Chapter 74 OOC Judgment Criteria

With an OOC index of 49%, that cold and eerie aura was a sign that the monster of rules was about to take shape.

You must not trigger the rule monster here.

Especially in the early stages when you have no idea about the monster's strength or the trigger mechanism.

In the blink of an eye, Gu Yunqing took full control of Yan Kongshan.

The next step after extreme fear is not resistance, but numbness, surrender, and emptiness.

Many people who are bullied have the courage to commit suicide, but no thought of fighting back, and this is Yan Kongshan's current situation.

Inside the equipment room, Yan Kongshan (the main personality) trembled violently the moment the chilling aura touched his skin. His eyes, which had been wide with fear, suddenly lost all their luster and became deathly still.

He stopped trembling and sobbing, and just stiffly hugged his knees, like a puppet whose soul had been taken away, his breathing becoming barely audible.

People in Yan Kongshan's live stream were worried about him:

【Oh no! What happened to Kongshan? Are you scared out of your wits?】

[No, look at the OOC index, it's dropped! 48%!]

Thank goodness.

The shadowy tentacles formed by the words seemed to lose their clear target and became somewhat hesitant just as they were about to touch Yan Kongshan.

It circled the stone-carved Yan Kong Mountain twice, and the chilling aura gradually dissipated. Its tentacles slowly melted back into the surrounding shadows, as if they had never existed.

"Hey! Are you playing dead?" The bully leader, seeing that Yan Kongshan had no reaction, found it very boring and stepped forward to kick his shin, but Yan Kongshan still did not react and stared blankly into the void.

"Damn, this is boring. Let's go, let's go. He's a quiet guy, there's no point in bullying him." Another bully curled his lip.

The group left the equipment room grumbling and slamming the door shut.

Only after the footsteps had completely faded away did a sliver of "vitality" slowly return to Yan Kongshan's eyes, but he still looked incredibly timid, with his OOC index remaining stable at 47%.

He was breathing heavily, his back soaked with cold sweat.

The moment the monster was about to appear, he clearly felt the threat of death.

Viewers in Yan Kongshan's live stream exclaimed:

The crisis is over; that was incredibly close.

[This rule-based monster is way too intelligent! It even judges whether a person's 'reaction' matches their character profile?]

[Do you think the system is intelligent enough? Why would you ask that?]

[No, no! There must be rules governing their OOC (out-of-character) judgment.]

Gu Yunqing appeared to be leisurely drinking milk in the upscale restaurant, but in reality, she was sweating profusely.

He shared some of Yan Kongshan's perception; although the aura of that rule-monster was brief, it carried a sense of oppression originating from the very source of the world.

“Rules are everywhere and extremely perceptive. The judgment of OOC is not entirely based on one's true inner thoughts, but focuses more on whether external behavior conforms to the character's logic. Even the ‘degree’ of emotional reaction is included.” Gu Yunqing began to speculate.

"Actively maintaining a persona, or even 'performing' a persona, is the foundation of survival. And the details of the rules seem to require actively touching the boundaries to be partially perceived."

Yan Kongshan's crisis was like a bucket of cold water, making Gu Yunqing completely realize that the danger of this instance was not the open battle, but the omnipresent rule traps that could lead to utter destruction if one was not careful.

While continuing to deal with the undercurrents at the dinner table and observing the subtle attitude of her "adoptive parents" towards Lin Bufan, Gu Yunqing focused most of her attention on processing the information flow from the four aliases. She also began to summarize the possible rules and patterns of each "story fragment" and the most crucial main task—how to turn the cannon fodder identity into the protagonist.

Meanwhile, Gu Yunqing's first alias, Zhuge Jin, was in an environment where the "qi" and "sha" were unusually active.

The rules are likely related to "cause and effect," "prophecy," and "taboo."

The key to playing this role is to maintain a state of "insightful yet vulnerable"; any overly proactive intervention or overly passive abandonment may trigger an out-of-character (OOC) state.

As for the protagonist's path, it's currently rather unclear. Perhaps it involves breaking his own curse, uncovering a larger conspiracy, and becoming the true "mastermind"?

The second alias, Qiu Zangxue, is a genius whose bones were dug out, who found an opportunity in a desperate situation.

This is practically the template for a protagonist in a typical male-oriented underdog story! Could it be that he's already completed most of his main quest? Does he just need to grow stronger step by step?

The third pseudonym, Wu Jueji, is now in the entertainment industry, and the rules he faces may be hidden in the "unspoken rules of the entertainment industry," "interpersonal relationships," and "opportunities and risks."

His identity—a down-on-his-luck top agent waiting for a chance to turn his life around—seems more like the kind of insightful, golden-fingered old man the protagonist will encounter.

Gu Yunqing pondered how this pseudonym could become the protagonist. Should he debut as a superstar himself?

The fourth alias, Yan Kongshan, clearly emphasizes extreme "cowardice" and "endurance."

His identity as a bullied transfer student seems to imply the protagonist's growth trajectory in angst literature.

The key to Gu Yunqing's own role is to maintain the pretense of being "jealous yet ingratiating."

His identity—a vicious fake young master—means he's destined to be a stepping stone for the real young master… This is the most classic example of cannon fodder in the control group.

While Gu Yunqing was analyzing herself, viewers in their live stream also began to analyze everything.

Some bewildered audience members were shocked after hearing this:

[Based on this analysis, it seems that Qiu Zangxue and Yan Kongshan were originally given the protagonist's script?]

[Yeah, the underdog's rise to power and the protagonist of melodramatic romance novels—it makes perfect sense.]

[What about Zhuge Jin and Wu Jueji? One is like a strategist, the other like an old man; both are important supporting characters, but they're still a bit short of being protagonists.]

[Yun Qing himself is the most tragic; he's a classic villainous supporting character, doomed to die.]

Gu Yunqing wasn't looking at the comments; his mind was racing, and a bold guess was gradually forming:

"The identities of Qiu Zangxue and Yan Kongshan inherently possess a strong potential to be 'protagonists.' Their main mission may not be to 'become' the protagonist."

"Instead, they 'complete' the protagonist's storyline, or rather, they are actually following the script where the transmigrator enters the original work and the original protagonist becomes cannon fodder? And they are the original protagonist."

"As for people like me, Zhuge, and Wu Jueji, they are more like 'resource packs' or 'stumbling blocks' on the protagonist's path to growth. Our task is to change this positioning, from vassals and rivals to the core of the story."

"So, where is the key point?" Gu Yunqing's gaze swept over the people in the restaurant again.

The foster mother's slight wariness of Lin Bufan, the foster father's shrewdness and calculation...

“Impression,” a thought flashed through Gu Yunqing’s mind, “is the impression and expectation of the people around me regarding the role of ‘me’.”

Whether a character is cannon fodder or a protagonist depends not only on what they do, but also on how the world's rules and other characters perceive them!

"The reason why the vicious fake young master is cannon fodder is because everyone believes that he will be jealous, will do bad things, and will eventually be abandoned."

"If I can subtly change the 'impression' of me among those around me, making them gradually realize that I am not only 'malicious,' or that my 'maliciousness' has other hidden reasons, and even make them begin to 'sympathize with,' 'appreciate,' or even 'depend on' me..."

"So, will my 'weight' in this story increase? Will my fate as cannon fodder be reversed?"

"This process must be extremely careful, and the current character setting cannot be directly violated, otherwise the OOC index will soar. It is necessary to use rules, events, and information gaps to reasonably 'broaden' the boundaries of the character, so that the transformation looks 'natural'."

Thinking of this, Gu Yunqing immediately used the mental link to send further instructions to the four alternate accounts:

"Based on preliminary assessments, the core of the main quest lies in 'reversing the impressions of surrounding characters and increasing one's own story weight.' While ensuring OOC safety, we will look for opportunities to rationally showcase other traits besides the current character settings."

Upon receiving the order, the four aliases immediately reacted subtly.

In the scene involving Zhuge Jin, after coughing violently, he did not complain or blame others as he was remembered. Instead, he struggled to sit up, picked up a brush with trembling hands, dipped it in the little cinnabar he had left, and slowly but firmly drew a low-level calming talisman on a yellow talisman.

The OOC index fluctuated slightly before stabilizing at 23%.

An old servant standing nearby, who was actually keeping an eye on him, seemed to have a slight twitch in his eyes.

In the scene involving Qiu Zangxue, while searching for food, he discovers a small, equally injured and dying animal. Despite its injuries, the animal gently licks Qiu Zangxue's hand, its tail wagging wildly.

His bloodshot eyes surged with murderous intent, and he instinctively wanted to eat it, but in the end, he pursed his lips, looked away, and painstakingly dug out some grass roots to gently push the small beast away.

The OOC index rose to 22%, which is slightly different from the indifference of the "desperate avengers," but it is still within a safe range.

During dinner, Gu Yunqing's adoptive mother once again alluded to how much Lin Bufan had suffered in the countryside, implying that Gu Yunqing should learn to be grateful and yield.

Gu Yunqing did not rush to express her loyalty or speak ill of Lin Bufan as the original owner of the body had in her memories.

He just kept his head down, unconsciously poking at the food on his plate with his fork, his face occasionally revealing an expression mixed with grievance, unease, and confusion, as he mumbled softly, "Mom, I know, but I was just a child back then too."

The sound wasn't loud, but it was just loud enough for everyone at the table to hear.

The "foster mother" was stunned for a moment, seemingly not expecting his reaction.

The "adoptive father" raised his eyelids and glanced at Gu Yunqing. His eyes were deep and unreadable.

Lin Bufan frowned slightly, seemingly lost in thought.

The OOC index in the corner of Gu Yunqing's field of vision fluctuated slightly from 29% and eventually slowly decreased to 28%.

Author's Note:

The focus from now on will be entirely on the protagonist; the remaining four alternate identities will be covered in a separate chapter later. [heart emoji]