Morning.
Li Andy lay sprawled on the bed, gazing at the familiar ceiling, pondering the meaning of the universe.
The starry sky is boundless, the universe endless.
That endless universe... does it have a backache?
Sigh...
Li Andy sighed softly, tilted his head slightly, and saw Sophia's soundly sleeping face close at hand.
His will was still not firm enough.
He had said he was only going to watch, but in the end, he couldn't resist joining the performance.
However, he couldn't be entirely blamed for this.
When the Gate of the Abyss had already provocatively swayed right in front of him, anyone who could still resist would be like this.
“Brother, you’re awake? Come, drink some chicken ginseng soup~”
Youxi pushed the door open, holding a bowl of chicken soup, her face radiant with a full, rosy smile.
Li Andy shivered, feeling that the words sounded off.
Why did it sound a bit like... “Dalang, time for your medicine”?
Li Andy slowly got up, took a gulp, but accidentally choked because he saw something stimulating:
“Cough, cough, I can get it myself. You... don’t just wear an apron.”
Youxi smiled, but it was unclear if she had heard him.
Sophia, beside them, sniffed, awakened by the aroma, and after stretching, she didn't mind the mess, directly extended her head, and took a sip from the spot where he had drunk from his soup bowl.
“Phew—it’s so nice to not have to do anything!”
Sophia stretched another big yawn, the thin quilt sliding down, her graceful figure freely interacting with the morning air.
From her appearance, it seemed she didn't want to go to the academy yet, planning to rest for one more full day.
Li Andy rubbed his lower back, deciding to temporarily distance himself from the two well-fed, idle, dangerous individuals. After chugging down the nourishing soup, he locked himself in the study.
Sophia watched Li Andy's hasty retreat, revealing a triumphant smile, completely unaware that she was the weakest and the first to fall.
“Sophia, let’s go find Rose.”
Youxi likewise smiled and withdrew her gaze.
“We won’t disturb Brother’s rest.”
“Oh, okay!”
“Sophia, this part here is a bit unbuttoned again...”
“Ah? Do I... do I need to lose weight?” Sophia’s voice was a little flustered.
“No way! This is one of Sophia’s great advantages!”
“Is... is that so?”
“Of course, hehe, we all really like it.”
Sophia was stunned, her cheeks gradually flushing red, but recalling the details, it indeed seemed to be true.
The air rustled, as the beauties changed clothes together.
On the other side, in the quiet study.
Li Andy slumped in his chair, gazing at the words written by the Witness's Pen in its frenzied and flirtatious state, and couldn't help but frown.
That burnt-out gray feather pen seemed to sense the swaying of Li Andy's shadow, and in an instant, it was fully energized again, fawningly writing its greetings:
“Oh, great existence beyond destiny, greetings.”
“Your slightly depleted body may need some nourishment.”
“If you don’t mind, perhaps you could try a little of me.”
“If you accidentally consume me completely... I would be honored beyond measure!!”
Li Andy’s mouth twitched, and the shadow beneath him instantly lost its appetite.
This broken pen had mentioned its abilities before, but concealed its side effects.
He picked up the trembling gray feather pen and conjured the Translator's Earring.
“Translation...”
“Relic: Witness's Pen”
“Cipher: Witness for witness, experiencer not inscribed”
“Ability: Observation Anchor”
“Description: Can anchor multiple items through ink, witnessing and recording the experiences of people frequently in contact with the anchored items.”
“Side Effect 1: For every period of time witnessed and recorded, the holder needs to write a wonderful love story from their own perspective.”
“Side Effect 2: The longer the holder observes, the more they prefer to stand by and watch. In severe cases, they will still be watching a show even when danger is imminent.”
“Side Effect 3: The longer the holder writes with this pen, the more prone they are to developing a literary youth’s chuunibyou. When they miss certain opportunities due to observing, they will turn their grief and indignation into strength, then write tens of thousands of words of useless psychological reflections.”
This thing... its side effects are a bit poisonous.
Li Andy strongly suspected that the failure of Bishop Reirfu had partly been its doing.
After observing for a while longer, Li Andy still put the pen back into the drawer.
The gray feather pen twisted in silent wails, falling into self-isolation.
“Next, which relic should I go collect?”
Li Andy touched his side waist, recalling the few relics that helped improve physical constitution.
“Fetal Protection Buddha Statue? Can comprehensively enhance one’s physique, but has the side effect of a probability of men getting pregnant...”
“Snake Head Drunken Pot? Although it can also enhance one’s physique, it will cause scales to grow and habits will gradually tend towards reptiles...”
“Tax Deed Blood Flower? Possesses vampire-like recovery abilities, but the cost is regular tax (blood), as well as fear of sunlight and a cold, gloomy personality...”
“Tsk, the side effects are all too bizarre, aren’t they...”
Li Andy thought it over and over, feeling none of them were good to use.
“Or, should I just recuperate myself?”
Yesterday, Rose gave him a series of tranquilizing and body-nourishing magic potion formulas, which seemed to allow him to grow stronger day and night, without any side effects.
The only drawback was that the formulas were products of simulated memory, and their actual effectiveness in reality still needed to be verified.
“Hmm... prepare on both fronts, first moderate and recuperate...”
“Three acres of land, actually it’s nothing...”
Li Andy simply jotted down his fitness plan and stopped overthinking this aspect.
If following the original game order, the next relic to obtain was an old-fashioned camera that could photograph ghosts.
Of course, the word “old-fashioned” was relative to Li Andy. In this era, cameras were definitely cutting-edge technology products.
However, now that Youxi and Sophia were cultivating through borrowed items, the ability to photograph ghosts seemed dispensable.
Moreover, the ghost camera was expected to arrive in New Continent in about a year and a half.
They were developing ahead of schedule now, so it was completely unnecessary to go to great lengths to find a useless item by sailing out to sea.
While pondering, Li Andy's peripheral vision caught a headline in the newspaper: “Unicorn Troupe World Tour to Arrive in Ninth District Next Week.”
“Oh, that’s right!”
“That relic, might it already be with the troupe now?”
In the original timeline, after the Unicorn Troupe finished its tour of the Thirteen Districts, it would stay in the Fifth District for three years. Then, upon leaving, due to a strange incident, Yuquan Youxi, who was on an investigation, would meet them on a merchant ship.
At that time, a fierce Werewolf game scenario would unfold.
And the relic that ultimately caused everything was a mask called the “Performer’s Mask.”
“Faceless one, thousand faces... it should be a relic belonging to the Person of the Principle...”
After Youxi acquired it, she used its ability to change appearance to solve many non-mystical cold cases. In addition, she also avoided several pursuits through disguise.
And most importantly, she was able to successfully deceive a false god in the later Clear Continent map through mask performance!
“Or, should I take this opportunity to look for that mask?”
Li Andy tapped his fingers lightly on the table, recalling the plot events.
The entire incident began with the disappearance investigation of Rose, the popular star and “Angel’s Throat” of the Unicorn Troupe.
After the star’s disappearance, the sheriff conducted extensive investigations and found a faceless, mummified female corpse in a hotel.
Through forensic investigation of the clothing on the body, it was discovered that the deceased was very likely the star, Rose.
However, the medical examiner determined that the mummified corpse’s time of death was three years prior.
The truth revealed at the end of the story was that the mask owner had impersonated Rose for three years, then, for revenge, abandoned her current identity and played a game of ghostly retribution and Werewolf with the troupe members.
“The time of death was three years ago...”
“Which means, the current ‘Angel’s Throat’ Rose, might she still be unimpersonated?”
“If she hasn’t been impersonated, then who is the current owner of the mask impersonating?”
Li Andy pondered.
He remembered that the owner of that mask had many secrets. These included the connection and inheritance among cult members, and the whereabouts of Youxi’s long-missing mysterious aunt.
Unfortunately, due to the plot, at the moment that person took off the mask and jumped into the flames, all clues were cut off.
Even the players couldn't know the person's true appearance.
“Heh...”
Li Andy chuckled softly, suddenly wanting to watch the troupe’s performance.