No wonder they had called in Chang Baye and himself for this job—it really wasn't as simple as just reciting lines.
You still had to adapt to the character you were playing. At the very least, you couldn't break character.
You also had to learn how to operate the backstage controls... On Li Qiuchen's end, he had several administrative privileges too—for example, kicking people, muting them, or sending information to other characters.
Leave this stuff to an ordinary person, and who could figure it out?
Over there, Chang Baye had finally figured out his boss panel. He raised his hand and pointed, and the three townsfolk sitting around him merged together like a match-three game with a loud *pop*, transforming into a monstrosity with three heads and six arms that bared its claws and fangs as it charged at Wang Su.
The entire Illusionary Realm was constructed from the dreams and memories of the Qingshi Terrace townsfolk. In other words, this was a recreation of the scene as it had happened.
At that moment, Li Qiuchen noticed that Wang Su's Mind State had dropped by one point.
From a hundred to ninety-nine.
This was the ultimate purpose of the Illusionary Trial—to test the trial-taker's Mind State through situational recreation.
"Status" was essentially network lag; if it turned red, you'd be kicked out of the game.
"Mind State," on the other hand, was equivalent to the trial-taker's HP. Get scared and you'd lose health. Lose it all, and you'd fail and be ejected.
After clearing it, an evaluation score would be given based on the trial-taker's remaining HP and specific performance. This score would be recorded in the County School's ledgers; if it was too low, you'd be held back.
Alright, he'd pretty much figured out the game rules.
But as for this Illusionary Realm itself, Li Qiuchen only had a four-word assessment.
A total disaster.
Wang Su and Du Qian were also very awkward.
"A real Illusionary Realm is definitely much more complex than this."
"It's our first time doing this; we don't have any experience."
"It's much more complicated than we imagined."
Complicated, my ass. They couldn't even come up with a fourth line of dialogue!
Li Qiuchen just wanted to curse.
Chang Baye was also quite melancholic; he felt like he'd been swindled.
Were there really people willing to pay an entrance fee to experience an Illusionary Realm like this?
Why didn't they just give him the spirit stones directly, and he'd reveal his true form to carry them around Qingshi Terrace?
"Don't rush. The framework is already set up; we just need to fill in a few more details."
Du Qian held the novel in his hand, speaking with full confidence: "This book has been incredibly popular on the market lately. If we act out the story from the beginning according to this book, I don't think there'll be any problems."
Li Qiuchen asked curiously, "Then why not just act out the story in the book?"
Wang Su hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping himself, while Du Qian's gaze flickered.
"Can I take a look at that book?"
"Sure."
Li Qiuchen took it and had a look. Good lord.
A Golden Core great cultivator returns to his hometown after a century of fighting in the Primordial Wilderness, only to discover his immediate family living in a doghouse.
As soon as he enters the village, he sees a group of hooligans bullying a child with crippled limbs who can't move.
"Long Xiaotian! Open your mouth and drink Grandpa's piss!"
"I won't!"
"Hahahaha, your Long family is already ruined, and you still think you're a young master?"
"When my family's Ancestor returns..."
"Your Ancestor is already dead!"
...
Li Qiuchen: "..."
Li Qiuchen: "???"
"Can I ask... who's playing this Long Xiaotian?"
Wang Su coughed and said awkwardly, "You."
Like hell!
Li Qiuchen forcibly suppressed the veins threatening to burst from his forehead and asked through gritted teeth, "Then who's playing this Golden Core great cultivator?"
"The trial-taker."
"The hooligans?"
"Still you... Don't go! Acting as two people counts as double wages!"
"Whoever wants to act can act!"
Li Qiuchen was furious. Did they really think he had no temper?
...
That day, Li Qiuchen bought two fat geese from the street, conveniently absorbed their life energy, twisted their necks, and carried them back home.
His sister-in-law, Xiulan, came to greet him. Her eyes lit up at the sight of the two geese, but when she saw they were dead, she couldn't help but complain, "You wasteful child, spending money recklessly again."
In truth, she had wanted to raise them.
Li Qiuchen understood what she was thinking, but he didn't want to indulge her, mainly because he found the noise annoying.
Squawking all day long was unbearable.
He casually handed the geese to his sister-in-law and said, "Take them and stew them. I want to eat them tonight."
"We haven't even finished the fish from yesterday..."
"Then you and Mother should eat more. If you really can't finish it, send some to Second Brother."
The famous northern delicacy, iron pot stewed goose—honestly speaking, the taste left much to be desired.
The prototype of this dish should have been iron pot stewed wild goose.
The proper way for a goose to die in the north was to be sauced first, then smoked, but not many people could master this craft. In the entire town of Qingshi Terrace, only the tavern with the two hanging signboards served this dish.
Li Qiuchen had tasted it twice. It was incredibly delicious, unforgettable for a long time.
They say economic foundation determines family status.
Sister-in-law Xiulan had originally been somewhat bothered by Li Qiuchen not paying rent. It was only because it was her mother-in-law's decision that she hadn't found it easy to object.
She hadn't expected Li Qiuchen to be so generous, constantly bringing home all sorts of food and drink. Staples like rice, flour, and oil were a given; when he came across wild game he'd buy it on the spot, or he'd go to the butcher shop to get a few pounds of fatty pork. In short, he rarely came home empty-handed.
After this went on for a while, the sister-in-law had no more complaints. She even proactively offered to wash Li Qiuchen's clothes.
Having solved his food and clothing problem in Qingshi Terrace, Li Qiuchen wasn't the least bit happy.
The construction progress of the Illusionary Realm was atrociously slow.
Wang Su and Du Qian argued defensively that it was their first time doing this as homework and they lacked hands-on experience.
But Li Qiuchen could already tell that the two of them had absolutely no talent in this area.
Perhaps their cultivation talent was comparatively excellent, but that didn't mean they were excellent at everything.
When they had studied at the County School, they had also experienced many Illusionary Trials, but when Li Qiuchen asked them what content they had experienced, both hemmed and hawed.
Thousands of words could be summed up in three: "Pretty hard."
Besides, the Illusionary Trials had a rule: trial-takers could not reveal the content to others.
Although they had found it difficult to experience themselves, both possessed a mystical sort of confidence, completely failing to consider the difficulty of building an Illusionary Realm with their own hands.
Wasn't this thing just a recreation of scenes from memory?
But it was still that old saying: thinking about it was one thing; creating it was another.
Who hadn't seen an egg before? Yet not many people could casually draw a perfectly round egg.
These past few days, the two of them were completely immersed in their own artistic creation, no longer aware of heaven and earth.
Three days ago, Chang Baye had grabbed his bucket and run off, saying the weather was too cold and he needed to find someplace to nap. As for the Illusionary Realm matter... let's talk again next spring. At their current work pace, whether they could even finish the entire script by next spring was a question.
Li Qiuchen deeply agreed with this sentiment.
He also couldn't wait any longer. Finding a suitable opportunity, he treated the two to a meal, subtly fishing for information from them.
I have a friend.
He wants to study in the county.
Wang Su didn't harbor the slightest suspicion about this, telling Li Qiuchen that this matter was very easy to handle.