Huo Huo watched Phainon lost in thought, even chuckling to himself, feeling her blood pressure skyrocketing.
She abruptly jumped off the folding stool, irritably ruffling her hair.
"That's it, wrap it up! Wrap it up! That's all for today's shoot!"
She announced loudly to everyone in the stunned film set, her voice filled with uncontrollable anger.
"Set assistant! Inform logistics, the afternoon shoot is canceled!"
"Lighting, camera, everyone take a break! Props team, remember to cut the power to that broken 'Turbine Heart' so we don't waste electricity!"
"We'll shoot again tomorrow!"
At her command, the dead silent studio seemed to be injected with electricity, instantly coming alive.
The crew members began to scramble, tidying up equipment, their whispers buzzing like mosquitoes.
Glimpses of curiosity, sympathy, and even schadenfreude, subtly pierced towards Phainon in the center of the set.
"Teacher Phainon is in such poor form today, is he under too much pressure?"
"Indeed, Teacher Elio's scripts are becoming increasingly inhumane. If it were me, I'd have gone crazy long ago."
"Try putting yourself in his shoes? Watching friends die one by one, only to discover you personally killed your closest friend over thirty million times... anyone who acts in this script would break down."
"I heard he's had a lot of NGs (reshoots) recently, and Director Huo's patience is almost worn out."
"That's why the boss sent down an assistant director named Rick to help Director Huo, otherwise this drama couldn't be filmed."
Those fragmented discussions drifted into his ears.
Phainon's heart remained undisturbed.
His gaze pierced through the busy figures, finally settling on the man who was adjusting the Lygusunit.
Heh... Zandar.
Erudition's creator.
One of the sources of this absurd play.
Phainon moved.
He took a step, his footsteps light and silent.
Huo Huo, who was about to rush over and scold Phainon again, felt her heart skip a beat when she saw the direction he was heading, and blurted out,
"Hey, Phainon, what are you trying to do now?!"
Cyrene looked at Phainon's bloodless profile, an inexplicable panic gripping her heart tightly.
She opened her mouth, but his name had not yet been called out.
Phainon had already walked in front of Zandar.
Zandar seemed to have anticipated it; he stopped his adjustments, looked up, revealing a refined and amiable face.
"Mr. Phainon, is there something I can help you with?"
He even considerately paused,
"I understand, there must be an issue with Lygus's dialogue delivery. I apologize, after all, it's just a robot I created..."
Suddenly.
A gust of wind rushed towards him.
A fist rapidly expanded in his pupils.
Thud—!
A dull thud of bone and flesh colliding savagely shattered all the noise on the set.
Zandar clutched his face, his whole body staggering backward from the immense force, almost falling.
Time was sucked out of this moment; the entire set was dead silent.
Everyone present stared wide-eyed; they had only one thought.
Had Phainon truly gone mad?
He actually assaulted Teacher Zandar on set, in front of everyone!
"Phainon!"
Cyrene was the first to break free from the grip of shock; she rushed forward recklessly, using all her strength to grab Phainon's arm as he prepared to throw a second punch.
"What has gotten into you lately?!"
Her voice was tearful, her eyes filled with terror.
"Oh my god! You're serious!"
Huo Huo also jolted, scrambling over to try and separate the two.
As she pulled with force, she hissed in a low voice into Phainon's ear.
"Are you too deep into the role?! Do you really think you're that Reincarnator?"
"I'm warning you, Phainon! This is a film set, hitting people is illegal! If Teacher Zandar sues you, you're completely finished!"
Phainon let them pull him.
Yet, his body was like a statue nailed to the earth, unmoving.
His gaze calmly passed over the two flustered people in front of him, falling once again on Zandar.
The focus of the entire set also converged on Zandar...
By all accounts, he should have been furious, should have questioned, should have called security.
But.
Zandar slowly straightened his body.
He raised his hand, gently touching his swollen cheek, letting out a slight gasp, "Hiss..."
But on his face, there was no anger, no resentment, not even a hint of surprise.
In his deep eyes, there was only a cold tranquility and a "comprehension" that saw through everything.
"It's alright."
He spoke, his voice slightly muffled by the swollen cheek, yet chillingly clear.
"I'm fine. It's my fault; having Mr. Phainon act opposite a robot was indeed too jarring."
He waved his hand at Cyrene and Huo Huo, signaling them to let go.
"Mr. Phainon has been under immense pressure from his recent scenes, and his emotional outburst is understandable."
Zandar's gaze met Phainon's in the air; he even managed a gentle smile despite his comically injured face.
"Everyone, please continue working. Don't mind me."
After speaking, he didn't spare anyone a glance, but quietly turned and walked out of the studio alone.
He left no criticism, not even a single word.
This uncharacteristic "generosity" and "understanding" added a bizarre atmosphere to the set.
Huo Huo was utterly stunned.
What was this?
An intermission during the play, with another act thrown in?
Just then, the studio door was pushed open again.
Several familiar figures walked in.
Leading them was Aglaea, elegantly dressed in a luxurious gown.
Behind her followed Mydei, Castorice, Cipher, and others.
Their faces still bore unremoved makeup, seemingly having just finished another group's shoot.
"What's going on? I thought I heard an argument here just now?" Aglaea asked with a frown.
When her gaze fell on the ice-cold expression of Phainon, the confusion on her face turned into concern.
"Phainon? Why do you look so terrible?"
"You're not in good shape; that's not like you. Did something happen?" Mydei also strode over, asking in a deep voice.
They gathered around, speaking all at once.
Every greeting was filled with the warmth of "family."
Every gaze was filled with the worry of "companions."
Familiar faces, familiar voices, familiar aura... In an instant, scenes of fighting alongside the Chrysos Heirss began to overlap in Phainon's mind.
Reality and illusion intertwined and peeled away in his vision.
No!
Phainon's eyes became absolutely clear.
He was merely observing.
Observing this ridiculous deception orchestrated by Erudition.
His mission was not to act.
It was to find that "key"!
Phainon suddenly moved, his fingers tightly gripping Huo Huo's slender wrist.
The girl cried out in pain, "Ow! What are you doing?!"
Huo Huo desperately pulled back, trying to break free.
But Phainon leaned down, his cold face almost touching hers, questioning word by word:
"Where is Elio now?"