"Senior Lin Yu... I like you!"
Late at night.
Jiangcheng Media University, on the stage of the Drama club.
The shy junior wore a pretty sailor-style uniform skirt, and the dazzling stage lights reflected off her square-toed little leather shoes.
Her makeup was exquisite, and her adorable, playful twin ponytails framed her face. She also held a bouquet of brilliant Champagne roses.
Lin Yu stared at the adorable junior who had suddenly appeared before him, momentarily stunned.
At that moment, Lin Yu was dressed in a British-style costume.
A deerstalker hat, a double-breasted suit, white gloves...
He looked like the stereotypical "detective"—after all, the role he was playing in tomorrow's official performance was an elegant and wise detective.
This had always been Lin Yu's habit. The day before a performance began, he would put on his costume alone and come to the Drama club's stage to "get a feel for it."
After all, Lin Yu was a typical Method Actor.
As the current "pillar" of Jiangcheng Media's Drama club, Lin Yu also had this privilege—the club president and the faculty advisor had specially permitted it.
In theory, no one should have come to disturb him at this hour.
So...
Looking at the pretty junior who had just confessed her feelings so fervently, Lin Yu frowned slightly.
"This is my rehearsal time. Sorry for the trouble."
"I use my private time for studying and practicing my acting as well. I have no plans to date for the time being. Sorry."
Lin Yu's tone was somewhat stiff.
After hearing his words, the junior opposite him still wore a bright smile.
"Senior, don't misunderstand. I'm not trying to date you!"
"My feelings for you are the kind of love a fan has for an idol—I'm your rabid fan!"
Lin Yu's brow furrowed even more tightly. "A fan? If you want to give me a gift, take a photo, or get an autograph, there'll be an interaction session after tomorrow's performance."
Although he did not particularly like those sessions.
The club president had said they were necessary to attract an audience.
However, the pretty junior in the sailor uniform shook her head again.
"No, Senior, I think you misunderstood. I'm not the kind of fan who'd be satisfied with a photo and an autograph. I'm a 'rabid fan' like Mark Chapman."
Lin Yu froze when he heard that.
"Mark Chapman?"
He searched his memory for the name for a moment, then quickly remembered.
"The killer who shot John Lennon, and also one of Lennon's rabid fans..."
The pretty junior broke into a radiant smile when she heard Lin Yu's answer.
"Correct, Senior Lin Yu. I knew that besides having great acting skills, you were also very knowledgeable!"
Amid her bright laughter, the bouquet of Champagne roses in her hands burst open!
"Swish—"
The girl tore apart and threw away the bouquet in her hands.
Pale orange petals scattered through the air, resembling splashing blood beneath the lights.
From within the ruined bouquet, the girl pulled out the object that best represented the word "violence."
Just as clearly as roses represented love.
Black, heavy metal replaced the soft, vivid flowers, gripped in her slender, fair hand.
It was...
A gun.
"A Beretta M9."
When Lin Yu saw the gun muzzle that had suddenly appeared and was pointed at him, his entire body turned cold, and his mind went blank.
He instinctively identified the model of the handgun before him.
Was it a model? A prank?
Although in China, a handgun appearing before him was most likely a model...
Lin Yu was not so optimistic now.
Not only because the gun felt far too real.
More importantly... because of the other girl's sharp, calm gaze, fixed on him without shifting even a fraction.
Lin Yu, who had spent a long time studying "serial killers" for his roles, knew this kind of gaze very well...
It was the gaze of someone viewing a person as prey and a target—a gaze that could be summed up as murderous intent.
"Bang!"
Muzzle flash erupted. The bullet pierced a falling petal, then just as precisely pierced Lin Yu's beating heart.
Iron and fire, blood and death proclaimed that both the Beretta M9 in her hand and the murderous intent in her eyes were genuine.
Pain and cold rapidly spread from the bullet hole in his heart. Lin Yu felt all the strength drain from his body, and he collapsed limply onto the ground.
The girl's voice came from above his head again. It had changed from its earlier teasing frivolity, becoming more serious than ever.
Almost... reverent.
"May you be witnessed by the gods."
The girl's voice fell silent, and Lin Yu felt his consciousness gradually fading as well.
"What a joke. This makes no sense..."
His original confusion turned into intense unwillingness when he realized that he was about to die!
How could he die here for no reason because of some inexplicable Weirdo and some inexplicable shooting?!
"I don't want to die!"
He still had a performance tomorrow...
There were more performances next week and next month, and throughout the rest of his life, he still had countless performances ahead of him!
His acting still needed to be honed.
Even now, he had yet to perform a single show that completely satisfied him!
How could he die here for no reason?!
But no matter how unwilling and furious Lin Yu was,
in the end, everything still fell into eternal silence.
After an unknown amount of time, Lin Yu opened his eyes again.
The pain from the moment of death still lingered in his chest, but it seemed to have become an illusion.
He instinctively touched the area where his heart was, but there was no wound.
Looking around, Lin Yu discovered that he was in a pitch-black, empty space.
"Is this hell, the underworld, or the netherworld?"
"Or did I not actually die? Have I become something like a vegetable, with my consciousness trapped in a place like this?"
Lin Yu looked around in bewilderment, unable to stop his mind from running wild.
As if answering his questions...
At the very moment those thoughts arose, blood-red writing suddenly appeared in the emptiness before him.
[Welcome to the Death game!] [Here, we will grant the dead who possess a strong desire for "life" one chance to start over.] [Participate in the game to obtain a new life.] [Would you like to participate?]
Looking at the blood-red writing, Lin Yu understood.
He had probably encountered... some kind of "supernatural force."
As a university student, although Lin Yu was rather obsessed with acting and spent most of his time studying and honing his skills, his life was relatively plain and monotonous.
But Lin Yu was not a primitive man.
He also read web novels and watched anime in his spare time.
Combining those things, he understood his current situation to some extent.
Some higher being had created a game called the "Death game."
The chosen dead could obtain a chance at Resurrection by participating in this game.
And based on his experience with those works, Lin Yu knew very well that
games capable of making people "return from the dead" were usually cruel and dangerous.
But even so...
"Do I really have a choice?"
Lin Yu sighed softly.
If he wanted to live, continue acting, and carry on with his life, Lin Yu had only one choice.
"I'll participate."
With Lin Yu's response, the blood-red writing changed again.
[Welcome to the "Death game," Player "Lin Yu"!] [Drawing your initial profession...] [Congratulations! You have obtained the Unique Profession: Fraudster!] [Profession Ability: After activating this ability, if others believe a "fraud" you perpetrate against them, it will become "true" to a certain extent. The degree to which it becomes "true" depends on how much they believe you.]
Lin Yu read the newly appeared blood-red writing.
But before he could understand it, more blood-red writing appeared.
[Initial profession generation complete!] [You are about to enter the game—] [Game Name: Who is the Outsider?] [Clearance Conditions: Kill all Players from opposing factions or survive until the specified time.] [Player Count for this game: 7.]
Before you continue