From the Ship of Fools to Earl of Wugang

The following day, Edmund buried himself in the two books left by Mr. Young.

In the evening, Thomas came to inform him that the poultry had been delivered by a distributor in the eastern suburbs of Flamingo.

"Twenty-three in total: sixteen pigeons and seven crows." Thomas handed the receipt to Edmund on the porch.

Edmund took the receipt and walked toward the storage room next to the garage.

Thomas had already cleaned the storage room beforehand, and twenty-three birds were crammed into the cage, their low coos and hoarse cries creating a noisy cacophony.

Edmund crouched down to examine the birds and figured they would live for another two weeks without any problem.

He took out the prepared silver-gray ink and, with Thomas's help, began the tedious and time-consuming task of applying the ink.

The docile pigeons fluttered about at most, but the crows were much more ferocious; one gray crow pecked his finger hard.

Edmund raised his hand and saw the wound on his finger rapidly congealing under the passive effect of "Full of Vitality," and satisfied, he slapped the crow across the face.

After a peaceful night, Edmund went to his study the next day after breakfast to continue studying "Emerald and Gold".

Suddenly, he felt something gently hook his brow.

It was as if an invisible thread had descended from the void, precisely hooked onto his brain, and then lifted him upwards.

His consciousness left his body in an instant; one second he was flipping through a book, the next second—

Edmund "stood" in a space filled with red light.

All around was endless void, and thick crimson light surged in from all directions, as if soaking in a glass of heated wine.

Edmund looked down and found that his "body" resembled a human figure cast from light gray glass, something he was quite familiar with.

[Your soul has been captured and projected into "Bacchus's epic play." Current scene: Stage, waiting room.]

[The first act is about to begin; the actors are assembling...]

Edmund looked up and saw two blurry human figures about ten meters away.

However, they were shrouded in a layer of flowing mist, and only their general shape and posture could be vaguely discerned.

One was tall and upright, while the other was slightly shorter and looked quite agile.

The taller figure moved first, and a deep male voice came from behind the mist.

"Welcome, both of you. I hope we can work together smoothly from now on. I am 'Star Sword'."

The man began his self-introduction: "I am skilled in swordsmanship and archery, and I also have the ability to remove minor curses and restore status effects. If anyone in the party is afflicted with anything not too serious, I can handle it."

Judging from the way he introduced himself, this person is quite familiar with the scriptwriting process.

Then, from another figure, a female voice that sounded somewhat familiar to Edmund rang out.

"'Rapid River'. Skilled in hand-to-hand combat and wilderness survival, he also knows a bit about fishing, alcohol, and cooking."

The listed skills clearly pointed in the direction of "the path of courage and strength," and Edmund became more and more certain of his guess.

But is it really that much of a coincidence?

After the two finished speaking, Edmund could feel two gazes falling on him.

He tried to appear composed: "I am 'The Ideal State,' my abilities lean towards scout. I'm physically fit, good at navigation, reconnaissance, and handling firearms. I also have computer skills, which will be useful if the mission involves information gathering or electronic equipment."

Xingjian's voice carried a hint of appreciation: "Not bad, the team composition this time is quite balanced."

Turbulent made no comment; after a brief silence, Starsword spoke again:

"Then, get ready to enter the script." He extended a hand, and Jiliu, almost without hesitation, extended his hand as well.

Edmund reached out in the same way, but his movements were inevitably a beat slower, a subtle difference that did not escape the notice of the other two.

"First time?" There was no mockery in Xingjian's tone.

Edmund nodded readily: "You can tell?"

"The gesture of reaching out." The sound of rushing water came from behind the mist. "When veteran actors enter the script, their palms face down."

Xingjian chuckled softly, "Everyone goes through this process the first time. But scripts with newcomers are often easier, which is a good thing. Just stick close to us; the dangers in the script usually escalate from the second stage onwards."

"Thank you for your guidance," Edmund said calmly.

Three hands converged in the red light. In an instant, the dark red space shattered into countless fragments like a broken mirror. Edmund felt a strong sense of falling; the space seemed to have opened its lower hatch, throwing them out.

The red light dissipated, replaced by natural light streaming in from the skylight high above.

Edmund opened his eyes and found himself standing in a rather elaborately decorated art gallery.

Spotlights from the track precisely illuminated each finely framed painting. The scent of wax and aged frames in the air was familiar and comforting to anyone who had ever worked with painting.

Edmund looked down and saw a pair of young and familiar hands, long and slender with distinct knuckles, and a callus on the first joint of his right index finger from holding a pen for a long time.

Like one's own hand, or rather, Lane Hall's hand?

At the same time, a voice-over-like narration resounded in my mind.

"Lane Hall is a fourth-year student at the Melanie School of Fine Arts. His drawing lines, colors, and compositions are all skillful. However, despite his proficient technique, his work is generally considered by the faculty and students to lack 'spirit'. His teachers had high expectations for him, but their disappointment was even deeper."

"Until three months ago, at an art museum exhibition, Lane Hall saw a special painting. He felt a passion he had never experienced before, a resonance that went to his very bones. After returning to his studio that day, he completed his final project for the semester in an unprecedented state. His teacher was silent for a long time after seeing it, and gave this outstanding work extremely high praise."

"But that feeling only lasted for that one painting. Subsequent works became lifeless again. The whispers among the students resumed, and the teacher's gaze dimmed once more. Lane Hall realized that the painting's impact on him was as limited as the fleeting beauty of youth."

His solution was to find the artist of the painting and ask him face-to-face—how did he do it? Where did that passion come from? Can it be learned, mastered, and possessed permanently?

"Today, he came to the art museum again, this time to pay tribute to the creator of that painting."

The narration ended, and then countless scarlet, fragrant liquids suddenly seeped from the large glass frame in front of everyone, drawing lines of text on the glass.

[Act 1 of "Life and Death: A Dream" - A Craving for the Other]

[Task 1: Obtain the painter's address; Task 2: Find the painter.]

[Final Task: Draw a painting that satisfies Lane Hall.]

[Actor casting: "The Republic", Lane Hall; "Torrent", Lane's classmate Emily Sera, who is invited to join; "Star Sword", Lane's classmate Bryce Duncan, who is invited to join.]

[The actors' extraordinary abilities in the script will be limited by the roles they play, and will fall within the scope of skills that exceed the first-tier energy level.]