Taking the Stage
Clouds and mist swirled.
On that twisted path born from the darkness, Chen Ling, draped in a deep red theater robe and carrying a bulging knapsack on his back, strode forward in the wind.
Ever since experiencing his journey of fumbling through the wilderness, Chen Ling had finally figured out a set of clearance methods suitable for himself from countless scripts—
The item-crushing flow.
As the Six of Hearts, Chen Ling's financial resources were now quite terrifying. He used the treasuries of several cities to max out his Expectation Value, and then began crazily exchanging for powerful items and passives from the shop, such as:
[Ruthless Iron Hand] (Purple): Attack power against females is doubled;
[Good Brother] (Blue): When an allied unit dies in battle, gain a brief invincibility effect;
[Old Pervert] (Blue): Increases X-ray vision ability, but will randomly emit a perverted smile at females;
[Great Inventor] (Purple): The effect of all items used is doubled, but there is a 30% chance of an explosion;
[Keyboard Warrior] (Blue): In an internet environment, the power of spirit speech increases by 200%;
[Zaun Madman] (Purple): For every curse word spoken, recover 1% of HP, but will attract the aggro of all enemies;
[Working Soul] (White): After working continuously for 12 hours, immune to all fatigue, but will lose the desire for money;
[Master of Slacking] (White): In battle, there is a 10% chance to enter a stealth state, but will suffer an anger attack from the boss;
[Cross-dressing Big Shot] (Blue): When wearing women's clothing, Charm value +100, but there is a certain chance of being crazily pursued by male NPCs;
...
All in all, the current Chen Ling could entirely be said to be a walking treasure chest plus a passive monster.
Furthermore, because of the [Great Inventor] passive, he even became cautious when using items now, deeply afraid of accidentally exploding on the spot.
"I wonder what kind of script it will be this time..."
Chen Ling looked at the fog getting closer and closer ahead, feeling both anticipation and a trace of uneasiness in his heart.
Right at this moment, the silhouette of a massive palace appeared in his line of sight.
The palace seemed to be carved from white jade, faintly discernible amidst the clouds and mist, exuding an ancient and majestic aura.
"This is..."
Chen Ling quickened his pace. When he got closer, he discovered that three large characters were written on the palace's plaque—
[Guanghan Palace].
"Guanghan Palace? Chang'e?" Chen Ling was stunned.
He originally thought that this time's script would be a martial arts or immortal cultivation one like last time. He didn't expect it to actually be a mythological story?
"Could it be that this time's mission is to help Houyi shoot the suns? Or help Chang'e fly to the moon?"
Chen Ling guessed inwardly while stepping into the Guanghan Palace.
The palace was empty, with only a few Jade Rabbits pounding medicine. Seeing Chen Ling enter, they only looked up for a glance before continuing to bury their heads in hard work.
"Is anyone here?" Chen Ling called out tentatively.
No one answered.
Chen Ling walked a circle around the palace and finally saw an extraordinarily beautiful woman wearing a white immortal dress in the back garden, staring blankly at an osmanthus tree.
The woman's long hair reached her waist, and her skin was as white as snow. A faint sorrow seeped through her brows, as if she had endless worries on her mind.
"Are you Chang'e?" Chen Ling walked forward and asked.
The woman turned her head and looked at Chen Ling, a hint of confusion flashing in her eyes. "Who are you? Why have you come to the Guanghan Palace?"
"I am..." Just as Chen Ling was about to introduce himself, he suddenly remembered his current identity was a "thespian". Thus, he cleared his throat, struck a pose he thought was very handsome, and said, "I am Chen Ling, a mere thespian. Passing through this place, I have specially come to visit the fairy."
Looking at Chen Ling, Chang'e suddenly burst into laughter with a pfft.
"You are truly an interesting person. However, it's been a long time since an outsider has come to the Guanghan Palace." Chang'e sighed, sorrow surfacing in her eyes once again. "Since you're here, just chat with me for a bit."
Chen Ling nodded and sat down beside Chang'e.
"Why is the fairy so distressed?" Chen Ling asked despite knowing the answer.
Chang'e looked up at the sky, her eyes blurred. "I'm thinking of him..."
"Houyi?"
Chang'e shook her head. "No, I'm thinking of Wu Gang."
Chen Ling: "???"
Wait, is there something wrong with this script?
Shouldn't Chang'e be thinking of Houyi? How did it become thinking of Wu Gang?
"Wu Gang? That Wu Gang who chops the tree every day?" Chen Ling couldn't help but ask.
"Yeah." Stars twinkled in Chang'e's eyes. "Don't you think the way he chops the tree is very handsome?"
Chen Ling: "..."
He suddenly felt that there didn't seem to be a single normal person in this Guanghan Palace.
"Then why don't you go find him?" Chen Ling asked.
"I can't leave the Guanghan Palace," Chang'e sighed. "This is the rule of the Heavenly Court."
"Rules are dead, but people are alive. Since you like him, then go find him!" Chen Ling began to utilize his [Keyboard Warrior] passive and started a barrage of verbal output.
"Are you going to watch helplessly as he chops at a broken tree day after day and grows old alone? Are you going to spend the long years alone in the Guanghan Palace? Love is something you need to fight for yourself! Don't let those so-called rules bind your hands and feet!"
Chang'e was left dumbfounded by Chen Ling's words, a trace of hesitation flashing in her eyes. "But..."
"There are no buts!" Chen Ling grabbed Chang'e's hand. "Let's go, I'll take you to find him!"
Saying that, Chen Ling pulled Chang'e up and walked out.
Right at this moment, an icy voice rang out over the Guanghan Palace.
"Audacious fanatic, how dare you trespass into the Guanghan Palace and abduct Fairy Chang'e!"
Chen Ling looked up and saw a divine general wearing golden armor and holding a three-pointed double-edged blade standing in the clouds, looking at him coldly.
"Erlang Shen?" Chen Ling recognized the person at a glance.
"Hmph, since you recognize this god, hurry up and surrender without putting up a fight!" Erlang Shen shouted coldly. The three-pointed double-edged blade in his hand swung down fiercely, and a sharp blade aura chopped toward Chen Ling.
Seeing this, Chen Ling unhurriedly took out an item from his knapsack—
[Absolute Defense Shield] (Gold): Blocks one attack of any form.
"Bang!"
The blade aura chopped onto the shield, emitting a loud bang. The shield shattered instantly, but Chen Ling remained completely unharmed.
"A bit interesting." A hint of surprise flashed in Erlang Shen's eyes. "It seems you have some skill, but this bit of skill isn't enough to look at!"
Saying that, Erlang Shen's figure flashed, instantly appearing in front of Chen Ling and kicking toward him.
Chen Ling hurriedly retreated, simultaneously taking out another item—
[Super Invincible Stinky Tofu] (Purple): Upon consumption, all living creatures within a hundred-meter radius will fall into a stunned state, lasting for 3 seconds.
Chen Ling stuffed the stinky tofu into his mouth without hesitation.
In the next second, an indescribable stench spread within the Guanghan Palace.
Erlang Shen bore the brunt of it. He was directly fumigated to the point of his eyes rolling back. With a thump, he collapsed to the ground, falling into a stunned state.
Even Chang'e at the side was fumigated to the point of covering her nose and retreating repeatedly.
"Take this chance, let's go quickly!"
Pulling Chang'e, Chen Ling took advantage of the gap while Erlang Shen was stunned and swiftly fled out of the Guanghan Palace.