Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 96 - 91: The Secret Influence of Demons

Chapter 96: Chapter 91: The Secret Influence of Demons

Evening.

Meng Yuan went downstairs as usual to pack dinner from the small eatery beneath his rental apartment.

"Fish-fragrant shredded pork, flavored eggplants, crispy pork belly, uh... and a green vegetable, three bowls of rice, for takeout."

Meng Yuan winced slightly as he swiped on his phone to pay; this meal had knocked another hundred bucks off his balance.

Having a little foodie at home was truly a challenge!

If it had been just Meng Yuan, these dishes would have been enough for three meals.

But with Dark Sand joining in, it’d only last one meal, and they would only be eighty percent full at that.

Because of the huge financial pressure from the food expenses, Meng Yuan once cautiously discussed with Dark Sand, asking whether she could abstain from eating mortal food.

After all, as a guide, her existence hovered between being a Spiritual Body and a physical one, she could very well not exist in the real world.

Moreover, her hunger could only truly be satiated by consuming ’historical slices.’ Eating human food was merely psychological comfort.

But Dark Sand firmly disagreed, stating she’d strike if not fed.

Meng Yuan had no choice but to comply.

Sitting in the eatery, waiting, he yawned out of boredom.

After a while, Meng Yuan began to feel that something was amiss.

Why were several people in this little restaurant stealing glances at him?

Meng Yuan had always frequented this eatery and had never encountered such a situation before.

Just as he pondered, a young man approached him, full of excitement, "Hey! Aren’t you the gamer who played Su Xianjun in ’Dark Sand’? Quick, give me an autograph!"

Meng Yuan was taken aback and hurriedly shook his head, "No, you’ve got the wrong person!"

The young man scrutinized him closely, "Impossible, I can’t be mistaken! You look exactly like the person who played Su Xianjun in the movie, just as handsome! There aren’t many people like you; how could I be wrong?"

Meng Yuan found himself at a loss for words.

His argument seemed so solid!

Suddenly felt his own denial was so lacking in conviction.

Once the young man started shouting, those who had been curiously eyeing Meng Yuan finally confirmed his ’identity’ and came over in droves.

"Big Boss!"

"Idol!"

"Your opera is so enchanting, it captivated even someone like me who never listens to opera! Big Boss, do you have any performances scheduled? I’d buy a ticket just to hear you!"

"Big Boss, have you signed with an agency? Do you plan to debut? I know someone at an entertainment company..."

"My uncle is a renowned opera master, and he said your performance is truly peerless, it even made him feel inadequate! I wonder if you’d be interested in meeting with my uncle?"

"Idol, can I get an autograph? The way you carried yourself in the movie truly brought Su Xianjun to life! I think you performed even better than the real Su Xianjun! Could you give me an autographed photo or something?"

People actually started handing over autograph books.

Meng Yuan was so dizzy, surrounded by a circle of people, he just wanted to escape.

But there was no escape; these fans were too enthusiastic! Meng Yuan had become inexplicably famous overnight and hadn’t mastered the art of ’playing the diva’ very well.

He took the autograph books and signed away quickly.

"Alright, alright, that’s enough autographs. I need to go eat dinner; I have things to do tonight!"

After the food was packed, Meng Yuan finally managed to break free from the enthusiastic fans.

...

Back at his rental, Meng Yuan placed the food on the table and took a deep breath.

"Next time I go out, I must wear a hat and a mask... It was nearly skin off my back just getting food.

"The food’s here, come and eat!"

Meng Yuan opened the meal boxes, and Dark Sand’s form appeared, then hopped to the chair opposite the table and began to devour the food.

"Slow down on the eating," Meng Yuan quickly snatched a piece of pork belly.

With nonchalance, Dark Sand replied, "It’s fine, I’m not a child; I won’t choke, and digestion isn’t an issue."

Meng Yuan: "...I know! I mean, eat slower so you leave me some!

"You wouldn’t want the legitimate Order Restorer to starve to death at home, would you?"

Dark Sand let out a slightly aggrieved "Oh" and symbolically slowed down a bit.

Meng Yuan shoveled a couple of mouthfuls of rice, musing, "I think I need to seriously consider moving out.

"I never imagined the movie’s release would have such an impact, being recognized just for going downstairs to shop for groceries... What if people soon come knocking, wanting to sign contracts? I really couldn’t handle that!

"But on the other hand, I’ve always wanted to ask, why did the original resident, with such an awesome status as the Order Restorer, live in such a place? And why was there so little balance on his bank card?"

Dark Sand looked at him, "Isn’t that obvious?"

"Most of the time, Restorers shuttle through historical slices, and their residence in reality is just a commonplace place to land."

"As for money, just ensuring one doesn’t starve in the real world is enough."

"Besides, it’s simply indecent for a Restorer to use their abilities to profit themselves. All Restorers have had high moral standards and would never resort to such acts."

Meng Yuan momentarily stopped his chopsticks, "Why do I feel like you’re insinuating something about me?"

However, seeing the way Su Xianjun was wolfing down his food, Meng Yuan quickly resumed eating.

With mouth full of pork belly, Su Xianjun said indistinctly, "No, I’m just telling it like it is. But you shouldn’t idealize the previous Restorers too much. Their disinterest in money is not solely due to their high moral standards. It could also be because they truly found money useless."

"After all, they spent most of their time traveling through historical slices, fighting bloody battles, defeating monsters, and reclaiming historical slices. The joy of their victories surpasses that of gaining money in reality."

"To them, historical slices are the reality, whereas the actual reality seems more like an illusion."

"As for your decision to share the movie box office with the players, I think it’s pretty good, at least it can greatly improve the players’ enthusiasm."

"Though you have a share in the income, considering that having money means buying more delicious food, I’ll turn a blind eye!"

Meng Yuan quickly snatched the last piece of pork belly, "So, I think that the past Restorers were indeed brave and invincible, but they weren’t flexible thinkers. Their approach clearly had huge hidden dangers!"

"Constant battling in historical slices, spending very little time in the real world, what does that imply? It means they’re out of touch with the masses. They always think about doing everything themselves, how can that be workable?"

"And prolonged fighting also puts immense stress on their minds. I think there should be a balance between work and rest, and time should be allocated rationally between historical slices and reality with regular breaks to reduce the monsters’ influence on the mind."

Su Xianjun nodded, "Yeah, you’ve got a point there."

"The key is that the monsters nowadays are different from the past; they seem to have found a lot of new methods, and their infiltration into the real world is becoming stronger and stronger..."

"In fact, I seriously suspect that during the last intersection of the historical slice with reality, some monsters might have affected reality through even more covert means."

"Hey, how did the crispy pork belly finish so quickly!"

Su Xianjun’s expression was like he’d been struck by lightning as he hurriedly grabbed a big mouthful of fish-flavored shredded pork.

The two temporarily stopped discussing the topic and started focusing on eating.

Meng Yuan fought fiercely for his food, and seeing the dishes in front of him emptying out, he was nearly full.

While drinking his beverage, he checked his phone to see the online discussions.

The more he read, the more he was determined to move.

Because his performance as Su Xianjun in the opera scene was too popular!

It even led to many netizens reposting it, and it also gained a high number of views!

The primary aim of the movie "Mortal Affairs Must Wait for the Coffin to Close" was not to make a profit, but to spread more widely, and the minimal fee charged was just to reward the hard-working players and to encourage more talented players to participate in the game "Dark Sand."

Because the larger the player base, the stronger the selected players would be.

Therefore, the movie did not impose too many restrictions, allowing parts of it to be freely shared.

Some impressive scenes of the players were repurposed or remixed online, but what Meng Yuan himself didn’t expect was that the netizens seemed to have a particular fondness for his opera singing scene!

It even gave rise to a batch of fervent fans.

Glancing over the comment section was a bit much, with comments like "big bro is so handsome," "I want to have little bro’s monkeys," and "I really want to duel with him" were everywhere.

It was vexing!

Scrolling through, Meng Yuan also saw a post from a famous Weibo influencer.

"Hm? Is this what you were talking about earlier... monsters influencing reality in more covert ways?"

Su Xianjun took a look, "It’s possible.

"After the last intersection of the historical slice and reality, some monsters appeared in the real world, but we’ve already solved it by launching the ’Monster Invasion’ offline event and mobilizing players.

"Theoretically, there shouldn’t be any physical monsters left in reality."

"However, monsters can also subtly influence people’s thoughts and minds, especially people who already have flawed thinking, making them more susceptible to becoming puppets."

"In such cases, even the power of the Restorers can hardly identify these people immediately, and specific methods are needed to thoroughly clean their minds."

"This person’s words... they do fit the characteristics of being influenced by monsters.

"But it also could be that their mind is simply problematic."

Meng Yuan nodded, "Understood.

"If it’s the former, then it’s our business, and we’ll have to figure out how to use the Restorer’s power to remove the influence of the monsters from his mind; if it’s the latter, then it’s Du Gang and his people’s business.

"But exactly how do we cleanse his spirit?"

Su Xianjun explained, "We’ll try to bring him into a historical slice, let him witness the brutal history. While reclaiming the slice, we’ll also cleanse the spiritual remnants of the monsters from his mind."

Meng Yuan was somewhat displeased, "So you mean I still have to forcibly allocate one of the precious beta player slots to this guy?"

Su Xianjun nodded, "Yes. But it’s not entirely without benefits. If there is an influence of the willful monsters in his mind, we can absorb it and increase the power of the Restorers.

"After the cleanup, we can revoke the qualification."

Meng Yuan accepted, "Oh, then there’s no problem.

"Let’s just wait a few days for the release of the new instance, and then I’ll send him a limited-time experience spot!"