"Luo Bing, I'm in trouble. You and Xiao Ming need to come back to the country immediately and don't contact me proactively in the future."

"Do you need my help?"

"Just take care of Xiao Ming for me. If there are any other needs, I will contact you."

"Alright, take care of yourself."

-------------------------

The Desolate Spirit Continent.

The demonic and undead races, who worship the God of Destruction, are waging war against all races on the continent under the leadership of the gods, with the terrifying momentum of annihilating all living beings.

The Dragon God, worshipped by the dragons, perishes along with the dragon race. The bodies of the giants pile up from the depths of the abyss to the sky, and the crimson blood stains the sky...

As one race after another becomes extinct, the other races on the continent spontaneously unite to resist the "destruction" forces. With the help of their respective gods, they barely manage to stand their ground.

In this era of war, the Elf race rises to prominence. They emerge from the forests, using magic to traverse the sky and the earth, establishing cities and barriers, and creating a powerful elven empire.

Xia Yimili, the chief diviner of the elven empire, has acquired various magical knowledge during her long life. She doesn't hate the "destruction" forces, but rather feels curious about their existence. Why are there such a strange group of people in the world who oppose the world with absurd excuses? Why does the God of Destruction exist? Why does it want to destroy all living beings? What can it gain from it?

No one knows, perhaps not even the demonic race that pledges allegiance to the God of Destruction. A great force is at work in the development of the history of the Desolate Spirit Continent, influencing the fate of all beings.

One day, Yimili suddenly divines a terrifying thing - this world is not real, but fictional, and she is the only one awake in this fictional world.

With the help of forbidden magic passed down from her ancestors and at the cost of countless sacrifices, she finally arrives by her master, her creator - Verily.

Exploration is her lifelong pursuit. Even though her master, Verily, has killed countless of her kind and created a world of suffering, she has no complaints. She will follow in her master's footsteps to witness a more real world.

Earth.

...

If the magical environment of the Desolate Spirit Continent is like the deep sea, then Earth is a vacuum that makes all wizards despair. Only a few objects have traces of residual magic.

Yimili cannot perform magic herself, but she can use magical props and her expertise in divination to barely carry out her skills.

"Yimili, please divinate the author that Hei Ze Lian Yue encountered."

"Alright, Verily." When they are alone, Yimili would address Verily as her master, but in front of other members, she would use the normal address.

Anri, Kana, Moran, and others sat upright at the conference table, all with serious expressions.

Joshua sat restlessly, his heart filled with anxiety.

He wasn't worried about the safety of the association.

The Horror Novel Web used to have a "credit shop" feature, where there was a chance to obtain objects from novels, and authors could exchange them for a small price. It sounded cool, but only "realistic" authors had enjoyed this privilege.

The president didn't like this feature.

So one day, Horror Novel Web updated from 1.0 to 1.1, and the website removed the "privilege" of the credit shop.

Of course, authors could still purchase items from the credit shop. They just needed to go to the author's backstage and find the black figure, but the items from the novel could no longer be obtained.

Horror Novel Web actually compromised in front of Verily? Just how terrifying is the president's strength?

So Joshua was convinced that no one could threaten the president, not even Horror Novel Web.

The only worry he had was that the author Hei Ze Lian Yue encountered was Xu Fang.

Verily might have learned something about Guster from Xu Fang, and that put Joshua in a precarious situation. After all, Guster was his trump card, and he had never told the association about it.

While Joshua was lost in his thoughts, the Elf pulled out a set of tarot cards.

Divination is a mysterious branch of magic that connects past, present, and future information through magical rituals. This magic has unlimited expansiveness, and if there were a "God of Divination" position on the Desolate Spirit Continent, Yimili would be the most likely to ascend.

All materials can be used for divination, from the vast stars to tiny specks of dust. However, Emily likes to use tarot cards because they provide simple feedback, rich combinations, and clear divination results.

"Jared, is the author's coordinates still appearing in the control panel? What are they?" After shuffling the cards, Emily arranged them in a strange pattern with the back of the tarot cards facing up.

"Yes, the coordinates are [52515, 26415], and they can't be more precise." Jared looked at the red dot on the screen. "The target has moved a distance with Kurozawa Rengetsu. Do you need the previous coordinates?"

"No, this will do."

"... " She muttered the coordinate numbers and gradually stopped her finger on a card.

Magic poured down, and the edge of the tarot card emitted a faint purple glow as Emily slowly flipped it over.

A devil with horns and black wings stood in the middle of a magic circle, with iron chains in his hand tying two slaves. Eight skulls were piled up into a small mountain at the devil's feet.

[15 The Devil (XV)]

In tarot cards, the Devil card represents desire and temptation. But Emily was using elven divination, which had a different interpretation from tarot cards.

What she just divined was the identity of the author.

In the past, when divining identity, only minor arcana cards would appear in the first round, and then major arcana cards would come to supplement the information in subsequent rounds. But this time was different; a major arcana card appeared in the very first round.

"So, the author is a devil? Or has some connection to devils?" Emily found it hard to believe even herself. "The divination result should not be wrong."

It was indeed that guy. Josea felt very uneasy; things were developing in the worst possible direction.

"...Interesting." Verle chuckled lightly. "I remember there are two devils in the solar system, one being Earth and the other being an energy entity. The devil that the K Organization lost unexpectedly appeared in Boston."

"But what's the relationship between devils and the author?" Kna asked curiously.

"There are three possibilities. First, the author purchased the identity of a devil. Second, the author has become a devil. Third, the author is not a devil, but they used some method to give themselves devil-like traits." Jared speculated.

"The second possibility can be ruled out," Mo Lan's lazy voice came from the side. "I just checked, and there are still two devils in the solar system. Neither more nor fewer."

"The first possibility is also unlikely. Not to mention the high points requirement, just the age check alone, no author could pass." Naji said.

Others nodded in agreement. "It seems that the author used some item to conceal their identity as an author, but they didn't know that the Controller could directly see through their identity information."

"Emily, what else can you divine?"

Emily drew the second tarot card from the deck. "I will give it a try, but for now, I can only do it once. Divination also consumes a lot of magic power."

The second card was revealed.

The sun hung high in the sky, radiating sunlight on the earth. A child riding a white horse basked in the sunlight, symbolizing positive and uplifting emotions.

[19 The Sun (XIX)]

It was still a major arcana card.

"The devil has a very close connection with the sun, which becomes its source of energy." Emily looked at the card and said, "Most of the energy on Earth comes directly or indirectly from the sun. This means the devil is extremely dependent on energy; without it, they cannot survive."

"Miss Elf, please get to the point. We just want to know if we are in danger when confronting the enemy and what abilities the devil has." Anri felt impatient.

"Divination is not omnipotent, and I lack positioning information on the devil. I don't know what you asked either." Emily said lightly. "Why don't you go ask that website?"

"If the website says everything, do we still need your divination?"

"Please mind your words, Mr. Anri!" Emily's voice turned cold. "I serve Lord Verle, but that doesn't mean I serve all of you. You don't have the right to criticize me."

Anri glanced at the president and muttered to himself, "Damn old elf lady..."

"Lord Verily, I believe the demon may know the Association's secret. What strategy should we take to deal with him?" Geralt asked in a deep voice. "We have a cooperation with the All-Seeing Eye. If the demon is affiliated with them, killing him would disrupt our trade relations. Should we consider recruiting him instead?"

Josiah's heart skipped a beat, unsure of what reason to use to stop Geralt.

"Josiah, do you have something to say? Your complexion hasn't been good since the beginning," Nagy noticed something and asked strangely.

"It's nothing. Just worried that the enemy might leak our plans again," Josiah replied expressionlessly.

"Well, I wonder what trick Black Ze Lianyue played. He actually told the demon our secret. If this spreads in the author circle..."

"Don't be so pessimistic. Maybe the demon doesn't know? Wasn't it said that he can't speak?"

"If the demon doesn't know, then why didn't he kill that woman?"

"In the end, can the demon recognize authors? He doesn't have the 'Manipulator' ability."

"Do you think Black Ze Lianyue is dumb? If he can't recognize, he can speak for himself."

"..."

The group discussed, each holding their own opinions. After a minute of discussion, the room gradually quieted down, and they turned their gaze back to the president. Regardless of the result, they needed to hear the president's thoughts.

The elf stood quietly next to the president, expressionless, not participating in the discussion at all.

President Verily sat at the head of the table, interlocking his fingers, silent for a moment, then smiled and said, "We can recruit him, but we won't let the demon join us. After all, the Association doesn't accept monsters... I will write a letter."

Josiah secretly breathed a sigh of relief, understanding Verily's meaning.

----------------------

Heize Lianyue woke up and didn't immediately open her eyes. She raised her ears to listen to the sounds around her.

The sound of insects...

"I know you're awake," a voice suddenly sounded in her ear.

Realizing that she had been discovered, she slowly opened her eyes.

It was too dark, she couldn't see anything clearly, only a slender figure silhouetted by the moonlight leaking through the gaps in the leaves.

She raised her left hand and found that the wound on her wrist had been bandaged.

"Where am I? I can't see anything."

"The outskirts of the forest near Boston," Xu Fang replied, taking out his phone and waking up the screen before handing it to Lianyue. "Before we have a proper exchange, prove to me that you're the author."

"Okay." Lianyue obediently took the phone, about to operate it, but paused. "This isn't my phone."

"This is mine. Yours is here, it's already out of power." Xu Fang shook Lianyue's phone. During her unconsciousness, Xu Fang had searched everything on her.

Phone, identification card, wallet, and a piece of ordinary paper.

Lianyue looked at the time on the phone: 1:35 a.m. on November 5, 2017. She had been unconscious for 9 hours.

Washington was 700 kilometers from Boston. It was long enough for the Association to find her, but she was still alive. Did this mean that the Association already knew about Xu Fang's existence?

Lianyue bit her lip lightly and continued to ponder. The phone's battery was still over 90% during her unconsciousness, it wouldn't run out even if it was on standby for two days. Was Xu Fang suspicious of her?

A cautious choice.

Lianyue raised the corners of her mouth. "My name is Heize Lianyue. What's your name?"

"Xu Fang."

Lianyue accessed her author backstage and showed Xu Fang the contents. "Xu Fang, can I address you like this?"

"Just call me by my name, no need for honorifics. Also, show me a screenshot of your author backstage."

"Okay."

After seeing the screenshot, Xu Fang nodded. "I understand now. You're a new author. We can further communicate."

Xu Fang turned on the flashlight on his phone and hung it on the ceiling as a light source.

Lianyue finally saw the surroundings she was in.

It was a simple wooden shack, and she was lying on a dry grass mat. It was already pitch black outside. Xu Fang was sitting across from her, with part of his face hidden in the shadows, his deep eyes fixed on her. With his long hair cascading down, he looked like an exquisite doll.

"Kawaii~" Lian Yue praised, then scratched her head. "I didn't mean anything else."

"You too," Xu Fang pointed to the wild fruits and water on the ground. "You've lost a lot of blood, but you're not in danger. There's water and food here, replenish your nutrition."

Lian Yue showed a grateful smile. "Thank you, you're really a good person, being so kind to a stranger like me..."

"Don't rush to label me as a good person and then use moral constraints on me. It's better if you're more honest with me," Xu Fang said, "we still have time before dawn, tell me everything you know."

"If I don't tell you, will you torture me?" Lian Yue asked with a smile.

"I can, but it's not necessary. I won't do it unless absolutely necessary, as it doesn't align with my interests," Xu Fang shrugged, "since you found me, you must have the answers in your heart, right?"

Lian Yue took a deep breath. "I can tell you anything you want to know, but I won't say it all at once, it will reduce my value, sorry."

"You're honest, and hiding is better than deceiving. Regardless of your value, I'll let you live," Xu Fang blinked, "unless I reach a consensus with the association."

Hai Ze Lian Yue felt her body growing cold. Perhaps Xu Fang wasn't as easy to talk to as Zhang Xinyuan. She had to find a way to take control of the conversation, because she was the weaker one.