No matter what was hidden behind it, the ceremony finally came to an end.
The noise faded bit by bit, and the earlier frenzy gradually dissipated.
The old man on stage looked a little tired. He raised a hand and rubbed his brow.
Then he lifted his hand and flicked his fingers.
"Pa."
The next second, everyone instantly fell silent.
Even those who had just been shouting and applauding like mad froze where they were. Their eyes slowly lost focus, as if someone had pressed a pause button.
At that moment, two figures silently appeared behind the old man.
One tall, one short, both wrapped tightly in black robes. Their hats were pulled low, hiding all but their rough silhouettes.
The tall one stood on the old man's right, unmoving.
The short one stood on the left, sleeves hanging all the way down to the knees.
Then that short figure took a small step forward and leaned toward the old man's ear.
Wang Yanfei couldn't hear what they were saying. He only saw the old man's expression shift noticeably.
The old man's gaze slowly swept the room, and when it passed to his area, it paused for half a second.
In that instant, he almost thought he had been exposed.
But the next moment, that gaze moved away, as if nothing had happened, and landed back on the two robed figures.
The three of them exchanged a few quick words, their voices extremely low. Wang Yanfei couldn't catch a single line.
Soon, the old man seemed to finish the conversation and gently clapped his hands.
"Pa."
It was as if an invisible button had been pressed again.
Everyone's eyes slowly brightened, the stiffness on their faces loosened, and the murmurs and footsteps surged back into the hall.
Hossen immediately leaned over. "Brother! You're something else! Really loyal!"
He slapped Wang Yanfei hard on the shoulder, excitement thick in his tone.
"Did you see that? The moment the Master looked over here, I swear he definitely remembered me!"
Wang Yanfei made a soft sound and nodded perfunctorily.
His whole body was soaked in cold sweat as he followed Hossen toward the exit.
At the door, he couldn't help turning back for one last glance.
The three figures were already gone.
Only that short silhouette remained burned into his mind…He was sure he had seen it somewhere before.
————————
By the time he returned home, the sky was completely dark.
Wang Yanfei first carried the sleeping Jessica from the couch back to her room and tucked her in.
After stuffing a bit of food into his mouth and washing up, he went to his own room and locked the door behind him.
Only the bedside lamp was on.
Its soft glow fell across the "skin."
It had just been washed, and dried streaks of water marked the surface.
Wang Yanfei stared at it without saying a word.
There was a soft rustling from under his clothes.
Alvina slid out from his collar, clearly tired from the day as well. She coiled up beside the pillow and tapped the back of his hand with her tail.
"Human, you've gotten even uglier."
Wang Yanfei glanced at the red marks all over his body and let out a wry smile. "Yeah, I can tell."
After a moment of silence, he suddenly spoke:
"What do you think will happen if I keep going down this Restart Society path?"
Alvina flicked her head like she understood everything.
"Dead end. Haven't we seen enough these days? Tiring and miserable. If you ask me, better to just wait the ninety days and get out of this ghost place."
Wang Yanfei shook his head.
"You also said things will only get more dangerous later. If I can't endure this little bit, I might as well go smash my head in now."
Alvina widened her golden eyes at him.
"Hmph, look at you being all tough. Then what's your plan? Want to… go to the Board?"
Wang Yanfei shot her a look, helpless.
"Don't overestimate people. In their hands, I'd probably be sent straight to a lab."
He paused before adding:
"They definitely want to know why I can wear the skin without being assimilated."
"What? Humans are so troublesome." The little white snake looked disgusted. "Why can't you people just be simple?"
Wang Yanfei couldn't help shooting back: "You keep saying 'you humans, you humans.' Have you actually met any other species before?"
Alvina froze for a moment, then shook her head slowly.
"I don't know. The first creature I ever saw when I opened my eyes was you."
"…"
Wang Yanfei had no idea how to respond to that, so he forcibly steered the topic back.
"Anyway, neither path looks good right now. Restart Society is a dead end, and the Tower isn't anything good either."
Alvina huffed, tail swishing.
"Then carve your own path."
Wang Yanfei turned his head and looked at her.
The little snake stayed curled obediently on the pillow, golden eyes bright.
"Why rely on anyone? Isn't carving your own way out better?"
Wang Yanfei stayed silent for a while.
It sounded reasonable, and at the same time not reasonable at all.
If he could really carve a path out, he wouldn't be stuck wearing someone else's skin every day like this.
Still…
At least her words made him feel a little better.
Call it comfort.
————————
The next ten-odd days passed without incident.
With the new lighter job, his life could basically be summed up as: slack off at work, take care of the kid after.
Sometimes Hossen would visit with fruit or vegetables and a few vague "brother, keep it up" lines.
Other than that, nothing abnormal.
The constant tension he'd felt earlier also dulled slightly in the quiet routine.
When bored, he would use the warehouse space to exercise.
At least his body got stronger, and his stats had indeed gone up a bit.
[Wang Yanfei]
Race: Human
Status: Healthy [large green stick figure]
Height/Weight: 183 cm / 69 kg
HP: 97% (this value is not digitized)
Sanity: 37/80
Energy: None
Attributes (Base → Bonus → Total):
Strength: 4 → (—) → 4
Agility: 4 → (—) → 4
Constitution: 4 → (—) → 4
Spirit: 5 → (—) → 5
Perception: 4 → (—) → 4
Abilities: Universal Communication
Wang Yanfei looked at the panel and stayed silent for two seconds.
These attributes were really hard to raise.
Just as he closed the panel and was about to get up and head out, he realized someone was standing behind him.
A tall, thin figure stood silently in the doorway.
The man wore a perfectly pressed black tailcoat, a small bow tie at his chest.
And on his face—a black-and-white smiling mask.
The exaggerated smile stretched almost to the ears.
The man bowed slightly. "Mr. Benjamin, a pleasure to meet you."
"Mm."
His mind hadn't reacted yet, but his body already had.
Wang Yanfei drew the Bullet Ant from his waist and pulled the trigger at the man's chest.
"Zzt."
A crimson beam shot out instantly, leaving a brief scorch trail in the air.
The man's upper torso was blown open by a massive hole that could have split a person in half. The red beam pierced straight through, burning a hole in the wall behind him, the edge charred and curled.
He looked down at the missing chunk of his chest.
Something there squirmed faintly, as if trying to pull the sides together.
But Wang Yanfei had no intention of giving him a chance. He raised the gun and pulled the trigger repeatedly.
"Zzt. Zzt. Zzt."
One burst of red light after another shredded the body into pulp.
The suit, limbs, and head were blasted into a wet black-red mess that splattered across the wall before slowly sliding down.
The smell of scorched flesh filled the air.
Soon, only a formless pool of remains was left on the floor—
And one intact black-and-white smiling mask.
It fell with a crisp tap, spun half a turn, and came to rest face-up.
Staring at him.
Smiling.