Chapter 412: Eyes Went Blind from Watching

The rules of the masquerade festival forbade the use of illusions to alter one's visage, requiring absolute authenticity in every detail; yet, if one were to ask whether it was permissible to entirely reshape one's physical form through transformation magic, the answer was, of course, a resounding yes.

Thus, at this very moment, a lone werewolf was seen lumbering toward the counter.

Simultaneously, two of the three young women stationed at the counter turned around, pointing toward Lady You Ji who sat in the middle, and declared, "Young Master Xiao said he is feeling indisposed today, so his younger sister is filling in for him."

"Is that so..." Boss Fang waved a hand dismissively, "Just remember to give this boss a heads-up next time."

Then, Boss Fang watched as the werewolf approached the counter, muttering in a deep, muffled rumble, "Since when did Old Xiao have a sister? This young master has known him for so long, yet I've never heard a whisper of it."

Behind her veil, the face of "You Ji" turned utterly dark.

Boss Fang, who had been about to go brew himself some milk tea, froze instantly in his tracks.

The young, doll-like version of Zhao Linger, who was sipping her cola, along with the nine-tailed celestial fox Xiao Bai, suddenly turned their horrified gazes upon the adjacent "You Ji", exclaiming, "...Then who on earth is this?!"

"What is this nonsense about the Xiao boy having a sister?" A woman of dignified, breathtaking beauty stepped forward gracefully, her ribbons fluttering as auspicious clouds billowed around her, her white dress adorned with a fine layer of gauze that stirred without a breeze, looking for all the world like a goddess stepping straight out of a classical scroll.

"Ling Long?!" Everyone stared fixedly at the newcomer, who was none other than the legendary figure from Zhu Xian who had suppressed the Beast God ten thousand years ago.

Jiang Xiaoyue looked first at the woman's costume, then down at her own, crying out in amazement, "You can even bring your own special effects?!"

Taking advantage of the moment when all eyes were fixed on the newcomer, the "You Ji" beside her attempted to seize the opportunity to slip away.

"Halt!" The effect-laden "Ling Long" glared at "You Ji" and snorted coldly, "How is it that I have never heard of the Xiao boy having a sister?"

As his paternal aunt, could she possibly be ignorant of whether her own nephew had a sister? With a swift movement, she snatched away the veil.

"Xiao! Yu! Lü!" Boss Fang's gaze snapped over instantly, his eyes widening.

With Boss Fang's thunderous shout, the figures of Mephisto, Dao Xuan, the Wine Pot Immortal, and all the others inside the shop turned their gazes toward them.

The surrounding atmosphere instantly froze into a profound, breathless silence.

"Ahhhhh—!" His life already so fraught with hardship, Xiao Yu lü, now completely exposed, finally let out a wretched, pitiful wail.

"Pfft—!" Jiang Xiaoyue sprayed a mouthful of cola all over the table.

Everyone present stood in stunned silence: "..."

"Not bad at all!" Boss Fang patted him on the shoulder, saying with deep meaning, "Given the difficulty of this costume, you should get a lot of extra points when the difficulty scores are judged!"

His face crimson with embarrassment, Xiao Yu lü hurriedly snatched the veil back and put it on.

"However..." Boss Fang leaned in and muttered, "Seeing how practiced and familiar you are with this, it reminds this boss of those two previous incidents of supreme elegance..."

"..." Everyone looked at Xiao Yu lü with bizarre expressions; the more they thought about it, the more terrifying it became, until they could no longer bear to look at him directly.

"Hahaha! A thousand years ago, the Liuyun Dao Palace possessed a peerless genius known as the Sovereign of a Thousand Faces, whose transformations were so wondrous and deceitful that few in the world could discern his true form," Dao Xuan spoke up with a laugh, "Today, Young Nephew Xiao stands right before us, yet none of us managed to discover his identity. It seems this art of a thousand changes has found a worthy successor!"

"Alliance Chief Lan speaks the truth," the Sect Master of the Ghost King Sect, dressed in the garb of a Confucian scholar, nodded in agreement from the side, "If we could witness the manifestation of the thousand-changes art from a millennium ago in our era, it would indeed be a blessing for us all!"

"Ahem!" "You Ji" finally lifted his head and squared his chest, "Naturally, this young master is..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he felt a chilling, icy draft blowing from the side, causing him to quickly shrink back and sit down, muttering, "Ahem, senior elders, you praise me too much."

Just as everyone thought this little interlude had finally passed, a yellow spherical object came flying down from the upper floor, crying out miserably as it descended the stairs, "Ouch! How did your Jiuhua City get so cold too?! Someone upstairs open a door and fetch me a quilt!"

"..."

A minute later, everyone stared blankly at a massive, shivering Funny Face Emoji ball curled up on the sofa, wrapping itself in a cotton quilt while looking left and right, shouting loudly, "Who says this venerable one cannot dress up?!"

The entire room stared at the figure before them: "...What am I even looking at?!"

It was enough to strike one blind!

"Pfft—!" Even Boss Fang sprayed his drink.

"Hahaha!"

"666!"

"Im... impressive!"

"I... I'm going to burst a lung laughing! Hahaha!" The likes of "Iori Yagami", "Kyo Kusanagi", and "Ling Long" could scarcely straighten their backs from laughing.

Jiang Xiaoyue was already slumped over the table, paralyzed with laughter.

They were truly getting more talented by the individual!

Xiao Yu lü said, "Brother, this creation of yours is truly... the older the ginger, the hotter the spice!"

He prostrated himself in absolute admiration.

Cosplaying humans, cosplaying monsters—who would have ever thought to cosplay an emoji?!

It was not just Jiuhua City; even the Half-City branch, which Boss Fang frequented, was thrown into utter chaos and laughter.

Only then did the particular Funny Face ball, holding a cup of milk tea, calmly sit on the sofa and begin to sip, hiding its achievements and fame deep within.

Players began arriving at the shop one after another; it was worth noting that today's events were split into two sessions: the King of Fighters tournament would be held during the day, while the New Year's Eve Music Festival and other carnival activities would take place from eleven o'clock at night until the early hours of the next morning.

Ever since the livestream displaying Orochi's "Scattering Sun" ability that day, the number of players engaging in the King of Fighters had exploded exponentially; where once only a small circle of Boss Fang's acquaintances played, it had now expanded to the point where the vast majority of people possessed the game King of Fighters 97 within "My Space," and quite a few affluent players had even emulated Boss Fang's methods by opening their own arcade joystick parlors.

As a result, the King of Fighters tournament could truly be described as an unprecedented grand occasion.

Within "My Space," a professional viewing arena had also been prepared specifically for the King of Fighters tournament.

Unlike the system used in Diablo II, the King of Fighters tournament utilized an arena-challenge system for its mass qualifiers, and the competition grounds within "My Space" were divided into several distinct arena zones.

Every registered contestant was given three opportunities to challenge the arena, with those achieving the highest total point scores advancing to the finals.

All around, lights flashed brilliantly, and the tiered spectator stands were packed to capacity with customers from both shops; clearly, given that they were granted two more hours of gaming time today than usual, many were more than willing to enjoy themselves for the occasion.

Furthermore, the spectators had a chance to win a New Year's Eve Gift Box (Small) through a lucky draw; if fortune favored them, they might even receive the same rewards as the top ten finishers, so why not partake?

"Now, let us welcome the contestants to the stage!" Neng Bi, dressed in a jade-green gown and holding a microphone, had been invited by Boss Fang to make a guest appearance as the master of ceremonies.

The degree of freedom within "My Space" was exceptionally high, and it was evident that Neng Bi had prepared her own cosplay attire within the virtual realm.

With her green garments fluttering and her countenance graced by a charming smile, the eyes of many onlookers widened in astonishment:

"Holy crap?!"

"Bi Yao?!"

"The resemblance is so faithful!"

At this moment, there was still a group of players sitting in the lounge area, watching the massive live broadcast screen, waiting for their turn to log onto the machines in the evening.

"So... Xiao..." Mo Donglai's face bore a light sheen of sweat, "Miss You Ji, what are your thoughts on the upcoming matches? Who do you believe is most likely to secure a top ranking in this King of Fighters tournament?"

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It is even later today, my apologies...

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