Chapter 985: Chapter 983: Watching the Show
The motel near the theatre group was visible only to those designated.
Early in the morning, a young man arrived at the motel entrance, swiped a Black Gold Card through the worn door crack, and pushed the door open to enter the grand hotel lobby.
As soon as he entered, the manager behind the counter gave him the answer he sought.
"They left an hour early today."
"Damn~ I hardly ever get up this early and wanted to go with them to the filming site for the final act! Now it’s just great; without Mr. Yi leading the way, I’ll have to apply to join the [Theatre Group].
No time for applications now, I’ll have to sneak in somehow."
The young man scratched his head anxiously, feeling an itch all over.
The manager, who was wiping the counter with a cloth, paused to look at the young man on the sofa, "Are you going to cause trouble?"
"Don’t misunderstand, Manager, I promise I’m just there to watch the show, they won’t even know who I am! I just want to see how the final act unfolds, even if Mr. Yi really dies according to the script, I won’t intervene."
"It’s best that way, given that subtle changes are occurring in the layout of the [City of Evil] due to your arrival and actions. I doubt I’m the only one noticing; others will catch on gradually."
The young man quickly raised both hands, "Hey~ don’t speak recklessly, Manager, be careful I’ll accuse you of defamation.
I’ve never done anything directly related to the [City of Evil], I just got a few of you to sign something to secure a bit of status for myself.
In these past two years, I’ve either stayed at your hotel or grabbed some coffee, at most rented some DVDs to watch, nothing out of the ordinary."
"No need to play dumb with me, the subtle influence of your conversations over two years has had a comprehensive effect, I can feel the disorderly factor you’re bringing taking effect in every corner of the city.
Including Mr. Yi’s arrival, coinciding with him joining the group as a ’Murderer,’ is all related to your underlying influence."
The young man crossed his hands behind his head, resting his legs on the table,
"If the fate of the universe were that easy to change, the world would be in chaos... The theatre group and Mr. Yi have a high degree of similarity; they would meet sooner or later, I just made it happen a bit sooner.
Manager, do you want to come watch the show with me?
You’ve housed Mr. Yi all this time; you must know his changes better than anyone, right? Today’s final act is bound to be interesting."
The manager only glanced at the young man before continuing with his tasks.
"Oh! Sorry, I forgot the manager can’t leave the hotel, then wait for my news! I’ll project the memory from my mind to you when the time comes."
"What do you think of this?" The manager suddenly tossed over a newspaper from two days ago.
It recorded some news about the City of Evil, along with a large section on the current infiltration situation.
Recently, the speed of infiltration clearly declined, with multiple phenomena being erased, and even a passing [Ninth Disaster] sustained some injuries, something unprecedented.
The young man looked at the paper’s related text and calculated with his fingers.
"Oh~ looks like the Gods and our hometown’s Teleportation Gate are finished, probably bringing over quite a few Plague Masters... Plague Masters are very strong, some are extremely threatening.
You all~ or rather, we better be careful.
Why not write a proposal, Manager, suggesting everyone hold back a bit to minimize manpower loss and wait until we’re fully ready to swallow them whole.
I’ll personally take some time to list all known Plague Master intelligence and highlight the special ones to watch out for."
The manager did not respond or accept William’s suggestion.
"Alright, I have to hurry over, or I’ll really miss it."
The young man put down the newspaper, whistling as he walked to the hotel door, then again paused, the topic shifting from the overall situation back to the theatre group, apparently more concerned with the matter at hand.
"Speaking of which, Manager, where do you stand? Planning to follow the original script or let Mr. Yi break the script and expose the underlying conspiracy?"
"William, less talk, more action."
The entire hotel lobby’s space began to distort, like a wave of space rushing toward the door.
It seemed as if countless guests lifted their feet, kicking hard into William’s back with enough force to send him across the street, crashing through several storefronts, and finally landing in a canal.
Oddly, this kick seemed to directly kill William; his physical body sank into the canal, never surfacing again, and his blood and flesh dissolved in the water.
At the same time,
within the theatre group, a lowly-ranked Murderer responsible for cleaning the toilets, full of pustules, from a comedy horror film - "Big Pus Eyes."
He got up early today to watch the show, having finished cleaning all areas, admiring the evenly distributed pustules and bulging big eyes in the mirror, extremely confident in his appearance.
Suddenly, a pustule near his brow started squirming and swelling.
Just as he thought he was having a flare-up and reached for a silver needle to release some pus, the swollen pustule protruded a human face, spouted a mouth, and spoke.
"Let me borrow your body!"
"Ah!"
The man was badly frightened, but he quickly reacted, reaching out to tear off the pustule, though his eyes suddenly became clear.
"Understood, Teacher... Use the body as you wish."
"Handsomeness with a bright future!"
"Thank you, Teacher for the compliment, I won’t disturb you, use it as long as you like."
As the consciousness of the man subsided, William easily took over, grabbing the freshly cleaned mop, limping to the filming site, just as the filming of the final act began.
Perhaps it was the pressure from the Eighth Disaster at the scene,
or maybe the director was distracted thinking about the vital actor Yi Chen dying here,
or maybe today’s masked protagonist seemed different, emitting a murderous aura so dense it felt like everyone’s feet were submerged in bloody mud.
These issues emerged repeatedly during filming, yet Yi Chen turned them around with excellent acting and impromptu skills, even adding dramatic effects, surpassing Cult film standards in some ways.
Such acting left even William, the Chief Actor, dumbfounded, applauding unwittingly, which impacted other theatre members watching, resulting in him getting punched.
However, the one who punched him inevitably had their hands soiled with pus, guaranteeing discomfort for months.
William continued to mutter, "An old pro is truly an old pro! This wraps up the final stage ahead of time, without even needing a preliminary rehearsal.
Almost there, the final showdown is coming, the villain is about to reveal their true face!"
At the filming site,
flames devoured the building scenery,
the two Murderers stood opposed, only Miles was unusually excited, his entire mask writhing madly.
Meanwhile, Yi Chen, playing the resurrected character, seemed unperturbed, each breath drawing him into deeper concentration.