Not long after Kyna left, someone knocked on Verily's door from outside.

"Who is it?"

"It's me, Emily."

"Come in." Verily put down his teacup, but did not get up.

A green-haired woman walked into Verily's room with elegance and grace. Her proportions were excellent, and every move she made exuded confidence and grace, like a princess from a noble family.

It was incredible that her ears were pointed, like the elves in the movies - in fact, she was indeed an elf and did not belong to this world. Due to her racial advantage, she was older than most organisms on Earth.

The newcomers like Zhang Xinyuan would probably be very surprised if they saw Emily - the Emily they had seen before was just an ordinary-looking Caucasian woman, completely different from this elegant elf lady.

"What's the matter? It's just the two of us here."

Emily came to Verily and half knelt on the carpet, performing a gesture that did not exist in this world, "Master, the divination results are in. The people Kyna brought back are indeed new authors. Congratulations, you're one step closer to the true 'god's descent'."

Verily said, "Unfortunately, Zhang Xinyuan has a terminal illness and won't live long. He is defective."

"Master, why don't you just eliminate his illness directly?"

"The power is unstable before perfecting the 'god' setting. It's difficult to achieve accurate elimination. If I make a mistake, it will expose my vulnerability. After all, you're the only one I truly trust."

"Thank you, Master." Emily looked delighted. Being trusted by her master gave her a great sense of accomplishment. She felt unique.

"My dear Emily, because you're not an author, that's why I trust you. You're the most important person to me, and your power should only be used for me."

"Yes, I have an obligation to do so."

...

Enjoying hot pot and singing, Zhang Xinyuan received a call from Kyna.

"Mr. Zhang Xinyuan, the president has decided to do everything possible to treat your cancer. The association will cover all expenses."

Zhang Xinyuan was stunned and then looked at Heize Lianyue beside him, who had an awkward smile. He understood that Lianyue must have told Kyna about his medical results.

He remained silent for a moment and then said, "Miss Kyna, maybe you don't understand cancer, but I do - the treatment will only increase my suffering and make me weaker. Sometimes, the damage caused by chemotherapy is even worse than the cancer itself. Many patients can jump and skip before chemotherapy, but after it, they become weak and need someone to take care of them, let alone writing. So, please don't waste meaningless resources on me. I appreciate your kindness."

Kyna furrowed her brows slightly.

Verily wanted Zhang Xinyuan to receive treatment to prolong his life and generate more value for the association. If chemotherapy affected his writing, it would go against the president's purpose.

"Alright, I respect your choice. I will check with the president again."

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Xinyuan looked at Lianyue, sighed, and realized that someone kept reminding him not to forget his misfortune.

"Miss Lianyue, I... I feel lost. I feel like my life has lost hope..."

People are afraid of death, even if they accept it, when Zhang Xinyuan realizes that he is about to die, he still feels a sense of panic.

"No, there is still hope."

Lianyue gently grabbed Zhang Xinyuan's wrist and said seriously, "Xinyuan, remember the setting bar? Since neither the hospital nor the association can save you, why not ask that website for help? Maybe it can eliminate your disease."

"The setting bar... right!" A glimmer of hope arose in Zhang Xinyuan's heart. How could he forget about it? But soon he became hesitant, "But would writing something on the setting bar be dangerous? Kyna and the president warned us not to use it."

"Who knows if it's a lie? Even if it's not, what harm is there in trying? We have no other options."

"You're right. The worst case scenario is death. Even if I don't use the setting bar, I will die sooner or later. Let's give it a try then."

"Go for it!"

Zhang Xinyuan was just ten thousand words away from signing the contract. After signing, he could activate the setting bar. He decided to use it immediately after signing the contract.

...

Ban Ya is the youngest among this group of newcomers, only 16 years old, she is a Thai girl. Her parents divorced when she was very young, and she lived with her mother. Later, her mother remarried and had a son with her stepfather.

Her stepfather despised Ban Ya and often physically abused her in front of her mother, who never intervened. The scars on Ban Ya's neck were inflicted by her stepfather's whip. Because of such a dark childhood, Ban Ya was timid and fearful by nature.

After accepting a sum of money from Kena, her fickle mother entrusted Ban Ya to her. Because she needed money to support her new child, Ban Ya seemed somewhat unnecessary compared to her cute son.

After being taken to the Hope Association, Ban Ya lived in fear, afraid that Kena and others would mistreat her. But to her surprise, since joining the association, she received extremely high treatment.

The best food, the best clothes, the best living conditions. The members of the association were even kinder to her than her own mother!

"Ban Ya, this is a laptop that the association is giving you." Anli placed the laptop box on Ban Ya's desk and smiled, saying, "You may have never used a laptop before, but it doesn't matter. I'll teach you. It's more convenient for you to type with it than with your phone."

"This...this is too expensive, I...can't accept it." Ban Ya lowered her head shyly.

"What are you saying? When you join the association, you become one of us. You should enjoy the treatment you deserve."

"Oh...okay."

Anli was a handsome man with grayish-purple hair. His long side-swept bangs covered one of his eyes. His smile had a gentle and unique charm that made people feel a sense of goodwill at first sight.

It only took Anli half an hour to capture Ban Ya's heart, and he spent another hour teaching her how to use the computer for typing. It wasn't until late that he left.

After he left, Ban Ya's mind was filled with Anli's image. She thought for a moment and decided to stay up late to familiarize herself with the computer's operations. She wanted to quickly master the typing skills so that she could contribute to the association and make Anli happy.

...

After leaving Ban Ya's room, Anli found Kena.

"That newcomer Ban Ya has been taken care of. She is easily controlled and won't disobey orders. She has only written one chapter of her novel, and it leans towards randomly written text without clear worldbuilding. It can be easily modified or tampered with."

Anli's mention of "randomly written text" referred to incoherent writing with no structure, barely within the boundaries tolerated by the Horror Novel Web. Such articles were the easiest to modify or tamper with.

"Good job, Anli. You continue to be responsible for that girl until she dies."

"What a hassle. I wanted to kill her, but I don't have enough points for it." Anli complained, and the gentle and handsome guy in front of Ban Ya disappeared without a trace.

Kena's face remained expressionless as she said, "These newcomers are precious. You can't kill her without being accountable to the chairman."

"I know, I know. I was just talking casually. I can distinguish between the important and the trivial. But I hope you can mention it to the chairman next time and give me more points when we settle the accounts. After all, you are his trusted person."

"You can handle this yourself." After Kena finished speaking, she turned and left.

Watching Kena's departing figure, Anli snorted coldly and didn't say anything else in the end.

In his eyes, Kena had no real abilities. She just used points to buy some language knowledge and gained the chairman's attention. Anli thought it was particularly unfair. He didn't want Kena to suddenly become the vice chairman one day.

...

As a gaming enthusiast, Jin Tai Che gradually became a computer expert. He enjoyed tinkering with various computer components and experiencing the differences in performance between different parts.

Because the association reimbursed work equipment, he customized a top-of-the-line computer exclusively for himself.

He chose the most expensive Intel x2 processor, the most expensive gaming graphics card x2, filled all 8 memory slots, used an enterprise-level ultra-large solid-state drive, and selected the highest-spec water cooling system for heat dissipation. As for the motherboard, power supply, display, and other components, he maxed out the prices.

After assembling the computer and turning it on for the first time, Jin Tai Che couldn't bear to let go as he looked at the dazzling light inside the chassis.

This was the most expensive computer he had ever built. Converted to Japanese yen, it was worth 5 million. Previously, he could only yearn for something so expensive, but now he could touch it with his own hands. It was truly a great pleasure.

He casually played several demanding AAA games on the market, even with 4K and full special effects, everything was super smooth. The excess performance even allowed him to run several more games at the same time.

Jin Taiche was satisfied, and now he was willing to do whatever the association asked him to do.

Molan nodded in approval as she secretly observed Jin Taiche's actions.

Newcomers are the easiest to please. As long as you cater to their interests and give them some material rewards, you can firmly control their hearts.

As for the money spent on newcomers, it was just a drop in the bucket for the authors of Horror Novel Web. They had their own ways of making money and were capable of shaking the global financial market or even triggering the third world war. However, they also restrained and balanced each other. War is a game for politicians, while low-profile development is the goal for authors.

On the other side, Werly, Gerut, and Najie were together.

Gerut operated the computer, and the content on the screen was projected onto a screen. The entire map of Twisted Contract was displayed on it, with several yellow and green dots scattered across the map.

The green dots represented the old members of the association, while the yellow dots represented the newcomers.

Gerut could control the position of all the new authors. Through settings, he could restrict the actions of the newcomers, such as preventing them from leaking the secrets of the association. If they didn't comply with the restrictions, their brains would be immediately burnt and they would die.

With Molan's help, Gerut also stole a bug from Horror Novel Web. If a newcomer was killed by authors from other factions, Horror Novel Web would identify Gerut as the one who killed the newcomer, preventing other authors from stealing the newcomer's memories.

This was a prop that Gerut happened to obtain by chance. Originally, this prop was used to detect authors, but he later developed more functions for it.

Although it couldn't restrict higher-level authors, it was an artifact against newcomers. This prop had infinite growth potential. With the increase of the user's level, the expenditure of points, settings, or other special items, the ability of this prop would keep growing.

At this moment, Gerut's prop was upgraded again. It could not only show the positions of the newcomers, but also the positions of higher-level authors. If any author from another faction or a member of the association approached a newcomer, he could immediately capture their position.

Every member of the association became an author monitor.

"This prop will be the association's strategic weapon. It has great potential for evolution. In the future, it can be used to search for newcomers, restrict other authors, and even control the entire world. From now on, I will name it 'Controller'. Gerut, I hope you can make good use of its power and continue to serve the organization," said Werly.

"Without Lord Werly, I wouldn't have obtained such a powerful weapon. I will continue to follow you as always," Gerut respectfully replied with a steady voice.

The Controller combined the knowledge from Horror Novel Web and the knowledge from a different world, and magic was written into computer programs through programming. This program could break through virtual limitations and apply power to reality. Its evolutionary potential was terrifying.

"Nagi, I have a task for you," Werly looked at the thin and dark-skinned Malaysian man and said, "Continue to pretend to be a newcomer and get close to Zhang Xinyuan and the others to monitor them. The Controller's development is not yet complete. It can detect the positions of authors, but it cannot monitor their thoughts and actions. Before this technology matures, we cannot allow the newcomers to have too much freedom."

"Yes, Lord Werly."

Lianyue's guess was correct. There was indeed an undercover agent among the newcomers, and that person was Najie. He and Kena, one in the dark and one in the light, sent newcomers to Twisted Contract. Nagi's purpose was to prevent the newcomers from uniting and betraying the association - although the probability was very low, the possibility could not be ruled out, as even the most brilliant lies had loopholes.

"Zhang Xinyuan...let's start with him," Werly lightly tapped the table with his fingers and muttered to himself.