"You can rewrite the ending?""I can kill the writer."
The words echoed in Wen Heng's mind like a command—no, like a curse.
Li Qi had no idea that the moment she picked up her pen and wrote the "Anti-System Script," she had already triggered a hidden protocol.
In reality, the System was not the only judge. Every time a script deviated, the System would awaken a human executor: a Script Hunter.
And Wen Heng, codename Z-003, was the strongest of them all.
[Reality · Observer's Domain]
Wen Heng sat quietly in a virtual study, a script rapidly unfolding in his hands.
"Fate Thief," Chapter 7 – Current Status:Autonomous text intervention successful.Impact Level: S-ClassScript deviation risk: approaching 'System Collapse' threshold.
His eyes darkened as his finger brushed over the name: Li Qi.
"She's… started reverse-writing the script?"
On the other end of the screen, the System AI consciousness tried to initiate contact.
"Z-003, proceed to the intervention node immediately. Retrieve the remaining pages. Eliminate the variable."
Wen Heng chuckled softly.
"Not 'kill'—just 'eliminate the variable'?So now you're afraid."
He stood and walked to a bookshelf. A worn leather-bound Hunter's Log flipped open on its own, stopping at the latest page:
[Current Target: Script Character – Li Qi][Intervention Level: EXE-2][Fate Weight: Undefined / High Risk]
[Virtual Crosspoint · System Deep Layer]
Wen Heng entered the "Script Performance Space" under his Hunter credentials—A space Li Qi had rewritten herself.
There was no original System here.The structure was unstable.NPCs had fragmented souls.
Wen Heng's eyes narrowed.
He knew this was what the System called an Extreme Instability Script. If the core character wasn't eliminated in time, the entire system could collapse—even backlash into real-world consciousness.
And he was the one who cleaned up messes like this.The Script Executioner.
The first time he saw Li Qi, she was crouched in a narrow alley draped in rain mist, scribbling on a yellowed "Fate Card."
Beside her stood Su Ying, a character who was supposed to die back in Chapter 2.
"You've rewritten too much of this world,"Wen Heng stepped out of the shadows, his voice as cold as the drizzle."You brought her back?"
Li Qi jerked her head up, eyes sharp with alarm.
She didn't recognize him—but instinct screamed that he wasn't like the other "characters."
"Who are you?"
Wen Heng bowed his head slightly, slipped on black gloves, and revealed the Hunter's Mark.
"I'm here to end you."
Before the last word faded, the space around them froze.Like a paused script.Time halted.
Wen Heng reached into the air and pulled out a Script Deletion Staff, tapping it to Su Ying's forehead.
The girl's body shimmered, beginning to dissolve.
Li Qi's pupils shrank. She lunged forward—but an invisible force slammed her backward.
"Don't touch her!" she shouted.
"She should've died in Chapter 2,"Wen Heng's tone was merciless."You've defied the plot for too long. Someone has to clean it up."
But he didn't expect what happened next—
Li Qi ripped the remaining script page in half, pen blazing across the paper:
[Deletion Staff · Nullified]
In an instant, the weapon in his hand turned to ash.
Wen Heng froze, truly stunned for the first time.
He looked up slowly, staring at the trembling but defiant girl.
Then he… smiled.
"…So you're not just a 'character'."
"You're—half a writer."
Silence fell.
The world held its breath for five seconds.
Then—The script rebooted.
But this time, not under the System's control.It was now authored by [Li Qi].
Wen Heng looked at her, the cold edge in his eyes slowly giving way to something more complex.
Interest.
He withdrew his attacks, turned his back to her, and walked away.
"Keep writing if you want."
"But remember—For every ending you change, another Hunter will rise."
"Next time, I won't let you go."
[System Notice: Executor Z-003 Authority Suspended. Observation Mode Activated.]
[Script World Evolving…]