Xi Guici

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Xi Guici (席归辞)
Alias(es)	Shi Ling; Ni Zi 107 245
Species/Race	Puppet shell; his true form is identified as the Dark Thunder. 69 108
Gender	Male
Occupation/Role	Examinee and puppet-maker. 65 69
Status	Active; continues acting after sacrificing a Talent Authority and disintegrating. 271 293 297
First Appearance	Chapter 27

Appearance

Xi Guici generally presents himself as a refined, fair-faced young man whose harmless manner sharply contrasts with his violence. He often wears gold-rimmed glasses and maintains an exceptionally gentle smile, even in the aftermath of murder. 27 31 65

• Gold-rimmed glasses; one lens is shattered during his confrontation with Bo Shuo in the cramped bedroom. 29
• Peach-blossom eyes and a carefully cultivated gentle, vulnerable expression. 29 66
• Raven-blue eyelashes and a composed, scholarly appearance that makes his brutality particularly unsettling. 31
• His appearance is not fixed: he has operated under the identities of Shi Ling and Ni Zi, and can act through puppet shells. 69 107 245

Personality

Xi Guici is an obsessive, sadistic perfectionist who treats living people as material for his art. He is proud of his puppets, readily describes the destruction of consciousness as part of their creation, and feels no remorse for the examinees he sacrifices. 65 66

His usual politeness is calculated rather than humane. When challenged, he can shift instantly from gentle restraint to casual mutilation; after admitting he knew vital rules, he severed an examinee's pointing hand simply because he disliked being pointed at. 31

Bo Shuo is the exception to his indifference. Xi Guici considers him an equal and “the same kind of madman,” becoming possessive, jealous, and unusually accommodating around him. His interest persists despite Bo Shuo's hostility and repeated attempts to kill or evade him. 27 39 67 108

Abilities & Skills

Puppet Silk

Xi Guici's soul talent manifests as fine, often red or invisible threads capable of binding, cutting, devouring, and controlling targets.

• Can slice flesh with extreme precision, including severing an examinee's hand and opening a deep wound in another's wrist. 31 67
• Controls bodies and consciousness by embedding threads deeply within a target's soul. 65
• Manipulates groups simultaneously, including villagers, Ghost Face Men, monsters, and unaware examinees. 68 69 268
• Can use threads to restrain and devour entities such as Beauty Papers. 296
• The silk controls targets but does not substantially enhance their physical strength. 68
• His threads cannot take control of Bo Shuo, whose soul is protected by the World Consciousness; Bo Shuo later reflects and commandeers the silk himself. 67 68

Puppet Crafting

Xi Guici creates puppets from living “shells,” regarding the process as an artistic pursuit.

• His stated process is to select material, erase its consciousness, and weave his own threads into its soul. 65
• White Faction Examinees are held as sacrifices and transformed into experimental puppets. 65 66
• He seeks a “Perfect Puppet” and considers gods the finest possible material. 65
• He later contemplates refining himself into a puppet after recognizing the possibility. 69

Puppet Shells and Identity Concealment

Xi Guici does not always act through his true body.

• The body used during the Folklore Instance is a controlled shell rather than his true form. 69
• The Opera House manifestation is likewise a puppet; his real form, the Dark Thunder, remains hidden in the instance's shadows. 108
• He infiltrates later events through the identities Shi Ling and Ni Zi, concealing himself from other examinees until Bo Shuo exposes him. 107 245 246

Talent Authority

Xi Guici possesses a Talent Authority connected to Puppet Silk.

• He offers to strip away his entire talent and give it to Bo Shuo, despite the act being equivalent to severing part of his own soul. 270
• He ultimately sacrifices the Authority, enabling Bo Shuo's sudden advancement to Demigod. 271
• The transfer causes his manifested form to disintegrate, though he vows that he and Bo Shuo will meet again. 271

Equipment / Items

• Imitation Scalpel — An F-class Ghost Tool modeled after Bo Shuo's S-class scalpel. Xi Guici gives it to Bo Shuo, who discards it. 30

Relationships

• Bo Shuo — Object of obsession and the person Xi Guici regards as his equal. He repeatedly approaches Bo Shuo, attempts to claim him with Puppet Silk, offers him his talent, and sacrifices Talent Authority to advance him. 27 67 68 270 271
• Sang Yu — A perceived rival for Bo Shuo's attention. Xi Guici shows open hostility toward her and later attempts to control her with Puppet Silk. 34 68
• White Faction Examinees — Treats them as disposable sacrifices and puppet material. 65 66
• Yan Shun'an — Threatens him for addressing Bo Shuo as “Mr. Bo,” then helps his group escape Hua Pi Village before incapacitating them. 296 297
• Wen Yanqing — Accompanies Bo Shuo and Xi Guici through a spatial rift; both later answer Bo Shuo's call to join his larger plan. 247 293

Story Role / Major Arcs

Folklore Instance

Xi Guici first approaches Bo Shuo after recognizing him as a fellow “madman.” 007 detects a god's aura around him and identifies him as potentially connected to the god that killed its previous hosts. 27

During the faction assessment, Xi Guici joins the opposing White Faction. He deliberately chose the exam room, acts independently, and leaves behind victims bearing wounds matching his imitation scalpel. 40 49

He reveals his puppet workshop in a back-mountain cave, where he has turned White Faction Examinees into sacrifices in pursuit of a Perfect Puppet. His attempt to control Bo Shuo fails, and Bo Shuo turns Puppet Silk against him. 65 67 68 When Xi Guici unleashes power beyond the venue's threshold, the Proctoring System forcibly strips his control over the shell. 69

Opera House and Hidden Identities

Xi Guici later appears disguised as Shi Ling. Bo Shuo learns that “Shi Ling” massacred nearly everyone in a previous game and that Xi Guici approached him not for revenge, but to get closer to him. 107

At the Opera House, Xi Guici reveals that the body before Bo Shuo is another puppet and offers to help him reach S-rank in exchange for remaining by his side. He also claims to have foreseen Bo Shuo destroying the world, with himself standing behind him. 108

Corpse Dissolving Pool

Xi Guici infiltrates another venue as Ni Zi, but Bo Shuo exposes him. He follows Bo Shuo through a collapsing venue's spatial rift and resurfaces at the Corpse Dissolving Pool. 245 247 267

There, he covertly entangles examinees with Puppet Silk, then reacts with delight to seeing the portion of his talent that Bo Shuo had taken and transformed. Rather than reclaiming it, Xi Guici offers Bo Shuo the remainder of his ability and Talent Authority. 268 270

Talent Sacrifice and Later Intervention

Xi Guici's sacrifice makes Bo Shuo a Demigod, but the transferred Authority remains a source of concern because it still originally belongs to Xi Guici. 271

He later answers Bo Shuo's request to join a plan against the spreading exam venues, despite being suppressed to S-rank. 293 In Hua Pi Village, he destroys attacking Beauty Papers with red threads, enables the examinees' escape, and then incapacitates them after the mission concludes. 296 297

Notable Quotes

“I don't like people pointing at me.” 31

“You will ultimately belong to me.” 68

“If Mr. Bo likes it, I can strip this entire talent away and give it to you.” 270

“Praise My Lord.” 297