Chapter 1562
Chapter 1562: Section 1563: Drama Shadow Box Chapter 1562: Section 1563: Drama Shadow Box Aside from Jiebo, Qi Li also mentioned several other competitors she particularly cared about.
They were “Philosopher” Onassis, “Illusion Deer” Trom, and “Indifferent Cat” Yakhe.
Among these three, Angel had heard of two. One was Onassis, while the other was Yakhe.
In Qi Li's words, she was puzzled by Onassis; she had watched Onassis's matches, but never understood them, which is why she cared so much.
As for Yakhe, although Qi Li did not explicitly say so, Angel could tell that Qi Li obviously harbored some rejection towards Yakhe. Moreover, when mentioning Yakhe, the one who reacted the most wasn't Qi Li, but Luna, who was dozing in Angel's lap.
This was the first time, aside from during battles, that Angel observed Luna's fur bristle. Even her lazy eyes flickered with rare anger.
Such a strong reaction from Luna made Angel couldn't help but wonder if this Yakhe had done something to Luna?
As for “Illusion Deer” Trom, Qi Li mentioned him in passing as just a strong opponent.
Among these three, Qi Li was most concerned about the “Philosopher.”
According to Qi Li's description, so far, among all competitors, no one had been able to figure out how Onassis defeated his opponents. If Onassis's methods remained unsolved, then Qi Li predicted she would likely lose against him.
Seeing how much Qi Li valued Onassis also piqued Angel's interest in this “Philosopher.”
He glanced at the match schedule, wanting to see when Onassis's next match would be. If he was free, he might go watch.
However, upon finding Onassis's name, he discovered that Onassis had already won seven consecutive matches, with only the last one in the second round left, and it was scheduled for early the next morning.
According to the original plan, Angel had to be busy with transplanting the Transforming Soft-bodied Insect skin and the Scroll of Fortune, so it seemed he wouldn't be able to watch Onassis's match.
With a slight sense of regret in his heart, Angel realized he could only wait for the final ranking match and the finals.
After parting ways with Qi Li, Angel returned to the manor.
He left Toby in Greya's care and entered the secret chamber alone to start the skin transplantation.
The night sky was devoid of stars, and even the moon was obscured by dense clouds, leaving the world in utter darkness.
A girl of about ten years old, panic-stricken, raced through the forest to the coast. She wore a torn dress and was barefoot, fleeing across the sand, but after only a few steps, she tripped over a seashell.
Not only did she fall to the ground, but she also scratched a gash in her calf.
The girl gasped in pain, her expression filled with obvious agony.
Just then, rustling noises emerged from the forest behind her; she turned her head, eyes wide with panic, her face stricken with fear.
“It's happening. They're following me. I have to get out of here, I have to find Mom…” The girl, propping herself up on the blood-stained sand, slowly stood up.
She intended to keep running forward, dragging her injured foot.
But she had hardly run ten meters before she fell again, not tripped this time, but a stone thrown from the direction of the forest had struck her ankle, causing her to lose her balance and fall.
With her fall, a scarecrow with a crooked neck hopped out from the forest.
“You can't escape until you have played with all the attractions on Toy Island,” buzzed the scarecrow.
The girl's face showed a look of helplessness: “No, I want to go home, I want to find my mom…”
“No, you must come back with me, little children should play with toys, and put anything else aside,” jumped the scarecrow, approaching the girl.
The girl sat collapsed on the ground, moving backward repeatedly, the cold sea wind blowing her hair into disarray, making her look even more pitiful.
“It wasn't supposed to be like this. Wasn't Toy Island described as paradise in books? Why is it like this?”
“Of course, Toy Island is paradise, you'll know if you continue experiencing it.”
“I don't want to, I've seen it, those people were dismembered by you all, the puppets were crying, they were shedding blood-tears, they aren't toys at all, they are people!”
The once seductive voice of the scarecrow suddenly changed: “So you have seen it already… then no choice, we must take you back to the toy pool… to become one of us. Would you prefer to be a doll missing an eye, or a headless baby?”
As the voice faded, the curtain of the night was suddenly torn apart, revealing the expressionless face of Greya.
Greya yawned and turned off the bizarre box in her hand.
“What kind of nonsense is this, utterly nonsensical. It's totally incomparable to the Alchemical Illusion refined by Angel,” Greya couldn't help but ridicule.
The scene changes that just unfolded were actually the work of a device known as “Drama Shadow Box.”
Greya, during her daytime visit to the main city district, unintentionally spotted a bustling alchemy shop selling what appeared to be very popular items. According to the shopkeeper, these “speech drama shadow boxes” originated from a special theatrical device invented by Angel. What they sold in the store were replicas created by an alchemist who had attended Angel's lectures.
Since they started selling them yesterday, the business had been booming.
Greya also noticed a large number of apprentices inside the store, scrambling to make purchases. Although the shopkeeper did not directly use Angel's name to sell the devices, the hook was undeniably Angel.
The so-called speech drama shadow boxes closely resembled the “Cage of Shadows” in appearance, which suggests that the shopkeeper's claim had some truth–the creator must have seen the “Cage of Shadows” before.
Greya had experienced the “Cage of Shadows” herself, and she must admit, the experience was indeed quite intriguing; however, she was somewhat dissatisfied because she did not really enjoy the story of the “Cage of Shadows.”
Therefore, when she saw this speech drama shadow box, Greya was quite curious.
Upon entering the store, she discovered that the stories encompassed within these shadow boxes were quite diverse. The most popular among women was “The Saintess's Twelve Knights,” and for men, it was “Fog City Phantom.”
Greya, following her own preferences, picked a fairly popular fairy tale: “Bloody Nightmare of Toy Island.”
Greya watched it with great anticipation, but unfortunately, the more she watched, the more bored she became.
This illusionary realm was definitely not crafted by a genuine Illusion Series wizard; it was probably the work of a cross-discipline practitioner, and it seemed they had only been studying illusion techniques for a short period. The storyline, riddled with loopholes, almost drove Greya, a perfectionist, insane.
The sea breeze blew, her hair fluttering in the wind with strands brushing past the corners of her lips. Along with her glistening tears, the visuals were indeed beautiful… But come on! You have to adhere to basic logic! The hair is only sweeping past the corner of the lips, not sticking there; what is she secreting, glue, so it can stick there for a half an hour?!
Also, if her hair is fluttering, it shows there is a strong wind, but why is her skirt not moving at all? Is it made of iron?
In the face of such scenes that blatantly ignore basic logic, Greya felt she really had no energy to critique. If it were just one instance, it might have been forgivable, but there were more than one! This significantly reduced the sense of immersion.
The transitions between scenes and the camera work were incomparably inferior to the Cage of Shadows.
The narrative may have been “Bloody Nightmare of Toy Island,” but the storytelling ability did not match the illusionary realm at all.
Had Greya not read the fairy tale “Bloody Nightmare of Toy Island,” she might not have even understood the plot.
Of course, it wasn't entirely without merit; a real play could not present such a grand set design. But beyond that, Greya couldn't see any artistic quality.
And worse, it ruined one of the fairy tales she liked.
Greya watched discontentedly, wishing she could rush to Angel and show him what kind of things he had been teaching.
However, at the moment, Angel was engaged in an important transmutation procedure on a Transforming Soft-bodied Insect's skin, so Greya held back her impulse.
While Greya was feeling disgruntled inside, the voice of Butler Number One announcing “Welcome, Master” came from outside the hall.
Greya looked up and saw Sanders pushing the door open and walking in.
Because Horus had arrived at the Sky Mechanical City, Sanders was mostly stationed in the Barbarian Cave outpost and rarely appeared in the manor. Seeing him return this time, Greya narrowed her eyes and walked over.
“I have an alchemical illusion here, do you want to take a look?” Greya held out her hand, revealing the “speech drama shadow box.”
Greya purposely did not mention that this shadow box was not crafted by Angel; she wanted Sanders to assume it was a product of Angel's work, optimistic for the viewing… then, with Sanders's discerning eye as the Illusion Master, scrutinize the incongruent elements within the illusion for fun.
However, Sanders merely glanced at the speech drama shadow box and said indifferently, “This isn't crafted by Angel.”
“Ah?” Greya froze, not understanding how Sanders could see through it at a glance.
“He wouldn't choose such expensive materials to create an alchemical illusion because it's wasteful.”
Despite saying so, Sanders still took the shadow box and inquired about its origins.
Greya shrugged, “Someone must have learned it from Angel's class, I suppose. The craftsmanship is actually not bad, don't you really want to take a look?”
Sanders pondered for a moment, then opened the shadow box and watched the entire story.
After he finished, Greya looked at him expectantly, only to find that he had no reaction. Instead, he mused for a moment, “The craftsmanship is not bad.”
Greya: ????
“If the target audience is ordinary apprentices, it would be difficult to detect a sense of incongruity. Plus, there's room for improvement,” Sanders commented objectively.
Greya: “…” It felt like she had trapped herself because she had followed suit and watched it again in order to show Sanders.
Sanders was genuinely praising because any form of artistic expression couldn't be achieved overnight–it takes time to reach great heights.
Perhaps the craftwork wasn't very impressive, but through the shadow box, a foothold has been established in this new form of artistic expression, surely prompting an opportunity for blossom in the future.
Greya felt annoyed, but it was because of her preconceived notions. If she were to look at it with a long-term perspective, the discomfort would diminish.
Sanders was quite hopeful about the future.
Handing back the shadow box to Greya, Sanders shifted the conversation, “By the way, where is Angel now?”