Fantasy Writers 1860

"Uh..." Dorian watched as Lily typed on the typewriter in a similar way to him, each letter being struck onto the paper.

For some reason, he immediately noticed the phrase, "...the appearance is good, but the taste is too fishy. After testing, I found the taste unacceptable..."

Although he knew it was unlikely, Dorian still pictured Lily dressed in an incredibly formal gown, earnestly savoring the dog food, carefully chewing and appreciating it before writing this review...

"You're here to report a lead, right?" Lily interrupted Dorian's unfounded speculation.

Her hands didn't stop; although she was asking a question, she didn't seem to have any doubts at all, but rather seemed to be confirming something.

"Yes..." Dorian didn't know why the other party was so sure that he had come to report some clue.

Could it be that she used some kind of divination magic to predict it?

Seeing that Lily wasn't going to continue the conversation, Dorian began to report his leads:

"The day you came to save me, it was the Blue Blood Gang coming to collect a debt. Yesterday I heard they started hunting me down. It's unlikely to be because of the small amount of money I owe; it's probably because they found out about what happened that day, that I have some connection with Huan Shu."

During Dorian's report, Lily kept her eyes glued to the paper as she typed, her speed increasing rapidly until she was almost as fast as she had been that day.

She didn't stop until Dorian finished speaking, then removed the paper from the typewriter and replaced it with new blank paper.

"Your guess is correct." Lily stopped typing and finally looked at Dorian. "Coincidentally, I've been investigating a case of smuggling magical books recently, and the last clue disappeared in the Sheffield District. I suspect that's where they were distributed."

Isn't that just a coincidence?

"Looking at it this way, the Blue Blood Gang is really suspicious. Since they're looking for me now, why don't I act as bait, lure them out, and then wipe them all out in one fell swoop?" Dorian said enthusiastically.

Lily was about to get up, but after hearing Dorian's words, she slowly sat back down.

"This could be dangerous. Aren't you scared?"

"A little, but I believe everyone at the Academy of Literature and Art can handle it," Dorian said frankly.

He originally came here seeking official assistance.

But then I thought, you can only be a thief for a thousand days, how can you guard against thieves for a thousand days? You can't expect the Academy of Literature to assign you a bodyguard to watch over you around the clock, can you?

It would be better to solve the problem once and for all by luring the snake out of its hole and catching them all in one fell swoop, thus addressing the security issue at its source.

There could indeed be some risks involved; if the Taiwan Creative Content Agency acts recklessly, they might be the ones to be sacrificed.

However, Dorian did not believe that the Creative Content Agency would act inhumanely.

Although he has only been working here for a short time, he has already consciously interacted with both the clerical staff in the office and the field personnel who frequently appear at the training ground, and the atmosphere he has felt is harmonious.

In his past life, he had actually worked on projects where the leaders and colleagues were inhumane, so he could understand the differences in team atmosphere.

"Watch your words. It's not bait, it's a trap." Lily adjusted the brim of her hat. "A bait passively waits to be caught, but a trap actively tightens."

After hearing Dorian's reply, she no longer hesitated, stood up straight, and took a small cloak from a public coat rack behind her:

Polina.

"Hey, big sister, are we heading out to see the play?" Lily had barely finished speaking when Polina appeared out of nowhere.

Lily's silk hat seemed to move almost imperceptibly, and the corner of her mouth dropped by a pixel.

Even such a subtle reaction seemed to be completely analyzed by Polina, who let out a wail: "Eh—could it be work? That can't be! Didn't I buy tickets for this afternoon's 'Voice of Janus'? Is there any way I can make it in time?"

"I'm sorry." Lily pulled her hat brim down slightly, her gaze lowered. "I'll do my best."

"It's okay, big sister. Even if it's a mission, Polina is happy as long as I can be with you." She skipped over and took Lily's arm. "Let's just consider it a date o(*////▽////*)q".

Lily remained unfazed, as if she were already used to this kind of scene. She completely ignored Polina and turned to Dorian behind her: "You come too."

Polina: ? ? ! !

Her eyes widened suddenly, and she hugged Lily's arm even tighter, looking at Dorian warily as if he were some uninvited guest trying to trespass on her territory.

"Huh?! Why?! Big sister! This is our date! How can there be a third person here?!"

"We need his assistance." Lily's tone was businesslike, revealing no emotional fluctuation.

"But..." Polina's voice trailed off, her lips pouting pitifully. She stole a glance at Lily's still expressionless profile, then quickly glared at the innocent-looking Dorian.

Dorian naturally felt the intense gaze upon him.

It just felt a bit too hot, like it was going to roast him.

"Him?" Polina looked incredulous, pointing at Dorian with suspicion and dissatisfaction. "What help can a newcomer who hasn't been with us for long be? If something happens, we'll have to take time off to protect him."

Lily seemed to have anticipated Polina's reaction, and she calmly explained, "We need him to help us set a 'trap'."

Then she gently patted Polina's hand that was wrapped around her arm, as if to comfort her, "Mission first."

……

And so, Dorian, Lily, and Polina set off together. Following Lily's instructions, and with Dorian leading the way, they headed towards the intersection where they had been stopped and confronted for debts that night.

On the way, Lily began to introduce the characters involved:

"A renowned bibliophile from the Republic of Iris was assassinated, and the investigation team discovered that a large number of phantom books had gone missing. After tracing the source, some of them were smuggled to our location."

"Among them is a commentary on the Wheel of Fortune (Liber Rotae Fortunae). According to records, its effect is to write one's destiny."

"Is this... really that outrageous?" Dorian was slightly taken aback. Such an outrageous item, and the authorities didn't even bother to regulate it? It just fell into the hands of gangsters so easily?

"It's not as exaggerated as you think." Seeing Dorian's bewildered expression, Polina first glanced at him dismissively, then added:

"These seemingly powerful grimoires usually have equally powerful weaknesses or narrow applications. Plus, after being copied countless times, they've long lost their power. The truly dangerous and powerful grimoires, the originals, are all well-preserved and kept in official organizations in various countries."

The world still has a good matchmaking and balancing mechanism, otherwise it would have been in chaos long ago.

"Wait, official organizations from various countries? So the investigation team we were talking about earlier wasn't from our Cultural and Creative Industries Institute?" Dorian noticed this.

"Of course not, we don't have that much power." Polina rolled her eyes at Dorian. "Each country has its own organization for managing magical books, such as the Pantheon Meeting of the Republic of the Iris, the National Cultural Promotion Foundation of the Federation of America, and the Imperial Academy of the Eastern Shun Kingdom..."

Shun Kingdom?

Dorian was taken aback. Shouldn't it be the Qing Dynasty?

Did Li Zicheng defeat Nurhaci in this world?

"Yes, the idea of ​​'writing destiny' isn't entirely accurate," Lily quickly steered the conversation back on track. "To be precise, it simply locks onto the user's target and forcibly fixes them at a certain point in the Wheel of Fortune system within the book."

"All destiny lies in the wheel (Omnia fata in rota fortunae versantur)," Lily said in a somewhat mystical tone, referring to this ancient Latin phrase. "It first selects the future that is most logically consistent with the target's current behavior, and users often mistakenly believe that this is the only future."

"With this belief, it will begin to influence reality, causing reality to develop in that future direction, and ultimately achieving the self-fulfillment of the prophecy."

Dorian understood. First, he believed that the future given by the Book of Illusions was real. Then, the Book of Illusions would act as the will of Heaven to make that future truly appear. Finally, the cycle was completed in this way, as if stepping on his own feet to ascend to heaven.

"Does that mean that as long as the user doesn't believe in the book's function, the book is truly useless?" Dorian asked tentatively.

"Yes," Lily answered readily.

Is it really that idealistic?

At this moment, Polina also realized something: "So, the way to make users disbelieve the illusion book is to do illogical things? The illusion book only filters out the most logically consistent future. If we don't act logically, it won't be able to filter it out, thus making users doubt it?"

"That's right, this is our tactic after we officially engage the enemy," Lily replied.

That sounds reasonable.

"So, we're just wandering around here for...?" Dorian asked.

"Wait for them to come to you."