Being an Extra Actor in an Escape Game

Logical Development

Translated by boilpoil

Edited by boilpoil

Xie Ji, or rather, Su Enya.

Mu Jiashi knows her from a long time ago, but he never imagined then, that he would end up having to interact with her so much, and definitely not as someone who is completely different from the confident Golddigger of the bottom floor of the Tower.

Su Enya also changed a lot herself, for that matter.

When Mu Jiashi first came to know her, she was much more tame. At least, she wasnt at all easily startled, or at all misanthropic, holding nothing but contempt and hostility for the rest of the world.

When Mu Jiashi sees Su Enya cursing them with her The Apocalypse is coming. Everyone will die, he feels really complicated.

Does this emotion belong to Su Enya? Or perhaps, does it belong to the astronomer known as Xie Ji in that script, or perhaps, Ke Zhu?

Mu Jiashi has no answers. It could be as simple as Su Enya having become one of those Tower residents who have been completely subsumed by their own roles, and have gone completely mad.

Su Enya is quite active for sure, almost like a staff member who sells her his? products by yelling out loud on the street.

Remembering that problem with the gender makes Mu Jiashi feel even more helpless at her situation.

He walks over.

Su Enya almost immediately stops calling out to passers-by. She looks at Mu Jiashi nervously. She is shifting a little, and looks like she would sprint away the next second.

Su Enya Mu Jiashi calls out.

But Su Enya shows no response. She is still looking warily at Mu Jiashi.

A little bit lost, Mu Jiashi then realises something, and calls out, Xie Ji

This time, Xie Ji has a little reaction; her tone is all over the place, though, as you might expect someone who has gone insane to be.

She asks in shock, you you know me?! There are still people who know me on the bottom floor of this Tower?!

Mu Jiashi looks at her, and only feels a chilly sorrow in his chest.

He thinks Su Enyas entire identity has probably collapsed. She is now some amalgam of Su Enya, Xie Ji and Ke Zhu.

If Mu Jiashi calls out Ke Zhu instead, he might be the one to respond.

Su Enya has lost herself. Her life is now solely a predetermined, uninteresting plot whose ending has already been written in stone.

When he realises this, Mu Jiashi cant help but wonder, why did he look for her in the first place?

Well, it is because of what Xie Ji did in the Nightmare

No, no, wait.

Mu Jiashi suddenly recalls something.

In the Nightmare, Xie Ji only showed that cowering stancelucidly, for lack of a better word, at the very end of the Nightmare, which prompted him to think more deeply about this. Here, back in the Tower, shes become mad instead?

Could it be, that it is because Nightmare owners would have the most control within their own Nightmares?

Which means that she is able to deviate from the script, to some degree? Or maybe she took advantage of the chaotic moment, to put up a posture?

Regardless, she was without a doubt, lucid. She was aware of her surroundings.

But in the Tower, perhaps she cannot show that side of hers at all.

A script. An extremely restrictive script. She must Act as Xie Ji and Ke Zhu strictly to the letter of the script.

What if it were other Actors looking for her, though? Since they would be the same type of people, unlike Mu Jiashi himself, who is a Missiontaker.

He thinks its likely the case; Tower residents have to hide their own identities from Missiontakers only, dont they? This could be how it has been for all these years.

Perhaps she wouldnt have to continue the charade in front of other Actors.

After all that thought, finally, he decides to tell Su Enya, Im here to tell you, that X Beijin the bookstore owner, your previous neighbour, is planning to open up his own Nightmare.

The woman still looks paranoid and unresponsive to what he said. Just looking at this, he cant tell at all if she even understood him or not.

Then he adds, Im in charge of picking someone to enter his Nightmare. By the way I think I understand what you meant in the past.

About, the Tower residents. And some kind of special, I dont know evaluation system you have?

Xie Ji continues looking at him confusedly but warily.

Mu Jiashi tries his best to analyse her microexpressions while she continues looking like this, and finally nods, then says, I think you got what I needed to tell you. So finally

He pauses for a moment here, before saying, lets wish we can both escape the Tower.

After that, he parts with her, with a final goodbye. I have to look for suitable Missiontakers.

He turns to leave.

But then, the woman behind him, barely audible at his distance, mutters, the Apocalypse once came, but eventually, it, too, has to leave.

Mu Jiashi stops, and then says, we will not be frozen forever at the moment of the Apocalypse. Never.

Some kind of emotion threatens to show itself on the womans face, but she stands there, blanking out, and finally, after a moment or two, she starts spouting her speech to terrorise bystanders once more.

A while later, she returns to her residence, and tunes out entirely.

After some indeterminate amount of time, something is knocking on her door, with a regular and slow rhythm.

Xie Ji does not seem to hear it. She is still blanking out.

The person outside is still knocking patiently.

Finally, Xie Ji slowly raises her head.

Then the door swings open by itself, and in walks X Beijin, who looks at Xie Ji, and greets her normally.

There is some kind of glint in Xie Jis eyes; she makes a long and weary sigh, before saying, just now, Mu Jiashi came to me. He told me youre going to open up your Nightmare. I was wondering how long itd take you to come look for me.

X Beijin nods; his guess was correct. Then, he says, I went to Dai Wu just now, and told him to do something, which I also want to ask you to do for me.

I would wager that you and Dai Wu each have Actors you can contact?

Xie Ji raises her eyebrows, before smirking dismissively, and saying, you know I hate that guy.

Then she mutters something too quietly to hear, before telling X Beijin, but well, as long as I dont have to work with him personally.

X Beijin realises that Xie Ji and Su Enyas personalities dont exactly seem to match up.

Hes a bit curious what kind of state this particular Tower resident is in.

Is she holding too many roles in her head that she is behaving a little schizophrenically?

Hes curious for a moment, but then he decides to eschew the question; it is Su Enya-slash-Xie Jis own issue to consider.