Trapped in the Clutches of Evil.

Well... but the Masked Fool are indeed not good at being players in the open.

"Um... what about her?"

Kujou Sara looked at the Sparkle.

What should I do with the Sparkle? If I leave them alone, they're really going to die here.

"I've informed the boss."

Kafka gave Sparkle a venomous smile.

He's the kind of kid you want to slap twice, but unfortunately, he's already got his eye on by his own boss.

"... You trust him that much?" Sparkle frowned and began to probe for more information.

"... Let me put it this way, if you keep doing this kind of thing, you really will be killed."

Kafka smiled.

"Even if your words had worked, you would still have been killed—no, you should say that as long as your words had worked, you were doomed."

"... Will Liu Bai kill me?"

"No, it's that some people would rather kill you than give up the good things they have now."

If an alien invasion brings doubled salary, five social insurances and one housing fund, and a 9-to-5 job with weekends off and no overtime, then is an alien invasion really that important?

People will vote with their feet.

So, if Sparkle's rhetoric doesn't work, that's fine; but if it does, she'll be "voted out"—with a knife.

Just because you say it's fake, it's fake?

"..."

Chapter 395 Deeply Trapped in the Clutches of Evil.

"Hey, I heard you've stirred up quite a mess?"

Liu Bai played on his phone, not even looking up, and teased Sparkle, who had been dragged back by Illusion Moon.

"I didn't expect you to be in such a hurry to turn the tide."

"... After all, I need to demonstrate to you, the big Boss Liu, how to play this game."

"But your earlier statement of 'at that time' is too fast, and too chaotic."

"Well... I really didn't expect that someone would actually like a sadistic guy like you."

Sparkle openly admitted her defeat.

However... this is also a necessary step.

The only miscalculation was choosing the wrong target—specifically, the Acheron.

Even when facing Kujou Sara, she couldn't call it a mistake.

The reason is quite simple.

This is not a spy movie.

Should I just be a good boy and gather intelligence?

Stop joking. Does anyone really think the Masked Fool has a great reputation, or that they're some kind of number one benevolent group in the universe?

Oh, he might be number one in the world, but he's definitely number one troublemaker.

The news that "Sparkle is Masked Fool" and "What kind of organization is the Masked Fool?" will spread to everyone around Liu Bai as early as tonight, or at the latest tomorrow.

By then, even if she had a thousand masks and could change her appearance countless times, she wouldn't have much room to maneuver.

"Does that make me look like someone nobody likes?"

Liu Bai suddenly stuck his head over.

"... The physical body is utterly worthless."

Sparkle was startled by Liu Bai's sudden action, but she quickly retorted, "Does Boss Liu Brother think that Lady Sparkle is the kind of person who would be attracted to a boring appearance?"

"Oh... so it seems you got what you wanted?"

"You guess?"

"That's what you get—establishing your image in other people's minds first."

"Oh my gosh~ Do you like her, Boss Liu? You're actually making excuses for her."

Sparkle gave a provocative, coquettish laugh.

"He won't learn his lesson."

Liu Bai sighed.

"The Masked Fool excels at making a silent entrance, often intervening in the situation unnoticed, like a phantom thief in a novel, and then leaving in a grand or silent fashion at the end of the night—but what if he loses the advantage of being unnoticed..."

"They're just a bunch of annoying bedbugs."

Illusion Moon added the second half of Liu Bai's sentence.

Sparkle glanced at Illusion Moon.

Yes, she really knew him—after all, having fun is usually not about courting death, and when this person grabbed her, others called out his name as well, so it matched up immediately.

The Lord of Destruction... may not be as strong as Acheron, but he is definitely more Acheron.

Sparkle has absolutely no intention of getting involved.

"So, Sparkle, have you thought about how to make up for this inherent disadvantage?"

Liu Bai reached out and pinched the little tip of the Sparkle through its clothes.

Snap!

He was slapped across the face without a doubt.

"Sparkle doesn't understand what you're saying, Boss Liu ~"

Sparkle, speaking in the voice of a girl next door, swatted away Liu Bai's outstretched claws.

"The answer is to first establish a persona that is similar to one's own identity, but with subtle differences."

Liu Bai, undeterred, continued to reach out.

"At least this way, the changes are still under your control? But you seem a bit unfamiliar with everything. Are you under too much pressure? Or did you just encounter a ghost while walking in the dark?"

The so-called "ghost encounter" naturally refers to the Acheron.

Acheron is very reasonable with his own people, but whether he is reasonable with people whose identities are unknown depends on his mood.

"Well... but thinking about it carefully, the Masked Fool's loose organization isn't as professional or crazy as the Dao of Oblivion..."

"... This is the first time we Masked Fool have been told this."

Sparkle finally stopped being clipped, but I was very annoyed by Liu Bai's words.

She admitted that her family was a loose organization; after all, it was impossible for a group of fun-loving people from all over the country to be tightly knit together.

But you can't belittle our professionalism in stirring up trouble!

"In terms of professionalism..."

"Well, there's really no professionalism involved in causing trouble. Sparkle, have you ever heard the saying, 'A lifetime of being a charlatan can't compare to a single genuine expression of emotion from ○○'?"

"... That's true, there's no limit to stupidity."

Sparkle seemed to recall some pleasant Remembrance and couldn't help but reveal a sadistic smile, "But it's because of these people and us that the universe's fun never ends."

"It seems we've reached a consensus on this point, hmm... but maybe that's exactly why you're the 'Masked Fool' —the comical the Jester."

"That's an incredible compliment to us..."

Wait a minute, why am I talking to him about this in such a serious manner?

"Ah, I've got him."

"..."

This guy...

Sparkle felt a bit reddish.

"Boss Liu, you don't actually like her, do you?"

If this makes you happy, then let's accept it as such.

Snap!

Sparkle slapped Liu Bai's hand away.

"Tsk tsk tsk, Sparkle Hanabi has heard, you know, Boss Liu brother, you're not so smug about wanting to bully people to gain a sense of pride because you're constantly being subjected to strong alkali, are you?"

The little devils are starting to appear.

"You're right, comply."

"..."

Sparkle admitted that she had launched the personal attack first.

However, the offensive power contained in those six short words already exceeded that of her entire sentence.

... No, we need to find a way to provoke Liu Bai.

Otherwise, there's no way to jump out of this Five Finger Mountain.

But... it's easier said than done.

This guy's emotions are just too stable.

Even after defeating her, he remained unmoved, and even anticipated that she would use her anger at losing to manually adjust her persona.

"So your current persona is... 'a newcomer who sows discord and divides the group'... something like that? And the theme is Huang Yao... um... depending on the operation, it seems that it can be guided to 'a girl who wants to monopolize Liu Bai so she sows discord'."

Just like a benchmark in journalism. "The man with the mustache fought against the world for six years without defeat, and chose to commit suicide half a day after his wedding."

Compared to the general impression of "a group of troublemakers with no bottom line," the persona that Sparkle is currently controlling is obviously more specific.

If Sparkle acts a little more intimate with Liu Bai in front of outsiders and continues to sow discord, she will probably be seen as a "shameless and despicable woman" by many people.

First impressions tend to influence the trajectory of subsequent impressions, and second impressions, unless they offer a significant reversal, often serve as a supplement to the first impression.

This is one of the reasons why Sparkle are in such a "hurry".

"Ah, speaking of which, why didn't you just take out this mask from the beginning? Wouldn't it have been better to just reverse the situation directly?"

Liu Bai looked at the Sparkle under the female ghost mask.

"If an organization's description is completely opposite to a person's behavior, most people would think it's 'misinformation' or that the person has 'gone astray'... But in front of you, the master of masks, shouldn't my remarks be considered an embarrassment?"

"..."

Sparkle suddenly fell silent.

"So, Sparkle, you did get angry first—even though you really wanted to pretend you were just faking it."

Liu Bai smiled knowingly.

"..."

Indeed... that's true.

I... focused too much attention on Liu Bai and neglected other objective factors.

The outcome of the battle between myself and Liu Bai... is clearly not important.

The initial goal was simply to tease Liu Bai and have some fun.

Having fun isn't about being competitive.

It doesn't matter who is the plaything in the middle of this process.

... He saw right through me, he was very strong, but my mentality was also messed up... Was it because of the situation? After all, the current disadvantage would normally never befall someone like me, the "Mask Master".

"You know, angry people often feel that they are clear-headed when they are angry—only after the anger subsides do they realize what they have done."

Liu Bai stroked his chin and continued the pursuit.