"Liam... I love you!"
Late night.
Riverton University, Drama Club stage.
The shy girl wore a beautiful sailor-style uniform skirt, and her square-toed leather shoes reflected the dazzling stage lights.
Her makeup was exquisite, with cute and playful double ponytails, and she held a vibrant bouquet of champagne roses in her hands.
Liam stared at the adorable girl who had suddenly appeared before him, momentarily stunned.
At this moment, Liam was dressed in a British-style theatrical costume.
A deerstalker hat, a double-breasted suit, white gloves...
He resembled the stereotypical "detective" — after all, in tomorrow's official performance, he was to play the role of an elegant and wise detective.
This was Liam's longstanding habit: the day before a performance, he would don his costume alone and come to the drama club's stage to "get into character."
Ultimately, Liam was a quintessential method actor.
As the current "pillar" of Riverton Drama Club, Liam also enjoyed such privileges—explicitly permitted by both the club president and the faculty advisor.
By logic, there should be no one to disturb him at this hour.
So...
Facing the beautiful girl who was passionately confessing her feelings to him, Liam furrowed his brows slightly.
"Right now is my rehearsal time. I apologize."
"My time is entirely devoted to studying and acting. I currently have no plans to pursue a relationship. Sorry."
Liam stated in a somewhat stiff tone.
The girl across from him, however, still maintained her radiant smile after hearing his words.
"Liam, don't misunderstand—I'm not asking to date you!"
"My admiration for you is that of a fan for their idol—I'm your enthusiastic fan!"
Liam's eyebrows tightened further. "A fan... If this is about gifts, photos, or autographs, there will be an interaction session after tomorrow's performance."
Though he didn't particularly enjoy these sessions.
But the president said this was a necessary tactic to attract the audience.
The beautiful underclassgirl in sailor uniform shook her head again upon hearing this.
"No, I think you misunderstood. I'm not the kind of fan satisfied with photos and autographs - I'm a 'fanatic fan' like Mark Chapman."
Liam froze momentarily at these words.
"Mark Chapman?"
He rummaged through his memory for the name, then quickly recalled.
"The murderer who shot John Lennon... who was also Lennon's obsessive fan..."
The beautiful junior beamed brightly upon hearing Liam's response.
"Correct, Liam! I knew you weren't just a great actor, but also erudite!"
As her clear laughter rang out, the champagne rose bouquet in her hand bloomed!
"Swish—"
The girl tore the flower bouquet apart and discarded it.
Pale orange petals fluttered, resembling splattered blood under the light.
From the damaged bouquet, the girl retrieved the object that best represented the word "violence".
As distinct as roses represent love.
Dark, heavy metal replaced the soft, vibrant flowers, clasped in her slender pale hand.
It was...
A gun.
"Beretta M9."
Liam stared at the suddenly appearing gun barrel pointed at him, his body freezing and mind going blank.
He subconsciously identified the pistol model before him.
A model? A prank?
Though in China, a pistol appearing before one's eyes was likely a replica...
But Liam wasn't so optimistic now.
Not just because the gun's texture felt excessively real.
More because... of her sharp, calm gaze that remained fixed unwaveringly on him.
Liam, who had once extensively studied the "serial killer" persona for a role, recognized this gaze all too well...
It was a gaze that viewed people as prey and targets – a look that could be summarized as "killing intent."
"Bang!"
The gun flashed, a bullet piercing through a falling petal before equally precisely penetrating Liam's beating heart.
Iron and fire, blood and death, declared that both the Beretta M9 in the assailant's hand and the killing intent in their eyes were utterly genuine.
Pain and cold rapidly spread from the bullet hole in his heart. Liam felt all strength drain from his body as he collapsed limply to the ground.
Above him echoed the girl's voice again – now stripped of its earlier mockery and frivolity, replaced by unprecedented solemnity.
Even carrying a hint of... reverence.
"May you be seen by the divine."
As the girl's voice faded, Liam felt his consciousness gradually dissipating.
"What a joke... this makes no sense..."
The initial confusion, upon realizing imminent death, transformed into an intense unwillingness!
How could he die here so absurdly—killed by this bizarre stranger and this senseless gunfire?!
"I don't want to die!"
There's still tomorrow's performance...
And next week, next month—countless performances left in his lifetime!
His acting skills still needed honing.
To this day, he hadn't even delivered a performance that completely satisfied him!
How could he die so meaninglessly here?!
Yet no matter how fiercely Liam resisted or raged,
Ultimately, everything returned to eternal silence.
...
After an indeterminable time, Liam opened his eyes again.
The pain from his fatal wound still lingered in his chest, yet now felt illusory.
His hand instinctively touched where his heart should be—no wound existed.
Surveying his surroundings, Liam discovered this was a pitch-black and void space.
"Is this hell, the underworld, or the netherworld?"
"Or perhaps I didn't die at all? Maybe I've become comatose, my consciousness trapped in this sort of place?"
Liam looked around somewhat bewildered, his mind involuntarily filled with random thoughts.
As if responding to his doubts...
While these thoughts emerged, crimson text abruptly materialized in the void before him.
[Welcome to the Eerie Game!]
[Here, we grant the deceased with intense "life-seeking" desires a chance to start anew.]
[Participate in the game to obtain rebirth.]
[Do you choose to participate?]
Gazing at the crimson text, Liam came to a realization.
He had likely encountered... some form of "supernatural power".
As a university student, Liam, although quite obsessed with acting, spent most of his time studying and honing his acting skills, leading a relatively simple and monotonous life.
But Liam wasn't a caveman.
Web novels, anime—he occasionally indulged in these during his downtime.
Based on those, he had pieced together his current predicament.
A higher existence had created a game called the "Eerie Game."
The chosen deceased could earn a chance at revival by participating in it.
And from the tropes of such stories, Liam knew all too well:
Games promising "resurrection" were invariably brutal and perilous.
Even so...
"Do I even have a choice?"
Liam murmured with a faint sigh.
To survive, to keep performing, to continue living—Liam had only one path.
"I'll participate."
As Liam responded, the crimson text shifted again.
[Welcome to the "Eerie Game", Player "Liam"!]
[Drawing your initial profession...]
[Congratulations! Obtained unique profession·Deceiver!]
[Professional Ability: After activating the ability, any 『Deception』 you perform on others will 『 become a reality 』 to some extent if believed. The degree of 『reality』 depends on how strongly others believe in you.]
Liam read the newly emerged blood-red text.
But before he could fully comprehend it, fresh blood-red text materialized.
[Initial profession generation completed!]
[Joining game shortly——]
[Game Title: Who Is the Outsider?]
[Clear Condition: Eliminate all players from opposing factions or survive until the designated time.]
[Number of players in this round: 7.]