Xiao Lin paid no attention to Simon's gloomy gaze. His tone was gentle, a smile on his face. The only voice in the entire studio was his, calm and unrippled.
"I actually don't read novels much, but I have read some famous thriller works.
"For example, Stephen King's Pet Sematary, Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, Edgar Allan Poe's The Black Cat.
"If you have read them too, you will discover that excellent thriller works always have two important commonalities."
"Is that so? What commonalities?" Simon's voice was somewhat hoarse, but his eyes hid a dangerous depth, as if he would explode at any moment.
But Xiao Lin remained calm and indifferent, his tone even carrying a hint of condescension: "Loss of control and self-destruction.
"The former is the external environment going off script. For example, the death of a daughter, the disappearance of the absolute boundary between life and death, and... killing.
"The latter is internal decay. For example, the desire to resurrect loved ones, mutual suspicion, being driven mad by a cat."
He looked at Simon: "But you have never thought about these. There is no loss of control or self-destruction in your works. You are very amateurish in depicting the relationship between people and the environment.
"In your proudest work, Blood Abyss, you didn't even scare your protagonists. You just killed them.
"So, in my opinion, this story is a very mediocre story."
Lily's face had long been furious. She shouted angrily: "Nonsense! Who allowed you to criticize Mr. Simon?"
"What? Can't Mr. Simon handle criticism from readers?" Xiao Lin glanced at her lightly.
"You..."
Simon grabbed Lily's wrist. His pupils contracted slightly, his chest heaving a bit. He stared at Xiao Lin for a long time before asking: "You... who are you?"
"My name is Xiao Lin. Just a Transcendent who happens to live in the Satellite Town," Xiao Lin said leisurely, carelessly. "Oh right, I quite like that town. If you want to destroy it, I will take revenge on you."
"Do you think you have the ability to take revenge on someone who controls fate?" Simon narrowed his eyes slightly, but this time there was a hint of hesitation in his gaze.
Xiao Lin shrugged: "I don't know. But at least I can make you pay a price. Later, when you think of the Satellite Town, you will think, 'I should have agreed to the negotiation back then.'"
The atmosphere in the room became even heavier. Anyone could hear this was a naked threat.
Simon's hand clenched tightly, a trace of anger surging in his eyes.
But a moment later, that anger vanished, replaced by calmness.
Simon spoke: "I am not unwilling to help you. Unfortunately, you have already touched the manuscript. Once the story has started, it cannot be stopped."
"Is there no room for maneuver?" Bai Xiaoyun asked.
"It's not that there isn't any, it's just not as simple as you think."
Simon looked at the typewriter he used for writing and said softly: "If you need it, I can choose not to write the ending of the Satellite Town story. As long as there is no ending, fate is in your own hands."
Pausing for a moment, Simon continued: "The premise is that you can break the predicament I set. Otherwise, you will still be destroyed."
Bai Xiaoyun sighed lightly, then nodded: "Alright, we can accept this. Thank you, Mr. Simon."
Simon shook his head: "No need to thank me. It was my fault to begin with. Anyway, I hope you can survive."
There was no excessive pleasantries. Afterwards, Bai Xiaoyun stood up, and both parties said goodbye politely.
Simon did not leave the studio to see them off. When the sound of the door closing came from downstairs, Lily gritted her teeth and said: "Those low-class people, how dare they treat you with such an attitude, Mr. Simon! And that Xiao Lin, an arrogant fool who doesn't know the height of the sky and the depth of the earth!"
"Mr. Simon, are we really just letting them go like this?"
Simon signaled her not to get angry. He leaned back in his leather chair and said calmly: "They pose no threat to me. But I don't want them to affect my promotion. Promotion is the most important thing."
"But..."
"Don't worry. They can't win against my story. They are destined to die," Simon said.
Of course, there was one more thing he didn't say. That Transcendent named Xiao Lin—Simon didn't know how strong he was.
But his evaluation just now gave Simon a feeling of being completely seen through. For a moment, he actually lost his composure.
And this was also the main reason he finally agreed to back down.
He was not someone willing to take risks.
"How are the situations in the other six places?" Simon asked Lily.
"The story has started. As long as the people in these seven locations all die, the story will be complete."
Simon smiled with relief, a simple smile full of innocence: "That's good. As long as I can complete this masterpiece involving tens of thousands of people, I should be able to promote smoothly."
"That bastard is a lunatic!" As soon as they left Simon's studio, Lin Niannian couldn't help but curse.
"Alright, alright, don't be angry." Bai Xiaoyun patted Lin Niannian's head, then turned to Xiao Lin. "Mr. Xiao Lin, this time we really owe you."
"That's right. Mr. Xiao Lin, you were so cool. A few sentences and you practically scared that lunatic half to death. It was really amazing!" Lin Niannian's face was also shining. "Mr. Xiao Lin, how exactly did you do it?"
"It's not that I'm amazing. It's just that his writing really isn't that good," Xiao Lin joked.
"Alright, let's log off first. Although the biggest crisis is resolved, Simon's methods won't be easily broken. We still need to be prepared."
Then Bai Xiaoyun and Lin Niannian logged off. Xiao Lin also planned to log off with them.
But just as he was about to silently chant 'log off', suddenly, the scene before his eyes began to flicker like a glitch.
Xiao Lin blinked. The flickering stopped, but before he knew it, a pitch-black color block appeared before his eyes.
It just floated there, looking abrupt and ferocious.
Then, a line of twisted scarlet text appeared on the color block.
"Who... are you?"
Xiao Lin gazed at the scarlet text, frowning slightly. He looked towards the distance of the city. That colossal black wall was still standing there, reaching from the ground to the sky.
Xiao Lin ignored this message and chose to log off directly.