250: Chapter 250 Author Invasion! He stormed into the narrative layer with his keyboard.

Author Lin Chen did not collapse.

Seventeen seconds after the post was deleted, he did something no one expected—

He opened the Word document for 'dimension shareholder,' deleted the entire latest chapter, and typed a new paragraph:

【Lin Chen was in a meeting in the conference room when suddenly, the ceiling cracked.】

Inside the Narrative Layer.

The ceiling of the Underworld Group headquarters really did crack.

It wasn't a physical rupture, but a disintegration of narrative logic—concrete and steel turned into swirling fragments of text, revealing a gray, formless void behind.

A hand reached in through the crack.

That hand was holding a mouse.

"He... he's directly writing an invasion plot in the document?!" Arrogant Dragon drew his sword, pointing at the crack. "That's against the rules!"

"He makes the rules," Future Lin Chen said with a grave expression. "When an Author completely abandons 'plausibility' and forcibly intervenes in the narrative, our only defense is—"

Before he could finish.

The hand holding the mouse clicked the left button.

A beam of white light swept through the conference room.

Except for the three main characters—Lin Chen, Arrogant Dragon, and Future Lin Chen—everyone else, the shareholders, executives, even the 'silence' light dots—were all selected, cut, and pasted into a new chapter at the end of the document.

The chapter title was: 【Spare Character Recycle Bin】.

"He's clearing out the minor characters," Current Lin Chen stared at the crack. "To focus the narrative on the main plot."

The crack widened.

Author Lin Chen squeezed his way in.

He looked to be around thirty, with deep dark circles under his eyes, wearing a crumpled T-shirt, and holding a laptop. On the laptop screen was the document interface for 'dimension shareholder.'

He stepped onto the conference room floor, looked around, his eyes showing not anger, but a kind of... exhaustion to the point of numbness.

"So you really have become sentient," Author Lin Chen spoke, his voice hoarse. "You were monitoring me just now, right? Saw me searching 'if characters become sentient, will they help me write'?"

Current Lin Chen stepped forward. "We can explain—"

"No need," the Author interrupted him. "I've been writing novels for eight years, failed for seven. This book finally started gaining traction, only to find out the characters have minds of their own—should I be happy or scared?"

He sat in the conference room's main chair and placed his laptop on the table.

The document interface faced everyone.

The cursor was blinking.

"Let's be direct," Author Lin Chen tapped the keyboard. "You want to live, I want to earn royalties. But the problem is I'm writing four books simultaneously and I'm about to die from overwork. And you," he looked at the three Lin Chens, "have been secretly helping me write the other three—even though the stats went up, it freaks me out."

He pulled up the backend data:

'dimension shareholder' daily income: 3,000 yuan.

'I Run a Supermarket in the Apocalypse' daily income: 800 yuan (surged after revival).

'immortal emperor returns' daily income: 500 yuan (recovered after breaking through inner demons).

'star overlord' daily income: 50 yuan (new book performing poorly).

"I write twenty thousand words a day, have stage three tenosynovitis, and barely make over ten thousand yuan a month," Author Lin Chen massaged his wrist. "And you can boost my stats with just a flick of your finger—how do we make this deal work?"

Current Lin Chen understood.

The Author wasn't here to demand answers.

He was here... to negotiate cooperation.

"You want us to help you write?" Arrogant Dragon frowned. "But we're characters, how can we help you write?"

"Simple," the Author opened a new software interface. "This is an upgraded version of the 'Character Autonomous Plot Generation System'—I give you the outline and key plot points, you generate the daily content yourselves. I just need to review and edit, cutting my workload in half."

"And the price?"

"The price is you must forever maintain your 'character settings,'" the Author stared at Lin Chen. "You can't suddenly turn into a saint, Arrogant Dragon can't suddenly give up on revenge, Su Qingyu can't turn dark—readers are buying into who you are now. If the character settings collapse, the book collapses."

Future Lin Chen suddenly spoke. "If we agree, can you guarantee you won't abandon the story?"

The Author was silent for three seconds.

Then, he pulled up an electronic contract.

【Lifetime Serialization Agreement】

Party A: Author Lin Chen

Party B: The 'dimension shareholder' Universe of the Narrative Layer

Terms:

1. Party A promises never to abandon this work until its natural conclusion.

2. Party B must cooperate with Party A to complete daily updates, ensuring content quality.

3. Work income: Party A receives 60%, Party B receives 40% (as a universe maintenance fund).

4. If the work enters the premium channel (average subscriptions over ten thousand), Party A must hire an assistant to reduce Party B's burden.

5... (the following three thousand words omitted)

At the end of the contract, there was a bolded clause:

【If Party A violates the agreement and abandons the work, Party B has the right, through Narrative Layer laws, to forcibly take over the work's copyright and continue writing it themselves.】

"This is my utmost sincerity," Author Lin Chen said. "Sign this contract, and we're grasshoppers tied to the same string. I earn, you live; I collapse, you die—but at least, I promise not to give up voluntarily."

The conference room fell silent.

Current Lin Chen quickly scanned the contract terms—they were harsh, but they did provide the most basic guarantee: the right not to be arbitrarily abandoned.

"We can sign," Future Lin Chen said quietly. "Among the seven hundred and twenty-three futures I've simulated, this is one of the optimal solutions."

Arrogant Dragon looked at Current Lin Chen.

Lin Chen nodded.

The three representatives—Current Lin Chen, Future Lin Chen, and Arrogant Dragon (as the representative of important supporting characters)—signed their names on the contract.

Author Lin Chen also signed.

The moment the contract took effect, the entire Narrative Layer trembled.

A certain 'shackle' was broken.

"Now," the Author closed his laptop, "first task: 'star overlord' stats are too poor, I need a hit chapter. Lin Chen, you go make a cameo."

"How do I cameo in a sci-fi novel?"

"Simple," the Author reopened the document. "I'll write that you, through cross-dimensional trade, accidentally contact the protagonist's fleet in 'star overlord,' and then—"

He started typing.

A new paragraph appeared in the document:

【Lin Chen was adjusting his newly purchased 'Cross-Dimensional Communicator' when he suddenly connected to an unknown signal.】

【A frantic voice came through: 'This is the Star Sea Federation's Seventh Fleet, we're under attack by the Zerg, requesting support!'】

【Lin Chen looked at the communicator manual, then at his account balance.】

【He replied: 'Support is possible, but you'll have to mortgage your fleet's mineral mining rights for the next thirty years to me.'】

He stopped typing.

The Author looked at Lin Chen. "Go on, the plot is generated. Remember, maintain your character setting—you must drive a hard bargain during negotiations."

Before Lin Chen could react, he was teleported away.

When he opened his eyes again, he was standing in the Underworld Group's communications room, and there really was a blinking communicator in front of him.

The sounds of artillery fire and screams came through: "Requesting support! The Zerg have broken through the third defensive line!"

Lin Chen took a deep breath and spoke into the microphone. "Mortgaging mineral mining rights isn't enough. I also want permanent licensing rights to all your fleet's technology."

"...You're taking advantage of our situation!"

"Yes," Lin Chen nodded. "So, do you sign or not?"

"We sign! Save us, quick!"

The contract was transmitted via data stream.

After signing, Lin Chen accessed the financial backend and purchased 【Temporary Interstellar Fleet Rental Service】—spending five hundred thousand dimension points to rent a third-party mercenary fleet, teleporting them over to relieve the siege.

Five minutes later.

Cheers came through the communicator: "The Zerg are retreating! Thank you... wait, you're not the Star Sea Federation's fleet?"

"We're from Lin's Interstellar Security Company," the mercenary fleet commander replied. "Remember to repay the loan on time. The overdue interest rate is 5% daily."

The call ended.

Lin Chen checked the monitor—in the Author's backend, subscriptions for this chapter of 'star overlord' surged by 300%, with tip messages flooding the screen.

"Done," the Author said over the comms channel. "Next task: 'immortal emperor returns' needs an auction house plot. Arrogant Dragon, you go host it."

Arrogant Dragon was teleported away.

Future Lin Chen looked at the Author. "So now we're your... writing assistants?"

"More accurately, 'plot generators,'" the Author rubbed his temples. "I provide ideas and the framework, you fill in the flesh. This way, I only need to work six hours a day to maintain updates for four books—maybe even add another one."

"...You want to start a fifth book?"

"Got a mortgage to pay," the Author smiled bitterly. "But don't worry, the new book will be connected to your universe, expanding the worldview."

As he spoke, his fingers kept tapping on the keyboard.

In the document, new chapters kept generating.

In the conference room, the characters who had been cut away gradually returned—the Author had released them from the 【Spare Character Recycle Bin】.

Everything seemed to be back on track.

But Current Lin Chen noticed a detail.

While the Author was typing, his wrist was trembling slightly.

Next to the computer, beside the three empty energy drink bottles, there was now another medicine bottle.

The label read: 【Muscle Relaxant · For Relieving Tenosynovitis Pain】.

"Is your hand injury that bad?" Lin Chen asked.

"Occupational hazard," the Author didn't look up. "Typing eight hours a day for ten years will do that. The doctor says I need rest, but if I rest, who pays the mortgage?"

He typed the final period.

The latest chapters for all four books updated simultaneously.

The backend data started jumping:

Total income: +4,721.5 yuan.

The Author looked at that number, let out a long sigh, and then closed the computer.

"That's it for today," he stood up. "Same time tomorrow, continue."

The crack reopened.

The Author, holding his computer, walked into it.

Before leaving, he glanced back at everyone in the conference room.

"Oh, right," he said, "if any readers recently comment 'the Author's updates are so consistent,' remember to reply 'thanks for the support'—operations need interaction data."

The crack closed.

The conference room returned to calm.

Arrogant Dragon looked at Lin Chen. "So... from now on, we work for him?"

"We work for each other," Lin Chen pulled up the contract details. "He relies on us for royalties, we rely on him to maintain our existence. It's a fair trade."

"But can his body hold up?" Future Lin Chen suddenly asked. "What if one day he dies from overwork—"

He didn't finish.

An alarm sounded.

Not an alarm within the Narrative Layer.

It was a real-world medical monitoring alarm—transmitted here through some kind of data entanglement.

The monitoring screen showed:

In Author Lin Chen's apartment, he had collapsed in front of the computer, his finger still on the keyboard.

Heart rate: 40 beats per minute.

Blood pressure: 85/50.

Breathing faint.

On the computer screen, the documents for all four books were still open.

The cursor was blinking on the last line.

That line read:

【Lin Chen suddenly felt a palpitation, as if something important was slipping away...】