Chapter 73 Who is the real protagonist?

After registering, he immediately returned to his personal space to conduct final pre-battle adjustments and simulations.

His S-level mental strength allowed him to more clearly perceive the tense atmosphere that permeated the entire pure white world on the eve of the "Battle of Glory."

Finally, amidst the anticipation and trepidation of countless players, the day for the official start of the "Battle for Glory" has arrived.

The grand system announcement resounded throughout the land:

[The preliminary rounds of the "Battle for Glory" have begun!]

All participating teams will be teleported to the first round of the competition instance—[Novel World]—in 30 seconds.

[Wishing all players good luck in battle!]

Gu Yunqing took a deep breath, and the four cards in his sea of ​​consciousness trembled slightly, closely connected to his physical spirit.

The 30-second countdown has ended.

A strong sense of spatial pull came over me, and the pure white world before my eyes was replaced by distorted light and shadow.

When her vision cleared again, Gu Yunqing found herself in an extremely strange space.

This place is like a labyrinth made up of countless giant mirrors. The mirrors do not reflect reality, but rather constantly flow with all sorts of bizarre words, symbols, and blurry scene fragments.

An invisible force of "rules" permeated the air, oppressing everyone's spirit.

[System Prompt:]

Welcome to the world of the novel. The core rules of this instance are as follows:

[1. Players will be randomly assigned a "novel character identity" and given an initial background.]

2. In the instance world, please try your best to play your "novel character's identity". When the OOC index exceeds 50%, it will attract "rule monsters" to hunt you down; when the OOC index exceeds 90%, it is considered a failure to play the role, and you will be directly eliminated.

[3. Survival Mission: Survive in this instance for one month.]

[4. Main Quest: Transform your identity from cannon fodder to the protagonist of the novel.]

5. Team members will be dispersed and placed into different "story segments" within the same world.

[Teleportation initiated...]

"Distribute them in a dispersed manner? Play different roles?" Gu Yunqing's heart skipped a beat; this rule was beyond his expectations.

Before he could think it through, a powerful force acted on him and the four aliases.

Space distorted again, and he felt his consciousness being forcibly stripped away.

As the dizziness subsided, Gu Yunqing found herself standing in a luxurious yet cold European-style bedroom.

She was wearing a well-tailored silk nightgown, but the young face reflected in the mirror carried a gloomy expression that clashed with her attire, along with a hint of barely perceptible fear.

A flood of unfamiliar memory fragments rushed into my mind:

Identity: Gu Yunqing, adopted son of the wealthy Gu family, but actually a "fake young master" who was switched at birth eighteen years ago.

Background: The real young master (Lin Bufan) is about to be recognized.

Character setting: Jealous of the real young master, afraid of losing his current comfortable life, he pretends to please his adoptive parents, but secretly ostracizes and frames the real young master. He is a standard "vicious male supporting character".

Initial OOC index: 30%.

As soon as Gu Yunqing's live stream started, a large number of players who had not participated in the Glory Battle flooded in:

[Holy crap, that vicious fake young master! Yun Qing's identity is incredible; he's definitely cannon fodder who'll go against the real young master.]

[30% initial OOC?]

[A monster chase according to rules... that sounds exciting!]

Gu Yunqing quickly processed the information, his gaze regaining its composure. He glanced at the OOC (Out of Character) index bar [30%] floating in the corner of his field of vision, and rapidly analyzed it in his mind:

“Jealousy, flattery, and malicious behavior patterns are not difficult to imitate. The difficulty lies in grasping the ‘degree’ – maintaining one’s persona without triggering the rules, while also avoiding truly indulging in these negative emotions and letting them affect one’s judgment.”

He could clearly feel that this identity carried an invisible constraint, as if countless eyes were watching his every move from the shadows, judging whether he "fitted" the role's description.

Any kindness, magnanimity, or excessive calmness that does not conform to the logic of the "vicious fake young master" may lead to a decrease in the OOC index.

"We must first understand the basic situation of this 'world,' find the other team members, and at the same time start to summarize the rules." Gu Yunqing composed himself, and began to follow the behavior pattern in his memory. With a flattering smile on his face, he walked out of the bedroom, preparing to face his "parents."

Meanwhile, in four distinct "story fragments":

Zhuge Jin found himself in an old-fashioned study filled with compasses and ancient books, but the study was in disarray, as if it had just been ransacked. He was wearing a long robe stained with ink, his face was pale, his breath was weak, and he was coughing incessantly.

Identity: Zhuge Jin, heir of a fallen metaphysical family, was punished for exposing the hidden dangers of the feng shui of a wealthy family's ancestral grave, and was cursed and his life was in danger.

Character profile: He sees through the secrets of heaven but suffers a backlash. His body is weak, but his eyes are still wise. He tries to find a way to break the curse.

Initial OOC index: 25%.

He silently picked up a cracked tortoise shell from the table, his fingertips tracing the cracks. Through the gauze, his white eyes seemed to see something, and he murmured to himself, "A malevolent aura surrounds me, yet I have only a sliver of hope... The rules of this place are closely related to 'luck' and 'cause and effect'."

The OOC index fluctuated slightly, remaining stable at 24%.

When Zhuge Jin's live stream started, a large number of viewers flooded in as well:

[Zhuge Liang's true identity! I'm in love with this frail beauty!]

[This identity seems to be related to feng shui background? And when compared to each player's abilities, it seems...?]

[It's hard to tell what kind of cannon fodder this "big shot" is.]

At this moment, Qiu Zangxue woke up in a dark and damp cave, his whole body aching. He was wearing tattered coarse clothes, and his body was covered with blood and dust.

Identity: Xiao Jin, a genius youth of the family, was tricked by his elder brother into having his innate spiritual bone stolen, his cultivation completely destroyed, and his body abandoned in the wilderness, but he was lucky enough to survive.

Character setting: Bearing a deep-seated blood feud, enduring and lying in wait, searching for a glimmer of hope for revenge in despair.

Initial OOC index: 20%.

His bloodshot eyes surged with murderous intent, but it was quickly suppressed and transformed into a hatred and forbearance that almost solidified into reality.

Qiu Zangxue gritted her teeth and used her remaining strength to move her body, searching for wild grass or water to fill her stomach.

The OOC index dropped slightly to 19%, but then rose back to 20% because he instinctively felt murderous intent towards a poisonous plant.

Some people in Qiu Zangxue's live stream had some guesses:

[A blood feud involving the removal of bones? This script is too tragic.]

[Chou Zangxue: Tolerance? I'll try my best.jpg]

[Is the rule-breaking monster coming soon? This OOC fluctuation is a bit dangerous.]

[Isn't that the protagonist's script? Did he complete the main storyline from the very beginning?]

Wu Jueji woke up in a cheap rental room filled with the smell of smoke and alcohol and expired takeout boxes, with a splitting headache.

He had a stubble beard, heavy eye bags, and wore a wrinkled shirt.

Identity: Wang Jue, a former top agent, who became depressed and addicted to alcohol after being betrayed by his artists and suppressed by his company.

Character profile: Seemingly decadent and down on his luck, but actually sharp-eyed, unwilling to accept defeat, waiting for a chance to turn his life around.

Initial OOC index: 35%.

He yawned lazily, grabbed a half-empty bottle of cheap whiskey from the table, and took a swig. His eyes were cloudy, but when he inadvertently glanced at a talent show playing on the screen in the square outside the window, a sharp glint flashed in his cloudy eyes, which then quickly disappeared, and he returned to his half-dead state.

The OOC index fluctuated but eventually stabilized at 34%.

[Is what Uncle Wu is holding a copy of the protagonist's cheat ability?]

[Uncle Wu's script is so tragic, how is he supposed to turn himself into the protagonist?]

Elsewhere, Yan Kongshan huddled in a corner of a dilapidated school equipment room, his school uniform stained with dirt and footprints, his face bearing fresh bruises, his eyes filled with fear and helplessness.

Identity: Yan Shan, a poor student who just transferred to the school. Due to his timid personality and poor family background, he became the target of class bullying.

Character traits: timid, insecure, submissive, afraid to resist, and silently endures everything.

Initial OOC index: 15%.

"Waaah...why me..." He hugged his knees, sobbing softly, his body trembling slightly with fear.

In her mind, the manic consciousness of the alternate personality was screaming wildly, but Gu Yunqing forcibly suppressed it.

Any thought of resistance or defiance could cause the OOC index to plummet.

He could only try his best to portray the cowardice and fear of the main character to the extreme.

The OOC index hovered between 14% and 15%.

[Poor little Kongshan! This OOC is too dangerous!]

[Main personality, stay calm! Don't let the secondary personality emerge! Otherwise, the rule-breaking monster will arrive immediately!]

[It seems like Kongshan also got the main character's dungeon?]

...

Gu Yunqing sat at the long dining table in the Gu family home, with an exquisite breakfast laid out in front of him, but he had no appetite.

While dealing with his "adoptive mother's" seemingly relevant but actually probing questions and his "adoptive father's" authoritative yet distant gaze, he immersed most of his mind in his consciousness.

Four clear spiritual links tightly connect him to the various identities scattered across different "story fragments".

He could sense the eerie "qi" and "evil" surrounding Zhuge Jin's environment, share Qiu Zangxue's deep-seated hatred and physical pain, feel Wu Jueji's resentment and sharpness hidden beneath his decadence, and clearly perceive the fear and oppression emanating from Yan Kongshan.

"Maintain your persona, observe discreetly, gather information, and summarize the rules." Gu Yunqing transmitted unified instructions to the four alternate accounts through the mental link: "Prioritize ensuring the safety of the OOC index, and do not take drastic actions unless necessary."

Just then, the restaurant door was pushed open, and a young man dressed plainly but with clear and determined eyes walked in under the guidance of the butler—it was none other than Lin Bufan, the "true young master" of this world.

Gu Yunqing immediately put on her persona, forcing an expression that mixed jealousy, flattery, and a hint of panic on her face, and stood up: "Brother Bufan, you've arrived...please sit down."

He acted perfectly, showing both the "vicious fake young master's" instinctive rejection and unease at the return of the real master, while maintaining a facade of politeness.

The OOC index in the corner of the field of vision fluctuated slightly, from 30% to 29%, which is still within the safe range.

However, out of the corner of his eye, he keenly noticed that when the "foster mother" looked at Lin Bufan, what flashed in the depths of her eyes was not pure joy, but a trace of... indescribable complexity, or even a trace of fear.

This discovery stirred something within Gu Yunqing.

This story of a wealthy family seems to be more complicated than it appears on the surface.

Meanwhile, in the campus scene, the door to the equipment room where Yan Kongshan was located was suddenly kicked open from the outside! Several students dressed in sleazy school uniforms blocked the doorway, laughing maliciously.

"Hey, transfer student, hiding here? We'd like to have a chat with you?"

Yan Kongshan (the main personality) trembled in fright, and his OOC index instantly exceeded 15%, reaching 49%!

A chilling and eerie atmosphere began to quietly permeate the equipment room...

The viewers in Yan Kongshan's live stream were in a state of panic:

[Here it comes, the rule monster is coming!]

[Run, Kongshan! No, wait, he can't run...]

Gu Yunqing's heart skipped a beat.