Chapter 121.2 Merfolk Shore
At four in the afternoon, a large-scale musical was in rehearsal at the auditorium.
The auditorium boasted the most formal stage. The senior students fought tooth and nail for it, and eventually, under the administration of the student council, a somewhat begrudging timetable for auditorium use was established.
Obtaining a spot, courtesy of a backdoor arrangement, Wen Shi naturally didn’t dare to delay. At half-past the hour, this round small stone was on his way ahead of time.
Within ten minutes, he reached the auditorium. When the performers spotted Jian Qingrong trailing behind him, their tone was rather unfriendly. “Who allowed you to bring someone?”
Wen Shi whispered, “It wasn’t me. His family sponsored a building for the academy and wanted to watch the performance. The teachers agreed too.”
People who invested money were often accorded more respect. After hearing Wen Shi’s explanation, Jian Qingrong wasn’t shown the door.
The play Wen Shi was participating in happened to be the one arranged by the students who worshipped the fox spirit that day.
It wasn’t yet four o’clock. The previous group of performers hadn’t left. They stood around the stage, waiting.
Senior students awaiting their turn huddled together, quietly discussing the matter concerning King Asa. Wen Shi overheard someone saying, “Let’s not mention this incident in the future.”
With their health restored and the performance mostly ready, pressured by the school, they intended to bury that night’s events deep in their hearts.
“Exactly, it’s better to stay grounded.”
The number of followers on the attribute panel decreased by five.
A system prompt appeared: “Please expand your followers soon, otherwise you will face the risk of losing your kingdom.”
Wen Shi’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. Once the wish was fulfilled, deities lose their value of existence. No wonder merfolk would completely manipulate their believers into puppets using spiritual corruption.
He wasn’t so extreme, but to avoid being the last king, it was time to salvage the dignity of the monarchy.
Overseeing everything was a senior wearing the fox spirit jade pendant. Her eyes were fixed on her watch. As the second hand crossed the final mark, she began urging, “It’s time.”
The leader of the choir on stage shot her a glare, about to retort, then abruptly swallowed her words.
Mr. Qi was entering through the back door.
Without turning around, Wen Shi knew who had arrived. When he received the rehearsal notice, it was specifically noted at the end that Mr. Qi would be present to give guidance. Anyone who was late would face the consequences.
“Hello, Sir,” the students greeted in unison.
Mr. Qi responded curtly, his demeanor aloof as always, not sparing a smile for anyone, not even his students.
“At what stage is the rehearsal?” Mr. Qi asked the senior with the jade pendant.
“We’re planning to go with a light opera style. The music and dialogue are all set. We just haven’t finalized the dance sequence for the ending.”
Mr. Qi nodded slightly. “Show me a run-through.”
No one dared to delay. Before going on stage, the senior pointed to a spot for Wen Shi. “You crouch there. You’re playing the role of a servant turned into stone by magic. When the tenor comes in for the first time, you act like you’re cracking on the spot.”
Their theme was “Theater Nightmare,” containing many eerie and dark elements.
For forcibly added performers like Wen Shi, the senior students surely wouldn’t assign them lines. They’d only have to perform some physical movements.
Wen Shi opened his mouth. “How do I act like I’m cracking?”
“Just make a facial expression,” the senior said impatiently. “There will be special lighting effects. They’ll make half of your body immerse in darkness.”
“Oh… I see.”
The student in charge of audio signaled, and everyone immediately got into position.
The music at the beginning was lively and intense. The male and female leads appeared one after another. The girl stood at the front, synchronized with the other dancers, and started singing and dancing.
Wen Shi’s position was closer to the backstage. It was hardly visible unless you paid close attention. However, when the tenor’s voice started, a spotlight would shine on him for about a second.
Jian Qingrong was in the audience, staring unwaveringly at the ignored stone in the corner.
An affable, chubby guy with a beaming smile approached him. It was the same guy who had recently made a deal with Wen Shi. He seemed quite intrigued by Jian Qingrong’s identity and came closer, asking, “Brother, which guild are you from?”
Using his own means, Chubby Guy managed to join an experienced choir. This group would have to wait for Wen Shi’s team to finish their performance before using the stage.
Jian Qingrong didn’t spare him even a sidelong glance, his gaze still fixed on the stage.
【Wangcai Bank】regularly compiled data on veteran players in the virtual world and generated a database. Those who were placed into S-level instances were mostly well-known players. However, according to Chubby Guy’s impression, there was no record of someone named Jian Qingrong.
He had specifically inquired about Jian Qingrong and came up with a different conjecture: Could he be an NPC?
Chubby Guy discreetly activated his second skill,【Bewitch】. Among this group of players, many possessed similar skills. One of the most proficient was Luis. Chubby Guy managed to squeeze in among the frontrunners.
Simultaneously, he utilized an advanced charm item. His focus wasn’t on seduction, of course. Instead, he aimed to significantly boost the NPC’s friendliness.
“You…”
With the double buff of skill and item, he finally got a single word from Jian Qingrong: “Scram.”
“……”
Dealing with interpersonal relationships was Chubby Guy’s forte, yet before he could further smooth things over, piercing screams echoed from the side. Accompanying those screams was an odd creaking sound, as if something was breaking and falling apart.
Chubby Guy lifted his gaze towards the stage, his expression turning dire. The lighting rig at the center of the stage, where the main actors were positioned, suddenly collapsed with a resounding crash. The students below paled in the face, their pupils showing the shock that had overridden their basic reflexes.
“Aaaaah—”
Amid the shocked screams, surprisingly, the quickest to react was Mr. Qi. He dashed towards the stage at a speed beyond human limits, shielding two students and forcefully pulling them backwards, ensuring they were out of the range of the falling lighting rig.
Within the next brief ten seconds, the sound equipment, decorative flowers, and wooden platforms all shattered.
After the initial shock, Chubby Guy’s first instinct was to look towards the corner where Wen Shi stood. He saw Wen Shi, his face impassive, standing there without any attempt to evade, as if he had foreseen what was going to happen. Sensing the gaze that was prying into him, Wen Shi lifted his eyes and looked back with a cool, indifferent gaze.
The icy glare caused Chubby Guy to furrow his brows. Before he realized it, he had actually taken a small step back, an involuntary sign of the unease that had crept into his subconscious.
Mr. Qi reached the fallen lighting rig. The steel wires showed no signs of deliberate tampering, as if it were a simple accident.
Chubby Guy in the audience, however, was convinced that the stage mishap was orchestrated by Wen Shi.
And indeed, that was the truth.
Wen Shi had confirmed with Arlon beforehand that he could use his psychic power to make the lighting rig collapse and also act as a barrier to protect the students below. Regardless of whether Mr. Qi intervened in time or not, there wouldn’t be any bloodshed.
The shattering of the other sound equipment was orchestrated by Jian Qingrong during a brief pause, as he discreetly left contaminants on them and later remotely controlled their destruction.
As Mr. Qi further inspected the fallen lighting rig, Wen Shi approached the shaken senior student. A group of people had gathered here, ready to assist her off the stage.
“…Did you see the fox?”
The extremely faint voice caused a subtle tremor to ripple through everyone nearby. They recalled the incident in the library that night when the fox spirit had warned them to believe in Asa.
Could this eerie accident today be a punishment for them straying from their faith?
Some wanted to scold Wen Shi to be quiet, but they saw him looking paler than anyone else, muttering incessantly about the “bleeding fox.”
The senior girl said absentmindedly, “It must be the fox spirit… King Asa is punishing me. This was the last protection from Fox Spirit Master.”
The students below exchanged puzzled looks, their gazes flickering as they pondered.
Watching this scene, Wen Shi realized that news of the consequences for betraying Asa would quickly spread through the students’ mouths. He had already noticed discussions starting on the forums.
Previously, by capitalizing on their wishes, Wen Shi had led these NPC believers to worship a nonexistent deity. Now, he had to invoke fear to reclaim the faith that was on the brink of fading away.
After a moment, Wen Shi slightly turned his body and looked at Mr. Qi, who was still crouched there meticulously inspecting the fallen lighting rig.
Due to his earlier feigned expression of alarm, Wen Shi’s facial features remained tensed. When he forcibly raised the corners of his mouth, his crimson lips looked rather unhealthy.
“…All accounted for.”
Lily was infatuated with high-quality merfolk, and Mr. Ruan aimed to awaken the Merfolk King. Unexpectedly, Mr. Qi showed a significant interest in the students. Beyond just saving lives, Mr. Qi’s diligent lesson planning and his dedicated on-site guidance for students today revealed more about him.
Wen Shi had already grasped the distinct characteristics of the leading mentors responsible for the new students. The next step was to figure out how to utilize this knowledge.
Chubby Guy in the audience, who had been observing Wen Shi, was equally adept at calculating. He sensed that Wen Shi’s subtle gaze was lingering on Mr. Qi, indicating that he was monitoring and collecting data on the NPCs, just like how【Wangcai Bank】did with all its customers.
A slight movement in the man’s Adam’s apple indicated that this data was quite valuable. It was astounding to find a teacher in the academy who genuinely cared about the students. If leveraged properly, this could have unforeseen benefits.
However, such methods of data collection were the actions of a lunatic.
With only the outer row of small light bulbs illuminating the stage, Wen Shi stood upright under the light. In contrast, Mr. Qi was partly covered in the shadow cast by the backdrop.
One in light, the other in shadow, but it was hard to say who was brighter.
After rechecking his attribute panel, Wen Shi felt content with the return of his number of followers. A genuine touch appeared in his somewhat unhealthy smile.
“The more, the merrier.” His kingdom needed to be like the roots of an ancient tree, extending thousands of meters and firmly grounded in this land.
‘Killing two birds with one stone’ had brought back faith and replenished information. Along with slightly intimidating the people from【Wangcai Bank】, it was another perfect day for Wen Shi.
The stage was quite high, so Jian Qingrong had to look up to keep his eyes on Wen Shi.
The genes of all monsters held a trace of the desire for power. Shortly after meeting Wen Shi, Jian Qingrong clearly understood how much calculation hid beneath this friendly exterior.
A soul that knew how to seize opportunities, was incredibly cunning, yet always understood the value of compromise—truly captivating.
“He is the most perfect one.”
Just as Chubby Guy was still feeling a hint of trepidation due to Wen Shi’s ruthlessness, these words unexpectedly entered his ears. He glanced sideways, catching sight of Jian Qingrong’s fervent gaze, worshiping the figure on the stage.
Toxic solo stan.
In an instant, only these three words remained in Chubby Guy’s mind.
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