“You are the protagonists of the story.”

When Gu Du said this, there was no boasting or pride in his heart; he was just stating his thoughts in a straightforward manner.

"The protagonist needs to have personality, that's why you three are so different."

"You mean you created us?"

Trist found it somewhat funny. He might be only a few years younger than Gudu, but he remembered all his experiences from childhood to adulthood very clearly. It was impossible for them to be fabricated.

"You can say it is, and you can say it is not."

Gudu shook his head.

"You put it here."

Lu Ban couldn't help but complain.

“Have you ever written a novel?”

Gu Du asked back, and without waiting for the three people's answer, he spoke again on his own.

“If a character in a novel only has a name, then it is just a passerby with a name. If you want to truly create a flesh-and-blood character, you need to start from his birth, or even from the birth of his ancestors, and build his life trajectory bit by bit to get a memorable character.”

"Otherwise, the character is just a tool of the story, just like the priest upstairs or the passerby outside. The only difference is whether the author spends a few seconds to give him a name of a neighbor or a name seen in the newspaper."

After hearing Gu Du's words, Lu Ban actually nodded slightly.

"Indeed, creators are like this, so sometimes some authors will have delusions, unable to distinguish between reality and fantasy, and even have symptoms of schizophrenia."

Trist and Xia looked at Lu Ban and subconsciously took half a step back.

"…But humans have their limits."

Gu Du was stunned, perhaps he did not expect Lu Ban to be so supportive, and he continued.

“No matter how rich a person’s imagination is, or how much knowledge and experience one has, humans still have their limits.”

"What do you want to say?"

Drizzt asked with a hint of impatience.

"Maybe he wants to say that he is no longer a human being?"

Lu Ban guessed.

“…”

Gu Du was silent for a moment again, then he spoke as if he hadn't heard Lu Ban's words.

"I want to say that no author can really do this, and readers don't need to care so much. Just use some contrast, reversal and other means to make a character a little special."

"To be honest, it is true."

Lu Ban nodded again as if he understood something.

Bang——

The bronze door made another banging sound, causing everyone to look over there.

"What's behind this door?"

Shia asked curiously.

"Some not-so-good things are also the reason why I exist here."

Gudu was silent for a moment before continuing.

"Let's go back to the previous topic. It is precisely because humans have limitations that there are no perfect stories in the world. However, some beings do not agree with this."

"Let's take a simple example. A celebrity's biography may contain some fabrications, but the celebrity who is the protagonist does exist. Do you think the author of the biography created that person?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Ban shook his head.

"Those people must be real. The one in the book is just one of his images. After all, a biography will not write about some of the unknown thoughts in this person's heart."

"That's right."

Gudu knocked on the table.

"So, there are some beings, some beings that we cannot understand. In order to get the perfect story, they alienate these stories. Well, you should understand this word."

He hesitated for a moment before opening the drawer of his desk and taking out a harmonica.

The harmonica had ten holes and looked ordinary, but Lu Ban could feel at first glance that it had some kind of extraordinary aura.

This is one of Du Danping's melody fragments!

Gu Du took the harmonica, looked at it deeply, and then put it aside.

"This is something a good friend of mine left for me. Although I call him a good friend, we only spent a few days together. But I will never forget the experience during those few days, and it changed my life."

He seemed to be reminiscing, with an expression of loneliness and relief on his face.

"In short, during that experience, I heard certain voices, came into contact with certain beings, and ultimately, I chose my current career."

Gu Du sighed and pointed to the bronze door.

"My good friend tricked Him into the door, and at the same time, the melody woven by the harmonica made Him fall into a deep sleep, but this sleep was not deep and he could wake up at any time."

“If He wakes up, I’m afraid even the one in the Wasted City may not be able to save the entire city.”

"You mean, there's an evil god trapped in here?"

Lu Ban asked.

"Evil God? You could say that He actually doesn't differentiate between good and evil intentions. To Him, humans are insignificant, just like you wouldn't care how many ants you step on when walking on the road. His mere existence will destroy civilization."

Gu Du laughed at himself.

"For Him, there is no essential difference between sleeping and waking up. However, for humans, it is better to make Him sleep than wake up. I am the gatekeeper responsible for keeping Him asleep."

"So you're here, uh, singing lullabies?"

Drizzt seemed to calm down a little. He put down the pistol in his hand. The bronze door made another knocking sound, but it was so faint that it sounded like a cat scratching the door.

"I said before that what He is looking for is stories, so all you need to do is read Him some bedtime stories and He will fall into a deep sleep. I don't have any special talents, but sometimes some stories pop up in my head for no apparent reason. There is nothing wrong with me sitting here."

Gu Du spoke calmly, as if he was not facing some unspeakable evil god, but a naughty child who finally fell asleep.

"At first, one story was enough for Him to enjoy for a long time, but later, the intervals became shorter and shorter, and now, I have to sit here to satisfy Him, which is what you see now."

"But, these stories seem to have become reality. We were attacked by a mercenary who had watched 'Shadow of Terror', and we met the monster from 'The Painted Dog' in your villa. Just now, there was a spider in the hotel. Your stories have affected reality and hurt many people."

Drizzt calmed down completely and said.

"I'm very sorry about this. I have also tried to write some heartwarming stories, but it is clear that a being like Him does not like mortal love. His food is fear, and only scary stories can bring Him joy."

Gudu thought about it, then spoke again.

"Also, I mentioned to you before that He wanted a perfect story. Sleep cannot take away His authority. Even in dreams, this pursuit has not changed. Therefore, everything you have seen and experienced has led to what I told you at the beginning."

"It's not you who are acting according to the plot of the story, but the story that is chasing you."