Chapter 42 Cinema Crisis
Looking around, "Spirited Away" was playing on the Imax screen, an animated film by Hayao Miyazaki. The movie had premiered twenty years ago but had just been re-released, so Bai Zini had excitedly gotten their dad to cover the cost of the movie tickets and dragged everyone to watch it.
The light from the huge screen waxed and waned, occasionally illuminating the faces of those seated nearby.
Ke Mingye was sitting in the middle of this row, with Ke Xiaomo on his right. To his left, in order, were Bai Zini, Bai Ziling, Ke Yongzhu, and Bai Qiuwu.
Bai Qiuwu was propping her chin in her hands, lost in thought, her mind clearly not on the movie.
Without even thinking, Ke Mingye knew she must be pondering what had happened on the bus earlier.
Bai Zini nudged him gently with her elbow and whispered, "Brother, you came to the cinema to sleep, didn\'t you? That\'s so like you."
"Exactly," Bai Ziling echoed in a low voice.
Could I even tell you that I was actually focused on playing an instance? Ke Mingye curled his lips and said, "I was dead tired after school, and then you guys dragged me to watch a movie. Can you blame me?"
"Watch attentively now that you\'re awake," Ke Xiaomo said.
"Alright."
As he spoke, Ke Mingye looked around the theater.
The auditorium was basically devoid of strangers; it might as well have been booked by the six of them. After all, the re-showing had ended several days ago, and this cinema city had only just been built, not enjoying much popularity.
Just then, he suddenly noticed a young man in a cap and the uniform of the cinema staff walk in from the entrance of the theater and place a sign at the door that read "As a lucky screening, guests watching in this theater will receive a free trial of a \'brain imaging helmet\'."
Immediately afterwards, the young man closed the door to the theater, placed his hands on his abdomen, and his eyes were hidden under the brim of his cap. The corners of his mouth were slightly raised, as if he was quietly waiting for someone.
A brain imaging helmet, what is this thing?
Ke Mingye glanced at the text on the sign and felt something was off, so he stared at the staff member a bit longer; his information panel gradually became visible before him.
[Character Name: Ke Yinzhi]
[Age: 21]
[Gender: Male]
[Strength: A++ level (possessing top fighting power far beyond 99% of superhumans in the world)]
[Hidden Identity: Black Judge (A key figure in the Anomaly Control Bureau, one of the five S-level officers)]
"...Huh?"
"Huh?"
Ke Mingye mentally typed out two big question marks.
He suspected he had read it wrong or that there was a bug in the system, so he took another look at the unassuming staff member, trying a different approach.
But the result was the same.
[Character Name: Ke Yinzhi]
Ke Mingye paused for half a second, then quickly averted his gaze. "Big brother? Why is he here?" he thought, his sweat pouring down, instantly soaking his back.
He had imagined a thousand scenarios of meeting his brother at home, but never had he thought that his brother would appear before him in this way.
In a cinema, disguised as a staff member?
From the sign, his aim was to get us to wear this brain imaging helmet, but why?
The myriad thoughts in Ke Mingye\'s mind fell to the floor like a ball of yarn, unraveling into thousands of strands.
Brain imaging...
The biggest difference between players and ordinary people is that the images captured by our eyes go through the system in our brains, allowing us to see prompts given by the system.
Ke Mingye\'s face gradually turned pale, a flicker in his eyes.
He pondered for a moment and soon came to a conclusion, "Big brother wants to use this helmet to confirm if any of us has been replaced by a \'player\'."
No, just sitting here won\'t do, he has a thousand reasons to not let me leave, and the moment I put on that helmet, I\'d truly be done for...
With that thought, Ke Mingye spoke up, "I need to use the bathroom, I\'ll be back in a bit." After saying that, he started to get up from his chair.
"Wait a second."
Ke Xiaomo spoke as he suddenly reached out and held his arm.
"What\'s wrong, Second Brother?"
As Ke Mingye asked, he slowly turned his head, his face expressionless as he met his gaze.
"Don\'t wander off. Come right back after using the bathroom," Ke Xiaomo said.
Ke Mingye stiffened slightly, cold sweat trickling down his forehead, thinking to himself that with a second brother and a big brother, they\'re teamed up to screw with me in the cinema, huh? Did you two coordinate this in advance?
"That\'s right, now that you mention it." Bai Zini also said, "Last time, big bro, halfway through the movie with us, you said you were going to the bathroom and then ditched to play games at the next-door arcade!"
Please, can you stop throwing daggers, little sister? If I don\'t make a run for it, I\'m straight up going to die here, right?
Feeling as if he had plunged into an abyss of ice, Ke Mingye glanced out of the corner of his eye at the staff guarding the entrance to the screening room.
"Why are you bothering him?" Ke Yongzhu spoke with her chin propped on her hand, speaking impatiently, "If he wants to leave, just let him be; don\'t disrupt my movie experience."
"No way, Ni and I finally managed to get Dad to reimburse us for this,"n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Bai Ziling turned her head too, her face expressionless as she stared at Ke Mingye.
Her red eyes were especially conspicuous in the dim light.
Hearing their conversation, Bai Qiuwu\'s thoughts were interrupted, and she also glanced at him sideways, "That\'s right. Just now, someone on the bus said to me, \'We\'re going to watch a movie, and nobody is allowed to leave early.\'"
Ke Mingye jolted with fear, thinking to himself that if it really came down to it, he would have to confront them all—damn it, a vampire, a magic girl, a ninja, and a Sun Wukong, really all teaming up against me, a simple player?
Even with these thoughts, Ke Mingye still remained calm.
He yawned, his eyes brimming with tears of tiredness, and spoke with a lethargic voice, "Alright, alright, you win. I won\'t make a run for it. I\'ll just go to the bathroom and come straight back."
"You said it," Bai Ziling stared at him for a moment, "Don\'t try to deceive me."
"Second Brother, let him go," Bai Zini said, satisfied.
Upon hearing this, Ke Xiaomo released his arm, "Go and come back quickly. You\'ve already slept through most of it. Pay attention to the rest."
"Just you guys are fussy,"
Ke Mingye looked at them with disdain, feigned relaxation as he shrugged his shoulders, then rose from his seat and walked towards the exit of the cinema.
With each step he took through the dimly lit auditorium, he drew closer to the door where Ke Yinzhi stood, his heart beating faster and faster, as if a myriad of tiny people were tap dancing on it.
What will big brother do...
If I simply walk past him and out, will he stop me?
What if he grabs the helmet and forces it on my head? With his strength, I wouldn\'t stand a chance, but just sitting there until the movie ends is tantamount to sitting ducks.
But even if, by a long shot, big brother doesn\'t stop me and I do manage to escape the cinema, Second Brother\'s suspicion of me will only deepen.
Damn it...
I might as well take the risk; it\'s better than waiting for death.
With that in mind, Ke Mingye purposely scuffed his shoe against the leg of the chair, causing his shoelace to come undone.
Then he squatted down, pretending to tie his laces while he manipulated the Deception Puppet outside the cinema to change its appearance, bursting out of the alley, firing a strand of web at the traffic light sign post above the street, caught onto the web, and jumped up on top of the traffic lights.
The puppet crouched down, looking ahead towards Yandai Cinema City, and used the skill—"Dice of Catastrophe".
Immediately, a black die appeared in its hand, with blood-red numbers engraved on each of its six faces. Simultaneously, six possible events corresponding to these numbers were input into Ke Mingye\'s brain.
The puppet stretched out its hand and rolled the die forward. The die tumbled through the air above the street before finally landing, bouncing, and coming to rest.
Shortly after, the corresponding event took place.