What malicious intent could NPCs possibly have? C9.1

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Chp9. part1

He assigned tasks: “Owen will be in charge of the narration and overall coordination. The rest of you will play supporting roles as needed. Everyone, follow the script according to the outline.”

The bald man led them along the corridor where Director Wu had just disappeared, through a small door, to the waiting area by the stage.

The dim lights shone, and a dark red velvet curtain hung low in front of the stage.

Ning Ge parted the curtain’s edge and peeked at the audience.

The theatre wasn’t large, and all the seats were empty except for seven or eight people in the first row in front of the stage, both men and women—presumably the judges the bald man had mentioned.

The sales clerk sidled up to Ning Ge, and the two of them peeked through the gap in the curtain.

“Look at them,” the sales clerk girl whispered, “They’re sitting motionless in a row, all with very pale skin, dark eyes, and no expression on their faces. It’s scary.”

Ning Ge paused, then whispered, “Aren’t they similar to me?”

The sales clerk disagreed. “How can you be like them? Your fair skin is good, your dark eyes are expressive, and no expression is called composure.”

Ning Ge: “…”

Ning Ge: Honey, you’re so hypocritical. Actually, I’m the same as them.

Pei Han glanced at the time on his bracelet. “We still need to find the anchor points. Let’s hurry.”

“Ignore all the other plot points,” Pei Han thought for a moment. “Owen will handle everything with narration. Just go through those five important plot points, and I think that should be enough. Let’s get it over with quickly.”

Ning Ge thought about the first key plot point she had just highlighted in red:

The female lead sees the male lead’s diary, realises she’s a substitute for his ideal woman, and throws the divorce papers in his face.

The outline was only a few rough sentences, no details, no lines; completing the play depended entirely on improvisation.

The lights blazed on, the curtain rose.

The performance began.

Ning Ge reluctantly stepped onto the stage.

The stage had been set up to resemble the bedroom from the opening scene. Ning Ge walked to the centre and glanced at the audience.

Several judges, their expressions serious, stared at her intently.

How should she begin?

Before Ning Ge could figure it out, she heard a judge complain.

“What’s going on? What are you standing there daydreaming about?”

Suddenly, someone backstage said, “Ring ring ring ring—”

Ning Ge paused. It was Owen’s voice. What was he pretending to do? The doorbell? The alarm clock?

Ning Ge looked around and saw not only an alarm clock on the bedside table, but also a cell phone.

The cell phone was much more intriguing than the alarm clock. Ning Ge quickly walked over and pretended to answer it.

Pei Han’s voice immediately came from backstage: “Xiao Nian, I’ll be home late tonight. You can eat alone.”

He saw Ning Ge standing on stage in a daze, trying to salvage the situation.

Ning Ge, suddenly inspired, came up with a line, “Ersheng, but today is our wedding anniversary. I’ve been preparing for days, and I even ordered…”

Pei Han coldly interrupted her, “I have things to do. Bye.”

Owen: “Beep, beep, beep, beep…”

Ning Ge thought: What beep? Does your phone beep when you hang up?

However, the effect was good. Ning Ge heard a female judge curse, “Scumbag!”

Encouraged, Ning Ge continued to ramble on about the plot.

“Maybe he’s really busy. He has a new project lately, and he’s always in meetings. He can’t help it,” Ning Ge said. “I even prepared a gift for him…”

Ning Ge glanced around, pondering what prop she could use as a gift, when she saw something automatically appear on the low cabinet beside the bed.

It really did appear out of thin air.

It was a small, neatly wrapped gift box, tied with a ribbon.

Ning Ge paused for a moment, then understood.

It was a thought again.

On this stage, if you think of something, that thing will actually appear.

Ning Ge broke out in a cold sweat.

Unlike in the hostel that morning, even though she was alone on stage, whatever she thought of would appear.

So if she accidentally thought of something dangerous…

Her gaze slid over the fabric of the large bed, and her thoughts involuntarily wandered: what if it caught fire or something…

A small flame suddenly leapt up on the pillow. *Put out the fire! Put out the fire! Put out the fire!* Ning Ge roared in her mind.

However, a fire sparked by her brain couldn’t be extinguished by her brain, the small flames burned merrily.

The stage props were on fire, but the judges below showed no reaction, looking completely unfazed, probably thinking it was all stage effects.

Ning Ge quickly grabbed the empty water glass on her bedside table, desperately thinking: Water! Water! Water!

The thought flashed through her mind, and the glass instantly overflowed with a large amount of water.

Thankfully, the large glass of water splashed onto her pillow, immediately extinguishing the small flame.

A close call, but no real danger.

For the sake of her life, she couldn’t let her mind wander any further. Ning Ge tried to clear her mind and refocus her attention on the plot.

Where was she? Right, she needed to give the male lead a gift.

However, her brain wasn’t cooperating.

A fleeting image of the white-clad woman who was killed with telekinesis flashed through Ning Ge’s mind.

Ning Ge pinched her hand hard.

Thankfully, her thoughts raced quickly; the white-clad woman didn’t actually appear.

A sentence suddenly popped into Ning Ge’s mind.

[Interesting, isn’t it?]

Who is it?

As if answering her question, a long, forceful sentence echoed in her mind, like a theatrical monologue.

[You ask who I am? I am the mountain, lifting you to the summit of ten thousand peaks; I am the blazing sun, bestowing upon you the most dazzling light; I am the throne, making the world prostrate before your charm, kissing your feet. My leading lady, who do you say I am?]

It sounded like something a madman would say.

Ning Ge paused: You are the stage?

The voice hesitated awkwardly: [You guessed pretty quickly, huh?]

This stage was alive; it could read her thoughts; it was speaking to her. The stage was stunned for less than a second before the frenzy returned:

[Let’s create the most dazzling stage effects together, achieving unparalleled glory and brilliance!]

Sounds good, right?

The ability to conjure up whatever you think is incredibly dangerous.

Ning Ge ignored the stage, forcing herself to concentrate and continue crafting her lines, “Ersheng will be back after working overtime. When he gets back, I want to give him a surprise. Where should I hide the gift?”