Advertisements for the new play, “Mute Bride,” were plastered all across Wasteland Star.
Lin Xiaohe sat in a taxi flyer. On every giant projection screen they passed, the promotional trailer for “Mute Bride” was playing.
In the clip, the bride wore tattered, bright red wedding attire. Her entire face was black, her features indistinguishable. Only two vivid trails of bloody tears streamed from hollow eye sockets, down her cheeks, and dripped onto pale, delicate skin.
The image of the mute bride’s blood-red wedding dress reflected in Lin Xiaohe’s pupils, yet her inner feelings were unexpectedly calm.
A large crowd had gathered at the Grand Theater to see “Mute Bride,” a long queue even forming at the entrance.
Most guests wore tailored suits, family crests pinned to their chests, heads held high. They only offered stiff, proud nods of greeting to others they perceived as being of similar status.
The Joker was like a chicken that had suddenly stumbled into a flock of cranes; people avoided him as if he were contagious.
Amidst the uniform looks of disdain, Lin Xiaohe keenly caught a familiar gaze.
Well, well. Thunder Brother, the cross-dressing maestro, had arrived.
Thunder Brother pretended not to see Lin Xiaohe, proceeding to a different entrance to have his ticket checked and enter the theater.
Hmph. He wasn’t worried about Lin Xiaohe.
He just wanted to see how, without any weapons, Lin Xiaohe planned to extract someone from the Grand Theater.
A barely perceptible smile touched Lin Xiaohe’s lips.
Once again, the Crystal Butler led the way as Lin Xiaohe took her assigned seat.
This time, due to the play’s extreme popularity, the same amount of star coins only secured her a seat in the main auditorium on the first floor, requiring her to crane her neck to see the stage, instead of a private box.
Thunder Brother’s seat was roughly two hundred meters away from hers.
Lin Xiaohe looked up, scanning the surroundings.
Aside from the floating stage, the location of the private boxes was completely invisible, but the guests within those boxes could see every corner of the first floor.
Lin Xiaohe thought silently, “Heart Treasure, check the surveillance. Where’s Second Sister?”
[Xiaohe, no sign of Second Sister.]
Lin Xiaohe’s eyes darkened.
This was terrible news.
Inside a private box, every guest was eagerly anticipating the arrival of That Lord.
“That Lord certainly loves ‘Mute Bride.’ He comes to the Grand Theater almost every year to personally play the groom.”
“When the curtain falls, I must be the first to present flowers to His Lordship! A beautiful rose, bought at a high price from the Fourth Star Ring.”
“Wow, that must cost more than a standard mech!”
“Indeed. But it can’t compare to the Grand Theater’s extravagance. Rumor has it, to ensure That Lord’s safety, besides their own mech battalion, the theater has also hired the Deep Sky Bulwark Mercenary Corps from the Third Star Ring. They’re determined not to let His Lordship suffer the slightest harm.”
Lin Xiaohe’s mind stirred, instructing Heart Treasure to look up information on the Deep Sky Bulwark Mercenary Corps.
[Xiaohe, they have an A-grade firewall. I can only access public records. They are a famous mercenary group from the Third Star Ring, with over eighty percent of members graduated from military academies. They undertake protection, training partner, escort, and similar missions with perfect completion rates, widely praised by clients.]
The next second, Lin Xiaohe received a private message from Thunder Brother: [Latest intel: Deep Sky Bulwark has dispatched an A-grade mech squad, codename Broken Blade. Six members total, all serving as official testers for the Stardust Bulwark Military Academy in the Third Star Ring. Get out, now!]
Every prospective military academy cadet, after passing the written exams, must undergo a practical combat test.
The testers consist partly of academy instructors and partly of highly experienced experts from civilian armed groups.
This is to comprehensively assess the candidates’ aptitude.
For a civilian armed group to qualify as testers, their skill and experience must be top-tier for the region.
All six members of Broken Blade being qualified as testers for the Third Star Ring speaks volumes about their capabilities.
“Heart Treasure, can you eavesdrop on Broken Blade’s conversations?”
Heart Treasure’s little leaves twisted almost into knots: [They have a separate internal network. I can only access surveillance video.]
Broken Blade lived up to being veterans; they had installed signal jammers in their room.
Lin Xiaohe could only catch fragments of their conversation.
“So boring. Just the Sixth Star Ring. The Corps could send anyone at random and crush them all!”
“Hey, completing the mission is secondary. The main thing is the Boss owes Young Master Dong a favor.”
“Is there really someone so fearless, daring to scam Young Master Dong’s precious little brother?”
“Fools rush in. How could someone from the Sixth Star Ring possibly imagine the power of the Dong family?”
Lin Xiaohe smirked. Nothing but idle chatter, utterly useless. She withdrew her attention, waiting for the main event to begin.
The entire theater plunged into darkness, followed by a sky full of stars.
The stardust coalesced, transforming into a shooting star that circled the auditorium before a black door suddenly materialized on stage.
Next, an announcement echoed throughout the hall: “Let’s welcome our leading lady’s grand entrance!”
A girl with heavy makeup, wearing a red wedding dress, was pushed through the door.
She seemed unaware of the situation, raising a hand to shield her eyes from the glaring lights, shoulders slightly hunched in a defensive posture.
“It’s Second Sister!”
The thunderous applause seemed to startle her.
She tried to escape, but the smart collar around her neck emitted an electric current, shocking her directly to the floor.
With difficulty, she pushed herself up on her arms, biting her lip hard, her eyes filled with intense defiance.
The projection technology of the interstellar age displayed this scene before every guest.
“Truly a woman chosen by That Lord. I really want to shatter that defiant look, then crush her slender spine!”
After sufficiently admiring the leading lady’s appearance, the host’s voice held a note of reverence: “This performance is interactive. May I ask, which guest would like to play our male lead, the groom?”
Instantly, the atmosphere became both silent and fervent, like magma buried beneath a volcano, scalding to an outrageous degree.
Everyone knew That Lord was about to appear!
The groom for the Mute Bride could only be That Lord!
In a certain super-VVVIP private box, a masked man adjusted his sleeves and stood up.
His blood was boiling, every cell screaming with desire. Ah, the groom! His favorite role to play!
Just as all eyes were focused in anticipation, a peculiarly dressed, small-statured figure suddenly stood up, raised a hand, and declared loudly: “Me! I want to be the male lead!”
The world seemed to freeze for an instant. No one could believe their ears.
Who was this? Was it That Lord?
But That Lord was known for his meticulous etiquette, wasn’t he?
Even the well-traveled host experienced a mental short-circuit at this moment.
That Lord… didn’t look like this, did he?
Hesitant, the host stammered a tentative question: “Guest, may I ask, what is your name?”
Lin Xiaohe stepped onto a floating staircase and, under the gaze of the entire crowd, walked to the very center of the stage. She helped the fallen Lin Jingqiu up, gently tucking stray strands of hair behind her ear.
After completing this, she turned to face everyone, introducing herself with unflinching confidence: “Remember my name. I am The Joker.”
The words were spoken seriously, but paired with her outfit, the effect was indescribably bizarre.
Simultaneously, a furious message transmitted via brainwave to all Grand Theater staff: “Idiots! The Joker is not That Lord! A despicable, vile disruptor!”
