I set you up on a blind date, and you've managed to overcome all the weirdness?

The heavy armor knight cosplayer turned to look at Lin Yan.

From the front, it was a face with exquisite makeup, one could even say it was flawless.

The details on the armor are also very well done; the scratches and metallic sheen look just like the real thing.

He smiled at Lin Yan, then stepped aside to make way for him.

That is, at the very moment the other person turns their body to the side!

Lin Yan was stunned; he forgot to breathe, forgot to think.

This person has no depth! He's a piece of paper, or rather, he's a paper doll!

As the man continued to turn around, even his armor became a flat surface; the armor was fake!

If he's a two-dimensional character, does that mean everyone else is too...?

Lin Yan suddenly looked up and quickly scanned his surroundings.

He wasn't the only one!

In the sea of ​​people, as the lights flashed and their bodies turned, all the magical girls, mecha warriors, and even those seemingly normal ordinary fans were there.

Without exception, every single one of them turned to the side was a piece of paper!

"This isn't a human-fucked comic convention; there's not a single living person here."

Lin Yan maintained his smile, not letting the other party notice anything unusual.

He stood in the center of 100,000 paper figures, feeling a chill engulfing him.

The knight cosplayer turned her face back and looked Lin Yan up and down, making Lin Yan almost think she had been exposed.

"Dude, you really went all out with this 3D cosplay outfit. You even included details like the sweat. Which workshop did you order it from?"

He patted Lin Yan's shoulder with one hand and even squeezed it.

Lin Yan forced himself to continue:

"Ah... oh, right, it was custom-made by hand, and it cost me a lot of money."

"Awesome."

The paper knight figure gave a thumbs-up and then started waving his glow stick again.

"Don't just stand there! Look at the stage! Tonight's grand finale is the Deep Sea Queen's holographic debut!"

Seeing the knight figure engrossed in the revelry, Lin Yan relaxed a little.

Is she the Queen of the Deep Sea?

Lin Yan silently repeated the name in his mind. Could it be... her?

Several beams of light lit up, circled the entire venue, attracting everyone's attention, and finally converged on the high platform.

The 100,000 paper cutouts fell silent, everyone holding their breath and watching the stage as if on a pilgrimage.

A young girl's figure appeared in the holographic effect, her long blue hair flowing in the wind, and her fishtail swaying slightly behind her.

Mermaids in the sewers?

Is it really her?

No, it's not her.

As soon as the mermaid appeared, she blew a kiss to the audience.

Instantly, all the anime characters in the audience erupted in screams, one after another, like a tsunami.

"Queen! Queen, I love you! Ahhh!"

"For the glory of the deep sea! Kill the real-life 'normies'!"

"You are my god!"

After the cheers subsided, the mermaid girl began to sing along to electronic music.

The singing had clearly undergone a lot of reverb processing, but to Lin Yan, it did sound somewhat similar to the mermaid's voice in the group chat.

As the performance progressed, the supportive atmosphere from the 100,000 fans in the audience grew stronger.

Lin Yan doesn't cultivate spiritual power, but through long-term exposure to the ghosts in the group, he can still see some abnormalities.

Surrounded by the enthusiasm of the paper figures, he almost got caught up in cheering them on.

He touched the frog brooch, which was now surprisingly warm.

Chu Chu's exclamation came through the earphones:

"Brother! There's so much... so much power of rules around here! It's all converging on the stage!"

It turned out to be the case.

Lin Ran suddenly realized what was going on, took out his phone, and typed a message to Chu Chu:

"Are these paper figures feeding that holographic projection on the platform?"

"Chuchu thinks it's very likely!"

What they gathered was the nourishment for advancement that the mermaids longed for.

The power of faith!

Lin Yan noticed the mermaid's movements on stage, and his brows furrowed deeper and deeper.

Not right.

Something is very wrong.

That face was exactly the same as the mermaid in the group, and her singing voice was also somewhat similar to hers.

However, Lin Yan was absolutely certain that the person singing and dancing on stage was not the mermaid he knew!

Why is that female Tyrannosaurus Rex so lively?

And he even made heart shapes with his hands and blew kisses to a bunch of anime characters?

He even added that kind of cheesy electronic music to his own songs?

Are you kidding me!

What's more... that guy didn't even stop when he swept over here.

"Fake."

"That's a high-quality counterfeit!"

The boss wasn't lying; they did bring the master tape here.

But they did not perform the sacrifice by playing the master tape.

These lunatics placed a virtual mermaid projection among these anime characters...

There must be some unspeakable secret behind this.

Lin Yan quietly slipped out of the crowd and, using the performance on stage as cover, made his way to the back of the stage.

After rounding a few corners, Lin Yan quietly made his way to the area directly beneath the stage.

Even though he had expected it, he was still surprised by what he saw.

Below the stage, four senior officers dressed in scarlet robes stood at the four corners.

Each of them had a display plate floating in front of them, and in the middle of the four display plates, a record player was playing music.

Lin Yan held his breath and pressed himself tightly against a concrete pillar, eavesdropping on the conversation of the four officers.

"Energy absorption is 80%."

"Well done. These paper ghosts may be weak, but they are numerous and have pure faith, so they are not much different from ordinary people."

The lead officer sneered:

"As long as the vessel on the stage absorbs enough faith power, becomes powerful enough, and forms a divine cause and effect."

Another officer continued:

"The Spirit-Guiding Lock and the Displacement Array can be activated immediately!"

"At that time, with the reverse pull of this 100,000-level faith, no matter how well the mermaid's true form is hidden, she will not be able to resist our causal substitution technique!"

"Once the formation is complete, she will also be able to advance to the half-step advancement stage, and a god will be able to descend in an instant!"

Holy crap, they've switched the blame!

Lin Yan was shocked. These guys who worshipped the Bizarre Cult were not only not stupid, but they were also somewhat unexpected.

They knew very well how difficult it was to confront the mermaids head-on, especially since they had just suffered a setback in the air-raid shelter and had already lost a lot of their fighting force.

That's why they used this method that was completely undetectable.

Here comes the problem.

Even if the audio was handed over by that silly Chu Chu, how did they know about the mermaid's strength and appearance?

Before Lin Yan could figure it out, a sudden change occurred.

The array plates in front of the four cult leaders trembled violently, each emitting rays that connected to the record player.

Meanwhile, on the main stage outside, the song was reaching its climax.

The 100,000 paper cutouts were filled with enthusiasm, roaring loudly, and the power of faith they embodied reached its peak.

The mermaid girl projection on the stage, infused with a massive amount of faith power, gradually began to solidify, her movements possessing a lifelike quality.

"Ceremony progress 100%! Replacement array activated!"