Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 67 - 63: Borrowing Points for Your Identity Score

Chapter 67: Chapter 63: Borrowing Points for Your Identity Score

Chu Ge began to carefully sort out the relationship between Su Xianjun and Yang Xinyan according to the content of his memories.

Although these memories were fragmented and not strongly connected, they were stuck at some very critical moments in time.

Upon careful analysis, almost every scene was meaningful.

This might have been due to the game mechanics, where the golden talent automatically filtered out the memories with the most information; it could also be because these memories made a profound impression on Su Xianjun, which is why they were preserved.

But regardless, this meant that Chu Ge had made significant progress in understanding this new instance.

"These memories about Yang Xinyan can be roughly divided into three stages.

"The first stage is when Su Xianjun and Yang Xinyan were learning their craft together in the opera troupe, where Su Xianjun seemed to have suffered quite a bit of beating while Yang Xinyan, as a senior brother, took care of him quite a bit.

"Su Xianjun in his youth had a kind of brotherly dependence on Yang Xinyan.

"The second stage is when Su Xianjun and Yang Xinyan gradually became famous and began performing ’Farewell My Concubine’ together.

"There is a symbolic memory transition between these two stages, which is the line ’I was originally a delicate woman’...

"Moreover, Su Xianjun’s master also said that not a single word on stage can be wrong; one must completely become the character. Thus, this also laid the groundwork for Su Xianjun’s getting too deeply into his role.

"Because Su Xianjun couldn’t differentiate between the play and reality, or in Yang Xinyan’s words, he became a bit obsessed, his emotions towards Yang Xinyan became even more complex.

"In his youth, Yang Xinyan was brave and wise, and very loyal, making him overlap with the image of the overlord in Su Xianjun’s eyes.

"However, later on, Su Xianjun found that Yang Xinyan increasingly didn’t resemble the overlord, but more like a common man, very clear about the division between the play and reality, creating a growing sense of disparity.

"As for the third stage, it was when Su Xianjun mentally broke with Yang Xinyan.

"He realized that Yang Xinyan was just a common man, not the overlord he had expected, so in the end he said they should just perform, essentially stating that their relationship had become purely professional...

"As for Yang Xinyan, he definitely sensed something but he was destined not to become obsessed with the play like Su Xianjun. He kept a clear separation between his role in the play and his life; in the play he was the overlord, but outside it, he just wanted to be a common man.

"That’s also why the two of them ultimately had such exacerbated conflicts that couldn’t be resolved.

"When the Eastern Barbarian invaders entered the city, the situation closely resembled the final moments of ’Farewell My Concubine’, yet Yang Xinyan quickly surrendered, while Su Xianjun wanted to fulfill his duty just like in the play..."

Chu Ge was already quick-witted, and the content of these memory fragments was very clear, so he quickly analyzed these aspects.

"So, doesn’t this prove that Yang Xinyan remained consistent? The hypothesis by many players that Yang Xinyan might have been a tampered character doesn’t seem valid.

"Since Su Xianjun and Yang Xinyan’s performances in the instance match their character design, the possibility that Wang Jinhui is the tampered character becomes even more likely.

"Hmm, let’s see what happens next."

Soon, the plot of Trial Illusion advanced again.

After some time, Wang Jinhui entered with his head bowed; his face was pale, and his left pinky was wrapped in white cloth, faintly seeping blood.

The two of them were momentarily at a loss for words.

Chu Ge didn’t know what specific lines Su Xianjun would say, so he had to improvise.

Luckily, at this stage in the game, everyone was capable of impromptu acting.

"What happened to your finger?" Chu Ge asked.

Wang Jinhui seemed relieved to discuss the topic he was anticipating, and quickly said, "It’s nothing serious, just a minor injury. That thief asked how his poetry was, and I scolded him harshly which made him smash my finger in anger."

Chu Ge stared into his eyes, "Then why do you still advise me to perform for these invaders?"

Wang Jinhui quickly explained, "Xianjun, you misunderstand.

"The current situation really is as the saying goes: to die now or to die attempting something great, both lead to death, but can we let the kingdom fall? The kingdom is falling!

"The County Magistrate died for his country, and this enmity is unbearable. I only regret that I am just a scholar without the strength to truss a chicken, otherwise I would have died fighting alongside the County Magistrate!

"Although the situation is urgent, we cannot act rashly. These invaders are extremely strong, and fighting them directly wouldn’t help but would only lead to unnecessary sacrifices.

"So I think the most urgent thing now is to placate these invaders first, to make them temporarily lower their guard, at least not let them start a massacre in anger right now.

"Once we can successfully get away from here, I can immediately gather local militia to counterattack and wipe out these invaders!"

Chu Ge fixed his gaze on him, "Really?"

Wang Jinhui swore to the sky, "Not a word of lie!"

Chu Ge couldn’t help feeling emotional in his heart, the "instance" was so mixed between reality and illusion, indistinguishable even to players like him who had seen the historical materials in advance and experienced it several times, let alone those historical figures who lived through those times.

Just by looking at Wang Jinhui’s expression, it was impossible to tell whether he was genuine or feigning.

Of course, having experienced it once before, Chu Ge knew that what Wang Jinhui was saying now was mostly unreliable.

Was Wang Jinhui originally a coward or was he originally a righteous man whose character had been altered by demons in the instance? Or had he indeed intended to gather the local militia to burn down the theater, but encountered some other mishap along the way, such as being betrayed by a traitor?

That was impossible to judge.

Chu Ge still followed his previous statement to Yang Xinyan and told Wang Jinhui about the plan to burn the theater.

Wang Jinhui was righteously indignant, praising Su Xianjun’s nobility and saying that even if he was crushed to pieces, he would find a way to fulfill the heavy responsibility entrusted to him.

"Then... Xianjun, I’m going to tell that scholar now that you are willing to perform for them. Once I leave the theater, I’ll go find Gao Ze and contact the local militia!"

Just as Wang Jinhui was about to leave, Chu Ge stopped him.

"No need, I’ll go tell the scholar myself."

As he stepped out of the door, Chu Ge saw the subservient scholar waiting.

The scholar was also startled, seemingly not expecting Su Xianjun to come out to meet him personally, given how previously Su Xianjun had shown an absolutely incompatible attitude towards him.

Chu Ge approached the scholar, "For the sake of all the townspeople, I am willing to perform for you.

"But...

"I have one condition."

The scholar couldn’t help but be delighted, "What condition? Boss Su just speak freely."

Chu Ge looked back at the others, seemingly not wanting to be overheard, and whispered, "You have to promise me that if I agree to go on stage, you’ll lend me something..."

His voice got lower and lower, initially still audible, but later on completely indistinct.

The scholar involuntarily leaned forward, "Boss Su, what did you say in the last part? How do you want me to?"

However, before he could finish his sentence, he felt a chill in his chest.

A bloodstained dagger was pulled out of his chest, then plunged back in several times!

Chu Ge watched the scholar’s incredulous expression and whispered in his ear, "I meant, I need to borrow your life for a while to earn some identity points."

...

The illusion of the Trial Illusion changed once again, returning to its initial state.

Chu Ge exhaled.

Although the sensation of being killed by the chaotic blades of bandits wasn’t pleasant, stabbing that subservient scholar was indeed satisfying.

Worth it.

The dagger was something Su Xianjun was already carrying on his person, perhaps he had been prepared for death ever since the bandits entered the city.

He hadn’t chosen the talent for expertise in opera, and he couldn’t possibly take the stage without giving himself away.

After conversing with Yang Xinyan and Wang Jinhui, his goal was largely accomplished; continuing with the storyline would have been a waste of time, so it was better to kill the scholar before the end and earn some identity points.

After all, the fighting strength of the other bandits was too strong, and as a scholar who had transmigrated into Su Xianjun’s body, even a sneak attack had a low chance of success.

The scholar was easy to kill, so he could only pick on the softer targets.

As for why Chu Ge, a scholar, was so fierce, it’s nonsense, he had even cut the flesh from his own leg, so how hard was it to stab a traitorous bootlicker?

Looking at the identity selection interface afterward, Chu Ge confirmed that his experiment was entirely correct.

[Initial identities: Peasant, Small Merchant, Opera Troupe Member]

[Special identities: Su Xianjun, Yang Xinyan, Wang Jinhui]

[Identity points: 61]

This bootlicking strategist, being a key figure among the bandits, was indeed quite valuable, worth a whopping 70 identity points!

Understood, if he ever ran short of identity points, he would come back to withdraw from him.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.