[The Grand Performance instance True End - "The Lonely Playwright" has been recorded]
[MVP Player: ** (This player has not set a display name)]
In the Sunset Ruins, the system broadcast rang out as usual, but the players present found their attention drawn to something unusual.
"Asterisks again? Is going anonymous the new trend for top players?"
"I don't care, I'm just going to assume it's the same person every time! Whoever 'Asterisk' is, they're incredible. I'm officially a fan!"
"Place your bets! I'll bet you ten cents there won't be a walkthrough video this time either!"
...
[Evaluation for The Grand Performance: S-Rank. Reward: 5000 points]
[True End route cleared for The Grand Performance. Reward: 5000 points]
[Worldview decoding: 100%. Reward: 5000 points]
[Achievement Unlocked: "High Roller" (Achieved victory in three or more mini-games within the instance). Reward: 1000 points]
[Achievement Unlocked: "Undead" (Accumulated three deaths within the instance). Reward: 1000 points]
[Total reward: 17000 points. Deposited into your points account.]
In his sanctuary, Qi Si leaned back in a high-backed chair, listlessly watching as lines of silvery-white text scrolled across the light gray system interface.
Compared to his misstep in Double Happiness Town, the points he'd earned this time were back within an acceptable range.
But only just acceptable.
Qi Si watched his points balance climb from [60600] to [77600] and let out a weary yawn.
Although The Grand Performance had been shorter than his previous instances—since most of it had taken place within Charlie’s consciousness—it had left him utterly exhausted.
It had been an endless series of games with no clear winners. Rest periods were over in the blink of an eye, and even the simple act of eating had been completely skipped...
Qi Si felt like he'd been put through the wringer. He had to admit, when it came to tormenting players, Charlie was even more twisted than the Weird Game itself.
Of course, Charlie's instance design did have its merits. The strategic games that laid bare their zero-sum nature, the voting sessions that forced players to weigh sin against value—they all possessed a certain grim aesthetic.
Ever since he'd entered the game, most players had hidden behind a facade of unity and friendship. This was the first time he'd seen them so brazenly betray and conspire with one another purely for personal gain, just as they had in The Grand Performance.
Qi Si much preferred this overt display of sin and malice to the polite backstabbing that usually occurred behind friendly masks.
It was as if only then... could he feel the kind of truth he had long grown accustomed to.
The summary text on the system interface froze, failing to refresh for a long moment.
Qi Si waited for a while, but no new text appeared.
He stroked the cool mask on his face and, as if sensing something, removed it.
Instantly, the kaleidoscopic mask dissolved into tri-colored specks of light that swirled and mingled in the air before him.
As streams of golden light merged with them, the particles grew thinner and their colors paler, until they coalesced into a nearly transparent, veil-like film.
[Congratulations on your perfect clear of The Grand Performance instance. Reward item obtained: Human Skin Mask]
The reward notification arrived belatedly as the shimmering film before his eyes slowly coalesced into a thin, transparent layer of skin, hovering in the air as it flickered in and out of sight.
[Name: Human Skin Mask]
[Type: Item]
[Effect: When worn, all beings will perceive you as the image they hold of you in their subconscious.]
[Note: You are anyone, yet you are no one. Is the person in their eyes truly you?]
This was what was written into the deal between Qi Si and Charlie.
Well, for a playwright capable of creating all sorts of bizarre characters, upgrading a simple mask into the Human Skin Mask seemed perfectly reasonable.
Qi Si was rather displeased with the Weird Game's stinginess—counting the mask he'd already negotiated for as his reward—but he had to accept it.
In his hands, the [Human Skin Mask] wasn't just powerful—it was practically game-breaking.
It would not only allow him to freely craft different identities within instances, giving him more flexibility, but it would also make it much easier to... flee after setting someone up.
Combined with the effect of his [Rose Heart], he only needed to verbally weave a convincing identity for himself, and his appearance would shift in others' eyes to match it.
Qi Si figured that with this item in his possession, he could probably run rampant in the Weird Game even if his combat skills remained completely useless.
He just had to be a convincing actor and a fast runner. Of course, that was the ideal scenario.
His combat skills still needed improvement. Otherwise, if he ran into another player like Cynthia, he wouldn't survive a single bullet.
Qi Si reached out and took the Human Skin Mask, a faint coolness touching his fingertips.
He walked to a full-length mirror and saw his own pale face reflected in the glass.
All his wounds had vanished upon leaving the instance. He pressed the thin film of skin to his face and, looking at his reflection, recited word by word, "My name is Lin Chen. I was a college student, beaten to death by a couple of thugs while trying to do the right thing. After I died, I entered the Weird Game."
With every word he spoke, the features in the mirror slowly shifted, becoming familiar yet strange. His own gloomy, bloodthirsty aura dissolved, replaced by an air of sunshine and earnest honesty.
It was, unmistakably, the image of Lin Chen from Rose Manor.
Qi Si raised a hand to his face. The edges of the mask were seamless; he couldn't find a single flaw.
Staring at the mirror, he continued, "My name is Yang Yundong, and I'm a soldier..."
A gallery of different faces flickered across his own—men and women, old and young, each one a remarkably lifelike portrait.
After testing several more faces and confirming the [Human Skin Mask] worked perfectly, Qi Si stored it in his inventory and returned to his high-backed chair.
To his right, the phantom of a golden vine descended from above, swaying as if in an unseen breeze. Four shimmering leaves glittered, flickering in the dim light.
The vine was long and slender, with leaves sparsely dotting four of its nodes. From a distance, it looked more like a bare golden thread than anything beautiful.
Qi Si pictured a future where the vine was lush with Soul Leaves, a thought that filled him with keen interest.
He reached out to touch the newest leaf, pulling up Dong Xiwen's system interface.
[Evaluation for The Grand Performance: A-Rank. Reward: 3000 points]
[True End route cleared for The Grand Performance. Reward: 5000 points]
[Worldview decoding: 100%. Reward: 5000 points]
[Achievement Unlocked: "Last One Standing" (Became the final survivor in a single act). Reward: 1000 points]
[Achievement Unlocked: "Audience" (Successfully played the role of 'Audience' in an act). Reward: 1000 points]
[Total reward: 15000 points]
After seeing the "Audience" achievement, Qi Si raised an eyebrow.
If he wasn't mistaken, successfully playing any role would grant a similar achievement.
So why hadn't he unlocked a "Villain" achievement? Had his performance not been villainous enough?
The realization that his run hadn't been perfect instantly soured Qi Si's mood.
With a mere thought, he siphoned three thousand points from Dong Xiwen's reward into his own account. He then glanced at Liu Yuhan's leaf, and only after confirming there were no new points to extract did he reluctantly stop.
The faintly ominous shadow that had clung to Dong Xiwen at the end of the instance still bothered him, but it wasn't enough to make him show mercy.
He wasn't afraid of the living, so why would he fear the dead?
It was still early, so Qi Si went to the video section of the store and searched for the name "Dong Ziwen," but found no results.
He couldn't tell if he was just being paranoid, or if the person in question was as cautious as he was and had no intention of uploading a video.
Qi Si browsed casually for a while before exiting the store.
With nothing better to do, he propped his elbows on the long bronze table, which was displaying the live broadcast interface. He scrolled through the options before tapping on the stream of a girl who looked like she didn't have long to live.
It was a clichéd school-themed instance. The players sat in neat rows in a classroom, their heads bowed over an exam.
A female teacher, her face hidden behind a curtain of long hair, paced the aisles, dragging the bleeding upper half of a corpse.
The girl who was streaming was clearly terrified. The camera shook violently, and though her eyes were fixed on the test paper, she hadn't answered a single question.
Shaking like a leaf, she gritted her teeth and cautiously shifted her gaze, apparently trying to sneak a peek at the player's answers beside her.
"Ling, over here..." a deliberately hushed male voice called from off-screen. It sounded young and vaguely familiar.
The girl, "Ling," looked as if she'd been granted a pardon. She immediately reached a trembling hand toward the voice and accepted a folded slip of paper.
As she glanced to the side, Qi Si finally got a clear view of the person who had passed her the note.
It was Lin Chen!