The More Tragic I Act, the Stronger I Get — My Fans Beg Me to Stop Killing Off My Roles-Chapter 198: That Stab Was So Intense, Even Director Zhang Jumped to His Feet!

That face, stained with blood and exhaustion, held not a single trace of a loser's despondency.

Jiang Ci's gaze swept past the mess on the empty ground, past that sinister black longsword—the Demon Blade belonging to Chi Jie—that had fallen not far away.

His entire focus was locked, deathly still, on that white figure bound by demonic power beneath the giant tree.

His A Li.

The sole meaning of his existence after a thousand years of slumber.

A flicker of the innate arrogance belonging to "Ye Chen" flashed across Jiang Ci's face.

Behind the monitor.

The tightly-knitted brows of Zhang Mouyi finally smoothed out in that instant.

His entire center of gravity abruptly leaned forward.

He finally understood what Jiang Ci was acting!

This wasn't a physical defeat.

This was a spiritual "defeat without self-awareness"!

Jiang Ci wasn't acting the *result* of "failure." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

He was acting that "most foolish, most arrogant plan," that character tragedy itself which led to the crushing defeat!

He was acting the absolute confidence in his own power, inherent in the half-demon Ye Chen, a confidence that a thousand years of sealing had failed to erase!

This was the core he truly wanted but didn't dare hope for during his direction!

A massive, savage joy—the joy of being understood and even surpassed by an actor—violently slammed against Zhang Mouyi's heart.

This madman!

Jiang Ci, this absolute madman, had truly acted the character's tragic destiny into his very bones!

On the other side.

Off-set, Luo Yu, arms crossed, was just preparing to witness Jiang Ci's joke.

What he saw was an expressionless face, a "wooden" performance of someone walking out and standing still.

The corner of Luo Yu's mouth lifted in disdain.

This?

This is the so-called "spiritual energy" everyone raves about?

He can't even portray the basic emotions of a defeated man.

He tilted his head, seeking validation from Wen Nian.

Wen Nian's smile had also stiffened on her face. She quickly adjusted, leaning close to Luo Yu's ear, her voice soft and soothing.

"He just couldn't match your performance, A-Yu."

"Your explosive power earlier was too strong. He was completely suppressed by you, forced to respond with this rigid method, trying to preserve his last shred of dignity."

These words made Luo Yu feel much more comfortable inside.

Right, that must be it.

Jiang Ci had been completely overwhelmed by his own aura.

On the set.

Su Qingying's body was fixed in a stiff posture by the prop wirework.

The moment she saw Jiang Ci walk out, her instincts as a top-tier actress instantly grasped the core of his performance.

He was completely immersed in Ye Chen's arrogance.

Su Qingying's heart began to pound wildly.

How should she respond?

In the script, A Li was a complete puppet.

But now, facing such a vivid "Ye Chen" who was about to step into a death trap, she couldn't achieve complete numbness.

Su Qingying's body remained mechanically still, but deep within her originally vacant, unfocused eyes, she desperately squeezed out a faint, thread-like plea.

Don't come over.

Run away.

This thread of a plea became the most fatal bait luring Ye Chen into the abyss.

Jiang Ci saw it.

He interpreted that sliver of pleading as her final cry for help and dependence on him.

"A Li!"

A cry suppressed with rage and heartache burst from his throat.

He moved.

Ignoring the "crack" on his body that felt like it would tear him apart, ignoring the emptiness in his body after the cracks appeared in his demon core, he rushed desperately towards the figure beneath the giant tree.

In his world, only that white figure remained.

He rushed before A Li, ignoring the ominous demonic aura that would be added by post-production effects around her.

He raised his hand.

A hand covered in wounds and bloodstains trembled, wanting to caress her cheek, just like how she had clumsily tried to approach him countless times under the Divine Tree in the past.

Just as Jiang Ci's fingertips were about to touch Su Qingying's cheek.

Zhang Mouyi did not shout "Cut."

He gave an instruction through the walkie-talkie to the cinematographer at Camera A.

"Push in for a close-up!"

"On her hand!"

The cinematographer, almost by muscle memory, violently pushed the lens towards Su Qingying's hand hanging at her side.

In the frame.

That slender, fair hand was slowly lifting in an extremely stiff, eerie manner.

The five fingers were rigid, then slowly drew together, bending.

Finally, forming a lethal claw shape.

All the crew members who saw this scene felt a chill shoot from the soles of their feet straight to the crown of their heads.

Jiang Ci, of course, also saw that hand lifting, filled with killing intent.

But he did not dodge.

He didn't even pause for a moment.

It was as if he didn't see it at all, as if he fundamentally didn't believe this hand could harm him.

He stubbornly completed the unfinished movement from before.

His fingertip crossed the final distance.

Extremely lightly, it touched A Li's cold cheek.

And at this very moment.

Su Qingying's performance was utterly sublimated.

She could clearly feel the temperature from Jiang Ci's fingertip, that "Ye Chen"-like, reckless warmth.

As a professional actress, she should maintain the "puppet" state.

But Jiang Ci's performance was too penetrating.

That moth-to-flame-like determination, that tenderness at the end of the road, was like a needle, viciously piercing through the rational barrier she had as an actress.

A massive, tearing emotion exploded in her chest.

It was A Li's despair, and also Su Qingying's heartbreak.

Her face remained puppet-like and numb.

But a single scalding tear rolled from the corner of her vacant eye, trailed down her cheek, and finally dripped onto the finger that was caressing her.

Behind the monitor, Zhang Mouyi let out a sharp "Huo!" sound, the entire man standing up from his chair, trembling slightly all over with excitement.

He did not shout "Cut."

He knew these two actors had gone completely mad. All he had to do was record this damned everything!

And for Ye Chen in the scene.

This tear was the final straw that broke all his defenses.

He saw her cry.

Crying before him.

This proved her consciousness was still there, she could feel him, she was suffering for him.

On Ye Chen's arrogant face, his defenses completely crumbled, revealing a trace of tenderness born of ultimate heartache.

He prepared to withdraw his hand and tightly embrace this tormented soul.

At the very moment he lowered all his guard, preparing to embrace A Li.

That long-prepared hand moved.

Su Qingying's arm, under the covert guidance of the prop master and in coordination with the camera's perspective, thrust forward with a swift and fierce motion.

The target was precisely the center of that almost invisible crack, embroidered with silver thread three inches below the heart on Jiang Ci's red costume.

The location of the demon core.

"Pfft!"

The blood pack hidden beneath Jiang Ci's costume burst on cue.

Crimson liquid gushed out, instantly soaking a large area of the red fabric on his chest, even splattering onto Su Qingying's pure white garment.

Jiang Ci's entire body shuddered violently.

In disbelief, stiffly, inch by inch, he lowered his head.

Looking at that hand that had "pierced" through his body.