An Unfinished Story

Without even needing to read it carefully, Trist could tell what was written in the original manuscript.

It was nothing more than everything that happened to them after they arrived in North Cold Town.

Enough, Trist thought, that's enough.

"Where exactly is the Gudu? What is all this about? Stop with the tricks, I can't take it anymore."

Trist pulled out a revolver, not the one he usually used, but the more powerful [Simulated Sunflare].

If necessary, Trist could simply grind the church to dust. At that point, it wouldn't matter where the Gudu was hidden, since it would all be destroyed in one shot anyway.

This period of time had been extremely torturous for him. The fact that his actions were being manipulated and presented in a way that was written by someone else made Trist deeply doubt himself.

"Don't worry, when you are able to see my Lord, you will see him immediately."

The priest spoke calmly, looking at the pistol that Trist had raised.

"You won't kill me, you won't destroy this church."

What makes you say that?

Trist placed his finger on the trigger. Although he wouldn't fire immediately, it wasn't because he was afraid, but because firing now might cause the church to collapse and injure himself and Lu Ban.

"Because in my Lord's Holy Scripture, you do not fire a gun."

The priest looked very devout, like the martyred saints in ancient legends.

"The Holy Scripture? You mean these horror novels?"

Lu Ban took out "The Spider in the Corner," which he had gotten from the hotel owner, and waved it in front of the priest.

"These are the divine pronouncements of my Lord, sacred words."

The priest answered.

"Then let's talk about your god, what kind of guy is he?"

Lu Ban took a few steps forward and sat on the first row of benches, like a believer listening to a sermon.

"He created this world, possesses all authority, is supreme, and is all-knowing and all-powerful."

The priest used the usual religious rhetoric, but he didn't convey any message.

"Is all of this, like everything outside, his doing?"

Lu Ban pressed for an answer.

"Even you and I are creations of my Lord."

The priest looked at Lu Ban.

"Me and you?"

Lu Ban found it fun.

"I do have some insights into your master. He should be able to control the environment, human cognition, and even monsters to some extent within a certain range?"

"I do not deny what you have said, because this is what my Lord has allowed you to know."

The priest had no intention of discussing it with Lu Ban.

"Your statement sounds just like those fortune tellers who speak in an ambiguous way. If they guess right, they're considered diviners; if they guess wrong, it's just fate."

Lu Ban added.

"Let's not waste our breath on him. I have a feeling that the Gudu is in this church. Why don't we take care of him and then go find the Gudu?"

Trist was getting impatient.

Xiya nodded in agreement.

"There is another space beneath this church, and it seems there are people inside."

Upon hearing Xiya's words, the priest suddenly took a half step back.

"Don't make things difficult for him, come down."

A voice came from the priest's mouth, but the tone and manner of the voice did not sound like that of a stubborn priest; it sounded more like that of a dissolute young master.

The door behind the priest slowly opened, revealing a path leading downwards.

Lu Ban glanced at the priest, whose expression had become numb and indifferent, just like those guys in suits outside, but he didn't move at all, as if he had lost his soul.

The three exchanged a glance, and Lu Ban led the way, descending the stairs.

After walking for a short while, they arrived at a basement.

The basement was dimly lit by lights made of some unknown biological oil. In the vast space, there was another door, which seemed to be made of bronze and had exotic scripts on its surface that even the Silent Land could not decipher.

Thump—

Just as they arrived, a knocking sound came from the other end of the door, the entire basement trembled slightly, and some dust fell.

It was as if something imprisoned inside was trying to break free of its restraints.

In front of the door, there was a desk with a lamp lit on it, and a lot of manuscript paper, an ink bottle, and several fountain pens on it. Behind the desk, a person was sitting.

He must be from the Gudu.

When Lu Ban saw that person, such a thought arose in his mind.

The man had meticulously trimmed hair, was of medium build, wore glasses, a well-tailored suit, and his leather shoes were spotless. He held a pen in his hand, seemingly still pondering how to conclude the story on the manuscript in front of him before Lu Ban and the others arrived.

"Please wait a moment, there's just a little bit left before it ends."

His voice was very gentle, like that of a young university lecturer, exuding both friendliness and confidence.

No wonder she's so popular with wealthy women.

Lu Ban thought to himself.

This kind of handsome, artistic young man is probably not the favorite of those middle-aged women. Even naive young girls would probably be easily fooled by such a man.

During the wait, the door was slammed twice more, but the force was obviously much weaker, as if it had been suppressed by something.

After a long while, just as Trist was becoming somewhat impatient, the man finally let out a long sigh and put down his pen.

"The ending is always the hardest to write. Although it's still a little short, there are more important things to do now."

He smiled and then introduced himself.

"Hello, I am Gudu."

The three remained silent for a moment, not out of shock or anything like that, but simply because the system's cold and indifferent words appeared on the basement wall in their field of vision.

[Mission Requirements: Find the missing novelist 1/1]

This is indeed Gudu.

As for the other task, witnessing the ending of the story, it's still unclear how to complete it.

Am I supposed to read the ending of the novel that Gudu just finished writing?

Where exactly are we right now?

Lu Ban couldn't help but ask.

He could, of course, go directly to the Gudu to read the novel, the one featuring them as the main characters, "The Mouth of the Madman," and find out the ending. But his intuition told Lu Ban that if it ended like that, the mission's exploration progress would be very low, and the rewards would be insufficient.

Furthermore, he had not yet found the fragments of Du Danping's Melody Fragment, nor had he fully understood the situation, which was why he asked.

You are now living in a story.

The Gudu speaks frankly.

"Like the priest standing above, he is a character in the story and has only one identity. Therefore, he is a priest. I added a pious character to him, so he is very pious, but he is just a priest, nothing more."

"As for those guys outside, they are just passersby in the story. Their names, family backgrounds, and personalities are irrelevant to the story. Therefore, even if they look different, they all look exactly the same."

He spoke briefly, then looked at Lu Ban and the others.

"As for you, you are the protagonists of the story."