83: Madman or Genius

The air in the classroom seemed to have been sucked dry.

That line, "From this day on, there are no ghosts in the human world," seemed to still be echoing in her ears.

Lin Que remained slumped over his desk, breathing evenly, as if the raging storms outside had nothing to do with him.

The walk back to the office was short, yet Shen Qingqiu felt as though she had walked for a very long time.

Not until she sat in her chair and her fingertips touched the cold desk did she realize her palms were covered in cold sweat.

"Is this really an ending that a human could write?" Shen Qingqiu asked herself silently.

It was not a happy ending, nor was it a tragedy, but rather a form of near-divine dictatorship.

Yang Jian had turned himself into the greatest ghost, suppressing all turmoil in the world with absolute terror.

This concept, this scope, completely exceeded her understanding of web novels.

If "the ferryman" was about searching for a glimmer of light in despair, then "the human world is like a prison" was about forging despair itself into order.

Meanwhile, in the capital, at the headquarters of Hong Guo Net.

"It crashed! Everything crashed!" The head of the technical department rushed into the conference room, covered in sweat:

"Director Zhou! The servers are completely paralyzed! The traffic at that instant was twenty times the usual amount! Two backup lines even burned out!"

In the conference room, Chief Content Officer Zhou Tong and Editor-in-Chief Hong Hu looked at each other in dismay.

On the large screen, the graph that originally displayed real-time data had turned into a straight vertical line, and then, it stopped abruptly.

"Twenty times..." Zhou Tong's hand holding the teacup was shaking; he didn't even feel the scalding tea splashing onto the back of his hand.

Hong Hu swallowed hard, her voice dry:

"Director Zhou, the final data from the backend... the completion rate for the final chapter of "the human world is like a prison" is... 99.8%."

The teacup in Zhou Tong's hand slammed onto the desk with a "clang."

99.8%. This meant that almost everyone who started following the book from the beginning had finished the entire thing.

"A god has been created..." Zhou Tong muttered, his gaze shifting from shock to fervor.

"No, this is the return of a true god! Quick! Notify the PR department! Issue a press release! Blow up the "Hell Dream Weaver" to the heavens! Tell the whole internet, this is a miracle in the history of web literature!"

Su Province Writers Association building. The usually quiet and solemn office area was now in chaos, with phones ringing incessantly.

"Chairman! The data from Hong Guo Net has overflowed, and the servers have crashed twice!" The secretary rushed into the office, nearly dropping the tablet in their hand.

Gu Changfeng sat behind the large desk, holding that purple clay teapot, his brows furrowed tightly.

On the computer screen in front of him, the final chapter page of "the human world is like a prison" was displayed.

"What are you panicking about?" Gu Changfeng put down the teapot, but his hand trembled slightly, and a few drops of tea splashed onto the desk.

"It's not us who are panicking, it's the literary criticism world that's exploding!" The secretary handed over the tablet.

"Look, several veteran critics in the capital have already spoken out."

Gu Changfeng scanned it.

【Famous critic Old Zhao: Heretical! This is a provocation against traditional morality! Letting a "ghost" set the rules, what kind of values are these?】

【Editor-in-Chief of Vanguard Literature: A genius! An absolute genius! This is true magical realism! Hell Dream Weaver has torn away the veil of hypocrisy; he tells us that sometimes, it is not love that maintains order, but fear!】

The two sides were at loggerheads, the air thick enough with gunpowder to choke someone.

Gu Changfeng took off his glasses and rubbed his brow.

"This kid..." he muttered to himself. "He really dares to write anything."

He had originally thought it was just someone writing ghost stories to scare children; he hadn't expected that this final stroke would elevate the book to a philosophical level.

Feeding his body to the ghost, reigning supreme through the ages. Such audacity made even this old man, who had been writing traditional literature for decades, feel a tingle on his scalp.

"Chairman, should our Writers Association make a statement?" the secretary asked cautiously.

Gu Changfeng was silent for a moment, then put his glasses back on, his gaze deepening.

"Not making a statement is the best statement." He pointed at the ID on the screen.

"This Hell Dream Weaver, just like that Jian Shen, is a "monster" we must pay close attention to. The literary world is about to change."

Provincial Department of Education. Deputy Director of the Provincial Department of Education Zhou Weiguo had just finished a meeting when he was blocked in the hallway by several veteran experts.

"Director Zhou! You have to do something about this!" An elderly expert with gray hair said, heartbroken, waving his phone.

"Web novels these days are outrageous! That thing called "the human world is like a prison," the ending actually turns the protagonist into a Ghost King! How are students supposed to look at this? This is simply promoting violence!"

"That's right, Director Zhou, my grandson just finished reading it and cried until he fainted, insisting he wants to tame ghosts just like Yang Jian!"

Deputy Director of the Provincial Department of Education Zhou Weiguo took the phone and quickly browsed through the chapter titled "The Funeral."

As he read, his expression became strange.

"My body is hell, my eyes are natural disasters."

Deputy Director of the Provincial Department of Education Zhou Weiguo recited this line, and suddenly, the image of that young man standing on the podium, saying "use strong medicine to treat a stubborn illness," appeared in his mind.

That student named Lin Que, the madness in his eyes at that time, how similar it was to the Yang Jian in this book?

"In chaotic times, use heavy codes; for stubborn illnesses, apply strong medicine."

Deputy Director of the Provincial Department of Education Zhou Weiguo gently placed the phone face down on the desk, not even glancing at Old Li.

"Old Li, that is order built upon ruins. Some illnesses cannot be cured with tepid water; you have to scrape the bone."

"What?" The veteran expert was stunned.

"The world in this book has already collapsed; conventional methods cannot save it."

Deputy Director of the Provincial Department of Education Zhou Weiguo stood with his hands behind his back, looking out the window.

"Yang Jian sacrificed his own humanity in exchange for world peace. How is this not another form of salvation?"

The veteran expert opened his mouth, speechless.

Deputy Director of the Provincial Department of Education Zhou Weiguo ignored them and walked straight to his office. Closing the door, he sat back in his chair and let out a long sigh.

"What on earth do young people these days have in their heads?"

He opened the drawer and took out a document. It was the follow-up promotion plan for the Jieyou Cup first prize winner.

"Lin Que... Jian Shen... Hell Dream Weaver..." Deputy Director of the Provincial Department of Education Zhou Weiguo tapped his fingers lightly on the desk.

On the internet, at the center of the storm. Six of the top ten trending topics on the Microblogging platform were related to "the human world is like a prison."

#Yang Jian Ascends to Godhood# #the human world is like a prison Concludes# #No Ghosts in the Human World# #Jian Shen Come Out and Take a Beating#

The last entry seemed particularly abrupt. Clicking into it, it was all "Dream Weaver fans" reveling.

【@I am Yang Jian's Dog: Jian Shen fans, come out and walk a few steps? Do you see it? This is what you call scope! Your Tristan is still talking about love on the wasteland, while our Yang Jian is already sitting on the throne suppressing the globe!】

【@Horror Enthusiast: This is a real man! No messing around with that pretentious salvation, just direct physical transcendence! That tepid stuff from Jian Shen is just weak!】

【@Passerby A: Although I also like "the ferryman," I have to say, this ending by Dream Weaver is really too explosive. That sense of loneliness and dominance completely overshadows the small-time romance of "the ferryman."】

Public opinion was one-sided. After all, the impact brought by extreme violent aesthetics and tragic heroism in a short period of time was unparalleled.

The long-lasting healing of "the ferryman" seemed somewhat pale and powerless at this moment.

Jiang City, SOHO Studio. The fluorescence from the screen reflected on Lin Que's face, cutting his expression into light and shadow.

Looking at the near-insane data in the backend, he tapped the desk lightly.

Now, "Hell Dream Weaver" had heated the venue to the boiling point, and everyone's emotions were left hanging in mid-air by that dark, oppressive, and dictatorial ending.

They were shocked, but also empty; they were excited, but also afraid. At this moment, what did they need most? They needed a lamp.

They needed a hand reaching out from the darkness, telling them: Don't be afraid, even if it is hell, there is someone there to ferry you.

Lin Que put down the cola and switched accounts. He logged into the backend for "Jian Shen."

The document for "the ferryman" had long been ready. Since Yang Jian had turned the human world into a prison of absolute order, then Tristan should take Dylan and break through that wasteland.

"Hell Dream Weaver is responsible for scaring people to tears, Jian Shen is responsible for coaxing them back to comfort." Lin Que's finger hovered over the Enter key.

"That's fair."

Click. With a soft sound, the email to New Tide was sent successfully.

Title: "The Courage of Reversal"