"Because panicking is useless... Right now, I want to figure out what's going on even more than you do." Brian Carter reached out and tapped the keyboard, confirming it still worked. "Go ahead, how do you want me to write it?"

Henry Clark gave him another look, then said without hesitation, "Write that I, the honored one, have an epiphany and ascend, breaking through the limits of mortals and immortals."

"I think that's invalid, because it goes against the fundamental setting of the world—like if I wrote that a mortal suddenly ascended, it simply wouldn't work."

Henry Clark understood what Brian Carter meant, narrowing her eyes slightly. "In your setting, I can't ascend?"

Sensing the hidden murderous anger in Henry Clark, Brian Carter hurried to explain, "You can't just suddenly ascend at this moment. There are a lot of upcoming plotlines about you in this world, involving many other characters. If the female lead suddenly disappears, the whole story framework collapses. You could say, the foundation of the novel world is built on the characters. Only with Chu Tiange and Henry Clark does this world exist."

Henry Clark was silent for a moment, but still stepped aside, insisting, "Write it as I said."

Brian Carter shook his head, sat down, and typed on the keyboard: "...Henry Clark's mood suddenly opened up, and she felt the heavenly gate swing wide, the intention to ascend spreading within her... In the sky, tribulation clouds gathered, the great heavenly tribulation!"

Henry Clark quietly felt it for a while, then shook her head slightly. "It's useless."

Brian Carter let out a breath and laughed, "I knew it wouldn't work. It has to be logically consistent within the framework of the world."

Henry Clark looked up and thought for a moment, then sighed softly to herself, "I never expected that our 'creator god' is just a powerless scholar, and the truth of our world is nothing but a book... All our joys and sorrows are manipulated by others, and our future destinies are just predetermined tracks... Even my emotions change at every moment with the stroke of a pen."

Henry Clark's tone was somewhat wistful, with a sense of sudden enlightenment as if everything had been unraveled, hard to fully express. Brian Carter stared at her blankly, thinking to himself, if she really is a character in a book, then realizing the truth like this would be very hard to bear, right? It could even shatter her worldview and drive her mad.

Of course, if it were the Henry Clark he wrote, she would never collapse. With her unyielding will, she would only try to turn the tables and seize control of her own fate...

That's right, isn't that exactly what she's doing now?

She became extremely alert and resistant to suddenly thinking of a disciple's smiling face, and because of that, who knows what potential was triggered, breaking through the world...

Most likely that's the case.

Once he truly confirmed this, the feeling of having a sword at his throat slowly faded, replaced by a sense of closeness and a bit of sympathy... How to describe this feeling? This is a character he created, almost like a daughter?

To him, it's just a story—at best, an expression of literary ideals, at worst, just a tool to make money.

But to her, it's her entire life being arranged by someone else.

Henry Clark frowned at him, then suddenly asked, "Are you feeling sorry for me?"

Brian Carter pressed his lips together, didn't answer, and instead said, "You say everything is manipulated by others, but that's not entirely true... For example, I can't just write you ascending out of nowhere, because it needs to be logically consistent. For a character, every action and word must fit what that character would do or say. At most, it's just choosing one among several possible options, and it's always one you yourself would choose, never something that goes against your character."

He paused, then laughed, "Some people say, once a character is written, the author can't control them anymore. Your appearance is the strongest proof of that."

Henry Clark quietly watched him, her beautiful eyes like deep, still pools, silent and profound, her thoughts completely unreadable.

After a long time, she said coldly, "You mean to say, the possibility that I might like that man is my own choice?"

Brian Carter's face turned green.

Of course, that could never be her choice. Henry Clark stands above all, with such pride and vision. Even if her heart were not as calm as still water—as he had deliberately set up—even if she were to develop mortal feelings, the object could never be a newly initiated disciple. The gap is just too great.

But this is a harem novel. If there are no conditions, you create them. The thrill of a harem novel is getting the woman you could never possibly get! Otherwise, who would read it?

But that really is a woman you could never get, which means it's not a choice Henry Clark herself would make—it's the author forcing it.

To the point that she resisted so much she ran out of the book, didn't she?

Henry Clark said coldly, "That absolutely could not be a choice I would make... So you can at least influence this so-called consistency to some extent. In storyteller's terms, you can always patch up a plot hole if you slip up."

Brian Carter really regretted making her so smart, and could only wipe his cold sweat and say, "That's true... I can patch it up a little bit..."

Henry Clark was about to say something when her expression suddenly changed slightly.

Brian Carter watched as her figure began to blur, as if her solid body was turning into a transparent ghost.

She grew fainter and fainter, like a phantom, until she finally disappeared.