Yes! He's the god of acting

The moment those words left his lips, Beker pulled the trigger.

Click —

The mechanism clicked, but no bullet was fired.

At the same time, the earth in front of Beker shattered in an instant, soil and rubble disintegrating into nothingness as though an invisible bullet had broken down matter at the molecular level.

This deconstruction bullet, moving at a speed too fast to comprehend, reached the red-paper creature in a fraction of a second.

With a violent burst of force, the red paper tendrils in midair were torn open, and a gaping, circular wound—about a meter in radius—was blasted clean through the monster's body.

Through that vast, open hole, Beker could even see the far-off streets of Zone 3, the blast reducing the creature's body by two-thirds.

As Beker prepared to lower his gun, something unexpected happened.

The creature, now with a massive hole in its center, did not die. Instead, it acted as if nothing had happened.

With a horrible, unnatural energy, it began to rapidly extend more red paper, filling the gaping wound in mere seconds. Within two seconds, its form swelled, its size multiplying by three or more.

Now, it resembled a grotesque, paper-mâché red sun, its countless paper tendrils twisting and curling, hanging ominously above the wasteland.

[Audience Anticipation -1][Current Anticipation: 14%]

Beker's pupils constricted, his heart racing.

Without hesitation, he raised his gun and fired three more times, the deconstructive force breaking open three large holes in the massive red shape above him.

Raindrops trickled down through the three bullet holes, pattering against Beker's tense face, sending a chilling cold through his bones.

Whoosh—

The red paper swarmed down like a torrential rain, stabbing into the ground with deadly precision. The entire wasteland was transformed into a nest of paper spikes, and Beker fired desperately, barely managing to carve out a small gap in the storm of paper, just enough to stay alive.

"This is bad…" Beker's back was already soaked in sweat.

He could feel it now—he was not a match for this creature.

Something had changed. The monster's aura had grown stronger, advancing from a middling Level 5 to the peak of Level 5, and it was dangerously close to reaching the terrifying power of a Level 6!

Before Beker could react, a hand—clad in a crimson robe—emerged from the paper creature's body, moving with eerie precision to press against the top of Beker's head.

"Hehehe."

A mocking laugh echoed in Beker's ears, and before he could register what was happening, he was slammed to the ground with bone-crushing force, his head smashing into the earth with a sickening thud!

Boom—!!

The ground cracked beneath the force of the impact. Beker coughed up blood, his body going limp, as if he had become part of the dirt.

The battlefield fell silent, the storm of red paper returning to the creature's form, while light rain softly fell upon the wounded ground.

The red-paper creature seemed ready to leave, but then, suddenly, the hand that had emerged from its body gripped the creature's form and began to rip at it violently, as though something was about to break free from within.

Five minutes earlier.

"Audience intervention in progress?"

William's heart sank as he read the last line of text. He quickly looked up at the stage.

Countless blood-red eyes still glared at him from the darkness, but in the corners of the audience, he noticed several wooden chairs were now empty.

Some of the audience... had disappeared.

Thud—thud—thud!!

The shadows in the audience began stamping their feet in unison, the sound reverberating through the theater, a deep, thunderous rhythm that shook the entire space. Their crimson eyes locked onto William, their gaze filled with fury and judgment.

Thud—thud—thud!!!

With each stomp, William felt the stage tremble beneath his feet. The spotlight overhead wavered slightly, as though it too was struggling to stay lit.

It dawned on William.

In reality, he had died from a blow to the head. The performance on stage had come to an abrupt halt.

The audience was furious. But they couldn't communicate with him directly. This, their frustration and threat, was the only way they could express it.

"So... I didn't die after all?" William stared at his hands, lost in thought. "But if my consciousness is still here... who is controlling my body?"

A thought struck him, and he turned to look. Behind the stage, a vast black curtain blocked the back half of the performance area. With a determined effort, he yanked it aside, and a flood of images surged into his mind.

He saw himself turning a kitchen knife into paper, scaring Lily and Vito unconscious, battling the two enforcers…

It was a surreal experience, as though he were sitting in front of a giant screen, watching himself from a third-person perspective. But now, he was no longer the main character—the audience was.

The audience was now controlling the show.

[Audience Anticipation -1]

William's eyes caught the text on the screen flicker. Once again, he saw another group of figures vanish from the audience seats.

"The more the anticipation drops, the more the audience gets involved..." William muttered to himself, looking at his gradually disappearing body. "And as they take over... my existence is being erased?"

It made sense—if the audience completely became the "main character," then what was left for him?

A wave of dread filled William's chest as he realized what he had to do.

Standing before the curtain, he inhaled deeply and cautiously stretched his hand toward the flickering "screen" behind it...

He had two choices:

To reclaim his body and become the "main character" once again, or… die.

William's fingertips passed through the curtain, and he felt the sensation of hitting an invisible barrier, which slowed his progress. It wasn't a wall, but more like a membrane—soft, yet incredibly tough. William tried a few times, and finally, his finger slipped through.

"There's a chance!" William's eyes brightened.

With all his strength, he forced his hand through the membrane, then his forearm, and finally his elbow...

Just then, the text on the screen flashed again:

[Audience Anticipation -1]

With anticipation now at 14%, another batch of audience members vanished. William could feel the membrane growing firmer. He noticed his own body becoming even more translucent.

It wasn't the membrane getting tougher... it was his own body weakening.

With gritted teeth, William pushed harder, his arm moving through the curtain at a snail's pace. Panic surged through him. At this rate, if the anticipation fell to 10%, he wouldn't be able to pass through the barrier.

Finally, after much struggle, his arm broke through the curtain completely.

Through the gap, he saw Beker, fighting to hold on as red rain fell around him. After a brief hesitation, Beker slapped his palm against his forehead, using the power of the red-paper monster to knock him unconscious.

With no one witnessing him break through the curtain, William reached through from the other side, grabbed the fabric, and yanked it open.

With one final push, he forced his way through the gap, breathing heavily as he stepped into the real world.