Chapter 148: Rain

Whoooosh—

A mass of dazzling cherry-pink spiritual energy flames suddenly ignited along the bow, without the slightest warning!

This wasn’t some cold pyrotechnic effect made for stage visuals—
this was the real deal. Genuine spiritual energy fire!

The flames raced wildly along the bow’s body, instantly engulfing Lin Yu’s entire right arm, bathing her pink-and-white dress in a sacred, almost holy glow.

And at the very center of those flames, an arrow formed from pure condensed light slowly took shape, radiating a terrifying, heart-stopping fluctuation!

Oh no…

Lin Yu’s face turned deathly pale.

This bow… this damn pay-to-win bow!

Why did it have to “perform” at a time like this?!?!

If this were real—if she actually fired an arrow—

Forget the hundred-thousand prize money.
This entire exhibition center would probably be blown apart!

At that point, forget buying a house—
even selling herself wouldn’t be enough to cover the damages!

Die… just die already!

With the resolve of someone ready to perish together with the world, Lin Yu poured all her willpower into suppressing it.

The terrifying flames flickered unwillingly a few times—

Then, with a soft pfft, they went out.

Huff… huff… huff…

Lin Yu felt like her entire body had been hollowed out.

She stared at the dumbstruck audience below, then at the host beside her—whose microphone was just about to slip from his hand—her mind completely blank.

What now?

What am I supposed to do now?!

Urgent. Waiting online. Very urgent!

Amid the crushing awkwardness and panic, voices suddenly rose from the crowd:

“Holy crap? Was that… a special effect from a light novel?!”

“Props have evolved this far now?! That was real fire, right? I felt the heat wave!”

“That’s insane realism! How much money must that have cost?!”

“For the sake of recreating Madoka, she went this far?! What is this—this is craftsmanship spirit!”

“I’m moved! I’m voting for her! This isn’t just looks—this is sincerity!”

As the crowd collectively talked themselves into it, thunderous applause erupted across the entire venue.

Some people even stood up, shouting excitedly:

“Lulu saikō——!!!”

Lin Yu:
……

She got away with it—but somehow, her mood felt incredibly complicated.

On stage—

Li Qing weakly covered her forehead, wearing an expression that screamed I don’t want to know that idiot up there.

She turned to Chen Bing and Yaye Ying, who both looked equally speechless, and couldn’t help complaining:

“This works too?! These otaku… aren’t they way too easy to fool?”

“Heh…”

Chen Bing shook her head and sighed.

“That’s not being easy to fool. That’s called idiots having idiot luck.”

“If they really figured out that was spiritual energy fire, we’d be in serious trouble. Not only would that idiot have to write a report, we’d also have to get the logistics department to go around brainwashing several thousand people with flash pens one by one…”

“Just thinking about that overtime makes me want to kill someone.”

“True…”

Li Qing shrank her neck, clearly frightened by the sheer workload that would entail.

She was about to say something else to tease Lin Yu when she realized the third person beside her hadn’t spoken at all.

“Hey, Ying-chan? What do you think?”

……

No response.

“Huh?”

Li Qing turned her head and saw Yaye Ying slightly tilted to the side, her gaze locked firmly onto the dome of the exhibition hall.

“Ying?”

Chen Bing sensed something was off as well and waved a hand in front of her eyes.

“What’s wrong? What are you staring at so intently?”

“It’s nothing.”

……

Yaye Ying finally withdrew her gaze, but her brows didn’t relax—instead, they knit even tighter.

She lowered her head, fingers unconsciously tightening around the teddy bear in her arms.

“Maybe… I saw it wrong.”

“Saw it wrong?”

“Yeah. Just now, for a moment…”

Yaye Ying murmured softly,

“I thought I saw… some strange shadows.”

Meanwhile, in the backstage lounge, chaos reigned.

The air was thick with the smell of cheap hairspray and setting powder.
Armor fragments and wig pieces were scattered all over the floor.

Cosplayers from all walks of life were sprawled around without any regard for image—some touching up makeup, some fixing props, while a few guys in heavy mascot suits were pulling off their heads, gasping for air like dehydrated fish.

Lin Yu found a corner to curl up in and let out a long breath.

“Phew… I survived.”

At this moment, she had never been more grateful that she was dealing with a group of “clear-headed but stupid” two-dimensional otaku.

She’d shown such a massive flaw—and yet none of them doubted it at all?

“As expected… otaku hearts are the easiest to fool, and otaku money is the easiest to earn.”

She shamelessly sighed to herself, even smugly swinging her legs a little.

Unfortunately, she had seriously underestimated the sheer clout of “Madoka-sama”—
and also underestimated how attractive her phase spirit body was to carbon-based lifeforms.

Before she could even catch her breath, a shadow loomed over her.

“Um… excuse me! Miss Lulu!”

“Wah! It’s really her! Your skin looks even better up close!”

“Miss Lulu! I’m your fan! That fire effect earlier was godlike! How did you do it? What kind of black-tech cold flame was that?!”

“Photo! Photo please! I want to stick close to Madoka-sama too!”

“And this little white dumpling—oh my god it’s moving! Its eyes can rotate! Is this some high-tech electronic pet?! How much did it cost?! Link please!”

In the blink of an eye, Lin Yu was completely surrounded by overly enthusiastic cosplayers.

The cosplay circle is brutally realistic.

As long as your accuracy is high, as long as your looks can carry—even if you’re a mute who can only shout “aba aba,” you’ll instantly become the center of attention.

And right now, Lin Yu looked like a god who had stepped straight out of the two-dimensional world.

“Uh…… um…… haha……”

Having never enjoyed such top-tier treatment before, Lin Yu’s social anxiety instantly relapsed.

“Th-that! Sorry! I can’t do this anymore!”

She suddenly stood up, clutching her stomach, her small face twisted in agony.

“I… my stomach hurts! Ah… it’s urgent! Really urgent! Excuse me—sorry—excuse me!”

With that, she stopped caring about appearances, scooped up the still-playing-dead Xiao Bai, shoved through the crowd, and bolted toward the restroom at the end of the corridor.

She rushed into the bathroom, locked a stall door—smooth and efficient.

“Haaa~~~”

Leaning against the door, she slid down onto the toilet lid. Only after the noise outside gradually faded did she feel her soul finally return to her body.

“Sigh~~~”

She sighed, placed Xiao Bai on her knees, and rubbed her temples with a troubled expression.

“Those three… they definitely figured it out, didn’t they?”

Recalling Li Qing’s meaningful smile…

Lin Yu felt her future turn pitch-black.

“Should I… send a red packet in the group to beg for mercy first?”

“What if Ji Qing, that pink-cut-black devil, recorded it and uses it later to threaten me into wearing even weirder outfits?”

“Senior~❤ You wouldn’t want this video to reach Manager Qian, right?
You wouldn’t want to be fined by the company, right?
If you understand… then be a good girl and do as I say~”

“Ugh—”

A chill ran down Lin Yu’s spine. She was already starting to regret her decision.

Suddenly, a faint yet dense sound came from directly above her head.

Splash… splash…

“That is… rain?”

Lin Yu froze, instinctively looking up at the ceiling.

“…It’s raining?”