is missing
• Tump beckons everyone over and hugs us, then proceeds to pull the players and, presumably, Rin, out through the hole in the window. We fall through the mist until a blue portal opens beneath us which leads to the main menu

✎﹏ Tumps claims that we can return to the bar at any time.

> Menu

• money shenanigans happen and Mess tries to ingratiate itself by complimenting the menu, which only nets it $1
• Mess rates the menu 7.5/10
• Tump insists they go first into file 8. Hentai Tump
• he tosses the amulet into the air where it hovers and opens a console on which he selects file 8

> 8. "Hentai Tump"

• the room is empty and white, but its contents can be revealed with the flip of a switch. Silicia's voice can be heard mocking Tump for not finding it, since he himself installed it
• file 8 is Tump's HQ: it contains multiple consoles and machinery previously hidden, with at least one floating chair
• Mess lowers the menu's score to 7/10 for false advertising
• Tump puts the amulet in/on one of the machines where it stays, hovering
• he explains it's is not ready for use in EXE4, so we have lost the ability to repair Rosie & Van or traverse the corridors for now while he works on it
• he will stay in file 8 to do that, but our decisions will continue to impact the amulet's abilities
• Rin intends to strike out on her own to find out Lia's motivations. Tump thinks the matter should be clear, as she has probably been the evil mastermind behind it all so far
• he tries to guilt her into staying, which she uno-reverses onto him immediately, essentially accusing him of replacing her and being blinded by his feelings for Lia
• Tump begs her to stay, saying he doesn't want 'to be left as the only one who knows..'
• she tells him to grow up and not equate his sadness with the years of suffering the other CIECE members endured
• Tump has nothing left to say to that, so as a Sims negative interaction symbol appears above Red, Caen & Mess' heads, Rin leaves through her own portal
• left alone the amino gang rally, and Tump reveals an audio file he's uncovered

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNITK2uNZMs Tump and Plec
The audio file contains a conversation taking place after the end of EXE2, specifically the moment Tump realizes he has been tricked by Plectum. Despite just having won, he is irritable enough to slap Tump around at the slightest infraction. He reveals that Lia and he have been plotting this together, and that their plan for world domination does not involve them leaving the system yet. She specifically told him to capture Tump alive, though not to keep him in good condition.

• we attempt to build up Tump's confidence, then he presents yet another file

2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZvme0p44Wo Pris Cage
The audio file contains a conversation between Plectum and Pristum during the latter's imprisonment. At the beginning of the file he is praying. When Plectum enters, Pristum calls him Judas, but he has come to inform him that Tump has returned and he would like to let him out once their 'little coup' is done. Plectum makes it clear that he still misses him, but accidentally calls him Cris, which enrages Pristum. He chokes Plectum in anger, but they part as brothers.

• Silicia pitches in to explain the new amulet mechanics, calling the corridors 'the world in between'
• the amulet can once again be fashioned into a defensive or offensive tool, becoming either a disabling EMP or a grenade
• Red echos Lukas saying this has 'gameshow presenter energy', calling him an otherworldly force
• Tump opens a portal back to the main menu with the press of a button
• before we all head off, Caen demands some answers about what our actual goal is. It appears that Tump wants to talk Lia out of whatever nefarious plan she has been hatching, and on the way we should collect whatever information the system's files have to offer
• Caen is not thrilled and they nearly fight, too, but they assure Tump that they're not ditching him even if his plan sucks, and we leave to do Tump's bidding

✎﹏ Tump describes CIECE members' power inside the system as eclipsing even that of administrators, of which he appears to be one

> Menu

• we decide to once again go in numerical order and to probably pick up some new outfits while we're at it

> 1. Metal Tump 🌸

• the file is at first a suspiciously quiet dark room, then pillars of flame shoot up all around us as metal music begins playing. Amidst the flames a long haired man is headbanging & miming an air guitar
• the Tump welcomes us to 'his dome', then faceplants when we avoid his attempt at a 1 to 3 person meatwall
• with a snap of his fingers, he makes a whole crowd of metal Tumps appear
• Mess and Caen get pulled into the spontaneous mosh pit and Red joins in voluntarily
• Metal Tump (one of them at least) initiates another meat wall, and this time Red and Mess join in while Caen gets caught in the middle, enjoying the experience less with every second
• when the music ends, metal Tump makes the crowd vanish with another snap. Then he changes out of his metal merch and into brown jeans, a cardigan & glasses
• Caen insists on just corrupting him and getting on with it, but Red argues that his abilities might be useful in combat
• we elect to purify him

> Menu

• the purification has slightly repaired Rosie and Van and the amulet has gained in power
• the increased access to the system Tump has thus gained allows him to play us another audio file

3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y672_i5xYMk Lia's Log 1
The audio file contains a small log entry of sorts of Lia's, likely recorded right after she was integrated into the system. She talks about Tump getting away in their failed escape attempt and seeing him fall, unsure if he's even alive. She's aware that something is happening to her & she's not in her own body anymore, and is very scared.

• Tump estimates that she would have been 13 at time of recording. Caen attempts to soothe his guilt over not having been there
• we select file 2 next, but file 3 opens instead

> 3. Yandere Tump

• we cannot immediately leave the file; Tump.exe displays 'Error. File corrupted.. Rerouting..'
• as YanTump approaches, Caen asks to be handed the Magic Missile. Before they can use it however, YanTump snaps his fingers and it vanishes
• "Yan shifts close, placing his arm on Moss' chin, examining it in great detail" [???]
• Caen distracts him by calling him Erik, which at first makes him scold her, then starts to upset him. He calls it 'that...fucking..weak ..shitty name'
• he puts his hands around either Caen's or Red's neck; the narration isn't very clear. Either way both are trying to physically harm him now, and Caen does land a kick to the dick which does nothing beyond making him grimace
• he repeated use of his birthname is beginning to make him act out as he starts scratching frantically at his own skin
• this distracts him enough that Red can free themselves and punch him in the neck as the Magic Missile reappears in Mess' hands
• it wastes no time shooting YanTump multiple times, but he doesn't react, just continues to tear himself apart
• finally Tump is able to pull us out of the file

> Menu

• Mess has about 18 spell slots left
• this experience has bumped its rating of the menu down to a 6.5/10, which nets it $200 in bribe money. Mess is willing to go back up to 7/10
• another $200, and it's back to 7.5/10
• for a second before opening file 2, Tump makes them think he'll dump them back into file 3 to the displeasure of everyone present

> 2. Badly scripted Tump 💀

• the file opens to a lush Skyrim-esque landscape of tall mountains and expansive fields, forests visible in the distance. The roar of a dragon can be heard from far away
• we are greeted by a Tump armed with a drawn sword and a shield. He glitches more than walks closer
• Red takes the opportunity for some harmless fun and makes the Tump ping pong between dialogue scripts
• before he can run them through with a sword, Mess distracts him, landing a 14 on its intimidation check and assuming the role of a great mage
• we vote to corrupt him
• the TumPC ragdolls and experiences a series of physical impossibilities before shooting off into the distance, downing a dragon which was flying by


• Tump explains that we have 2 different modes of leveling up to chose from, prioritising power or lore. We pick power
• the file collapses, descending into blue screen levels of glitch


• Van is repaired to the point that he can be shaped into a dagger, while Rosie, glowing with red energy, begins once more to form a sharp point

❖ 1 purification, 1 corruption

❖ a new DLC has been added: Emo Tump, based on a joking suggestion by irl!Caen.

> Menu

• we quickly select 4. YIFF, which Tump.exe reveals to be a FAI with the subject number 354

> 4. YIFF 🌸

• Furry Tump's file is a room with pastel pink walls containing masses of pillows
• Furry Tump is wearing knee high pastel pink socks and has cat ears, but a fox' tail
• we are greeted with the words 'hewwo again fwen', immediately foreshadowing that they recognize us
• noticing Mess, they welcome it back [into the system?] and glomp it, tail wagging & purring
• after a while, Caen tries to pry Furry Tump off of Mess by the tail, which makes them growl. Despite not enjoying this one bit, Mess hesitates to shoot them
• everyone trying to avoid their affection makes Furry Tump sad, and they complain about us always being so mean
• "every wersion I want fwen... is it bad that Elly wants fwen..? Mira never let Elly have fwen..."
• now garnering pity, Furry Tump recounts that no one ever wanted to play with them. Mira only wanted to test them on their ability to come back after dying, Pristum and Plectum wanting nothing to do with them & Tex being mean
• Mess suggests we find them a friend, and going by Red's suggestion we settle on Chuuni Tump
• Tump didn't know whoever Furry Tump was based on, and so concludes that his was not the last generation of children abused by Tump Inc.. Further, he suggests that since Chuuni is also a FAI, no.350, they might know each other
• we cannot currently summon Chuuni without the amulet, and Tump says that taking it through the corridors in its current state might have 'bad consequences'
• in light of the new revelation, we decide to purify Elly
• when the light of purification engulfs her, Furry Tump emerges with 8 new tails. This makes her happy!
• Red is jealous of their new tails and manages to make Furry Tump give them a fox tail and matching ears. They aren't satisfied, so they access the customization settings to give themselves orange cat ears and a matching fluffy tail
• Tump opens a portal for us to reunite Elly and Theo. Red, thankful for the bodymod, takes her hand and leads her through

✎﹏ Tump informs us that Cool Kid Speech Pattern (file 23) is also a FAI

> Rest.exe

• the portal leads to the Tump.exe Lobby. Upon our entrance, Chuuni Tump rises, recognizing Elly
• crying, Furry Tump sheds her Tump-ness, now appearing as a girl with long blonde hair
• the same thing happens to Theo, who has black hair & blue eyes when de-Tumped
• they reunite tearfully
• Tump chimes in to inform us we can come get the amulet now, so we leave Elly to be introduced to everyone by Theo

> 8. "Hentai Tump"

• not duly impressed by Red's new features, Tump upgrades Mess' Magic Missile to be semi-automatic and gifts them more spell slots. Then he tosses the calibrated amulet to Caen
• Red wonders if pulling their tail will hurt, so when Mess refuses to do it they hit it with their tail instead
• Tump warns us that the amulet will still make it easier for The Follower to find us, so we should spend as little time in the corridors as possible
• he has also spotted an odd signal within the system, though he doesn't yet know what it is
• finally, Tump warns us that we'll soon have to face YanTump again, though the amulet should now be strong enough to not leave us defenseless. He is collecting all the copies of YanTump Caen invited back into the system in EXE2-4 in one place so he can't slip away

✎﹏ EXE4 being intended to be the last system of its kind, the company produced DLCs for it

> 5. The Traveler 💀

• The Traveler appears in a world which reminds us of Reyleth's, and greets us by name. His face is invisible and he seems to maybe float
• he summons a book and holds a dramatic little monologue about our murderous adventures. Red and Caen are immediately wary of, and then insulted by him
• as we decide to delete him, he hints that he not only knows how the game mechanic works, but also that it will not work on him
• he guilts Red over 04 & BaT's deaths and Caen jumps to defend them
• The Traveller, already corrupting, smugly explains that he will exist for as long as there are stories
• when he starts to insult Tump both Red and Caen attempt to hurt him, but somehow neither attack reaches him
• we are thrown out of the file as it begins to crumble around us, though The Traveller still stands

> Menu

• without wasting time, we pick file 6
• a system message informs us that 'user _, has logged out'

> 6. Podcast Tump 💀

• Podcast Tump's file is an office with a recording set up. The module is a disheveled looking Tump shaking from the many energy drinks he's imbibed
• as we walk in, we are briefly glitched into the corridors where we hear The Follower say 'FOund YoU'
• the podcast is called 'Is it Tump or not', and we appear to be special guests on today's episode
• he asks whether we like the mustaches becoming a rarity & whether it makes the Tumps look less gay, which is the first canon acknowledgement of the trend
• lukas_loves_onii-chan gifts 5 subs
• Mess tries to turn the podcast into a parody of US political discourse, which works brilliantly. Podcast Tump thinks the mustached modules should build a wall and make the FAIs pay for it
• as Mess has fun with him, Red and Caen discuss whether Podcast Tump would be of any help
• hoping to gauge his usefulness in a fight, Red punches the Tump. He makes a 'rather unmanly squeal'
• Mess joins in, shooting Podcast Tump with its magic missile
• all three players have now decided that he will be corrupted as the Tump tries desperately to bargain for his life with increasingly worthless things
• finally, he corrupts and disappears, but we get no reward

✎﹏ the podcast appears to be taking place in the legendary country of Tumperica

> Menu

• we call for Tump, but he doesn't answer

> 8. Tump HQ

• he is not in his lab, but a note on the screen reads "The file _ _ _ has unusual activity. I can't risk the others, they seem to be of admin level. I will go look myself..."
• the amulet shines red, and we scramble to be returned to the menu
• the room descends into glitches as The Follower, described as a white figure, crawls out of a 'portal of broken code'
• Mess shoots it, but it grabs its missile and consumes it
• as it crawls towards us, Caen tries to make the amulet summon a shield, but it's still too weak
• the wall separating the file from the menu opens finally, and we run into the corridors to escape
• we receive a curt message to 'Go' as a swarm of blue butterflies accompanied by tiny flying teacups descend on our pursuer
• as the wall closes with us in the menu and The Follower still in the corridors, we can almost see 04 and BaT fighting it in their Tump forms

> Menu

• Mess is so happy to return to the safe menu it gives it a solid 8.5/10
• it suggests we feed the Follower something like digital antimatter to kill it, which sounds brilliant but according to Tump.exe requires admin access. This reminds us that we're still looking for Tump

> 7. Revolutional Leader Tump

• once again we find ourselves in Aztral, this time standing in front of a large cave entrance
• we are accosted by a sword at our throats and questioned about our presence: our mysterious assailant mistakes us for 2 humans holding a halfborn captive
• we quickly settle on explaining that actually, Red is the one in charge of us
• the person takes off her hood to reveal she is also human, and introduces herself as Chaen, leader of the revolution against the human kingdom and the tyranny of Enathal's 4 chosen races
• we are happy to meet her and want to help
• she puts us to work helping the medics in camp take care of their population of freed slaves
• Caen summons Reyleth to help as Red tries to pry information about The Traveler out of Chaen
• she says he never helps, only records all possible outcomes to a story

⊕ a small Herlot approaches Red and gives them a blue lily

• the camp, or at least the place it has been set up, appears to be called Larem
• Chaen leaves for a council meeting and we opt to purify her
• the purification turns her steel sword golden, and Reyleth, seeming to have recognized what has happened, comes over to talk to her

> Menu

• a system message informs us: " Admin user _ _ has logged in"
• Rosie and Van gain their benefits from Podcast Tump's corruption only now, and Tump lets us know he has returned
• we are upset with him for leaving us to worry about him and now refusing to tell us what he left to do, but he placates us by explaining that someone may be listening
• he reveals another two audio files:

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xa1jCtRxX1I Lia's Log 2: Frustration, hate and grief
Lia talks about how terrible and dehumanizing it is to be nothing more than part of the machinery, and what awful things have happened to her friends.

2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYDwYEWY2yY Yantump
The recording seems to capture a conversation between YanTump and Tex inside The Follower, Tex' part only being unintelligible glitching. They both seem to hate the situation but YanTump is annoyed at Tex' attitude and assures him they are indeed stuck together forever

❖ 3 purifications, 3 corruptions

> Menu

• on a whim we decide to head back into Tump HQ

> 8. Tump HQ

• the formerly white walls are covered in a thin layer of Tump's blood
• we hear Tump distantly taking to Silicia, so decide to approach to eavesdrop
• Tump is injured, pressing a hand to a wound in his stomach which is healing notably slowly. They're discussing something terribly dramatic, like the matter of killing friends and facing a certain she
• Red runs up to Tump hoping to help him heal
• he explains that The Follower attacked him after he dug a bit too deep into the system, but he managed to trap it in file 10. This being Le Tymp's file worries Red and Caen
• the amulet does indeed help Tump, but not massively. The wound is described as having 'glitchy elements'
• Tump suggests that Lia and maybe Rin would be strong enough to go up against The Follower's corruption
• he has found a pathway that would bring us directly to Lia's doorstep (and 'the core of CIECE'), and has to be convinced by Caen, Mess and, surprisingly, Red, not to rush in immediately
• Tump agrees to hold out but suggests a scouting mission soon, during which we would hide our presence using the amulet. This would be possible after two or three more modules
• we instruct Tump to rest up and head for the menu

✎﹏ the amulet has grown in power

> 9. The trapped 🌸

• Tump.exe has to clear the file's corruption before it can be entered
• file 9 is cold, dark and inescapably unsettling, with a steady heart beat in the background
• the walls and floor are moving. Caen puts their ear to the side of the room to listen and gets licked and bit for their trouble. The small wound glitches
• in the distance stands a Tump, only half visible but surrounded by floating blue particles
• the Tump, at first not responsive, eventually calls out to us, and we finally realize that he is 04 - or at least appears to be
• he picks up right where Tex left off trying to manipulate Red. Caen rationalizes that it logically cannot be 04 and harshly demands he identify himself
• the Tump calls himself 'what remains' and the room lights up, revealing rows upon rows of pods set into the wall, all of them with modules in them that died to Tex or were eaten by The Follower, including Plectum and Pristum
• he describes this file as The Follower's true self: his stomach
• The Follower consists of who he has consumed, including their goals, and file 9 is the manifestation of it all
• when the Follower lite keeps harping on about all that's left of 04 being his loneliness and fear, Caen slaps him to no effect at all
• a new pod forms in the wall, leaking coffee, which abruptly makes us worry for Le Tymp
• Caen demands to know if there is a way between files 9 and 10, and we learn that we'd have to go through the giant beating metallic 'heart' that hangs above, which is connected to 'the body' (read: The Follower)
• we purify file 9 to power up the amulet without adding further corruption to The Follower and start climbing
• the file starts to fall apart, filling with white light which rises like water and threatens to catch up with us
• the climb is difficult and... slimy? but we reach the heart and use the amulet to jump through it right into the corridors
• we can already hear the fight and Le Tymp's indignant voice, and hurry on into file 10

> 10. Le Tymp

• we find ourselves in a battered castle, hung with Le Tymp's banners and littered with thousands of dead coffee mugs
• we watch as our archrival is hurled against the wall and stabbed through the chest by The Follower [who by all rights ought to have the disadvantage considering Le Tymp's implied size]
• Caen stands frozen trying to come up with a plan even as Red and Mess charge in
• although the Magic Missile's shots connect, it seems to just absorb the bullets
• Tump enters the scene, at first only as a voice from the off. He reprimands us for rushing into danger and begins to code an emergency exit so we can flee
• we have no intention of leaving our blorbo, and when Tump exasperatedly says "Le Tymp doesn't matter! Get out, now!" he only succeeds in making us impervious to his argument
• Tump finally caves and powers us up, Rosie and Van growing & glowing as Mess' Magic Missile turns to a Chromatic Orb (Shotgun)
• The Follower senses that we have become a threat and turns on us, letting us glimpse its 'real body' beneath the glitching for a split second [too short for real!Tump to describe!!]
• Tump appears at our side, drawing a sword of raw code. We argue about him needing rest and abandoning his creation and us not being so reckless
• as we engage The Follower, Tump explains that his plan is to push it back into file 9 - whose purification was apparently a very strong boost to the amulet
• Mess shoots it again, and this time the recoil throws it into the wall
• Red stabs it, but although it pushes Rosie deeper into itself, The Follower lunges to grab their hand [presumably the one on the hilt]. He sprouts 6 wings and uncounted black tentacles
• Caen pulls Red away, but gets sliced in the side by one of the tendrils in passing
• the black veins begin a coordinated attack from which we are only saved by Le Tymp's intervention
• in the middle of his great villain speech, Le Tymp grabs The Follower and forces it to the floor. We cheer for our boi as they fight until with a great explosion, they are each flung away
• The Follower gets up, but a portal opens behind it through which steps Lia. She greets Tump like this is a perfectly normal situation
• when he isn't really that happy to see her, Lia exasperatedly banishes The Follower with a simple 'begone'. It melts into the floor suddenly bound by chains, 'succumb[ing] back to his trap'
• finally, Lia greets us, and casually confirms that it was her who got the VR gear to us
• 'Maybe we can't return to how we once were.. but with you, Tump, we can find [a] little peace yet'
• she claims that Rin is 'with her' as well, trying to persuade Tump to come with her
• he refuses her. Lia lets him know he can still change his mind and leaves through another portal
• we rush over to Le Tymp, who is in bad shape
• we assure him that he did a great job and we'll face him again when he's recovered
• Tump estimates that the amulet's healing power will not be enough to save him, and purification is not an option since the file is too damaged
• as his strength leaves him, we fuss over him, but he begins to leak coffee and fade soon enough. The entire time Tump is standing off to the side barely even paying attention
• Caen suggests funerary cannibalism before Le Tymp is fully gone, so both she and Red take a sip of his coffee. It tastes great
• once the last traces have vanished, Tump asks if we are 'about done here?' instantly turning Red and Caen into hostile mobs
• before we can kill him on the spot, he tosses Red a usb stick with a backup of Le Tymp

⊕ Red wears the usb stick around their neck as a necklace

• Tump suggests we use him only for the final battle and then load him up out of the system to keep him
• "Oh, about that red.. the USB is now coded to your headset, so you need to grab that before leaving."

• Tump determines that the amulet should now be powerful enough to proceed with his previously planned scouting mission deeper into the system
• he opens a portal and bids us to go ahead
• we are stopped by the sudden appearance of Rin. She 'tosses something to the ground' and angrily tells us that Tump is lying to us about where the portal will bring us

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehB754SpJ4s guardian angel protocol
In this personal log Tump claims to have completed coding a protocol that would not only deactivate all chips, but also expose Tump Inc.'s dirty laundry to the world and 'free' everyone trapped in the system 'for good'. The recording was made during EXE3.

• Tump stands silent and lets it all happen
• apparently to activate the guardian angel program, one has to go through Lia('s file)
• Rin reveals that the portal would have kicked us out of the system again, accusing Tump of being egocentrically convinced that he has to be the one to end this - even to the point that he would deal with Mira alone
• we have no trouble believing her and feel quite betrayed. Red disappointely recalls him asking us to fight by his side at the end of EXE3
• berating Tump all the while, Rin snaps her fingers to paralyze us and takes the amulet off Caen
• "I can't say Lia's goals are..that much less childish.. but least she isn't a coward. You have fled your whole life and now you flee from those dear to you..again. you push them away because it's easier to sacrifice yourself.. to think of yourself as a pawn, a fitting, working sacrifice."
• advising that he finally face reality, she slings the amulet around her own neck and leaves. It is not so subtly implies that she has chosen to work with Lia instead of Tump

✎﹏ in his angry ranting, Le Tymp reveals that he knows of CIECE, including FAI, Rin and Lia

✎﹏ in his slightly de-corruoted form, The Follower has blond hair & brown eyes

❖ 4 purifications, 3 corruptions

Coming soon to a Discord chat near you!