The Xiao Clan ancestral home's meeting hall had become a makeshift command center. Real-time footage from across the Douqi Continent flickered across the holographic projection. Xiao Feng stared at the screen, pinching the bridge of his nose. In the northwestern desert, some "creator" had roasted a gigantic skewer of mutton over Heavenly Flames, sending up thick black smoke and attracting every magical beast within a hundred miles with its aroma. In the eastern forest, the ancient divine beast Moo-Moo, who loved telling corny jokes, had wrapped its tail around an author and was forcing him to listen to its latest material.
"Report, Clan Chief!" A Xiao Clan disciple rushed in, the smartwatch in his hand flashing red. "The Jia Ma Empire has issued a 'story repetition rate exceeded' warning. Three villages have come up with the same 'good-for-nothing rises to greatness' template story, causing an energy surge!"
Xiao Zhan tapped the quantum communicator on the table, his voice steady. "Activate the Plot Harmonization Project. Send alchemists over to stabilize the energy with pills. Then have the publicity team tell everyone that innovation earns rewards!" He turned to Xiao Feng. "Feng'er, when will that Creative Filtering System you redeemed be ready?"
"I'm calibrating it." Xiao Feng stared at the flickering code in his system space, then suddenly noticed something was wrong. The administrator, who should have been on Earth, had appeared in the lower-right corner of the screen, secretly adding a "forced villain redemption" setting to a village. "Oh no! The administrator's up to something!"
Xiao Yan immediately summoned Flame Emperor Fire, preparing to track him through the network, but the system notifications started flashing wildly:
Ding! Cross-world author intrusion detected! One hundred authors from Earth's webnovel scene have entered the Douqi Continent through the Inspiration Channel! Warning! Some authors are carrying untested system patches. Plane stability has dropped to 30%!
The portal in the meeting hall suddenly exploded open, and dozens of figures tumbled to the floor. At their head was a middle-aged man wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with "Platinum Great God." He was still clutching a half-finished coffee. "Clan Chief Xiao! It's an honor to meet you! We're here to help!" The young authors behind him brandished all sorts of bizarre gadgets. One held a Plot Twist Hammer, another carried a Cheat Launcher.
"Help?" Xiao Feng watched as one author casually tossed out a Long Aotian Template, setting off a small explosion on the floor. "You're making things worse!"
The Platinum Great God gave an awkward smile and pulled out a tablet to show them the backend data. "Don't get the wrong idea! We've brought the most popular settings, selected by Earth's readers. For example, this Ten Thousand Times Return System Enhanced Edition, and the Villain Dies of Talking Too Much Corrector..."
Before he could finish, a deafening rumble came from outside. Everyone rushed to the window and saw the gigantic words "To Be Continued" floating in the sky, continuously absorbing the world's energy. Below them, countless authors holding keyboards shouted, "Update! Update!"
"This is Obsession with Unfinished Endings made manifest!" Xiao Yan cried. "We have to break this cycle!"
Xiao Feng suddenly remembered the Plot Tree in the Creation God's room and immediately brought up a projection. "Everyone, look! All this chaos comes from conflicting plot points. We need to untangle the storylines and weave these ideas into a complete world!" He pointed to a speck of light. "Like this Gourmet Cultivation System. It could easily be combined with the Alchemist Guild!"
The Platinum Great God's eyes lit up. He snatched the stylus and began sketching on the projection. "Exactly! Add a setting where eating spicy food boosts Fire Attribute Dou Qi, and it'll be a guaranteed hit!" The other authors joined the discussion, too. One suggested making the ancient divine beast a "plot NPC," while another came up with a mechanism where "reader votes influence the direction of the story."
As everyone brainstormed, the administrator's virtual projection suddenly appeared, instant noodles in hand. "Hmph. You think this will solve anything? Behold my ultimate move—" He pressed the remote, and the words "To Be Continued" in the sky suddenly changed to "This Book Has Been Taken Down." The entire world began to warp.
"System! Redeem the Reader Faith Power Amplifier!" Xiao Feng shouted. Comments from countless Earth readers turned into a golden torrent and poured into the Douqi Continent. On-screen messages reading "Xiao Zhan Is the Best" and "We Support the Xiao Clan" formed a shield, blocking the threat of "This Book Has Been Taken Down."
Xiao Yan seized the opportunity and charged at the administrator's projection. Flame Emperor Fire transformed into a network cable and coiled around him. "Why are you causing trouble?"
"Because..." The administrator's voice suddenly grew dejected, and the bowl of instant noodles slipped from his hands. "I was an author before I became an administrator. I used to have wild ideas, too. But reality taught me that only formulas make money, and only outlines keep things stable. I didn't want you to end up the same way..."
Xiao Zhan stepped forward and patted the projection on the shoulder. "But it's the stories that break the mold that truly touch people's hearts. Do you remember the first story you wrote? The one about dreams and freedom?"
The administrator's projection flickered a few times, then gave a bitter smile. "It's been a long time since anyone brought that up... All right. I'll help you." He waved away all the malicious settings, then pulled out a USB drive. "This is the Plot Fusion Patch 2.0. It should fix the problem."
As the patch entered the world's core, the chaos in the sky gradually subsided. In the Xiao Clan meeting hall, Xiao Feng, Xiao Yan, and the authors from Earth clinked glasses in celebration—of soda brewed with Dou Qi. The system chimed:
Ding! BUG crisis successfully resolved. Achievement unlocked: "Cross-World Co-Creation"! Reward: "Unlimited Imagination" permission (freely create any setting); "Blessing of the Reader God" (your work naturally receives a 90% approval rating).
Remaining word count: 1,204,867 - 2,700 = 1,202,167 words
Suddenly, a melodious song drifted over from afar. It was the Xiao Clan War Song, adapted by the Xiao Clan disciples. Through the portal, they could even see countless fans cheering and waving Xiao Clan banners at a convention on Earth.
Watching the lively scene, the Platinum Great God said with feeling, "Maybe it's time we believed that a good story was never meant to be boxed in by an outline."
Xiao Feng smiled, opened the Plane Shop, and entered a new redemption request. "Next stop: we're building a 'story network' that connects every plane. System, redeem the Multiverse Router!"
Before you continue