Chisel was speechless at what he saw. Though the events of tonight had shaken him several times, they had not taken together as inconceivable as what he was seeing now.

Chisel, whose real name is Jeremy Melchi, is a video anchor and video producer whose game skills are not great. Fortunately, the CCG（Collectible Card Game） Collector's Catalog, which he mainly livestream, doesn't require much skill. As one of the first anchors to discover it, Chisel has gained a certain fame in the circle of the game by attracting some fans with its high frequency updates and long live broadcasts. Therefore, he was recruited by the game company that made CC（Collector's Catalog）, and got some cooperation opportunities.

The company, Magic Classroom, is a little casual about its games. The company could have given CC virtually no publicity until it was available, and given Chisel the opportunity to collaborate when the game was in full bloom instead of another host with more fans and better skills. And all because "Thank you for your continued support of the game".

Thanks to their almost "willful" casualness, Chisel stands out from ordinary anchors and gets tens of millions of fans. To this day, Chisel is wondering if it was all some nice, long dream. He is grateful for what he has today, grateful for the opportunity he has had with the Magic Classroom, and sees the collaboration with CC as a top priority.

Recently, the Magic Classroom there sent a message, inviting him to the company headquarters located in Los Angeles to talk about a new cooperation, about the future development of CC.

Chisel gladly accepted and flew in this morning, with his dizzy heartbeat on the way. He is not the first time to Los Angeles, not the first time to set foot in the headquarters of Magic Classroom, but still nervous, this nervous from the future expectations. It's like waiting to open presents at Christmas and wondering what tonight's surprise will look like.

Guessing the content of a surprise is a dopamine-producing activity, but contrary to normal entertainment, the ultimate outcome of this guessing activity should lead to the guesser's failure. If the result turns out to be one of the guesses already expecting it, the surprise diminishes, like tasteless wet bread. What is revealed is the guess did not think or dare not think of the "accident", it is more flavor.

Chisel figured this out long ago, so on the plane ride, he gleefully looked ahead to CC's future and wondered how well his expectations would be shattered tonight. But when Behe told him that the person who invited him tonight was actually the C.E.O. of MC, his expectations were shattered by shock rather than surprise.

Behe, a manager at MC, was the one who contacted Chisel. Behe was a big African-American, two metres tall, a little fat, but muscular, like a giant beast. He is elegantly spoken, but occasionally delivers a deadly jibe. Chisel, who had known him for three years, did not judge the harsh part of his character, but liked him very much, and regarded him as a friend.

A few minutes ago, this friend told Chisel with a look of regret that the negotiation was canceled, which really made Chisel at a loss. Perhaps he was satisfied with Chisel's disappointment and bewilderment for a few seconds, or perhaps he didn't want to keep the CEO waiting too long for his bad interest. Behe grabbed Chisel before he was about to leave in a state of dispirit and dragged him to the office.

Magic Classroom CEO is an extremely unusual mysterious figure, it is said that he is also the chief designer of CC, there are rumors that he is actually the only shareholder of the magic classroom, in short, one thing is clear, he has never been in the public eye, no one who outside the magic classroom knows what he looks , what is the person.

Chisel lacked a basic understanding of how business works, but he was able to get a glimpse into some of the online chatter about the man and understand how unusual, even irregular, this was. He is also full of curiosity about this mysterious person, did not expect to have a chance to see the truth today. Upon reflection, Chisel realized that the event itself was a great surprise. He was so filled with joy that he ignored some of Behe's anomalies today, such as overexcitement.

Of course, it could have been because he had too little time to think, but before he knew it, Behe had him knocking on the CEO's door. Then Chisel found himself still unable to tell the identity of the man waiting for him in the room.

Some basic physical information was available: he was a dark-skinned, tall, thin man. Beyond that, chisel could not tell anything about him from his appearance. His skin, though dark as night or shadow, had features and contours that were not of African origin, or of any other race. He was an imposing man, wearing a suit that looked like a royal robe. The man's right eye was dark, but his left eye was as green as an emerald.

After exchanging greetings with the chisel, the CEO quickly began to talk about some topics. His words were cordial and his smile was always on his face, but the smile seemed to have different meanings as the topic changed. Chisel was very nervous at first, and soon got into the mood after three sentences. Chisel himself is unsociable, attributing it all to the CEO's high EQ and approachability. It makes sense, that person does have this extraordinary charm. Every word he says to you will not make you feel unpleasant. He is clear about the topic you like, has the same opinion with you, and even his conversation rhythm and words are the most comfortable for you. He's like a combination of all your family and friends, like a mirage of the people you love and the people who love you. Chisel's thoughts beat with his words, soothing and reassuring.

In this soothing process, Chisel becomes more and more sensitive to each other, perceiving the emotional changes under the CEO's eternal smile when discussing some topics, perceiving the contempt, sarcasm and anger conveyed by his smile.

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He was like a demon. Chisel thought to himself.

It was not a polite thought. But Chisel felt the need to defend himself.

When he entered the room, he was introduced as follows:

"I've heard about you, my friend."

"I am Woland, the CEO of the Magic Classroom, take the liberty to invite you tonight, thank you for your response."

Then he handed Chisel a business card with both hands. Written on it in gold letters were the words "Woland, Performing Artist and Professor of Magic." These actions are slightly exaggerated, but they do help Chisel solve a long-standing mystery -- why the company is called Magic Classroom.

It all turned out to be a tribute to Bulgakov.

Chisel began to believe the rumor that "the professor" was both the founder and majority shareholder of the Magic Classroom. But giving yourself a demonic pen name is too much, hmmmmmmm......

Let's just say he does fit his self-description as a performing artist.

To sum up, in the face of Mr. CEO who named him devil, Chisel called him devil in the bottom of his heart, not out of mean or malice, but from emotion and recognition, which is necessary to understand.

So, when they were talking about the "Price of Domorah" edition of CC, it made sense for the professor to ask the question:

"Mr. Chisel, do you accept the existence of demons?"

The Price of Domorah is a version of CC launched in July last year. It tells a tragic story of Domorah, a world where the inhabitants gain power by trading with demons from other worlds, and finally the whole world dries up and dies. It fits well with CC's main tone -- mockery, satire, death, misery,and the destruction of those world .

But Chisel doesn't like this story so much as he likes the story of collectors -- the characters who represent the players -- saving a world in crisis. There are several editions of the story that do this, but quite a few players have criticized this as not being cool, as the "everything is ruined and irreparable" story would be appropriate for CC.

As a edition of the game, POD is all about trading with demons and paying the price to gain power. One of the cards that has as much cost as it does benefit is called "Woland the Magician."

That Woland’s role image, like the one before Chisel, was from the Soviet writer Bulgakov's "The Master and Margaret." There's a character named Woland, a cool demon who's pretending to be a professor of magic, playing the world.

He enters by asking both characters questions about the existence of certain theological concepts, the last of which is himself, the existence of demons. The reply did not satisfy Professor Demon. And now the question was put to Chisel.

To be honest, Chisel had thought of the question, but he could not get the answer, so he answered honestly and shamefully, "I don't know."

The professor was clearly dissatisfied. "Mr. Chisel, I don't think that's a difficult question to answer. What I want to know is your sense of whether the devil, the supernatural being who represents malevolent forces and is often responsible for seducing humans in stories, has a place in your worldview. After knowing how human beings hurt each other, after knowing the SINS that human beings have committed, don't you ever wonder about that? An evil power controls the human race in the background, allowing all this tragedy to be planned and realized."

"I do have doubts, doubts about supernatural beings, doubts that behind the curtain of the world, there are gods and demons watching this play." Chisel weighed his words, and suddenly he felt anxious: "I am not an atheist, nor can I find my God, and I am not yet wise enough to create or choose a world-origin explanation for me, but I do not think that is necessary."

"So I can't conclude, even from my own feelings, whether I feel the demon or not." Chisel raised his head and looked the Professor straight in the eye. "As for those SINS and atrocities, my opinion is that they are indeed inconceivable and cruel, but they are the mistakes of man himself. To blame the devil, or instinct, or anything else, is a shameful evasion and cowardice."

For a moment, Chisel felt the professor's smile light up, like a sudden flame, hot and dazzling.

"Do you think that SINS arises from human beings, not from instinct or anything else?"

"Indeed."

"What about mental illness?"

"It needs to be analyzed in detail, the extent of the illness and the causes. I have sympathy for people who are affected by mental illness, but I also have an obligation to sympathize with the victims of certain events and their families."

"It is dreadful, dreadful, Sir, Bro, My Friend." The professor's smile burned steadily, and his voice was as soft as a philosopher's and as eloquent as an orator's. "Do you mean to say that all the SINS in the history of mankind have been brought upon themselves, not by the Devil, not by Instinct, not by the Error of the World, But By Human Reason?"

The words were like an indictment, and Chisel felt a great pressure for some reason. His body shook and then recovered. There is a moment of silence when the concept of time dies and is reborn, accompanied by the words of the game host:

"I don't think I have the intelligence to answer that question. I know I'm a hotheaded person and my lack of knowledge, but I do think so, based on my experience. The sin of man comes from reason, from thinking, from himself and what he is proud of."

"From a mythological perspective, what Adam and Eve gained when they ate the tree was not only knowledge of good and evil, but also the power to do good and evil. Perhaps the snake should be punished for its own seduction, but we all know who is more to blame, a De Facto Perpetrator or the Abettor."

The professor's smile vanished, along with the color of his skin. Chisel watched in horror as the professor's skin faded and turned pale, like the rotation of night into day.

In contrast, the color of the room changes from white to black. A few moments later the chisel realized that it was not "going black" but going transparent, with night on the outside of the walls, lights under the floor and, in the distance, the outline of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Chisel quivered. He realized where he was now. This was not the headquarters of the Magic Classroom building. They had been moved into the night sky over California.

Science? Magic? Or is it a truly supernatural force?

Anyway, Chisel realized his situation -- he was taken to the sky in a transparent cage by a strange man who called himself a performance artist and professor of magic.

There is no way out.

If this isn't an illusion.

I'm afraid not.

So Chisel moved back to the line of sight, and the professor's transformation was complete.

His skin became pale, and his features and clothes changed to some extent. The only thing that remained unchanged were his eyes, one deep and dark, the other bright as emerald.

He grinned and showed his teeth, several palladium enamel teeth and several gold. The smile was full of unnerving happiness.

"Then you are a suitable cooperative partner." The professor's voice did not change. He had been sitting very straight, but now he lean back in his chair. This made his back join the sky and the darkness, as if the whole darkness were his throne, and the lights below were like tassels.

"You, you..." Chisel felt tongue-tied.

"Don't be alarmed, friend." The professor chuckled and chisel felt his tongue become normal. "I just want to make a deal with you."

"A Deal."