Inside the dimly lit open-plan apartment, the lights flickered as a young man moved quickly along the wall.

Every so often, he glanced behind him, his face filled with panic.

For several days now, Xu Fang hadn't seen a single human—only strange entities that appeared from time to time.

Some entities killed him without hesitation, while others inflicted unbearable mental agony.

Every time he died, Xu Fang would revive somewhere with a sliver of his memories still intact. Then he would continue running.

Xu Fang still hadn't found the exit. This entire open-plan floor was a maze.

The red doors were off-limits. Flesh-eating phantoms lurked inside.

The gray doors were no good either. Anyone who entered would be cursed.

The only safe ones were the white doors. But beyond them lay another endless maze, with no way out in sight.

Just then, Xu Fang heard footsteps coming from the left. They were very light, very light—like someone wearing slippers and stepping across tiles.

Xu Fang stopped and didn't move a muscle.

The footsteps didn't appear.

Xu Fang listened carefully, but didn't hear any breathing.

So Xu Fang pressed himself against the wall and continued moving. However, the footsteps rang out again, following right behind him.

This time, Xu Fang was certain he hadn't misheard. Something really was following him—and it was very close!

The dim lights flickered as Xu Fang breathed heavily. He couldn't detect any entities nearby.

…Is this monster the kind that can't be seen?

Xu Fang thought for a moment, then decisively ran to the right.

As Xu Fang ran, the eerie footsteps appeared again, closing in on him at incredible speed.

Suddenly, Xu Fang spotted a door fifty meters away.

The monsters on this floor had one trait: once a human passed through a door, they would stop chasing.

As if he'd seized a lifeline, Xu Fang ran toward the door.

Wait. The color of that door was… black? Would it be dangerous?

There was no time left to think. Xu Fang felt the footsteps right at his heels. The invisible thing was about to press against his back.

At the very last moment, Xu Fang slammed open the black door and rolled inside.

The footsteps behind him vanished.

Then, memories flooded into his mind…

【Xu Fang, there's something I want to discuss with you.】

【Because the time weapon was used, Simpson was consumed and had no chance to investigate. We already questioned the other seven authors who had been assimilated. None of their memories contained any record of a thirteenth author.】 No. 5 said.

【No. 4, did the unassimilated authors have any answers?】

【I didn't investigate Xu Fang. I only sought out Yoriko, Zhang Empty, and Owen. Obviously, the unassimilated authors wouldn't cooperate with us easily. They all lied and claimed that the Thirteenth Author existed. Owen even said that half the Eternal Life Church were undercover agents. After we tortured them, Zhang Empty and Yoriko changed their stories and told the truth. Owen still refused to admit anything, but many of his words had already exposed his lies.】

The readers didn't know anything about the Thirteenth Author either, at least for now.

No. 3 glanced through the comments… One comment caught its attention:

「Sure enough, the Thirteenth Author must be someone Xu Fang knows, right?」

【Someone he knows?】

No. 3 thought of “Luo Xiaoming.” But it quickly rejected the idea. Only an author could threaten the Eternal Life World; the life or death of a Singularity Individual didn't matter. If the Thirteenth Author were “Luo Xiaoming,” that would actually be good news. “Luo Xiaoming” was nowhere near meeting the requirements to become an author.

What No. 3 was worried about was that a real author was hiding behind the scenes, completely unnoticed by the Eternal Life Church.

【Looks like I can only ask him.】

The space behind the door resembled a chessboard, divided into black and white.

Xu Fang leaned against the corner, his pitch-black eyes fixed on the Eternal Life Administrator before him. His returning memories reminded him why he had come here.

It stood silently before Xu Fang, radiating a soundless pressure that made it hard to breathe.

With just one glance at No. 3, Xu Fang felt as if he were seeing an entire civilization—a terrifying existence shaped by the sediment of countless ages.

【Xu Fang, there's something I want to discuss with you… You have your complete memories now.】

No. 3's voice transmitted directly into Xu Fang's mind.

(What do you want to ask?)

Xu Fang thought inwardly.

But No. 3 gave no response.

Xu Fang realized that the entity before him couldn't read his thoughts. “What do you want to ask?”

【Who is the Thirteenth Author?】

“Whatever you're afraid of—that's what it is.”

No. 3 let out a cold laugh. 【I have countless ways to make you tell the truth. I hope you'll choose an easier one.】

When No. 3 had encountered Xu Fang in the Upper World, it had still held some respect for a worthy opponent.

But now that they were here, No. 3's tone held nothing but arrogance and contempt.

It was the composure of someone who could toy with his opponent at will, the calm certainty of someone who could control his enemy's thoughts.

“No. 3, our relationship has practically become one of blood feud. Why would I help my enemy?”

【Because I can do whatever I want with you now.】

A piercing pain shot through Xu Fang as one of his index fingers was crushed. He groaned, only to discover that he couldn't make a single move in resistance.

No. 3 released the hand slick with flesh and blood, then said in a gentle tone, 【Think carefully. Who is the Thirteenth Author? You know.】

Xu Fang recovered from the sharp pain. Cold sweat had already beaded on his forehead. “Heh heh… I'd almost forgotten what pain felt like.”

【Answer my question. Don't change the subject.】

With a sharp crack, Xu Fang's second finger broke. Pain shot straight to his heart, leaving his scalp and nerves suddenly numb. Xu Fang hissed through his teeth, his face turning deathly pale, yet he smiled.

“Go find out for yourself, while you still have time.”

【Tch. Stubborn.】

No. 3 went on like that, bending Xu Fang's fingers back one by one, then driving foot-long steel needles beneath his nails and into the bones. A human body ultimately couldn't withstand such agony. Xu Fang passed out several times, only to be forcibly awakened and interrogated again.

Several hours passed, but No. 3 still hadn't obtained any useful information.

It was deeply puzzled. Even a soldier with an iron will couldn't endure this kind of interrogation. Why was Xu Fang, a “normal person” according to his setting, so tenacious?

What exactly was he holding out for? Why could he still smile?

Before long, No. 3 faintly guessed the reason…

Xu Fang's true body wasn't human. His species wasn't even carbon-based, so he couldn't feel pain the way humans did. To Xu Fang, pain wasn't torture. It was a “novel” experience.

What meaning could a life in pain possibly have? No. 3 couldn't understand.

Human methods couldn't be used against Xu Fang.

Looking down at Xu Fang in the pool of blood, No. 3 said, 【If you won't talk, I'll search your memories myself.】

“What if… I deleted my memories…”

【There is no death in the Eternal Life World. Likewise, nothing can truly be discarded. You can't hide your memories.】

“Whatever.”

【…He still refused to reveal anything about the Thirteenth Author. We'll just have to open up his brain and take a look.】 At the Eternal Life Conference, No. 3 said, 【The Thirteenth Author must be someone Xu Fang knows.】

【Who knows how long it will take to assimilate this author…】

【It doesn't matter. We can obtain his memories without assimilating him.】

Boundary-crossing tests could induce an author to recreate his memories, but much of the content might be distorted. It would still be more accurate to assimilate the author and have him recount everything himself.

Just like the other authors, Xu Fang's memories ultimately appeared before the Eternal Life beings piece by piece in the form of a novel.

Given how dangerous Xu Fang was, the Eternal Life beings treated this memory text as reference material only. They wouldn't believe it completely.

After reading Xu Fang's memories, they came up with several guesses about the identity of the Thirteenth Author.

The most likely possibility was that the Thirteenth Author was one of Xu Fang's duplicates—for example, the little fellow called Gussy, or a duplicate Xu Fang had created after arriving in the Eternal Life World. These duplicates had powerful vitality and might be hiding somewhere in outer space. However, tracing Xu Fang's memories showed that he hadn't done anything like that in the Eternal Life World.

The second possibility was still Luo Xiaoming. Xu Fang had quantumized Luo Xiaoming, making the current Luo Xiaoming's life or death difficult to define. Compared to a quantum ghost, an author was clearly the greater threat.

The third possibility involved a strange figure the Eternal Life beings discovered in Xu Fang's memories—Song Yu. Song Yu had been Xu Fang's high school classmate. Many people Xu Fang knew had been fabricated by the Creator, and Song Yu wasn't a real person. That alone wouldn't have meant much. They could simply regard Song Yu as a fictional derivative like “Xu Fang's parents.” But… there really was someone named Song Yu in the Upper World who remained in contact with Xu Fang.

The Eternal Life beings found Song Yu and confirmed that the Song Yu of this time had already become one of them. That line of speculation came to nothing.

【So, in the end, we're treating the Thirteenth Author as one of Xu Fang's duplicates?】

【Given what we can do right now, that's the only option.】

【Have you decoded the information from the Thirteenth Author?】 No. 3 looked toward Morton.

Morton was working with cryptographers from the United States to decipher the Thirteenth Author's message.

Old Mo nodded. “We've deciphered sixty percent. The content is strange. It doesn't seem to be a written passage so much as a recording.”

【Send over the part you've deciphered.】

「“What… is your name?”

“I'm an author.”

“I don't know… (static)”

“Yes. Does that ring a bell?”

“Xu Fang?”

“Your idea is… (static)?”

“Since it could be intentional or unintentional.”

“Let's play a game to… ease the tension……………………Guess one Chinese character.”

“…………(static)”

“…(static)”」

Morton said, “It's a recording of a conversation. The ‘Thirteenth’ is speaking with someone about Xu Fang. One of the people in the conversation may be Xu Fang himself, but I'm not certain.”

As No. 3 listened to the audio, the feeling that something was wrong grew stronger and stronger.

No. 3 rose and left the conference hall, passing through a stretch of space.

At last, it arrived before a certain existence and asked, 【No. 1, do you know anything about the Thirteenth Author?】

The entity known as No. 1 had its back to No. 3 and didn't answer.

【The Thirteenth Author spoke with you?】

【…Yes, we spoke.】 No. 1 fell silent for a moment, then slowly turned around.

No. 1's entire face was covered. Draped in a black robe, it possessed an air of mystery.

If an author were here, they would certainly recognize that this No. 1 before them is none other than the Nameless One!

【Who is the Thirteenth Author?】

【I don't know.】

【Tell me everything the two of you discussed back then.】

【Ten million contribution points.】 No. 1 said, 【I won't provide the information you just requested for free.】

【If you weren't incapable of lying, I'd almost suspect you arranged this whole thing yourself.】

The deal fell through.

It simply wasn't worth it. No. 3 could question Xu Fang, and even if it got no answer, it could wait for the readers to “spoil” it.

With the Eternal Life beings pushing the process forward, the entire recording was decoded.

After seeing the complete contents, the Eternal Life beings fell into deep thought.

Although they didn't understand what the conversation meant yet, they all had an ominous feeling.

…

No. 3 brought No. 5 and No. 8 to Xu Fang again.

【Xu Fang, this recording was sent by the Thirteenth Author. He was discussing you with the Nameless One.】

Xu Fang was bound to an interrogation rack. He listened to the entire recording.

The corners of Xu Fang's lips curled up. He understood the Thirteenth Author's intention.

Many of the questions that had troubled him now seemed to have faintly found their answers.

At this point, who the Thirteenth Author was no longer mattered. What mattered was that this conversation was enough to threaten the Eternal Life beings!

[Xu Fang, I demand that you tell us exactly what this passage means.] No. 8 sharpened his knife. [Cooperate with me, or this knife will come down on you in a moment.]

“I have a question. What exactly is the Nameless One?”

【Why should I tell you?】

“If you won't cooperate with me, how am I supposed to cooperate with you?”

No. 8 looked toward No. 3. Only after seeing the latter nod did it say, 【It's an Eternal Life Administrator.】

“Which number is it?”

【Your questions are a little too numerous.】Number 8 didn’t answer directly.

“Why would an immortal join the Authors’ side? And why didn’t you realize it was an immortal from the very beginning?”

Xu Fang lowered his head and said with a smile, “There’s something that’s always struck me as strange. The cheats you Immortals have are a little too excessive—you can freely preserve your memories across iterations, irreversibly awaken other Immortals, and perform incredible feats akin to map-hacking or predicting the future. You’re as powerful as if you were playing with cheats enabled. But we Authors can only struggle to survive starting from merely preserving our memories; the slightest carelessness in revealing our location brings total annihilation. Isn’t that unfair?”

【This was our territory to begin with. What’s so strange about us deciding the fate of our prey?】

“At first, I thought the Authors really were your prey. But now I understand. This is a relatively fair contest between the Authors and the immortals. You’ve hidden your weakness very well.”