She looked at Lang Lin with a gentle smile."So? Didn't I tell you the books I recommended were all worth reading?"
"Yes," Lang Lin replied with a smile of his own. "These are truly remarkable works."
"I'm glad," she said softly. "It must be such happiness for an author, knowing someone out there is reading their work. Better that than leaving them to gather dust in a dark room."
For a moment, her tone grew faintly sorrowful.
"The world has changed. People don't value these paper books anymore. They don't want physical volumes—they only read on E-gis now."
From context, Lang Lin guessed E-gis was what people in this world called electronic books. He understood the sentiment well. Back on Earth, too, the digital age had risen so quickly that many magazines and publishers had shut down. Still, he believed print books would never truly die. Some readers cherished the feel of pages, the weight of a volume resting on a shelf—treasures that only true lovers of books would understand.
"Oh, it's getting late," the young woman said suddenly, glancing at a device on her wrist that resembled a bracelet. "I need to get to work. Enjoy your reading." She gave him a sweet smile before walking away, leaving only the faint echo of her presence behind.
Lang Lin waited until she disappeared from sight, then the corners of his lips curved into a sly grin.
His eyes gleamed with mischief as he turned back to the shelves towering before him. To him, this place was nothing less than a goldmine—a vault of fortune waiting to be plundered.
"Time's almost up… let's begin."
With a thought, he activated the Spatial Ring. In an instant, books vanished from the shelves, swept away into the ring's inner space. Shelf after shelf disappeared into his possession, the volumes sucked into the storage realm as though devoured by a black hole.
By the time he realized it, he had cleared five entire sections.
The portal shimmered again before him. Lang Lin cast one last glance at the library.
"I won't let you down. Your stories will shine brighter than ever before—they'll go down in history!"
And with that, the gate closed, taking him with it.
Not long after, chaos erupted in Star Tower.
No one had imagined that someone would dare to steal books from here—here, of all places, the most secure library in the city. It was sheer madness. Who would think they could escape such tight security?
And worse—this building's master was infamous for his ruthlessness. To those who treated him kindly, he was a gracious ally. But to those who crossed him, his vengeance was tenfold, merciless and cold as steel.
Yet no matter how hard they searched, no thief would ever be found.
Because he hadn't escaped through doors or stairwells—he had crossed dimensions.
Creak…
The old wooden door swung open. Lang Lin stepped back into his home, a triumphant smile lighting up his face.
Meow!
The little rabbit bounded toward him the instant he appeared, eyes wide and brimming with relief—as though it had truly feared he might never return from that dreadful, ominous portal.
"Missed me, did you?" Lang Lin chuckled, ruffling the rabbit's head. "I was only gone fifteen minutes. Look at you now—you're adorable."
The rabbit let out a soft cry, half-complaint, half-delight, leaning into his touch.
Lang Lin carried it inside and set it down gently before pulling out an old laptop from the shelf. It was a secondhand machine he had bought back in college—slow, outdated, but still in working order. He tethered it to his mobile phone for internet access.
Opening a popular online fiction site, he browsed through its categories. The top novels all boasted millions of views, their popularity so high that publishers rushed to print them, certain of their sales.
Scrolling through the site brought back a memory of someone he once knew—Yu Yafei.
A shy girl from his college days, she had always hidden behind thick glasses and long black hair that veiled her face like a ghost from a horror film. Yet Lang Lin had glimpsed her true face once. Beneath the curtain of hair was a beauty radiant and pure: porcelain skin, soft features, an elegant oval face. Even behind those oversized glasses, her loveliness had shone through.
One day, he had asked her why she always concealed herself.
"I don't like people staring at me," Yu Yafei had answered quietly. "Ever since I was young, their eyes felt strange. I hated it. So I'd rather hide… and focus on writing instead."
"What do you write?" Lang Lin had asked curiously.
"Novels. It's what I love. You want to laugh at me for it?"
"Laugh? Why would I laugh at someone's passion? Show me. Let me read."
That memory lingered in his heart. Yu Yafei had been his closest friend during those days. But after a year, she had transferred out, and never knew of the accident that had left him crippled.
Now, as he clicked through the site, he found her works still there.
Dragon's Rebirth.
Her debut novel—so successful it had reached ten million views online. She had refused to let publishers take it, choosing instead to print it herself. She was wealthy enough to fund her own publications, and determined to have complete control.
"She has two works now?" Lang Lin muttered, surprised. A new title had appeared on her profile, though it was still in its early chapters.
He closed the page and registered his own account. Then, without hesitation, he began typing the first lines of Throne of Blood.
The very novel that had once made Qing Wei famous in another world—now it would be his debut.
From his ring, he retrieved the book. As expected, ordinary items like these gave him no experience points when stored. But that didn't matter. The real treasure lay in what he could do with them.
Under his chosen pen name—Heaven-Splitting Sword—he wrote the synopsis.
To him, the meaning was clear: his pen would slash through hearts like a blade through the heavens, cutting deep into readers' souls. Words sharp enough to enthrall, to ensnare.
Heaven-Splitting Sword.
He had some practice writing before—short stories for professors, essays, scribbles. Enough to give him a foundation. But now, with ready-made manuscripts in his hands, he didn't even need to rack his brain for plots. He had a library of worlds to steal from.
This would make him rich.
For ordinary writers, success was a brutal climb, filled with uncertainty. But for Lang Lin, the path was easy. He merely had to copy.
He uploaded sixteen chapters at once, releasing only the first for free to "whet the appetite." It was a strategy he had once heard from Yu Yafei: release slowly, keep readers hungry, build their anticipation one day at a time.
And why not? It was the perfect plan.
He finished uploading and leaned back with a satisfied sigh. His stomach rumbled.
"Time for noodles."
In the kitchen, he boiled two bowls—one for himself, and one for the rabbit.
The little creature had taken a liking to instant noodles since the day he first brought them home. It loved the chewy strands and even the cooled broth. Now, it hopped at his side like an eager child waiting for a treat.
Together, man and rabbit slurped down their simple meal, both patting their bellies in contentment. For Lang Lin, poor as he was, instant noodles were a luxury.
When he returned to his laptop, he blinked in surprise.
On the screen, something had already begun to stir…