Jock tilted his head, standing next to the black studio, unable to see through the obese figure waving at him at first glance.

The desire to further perceive it was blocked by a pitch-black curtain, as if he were seated in the audience of a stage, unable to see the scene behind the curtain.

However, Jock wasn't worried at all.

He knew Luo Di's intentions well, why Luo Di had invited him, and he knew this was definitely a fair one-on-one.

This was his only chance for correction after standing in the wrong place; as long as he survived, there was a chance to turn the tables.

Jock stepped over the warning line and stood before the portly middle-aged man.

The mist swirling around his body was unwilling to approach the man, seemingly fearing something, as if getting close meant being completely devoured.

Slap!

A roll of paper was slapped directly on Jock's head.

"Why are you dawdling? According to Luo Di's description, you should be a very efficient actor... This is your simplified script.

The role you're going to play is yourself, there's no limitation on the script; just remember where to be and your emotions and expressions at critical moments.

Come into the makeup room, we'll do your makeup while you look over the script.

Oh right, let me introduce myself, I'm the chief director of this film, David. The movie doesn't have a finalized name yet; I'll decide the title based on the final cut."

Jock didn't decline or question, forced a stiff smile, and obediently followed behind the man into the pitch-black studio.

The seemingly ordinary-sized studio had a hidden interior.

Under Director David's guidance, they arrived at the makeup room, where Wu Wen was in charge of the makeup work.

Various paint cans were already placed around the makeup station.

On the rack hung Jock's favorite suspender suit.

Director David stood by, monitoring the entire process to ensure the makeup was flawless and matched the script's character image.

Jock wasn't restrained at all, he even fully embodied the character, becoming a highly valued actor enjoying the makeup process.

Disrobing,

He revealed his flabby, fat-laden body, with his sagging belly serving as a privacy shield.

Creaaak! The metal bearings creaked under him as he sat on the chair.

Two soft, fair arms extended from behind him, painting back and forth on his body, starting to apply white paint.

Suddenly, Jock grabbed one of the arms and licked it with his tongue.

Who knew, the sensation on his tongue was strange, not like skin but more like licking a velvet fabric.

Taking a side glance,

Wu Wen was standing nearby, mixing the paint, not applying makeup to him at all.

Only David was behind him, the strange part being that both of David's hands were busy tearing open a bag of chips.

The arms doing Jock's makeup had grown from David's eye sockets, demon arms not belonging to this dimension.

David, his mouth full of chip crumbs, murmured softly, "You have such a fetish? That's a bit disgusting... If your performance has an impact, I wouldn't mind playing along with you."

Those words seemed to pull Jock's thoughts,

He felt as though he was dragged onto a black stage, below which sat an audience wearing various animal masks, all veiled in black.

More than twenty Davids, all flabby and naked, surged from the backstage, rushing at him as if to perform an avant-garde play.

As the mist reset his thoughts, Jock let out a relieved sigh; his makeup was finally finished.

Looking into the makeup mirror,

Jock seemed to have returned to his youthful state, back to how he looked just before entering the corner, with even some of the fat seemingly drained away.

The only flaw was the missing arm.

Yet, just as he was admiring this perfect makeup,

The mirror suddenly reflected David's face, but it was no longer kind; instead, it took on a bizarre aspect, black curtains draped over the eye sockets, a slight smile hanging from the mouth.

"Hey! We agreed you'd read the script while getting your makeup done, yet you haven't read a word. Time's a bit tight now, so I'll have to force it into you."

Jock suddenly realized the danger, attempting to block his senses and thoughts with the mist, but it was too late.

The curtain within David's eye sockets suddenly opened,

A deep connection formed between the two.

This whole time, David had been actively "contacting" Jock, including through dialogue, physical touch, and earlier consciousness invasion.

A balloon-like brain structure was completely exposed before David.

Countless hellish arms from the Grand Theater touched the surface of Jock's brain, delving into his deep memories and slowly extracting his "personal script."

Jock's life details now appeared before David as a script in his hands.

Seeing this experience David nodded with satisfaction:

"Your story is fascinating, truly an excellent monster... It's a pity you weren't born in Hell, otherwise, you would undoubtedly have a stellar performance in the Evil Play.

Go on! Go perform your personal play, you're the protagonist in this film shoot.

I'm really looking forward to your performance."

...

[Chapter.1. Coward]

The rain poured down in torrents,

In a regular private hospital in Mars City, a male baby was born. The hopeful couple, upon seeing the newborn, noticed the child had a rather wide eye distance, a low nasal bridge, and almost no neck.

After a preliminary examination, the doctor delivered some bad news—this was a newborn with Down syndrome.

Fast forward seven years.

Bratos Special Education School welcomed a batch of new students, and at the bottom of the list, the name [Jock Dean] was boldly written.

Pale-skinned, unattractive in appearance, obviously obese and intellectually disabled, Jock quickly became the subject of "discussion" in the class.

Even in a special education school, the distinction in status exists.

Jock didn't realize the issues here, he just thought everyone was playing with him.

The school often organized for the students to watch television. Whenever there was a clown show, Jock watched with focused attention. He adored the characters inside, loved their colorful, comical appearances.

Every time the clowns laughed, he would follow along and laugh out loud, even mimicking related actions.

His classmates took the opportunity to pull away his chair, causing him to fall inadvertently.

Jock not only wasn't angry but also laughed along because everyone else was laughing, as if he had amused them all.

That day,

The school underwent renovations,

A bucket of white paint was left forgotten at the end of a corridor, and it was soon picked up by the classmates.

They tricked Jock into the bathroom, took off his clothes, and painted him all over with the white paint.

Jock still wasn't angry, but felt as if he had become like the clowns on TV, happily dancing.

The teacher quickly found the scene, witnessing Jock holding a paintbrush, coloring his face.

He was severely punished, cried for the first time, and started getting used to hiding in the corner, burying his head into his body.

As he grew older, with daily intake of medication.

Although Jock's intelligence was low, his self-awareness gradually formed. However, the bullying from classmates and dislike from teachers not only persisted but also turned more extreme.

Being beaten became a commonplace event,

He even learned to read the room, as soon as he noticed a strange look in his classmates' eyes, he knew he was going to get beaten. He would even voluntarily run to the bathroom, burying his head into his body.

Because once he was beaten, there would be no more punishment for the rest of the day.

To endure less pain, to survive, Jock would eat a lot each time, trying to get as fat as possible.

On his tenth birthday.

Totally excluded, Jock had to take care of the school's most troublesome forest area sanitation duties alone. During the busy period, he discovered a wild cat.

It was very peculiar,

This cat was different from the people at school; it would voluntarily come close to him, lick him, even allowed him to pet it, without hitting or scolding him, and wouldn't smear paint on him.

For the first time, Jock experienced a strange emotion, as if he gained a whole new perception of the world.

From then on,

When eating, he would always stuff some food into his pants pocket, sneaking to the forest area to feed the cat.

Gradually,

In the depths of his blurry mind arose something called [emotion].

Also, because of this cat, even during the beating sessions, Jock occasionally flashed a smile.

Six months passed in this manner,

When Jock went to feed the cat again, he surprisingly found the cat had given birth to numerous kittens.

For reasons unknown, upon seeing this scene, Jock actually started crying, then jumped into a comical dance, the kind he learned from watching clowns on TV, the only thing he could call "knowledge."

Considering there were more kittens needing feeding, Jock began to bring more food each day. This careful action was soon noticed.

A week later,

When Jock arrived at the forest area, surprisingly, there were no cats coming forth.

He started to feel anxious, uneasy, even fearful, searching everywhere, even skipping classes.

Soon, he was taken back by the teacher and fiercely lectured.

When he returned to the dorm in disgrace, his dorm mates appeared unusually silent.

As he lifted the blanket,

The bodies of wild cats, with their heads severed, lay on the bed, the stained knife beside the pillow.

Suddenly, laughter erupted from his classmates again.

This laughter, he had heard from a young age, was long accustomed to... but today for some reason, it sounded exceptionally sharp, unnaturally jarring, piercing flesh, and puncturing the soul.

All of a sudden,

Jock heard a certain sound,

The sound seeming to emerge from the bodies of the dead cats,

The sound appearing to come from the corners of the bathroom,

The sound echoing from the depths of his mind.

"Do you want… to come in?"

His brain, long shrouded in fog, suddenly became incredibly clear at this moment.

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