I asked you to write a light novel, but you wrote about living?

Upper City, Eden Floating Island.

In the luxurious, temperature-controlled living room, Lu Chenyuan leaned back on the adaptive smart sofa, the natural crystal glass in his hand reflecting the soft glow of the holographic screen.

On the screen, the simple 2D live stream was playing simultaneously.

The android butler glided silently over:

"Young Master, Weiguang Literature has just used its underlying protocol to cut off the dark web's online army. Weiguang has chosen to protect this work at all costs."

Lu Chenyuan shook the ice cubes in his glass and let out a soft snort.

"These platinum-level hackers have been getting used to smooth sailing all these years, and their methods are still so crude. They think they can use a few outsourced hackers to smash up a big platform's data center. Foolish."

He ignored the infighting among the lower-level capitalists, his eyes fixed on the hands on the screen.

He initially thought that "To Live" was a new type of "torture protagonist" model carefully calculated by some genius from the lower class to cater to the sinking market.

He assumed that the author behind the screen, whose face was not shown, was an extremely calm architect, smugly reaping the sympathy of millions of people.

However, the sound of typing on the keyboard became slower and slower.

The top-of-the-line surround sound system transmits the keyboard sounds from the basement into this luxurious mansion without loss of quality.

"Clatter".

The drop of water fell and hit the space bar.

Lu Chenyuan stopped the water glass he was about to bring to his lips.

In this era where even emotions can be precisely regulated through brain-computer interfaces, a single physiological tear, shed purely out of empathy for a virtual character, landed directly on Lu Chenyuan's retina.

The author cried while writing about it.

He wasn't acting; he seemed to be genuinely experiencing that suffering.

The crystal glass pressed against Lu Chenyuan's lower lip. The water droplets on the glass lost their constant temperature control and slid down the glass, dripping onto his leather morning robe and leaving a small dark water stain.

Lu Chenyuan stared at the water splashing on the keyboard, and for the first time, a real crack appeared in the arrogant and scrutinizing look in his eyes.

……

Chen Jianjia sat at her desk, her frameless glasses, which usually gave her a somewhat aloof and stern look, now reflecting the light from the screen.

After Yu Yin proudly said, "My brother wrote a book called 'To Live'", she finally couldn't resist her curiosity and searched for the name after get off work.

The first 90,000 words of the plot were like a heavy hammer, shattering her proud rationality.

And now, she is watching that live stream room that has become a viral sensation online, boasting millions of viewers.

The face was not shown in the picture, only the hands with bulging veins due to high-intensity strain.

The image of the young man in the wheelchair, whose legs had atrophied and who couldn't even stand up, kept flashing through Chen Jianjia's mind.

When that warm tear fell straight down from off-screen and shattered on the keycap, Chen Jianjia's heart clenched.

"What were his feelings as he typed these words in that moldy basement...?"

She bit her lower lip, her teeth pressing a deep white mark onto it.

……

The residential compound for families of students at Weiming Academy in Shangcheng District.

Shen Yanqiu remained standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window in the study. Outside, the city center was filled with towering skyscrapers and surreal neon lights.

On the holographic secondary screen on the desk, the 2D live stream was playing silently.

During the day, he used extremely rigorous academic language to describe the 90,000-word essay in the group as "zero emotion," "stripped of all rhetoric," and "coldly revealing the true nature of life." As a top scholar, he had been waiting for this young author to cross "that insurmountable barrier" and provide an absolutely rational answer to the tragedy.

But when he saw that tear fall onto the keyboard, Shen Yanqiu's hands, which were behind his back, suddenly froze.

He turned around and stared intently at the water stain spreading on the screen.

"Zero Emotion..."

Shen Yanqiu murmured to himself, a deep shock and emotion flashing in his profound eyes.

He was wrong.

This is not some academic "zero-emotion technique" at all; it is the author using his own flesh and blood and soul to bear that extreme pain for the characters he created!

It was only when the pain reached its extreme that such a numb and cold-blooded feeling was expressed in the writing!

At this moment, this leading figure from the Federation's highest institution of learning slowly lowered his head before the rough hands of the poor people in the lower city on the screen, his eyes filled with indescribable respect.

……

Meanwhile, at the local server room of Weiming Academy.

"Teacher Su! The offline encrypted download of the first 90,000 words is complete. The independent file has been created, and the platform's 'anti-depression algorithm' absolutely cannot delete it!"

Student Lu Zhao suddenly took off his headphones, his voice trembling slightly. He turned to look at his mentor, Su Huaijin, behind him.

"But Teacher Su... please look at the live stream..."

Su Huaijin strode over and placed his hands on the back of the chair.

On the screen, those trembling hands had just wiped away the tears on the keyboard and continued to type with difficulty.

Cheng Shuqiao sent a message in the group:

My senior brother is right... The touchstone for judging a tragedy lies in how the author concludes it amidst the ruins. He is now walking alone among those ruins.

Su Huaijin's eyes welled up with tears. He patted Lu Zhao's shoulder forcefully, his voice heavy: "Keep a close eye on the port. As soon as he types the last word, immediately perform a full backup. Not a single punctuation mark of the original data for this book can be lost!"

……

Yu Wen ignored the terror and wails in the comments section.

Those hands, which had paused briefly, finally moved again.

He wiped away the teardrop on the space bar with his fingertip.

The effects of the blocker had completely worn off. Although he still had no feeling in his legs, the back pain and forearm spasms caused by the intense typing were tormenting him.

But he didn't stop.

His pale face was expressionless, except for the deep sorrow and pity in his eyes.

He closed his eyes, and the desolate scene of Fugui buying the old ox and the two of them walking away into the sunset appeared in his mind.

"Click".

Yu Wen typed the last period heavily.

The whole world seemed to have fallen silent.

His hand left the keyboard and grasped the chipped mouse.

Under the gaze of 1.5 million people, the cursor moved to the "Upload/Complete" button in the upper right corner of the screen.

"Click".

The crisp click of the mouse became the final sound of this live stream.

"To Live"

The End.

……

P.S.: This is not the end of the book.

P.S.: Thank you so much to all the lovely people who gave me tips! Here's an extra chapter.