The set of Scarlet Line buzzed with the scent of over-brewed coffee . Crew hustled between light rigs and camera tracks. Operators adjusted mic poles as makeup artists whispered final touch-ups. Jiang Yue sat still, perched on the edge of a faded velvet divan. It was her quiet place before chaos.
She wasn't the same girl from the last time someone tried to erase her. Not after the surveillance leak, the fan manipulation, or the fake that had almost turned her into a ghost of herself. And still, here she sat. Calm. Poised.
Dangerous.
System Status:
FL Fame Momentum: 94.12% - Trending Tier 1 (Asia)
Public Sentiment: "Elegant Fighter" Archetype Solidified
Team Module Unlocked: "Production Rebuild - Duo Path"
Bonus: ML & FL Joint Execution + Planning = +6% Revenue Share & Reputation Buff
The director waved them into positions. Today's scene would be filmed in the Vanity Chamber — a gold-gilded room full of mirrors, meant to symbolize Lin Wan's unraveling.
Jiang Yue's scene partner today wasn't Yu Zehao, thankfully. He'd been quietly benched following a suspicious stunt wire issue Zeyan had "discovered" just in time.
Her new co-star: Ren Xiuyuan. Quiet. Skilled. Focused. He treated her like an equal. No games.
"Three, two, one... action."
Scene 51: Mirror Monologue
"They say mirrors don't lie," Jiang Yue whispered, facing the reflection.
"But they never say whether the person inside is still you."
She reached out. Her fingers trembled.
"When you spend your whole life pretending, the scariest thing isn't getting caught... it's forgetting who you were pretending to be."
The camera closed in. One mirror reflected her face in perfect symmetry, the other fractured her features.
It was beautiful.
Raw.
Painful.
The director whispered, "Cut."
Silence.
Then: polite applause. Some crew had tears in their eyes.
Even Ren Xiuyuan gave her a quiet bow of respect.
System Alert:
Performance Recorded: Viral Probability 71.4%
Public Impact Rating: 8.9/10 – Emotional Echo Registered in Real-Time Feed
Reward Earned: 4.2 PP + 1.3 BP
Skill Unlocked: Mirror Presence – Advanced Perception Anchor
(+6% screen gravitas during self-reflective monologues)
Back in the SkyInk monitoring suite, Zeyan watched the playback. Not just as a producer. Or a reborn man with a vendetta. But as the one person who'd seen Jiang Yue fall, and rise, and rise again.
She had become more than a voice, more than a body.
She had become a statement.
Just as the team started to review the footage, a new alert pinged through the system dashboard.
Warning: Compromised Substream Detected
File: MirrorScene51_A1 (Unaired)Issue: Tampering – Secondary Audio Layer InjectedPlayback Suggests: "Hidden meaning in performance"
Subtitled Fake Upload in Circulation: #IsJiangCrazy? Trending
Zeyan's jaw clenched.
"How are they doing this again?"
Meanwhile...
Jiang Yue stood alone in her dressing room, toweling off sweat. She checked her messages: 23 missed calls, 48 pings, and a top trending topic: #IsJiangCrazy?
A clip. Heavily edited.
Her mirror scene had been recut to insert overlapping whispers, distorted audio, and reversed footage of her breaking character for breath.
The subtitle?
"They put voices in my head, and I liked it."
Her stomach dropped.
She didn't say that. She hadn't even thought that.
System Flag: Identity Manipulation Attack – Type: Gaslight Loop
Suggested Counter: Behind-the-Scenes Truth Drop + Team Interview Format
Bonus Activation: Use Team Module – Co-Signed Response from ML+FL
Execution Cost: 3.2 BP, 6.9 PP
Outcome Estimate: Viral Reversal x1.8 in 36 hrs
Zeyan didn't wait.
An hour later, the official SkyInk YouTube dropped a mini-doco:
Raw behind-the-scenes of Jiang's monologue.
Close-up on audio integrity.
Ren Xiuyuan speaking up: "That performance was one take. It gave me chills. If people need to fake it to destroy it, they fear what's real."
The last frame: Zeyan and Jiang Yue, side by side.
Zeyan: "You can fake the scene. You can fake the story. But you can't fake the woman."
Public Response:
#TheyFearReal now trending
Top Comment: "That wasn't a meltdown. That was art. And she didn't flinch."
Follow-up Comment: "And Zeyan standing next to her like a silent sword? I felt that."
System Update:
Viral Defense Successful
Total PP Earned: 7.2
Total BP Restored: 4.0
Skill Buff: Echo Immunity: Visual + Audio tampering less effective by 12%
Team Bonding Bonus Activated: Dual Leadership Module – Media Control Tier 1
That night, as they walked to the elevator together after a full 14-hour shoot, Jiang Yue broke the silence.
"You know I used to wish someone would rescue me."
Zeyan looked over, not speaking.
She smiled faintly.
"Now I want them to watch me rescue myself."
He didn't answer.
He just reached over and pressed the elevator button for her.
But he never let go of the briefcase full of everything he'd built to make that possible.