Chapter 191
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Chapter 191: The Strange Drama Stage
The paper figures could draw upon the power of small strange sources, something Mu Lin himself hadn’t anticipated.
When creating the paper figures, his initial idea had been to have them blend in and avoid being slaughtered.
Due to his meticulous nature, Mu Lin didn’t fold the paper figures carelessly or discard them haphazardly.
Before folding or disposing of them, he would visit strange locations. Using the keen observational skills granted by his Grandmaster-level painting, he quickly discerned each place’s style and resonated with its essence of Domination.
This allowed his folded paper figures to seamlessly blend among the strange beings.
Normally, this would have been the end of it. But Mu Lin’s paper figures resembled the strange environments too closely, achieving unnaturally high resonance.
Even then, the paper figures shouldn’t have gained the strange powers.
However, strange evil spirits differ from ordinary monsters and evil spirits—they’re stronger, more bizarre, and some true sources of strangeness are unkillable.
Their power comes at a cost: they lack intelligence, driven only by instincts to corrupt, kill, and pollute.
Since the paper figures weren’t alive, they didn’t trigger the killing mechanism. But erosion and corruption were inevitable.
For humans, such pollution is catastrophic. Left untreated, it causes mutations, loss of consciousness, and transformation into servants of strangeness.
This made humanity fear the strange forces’ corruption.
Mu Lin soon realized his paper figures feared no such thing. Though eroded, their nonliving nature meant total corruption only cost him paper and recoverable magic power.
Paper was cheap, and his magic replenished over time. Thus, the strange sources’ corruption became trivial.
“When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back”—but the reverse also holds true.
As the strange sources corrupted the paper figures, their power seeped in, becoming usable by the figures.
Mu Lin couldn’t wield this power against the sources themselves—lesser mysteries crumble before greater ones.
Nor could he retain control once the figures were fully corrupted—they’d become strangeness servants, disobeying his commands.
Still, it remained a potent weapon.
Now, Mu Lin channeled that strange power toward Chu Hongxuan’s group.
“Yiiii~ya!”
A theatrical wail echoed. Chu Hongxuan and the others felt an icy force seep into them.
Their companions’ clothes and accessories began shifting subtly—transforming into theatrical costumes.
This was the Strange Drama Stage’s power. Once the drama began, everything within its domain became part of the performance.
Ordinary people trapped here would become either audience members or unwilling actors.
The audience could only watch until the play ended.
Actors faced worse fates. As their costumes changed, so did their minds. Those who faltered became eternal strangeness servants onstage.
Even the strong-willed suffered. The Strange Drama Stage only enacted tragedies where all characters died.
Ordinary actors would perish by beheading, illness, or other staged deaths—each one fatal in reality.
Traditional theater offered endless ways to die. The actors’ laughter and weeping themselves could kill.
Becoming a character here meant stepping into hell itself.
The audience fared little better. Noise-makers were killed for disrupting the play.
Staying silent didn’t help—as characters died, audience members were dragged onstage to replace them.
Few survived this deadly cycle.
Only sheer luck might let someone watch unharmed, though such odds were vanishingly slim.
“Pity this is a world of the extraordinary, not horror revived. Strange powers barely trouble these elites.”
Mu Lin noted his paper figure’s limited effect. Yan Zhanpeng’s group resisted strongly.
Chu Hongxuan’s life force burned like a lake—corrupting him would take hours.
Huameng condensed the invading power into a controllable mask.
Yuance proved most terrifying—his Pure Yang Flames vaporized any strange power nearing him.
“No wonder they’re Yuhu Academy prodigies. What’s hell for mortals is mere irritation to them.”
Yet Mu Lin remained undaunted. The current weakness stemmed from controlling just one paper figure—its stolen power too meager to challenge them.
But if they entered the Strange Drama Stage’s domain and triggered its killing rules…
“Enter and face the Stage’s wrath, or stay outside forever hunting shadows. Choose.”
As Chu Hongxuan deliberated, Mu Lin pondered another idea.
“If one paper figure can steal power, could multiple figures seize control of an entire strangeness source?”
The thought thrilled him.
“Unkillable ghosts get tamed elsewhere. Our world has tools to counter strangeness. This isn’t impossible.”
He envisioned legions of paper figures becoming living strangeness—a true paper hell.
While Mu Lin’s mind raced with schemes, Yan Zhanpeng’s group concluded their heated debate.
