Lingren

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Lingren (伶人)
Alias(es)	A Ling; “Master” (role in the Death Parallel Line deduction) 260 693
Gender	Male 693 1146
Affiliation	Vice-president of Single Prism; operated publicly as an Ideal Nation investigator during the Yorikof Town investigation 257 447 1087
Occupation/Role	Opera performer/actor; experimentalist and creator of artificial beings 149 1146
Status	Active 1215
First Appearance	Mentioned in Chapter 149; personally identified in Chapter 260 149 260

Background / History

Lingren was once connected to Hua Subai, who used him for an unspecified purpose and left him cursed, resentful, and progressively degenerated. Hua Subai later treated Lingren as both a dangerous creation and a disposable toy, attempting to curb his degeneration without accepting responsibility for it. 587 624

He entered Yu Xing's household as an opera performer and became someone Yu Xing trusted as both a friend and a mentor. Lingren had targeted Yu Xing from the beginning, however, believing Yu Xing was suited to become “a second Lingren.” He destroyed the Yu family in a fire, took Yu Xing away, and subjected him to experiments involving a black mass brought from “absurdity.” 149 150 155

The experiments gave Yu Xing a portion of Lingren's curse-derived power and immortality, but also transformed him into an unstable monster. Lingren's own immortality became a secret shared only by the two of them within Single Prism; after Yu Xing escaped and later weakened, Lingren spent years searching for him. 161 624 653

Appearance

Lingren is a slender, exceptionally beautiful man whose delicate, androgynous features often cause others to overlook his gender. His refined bearing and carefully maintained presentation contrast sharply with his brutality. 449 693 1146

• Light amber eyes, described as deep and unsettling when stared into. 266 730
• Long black hair, worn in a high ponytail as A Ling or tied low with formal clothing. 693 1087
• Soft facial features and a sharp chin; often presents himself with a gentle smile. 449 695
• Slender build and deceptively soft-looking wrists, though he possesses abnormal physical ability. 449 693
• Callused hands, implying extensive practical work beyond stage performance. 730 1215

Personality

Lingren is an accomplished performer in both the literal and social sense. He habitually adopts a gentle, elegant, courteous manner, using warmth and apparent cooperation to conceal threats, manipulation, and cruel amusement. Even when openly hostile, he often treats conflict as a staged performance. 449 695 1206

He is intelligent, patient, and extremely difficult to read. Rather than concealing his malice completely, he often makes his intentions obvious while ensuring others cannot effectively stop him. He enjoys provoking fear and despair, and has killed simply because he was in a good mood. 697 730

Lingren's fixation on Yu Xing is inseparable from hatred, possessiveness, and self-destruction. He wants Yu Xing to fall into the fallen line, yet also seeks an ending in which Yu Xing either kills him or dies by his hand. 261 744

Abilities & Skills

Curse Power and Immortality

Lingren possesses the same curse-origin immortality later implanted into Yu Xing. Conventional injuries heal rapidly unless they involve rules or a curse of the same origin. 161 266 640

• Can release curse energy that creates an oppressive aura of fear. 640
• Can perceive targets through his curse; bricks, tiles, and other surroundings may act as extensions of his vision. 640 730
• Can control Yu Xing under favorable deduction conditions. 423
• His physical state may be heavily suppressed outside a deduction, where his body is less formidable than Yu Xing's. 449

Moss Manipulation

Lingren can produce dark-green moss infused with curse energy. The moss serves as both a defensive field and a tool for interference, decay, and assimilation. 1130 1144

• Blocked mental pollution in the Forgotten Dense Forest. 1130
• Concealed the presence of himself and nearby allies from hostile observation. 1134
• Rapidly covered and stopped the pulsation of the Clock Tower's heart. 1144
• Absorbed black mud and fused with Yu Xing's curse branches while attacking the descending stars. 1207

Creation and Experimentation

Lingren is deeply interested in creating and modifying life. His stated ideal of becoming a scientist is reflected in his experiments, dolls, artificial people, and pursuit of ancient-god materials. 1146 1207

• Created the Flower Seeker, an artificial person with Lingren's memories who later developed an independent personality. 824
• Can create artificial people recognized by the Absurdity System, allowing them to clear deductions and develop their own abilities. 1146
• Places constructs or marks on subordinates, such as the actor-shaped clay figurine left behind by the Shadow Dog. 1107
• Modified ritual runes during the Yorikof Town incident while pursuing experimental materials for himself. 1192 1215

Combat

Lingren is a Despair-tier deducer whose direct combat capability vastly exceeds most participants. Even a one-ninth fragment of his power could overwhelm Zhao Yijiu. 268 665

• Eliminated an entire Base 51 clearing squad alone. 730
• Can kill with minimal movement; a touch to a Corpse Heart's forehead destroyed its internal body structure. 1154
• Uses psychological pressure, threats, and hostage tactics alongside direct force. 261 697

Relationships

• Yu Xing — Former household guest, trusted mentor, experimenter, and Yu Xing's primary enemy. Lingren destroyed Yu Xing's family, implanted him with curse power, and remains obsessed with making him fall. 149 150 261
• Hua Subai — Lingren's former manipulator and the source of his curse-related degeneration. Their relationship is defined by resentment, unequal power, and Lingren's desire for revenge. 587 823
• Zhao Yijiu — Yu Xing's ally whom Lingren severely injured and used to provoke Yu Xing during the Death Parallel Line deduction. 261 665
• Qu Xuanqing — A temporary collaborator during the Yorikof Town investigation; she remains openly wary of his motives and experiments. 1128 1144
• Carlos — Mutual antagonists during the apocalypse deduction. Carlos surveilled Lingren with paper figures, while Lingren mocked and pursued him. 693 695
• Aiven Clifford — A cultist Lingren manipulated through money, threats, and selective intelligence concerning Yu Xing and the Secret Cult ritual. 1125 1190
• The Magician — An enemy whose interference prevented Lingren from obtaining the ancient-god material he sought; Lingren later wrote to the Witch for assistance against him. 1215

Story Role / Major Arcs

Death Parallel Line

Lingren entered as the deduction's special guest and played the “Master,” an enemy role shaped by his own personality. Though split into nine portions and restricted from using Sacrifices, he remained strong enough to crush Zhao Yijiu and manipulate the deduction's participants. Yu Xing ultimately defeated one-ninth of him alone. 260 261 268

Apocalypse Instance and Yin Yang City

Under the identity A Ling, Lingren infiltrated Base 51's clearing squad, earned its members' trust, and later massacred the squad before leaving to pursue a ticket to Yin Yang City. He obtained the ticket after seriously injuring Yan Ming, then drew Yu Xing and Zhao Yijiu toward the Yin Yang Corridor. 693 729 730 739

In Yin Yang City, he revealed that a means of permanently killing Yu Xing existed there. He also implied that the city was the final “end” for both of them, treating it as their shared graveyard. 744 762

Yorikof Town Investigation

Lingren appeared as an Ideal Nation investigator and proposed a tightly limited temporary alliance with Yu Xing. He aided Yu Xing and Qu Xuanqing against shared threats while secretly pursuing materials from the Clock Tower and the ancient god. 1128 1130 1144

He staged an apparent death after being attacked by the disguised cultist Annie, then reappeared to manipulate Aiven and alter the Secret Cult's ritual. His plan to claim the ancient god's material ultimately failed, leaving him with fragments of Edgar's heart instead. 1157 1190 1215

Notable Quotes

“Your family is gone. You have nowhere left to go either. Come with me.”
— Lingren to Yu Xing after the destruction of the Yu household 149

“Good, this is the immortality I gave you.”
— Lingren to Yu Xing 266

“It’s a shame I’m in a good mood and just want to kill you all for fun.”
— Lingren during the Base 51 massacre 730

Trivia

• The character 伶 refers to an opera singer and, historically, a court musician; “Lingren” derives from this meaning. 247
• Lingren's real name is hidden from the public through a deal with the Absurdity System; he operates solely under his codename. 447
• He dislikes overly sweet tea, considering it bad for the throat. 1190
• Despite his actor identity, he has stated that he would have wanted to be a scientist. 1146