Chapter 208: “The Lucky One”

Chapter 208: "The Lucky One"

"Playing the role of Matilda may not be her at all..." What does this mean?

Chewing on these words in her heart, Li Yin felt an inexplicable chill and shivered.

But she had no time to probe or ponder further. Glancing down at her watch, Li Yin hurriedly grabbed her bag and rushed towards the door, heading to her next class.

The auditorium had three doors: a heavy main door facing the stage, which was usually locked with a large padlock, and two side doors located on either side of the audience, where narrow corridors were squeezed between the seats and walls, dimly lit.

To avoid disturbing her classmates' rehearsal on stage, Li Yin headed for the nearest side door.

From Yi Fengchu’s perspective, the light slanted across Li Yin's body, casting a dark shadow on the wall—

At first glance, it looked as if a woman with a similar outline to Li Yin, her hair disheveled, was closely following her, their faces touching, shoulders leaning against each other, walking side by side in intimate proximity, step by step.

Inseparable.

Watching Li Yin's figure disappear through the side door, Meng Siyou turned his gaze to Yi Fengchu: "What did you see?"

"I can't see—can't see another existence intertwined with Li Yin’s fate. It seems that from the beginning, the 'shadow' has only been a figment of Li Yin's imagination, with no one else to corroborate it," Yi Fengchu laughed briefly, "And that is precisely what is most peculiar. How can something lack a destiny?"

The essence of the [Fate] domain is to anchor future possibilities based on the 'causes' sown in the past, ultimately deriving the sole, certain 'effect' from myriad possibilities.

Therefore, as long as something develops along a timeline, interacts with the material world, and has a past, present, and future, it possesses a fate... even lifeless or unconscious objects.

Yet, the shadow entangled with Li Yin left no trace of fate.

In Yi Fengchu’s eyes, the fate lines around Li Yin were clean and clear, just like anyone else’s, showing no interference or involvement from any other existence.

Is there anything that has no past and no future?

After a moment of silence, Meng Siyou flipped through the notebook he carried with him, reviewing the victim's account he had habitually recorded just now, then proposed:

"When Li Yin first saw the figure, her description of its posture was: [standing upright on two feet, bending over, shoulders drooping, hair hanging down on both sides of the face]."

"This posture..."

Meng Siyou paused, as if sketching the image in his mind.

Yi Fengchu continued: "This posture is quite strange under normal circumstances, like a beast that has just learned to stand like a human but still retains the posture of a crawling animal; but in the context of the situation, it didn't seem strange at all."

"Li Yin was washing her hair in the bathroom at the time—this was the posture she used to wash her own hair."

Meng Siyou nodded, muttering to himself: "Indeed, the abnormal figure that kept following her was her own shadow?"

No wonder the figure told Li Yin before leaving, "It won't leave."

—Inseparable, a shadow will never leave its master.

And this also explained why Yi Fengchu did not see any additional, external threads of fate attached to Li Yin.

Because the fate of the shadow is entirely dominated by the fate of its master; before becoming truly independent, the shadow only mimics the actions of its master step by step.

Like two completely overlapping lines, when the trajectories of their fate lines are identical and perfectly overlap, they form one line, one destiny.

Meng Siyou wrote and drew in his notebook, then put down the pen and asked: "So what did you mean by your final warning? What is the connection between shadows and stage plays?"

Recalling Li Yin's account, after she received the script, she suddenly stopped being tormented by the figure...

"Could it be," Meng Siyou hesitated for a moment, speculating, "that there's something wrong with this play?"

He vaguely felt that his guess might not hold water.

The original story of this stage play was written in the distant seventeenth century, having undergone countless adaptations by various authors, countless analyses by critics, and countless performances by actors.

If there were issues with the script, they wouldn't have only become apparent now.

Yi Fengchu gave a faint smile: "Before the script appeared, the shadow relentlessly pestered Li Yin, repeatedly begging for entry; yet once the script emerged, it abruptly ceased all such actions..."

"It must have found another way to achieve its goal."

Meng Siyou looked at Yi Fengchu's smile—a classic, restrained, mysterious, and tantalizing grin from the realm of fate—and couldn't help but lean back a bit.

He thought of a deity who controlled destiny, a narrator who similarly enjoyed leading the other party's thoughts step by step through statements and questions, guiding them to the endpoint He desired, leaving them in a state of intense curiosity and deep contemplation.

In front of such beings, Meng Siyou felt his own thoughts like a handful of threads, being combed and manipulated by an invisible hand, ultimately leading him toward some unknown direction.

"Its goal..."

Meng Siyou repeated thoughtfully, then a sudden insight struck him, "Permission—what it seeks has always been [permission]!"

"As a shadow, does it need Li Yin's recognition or some other medium to truly invade the material world?"

Yi Fengchu nodded, confirming Meng Siyou's guess: "Generally speaking, non-physical entities like shadows have no fate, no cause and effect, and no permission to act in the material world. For animated shadows, they can only follow their master's decisions, unable to act independently, which is probably a life more rigid, monotonous, and terrifying than imprisonment."

"All things are born free, but shadows are born as prisoners. To break free from this prisoner status, it needs an independent identity to seek the permission to interact with the material world."

Initially, the shadow likely wanted to obtain a free identity in the material world through Li Yin's cognition;

And the arrival of the script provided Shadow with a ready-made identity—an identity that, though fictional, has been rendered "real" in a mystical sense through generations of people's memories of the characters.

Of course, most importantly: this identity was unoccupied.

"...Matilda," Meng Siyou whispered the name of the identity.

The Shadow sought to exploit the connection between the actor and the play, to assume Matilda's identity, thereby separating itself from Li Yin's fate and truly entering the material world!

Thus, the Shadow was fully immersed in playing Matilda—

This was its gateway into the material world;

It would become her.

"Was it the Shadow that helped Li Yin improve her acting so dramatically?"

Meng Siyou pressed his temples, feeling a profound sense of absurdity and headache.

This was a fact that defied common sense.

Throughout history, it has always been the person who moves and the shadow that follows; how could there be a case where the shadow controls the person?

Yet on stage, it was the Shadow that was reversing the roles, guiding every move Li Yin made.

The Shadow's performance was so intense, so real, that it influenced Li Yin's will, making her feel as if she were the heroine of the play.

What root cause had brought the Shadow to life?

Meng Siyou vaguely sensed that things were not as simple as they seemed.

But each domain has its own strengths, and he believes that further investigation and resolution still require the assistance of Ability users from the "Shadow" domain.

So, Meng Siyou abruptly stood up: "I will head back to the Anomalous Affairs Bureau right now to apply for the temporary transfer of 'Shadow' domain Ability users from other cities."

As for A University...

With Yi Fengchu on guard, Meng Siyou is not worried about the situation worsening for the time being.

Even if something beyond Yi Fengchu's capabilities were to descend, no Ability user would be able to turn the tide.

Taking a few steps forward, Meng Siyou suddenly thought of something and retreated to his original spot, looking at Yi Fengchu, who was still calmly seated in the audience.

"? "

Yi Fengchu gave him a questioning look.

Meng Siyou remained silent for a moment, then seemed to make a decision. He took out a small, exquisite seashell from his system backpack and handed it to Yi Fengchu.

Yi Fengchu accepted it, curiously fiddling with the seashell. From its lustrous, jade-like spiral shell, a faint chanting flowed out, wrapping around the ears like clear water flowing through the holder's mental world, washing away all anxiety, tension, and agitation.

Meng Siyou explained: "This is a B+ grade item, the 'Calm Mind Shell,' which helps stabilize one's mental state. I hope it will be useful to you."

Ah?

Yi Fengchu paused, slowly deciphering Meng Siyou's deeper meaning.

Was he worried that the semi-divine Yi Fengchu, under the influence of the divine narrator's power, might gradually lose his mental clarity and self-awareness?

This was truly...

Yi Fengchu evaluated with a subtle expression, "What a rare and bizarre idea."

Meng Siyou, completely unaware of the other's amazement at his thought process, deliberated and said:

"We all know... that pair of eyes watches you among the stars."

"May you hold fast to your own choice between the sky and the earth."

Yi Fengchu fell silent for a moment.

With a sigh, he finally accepted the unexpected gift, gently patting Meng Siyou on the shoulder: "Thank you."

At the same time, a system notification sounded in Meng Siyou's mind:

"Congratulations, player has received a blessing from a higher existence, obtaining the S-rank special title 'Lucky One.'"

"Halo Introduction: When wearing this title, you will be luckier than 99% of all life forms—though not as fortunate as true favorites of fate, you have already received His certain degree of favor."

This was Yi Fengchu's return gift.

Meng Siyou, with a dazed expression, bid farewell to Yi Fengchu and wandered through the campus in a trance.

Along the way, due to the effect of "Lucky One," the people distributing flyers conveniently skipped him, shops he passed by offered him coupons for various reasons, and even the roads he randomly chose were always clear and unobstructed.

Experiencing a life blessed by fate, Meng Siyou felt a sense of unease. He wondered—

Who exactly is the "He" mentioned in the system description? Is it Yi Fengchu, who possesses innate divinity, or the narrator?

The system has always been precise in its wording, especially when it comes to descriptions involving ranks... Could such a high-level title be bestowed by an ordinary divine being?

Either Yi Fengchu has been granted far more authority from the Narrator than an ordinary divine offspring; or...

Considering another possibility, Meng Siyou's expression gradually crumbled.

Could it be that the words he just spoke were also heard by the Deity Himself?

Was the bestowal of the title "Lucky One" a sign of His lenient tolerance of Meng Siyou's overstepping and speculation, even rewarding him for his concern for his offspring?

Like a considerate parent who cares about their child’s social relationships, showing affection for the child’s companions as well.

He truly favors His only son...

Yet at the same time, the Narrator’s apparent constant watchfulness and protective control over His child is like an invisible, airtight web surrounding Yi Fengchu, sending chills down one's spine.

From various details, Meng Siyou can vaguely perceive a kind of love that is both more genuine and intense than that of most divine beings... yet not quite healthy.

At this moment, Meng Siyou reached a corner, his scattered thoughts pausing.

His shoelace had come undone.

After confirming no one was around, he bent down to tie it, his peripheral vision catching the wall ahead, suddenly freezing.

Meng Siyou abruptly realized:

His shadow hadn’t bent down.

The dense black shadow cast on the wall remained upright, as if there was another person standing behind Meng Siyou, pressed against his back, staring at him intently.

Meng Siyou’s shadow had come to life.