Chapter 146: An Awkward Encounter

“Click—click—click—click—”

A dense barrage of shutter sounds merged into a single roar. Flashes erupted one after another, bathing the center of the stage in light so intense it looked like the site of a nuclear detonation.

“Mm…”

Lin Yu instinctively raised her small hand, clad in white lace gloves, to shield her eyes.

The aloof, high-and-mighty “divine” aura she had been trying to maintain was nearly blown apart by this sudden onslaught of light.

Peering through the gaps between her fingers, she saw it—

A black mass of lenses pointed straight at her.

Long lenses, short lenses, all of them—like rows upon rows of dark gun barrels.

“These guys… do they even have enough space left on their memory cards?”

To be honest, she was starting to feel a little embarrassed.

She had originally thought that all she needed to do was activate [Transformation Time], cosplay the character, step onto the stage, collect the money, and leave.

But wow—what a surprise.

When she arrived at the venue, that bespectacled event planner from the organizers had smiled warmly and told her:

“To ensure fairness and viewing quality, all contestants must do a three-hour stage display. During that time, you’ll also need to interact with the judges and the audience~”

Three hours?!

And interaction too?!

Back then, Lin Yu immediately sensed that something was very wrong…

After all, she had snuck out behind the company’s back to earn some extra cash. She was genuinely afraid of running into someone she knew.

“What?! Isn’t that Gray Crystal from Team One of the Dawn Company?!”
“So you’re secretly doing side gigs behind the company’s back!”
“Heh… you wouldn’t want Manager Qian to find out about this, right?”

She had already played out this entire scenario in her head countless times.

But…

Since she was already here, leaving now felt like too much of a waste.

She really couldn’t bear to give up this money. So, clinging to a bit of blind optimism, she steeled herself and went all in!

What she didn’t expect was that something even more awkward was waiting for her…

“Mm…”

Lin Yu stole a glance at the other contestants around her.

To be fair, the overall quality this year was actually quite high.

On her left, a young woman cosplaying Atago from Azur Lane—hot figure, top-tier gear.

On her right, a girl dressed as Raiden Shogun from Genshin Impact—refined makeup, cold and elegant aura.

Everyone was serious about it. Everyone was giving it their all.

But…

Some gaps in this world simply cannot be bridged by effort and makeup alone.

Ordinary people—no matter how hard they try—are still just “people” playing “characters.”

Thick foundation, stiff wigs, props that—no matter how finely crafted—still reeked of plastic…

Under high-definition cameras, those unmistakably “three-dimensional” flaws would always be exposed.

But Lin Yu was different.

What she was using right now was a “Phase Spirit Body”, created by Skyvault Group at the cost of billions, refined by countless top-tier engineers.

This body was so flawless that even details like her toes were immaculate—clean to the point of translucence. Foot-fetishists wouldn’t even have room to be picky.

In every sense, this was dimensionality reduction.

And more importantly…

She was a real magical girl.

When a magical girl cosplays a magical girl—how could it not be perfectly faithful?

As a result, an extremely brutal scene unfolded.

What should have been a stage full of competing blooms was forcibly turned into Lin Yu’s personal showcase.

Everyone else faded into the background, reduced to mere set dressing.

Meanwhile, the “veteran masters” and otaku who had originally been scattered across different booths were suddenly like iron filings drawn to a magnet. They hoisted their precious camera rigs and shoved desperately toward Lin Yu’s side.

“Move aside! Move aside! Is the guy in front done shooting yet? I want a close-up!”
“Holy crap! This skin texture is insane! No post-processing needed at all!”
“These eyes… this figure… whose god descended to the mortal realm is this?!”
“Um… teacher, could you maybe look at me with a disgusted expression?”

Faced with this madness, the other contestants—who had initially hoped to compete for rankings—saw their expressions shift from amazement to… resentment.

A kind of bitterness that said ‘If Yu exists, why must Liang exist?’
A silent accusation of ‘We’re all just here to have fun—why are you using hacks?’

Feeling the countless gazes coming at her from all directions, Lin Yu could only frantically chant to herself:

“Professional ethics… this is professional ethics…”
“Hold on… just two more hours…”
“It’s just making money… nothing shameful…”

She took a deep breath and forced out a smile that looked sweet on the surface, but was stiff as hell underneath. Then she made a heart gesture toward the cameras.

As long as she survived this morning…

That 100,000 yuan would be hers!

Then she’d buy the best graphics card!
She’d eat the most expensive barbecue!
She’d—

Huh?

Just as Lin Yu was fantasizing about her glorious future, a commotion broke out slightly ahead and to the side.

“Whoa! Look over there! Who are those three girls cosplaying? Their looks are insane!”
“We can’t compete with the main stage—let’s shoot them instead!”

The cries from the crowd made Lin Yu glance over with her peripheral vision.

The next second, she nearly shed her skin in fright.

Down in the audience area beside the stage stood three dazzling figures—so eye-catching it was impossible to look away.

They were—

Three people she would recognize even if she died.

Leading the group was Li Qing, dressed in a pink-and-white dress, the skirt adorned with lace and ribbons.

She was holding two ice cream cones that were on the verge of melting, chattering excitedly to her companions behind her, brimming with energy.

Behind her was Chen Bing. Shockingly, she had switched styles today, wearing a black nun-style dress with an extremely high slit.

The black-and-white contrast, combined with those long legs, drew constant side glances—nearby otaku had “please step on me” written all over their eyes.

And the last one…

Lin Yu swallowed hard.

Ye?

That usually cold and aloof loli senior was now wearing an exquisitely designed dark gothic outfit.

An eyepatch covered her left eye, and she held a small teddy bear with only one eye as well.

Though her expression remained blank, there was an unexpectedly dazed cuteness to her—she was practically a walking “otaku harvester.”

But that wasn’t the main issue.

The real problem was—

Why… why were they here?!?!

Lin Yu felt the blood in her entire body surge backward.

These people were usually either training or hunting monsters, weren’t they?

Why were they suddenly so free today that they had time to visit a convention?!

Was it because she’d taken sick leave and they were short-staffed, so—

No, that didn’t make sense!

If they were short-staffed, shouldn’t they be working overtime?

How did that turn into team bonding?!

“Uh…”

At that moment, she realized something even more suffocating.

Those three people…

Seemed to be looking at her.

“……”

I-It’s fine!

I used [Transformation Time] to change my hair and eye color!
They won’t recognize me!

That’s right—won’t recognize me. Anime logic works like that, right?
Just changing hair and eye color makes you a completely different person…

Haha…

“Wait—”

Suddenly, Lin Yu remembered something and turned her head toward the biggest giveaway on her body.

That white blob perched on her shoulder.

Long ears. Red eyes. An arrogant expression.

“Hey! Xiao Bai!”

Taking advantage of a turn to strike a pose, Lin Yu hurriedly lowered her voice and ordered the rabbit on her shoulder:

“You—right now, you immediately play dead! Don’t move at all! Close your eyes! Got it?!”

“If you dare give us away… I’ll tie your two ears into bows!”

“Gu…”

Xiao Bai glanced at her with extreme boredom.

It clearly looked down on such low-level commands, but perhaps out of consideration for all the “stupid humans” around, it lazily closed its eyes, let its limbs droop, and completely transformed into nothing more than a plush accessory swaying in the breeze.

“Phew… thank god.”

Seeing this, Lin Yu finally relaxed a little.

As long as it didn’t move, it was just a somewhat realistic prop…
Plus her disguise…

They shouldn’t… probably… maybe…

Recognize her?

She was still desperately trying to brainwash herself, clinging to an ostrich mentality.

However.

Right at that moment.

The loud-voiced host suddenly raised the microphone and announced to the entire venue:

“Alright! Thank you to the previous contestant for their wonderful performance!”

“Next, let’s welcome with the warmest applause our 46th contestant—also the coser with the highest expectations of winning this competition!”

“Her CN is—”

Lin Yu’s heart leapt straight into her throat.

Wait…

What name did I register with again?

For convenience, I think I just used—

“—Lulu!!!”

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