Shun Jiu Ni Wu, Deciphering the Dark Code

The Golden-Necked Flame Wolf King, heavily wounded and on the verge of death, opened its eyes as if in a final burst of energy. The depths of its gaze shimmered with a clear light, as if it wanted to engrave Zhang Guangmu's appearance into its memory forever.

A moment later, it used its last ounce of strength to gently lick Zhang Guangmu's palm, letting out a low whimper before slowly closing its eyes, falling into eternal slumber.

Even though they stood on opposing sides, the death of the Golden-Necked Flame Wolf King still weighed heavily on Zhang Guangmu's heart.

"Hoo..."

Exhaling a breath of stale air, Zhang Guangmu quickly adjusted his emotions. He patted Flame Wolf Bai Yue, who was beside him and seemed a little jealous, to comfort him. "It's already passed away, what are you still jealous about!"

Stroking Bai Yue's head, a faint light gleamed in Zhang Guangmu's eyes.

In his view, not just the Golden-Necked Flame Wolf, but even Bai Yue, upon dying in the Subconscious Film World, wouldn't truly perish. Instead, they would enter a dormant state until they received their next role in a Subconscious Film.

Zhang Guangmu believed that both Bai Yue and the Golden-Necked Flame Wolf could be considered unconventional Subconscious Actors. Although they might essentially be Artificial Intelligence, they possessed their own Spirituality.

Zhang Guangmu couldn't control what others thought or felt. At the very least, he felt he should treat these special actors as living beings.

Even though their past memories would be blocked upon entering a film world, ...

In the not-too-distant future, he would definitely encounter the Golden-Necked Flame Wolf and Bai Yue again in some movie!

--This was what Zhang Guangmu thought.

However, they would probably appear before him in a different form then?

At that time, perhaps he could pick up his Beast Taming Master dream again!

Zhang Guangmu had browsed many professional forums and heard scholars analyze and speculate that certain Artificial Intelligence Actors and Subconscious Actors with extremely high Tacit Understanding had a certain probability of cooperating again in other film worlds, as long as they were still taking roles.

The fate between the Golden-Necked Flame Wolf King and Fort Master Lin Yan had clearly been severed.

However, the bond and Tacit Understanding between Zhang Guangmu and Bai Yue had gradually been cultivated through daily interactions and battles.

Due to the director's efforts, the number of White Balls floating in the air at this moment had increased many times compared to before.

Seeing that the intense battle scene had passed, the Audience, who had transformed into White Balls, began to discuss heatedly.

"Is he split personality? Can he switch between cold and gentle seamlessly?"

"His coldness is only for enemies, and his gentleness is only for those worthy of recognition! The Golden-Necked Flame Wolf King was loyal to its master, fighting to the last moment even when abandoned by its master. It earned Zhang Guangmu's respect and recognition with its performance!"

"What do you call kindred spirits? This is it!"

"The interaction between this Assassin, 'Tian Guang', and the Golden-Necked Flame Wolf was too heartwarming! Love it love it!"

"You call this heartwarming? Why do I find it so heartbreaking?"

"Dying in a movie isn't really dying, why are you all so dramatic?"

"What you said is rough but makes sense! Just like Zhang Guangmu said, [Reincarnation] is real!"

"Although I am a little moved, my iron heart immediately shifted to something more important—what's this 'Tian Guang' all about? How can a mere Nameless Extra, even when confronting head-on, directly defeat the final villain?"

"I don't quite understand. I watched the AI-provided highlights at Double Speed just now, and I feel like this person probably took the Knowledge Changes Destiny route?"

"What do you mean by 'Heaven-Defying Technology'? This is it!"

"In all my years, I've watched countless Subconscious Films. The director invited me to switch perspectives, and at first, I refused. After all, as an old, seasoned viewer, what big waves haven't I seen? But when I switched over, whoa! I've truly never seen a situation like this!"

"Originally, it was a very ordinary transitional plot point. A Minor Villain receives an Assassinate mission from the Big Villain, then gets counter-killed by the Protagonist Group, becoming experience points for the protagonist's growth. But this 'Tian Guang' has forcefully carved out a new path! To be fair, it feels really good!"

"I'm different from you all! From the beginning of the Water Prison Trial scene, I was paying attention to him. This young assassin named 'Tian Guang,' just by his Appearance Value and demeanor, you'd know he's not simple, right? How naive would someone have to be to think he's just an Extra!"

After the first angler appeared, people quickly took the bait, arguing that "Tian Guang's ability to perform well is due to his own strong subconscious, unrelated to the script."

Then, others jumped in to refute, believing it was a clever move by the Production Team, using Script Hints to control the situation and forcibly bestowing upon the character "Assassin Tian Guang" knowledge he shouldn't have had.

The rationalists couldn't stand these comments, stating they had long ago turned off the immersive experience mode and could see the Script Hint bubbles above all the actors' heads. Assassin Tian Guang truly turned the tables and rose to prominence entirely on his own, not by being forcibly pushed into a prominent role.

Zhang Guangmu insisted that people cannot convince those with different viewpoints, and even if they could, it would be because the other party was merely pretending to agree.

As expected, not long after, he saw the audience, who had transformed into the Xiao Bai Group, start fighting amongst themselves.

Soon, the moderators issued warnings and forcibly separated the brawling Xiao Bai Groups. One wave of Xiao Bai Groups was sent back to the cooling-off area, and another immediately swarmed in.

Zhang Guangmu collected his thoughts and immediately took Flame Wolf Bai Yue, heading in the direction the Fort Master Lin Yan had fled.

This was his second time chasing an important plot character, and he had gained some experience.

Last time, with the Endless Food Bag, Zhang Guangmu chasing Chu Fan basically only required him to open his mouth and promise a lot of food to drive the people below into a frenzy. This time, in Wolf Fortress, he was still just a Minor Supporting Character, with no usable subordinates at his disposal, so he had to work a bit harder himself.

The good news was...

The direction Lin Yan fled was a dead end.

That area had at most one hidden Life-Saving Secret Room, with no other escape routes.

The so-called Life-Saving Secret Room could only serve to delay time.

If Zhang Guangmu's memory had truly been blocked, he might have been completely bewildered looking at the empty room, perhaps even managing to stall Lin Yan until reinforcements arrived.

Unfortunately...

Zhang Guangmu was someone who had seen the script. Even though he had never been to this room before, he quickly located the mechanism to activate the hidden door.

After pretending to search the room for a while, he placed his hands on a vase.

"Yo! This vase... has a problem!"

Zhang Guangmu exerted a little force: "Can't lift it..."

"Conditional trigger mechanism?"

"Key to the secret door?"

He leaned down slightly, narrowed his eyes, and carefully observed the friction marks on the bottom of the vase and the tabletop.

A moment later, Zhang Guangmu twisted the vase clockwise one turn: "Judging by the degree of wear, twisting it like this and..."

As he spoke, Zhang Guangmu twisted the vase counterclockwise one turn: "Twisting it like this, the ratio of turns is about two to one?"

Then he began the trial-and-error process of brute-forcing it.

Click! Click!

After two consecutive wrong attempts, some of the Audience couldn't help but start to mock.

"Stop wasting your energy, okay?"

"Watching him so seriously crack the password, he really looks like someone who lives by his wits..."

"Hey, hey! You're an Assassin, not a Detective!"

"Did I walk onto the wrong Film Set?"

"The correct password is nine turns clockwise, five turns counterclockwise. Here's the Strategy Guide, you're welcome!"

"Hahaha, you bunch of Idiots are going to kill me! The Subconscious Actor is on a completely different level from us. No matter what you say, they can't hear you!"

"Ah, what a shame! Brother Mu was so close to the truth! Just a little bit more, just a tiny bit!"

"Usually, in these kinds of Escape Rooms, they lock down after three wrong attempts, right?"

"Holy Shit! Holy Shit!"

"Damn it! He actually guessed it right!"

"Are amazing people always this awesome no matter what world they're thrown into? This is too fantastical!"

"Did you really think the film 'Wolf Fortress' was a modern or sci-fi movie? It's a Fantasy genre from the start!"

"I just think this person is a bit terrifyingly strong! His speed of acquiring knowledge, observation skills, reasoning ability, practical skills... I can't see any weaknesses! Does such a perfect guy really exist in reality? And he's still so young..."

"I have to admit, the last time I saw someone this outrageous was the last time."

"So many new fans! Ten-year veteran Shou Mu Ren know that Mu Zai is excellent at showing off and performing miracles at Crucial Moments, but deep down he's an Idiot. Every time I see someone praise him as perfect, I want to laugh, pfft... Hahaha! As expected, Mu Zai's deceptive nature is still strong!"

Cut!

Zhang Guangmu released his hand, the corners of his lips curling up slightly, a knowing smile appearing on his face: "It's done."

As soon as the words fell, the sound of interlocking gears and heavy stone slabs moving echoed.

Click, click, click!

Buzzz...

The stone slab bed, weighing who knows how many tons, flipped open, revealing a dark and secret passage.

By reversing the process from the result, forcing clues together, and disguising oneself as a detective, anyone could do it as long as their acting skills were up to par.

It turned out that the [Acting Skill 2] ability recognized by the "Book of Acting" was not an empty promise, nor was it data unrelated to reality.

After Zhang Guangmu's performance, almost all the audience members present reacted with something like, "Holy shit, this guy is amazing."

Only a very small number of viewers said sourly things like, "Finding a secret door is easy, why such a big reaction," "I could do it too," "What's so great about it," "Average detective level, slightly worse than me," "A blind cat caught a dead mouse."

While the audience was arguing, Zhang Guangmu had already entered the tunnel with a small lamp, bringing Flame Wolf Bai Yue before the Wolf Fortress Lord Lin Yan.

The Flame Wolf Fortress Lord, who was originally imposing and awe-inspiring, now looked like a defeated wretched dog, his hair disheveled, his eyes panicked, almost afraid to meet Zhang Guangmu's gaze.

Zhang Guangmu said nothing, just looked at him silently.

After a long while, Lin Yan finally couldn't bear the immense psychological pressure. He forced himself to look up at Zhang Guangmu, his voice dry as he said, "When fortune favors, the heavens themselves lend strength; when it turns, heroes are left powerless!"

"The birth of that prodigal son, Lin Xuan, stole my fortune, causing my destiny to decline."

"The current situation is not my fault, but heaven wants me dead!"

As soon as he spoke, it was clear he was a superstitious old man.

Lin Yan exuded an air of feudal class. Gritting his teeth, he asked hatefully, "Who told you the dark code to the escape room?"

"I want to die a knowing ghost!"

"At least let me know who betrayed me!"

Zhang Guangmu raised an eyebrow, his face as calm as ever: "A little observation of the vase and the wear on the tabletop, combined with two or three attempts, and it can be deduced."

"Shun Jiu Ni Wu, the Supreme Number."

"Did the Fortress Lord once wish to conquer the world and become emperor?"

This kind of easter egg or cliché that shaped a character through details was a typical director's malicious humor.

Under normal circumstances, to open a damn secret door, you'd have to turn the vase fourteen times...

While onlookers might not feel anything was wrong, Zhang Guangmu, who was in the thick of it, felt the setting was utterly absurd.

Back to the main topic.

Now that the Fort Master of the Old Era has crashed and burned, it's time for the new king to ascend!

Today's update is 6,400 characters. Many books published earlier than this one, "Transcendent Actor: Rewriting the Script," have already been surpassed in word count!

In a sense, this is also a kind of Victory, right?

Hahaha~

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