Chapter 48: Island of the Wizard

Sheng Pingsha’s expression immediately froze. But Shang Jingyan had used a half-joking tone, so he couldn’t very well throw a fit. He could only force a smile and say, “…Little Shang, you’re a bit too prickly, aren’t you?”

Shang Jingyan blinked, smiling sweetly as she clinked glasses with him. “Senior, you’re not offended, are you? I was just offering a well-intentioned suggestion.”

Sheng Pingsha couldn’t maintain his composure and was forced to clink glasses with her and take a sip. Just as the two were in a stalemate, the production team’s aircraft finally arrived. A young man with long blue hair rushed in, “Sorry to keep everyone waiting!!—I’m so sorry, we ran into a car accident on the way and got stuck in traffic…”

He was Qin Xiao, the young master Qin, with broad shoulders, long legs, phoenix eyes, and red lips. He also had a beauty mark under his left eye.

This kind of appearance would be a hit even in the idol world. Unfortunately, he was a true-to-form “pretty boy with no substance.” He hadn’t even taken two steps into the hall before he tripped over the carpet.

“Aiya—!”

Qin Xiao’s blue hair flew up like a flag, the documents he was holding scattered everywhere, and he himself slammed his chin hard on the floor. The staff members behind him twitched their mouths and simultaneously covered their faces.

Shang Jingyan: “…”

Young Master Qin’s entrance was certainly spectacular. How could someone trip over a carpet on a flat surface?!

Instantly, no one cared about the verbal sparring between Shang Jingyan and Sheng Pingsha. A crowd quickly surrounded Qin Xiao to help him up.

“Hiss… ouch, ouch, ouch!” Qin Xiao struggled to his feet, rubbing his chin with tears in his eyes.

He had fallen right in front of Sheng Pingsha and instinctively grabbed onto the prayer beads hanging from the older man’s hand to pull himself up. Only after he stood up did he realize what he’d done, repeatedly apologizing.

Sheng Pingsha: “…”

Shang Jingyan swore she could read a sentence from Sheng Pingsha’s questioning expression: Was coming to participate in this show really a good choice?

“Director Sheng! Director Shang! Director Hua! Master Yun!…” Qin Xiao rattled off everyone’s names like he was reciting a menu, shaking hands with each of them, and then personally distributing documents. “Thank you so much for participating in the show. I’ll definitely do my best!”

The senior Mr. Qin hadn’t come today, apparently intending to give his son some experience. Qin Xiao’s arrival shifted the atmosphere. Sheng Pingsha and Shang Jingyan were separated by the crowd, the scene returned to its lively state, and no one dared to put the two of them together again.

Hua Feitian’s impression of Shang Jingyan had improved somewhat. Resting her chin on her hand, she suddenly said, “It should have been like this all along. I really don’t know why you were even bothering to talk to those people.”

Shang Jingyan wasn’t the type to get angry. On the surface, she seemed to have a dark and edgy style, but after interacting with her for a while, people would actually find her to be diplomatic, cheerful, and outgoing, not easily offending anyone.

“Making a living is tough, young lady.” Shang Jingyan said.

Swirling her glass, Shang Jingyan playfully uttered a slang phrase from her previous life. It was a cantonese phrase, that means, “Making a living is not easy”.

She had been trained to be this way. In the beginning, she had no connections, no qualifications. Of course, she couldn’t afford to offend anyone.

But that didn’t mean she was a pushover—she was far from it. When she didn’t need to please anyone, she could also do as she pleased.

Hua Feitian was born in the interstellar era, where the Dreamweaver system was well-established and competition was fair. Moreover, her family had money for her to spend freely, so she didn’t need to please anyone. That’s how she could develop this kind of personality.

She tilted her head, frowning as if puzzled, but in the end, she didn’t ask. She simply changed the subject: “What dialect were you speaking just now? It doesn’t sound like V059’s.”

There were more unsaid words in Hua Feitian’s mind. After studying Shang Jingyan for so long, she dared to say that no one in the Exile Star System audience knew Shang Jingyan better than she did.

She always felt that there were times when Shang Jingyan exhibited traits that didn’t seem to belong to this place—

And “this place” didn’t just refer to the Exile Star System, but to this entire era.

She brought something completely new, like all the geniuses in history, destined to change this world.

“I don’t even remember, I don’t know where I learned it.” Shang Jingyan switched from a Cantonese accent to a Sichuan accent. “Sweetie, do you think the final champion will be me or you?”

Hua Feitian: “…”

Why did that sound so irritating!

Hua Feitian bristled. “It’ll definitely be me!”

Shang Jingyan laughed heartily, successfully dodging the question about her accent.

–

The launch party reached around ten o’clock at night, and people gradually began to leave. The music and merriment faded.

Shang Jingyan and the others were also preparing to go back. Just as the group stepped out of the restaurant’s front door, they were engulfed by a wave of noise.

“Director Shang! Where’s Director Shang?”

“Director Shang, I love you!!—”

“Sister Tiantian!”

“Yunyun, aaaaaah!”

A crowd of fans had gathered downstairs. As soon as they saw the group coming down, they began to shout, albeit in a restrained manner. The fans were mostly locals who had heard the news and rushed over. Most of them were young people. Shang Jingyan, Yun Yongxue, and Hua Feitian’s names were all called out repeatedly, but almost no one mentioned Sheng Pingsha.

This was actually normal. Sheng Pingsha hadn’t released any works this year, and the most enthusiastic fans from his heyday were mostly past the age of star-chasing. No one present would mock him for this.

But he still showed an embarrassed look and pulled his mask up higher.

“Why did you even come all the way here? Burning money for fun?” Hua Feitian’s way of interacting with fans was also unique. She complained with her words, pouting at her lollipop, but accepted the autograph board handed to her by a fan.

The fan also chuckled, “Write ‘All the prestigious schools love me’ for me, Sister Tiantian!”

Hua Feitian made a sweeping stroke of her pen and wrote: Study hard, don’t daydream.

As she wrote, she also listened attentively to Shang Jingyan’s side. As a result, when she was signing her name, her hand twitched, and she almost wrote “Don’tLikeSweets.”

Hua Feitian: “…”

That was close. It was all Shang Jingyan’s fault. She had seen her alternate account ID too many times these past few days!

Shang Jingyan put on her glasses and mask and patted Yun Yongxue’s back from behind. “Little Xue, I’m counting on you.”

Yun Yongxue: “…?”

He didn’t react until he was surrounded by fans, finally understanding Shang Jingyan’s “sinister intentions”—while the latter had already slipped away like a slippery silverfish, disappearing into the night.

“Yunyun! Is that you? I can’t believe I’m seeing you in real life! sobs of joy.”

“Aaaah, Mom’s good boy!”

“Was that Master Yan who just passed by? Yunyun, go after her!”

Lin Changjie had managed other artists before Yun Yongxue and was experienced in this. He blocked people for Yun Yongxue. But Yun Yongxue usually didn’t meet fans. This was the first time he had faced such enthusiasm. The skin under his mask reddened all the way to his ears, and he was actually momentarily held back.

He was just introverted and didn’t like to appear in public; it wasn’t that he was cold-hearted and didn’t care about his fans. After being surrounded for a while, he awkwardly, half-heartedly, signed a few autographs.

But when he looked up, Shang Jingyan’s figure had long since disappeared.

Where is Yanyan going? The direction she’s going doesn’t seem to be the hotel arranged by the production team… Yun Yongxue thought, a little distractedly.

–

“…The young people these days really don’t know how to talk! I thought Shang Jingyan would be better, but who knew she’d be just like Hua Feitian!”

Sheng Pingsha had been repeatedly provoked tonight. The first thing he said when he got into the nanny van was a complaint full of resentment.

His editor handed him hangover tea and comforted him, “They’re just being arrogant because they’re young. Wait until you’re done with the show. Let’s see if they can still be so high and mighty.”

Sheng Pingsha drank half a cup of tea, calmed down a bit, and let out a cold snort from his nose.

“Washed-up,” this phrase was like a shadow attached to the label of “old artist.”

And Sheng Pingsha didn’t like either of these labels.

When he created “Moonlight River,” he was as young and poor as the protagonist, with a bit of talent and a dream of becoming a Dreamweaver.

This work made him famous, but it also made his debut his peak, and he had been going downhill ever since.

An old fan once left him a message saying, “If you were to write ‘Moonlight River’ now, would you still have them retire to the mountains? Looking at you now, I don’t think so.”

Sheng Pingsha had been indignant about this comment for a while a few years ago, but he had to admit that the other person was right.

What’s the point of retiring to the mountains? Indulging in sensual pleasures and extravagance is what’s interesting!

After discovering that his works were receiving a mediocre response, Sheng Pingsha’s market sense kicked in, and he stopped in time, preventing him from continuing to create even more boring works.

But he didn’t intend to quit altogether. On the contrary, he was waiting for an opportunity, an opportunity to reappear in everyone’s sight.

The nanny van started smoothly. Sheng Pingsha looked at the night scenery outside the window for a while, opened his light brain, and continued the work he hadn’t finished before coming.

If someone who was a fan of both him and Shang Jingyan took a look, they would probably be very surprised:

Because this document contained a deduced plot outline and shot list for “The Witch of Blizzard,” and also listed several conjectures from the forums.

It was actually very normal for Dreamweavers to do this when studying. Even Shang Jingyan had to maintain a state of input.

But Sheng Pingsha had once arrogantly said, “I never need to learn from Dreamweavers of my generation.” Now, he was analyzing a junior’s work so intently. It was, to say the least, ironic.

Blizzard Manor, island murder mystery, these two terms had been in Sheng Pingsha’s mind recently. He had also researched many works from the previous stellar calendar and was now confident.

Creators are easily carried away during the gestation period. Sheng Pingsha typed the last period and said proudly, “Shang Jingyan just got to the old ancestors’ ideas from the dusty old books before me. When I publish, we’ll see who can compete!”

The editor seemed to hesitate for a long time before saying, “Director Sheng, what if… ‘he’ sees it?”

He didn’t say a name, just a pronoun. But they both knew very well that this “he” referred to an old acquaintance of Sheng Pingsha.

When Sheng Pingsha heard this sentence, a flash of cowardice appeared on his originally ambitious face, but it quickly turned into disdain. “It’s been so many years. I’m still in the circle, but who knows where he is! A married person who retired, what’s there to be afraid of?”

—Sheng Pingsha hadn’t created any works for more than ten years, of course, not just because he could maintain his integrity.

Essentially, someone like him was the least likely to be able to retire gracefully.

If it weren’t for that so-called three-chapter agreement, I would have…

Many words flitted through Sheng Pingsha’s mind, but he still suppressed them all.

“Don’t mention him again,” he said in a low voice.

–

Meanwhile, Shang Jingyan walked under the bustling neon lights and entered a budget hotel.

She was here to see Pei Yi. Because he needed ongoing treatment, Pei Yi had also followed Shang Jingyan to V066 and wouldn’t be leaving for the next month.

Shang Jingyan was fully armed, looking very suspicious at first glance. Fortunately, interstellar people valued privacy, so Shang Jingyan didn’t need to take off her glasses and hat to enter the hotel.

She walked to Pei Yi’s room number, and while knocking on the door, she thought that if the paparazzi found out, she could already guess what kind of headlines she’d be featured in tomorrow:

[Shock! The Newly Rising Purple Star Has a Secret Boyfriend! The Dreams of Countless Boys and Girls Shattered!]

[The New Generation’s Number One Person Having a Secret Rendezvous with a Civilian Late at Night. A Golden House to Hide a Beauty, or a One-Night Stand?]

[Who is Director Shang’s Boyfriend? A Real-Life Version of “After Falling in Love with a Genius Dreamweaver”?]

No matter which world they were from, people would definitely lean towards a romantic relationship at this time. Thinking of this, Shang Jingyan amused herself. When Pei Yi opened the door, he saw her smiling to herself: “?”

Pei Yi asked curiously, “What’s wrong?”

Shang Jingyan: “Nothing, I was just spreading rumors about you in my head.”

Pei Yi: “…?”

“Why did you come over? Didn’t I say I’d go to you?” Pei Yi stopped dwelling on Shang Jingyan’s teasing, closed the door, and asked. He seemed to have just showered, his hair still damp and curling, hanging down on his shoulders.

“If you came to my place, you’d definitely be on the trending searches the next day.”

Those unscrupulous news headlines would come true in another form, Shang Jingyan silently added in her heart. She took off her hat and smoothed her hair that had been flattened. “Your teahouse is open three days and closed for two. The owner closes the door and runs around all day. Is that really okay?”

Pei Yi had said on their first meeting that the teahouse was about to close down and that he planned to open it in the Central Star System. Now that it had finally been revitalized thanks to Shang Jingyan’s fame, the owner himself had started slacking off.

However, Shang Jingyan knew that Pei Yi was just doing this as a hobby. Because of his externalization syndrome, he liked these retro things from the previous stellar calendar.

It was also evident from the visit to Pei Yi’s family’s villa in Blue River Moon that his family was not short of money.

“There aren’t many real customers anyway. It’s basically just making money from your fans, I’d feel bad.”

Pei Yi said casually.

Shang Jingyan immediately saw Pei Yi’s light brain on the bedside table, projecting the mental landscape simulation she had made last time. Obviously, before she came, Pei Yi had been watching it.

“Before I went to bed yesterday… I was suddenly able to visualize my mental landscape, although only for a short time. So just now, I was staring at the simulation, trying to see if I could enter it tonight too.”

Pei Yi said a little embarrassedly.

His recovery was even faster than Wei Wenbing’s. His mental body was no longer frequently running out. For example, from the moment she entered the room, Shang Jingyan hadn’t seen the Angora rabbit.

During the treatment process, Shang Jingyan also had a feeling: If it weren’t for the externalization syndrome, Pei Yi’s original mental power should have been quite good, at least at the B-level 85-point level, while Wei Wenbing was at C-level 71 points before he got sick.

Shang Jingyan had previously pondered why only a skin of the jellyfish monster remained in Pei Yi’s mental landscape.

Was that left behind from their normal molting, or was it the result of some kind of abnormality?

First, the jellyfish monsters were most likely the culprits behind human mental power void syndrome. Given the frequency rate of void syndrome, their numbers must be very large.

Second, it was known that the number of patients with externalization syndrome was extremely small compared to the entire void syndrome group. The idea that “monster molting causes externalization syndrome” was certainly untenable—just looking at Wei Wenbing, you could deduce that. He didn’t have any jellyfish skin.

So, overall, was the appearance of the jellyfish skin there just an accident?

Or… was it that Pei Yi’s mental power had been automatically triggered to fight back that year, killing the monster and turning it into a skin, but the aftereffect was that he also contracted externalization syndrome?

Shang Jingyan personally leaned towards the latter, but at present, this was just her conjecture, and she didn’t even have much evidence.

Pei Yi lay down in the device—he had shipped it over by air—and tilted his head to look at Shang Jingyan. But not long after, his consciousness inevitably fell into sleep, and his eyes slowly closed.

–

The scenes in the mental landscape would change according to the owner’s will. The first significant change Shang Jingyan saw was that all the original childish, Q-version things had been scaled up and adjusted to adult proportions.

The rabbit was used to her visits and was already waiting by the roadside. It still wouldn’t let her hold it, but it liked to follow her.

Shang Jingyan floated over to the candy cottage and found that it hadn’t changed much. Perhaps that short amount of time wasn’t enough for Pei Yi to figure out how to adjust this relatively complex structure.

A sign was hung on the front door of the cottage, which read: 【Under Construction, Don’t Look! [Rabbit making an X with its paws]】

Shang Jingyan: “…Pfft.”

The black mist had already cleared by more than half. After Shang Jingyan finished today’s treatment, she saw the stick-figure sun above the cottage.

She smiled inwardly and, before leaving, added a sentence to the sign on the cottage. If Pei Yi came again, he would be able to see it.

–

When Pei Yi woke up, he felt the comfort of having had a mental spa, just like after every previous treatment. Unfortunately, he could never remember exactly what Shang Jingyan had done. He only had some dream-like residual memories, and in the dream… he kept following a large light bulb step by step?

He thought, puzzled.

“Your mental landscape has changed, congratulations. I won’t modify that simulation for you anymore. You can try modifying it yourself,” Shang Jingyan said with a smile. Doing it this way would certainly give him a greater sense of accomplishment.

Pei Yi’s eyes lit up, and he nodded. “Okay!”

Shang Jingyan was, as usual, fed snacks. While eating, she chatted casually with Pei Yi about the happenings with the production team and also mentioned the rules of the show.

“That vacant chef position, if you can’t think of anyone else.” Pei Yi volunteered, “Director Shang, how about me?”

Decorations and activities were just gimmicks. The true core of a food show was definitely still the food. Otherwise, no matter how well it was packaged, if the dishes inside were unpalatable, it wouldn’t be able to retain customers.

The production team had also considered this point. For fair competition, each Dreamweaver’s chef and chef robot were arranged by the production team. But at the same time, the production team also gave the guests some leeway. One chef position could be chosen by the Dreamweaver themselves.

Shang Jingyan tapped her chin. “Oh, right, how could I forget about you?”

She only remembered that Pei Yi could make desserts and fell into a blind spot, not thinking about the fact that his overall cooking skills were very good.

“Then that’s settled.” Shang Jingyan immediately edited a message to Qin Xiao and even created a group chat. “You, Yun Yongxue, hmm, the small kitchen team is complete!”

–

For Shang Jingyan’s fans, all they had been hearing lately were good news.

“Starry River Wandering Kitchen” announced the rules for this season of the variety show. The guests were divided into five groups of two, a total of ten people. Each group needed to design their own small kitchen, and their final scores would be calculated based on their revenue.

Over the next month, the five groups of Dreamweavers would carry out their design work and open their kitchens on V066’s “Shalili Food Street.”

Fans with the financial means and free time had already started preparing in advance to go to the location to enjoy the food and meet their idols.

The plot of “Infinite Heartbeat” was progressing steadily. Although Lan Qing and the General were unable to save the driver, they saw the appearance of the monsters in the villa for the first time. This finally gave the Challengers a direction, and they were no longer like headless flies, filled with fear and uncertainty.

And when the weapon box left by the driver was opened, it contained a laser cannon. Lan Qing gave it to the General.

[So the General’s weapon in the preview came from here, inheriting the legacy of a passing companion. It’s both tragic and cool 555]

[That laser pistol also appeared in the preview, on Lan Qing’s waist.]

[Do the people who die in the trial grounds really die? Will they never have another chance? I still can’t accept it…]

After sharing life and death with Lan Qing, the two also entrusted each other with their backs and agreed to be together in the next trial as well. The General told Lan Qing that her surname was Hua, but she didn’t like her given name, and she could just be called General Hua.

The next night, the double-headed ghost girl and the masked spider still came. They couldn’t appear during the day, but they could repair their wounds and recover their combat strength. Humans and monsters both rested and recuperated during the day and fought to the death at night.

The designated victim of the third night successfully survived, but the group was unable to severely injure the monsters, still allowing them to escape. The ghost witch, as their mother, seemed to be restricted by something and didn’t appear.

On the fourth night, the group successfully killed the masked spider. Because a large part of the monsters’ aggro had already shifted from the person they were supposed to kill each night to Lan Qing, Lan Qing boldly used herself as bait to lure the masked spider away.

That was also the scene that appeared in the trailer, in the wooden shed outside the villa, the young girl and the monster fighting for their lives. In the end, the monster’s blood stained the snow, and it fell silent.

The ghost girl witnessed this scene, shedding tears of blood and screaming shrilly, reluctantly escaping.

When daytime arrived, the masked spider did not turn to black ash. Its corpse was exposed to the sunlight—it would not appear the next night.

And the plot of the fifth night had only just begun. This night was strangely calm, but all the viewers could feel the coming storm.

–

Gamma Star System.

“I see you guys saying the big boss is about to appear. Does that mean the first instance is almost over?”

Lu Zibing was extremely anxious, his hand hovering over the series and repeatedly moving away.

These days, he had to be careful when surfing the internet. As the plot of “Infinite Heartbeat” gradually unfolded and the characters interacted, edits were exploding. He could often see people shouting [Lan Qing and General Hua are killing me!].

The sales of merchandise for the two of them surged, while the third researcher, who hadn’t even appeared yet, was left behind. Lu Zibing even observed a magical phenomenon: some viewers were requesting that there be no male lead!

He had been watching Dreamweaver works for so many years, and this kind of request was a first. In an environment dominated by romance, it was like a magical mudslide, making him even more curious: How amazing was the plot of “Infinite Heartbeat” that people didn’t even want a romance line?

“…Forget it, I’ll still wait for it to be finished. I won’t be able to sleep if I follow it as it airs.” Lu Zibing finally steeled his heart and closed the interface.

[I was thinking the same way as the streamer a few days ago. Now I’ve fallen and joined the army of people urging for updates, lol.]

[Streamer, why don’t you go to the Exile Star System for a trip? I heard that the Chinese-style horror theme park there is about to open. If the timing is right, you might even be able to eat at Director Shang’s small kitchen on V066.]

[Don’t struggle. You see, you haven’t been enjoying romance games lately. Come and watch horror!]

Lu Zibing: “But haven’t I also watched some recent horror works by other people? Unfortunately, I just feel like they don’t have that Director Shang flavor…”

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly noticed a comment: [Holy crap! Am I seeing things? I just saw Sheng Pingsha released a preview?]

“Huh?” Lu Zibing was stunned. He immediately dropped the male lead in the game who was confessing to the heroine and clicked search.

The trending search term #ShengPingshaReturns# in the Exile Star System had become [Boiling]. He was using a proxy account, and it took a long time to load before he could click on it.

After many years, Sheng Pingsha had actually announced that he was going to release a new work!

His new work was a short drama called “Island of the Wizard.” Currently, only the synopsis, tags, and a preview had been released.

Lu Zibing immediately saw the key point in the tags and read out in surprise: “‘Island murder mystery’… Isn’t this the same concept as ‘The Witch of Blizzard’?”

And, “Wizard” and “Witch,” wasn’t this a little too “coincidental”?