Chapter 97: Found You! My Male Lead!

Su Ming looked at the two identical Magicians before him.

He just smiled and shook his head.

"What a pity..."

"All magic requires a stage."

"And you are the Energy Core of this stage."

"No matter how many clones you make... this cannot change!"

The moment his words fell, the perfect Smile Mask on the two Magicians' faces suddenly stiffened!

They tried to speak.

But Su Ming gave them no chance at all!

"So..."

He spun violently, and the black, sky‑rising Soul Dagger in his hand he thrust hard into the empty mirror behind him!

Puff—!

The mirror shattered!

The figure of a third Magician tumbled out clumsily from behind the mirror.

It was lodged dead‑center in his chest, the black dagger fixed firmly!

Until now, his true form had never appeared!

He had always been hidden behind the scenes!

"You... how could you..."

The Magician covered his chest, his face a mix of shock and incomprehension.

Su Ming drew the Soul Dagger, his expression icy.

"Your trick is superb..."

"What a pity, you chose the wrong Audience."

"True magic makes others believe the false."

"And I happen to excel at piercing reality!"

The Magician, hearing this, let the shock on his face gradually turn into a resigned bitter smile.

"So that's it... I've been seen through..."

Blood light overflowed from his body, turning into blood‑colored butterflies fluttering across the sky.

He no longer covered his chest.

Instead, he placed his right hand on his chest and bowed gracefully.

He performed an impeccable curtain‑call gesture.

"Mr. Jing, your performance is equally splendid."

"It's a pity..."

"I cannot see your final act on the stage of the End!"

His words fell.

Bang—!

The Magician's entire body exploded with a roar.

It turned into countless fluttering playing cards, sweeping the entire mirrored space!

Crack—!

Crack—!

The whole maze world made of mirrors disintegrated inch by inch!

Audience Expectation Value +177!

The outside clamor and bloodshed poured back into his eardrums.

Su Ming stood in place, looked up, and gazed at the eerie violet sky.

An announcement appeared:

Jing successfully killed a Twelve Heavenly King Artist — Stunning Magic Hand!

"It's him again!"

"Another one! This damn thing is the second Heavenly King‑level Artist he single‑killed!"

"What kind of monster is this Jing, after all?! Is he a god?!"

"I get it! Jing! He clears everything clean! He is the original rain of Gray Rain!"

Countless people stared blankly at the sky, their hearts left only with the terror after being crushed by extreme violence...

And that lingering numbness!

……

In the alley.

Su Ming withdrew his gaze, his sight landing where the Stunning Magic Hand had dissipated.

A black high‑top hat floated silently.

The brim was embroidered with a silver‑threaded clown mask that was half‑smile, half‑cry.

Name: Curtain Call Hat (one of the Twelve Heavenly King Artifacts)

Quality: Legendary

Function One: Encore! It can place any item of Myth or lower quality into the hat and perfectly replicate it! (Only once; after use the Curtain Call Hat does not disappear!)

Function Two: Tragedy and Comedy Repertoire! Collect all Twelve Heavenly King Artifacts to fuse into a Tragedy and Comedy Repertoire, gaining absolute control over the Theatre of Sorrow!

"Encore?!"

Su Ming's eyelids twitched wildly!

This function is literally defying the heavens!

Whether it's a reprint of Hope Star, Destiny Pocket Watch, Soul Gu...

They're all fucking cash cows!

Keep grinding!

Su Ming's steps never stop, full of drive.

Being lazy might feel great.

But effort runs through life from start to finish!

Kill kill kill!

Time passes.

Above the heavens, new announcements keep popping up:

Dragon Soul successfully killed one of the Twelve Artists — the Stringless Luthier!

Archangel successfully killed one of the Twelve Artists — the Mad Clown!

Sakura Oni successfully killed one of the Twelve Artists — the Withered Dancer!

"Snort…"

Su Ming furrowed his brows.

Besides him, three other guys killed a Tier‑King Artist!

"Dragon Soul sounds like they're from our Dragon Nation…"

"... but the other two…"

This Tragicomedy Set twelve‑piece collection isn't as easy to complete as imagined!

"Damn it, kill!"

"Turn back and have a proper chat with them!"

Su Ming's murderous intent deepened, his steps never ceased, merging once more into the blood‑stained battlefield!

Speed must be faster!

Buzz—!

After an unknown amount of killing, Su Ming's heart jumped, and he looked up sharply.

Above the heavens, beside the purple‑gold leaderboard, a massive purple countdown suddenly appeared!

44:00!

Su Ming halted his steps and pulled out his phone.

Exactly 8:00 PM!

"Fourth Act is coming?!"

"8:44 is the ending?! The final act?!"

"That fast?!"

Su Ming glanced at the Xiao Heizi in his pocket.

Incubation progress: 98.5%!

Just one final step away!

"Never mind! Keep going!"

One‑shot kill!

One‑shot kill!

The Artists encountered along the way seem to be getting fewer and fewer!

8:40 PM.

Su Ming spat out a puff of foul breath, used the Divine Demon Talisman to sense and reset the Crimson!

The time is about right!

And the leaderboard at this moment…

…enough to make anyone's moral heart collapse!

1. 【Jing】: Expected value 【5139】

2. 【Dragon Soul】: Expected value 【1217】

3. 【Archangel】: Expected value 【1118】

4. 【Sakura Oni】: Expected value 【1087】

5. 【Ali】: Expected value 【999】

…

99. 【You Ren You Yu】: Expected value 【687】

100. 【Paimon】: Expected value 【681】

Fault line!

The Data Emperor is already posting wildly on the forum!

【This killing speed would require whole‑map teleportation and everyone instant‑killing; otherwise it's impossible!】

【Reported! This B definitely opened!】

【A meek question… who should we report to?!】

【Good question, it leaves me speechless!】

Clang—!

【20:44】!

The resonant ancient bell toll rang through every corner of the globe.

The ongoing slaughter abruptly ceased.

All Artists' bodies began to erode and disperse inch by inch like sand paintings.

In the end, they transformed into billions of dazzling specks of light, merging into the sky.

"Is it over?"

But the next moment, everyone stared up in horror, their bodies rigid!

Above the heavens, the specks of light converged wildly.

Eventually, they formed a massive image that covered the entire sky!

It was...

An eye!

A flawless eye, yet one that contained endless sorrow!

Under the gaze of that eye.

Billions of people worldwide involuntarily felt a pang of heartbreak.

Immediately after.

The image on the heavens began to slowly pull back...

Pulling back...

Gradually revealing part of its owner's outline—

It was a woman's face!

So beautiful it took one's breath away!

The camera finally froze!

The female lead's exquisite visage was thus imprinted in everyone's mind worldwide!

She looked down upon all beings through the heavens.

But in the end.

She locked onto only one person among the endless crowd!

An ethereal female voice that resonated worldwide, filled with endless obsession and possessiveness, declared to the world!

"I... have found you..."

"My... male lead!"