Chapter 218: Follow-Up and Student Forum

Chapter 218: Aftermath and the Student Forum

In the school auditorium, on the evening of the gala.

As the lights in the audience flickered brightly, intertwining with the flashing shutters of cameras below, a sea of blinding light engulfed the entire field of vision, while thunderous applause filled the air. The dark red curtain on stage undulated like waves—

Li Yin finally realized, amidst her slightly rapid heartbeat:

Their long-rehearsed performance had finally come to an end.

Without the shadow's interference, Li Yin's portrayal of Matilda was not as mesmerizing as it could have been. Despite the boost from personal experience, she could only manage to avoid being awkward.

But she felt very relaxed and happy.

She wanted to act, not to "become."

The curtain fell heavily, and the actors made their way backstage one by one.

Li Yin, holding the plastic prop of her lover's head, stole a few glances at Yi Fengchu, harboring many questions in her heart: Why did she hear a voice similar to Yi Fengchu's, but more youthful, in her dream? Was he the child cast in quicksilver? What was his identity, the "divine creature" mentioned by Wang Lin?

These questions swirled through her mind several times, but Li Yin ultimately did not voice them.

Feeling a vague sense of loss, Li Yin thought that she did not belong to that world, that mysterious, unknown, dangerous... yet equally enchanting world.

During her brushes with death, she had glimpsed the boundaries of that world, but lacked the ability to truly open the door and step inside.

Even Li Yin found it hard to say whether this was fortunate or regrettable.

All Li Yin knew was that she might forever remember the silver glow that bathed the white forest, the wind that brushed against her face as she ran through the woods, and the wild, awakening beat within her chest.

And now, everything will return to normal.

As she was thinking this, Li Yin accidentally stepped on a classmate's shadow projected on the ground, eliciting a cry of surprise: "Who just stepped... no, who tapped my shoulder?"

"No one touched you," someone nearby replied.

"That's not right, it must have been more than just my imagination!"

The classmate, still in the heavy armor of a knight, could only turn his head with difficulty and said incredulously, "I can still feel the weight on my shoulder, as if someone lightly stepped on it... Can anyone check if something is caught on my shoulder?"

As others leaned in to help, they didn't take it seriously, joking, "Hasn't there been a rumor about ghosts at school recently? Maybe a ghost is sitting on your shoulder!"

"..."

Li Yin quietly lowered her head, her gaze shifting between her own shadow and the classmate, confirming that she had indeed stepped on the shadow's shoulder. She tentatively lifted her foot.

The knight quickly responded, "Huh, the weight on my shoulder is suddenly gone! That's strange..."

Li Yin froze.

Her heart, which had just calmed down, began to race again.

Could it be that she too had awakened some mysterious power?

"Ding," a strange mechanical voice echoed in her mind, "A life form meeting player standards detected. System binding... Binding successful!"

Name: Li Yin

Origin World: Third Dimension · First Universe · Milky Way · Earth

Race: Human

Gender: Female

Age: 21

Ability: Shadow Play (Rank 3)

When you use your mind to touch or harm someone's shadow, the effects on the shadow will be mirrored onto its owner—this is your invisible hand, a secret and intricate form of Shadow Play.

PS: The specific effects of your ability are determined by multiple factors, including proficiency and the difference in rank between you and your target.

For more questions, please refer to the backend → mailbox → beginner’s guide. Finally, welcome to the Playground of the Gods.

Li Yin clumsily familiarized herself with the system interface, still dazed when a figure blocked her path—

Meng Siyou smiled at her, showing his badge, and said, "According to the regulations of the Ability Management Bureau, please come with me, Miss Li."

He had come to watch the performance today at Yi Fengchu's invitation.

Although he couldn't help but lean back and feel his hair stand on end whenever he saw Yi Fengchu dressed formally with his cane, it was rare for an old classmate to extend such an invitation, so Meng Siyou accepted.

After the performance, Meng Siyou suddenly received a text from Yi Fengchu, asking him to wait in a certain corridor backstage.

During the wait, Meng Siyou felt a bit nervous, worried that some major anomaly was about to occur... Now it seemed that a new Ability user had emerged.

Yi Fengchu's mysterious smile flashed before his eyes, and Meng Siyou was certain that the other man must have foreseen something!

But as a standard hereditary mystic, Yi Fengchu would never reveal the truth directly!

Sigh, what a pity that work has come knocking on his rare day off…

Meng Siyou sighed inwardly.

…

“University A Student Forum”

# Why is the classroom at the end of the fourth floor full of people after 10 PM? # [Hot]

# Li Tao, are the classroom photos posted by the hot thread starter edited? # [New]

# Have you encountered the strange tale of the “Doppelgänger” on campus? # [Hot]

# The drama performance by the Philosophy Department today was amazing! #

# Let’s give some love to the lead actress in the Philosophy Department’s drama and the gentleman who made a guest appearance for a friend at the end… # [New]

# I feel much lighter after waking up from a good sleep, anyone else feel the same? #

“Thread Starter: RT, I’ve been scared by all sorts of ghost stories on the forum these past few weeks, making it hard to sleep well. But the night before last, I had a rare uninterrupted sleep until morning. Not only did I wake up feeling much lighter, but I also won a free cup of milk tea when buying one. It’s been a few lucky days!

I wonder if this is a sign of things turning around? Has the negative energy on campus finally dissipated?”

“1F: Hehe, the same happened to me yesterday! I won a 500 yuan lottery ticket and plan to treat my dorm mates to a big meal tonight~”

“2F: Wow, envy the above poster!”

“3F: 1F, do you need more dorm mates QAQ”

"4L: Seriously, OP, you believe there’s something unclean in the school? Isn’t that just a few people colluding to make up a story?"

"5L: But the popular thread next door has posted photos as proof. The photo properties show the shooting time, which matches the posting time, proving the poster was really at Zhengde Building at that time. And those photos are indeed eerie; looking at them a few times makes your limbs feel cold..."

"6L: Properties can be altered, and photos can be edited, right?"

"7L: You guys are really something. At first, you demanded proof, then when the poster from the neighboring thread provided it, you accused them of faking it. In the end, you couldn’t produce a shred of evidence. Don’t you find that funny?"

"8L: Exactly, you all come with preconceived notions, deciding on the answer beforehand. There’s no reasoning with you."

"OP's Reply: Cough, cough, if you want to argue about this issue, please go to Li Tao’s thread! I just want to share my joy from these past few days!"

"9L: Supporting the OP!"

"10L: Everywhere I go lately, people are arguing about what’s real and what’s fake. It’s so annoying. I miss the old days when we shared happy daily moments."

"11L: Uh, just to refute the 'happy daily moments' part... Isn’t our forum usually more about confessions, exposing others, gossip, asking teachers, or inquiring about courses? When did it become so refreshing?"

"12L: Forum Refreshing Moment — visible only to 10L."

"13L: Judged as having too much nostalgia filter."

"14L: hhh, I’m dying laughing."

"15L: Although everyone’s attitude towards supernatural events differs, we should agree that everyone’s state of mind hasn’t been good recently, right?"

"16L: Scientific analysis, I think it might be due to changes in the Earth’s magnetic field, affecting people’s psychological and physiological states."

"17L: Regardless of geomagnetic or whatever, the point is that things were off recently, but they’re starting to get better now. What the OP said isn’t wrong, right?"

"18L: Thanks to the class representative for the summary."

"19L: But seriously, I really feel like these past few days have been a fresh start, and my overall state has improved."

"20L: Agreed, agreed. I've also been in a great mood lately, everything seems to be going smoothly!"

"21L: +1, I finally drew the character I've wanted for so long today."

"22L: Borrowing some of your good luck!"

"23L: No, there's not much to borrow. I usually end up with bad luck, but today was an exception."

"24L: I have a friend who understands mysticism; he cast a divination for our school, saying that there was a heavy cloud of misfortune and great danger before, but it seems a master intervened to change fate. After overcoming this calamity, everything will go smoothly, as if aided by divine power."

"25L: What nonsense, college students don't believe in such things."

"26L: Ask the floor above, don't you pray everywhere before exams? Just admit whether you've ever believed in mysticism or not."

"Thread Owner's Reply: Speaking of mysticism, on the night my luck turned, I had a dream. I vaguely saw many white dots falling like snowflakes. They were a kind of weightless, intangible luminous substance, drifting through the windows and ceiling into the dormitory, and a cool touch landed on my forehead... At the time, I didn't think much of it, but now looking back, perhaps this dream was a sign of good fortune to come?"

"27L: Sounds like quite a dreamy scene."

"28L: Wow, what a coincidence! I had that same dream too!!"

"29L: +10086, may I ask quietly, was it on the night of the 18th?"

"Thread Owner's Reply: What a coincidence, it was indeed that night. Since then, my spirits have lifted, and my luck has improved."

"30L: Oh my god, my roommate also told me about a similar dream, and it was on the same day..."

"31L: ?? How did it suddenly turn so eerie?"

"32L: Not everything in our forum is scientific these days, no need to overreact (crying laugh)"

"33L: Seriously, aren't you just getting your friends to act this out?"

"34L: Act, act, act! I can't stand you people who see everyone as Hollywood actors..."

"35L: Actors on standby—School Edition."

"36L: Could it be some kind of collective dream? I remember reading a similar paper."

"37L: At this point, still a staunch materialist, I have to admire that kind of resolve."

"OP's reply: www Whatever the case, thanks for the good luck! (pray east) (pray west)"

"38L: Thanks for the good luck!"

"39L: Thanks for the good luck!"

"..."