110: Let’s be frank, this book was written by the protagonist himself!

Blue Star, Hua Nation, Hai City, a certain rental house.

The afternoon sun, carrying a hint of laziness, slanted through the dusty window, spilling onto a cluttered computer desk.

On the desk, the remains of instant noodle tubs and a half-drunk bottle of soda formed a picture of post-modern decadence.

"Hmm..."

A muddled groan came from the computer chair.

A young man with a messy bird's nest of hair, deep-set eyes, and a pale complexion was waking up from a heavy afternoon nap.

His name was Sword River Fish.

A struggling web novelist.

"What time is it...?"

He rubbed his sleepy eyes and habitually fumbled for his phone, checking the time.

Three in the afternoon.

"Good, good, I can still sleep... No, wait!"

He jolted awake, springing up from the chair!

"It's time for an update today!"

As an author who, despite struggling, still had some professional ethics, not missing an update was his last bottom line.

"Let me see, where did I write yesterday...?"

Sword River Fish skillfully opened the author's backend, muttering to himself.

"The Human Emperor was tormented so badly, today I must give him a satisfying moment! Yes, let Ningxue's soul transform into a Sword Spirit for a desperate counterattack! I'm truly a genius!"

As he gloated over his "stroke of genius," he logged into the backend.

However, when he saw the data on the backend's homepage, he froze.

"Total Chapters: 108 chapters."

"One hundred and eight chapters?"

Sword River Fish scratched his already sparse hair, his face full of confusion.

"I remember, wasn't I only on chapter ninety-three yesterday?"

"Did I sleepwalk? And explode with fifteen chapters in one go?"

He somewhat disbelievingly clicked on the chapter list.

Indeed, the latest chapter was prominently displayed: "Chapter 108: Four Gods Assist, Welcome Human Emperor Back to Peak!"

"Damn, when did I become so diligent?"

Sword River Fish felt his worldview had been slightly impacted.

He casually clicked on the comment section, wanting to see readers' reactions to his "unprecedented" massive update.

However, the content of the comments confused him even more.

"Reader A: Yu-da is awesome! The quality of these past dozen chapters has skyrocketed! It feels like the author's writing has finally matured after hundreds of thousands of words!"

"Reader B: Indeed! Especially the world-building, it's becoming more and more rigorous! Look at the 'Fallen Immortal Path' system and the 'Gods Do Not Descend' rule, the logical loop is simply amazing! It's a whole different level from the previous settings!"

"Reader C: Although the previous plot was also good, it always felt a bit formulaic. These recent chapters, with their twists, heart-wrenching moments, and satisfying points, are giving me goosebumps! Yu-da, have you been possessed by a great god?"

"Reader D: Upstairs, is there a possibility... the author is actually written by AI? (Dog head for self-preservation)"

"???"

Three question marks slowly appeared above Sword River Fish's head.

Writing matured?

Settings rigorous?

Written by AI?

What is all this about?

It's my own novel, don't I know how well I write it?

With my elementary school-level writing, what other advantages do I have besides stable updates?

With an incredibly strange feeling, Sword River Fish clicked on the latest dozen chapters, of which he had no memory.

He skimmed through them quickly, reading ten lines at a glance.

The more he read, the tighter his brows furrowed.

The more he read, the faster his back grew cold.

Something's wrong!

Something is very wrong!

First, the naming conventions for locations.

"Human Realm · Sin Ranch · Blackrock City."

"Heavenly Realm · Temple of All Evils."

What in the world are these?

This kind of naming, with special symbols, full of a "setting sense" and "game sense," he never used before!

His style had always been simple and crude realism in naming.

For example, "Huaxia Nation, Jiangzhou City," or "Xuantian Continent, Qingyun Sect."

This, this, this... When did I become so grand?

Secondly, the paragraph formatting.

Sword River Fish had a unique secret, known only to himself.

That was, to make it more comfortable for mobile readers, and also... to pad the word count.

He would split a single sentence into two paragraphs if he could.

A paragraph having two lines, let alone three, meant he was in good form that day, with inspiration overflowing.

But... what's going on with these latest dozen chapters?

They were constantly long paragraphs, dense with information, with concise descriptions of scenes and internal monologues.

This... is this really something I could write?

"Did I write this?"

Sword River Fish murmured, his voice containing a tremor he hadn't even noticed himself.

"It should... be me who wrote it."

He sat on the computer chair, which was already peeling, feeling a chill run from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.

He stared blankly at the screen, at the description of "Sword of Humanity · Ten Thousand Years into One."

Looking at the tear-jerking plot of Chen Yuan and Ye Ningxue's parting ways in life and death.

An unprecedented sense of unfamiliarity and fear gripped his heart.

He felt as if the world he had created, and the characters within it, were "coming alive."

They were, in a way he couldn't comprehend, breaking free from his control, enacting their own destinies...

"Meow~"

A soft, sweet meow interrupted his thoughts.

A large, plump orange cat, with elegant steps, jumped onto his computer desk and rubbed its furry head against his arm.

Sword River Fish looked at his beloved pet, and his heart, which had been pounding with fear, calmed down slightly.

He gave a wry smile and stroked the cat's head.

"It's not like you secretly changed it for me while I was asleep, is it?"

... [Gu Jianghan · Consciousness Divine Kingdom]

In the center of the Divine Kingdom, a massive chessboard, constructed from countless starlight particles, floated.

On the chessboard, two identical "Gu Jianghan" figures, yet with entirely opposite temperaments, sat facing each other.

One had gentle eyes, filled with complex Humanitistic brilliance.

The other had dead eyes, filled with absolute Divine coldness.

"Humanity" Gu Jianghan slowly withdrew his gaze from the endless "pages" and "comments."

He glanced at the "Divine" Gu Jianghan opposite him, who had remained expressionless throughout.

His tone carried a hint of either helplessness or mockery, impossible to discern.

"Look at the mess you've made."

The "Divine" Gu Jianghan didn't even lift his eyelids.

He merely uttered two words, flatly.

"What is it?"

"Readers all think that the author named 'Sword River Fish' suddenly had a breakthrough in his writing after hundreds of thousands of words and matured."

The corner of "Humanity" Gu Jianghan's mouth curved into a meaningful smile.

"It was actually you behind the scenes, wasn't it?"

"Through the resonance of the 'setting collection,' you silently interfered with his 'inspiration' and tampered with his 'outline.'"

"Making him, unknowingly, turn our 'chess game' into his 'story.'"

Facing this interrogation.

"Divine" Gu Jianghan finally raised his dead eyes, capable of freezing all ages.

There was no hint of anger on his face at being exposed.

Instead, he revealed a look of extreme arrogance and indifference, like a god looking down on ants.

"You are wrong."

"I am not 'interfering' with him."

"I am 'elevating' him."

"I have given him an opportunity to personally 'witness' and even 'participate' in a higher-dimensional game."

"Divine" Gu Jianghan extended a finger and gently tapped the chaotic area representing "Blue Star."

"He is no longer a 'scribe' hiding behind a screen, typing on a keyboard."

"He is becoming a 'character in the play.'"

The three words "character in the play" seemed to contain a terrifying magic, where words became reality!

The moment the words fell!

On Blue Star, in that small rental room.

Sword River Fish, who was petting his cat, suddenly stiffened!

His pupils began to uncontrollably dilate!

Countless "memories" and "scenes" that did not belong to him surged into his mind like a broken dam!

It was the Blood Sacrifice Great Array constructed from countless corpses!

It was the Human Emperor who rose again from despair!

It was the white-clad young woman who passed away in her master's arms!

And it was the Lord of the End, slowly opening his eyes from his throne in the Heavenly Realm, declaring "the show is over"!

"Ah—!"

The massive influx of information washed over his mind, causing Sword River Fish to let out a piercing scream!

He clutched his head and painfully collapsed to the floor...

[Gu Jianghan · Consciousness Divine Kingdom]

"Divine" Gu Jianghan coldly withdrew his gaze.

"I am not 'modifying' him."

"Rather, I am 'protecting' him."

"Now, back to the main topic."

He stretched out his hand and pointed at the chess piece on the board that had been completely blackened by the endless "End" death qi.

That chess piece was Gu Yanci.

"It seems you are going to lose."

His voice was still as flat, without a trace of emotion.

As if merely stating an already destined fact.

"The 'bet' between you and me is on whether 'Humanity' or 'Divinity' will ultimately dominate this body."

"You placed your 'hope' on those so-called 'companions,' 'emotions,' and 'bonds.'"

"And I, I only need to wait quietly."

"Because, when the light of 'Humanity' shines to its extreme, what it brings will inevitably be an even deeper 'despair.'"

"You see..."

He pointed at the chess piece representing "Chen Yuan."

"Your 'Light of Hope' personally created the most perfect 'nourishment' for me."

"That 'sorrow,' enough to burst the vessel of the Humanity God Lord, became the last straw that broke the camel's back."

"Now, 'The End' has descended."

"And you..."

"Divine" Gu Jianghan's dead eyes fell upon "Humanity" Gu Jianghan, who had remained silent.

"—You are about to be completely devoured by me."

Facing this "victory declaration," like a final judgment.

"Humanity" Gu Jianghan not only showed no panic or unwillingness.

He merely slowly raised his head.

A faint smile on his face.

"Yes..."

He said softly.

"—I am going to lose."

However, deep within his eyes, which flickered with complex Humanitistic brilliance.

There was a hint of something thought-provoking that made even "Divine" Gu Jianghan feel "uneasy"...