Chapter 253

【NAME: King of Drama (Puppet, Fictional, Domain)】

【APPEARANCE: Current appearance is that of a middle-aged human male, neatly and elegantly dressed, fond of wearing a tall top hat, with a slightly weary face; this human identifies himself as the great playwright Wang Wang Wang Erde, frequently seen near the backstage of the Morning Star Troupe】

【ABILITIES: Soul Puppet, Fictional Will, Drama Domain】

【COST: The user of this anomaly must possess unparalleled passion for drama; when the user's passion begins to wane, their soul will be replaced by the King of Drama, and the King of Drama's appearance will change accordingly】

【FILE: As the twelfth user of the King of Drama—and its greatest—Master Wang Wang Wang Erde's passion for drama never faded; on the contrary, it grew stronger with each real-world scene he witnessed during his tours.】

Unfortunately, even though his soul remained burning hot, his weary and fragile body cooled down three years ago, accidentally triggering the King of Drama's replacement effect.

After Master Wang Wang Wang Erde's true soul departed, the "King of Drama" that replaced him possessed neither comparable artistic skill nor found a new user whose passion surpassed Master Wang Wang Wang Erde's.

Thus, the "King of Drama" has been forced to follow Master Wang Wang Wang Erde's final wishes: to complete his unfinished script and continue the Morning Star Troupe's world tour.

But as the reception of new plays declined and the Morning Star Troupe's members kept changing, the "King of Drama," who believes itself to be Master Wang Wang Wang Erde, has grown increasingly unable to accept these changes—and has finally reached the brink of total loss of control…】

【EVALUATION: Great criminals and great artists share one trait: they both dislike the world as it is. For art capable of changing the world, the one who creates it is the sole sovereign capable of ruling it.】

【CONTAMINATION LEVEL: 16】

【Through your own observation and deduction, you have acquired extensive information on the "King of Drama." The Chromatic Badge "Materialist Soul (Crimson)" has activated.】

【Having understood the rules and effects of the "King of Drama," your resistance to it has increased dramatically—you can now block deeper levels of influence.】

……

So it's an anomaly that went out of control after losing its user… And its contamination level is truly high—fully equal to two batches of Heishanyang offal. Looks like I'm in for some serious trouble.

Using the resistance provided by 【Materialist】, I tore off the transparent threads tied to my forehead; my will regained freedom, and Hearing Li Ang stretched his limbs, then surveyed the incredibly real seaside town before him.

"Ankara…"

Seeing the sign at the dock reading "Ankara, City of Passion and Waves," Hearing Li Ang's brow furrowed slightly.

If I remember correctly, this is the setting of "Twelve Days of Travel"—the male lead, Elijah, comes here to relax, meets the lush and beautiful barmaid Agatha in a tavern, and embarks on a romantically mistaken love affair.

So… am I now thrown into Master Wang Wang Wang Erde's script? Become one of its "actors"?

As this thought crossed his mind, Hearing Li Ang hesitated slightly, and did not use 【Materialist】's resistance to tear off all the threads on his body—he kept some of them intact.

Senior Auntie Auntie Ai Ma once told him that for this type of "domain" anomaly, unless your Li Ang value exceeds the user's by more than double, it's nearly impossible to break free through brute force alone—his current level probably couldn't escape.

According to Senior Auntie Auntie Ai Ma, the only "solution" for this type of anomaly is to kill the user before they act; otherwise, you must obediently follow the domain's "rules."

Judging from the information on the "King of Drama," the core rule of this domain must be "drama." Since I'm unfamiliar with the play "Twelve Days of Travel," I might still need these threads—better not rush to tear them all off.

Also, after being turned into a puppet, my strength has been severely weakened—I've lost contact with Young Ha, and neither my sniper rifle nor any other anomalies can be retrieved in the Mirror World; although my pendant of the Holy Spirit remains on my person, its effects are heavily suppressed…

As he thought of this, Hearing Li Ang channeled the Holy Spirit pendant's power to make a shallow cut on his arm; watching his body heal slowly but still reliably, he exhaled a faint sigh of relief.

Good news: the Sheep Heart still works.

Although the "King of Drama"'s ability can affect the soul and bypass the Sheep Heart's protection, since its effect is "manipulation" rather than "damage," it's unlikely to inflict direct soul trauma—my safety is at least somewhat assured.

So now, my goal is to find the Princess, who was also brought into this world, without triggering the "drama rules" and drawing the domain's suppression.

Once I ensure her safety and that of the others caught in this, I'll figure out how to deal with the out-of-control "King of Drama" and clean up this sudden anomaly… Huh?

Feeling a clear tug from the threads tied to his body, Hearing Li Ang relaxed his posture and followed the pull, stepping forward along the road.

Is the "plot" beginning? Do I need to participate?

As he vaguely guessed what was happening, Hearing Li Ang lowered his head slightly to examine his own clothes.

Shiny patent shoes with false heels, tight pants adorned with tiny metal studs, a bizarre suit made of some garishly patterned fabric, mismatched trinkets on the cuffs and collar, and a bright yellow pompadour slicked down with gel…

Honestly, this outfit looks less like a person and more like a mentally deranged peacock…

So in this drama world, my "character" is a clown?

An involuntary "subway, old man, phone" expression flickered across his face; Hearing Li Ang let out an annoyed "tsk," then let the threads control him as he shuffled toward the dockside tavern where the protagonists would meet.

Fine, clown it is!

Right now, what matters most isn't what role I play—it's getting to the scene of the "plot" as fast as possible to find the Princess and confirm her safety.

……

Soon, Hearing Li Ang's character strode into the tavern where the "plot" began, swaying with the signature "gutter-walker" gait and plopping himself down at a window table.

Immediately, a curvaceous, beautiful barmaid with a name tag hanging from her chest stepped forward with butterfly-like steps and smiled sweetly:

"Mr. Joseph, what would you like to drink today?"

"…"

Oh come on!

Glancing at her chest… front, even though her appearance and aura had changed considerably, Hearing Li Ang recognized her instantly—this barmaid was unquestionably the Princess he was searching for.

And even worse…

"Agatha…"

After reading the name on her tag, Hearing Li Ang blinked in utter disbelief.

Holy shit, it's only been five minutes—I turned into a crazy yellow-haired clown, and you became the female lead of the whole play?