Finishing the book means death; I abandoned the whole world.

The streets became even more eerie. In less than a day, many building details were missing. The buildings in the distance looked like low-poly 3D models, and only when you got closer did you see the detailed textures, as if the author was too lazy to describe them.

"Is this what the apocalypse looks like now?" Yong kicked a soda can on the ground. No sound was made, but a line of text popped up: "[The soda can was kicked away with a crisp sound.]"

"Words take precedence over reality." Ye Tian floated to the front. "Lord Wang once said that the degree of completion determines the degree of reality, and right now the whole world seems to be in a state of low completion."

They walked along the street and turned a corner when Yong heard screams, desperate cries, and something being dragged along the ground.

"Something's up!" Yong-ge quickened his pace.

Ahead was the lobby of a bank, bulletproof glass shattered everywhere, a corpse lay at the entrance, and a fading human silhouette gradually disappeared.

Inside the hall, a dozen or so people huddled in a corner. They all looked like ordinary people, holding cell phones, bags, wooden sticks, and anything else that could be used as a weapon.

They were facing an indescribable monster.

The monster was pieced together from countless words like "sacrifice," "dedication," and "boundless love," with glittering golden characters floating on its surface. It had no fixed shape, sometimes resembling a statue of the Virgin Mary, and sometimes like a tentacle monster, with the protruding tip wrapped around a boy's neck.

The boy was about sixteen or seventeen years old, his face was purple, and he was desperately trying to pry open the "tentacles" on his neck with both hands, but the tentacles made of words were getting tighter and tighter.

"Little brother!" a woman in a white dress cried out, clutching a blood-stained rag doll in her arms. She tried to rush forward, but was held back tightly by those around her. "Let go of me! Let me go save him!"

"Sister Lin! No! You'll just be throwing your life away if you go up there!" The person who grabbed her was a young girl wearing glasses, who was also trembling.

"That thing, that thing eats people! Little Zhang already..."

"What are we going to do?! Watch him die?! Are we going to watch my brother die?!" The woman in white, Lin Ruyan, turned her head, her face streaked with tears and filled with madness. "You cowards! You're just going to watch?!"

She looked around, her gaze sweeping over everyone huddled in the corner: "Are you even men?! He's only sixteen! He needs someone to stand up for him!!"

Her gaze suddenly stopped at the entrance to the hall.

Yong stood there, holding the red fountain pen in his hand, the pen barrel gleaming faintly red in the dim light.

"You!" Lin Ruyan froze, then clung to it like a lifeline. "What's that in your hand? A glowing weapon?! Quick! Go save my brother! Go now!"

Yong Ge didn't move, he just quietly watched the monster, the boy who was being entangled, and the chaotic scene in the hall.

"Hurry up! What are you standing there for?! Go save them, are you even human?!" Lin Ruyan screamed.

"I'm observing this beautiful lady." Brother Yong carefully observed this new type of monster.

"Observation?" Lin Ruyan broke down. She rushed towards Yong Ge, grabbing his clothes. "My brother is dying! And you're telling me to observe him?! You heartless person! Why didn't you come sooner! What were you doing out there?! Are you just going to watch us die now?!"

"Hello, beautiful lady, may I ask your name?"

"Lin Ruyan!"

"Oh, Ms. Ruyan, look, your brother is still in the monster's hands. Whether he lives or dies has nothing to do with me. You should go and beg the monster to release your brother. If your brother is saved because of my help, then it can only mean that I have a compassionate heart and am saving all sentient beings. So, shall we continue chatting? Or should you go and plead with the monster?"

Liu Tianyong looked at Lin Ruyan with excitement. As expected of the Great Emperor Ruyan, he finally saw her in person.

Lin Ruyan released Yong Ge's clothes and glared at him.

Ye Tian's voice echoed in her mind: "Author, something's strange about this. This kind of monster that embodies moral blackmail shouldn't appear on its own. It's different from other monsters. Only when someone deliberately uses their authorship to morally blackmail others can it become a colossus. And this kind of author has to be someone who writes stories about saintly healing."

Yong shook his head, memorizing Ye Tian's words. He picked up a red pen and wrote in the air: "The ground beneath the monster's feet suddenly became as smooth as a mirror; it couldn't stand up at all."

The words fell and seeped into the ground. The monster composed of "dedication" and "sacrifice" immediately slipped, and the tentacles that were wrapped around the boy loosened for a moment.

It was in that very moment.

Ye Tian's figure solidified, a gray light streaking through the air, leaving a strikethrough line on the monster's body. The monster let out a silent shriek, and parts of its body began to disintegrate.

But it didn't die, it was only weakened. The golden words surged angrily, coalesced again, and turned towards Yong Ge.

Lin Ruyan's eyes widened, then she burst into wild joy: "You can save him! Quick! Kill this monster! Write it to death!"

Yong took a step back, avoiding the monster's swung tentacles.

"It's not that simple. This thing seems to have a high narrative weight. It's a monster that embodies some kind of collective morality. Killing it directly would consume too much narrative weight," Ye Tian explained from the side.

"Then what do you want?!" Lin Ruyan cried and laughed at the same time.

"You have this ability! You should bear the corresponding responsibility! You could have saved everyone! Why didn't you come sooner! If you had come sooner, Xiao Zhang wouldn't have died!"

"I wouldn't have come earlier because I didn't know there were people here." While dodging the monster's attacks, Yong wrote in the air: [This monster's movement speed reduced by 50%.]

The monster slowed down, as if it were stuck in a swamp.

"Moreover," Yong said, looking at the boy who was already on the verge of death, "even if I had come sooner, I might not have been able to save him."

"What did you say?!" Lin Wanqing was stunned, as if struck by lightning.

"I said, I might not save him," Yong repeated, his voice unusually clear amidst the monster's low growl.

"Your brother's current situation, and the death of that 'Little Zhang' over there, are largely because of you."

"You're talking nonsense! How could it be because of me?!"

"Oh? Then where did this monster come from? It's the embodiment of moral blackmail! Anyone with eyes can see who's morally blackmailing the others among everyone here."

As Yong Ge spoke, he wrote down: "[The monster is temporarily blind] The golden text on the monster's surface became garbled."

Ye Tian then added from the side, "Sister Ruyan, you're an author too, right? An author who writes healing novels, right? Aren't you all best at creating tragic heroine characters? Are you waiting for everyone around you to die before you complete your character?"

"Oh, Little Tian, ​​you know so much! You're making Sister Ruyan feel really awkward. No wonder Old Deng told me to ask you more questions. Besides, Sister Ruyan, morality is for self-discipline, not for manipulating others."

Lin Ruyan's face changed, turning from deathly pale to ashen.

Yong walked over to the loosened boy, knelt down to check his injuries. There were deep marks on the boy's neck, and his breathing was weak, but he was still alive.

Yong Ge stood up and looked at the other terrified people in the hall: "You all received the notification of the apocalypse's rules, right? Why didn't you use your abilities as authors or readers? All you know is to hide, wait to die, and obey this woman's orders to 'sacrifice' yourselves?"

The people in the hall were filled with mixed emotions and didn't know how to answer for a moment. Only the monster, affected by its blindness and reduced speed, was still baring its teeth and claws, though it looked rather cute.

The girl with glasses said timidly, "We...we're just ordinary people. We have no idea what 'imagination levels,' 'authors,' or 'readers' are, let alone how to use them."

"Well, that's normal. It's been less than a day, so it's normal that you guys haven't figured it out yet. Not everyone has a failed tutor like me..." Yong slapped his forehead.

He turned to Lin Ruyan: "You're different, Sister Ruyan. You know the rules, and you know how to use them, but you chose to let others die so you could become stronger. You used your immorality to hold other people's morality hostage."

"I didn't!" Lin Ruyan screamed, "I was trying to save everyone! Otherwise, we would all die!"

"Yes! She's morally blackmailing us! She keeps urging us to fight the monster and save people!" the girl with glasses shouted, jumping out.

The others seemed to realize this at that moment and echoed each other.

Lin Ruyan's face changed from ashen to flushed. She looked at the rag doll in her arms with her head down, and an exaggerated smile appeared on her lips.