Chapter 767: Chapter 767: The Not-at-All-Mysterious Special Guest
Scarlett Jennings listened to Director Clark’s suddenly raised voice and corrected him,
"I’m a consultant."
The kind that joins the team but doesn’t appear on camera.
Director Clark, on the other end, chose to selectively ignore her correction, "Guest appearance is absolutely fine! I had this contingency plan all along. It’s settled then, I’ll officially announce the surprise now!"
After speaking, as if afraid Scarlett would change her mind, he immediately hung up.
In less than ten minutes, Scarlett saw the show’s official announcement on Weibo about the airing time of the second episode and the guest list, with a silhouette photo specifically indicating the upcoming mystery guest.
The show’s audience only needed one glance at the photo,
[Haha, it’s our girl.]
[That silhouette is two hundred percent my girl.]
[It’s definitely Scarlett Jennings.]
[Why was she in the last episode and still in this one?]
[I just love watching her. Deal with it.]
Mystery guest, what a joke.
Director Clark wanted exactly this effect.
With the announcement made, even out of moral obligation, Scarlett Jennings wouldn’t easily let him down.
It must be said that he knows Scarlett Jennings quite well.
Scarlett quickly received messages from others, all inquiring about her participating in the second episode’s recording.
Scarlett picked a few to reply simply and then temporarily shifted her focus to researching how to restore Layla’s appearance.
Magnolia Hearne, after enjoying a tender reunion with her husband, finally took the time to check on her daughter’s situation.
Scarlett briefly explained her current predicament,
"After Azura Loomis’s face-swapping incident, the Mystical Sect has been working on finding a way to undo the Face Changing Technique, but so far, there hasn’t been any significant progress."
Scarlett had already communicated with the Masters responsible for this part; currently, they can only temporarily restore the soul body’s appearance for a few seconds.
But after those few seconds, it returns to its altered state.
To Scarlett, it was similar to having no progress at all.
Magnolia wasn’t surprised,
"The Face Changing Technique itself is an Evil Technique, and the Masters of the Mystical Sect always adhere to the righteous path. Even if they want to find a way to undo these techniques, they avoid touching the Evil Technique itself.
But actually, that’s not right. To solve a problem, you need to understand the cause of the problem first.
The change in the soul body as opposed to the physical body is irreversible. To undo the consequences of the Face Changing Technique, you need to understand how the magic was formed."
It’s undeniable that Scarlett, as a Master who often likes to take unconventional paths, was greatly influenced by Magnolia’s approach.
Therefore, hearing her words was not surprising, and Scarlett even agreed wholeheartedly,
"I think so too, but the information on the Face Changing Technique isn’t detailed. I am trying to reconstruct the process of casting the magic."
Magnolia wasn’t surprised to hear Scarlett was researching the Evil Technique, instead, she said,
"Why didn’t you ask me? I know more about Evil Techniques than you do~"
And so, mother and daughter directly dove into the logic of the Face Changing Technique. After two days, they successfully swapped the faces and soul body features of a painted-faced rat and a white mouse.
"It seems a bit different," Scarlett said.
"It indeed doesn’t quite match their Face Changing Technique," Magnolia concurred.
The facial features of the two mice were still there.
But the swap was definitely successful.
The two of them looked down at their magic materials, trying to see if they made any mistakes, but the result was that their magic was flawless.
"I always had a question,"
Scarlett said, "Just from the name, Face Changing Technique, it sounds more like a mutual swap of appearances. While the idea of one side taking away the appearance of the other can make sense, where does the face of the one who takes away someone else’s appearance go?"
Magnolia looked at her apprentice and daughter, a satisfied light in her eyes,
"Many magics in the succession process have parts missing. Later practitioners fill in the gaps based on leftover magic, potentially deriving different effects, but they continue using the original name of the magic."
Many Evil Techniques are results of extensions and modifications from traditional magic.
Scarlett: ...
So, did they discover the original version?
Assuming the so-called Face Changing Technique used by the Black Mist Organization is an incomplete version, this would result in one person’s face being taken, leaving the other face-less.
Following this logical analysis, is it possible that the face of Lucienne Xander is not altered to Layla’s, but rather... covered?
In an instant, Scarlett seemed to have caught a critical clue.
...
A week later, the second episode of the second season of "Inspiration" officially premiered.
Although almost everyone online had already guessed who the mystery guest was, Director Clark insisted on preparing a little game segment at the initial gathering for the show’s entertainment value.
Coincidentally, this segment was overseen by her cousin, Anthony Anson.
Scarlett watched as Anthony brought in four people who were almost identical to her in stature, and couldn’t help but tell him a harsh truth,
"For ordinary people, this game might require guessing, but for a Master, just sensing the aura or spiritual energy would suffice to identify the real one."
So, this kind of game really... lacks purpose.
Listening to Scarlett’s explanation, Anthony seemed like he’d been struck by lightning.
This, this, this...
Is it necessary to be so harsh? He had everything prepared.
This segment was even independently planned and arranged by him as the executive director.
Doesn’t it mean that this segment has to be entirely scrapped?
After the initial shock, Anthony quickly calmed down,
"No worries, I have a backup plan. How could a seasoned director not have a contingency?
Although there are less than thirty minutes until the show starts, don’t worry, Scarlett, trust me, your cousin has got this! I’ll surely make you shine in your entrance!"
Scarlett watched Anthony hurriedly prepare the second plan, was silent for a second, and finally said,
"Actually, there’s a way to solve this issue."
In an instant, Anthony’s eyes lit up, looking at her with admiration, clearly saying, as expected of my cousin!
Scarlett suddenly glanced at the headpieces he originally prepared, thought for a moment, and said,
"But I have one condition."
...
Half an hour later.
"Inspiration" officially aired.
After the initial meeting and introductory segment, Amber Livingston quickly transitioned to the secret guest appearance segment.
"I know everyone already knows who the mystery guest is; only Director Clark is pretending it’s a mystery. But that’s okay, while inviting our mystery guest on stage, the production team specially prepared a guessing game for everyone. Now, let’s first invite our mysterious flying guest...s, to appear!"
Amber, having built up anticipation, all the guests looked toward the exit on the other side.
Elysia Xander concealed a hint of disdain in her eyes, thinking to herself that Scarlett Jennings’s so-called identity change was just using the production team to get close to her.
But that’s okay, she wouldn’t let her succeed.
As she thought this, she saw five figures, dressed identically, walking neatly out of the exit.
Upon seeing these figures, Elysia’s eyes trembled violently.
The next second, a nameless fury surged to her head.
Those five figures were wearing identical, cardboard headpieces with afros!
And the afro face on that cardboard, without a doubt, was hers!