148: Chapter 148 Author's Live Stream: So I Was Just a "Plottery Filler" After All?
The Core of the Place of Origin — [The Narrative Edge].
After passing through the bronze gate, Li Mo did not see a resplendent divine kingdom, nor did he see the singularity of the Universe's big bang. What he saw was a... study. A very ordinary, even somewhat messy study.
The bookshelves were crammed with books, but not with Cultivation Technique Secret Manuals. Instead, they were miscellaneous titles like *Quantum Mechanics*, *A Brief History of Time*, *How to Write Good Web Novels*, and *A Guide to Cervical Spondylosis Recovery*. Countless crumpled balls of waste paper littered the floor, each one containing a discarded Universe. And in the center of the study, a massive, glowing keyboard hovered. Before the keyboard sat a blurry human figure.
The figure seemed to be typing frantically at a screen (the Void Realm), muttering to itself: "Is the plot moving too fast?" "Whatever, as long as it's entertaining." "Oops, there's a BUG here. How to fix it? Ah, forget it, let the protagonist use his privileges to patch it."
Li Mo: "..." He stared at that back, an utterly absurd yet intensely familiar feeling welling up in his heart. He had felt this countless times while reading in the Scripture Pavilion. It was like seeing the person who wrote the book through the pages.
"Ahem." Li Mo deliberately coughed.
"Who's there?!" The figure jolted violently, the clacking of the keyboard ceasing abruptly. It turned around, revealing a face... with no features. Or rather, its face was a swirling cloud of constantly changing text: one moment "Author", the next "Failure", then "Grind Lord".
"You are... Li Mo?" The voice sounded directly in Li Mo's mind, carrying a hint of surprise and guilt. "How did you get in here? The current plot progression is only at Volume Four! The permissions for Volume Five haven't been unlocked yet!" "Did I write another BUG?"
"BUG?" Li Mo sneered coldly, stepped forward, and casually picked up a ball of waste paper from the floor. Unfolding it, he saw a collapsing Cultivation World. The plot was: the protagonist gets struck dead by lightning for stepping out the door with his left foot first. "You wrote this garbage plot too?" Li Mo asked.
"Ahem, that's a discarded draft, a discarded draft," the figure said awkwardly, rubbing its hands (which were also composed of text). "Let me introduce myself." "I am this world's... Observer. You can also call me the Author, or the Heavenly Dao." "Of course, in a higher-dimensional world, I might just be... a word grinder."
"As I thought." Li Mo wasn't too surprised. Ever since he deciphered the "System code" in the Scripture Pavilion, ever since he saw the "deleted scenes" in the abyss, he had guessed the truth of this world. It was just a created story. And he was the story's protagonist.
"So, why did you bring me here?" Li Mo stared at the "Author". "To watch me perform like a monkey? Or to satisfy some twisted fetish of yours?"
"No, no, no, you misunderstand," the Author hastily waved its hands. "Actually... I'm here to ask for help."
"Ask for help?" Li Mo was stunned. A creator, asking for help from a character he wrote?
"Yes." The Author sighed, pointing at the teetering bookshelves around them. "Look at this world." "It was originally just an ordinary, generic Cultivation World wish-fulfillment novel. But as I kept writing... it spiraled out of control." "The logic started becoming self-consistent, the characters began Awakening, the rules started evolving on their own." "Especially you." The Author pointed at Li Mo. "You're too clever. You didn't just finish reading the books I wrote; you deciphered the plot holes within them. You used those holes to turn yourself into an... existence that transcends the original setting."
"In the original script, you were supposed to lie low in the Scripture Pavilion until the grand finale, then achieve Ascension to the Immortal Realm and become a carefree Immortal." "But you refused." "You turned the Cultivation World into a warship, turned the abyss into your backyard, turned interstellar civilizations into your logistics company." "The plot is completely derailed now! I don't even know how to write the next chapter!"
"So?" Li Mo raised an eyebrow. "You want me to cooperate with you and force the plot back on track?"
"No, it can't be forced back," the Author said with a bitter smile. "And... I'm barely holding on." It pointed to the pitch-black Void Realm outside the study. "Beyond the narrative layer, there are even more terrifying things." "That is... [Oblivion]." "Or, **[Hiatus]**." "The readers' attention is fading, the world's energy is depleting. If there aren't exciting plot developments to sustain it, this world will collapse completely, just like those discarded drafts."
"So, I need you." The Author looked at Li Mo, its tone sincere. "I granted you the **'Administrator Privilege'** because I actually wanted you to help me... fill the plot holes." "Help me patch this broken world into a complete, logically self-consistent, even superior new world that surpasses the original."
"I see." Li Mo understood. So he wasn't the protagonist, but a high-level employee? Not only responsible for showing off and slapping faces, but also for cleaning up the Author's mess and patching the world's framework?
"Do I have the right to refuse?" Li Mo asked.
"Yes," the Author nodded. "You can choose to go back now and continue living your life. But the world will slowly wither. Until one day, you'll find that the people around you—Ling'er, Xiao Hei, even yourself—have all turned into meaningless text symbols."
Li Mo fell silent. He thought of Ling'er's silly smile, Xiao Hei's gluttonous look, and those students at Tianhe Academy who were always scheming about how to use wrenches for cultivation. Although they were virtual, in Li Mo's heart, they felt more real than reality.
"Fine," Li Mo sighed. "I'll take on this mess." "But I have conditions."
"What conditions?" The Author's eyes lit up.
"First, from now on, I decide the plot." Li Mo waved the **[spring and autumn brush]** in his hand. "Second, grant me all permissions for **Volume Five**." "Third..." Li Mo glanced at the keyboard. "Can you be more rigorous when you write in the future? Don't make me fix your BUGs all the time!"
"No problem! Deal!" The Author was so excited it almost jumped (if it had legs). "The permissions for Volume Five are yours now!" "Those are the permissions concerning... **[Re-forging the Primordial Elements]**."
*Hum—!* A dazzling golden light shot from the keyboard straight into Li Mo's forehead. A massive torrent of information flooded his mind. It wasn't an ordinary Cultivation Technique, nor was it rule-based code. It was... the blueprint for creation.
[System Notification: Volume Five permissions unlocked.] [Current Identity: Acting Scribe (Privilege Rank: MAX).] [Mission Updated: Patch narrative layer vulnerabilities, resist 'Oblivion' erosion, reshape the world.]
Li Mo opened his eyes. Countless scenes of stars being born and dying flashed within them. He no longer felt like just a piece on the board. He stood upon the board itself, holding the pieces in his hand, and holding the rules as well.
"Pleasure working with you, Author." A confident smile curled at the corner of Li Mo's mouth. "Now, let me show you what a... masterpiece truly is."