Chapter 41: Reason
The cultural performance started at 2:00 PM. For the students and alumni of Jiangzhou University, it was an event. But for Zhang Jue, it was simply an unexpected disaster.
When he encountered this kind of event during his vacation, he couldn't eat well, sleep well, and most importantly, no overtime pay. Such a pain in the ass to do. And no one was more shocked than the theatre club members who had been rehearsing for a long time and couldn't accept Zhang Jue's decision.
They had been rehearsing for most of the year for this long-awaited performance, and to change the screenplay on the go and let a stranger who hadn't studied acting at all join them was tantamount to ruining the whole play.
"Teacher Zhang, what should we do?"
"Teacher Zhang, why is this happening? Did we do something wrong?"
"Teacher Zhang..." Zhang Shijia simply could not explain to his club members why he had to let Zhang Jue join because he did not know the truth.
Adapted from SCP-701 "The Hanged King's Tragedy", "Charlie's Revenge" is a theatrical play in five acts that took place in the 17th century. The entire play roughly tells the story of a king (Sifford) on the way back to the village killed by his brother (Zallo) using poison-infused wine by hanging in him on a tree. Because Sifford did not have children, Zallo rightfully became the next monarch while marrying the original queen Isabella as his new wife.
At the enthronement ceremony, the drunken Queen Isabella confessed to a group of ministers that King Sifford had not died of natural causes but had been murdered by Zallo. Also told that she and Sifford originally had a child, a certain nobleman who had come to the ceremony – his name was Charlie.
Charlie heard this, and at first, he did not believe it. But as he went back to his home, he had a dream about the dead King Sifford, who confirmed Isabella's accusation to Zallo. (The real performance was when he narrated his dream to his servant, the king did not appear.)
Charles prepares to take revenge and reclaim the throne that belongs to him. Knowing that Isabella had betrayed him, Zallo imprisoned Isabella and intended to kill all the ministers who had heard about it. Then, another banquet was held.
Charles rescued his mother Isabella through hardships, arrived at the banquet, and exposed Zallo's plot. After the ministers learned about this, they hanged Zallo and elected Charlie as the new king. The theatre club member who plays the lead role of Charlie was called Leo, a fair-faced student who was particularly unhappy with the decision of Zhang Jue.
"Mr. Zhang, the plot of the whole play is very simple, and there are not many main characters. So, Mr. Zhang could only enter the play just for a moment. What about the lines? This is simply not something that can be done in an hour or two!"
The students were bloodthirsty and did not know the importance of Zhang Jue to the university and spoke a bit impulsively. Zhang Shijia himself also had these questions, but he couldn't answer them and asked Zhang Jue for help.
Zhang Jue was picking out his costume in the prop room, and when he felt their gaze, he turned around and smiled to all the students in the backstage.
"First of all, I want to make it clear to you that by temporarily joining the show, I'm not trying to ruin your efforts. I wanted to help you guys perform better, and as for my role - I'll play the already dead king."
Zhang Jue told the truth if he hadn't participated in the show without his 'magic-free effect'. It was estimated that all the audience and actors would have committed suicide or murder due to insanity halfway through the show.
"As for the lines, no need to worry. I'll be on stage as a ghost and try not to have any interactions with the characters you play."
Zhang Jue's expression was calm, as if adding a temporary role was as simple as having breakfast. When one person feels uneasy, others around him will feel the same, and when you are full of confidence, the others also seem to feel that the matter was not a problem anymore.
This is why Yang Xue always felt that Zhang Jue's smile was magical - because Zhang Jue was always trustworthy, and as long as he was around, you would feel that there was no problem that couldn't be solved.
At 4:00 PM, the "Charlie's Revenge" performance officially kicked off.
The grand finale performance of "Charlie's Revenge" was highly expected by the guests. It was also thanks to Zhang Shijia. His leadership of the theatre club has won many domestic awards and has become the main publicity target.
After half a year of preparation, the stage set was quite exquisite and seemed to pull people into the medieval European setting at once. As promised, the moment the curtain was pulled back, the MTF technicians who were already on standby outside the school intercepted the video stream of the external live broadcast through technical means.
Among those present, only Lei Shan and Yang Xue knew this. One of the staff members whispered something in President Bai's ear, who was so angry that he slapped the table.
Yang Xue heard the words "eat shit", "settle this out", and "get out". However, the problem caused by the MTF technicians was because these people were trying to make a living. They did not take the initiative to impose the restrictions, and they refused to pass the video signal out.
She shook her head and turned her gaze back to the main stage. At this moment, the first act of the play had already begun, and the usurper Zallo was feasting on the coronation ceremony. Yang Xue concentrated on the scene and seemed to be looking for something.
"Miss Yang, you seem to be a little nervous." Lei Shan said with a smile as he watched the performance on the stage without looking away.
Unlike Zhang Jue's indebted smile, Yang Xue always felt that Lei Shan's smile seemed to have a bit of warmth. Just like a brother next door, who seemed to be able to see through people's hearts and always knew what you were thinking.
Lei Shan was right. Yang Xue was indeed a little nervous. SCP-701 needs to be destroyed, the secrecy authority was not high, and Yang Xue has read the relevant information.
The reason why all the people watching and performing this play will be insane is because of the appearance of the fascinating character SCP-701-1 (The Hanged King, the king who will be hanged in the play) was the role played by Zhang Jue picked!
Unlike the riots caused by the audience, once the Hanged King appears, all the characters on stage will be hanged by a sling that appears out of nowhere - just like the death of the Hanged King.
Yang Xue was a scientist and a researcher, but she always felt that Zhang Jue's role today was somewhat unlucky. Even if he played as an attendant, a horseman, an insignificant guard is fine, why did he have to play as the Hanged King. Seeming to see through Yang Xue's thoughts, Lei Shan smiled.
"Miss Yang Xue, I thought that you should trust Advisor Zhang more than I do." Lei Shan's word meant something, and Yang Xue faintly clenched her fist.
Indeed, in this world, no one knew Zhang Jue better than her and trusted him more because they had experienced countless dangers together. But what about the Foundation? The Foundation seemed to know so much more than she did. Yang Xue looked at Leshan and asked a question she shouldn't have asked.
"Can you tell me why the Foundation trusts Zhang Jue so much?"
This matter had bothered her for a long time; for a parallel world walker, the Foundation had given him extremely high authority and great freedom to act instead of containing him in. Just like this incident, this was not normal and completely out of line with the Foundation's style of action.
Lei Shan side-stepped his head. His eyes always held a smile. He glanced at Yang Xue and then turned his gaze back to the stage, seemingly enjoying the performance of those actors. You must follow the rule.
Having worked at the Foundation for so many years, Yang Xue certainly knew this stuff, and she sighed. Knowing that she might never get the answer to her question. Just when she was almost giving up, Lei Shan's gentle voice could be heard.
"Dr. Yang, if this incident can be successfully handled, I will tell you about it."
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