The motel room was small and simple. The moonlight filtered through the cracks in the worn curtains and cast a thin silver line on the floor. It was completely silent except for the occasional chirping of cicadas outside the window.
Bai Haorui sat cross-legged on the bed, his eyes slightly closed, and his whole body was enveloped by a faint purple-gold halo. True Gang was like a living stream, flowing slowly through his meridians, nourishing his internal organs and limbs. The Lotus Seal between his eyebrows flickered slightly, echoing the True Gang all over his body.
Suddenly, an indescribable force came out of nowhere.
Without any warning, without any sound, the whole world was frozen instantly.
The cicadas chirping outside the window suddenly stopped. The dust suspended in the air froze in place, as if embedded in transparent amber. Bai Haorui The True Gang flowing around him also suddenly stopped flowing and solidified into translucent purple glass, with even the smallest ripples disappearing.
The whole world is left with only the dead silence of time.
There is only one being who is not bound by this absolute stillness.
Chuck Shurley's figure appeared silently in the center of the room. He was wearing a plaid shirt that had been washed white, and there were a few cookie crumbs on his jeans, and he was holding a half-eaten chocolate chip cookie in his hand. He yawned, looked around sleepily, and then circled around Bai Haorui with great interest.
He stretched out his finger and gently poked the frozen True Gang around Bai Haorui. A cold and hard touch came from his fingertips, and he raised his eyebrows.
"Interesting, is this cultivation?" He said to himself, his tone full of curiosity, "It seems much more difficult than writing a novel."
He put away the cookies and stretched out his right hand. An invisible force that contained the entire law of the universe shot out from his fingertips, stabbing accurately into the depths of Bai Haorui's soul. He wanted to poach everything in Bai Haorui's mind. There is the memory of "I am God". This variable from the East has exceeded his script too much. He cannot let him reveal his identity in advance and disrupt his carefully choreographed Apocalypse drama.
However, at the moment when the power was about to touch Bai Haorui's soul, the crimson Lotus Seal between his eyebrows suddenly burst out with dazzling light.
"Boom--"
It was as if a volcano that had been sleeping for thousands of years was awakening in Bai Haorui's body. Nezha's Samadhi True Fire embers burned instantly and turned into a red wall of fire, blocking Before the soul of Bai Haorui, as soon as the power from God came into contact with Samadhi True Fire, it was like ice and snow meeting the scorching sun, and was instantly burned away without leaving even a trace.
Chuck The carelessness on his face disappeared, replaced by a trace of genuine surprise.
"Oh? What kind of power is this?" He frowned and carefully looked at Lotus Seal between Bai Haorui's eyebrows, "That guy has been gone for so long, but he still has such a strong power left? It's incredible."
He did not believe in evil, so he tried several more times. Each time he tried harder, and each time contained more powerful power. But every time, his power was blocked by the seemingly weak, but indestructible red flame. Samadhi True Fire is the most pure flame between heaven and earth. It can burn all illusions and purify all evil spirits. Even the power of God cannot easily penetrate its protection.
Chuck smacked his lips impatiently. Of course he could use brute force to directly break this layer of flames and forcibly modify Bai Haorui's memory. But that would make too much noise. He had just hidden this universe, so forget it.
"Forget it, if you can't dig it out, then you can't dig it out." He waved his hand and said nonchalantly, "Anyway, as long as you don't let him tell others. Since I can't change you, then I will change the rules of this world."
He snapped his fingers.
An invisible wave spread with him as the center, like a pebble thrown into a lake, sweeping across the entire universe in an instant. This wave modified the most basic language rules, but it only took effect on one person and one topic.
"From now on, whenever this guy tries to say anything about me to anyone, it will automatically turn into outrageous, funny nonsense." Chuck nodded with satisfaction and clapped his hands, "And he himself will never realize what he said wrong. Perfect."
He glanced again at Bai Haorui, who was still frozen in time, with a complex emotion flashing in his eyes. Then, he turned around and disappeared as silently as he had appeared.
The next second, time resumed its flow.
The cicadas chirped outside the window again. The dust continued to fall slowly. The True Gang around Bai Haorui also resumed its circulation and turned into a smart purple-gold stream again.
Bai Haorui opened his eyes suddenly, his pupils shrank suddenly, and he clenched his fists subconsciously.
Just now... it seemed like something had come.
It is a feeling of insignificance that one would have when facing the vast starry sky and the endless universe, and a feeling of powerlessness when facing absolute power.
But he couldn't remember anything.
There was no sound, no figure, no trace. It was as if everything just now was just an illusion caused by him meditating for too long.
Bai Haorui frowned and raised his hand to touch the center of his eyebrows. Lotus Seal there had returned to calmness, with only a faint burning sensation remaining, proving that everything that had just happened was real.
He carefully checked his body and soul. His cultivation was functioning normally, his memory was intact, and his soul had no trace of being touched. Nothing was missing, nothing had changed.
"What happened just now?" He whispered to himself, frowning even more tightly, "Why am I so panicked? It seems like there is something very important... that I missed."
He shook his head, trying to get rid of the inexplicable feeling of uneasiness. But that feeling was like a thorn, piercing deeply into his heart and lingering.
At the same time, in a dilapidated hut outside the city, Chuck was sleeping slumped on a worn-out fabric sofa. There were a few pages of the manuscript he had just finished pressing on his chest, and there were some crumbs of chocolate chip cookies stuck to the corners of his mouth. Under the dim light, his brows were furrowed, and there was a thin layer of cold sweat on his forehead. He was obviously having a nightmare.
Dreams are fragmented and chaotic.
He saw the backs of Sam and Dean leaning against Impala's car. The setting sun stretched their shadows very long.
He saw Dean wielding a machete and slashing at a ferocious-looking demon, with black blood splattering all over his face.
He saw Bai Haorui, who was wearing a black hoodie, holding a mahogany sword, with purple-gold flames burning all over his body. A red lotus shadow flashed in the flames, and he looked ahead with cold eyes.
He saw his side face sitting in front of the computer typing, looking tired and desperate.
Finally, he saw the outline of a woman covered in fire, standing among the burning ruins, showing him a strange smile.
"Ah--"
Chuck twitched violently and murmured inarticulately. He turned over and the manuscript on his chest fell to the ground. The papers were scattered, and the last page was facing up, with scrawled writing on it. "Three strangers walked into the comic book store..."
The next morning, the sun was shining brightly. The glass windows of the "Wonderland" comic book store were polished, and the sun shone in through the windows, illuminating the colorful comic books and figures on the wall. The air was filled with the unique smell of paper, ink and old books.
The wind chime on the door rang.
Dean, Sam and Bai Haorui walked in. The three of them were wearing crisply ironed black suits, dark long trench coats, and fake FBI badges on their chests. Their expressions were serious and their steps were steady, which seemed a little out of place for this place full of childlike fun and fantasy.
Bai Haorui walked at the end. He was still worried about what happened in the morning, his eyes drifted out of the window from time to time, and his fingers unconsciously rubbed his cuffs. That inexplicable feeling of uneasiness kept lingering around him, keeping his spirit in a state of tension.
Sitting behind the counter was an unremarkable young man, who looked to be in his twenties, wearing a pair of black-rimmed glasses, messy hair, and a T-shirt with the "Star Wars" logo printed on it. He was looking down at a comic book, and when he heard the doorbell, he raised his head and pushed his glasses up to the tip of his nose, with a trace of confusion on his face.
"Um... is there anything I can do for you?" he asked, with a hint of caution in his tone.
Dean stepped forward and showed his badge. "Agent DeYoung. These are my colleagues Agent Shaw and Agent Lee. Let's ask a few questions."
Sam nodded and asked, "Has anything strange happened in this building in the past few days?"
The man at the counter raised his eyebrows. "For example?"
"Have any residents reported that the lights are flickering?" Dean asked.
The man at the counter shook his head. "No. What's wrong?"
"What about the sound?" Sam then asked, "Is there any rustling sound in the wall? Like a rat?"
The man at the counter looked them up and down suspiciously, with a playful smile on his lips. "Federal Bureau of Investigation still cares about the rat problem?"
Dean and Sam looked at each other, both feeling a little embarrassed.
At this moment, Bai Haorui retracted his gaze from the window and looked at the man at the counter. His eyes were like an eagle, as if he could see through people's hearts. The man at the counter felt a little uncomfortable when he looked at him, so he subconsciously looked away and scratched his cheek.
Bai Haorui's voice was low and calm, but there was no doubt about it. "Have you felt the temperature suddenly drop? Or... something is staring at you?"
The man at the counter was stunned for a moment, then suddenly grinned and slapped the counter hard.
"Hahahaha! I knew it!" He laughed so hard, "You are playing a real-life role-playing game, right? It's so similar! This costume and expression are simply professional!"
Dean frowned, looking confused. "What?"
"You are fans." The man at the counter said affirmatively.
Sam also looked confused. "A fan of what?"
"What is 'LARPing'?" Dean asked.
The man at the counter smiled even brighter. "It's quite pretending." He saw that the three of them were really confused and didn't seem to be pretending, so he suppressed his smile and explained, "A live-action role-playing game! It's about playing the characters in books or movies and recreating the plot in reality. You guys are quite involved in the game."
"Sorry, I have no idea what you are talking about." Dean said seriously.
"Come on." The man at the counter waved his hand, "The questions you ask are as if this building is haunted. Just like the people in those books. What are their names? Oh, by the way, "Supernatural"! Two guys, using rock star names as fake identities, hunt ghosts, demons, and vampires. They What are they called? Steve and Dirk? No, no. Oh! Thrall and Dane? No, no." He patted his forehead and suddenly realized, "Sam and Dean! Yes! That's it!"
Sam's pupils shrank slightly, and his tone instantly became urgent. "Sam and Dean?"
"Yes! That's it!" The man at the counter snapped his fingers and said proudly.
Dean The confusion on his face disappeared instantly and was replaced by incredible shock. He opened his mouth and was speechless for a long time. "You mean... this is a book?"
"It's a series of books." The man at the counter corrected, "But it didn't sell well, and there are only a handful of underground fans. It's very underground, and almost no one has read it. I'm sorry." He shrugged, turned around, walked to the table marked "Specials", and began to sort out the books on it.
Dean and Sam looked at each other and saw the same shock and fear in each other's eyes.
Their life... is a book?
At this moment, Bai Haorui seemed to have a lightning strike in his mind.
The unparalleled power in the morning, the residual burning feeling between the eyebrows, and the book in front of them that recorded their entire lives... all the fragments were put together at this moment, forming an extremely clear answer.
So that's it.
That's it!
It's God.
It was God, who created this world and wrote all the scripts, who couldn't help but want to play it by himself. He pretended to be a frustrated writer, hid behind the scenes, watched their struggles and pain with cold eyes, and used their lives as a tool for pleasure.
Bai Haorui He raised his head suddenly and looked at Dean and Sam, his eyes full of determination and eagerness. He had to tell them the truth. After being together for so long, they had become brothers of life and death. He could not watch them being kept in the dark and continue to be played by the cruel creator.
"Dean, Sam, listen to me!" Bai Haorui said eagerly, "This author--"
To Dean and Sam, what he said was, "Dean, Sam, listen to me, this author ate three bowls of fried noodles yesterday and added two braised eggs!"
Dean and Sam turned their heads at the same time, looking at him inexplicably.
Dean:"... Huh?"
Sam:"Haorui, are you okay?"
Bai Haorui was stunned.
What he clearly said was, "The author is God, he created this world, and you are just toys for him to pass the time." Why did they react this way?
What's going on?
What did I just say?
Bai Haorui's mind went blank. He clearly remembered what he was thinking and what he said. But the reactions of Dean and Sam clearly told him that what he said was completely different from what he thought.
He frowned and decided to try again. This time, he spoke very clearly and seriously, word for word.
"I mean, this author is not an ordinary person at all, he--"
To Dean and Sam, what he said was, "I mean, this author is not an ordinary person at all. He can belly dance and perform fire hoops!"
Dean:"What the hell?"
Sam looked at him worriedly and reached out to touch his forehead. "Haorui, is there something wrong with your cultivation? Why did you start talking nonsense?"
Bai Haorui's heart sank suddenly.
Twice.
Twice.
He finally realized something was wrong.
The God who appeared in his room that morning did not modify his memory or delete the truth he knew. He changed the laws of this world so that he could never tell the truth.
As long as he tries to say anything about "Chuck is God", his words will automatically be converted into meaningless nonsense. And he himself, at the moment he speaks, is completely unaware of what he said wrong. Only after hearing other people's reactions, he will be horrified to find that what he said is completely different from what he thinks in his heart.
Bai Haorui opened his mouth and wanted to try again. But looking at the worried expressions of the two people, he finally swallowed his words.
Trying again will be in vain. It will only make them feel that they are really crazy.
"... It's okay." Bai Haorui lowered his head and said in a hoarse voice, "Maybe I'm too tired."
He turned around and looked out the window. The sun was dazzling, but he felt cold all over.
It turns out that the great screenwriter really came here.
He was standing in front of him, looking at himself, playing with himself. But he couldn't even see his figure.
Bai Haorui clenched his fists tightly, his nails dug deeply into his palms, and blood slowly dripped down his fingers.
It doesn't matter.
He said to himself in his heart.
It doesn't matter if I can't say it.
As long as I know it myself.
One day I will find a way to break your rules.
One day, I will make you pay for what you did today.
"By the way," the man at the counter suddenly remembered something and turned around and said, "We also have a fan website. There are Sam fans, Dean fans, Bai fans, and many fans who write fan fiction. The writing is very good, much more exciting than the original work."
Dean heard the word "fanwen" and immediately showed a disgusting expression on his face. "Fanwen? What the hell is that?"
Sam coughed awkwardly and explained in a low voice, "It's... a story about the character written by the fans themselves."
"What?" Dean's eyes widened, "They wrote about us? Why did they write about us?"
"Uh... write everything." Sam said vaguely.
Bai Haorui stood aside with no expression on his face, but he was thinking crazily about what had just happened. He wanted to speak several times, to remind them to be careful about the author, but when the words reached his lips, he swallowed them back. He knew that if he tried again, he would only say more outrageous nonsense.
After coming out of the comic book store, the three of them got on the ground without saying a word. Impala. Dean stepped on the accelerator, and the car roared and sped away.
The atmosphere inside the car was even more depressing than before.
"This is impossible." Dean broke the silence and said dryly, "This is absolutely impossible. How can our life be a book?"
"But everything he said was right." Sam whispered, "Fake identities, hunting monsters... he was right about everything."
Bai Haorui sat in the back seat, watching the scenery passing by quickly outside the window without saying a word. He knew that this was just the beginning. The more cruel truth was still waiting for them behind.
"We must find this author." Dean took a deep breath and said firmly, "No matter who he is, no matter how he did it, we must find him."
Sam nodded. "The comic shop owner said that these books were published by 'Graystone' publishing house. Let's go there and ask."
Twenty minutes later, Impala stopped in front of an old office building. The three of them got out of the car and walked into the building.
"Graystone" publishing house is on the third floor. The office is small and crowded, filled with cardboard boxes and unsold books. The air is filled with the smell of paper, ink and dust. A woman in black business attire is sitting behind the desk. She looks to be in her thirties. She has thick dark circles under her eyes, her hair is messy, and she looks exhausted. She is rubbing her temples and sighing at the computer screen.
Hearing the footsteps, she raised her head and saw the three of them, with a professional smile on her face. "Hello, how can I help you?"
"We want to find Carver Ed Lund." Dean said.
The smile on the woman's face disappeared instantly. She leaned back in her chair, spread her hands, and said helplessly, "Listen, I appreciate your enthusiasm. Really. But the "Supernatural" series has been stopped. Carver·Ed Lund is no longer writing."
"Why?" Dean leaned forward slightly and asked.
"Why?" the woman laughed bitterly, "because no one buys it. What is popular now is "Dr. Sexy" (Dr. Sexy, MD). What people want is a handsome doctor and romantic love, not three dirty demon hunters who go around killing ghosts. The sales of "Supernatural" are so poor that the publishing house is almost overwhelmed by it."
Sam said in a serious tone, "We need to find Carver Ed Lund. This is very important."
The woman narrowed her eyes suspiciously and looked them up and down. "Are you his fans?"
Dean said without hesitation, "We are his big fans. We know every detail in his books. For example, in the third book, Dean is attacked by a Shapeshifter at a gas station, and he stabs it through the heart with a silver dagger."
"And the fifth one," Sam continued, "Sam is in a haunted mental hospital where he has to fight the ghost of a 19th-century doctor who liked to perform lobotomies on his patients."
Bai Haorui also said, "In the seventh book, they met a witch who could control the weather in a small town. The witch destroyed half of the town with a tornado, and finally Bai Haorui burned her to death with Pure Yang True Fire."
The woman's eyes suddenly opened wide. She leaned forward and looked at the three of them carefully. The suspicion on her face turned into unbelievable shock. She opened her mouth and was speechless for a long time.
"My God..." she murmured to herself, "I have never seen such enthusiastic fans. Even I, the editor, may not remember these details."