The Nightmare (2) - The Rising Tide

The person who came to deliver the message was an intern from another group. Yu Xing stared at the drawing in her hand, not even looking up. "When?"

The intern seemed hesitant to speak to him, perhaps afraid of being embarrassed; she stammered, "Sister Zhou said she has a meeting this morning, but she knows you've been designing the ghost bride lately and doesn't want to waste your energy, and..."

Yu Xing's complexion visibly worsened. She looked up, a hint of agitation in her narrow phoenix eyes, and interrupted the intern's incessant chatter, "Just tell me when she plans to contact me. Also, doesn't she know how to send a message?"

"You never check your phone when you're working, so Sister Zhou is worried you won't see my messages." The intern looked at his face, which was so handsome it was almost impossible to tell his gender, and a strange sense of fear rose within her. "Lunch, cafeteria."

"Understood." Designing the main characters was a major undertaking, Yu Xing had no reason to refuse.

He was a little curious, as the available information suggested that this Yugi development project called "Nightmare" was closely related to the first phase of the mission.

The plot, in particular, was handled by Zhou Xue.

The ghost of the young master in the first stage is real; otherwise, the concept of a supernatural space wouldn't exist. Therefore, we can rule out the possibility that the entire first stage was just a virtual Yugi designed by Zhou Xue.

The remaining question is then clear: what is the connection between Zhou Xue's Yugi and the first stage of the mission?

Even the mission is to protect Zhou Xue for three days, which means that Zhou Xue will inevitably face more than one life-threatening crisis during these three days.

Yu Xing cleared his mind to avoid making pointless guesses. After sending the intern away, he glanced at the bottom right corner of his computer screen and confirmed that it was 10:40 a. m.

According to the company's work schedule, lunch break is at 11:30 AM, and afternoon work will not begin until 1:30 PM.

Since Zhou Xue had invited him to discuss the role in the cafeteria, he could take the opportunity to check on Zhou Xue's mental state or whether she was being haunted by a ghost, and then find out her activity range at this stage.

He also wanted to meet up with Zhao Yijiu Zhao Ruru as soon as possible, but there were already a lot of people in the company, scattered in different offices. If he insisted on searching room by room, he would probably be noticed.

Since the main plot revolves around protecting Zhou Xue, Zhao Yijiu and Zhao Ruru's characters cannot be too far removed from Zhou Xue; they must be able to interact with her at least from the first day. If they are not at the company, it means that the danger Zhou Xue faces can be traced back to her home, the street, and other places.

That would be even more fun.

Yu Xing accepted Zhou Xue's invitation and began to examine the drawing in her hand again.

On top of him was a sketch with only lines, which looked like a monster. The basic tone had been set: a slender figure bent over, holding a sharp, long-mouthed pair of scissors, was chasing a living person.

These are ghosts that haven't been seen in haunted houses or Ghost Alley.

The lines were drawn casually and lightly, but the style was one he quite liked. Yu Xing picked up a pen and eraser and began to refine the drawing.

He could finish the entire line drawing before meeting Zhou Xue at noon.

Mommy, you're so fierce!

He's really getting into character! Goodness, I knew it! Luckily, this guy's a real actor!

I really want to see his identity information.

Is he really painting? The camera is a bit far away, so it's hard to see.

Want to see

Want to see 1

There was indeed no need for a long shot right now. As if hearing the crowd's calls, the camera in the live stream slowly zoomed in on Yu Xing's hand as she drew lines, revealing the entire drawing, including the sketches beneath it.

He's really drawing.

Wow, these are the hands of an art student! I'll lick them first as a sign of respect.

The art style is so weird, it gives me goosebumps, but... surprisingly, it's quite good.

I'd guessed he was an artist in real life, otherwise why would he have long hair?

I just can't stand him. He looks so effeminate, isn't he just a sissy?

No, what era are we living in? Does having a queue make a man effeminate? Appearance really isn't important; what matters is personality, isn't it?

He's a sissy? He could beat you so badly your own mother wouldn't recognize you. Looking at it that way, you're not even as good as a sissy.

Doesn't he look pretty manly? Look at those strong biceps!

You guys are so weird. First of all, it's lucky she has short hair. Secondly, luckily, you can't see any biceps at all when she's dressed.

Is the person upstairs blind?

The person upstairs is blind.

The conversation shifted from the artist's skill to Yu Xing's appearance. Perhaps handsome people will always be the subject of gossip and disputes.

But this time, someone finally realized something was wrong.

I've wanted to say this for a while now, even during the initial preparation period. I felt that the happiness we saw was somewhat different, wasn't it?

Some say he has long hair, some say he has short hair; some say he's cute, some say he's intimidating. I'm totally confused! To me, he just has an average face.

The newcomer was completely bewildered. What happened? Your description has made things even more confusing for me.

Following the initial draft, Yu Xing drew an exaggerated tongue over the mouth of the slender scissor-like ghost.

Little did they know, the viewers in the live stream seemed to have grasped something and launched into an even more heated discussion.

Yu Xing couldn't hear it, but if he had, he would have responded to the audience with a very smug smile.

From the moment he entered this live simulation, he became more uninhibited in his behavior than before.

In the past, no matter what kind of simulation scenario it was, he would always pretend to be weak at the beginning to reduce other people's vigilance, but not this time. He was very calm in the Ghost Alley and clever as if he was showing off in the haunted house.

There is certainly a reason for this; otherwise, he would have chosen to subtly influence his teammates' actions to achieve the same outcome, rather than revealing everything publicly.

Because... he has someone to rely on now.

He was always someone who enjoyed finding pleasure in reckless behavior. He was like a boatman who didn't need oars; given a little room to maneuver, he could go wild. Ever since he received the reward of a ghost notice for destroying the rose in the last simulation, he no longer had to worry about being recognized in subsequent simulation Yugi and losing the joy of pretending because of his high profile.

The offering was called the Rose Mask.

Offering: Rose Mask

Form: Mask

This offering has been fused with "Persona Mask • Xing," and its fusion abilities are: 1. Passive: After wearing the mask, everyone who sees Sachi will see the image of Sachi as they imagine her. This ability involves Karma and is irreversible; even if you look at any remaining images such as photos or videos, you will get the same result. It has no effect on NPCs. 2. Wearing this mask can greatly stimulate the dark emotions in people's hearts, creating vulnerabilities in their minds. The duration depends on the user's willpower. It can be used three times per game.

Description: This offering is a reward for collecting all the Ghost Notices. It retains some of the original Ghost's characteristics. After fusing with Sachi's Persona Mask, it becomes transparent and invisible, covering the holder's face without producing any significant effects. It is a rare offering that can be used without time limits, so please make good use of it.

Note: Heaven have mercy, it has become a complete tool in the hands of schemers. Oh, blooming rose, no one can appreciate your beauty anymore; when people want to look at you, they can only see this face. Hmm, on second thought, perhaps this face is just as dazzling as the rose.

This offering has no offensive or Defense Power, and it doesn't provide Yu Xing multiple escape routes, yet it is the most satisfactory offering he has obtained so far, without exception.

Although the Sheqing Dreamscape has multiple uses due to Yi Qing's presence and its attack power is also very strong, it can only be described as "strong"; it does not have any particularly deep connection with Yu Xing.

In other words, even if the Sheqing Dreamscape wasn't a dagger, but a sword, a knife, an axe, or even a paintbrush, it wouldn't affect him. As long as he could attack, he would use it anyway.

The rose mask was different; its first ability made Yu Xing fall in love with it instantly.

It was like a pillow being delivered to someone who was about to fall asleep; just when he needed to worry about recognizability, a perfect solution appeared. In Ability 1, the phrase "the law of Karma is irreversible" is definitely worth emphasizing.:(/

For example, in a live stream, if someone enters and is immediately told that Yu Xing is a woman, that person's brain will involuntarily process this information and retain a slight impression.

Therefore, when this person looks at Yu Xing, he will see a female image processed by his brain. This process cannot be interrupted. Even if this person finds Yu Xing's previous live broadcast recordings or even sees Yu Xing's photos, in all the images left by Yu Xing, the Yu Xing he sees will still be a woman.

Even if this person knows he is seeing an illusion and believes Yu Xing is a man, his brain has already processed the original image too many times, making it difficult for him to change his impression.

Even as long as Yu Xing is wearing a mask, this effect will work on everyone. Without his knowledge, some people who see his photo will replace the person in the photo with the person they have guessed in their minds.

This ability can only be ignored by deducers at the Despair level or higher.

It can be said that the ghostly characteristics retained by the Rose Mask itself are sinister enough. After fusing with Yu Xing's Persona Mask, which has a mutation rate of 52, it creates a bug-like ability that is close to the rule level.

However, since this was within the rules, he hadn't violated any regulations, and even if the system was furious, it couldn't do anything to him.

This means that his appearance will never be known to the public, and what "Xing" really looks like will forever remain a secret to a select few.

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Unless he removes his mask, his passive abilities will automatically become ineffective, and his affected perceptions will not be corrected.

Yu Xing is now wearing this invisible rose mask.

From the very beginning of the live stream, only the Rookie Tournament fans who had already seen his face could see his true appearance; the others who came to see him were not him at all, and were even completely different from him.

He had it all planned out. In any situation where his Persona Mask would be revealed, he would wear the mask to cause chaos, while in his usual deductions, he would use his original face. As long as he didn't reveal his name from beginning to end, he could completely separate this face from the identity of "Sachi".

This is the safest method. Although there may be unknown factors involved from people who watched his Rookie Tournament, it is all within his control.

As for ability ②, it seems to be a rather useless feature.

Magnify the other person's dark side, create emotional vulnerabilities, and then what?

Turn the other person into a villain, and then make them cry?

Yu Xing felt that the fusion of this rose mask was depleting his luck.

He is a "Stunning Schemer".

Even without the abilities granted by the title, Yu Xing's skills in instigation, deception, and so on are genuine. When he sincerely influences someone, coupled with the Rose Mask's ability ②, he can accomplish many things that would otherwise be impossible.

Coupled with the title of schemer, the extremely low probability of failure is further reduced.

Both abilities of this mask are truly suited to him and cannot be replaced!

In addition, physical fitness has recovered...

Now, Yu Xing can truly indulge in all the fun!

"Swish swish swish..."

The sound of the pen nib scratching on the paper was very pleasant. He was so focused that he seemed to have forgotten that this was a simulation, completing his work with an absolutely professional attitude.

In the drawing process, less than an hour passed quickly.

Having finished the line art, Yu Xing stretched and glanced at the computer.

11:25.

Even though it wasn't officially the end of the workday, the people around him were already getting restless, and some had even slipped away early.

Employees of Fengdu Company are not restricted in their lunch break schedule. They can choose to eat at the nearby food street or stay in the canteen and enjoy the employee meals provided by the meal allowance.

Yu Xing sat in her seat, seemingly lost in thought, until 11:30 before finally getting up.

Almost simultaneously, a sweet, coquettish female voice rang out from across two workstations. "Brother Fang, I have a small question, could I ask you for help?"

Yu Xing looked over and saw that it was the woman who had been getting water from the water dispenser earlier.

Hearing the woman's tone and meeting the look in her eyes, Yu Xing understood.

Even though Fang Xing's character has some flaws, he's still within the realm of ordinary people. He's just a little impatient and arrogant, but these shortcomings aren't enough to make people overlook his artistic talent, his enviable annual salary, and his face that few can resist.

The Rose Mask has no effect on NP.

Therefore, there are quite a few women in the company who hope to seduce him.

The woman who called out to him was a colleague from the art department. He thought for a moment and replied indifferently, "I'm busy today."

"Oh, is Brother Fang hungry? Well... where are you going for lunch, Brother Fang? I'll go with you. I really have two questions to ask. If I can improve, Brother Fang will scold me less in the future." The woman didn't give up and walked over with a smile.

In terms of figure, she certainly has the confidence to not be rejected, especially in this business suit, which perfectly accentuates her curves.

Fang Xing is a normal man; he shouldn't refuse too obviously.

Yu Xing turned around impatiently and said, "The cafeteria."

Then, without saying she couldn't follow, he walked straight towards the cafeteria.