Chapter 24: Second Act - Crystal Coffin and Burial Objects

"..."

Inside the Security Room, the lights flickered incessantly, and in his dazed state, he could vaguely see a white figure!

Its body seemed to have been drenched in a layer of "white wax," congealed in layers upon its surface and clothes.

The entire person was frozen in place in a twisted posture, as if a movie had been paused.

With the help of the lights that flickered from time to time, one could see that its expression was extremely painful!

"Ugh..."

Ding Mo leaned against the corner of the wall, clutching his head, feeling that his vision was still somewhat blurry.

What is going on? What happened?

Why am I not dead!?

He shook his head hard, trying to shake off the dizziness from just waking up.

He looked toward the desk; the face was already partially covered by white wax, and the remaining expression revealed extreme pain and distortion!

Ding Mo felt suspicious and uneasy!

What... exactly is going on?

Although the white wax obscured a significant portion of the body's features, making it hard to distinguish, that must be Chu Chenfeng, right? There were only the two of them here.

But, why was it him who died?

When I was unconscious, the Curse didn't kill me, but killed him instead!?

After the lights flickered inexplicably for a while, they finally returned to normal. Ding Mo cautiously walked closer to take a look.

The "Black Suitcase" on the desk, which had been facing him just a moment ago, had "turned around" at some point and was now facing Chu Chenfeng's corpse.

Ding Mo walked closer and saw the "Small Paper" inside the case.

There seemed to be words on it!

After hesitating for a few seconds and glancing at the terrifying "senior" standing opposite, Ding Mo finally gritted his teeth, snatched the "Small Paper" into his hand,

and then ran out of the Security Room as if fleeing for his life.

After running for a while, he arrived at a corridor, where Ding Mo held his knees and began to pant heavily.

Not just because of the exertion, but because of the incident just now, which left him with lingering fear!

Chu Chenfeng! This guy kept him by his side only to use him!

He intended to use him as a "Scapegoat" to take his place and pay the price for the Black Suitcase!

He had almost died just now!

"This guy has survived four Typewriter Tasks; he must have found plenty of 'Scapegoats'!"

There were already 6 or 7 people dead, but what about those he used who didn't die? Who knows how many!

It was just that this time, for unknown reasons, he had crashed.

As for why there was a problem this time, Ding Mo did not delve too deeply. Matters of "Pollution" were inherently twisted and bizarre; who could guarantee they could control it 100%?

After panting for a while, Ding Mo straightened his body and made a decision in his heart.

Having experienced this incident, he finally understood.

Zhu Jie, Leng Rourou, Lu Zhenhao... these Polluters who had experienced many tasks were, if not all troublesome, at least "none of them were normal people."

They would never think of unity and cooperation unless their teammates were easy to control and could be used.

They only thought about how to keep themselves alive; how others died had nothing to do with them. They would even coldly drive others to their deaths just to increase their own survival rate by a tiny bit!

They are all f***ing lunatics!

From now on, he absolutely, absolutely must not easily trust these "old-timers" again.

Having made his decision, Ding Mo glanced at the "Threshold."

【Threshold: 100%】

Ding Mo didn't know why it was this number, but as long as everything was normal, that was fine.

As long as everything was normal...

After resting for a while, Ding Mo suddenly remembered the note he was still holding.

He opened it, but it only had two words written on it:

Covering Face!

"Covering Face?" Ding Mo frowned.

What does this mean? Does it have something to do with the "Mask" of the Actors?

"Ding Mo—!"

At this moment, a familiar and anxious shout came from the end of the corridor.

Ding Mo put away the note and turned his head to look, only to see a figure wearing a long black court dress running toward him.

Dong Xiaoyu pinched her skirt, trotted along in her crystal-encrusted high heels, and looked at Ding Mo with her bright, expressive eyes, which were filled with panic.

"What's wrong?" Ding Mo turned around in confusion and looked at her as she ran up to him:

"What happened?"

…………………………

Meanwhile, in Ding Mo's room, in the mobile phone group chat.

A message had already been posted:

【Director: @All Members,

The Second Act script has been issued:

"Snow White Second Act - Crystal Coffin and Burial Objects"

Excitement, horror? Fear! Revenge... When the King's corpse was discovered on his own bed, everyone fell into shock and anger!】

"Who is it! Who killed our beloved King!" The Guards' fury had nowhere to vent; they swore to find the true culprit and subject them to a severe Judgment!

The Queen, her hands still stained with fresh blood, also asked the Magic Mirror—who could the murderer be?

The seven enslaved Dwarfs lay in wait outside the palace, determined to see who had thrown this kingdom into chaos.

As for the "King," it had long been waiting in the Crystal Coffin, waiting for the murderer to be brought to justice and be buried alongside it...

(When the murderer's corpse is placed into the Crystal Coffin, the performance is declared over)

】

【Director: @All Members, attention:

From now on, after dark, it is considered the start of the performance!

However, tonight's first performance scene will still take place in the hall; subsequent scenes are to be arranged by the Actors themselves.

That is all.】

…………………………

Time soon arrived at the afternoon.

There were... less than 3 hours left until nightfall.

Ding Mo and Dong Xiaoyu had returned to the room and silently ate dinner together.

The two sat on the edge of the bed, their expressions heavy.

They were now, to some extent, grasshoppers on the same boat... at least that was what Ding Mo thought.

"You..." Dong Xiaoyu hesitated, carefully glancing at Ding Mo, and only dared to speak after seeing he had no extreme reaction:

"You know, 'I' am the murderer who killed the King."

Ding Mo nodded: "Theoretically speaking, you indeed are."

That eerie "it" had usurped Dong Xiaoyu's Identity, and in the Drama, the "Queen" was indeed the true culprit.

"Then! You are a Guard; tonight, you just need to turn me in, and according to the Script, I will be killed..." Dong Xiaoyu said, her body tensing up, her voice growing lower.

Her eyes kept stealing glances at that man.

Why did she say that?

Perhaps it was because one bizarre incident after another had left her somewhat desperate.

If no one told her how to go on, then giving up the struggle might also be a form of relief...

"No." Contrary to her expectations, Ding Mo shook his head and rejected her 'proposal'.

"You being the murderer does not mean you must be killed.

"And in fact, you didn't kill him either."

Under Dong Xiaoyu's surprised gaze, Ding Mo mused:

"In the current situation, who the murderer is doesn't matter; what's important might be other things..."

As he spoke, he stood up and began to pace the room.

What's important is other things... but what could that be?

Ding Mo had a bit of a headache; in the past, the experienced Chu Chenfeng would help him think, and he didn't need to consider so much.

But now... after experiencing that event, Ding Mo understood:

In this world, if one cannot learn to think independently, one can only be used by others and then die without knowing why.

This was what Chu Chenfeng had taught him.

"You..."

Dong Xiaoyu hesitated for a moment and said: "What do you want to say?"

"I mean, the current situation is somewhat unbalanced..." Only now did Ding Mo finally grasp the key to the matter and tell her his thoughts.

The three forces now—them, the 7 Dwarfs, and Snow White Leng Rourou.

The three parties were entangled, and no one knew which side would become the "sacrifice" of the performance next, just like "Zhu Jie".

But the events of the first act had already told everyone that the "Script" could be altered to a certain extent, as long as one could lure out a "Substitute Actor".

Therefore, among the three forces, the stronger side held the initiative; they had more ability and strength to alter the Script, to let themselves survive and let others become the "sacrifice".

The strongest of the three was undoubtedly the "7 Dwarfs," who had the most members.

And ironically, the only way to weaken them now was through the variable of the "Script".

"..."

Moreover...

"By the way, it's this late, why hasn't Chu Chenfeng returned yet?" Dong Xiaoyu suddenly looked puzzled.

If he were here, would there be more ideas?

Ding Mo was silent upon hearing this.

A few seconds later, he sighed and said with a complex look in his eyes:

"He is dead."

"... Ah!?" Dong Xiaoyu was stunned for a moment before she reacted.

He, Chu Chenfeng, a person who had survived 4 "Typewriter" Tasks, just went out for a trip,

and just like that, he died?!

Dong Xiaoyu sat blankly on the bed, the despair deep in her eyes growing even stronger.

After a long while, she suddenly looked at Ding Mo and said firmly:

"I... I will help you, Ding Mo!"

Ding Mo noticed the way she looked at him, as if she were looking at a straw to save her life.

"... Okay."