In the meeting room, the atmosphere was somewhat oppressive.

Four hours had passed, and the demon still hadn't replied. Verily's letter seemed to be empty.

"Could it be that the demon is new and can't reply?"

"Do you think that's possible?"

"Lord Verily, maybe that guy didn't see the letter. Should we send it again?" Anri, with her purple-gray hair, rested her arm on the back of the chair, playing with a Sig Sauer P320 pistol in her hand.

"No need." Miss Elf answered on Verily's behalf, "The author has received the letter, but just hasn't replied."

"The fact that he doesn't want to communicate shows that he has decided to protect Kurozawa-sama and see us as enemies." Joshua said, "We should eliminate the demon and the traitor as soon as possible."

Although Joshua appeared rough on the outside, with muscles all over, he was actually the most cautious person in the association. He had more considerations in any matter than an ordinary person. In addition, he was the most senior in terms of experience and highly esteemed in the association.

If even Joshua said that, it showed how imperative it was to eliminate the enemy.

"But what about our information? Higher-level authors are not bound by the 'Controllers' and the demon could potentially leak our plans..." Nagi asked worriedly.

"It doesn't matter." Verily, sitting in the main seat, calmly said. As he spoke, everyone else closed their mouths and looked at the president.

"The God Descending Plan is in its final stages. Even if it's exposed, it won't prevent the true coming of the gods. We just have a few more minor problems." Verily took a sip of Assam Red Tea from the foothills of the eastern Himalayas.

God of Destruction.

Everyone stood solemnly, they revered the God of Destruction, and even more revered the president who could control the God of Destruction.

"Cough, since that's the case, let's focus on eliminating the demon." Anri looked at Geralt and asked, "I remember you were a programmer before becoming an author. Can you hack into Boston's road surveillance cameras? We can kill the demon through the cameras."

Geralt said, "Being good with computers doesn't mean I can repair them, and knowing how to code doesn't mean I can hack into the national surveillance system - unfortunately, I can't do it."

Anri sneered, "We lack a top-level hacker. If we bring Kurozawa-sama into our team, we won't have so many problems, right?"

Everyone's expressions slightly changed, their demeanor varied.

Anri's hidden meaning was that she was complaining about the president treating Kurozawa as a newcomer. When they came into contact with the association, the veteran members could tell that Kurozawa was actively showing off her intelligence and talent. The woman even hinted that she wanted to truly join the association and become one of its members.

If Verily agreed, Kurozawa wouldn't have run away, and naturally, there would be fewer troublesome matters.

Emilia glared at Anri angrily, she didn't like her owner's authority being challenged.

Verily calmly said, "Only higher-level authors can join the association. Newcomers cannot circulate points, do not have advanced purchasing permissions, and most importantly... they are 'prey', not equals to us. You need to understand this."

"Anri, I know you're a smart person. Since you pretended to be radical to test my bottom line, I will also tell you clearly that everything here is decided by me. Do you have any objections?"

"No, none at all, my lord. I did not mean to blame you. Please forgive my previous words." Anri quickly waved her hands, immediately giving in.

"Alright, let's continue our meeting. Joshua, please share your thoughts."

"Um, even if we don't have a hacker, it won't be a big problem. Geralt can't hack into the cameras, but the demon and Kurozawa also won't expose themselves to the cameras. Kurozawa needs medical attention and food, so they can't stay in the forest all the time. They will definitely choose to enter the city after daybreak. In doing so, they will inevitably destroy the cameras along the way. We just need to inform the police in advance, telling them that a group of intruders will be damaging the surveillance equipment, and let the police handle the matter...I leave this task to you, Mr. Nagi, is that okay?"

Although Joshua said this, his gaze was on Verily, who smiled and nodded, silently approving Joshua's words.

"That's a good idea." Nagi applauded, "We can use the police as guinea pigs to test the demon's strength. Even if the demon isn't afraid of the police, it will be difficult to protect Miss Kurozawa. If Miss Kurozawa is imprisoned, we can kill her directly through the news! No problem, I'll take on this job."

Facing Najis praise, Joshua remains unmoved. Being cautious, he does not believe that things will go smoothly.

"I have drafted several plans. This is just a preliminary test," Joshua looks at Karna and says, "Please contact Mr. Ma Youcai, and inform him about the incident of Zhang Xinyuan being killed by Heize. This will create suspicion and doubt between Ma Youcai and Heize. Eventually, Ma Youcai will naturally come back to our side."

"But what if Heize contacts Ma Youcai too? That woman is persuasive and might succeed in persuading him to join her," Karna raises a question.

"It won't work. Heize cannot prove that she did not kill Zhang Xinyuan, so Ma Youcai will naturally suspect her. As long as we provide enough funds and care to Ma Youcai, he will return to the Association instead of taking the double risk to oppose us," Joshua explains.

"Lastly, we need to find another base and only come back after dealing with the Demon and Heize."

"Ha...can you tell us your reasons?" Mo Lan asks reluctantly.

Joshua replies calmly, "Heize knows the location of our base, so she may contact others to attack it. Although it won't pose a threat to us, it will disturb our vision. Therefore, we need to move to another place and hide ourselves. Mo Lan and Mr. Anli, please take care of your respective newcomers and control their sources of information. Don't let them come into contact with Heize's information."

"Oh dear, raising pigs is troublesome!" Anli says reluctantly.

"Um, I just want to slack off..." Mo Lan mutters softly.

"The meeting is over here," Verily stands up. "Gerrott, monitor the actions of the Demon and Heize closely and report any changes. Joshua, go to the hotel where Heize and Ma Youcai stayed, and see if they left behind any personal items. The rest of you, follow Joshua's instructions and move to the new base in the coastal area."

"Okay, Lord Verily!" everyone answers in unison.

The Association is like a well-oiled machine, with everyone playing their part. When everyone works towards a common goal, the efficiency is surprisingly high.

Before dawn the next day, the Association completes the transfer of the base. After a short rest, all members gather again to report on the completion of their tasks.

Naji scratches his head and says, "I have contacted the local police station. The police are prepared, and once any surveillance cameras are destroyed, they will dispatch officers to surround the criminals."

Karna adds, "I contacted Ma Youcai in advance, and he agreed to return to Twi City."

Anli casually remarks, "I have settled the newcomers. That girl is a fool, she believes everything I say. Even if I want to sleep with her, she would agree."

As for Mo Lan, her dark circles seem even heavier, showing signs of falling asleep any moment now. "No problem, Jintai is obedient. He's playing video games...I played games with him all night too...yawn..."

"Cough, Miss Mo Lan, I suggest you take a rest. Adequate sleep is beneficial for your health," Joshua advises.

"No, I haven't slept for several years. Don't mind me...I just need some sunlight to stay awake."

Mo Lan never sleeps, and everyone has grown accustomed to it. People all have their quirks.

Joshua looks at the Association head and says, "I visited the hotel where Heize and Ma Youcai stayed, but I did not find any personal items they used before. It's suspicious, so I spent money hiring people to search. The search is currently ongoing."

"I see," Verily smiles and nods.

"Association head, the Demon and Heize have started moving towards the city. It is estimated that they will reach the outskirts of the monitored area in 40 minutes," Gerrott suddenly reports, who has been observing and controlling them.

"Gerrott, project the map onto the screen."

After turning on the projector, everyone sees clearly on the screen two markers, one red and one orange, moving steadily towards the city.

The orange marker represents the Demon, while the yellow one represents Heize. Several kilometers away from the orange and yellow markers, there is another yellow marker, which is Ma Youcai.

This is the most powerful aspect of the "Controller." Any targeted author in front of it is transparent; the positioning is permanent.

Every author who is targeted becomes the "Controller's" eyes. Once another author approaches the targeted author, the new author will be targeted again.

The targeted authors were unaware of the anomaly.

The Controller still had infinite room for evolution, as it was a combination of elven magic and technological code. With the development of new code, the Controller would gain more and more functionality. If a new website were to be developed, utilizing the Controller to locate authors worldwide, perhaps this new website could become the second Horror Novel Web.

Currently, the Controller still had many areas that needed improvement. First, it was not able to fully monitor and listen to the thoughts of the authors. Secondly, it had insufficient control over the authors, only being able to prevent them (novices) from revealing the secrets of the association, but unable to control their other actions. Thirdly, the Controller only borrowed some principles from the Horror Novel Web, but was not enough to shake the position of the novel website.

How to improve the Controller would be a long-term issue for Geralt in the future. For now, the primary task of the association was to deal with the new trouble of the demon.

In the eyes of everyone, the yellow and orange cursors stopped at the edge of the city surveillance area, as if they did not want to rashly enter the monitored area.

"What if they keep stalling and don't go in?" Anri furrowed her brows and asked.

"That's impossible." Josiah decisively vetoed, "Hazawa is a weak woman. She can't stay in the wilderness for long in a hungry and injured state. She can only return to the city to seek supplies."

"What if the demon buys food and medicine from a store?"

"From the perspective of the author's selfishness, it wouldn't do that. If it did, then it would be a brainless saint."

As if responding to Josiah's words, the two cursors paused for a moment before moving towards the city again.

Nagi picked up her phone and stared at the screen, ready to call the police.

The two cursors finally entered the surveillance area!

She smiled inwardly, knowing that the opportunity had finally come.

"Wait, something seems off." Josiah suddenly said, "They didn't choose the weakly monitored area, but moved straight ahead without any pause, as if they didn't care about being caught on surveillance... They probably didn't destroy the surveillance!"

"Why is that?"

"There are three possibilities. One, they already know that we can't invade the surveillance. Two, they don't know that they have entered the surveillance area. Three, they have the ability to bypass the cameras." Josiah sighed and said to Nagi, "Call the police and also verify if they have destroyed the surveillance."

Nagi did as she was told. As expected, the surveillance was not destroyed, and Nagi was scolded by the police as a bored person.

"We can be certain that the demon has some ability or item that allows it to avoid being observed by surveillance."

"Could it be Ms. Hazawa who hacked into the surveillance?" Nagi asked.

"The police have already had network security personnel check the surveillance terminal, showing no signs of intrusion. I don't think Hazawa can do anything under official surveillance."

"Oh no!" Just then, Kurena's surprised voice sounded, "Ma Youcai isn't answering my calls. It seems like he has blacklisted me. I've tried several times and couldn't get through!"

"Try using my phone, Kurena." Anri said.

Ma Youcai also didn't answer Anri's call, and then Kurena changed several phone numbers, still with no answer.

Everyone realized that something was wrong.

"Ma Youcai has teamed up with Hazawa and isn't listening to the association anymore!"

"Damn pig!" Anri grumbled, "Kurena, you should have killed him back then. Otherwise, I would go kill him right now!"

"Anri, don't act on your own!" Emilia stopped this impulsive man.

Compared to the turbulent emotions of others, Verily remained seated in the main seat, holding a teacup, seeming detached from everything, as if watching a movie, smiling at everything.

The gaze of the elf behind Verily was calm, her beautiful pupils devoid of joy or worry. Occasionally, her gaze would linger on Verily for a moment, and then quickly retract her gaze.

"Everyone, continue observing the demon's actions. It may still do something interesting." Verily casually said.

The emotions of everyone calmed down, as they observed the screen and contemplated the next steps against the enemy.

Next, Hazawa Tsuki and the demon's cursors stopped moving, while the cursor representing Ma Youcai started to move.

Ma Youcai first left the hotel, took a car to Harvard, and then walked to MIT. After a while, he went to Freedom Road and Quincy Market, staying at each place for more than ten minutes.

"What is he doing? Tourism?" Kena asked.

"No, it's a test," Josiah sighed, "The Demon and Hei Ze Lianyue already know that we can't control the cameras. Next, Ma Youcai will meet with the Demon, and there's no turning back for this newcomer."

Just as Josiah said, Ma Youcai's marker gradually approached Hei Ze and Lianyue's marker until they coincided in an unmonitored area.

...

"Lord Verley, I have a new discovery here!"

Jerut pushed a laptop in front of the Chairman. It was Kena's laptop, and Lianyue had stolen data from this laptop.

"Look at this." Jerut used his homemade data recovery software to scan all the disks, and the previously empty Recycle Bin had many things in it.

"What is this...?" Emilia asked hesitantly.

"It's a cunning and hidden program. It hides in an invisible place," Jerut explained, "When we delete files from the Recycle Bin, the system deletes the information, making it inaccessible. However, inaccessible doesn't mean the files disappear. They still exist until they are overwritten by new files. This hidden program is located in an inaccessible area and, once activated, it automatically searches the network and sends the information to the internet using a browser... Although I'm not a hacker, I still have some knowledge of computers."

Listening to Jerut's explanation, Kena seemed to have realized something and broke out in a cold sweat. She hurriedly looked at Verley and explained, "This is a trap left by Hei Ze Lianyue. She wants to frame me!"

"I know," Verley nodded slightly, "If you really wanted to betray me, you would have left with Hei Ze Lianyue already. There was no need to stay here."

"Thank you for your trust," Kena wiped the cold sweat off her forehead.

Josiah looked at Jerut and asked, "When did Hei Ze leave this program? Can it still be used?"

"Three days ago," Jerut said regretfully, "It's already past its 'expiration date.'"

"Hei Ze wants to undermine the relationship between Kena and the association, making us exhaust ourselves internally. This is a typical toxic mentality. I have a rough understanding of this woman's way of thinking," Josiah crossed his arms and calmly said, "Since Hei Ze set a trap, I suggest we counter her by pretending that Kena is breaking ties with us, sending a message to the Demon to deceive him and get a response. Lord Verley, what do you think?"

"Alright," Verley nodded, "Kena, send a letter to the Demon, saying that you have escaped from the association and ask for help, leaving an email address."

Following Verley's instructions, Kena sent out the plea for help.

Thirty minutes later, Kena's inbox received a reply.

"Hello, Miss Kena, you can call me Xu Fang.

The 'controller' you mentioned is the device that locates us, right? Since you can break free from the location, why did you approach us? Or is it only by approaching us that you can break free from the location?

If you're telling the truth, I'm willing to help you.

I'll give you three locations: Trinity Church, Berklee College of Music, and Newbury Street.

Tomorrow, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., I want you to wander around these three locations continuously. I will contact you at the right time."

"Xu Fang... hehehe..."

Upon seeing Xu Fang's reply email, An Li couldn't help but laugh. As An Li laughed, others also burst into laughter.

In the end, Xu Fang still replied to the email.

Xu Fang and Hei Ze Lianyue thought that Verley could only kill through the video, but their thinking had been misguided from the beginning.

Could Verley really only kill through video?

Some people may still be alive, but they were already dead in the eyes of others.

Because once Xu Fang replied, it meant that Verley could kill him at any time through this letter—using the power of the god of destruction.

"Is this how it ends..." Verley murmured to himself, feeling somewhat disappointed.