Ning Shu arrived at the television station and followed the positioning system to the venue of the talent show. She took a seat in the audience and looked around to see if she could spot Qiao Ling’er anywhere.
Contestants were jumping and dancing on the stage as they sang. The positioning system insisted that Qiao Ling’er was in this very room.
However, Ning Shu simply couldn't find her.
She used her spiritual power to scan every person in the audience, but Qiao Ling’er was nowhere to be found.
If she wasn't in the audience, then she had to be a contestant.
Ning Shu was surprised that Qiao Ling’er hadn't been pelted with eggs during her audition. There hadn't even been any entertainment gossip reporting on her, despite her being a central figure in the rape scandal.
Qiao Ling’er was quite famous right now, after all.
Still, the positioning system shouldn't be wrong, especially since it had cost her five points of merit.
The performances on stage continued until a woman walked out who was exceptionally beautiful.
When she began to sing, it was breathtaking. Her voice was clear, melodious, and full of emotion.
Suddenly, Ning Shu received a prompt from her system stating that the person on stage was Qiao Ling’er.
Ning Shu’s jaw nearly hit the floor in shock. This person looked nothing like Qiao Ling’er. Her face was different, her aura was different—they were clearly two completely different people!
Ning Shu was stunned. Could this really be Qiao Ling’er?
Had the positioning system malfunctioned?
They looked nothing alike!
"The positioning system tracks the soul, which has nothing to do with physical appearance," 2333 explained. "A soul is unique. No matter how much the outward appearance changes, the soul remains the same."
Ning Shu was speechless. So Qiao Ling’er’s soul was still the same.
Appearance could change, but the soul could not.
Good grief, her opponent's system actually had this kind of function.
She really was an unkillable cockroach. No wonder Qiao Ling’er had been so reckless as to release that video.
It was because the person known as ‘Qiao Ling’er’ effectively no longer existed in this world.
She had been able to drag Yue Wenlun down with her and then simply walk away.
Ning Shu was truly impressed by this cheat.
To destroy one identity only for another to pop up in an endless cycle—how was she supposed to play this game?
She had thought this would be a simple task, but she hadn't expected it to be this difficult.
"Changing a host's face is not an easy task," 2333 said, seemingly trying to encourage Ning Shu so she wouldn't give up. "It consumes a lot of the system's energy. Even if a system does it for its own benefit, it cannot keep changing the host’s appearance and identity indefinitely."
"These changes require the system's own energy. A system will not waste time and effort on someone who is incompetent and cannot bring it any profit."
Ning Shu had no intention of giving up halfway. No matter how many times Qiao Ling’er changed her face or identity, Ning Shu would simply keep pushing until she was forced to change again.
Eventually, the system wouldn't be able to get any benefits from her and would naturally abandon her.
Everything Qiao Ling’er had came from the system. Without it, she would lose her ‘protagonist halo.’
On stage, Qiao Ling’er continued to sing. Her voice was melodious and very pleasant to listen to. This, combined with her fresh, ‘original’ songs and unique vocal style, allowed her to capture her audience’s hearts.
Qiao Ling’er’s current popularity was strong. If things went smoothly, she would enter the music industry, produce new songs, and release albums.
Then she would start capturing the figures of the music world—songwriting experts, top idols, and legendary vocalists…
Success in acting leads to singing, and success in singing leads back to acting. Once she had finished with the music industry, she would likely head back to the acting world to capture more god-tier actors.
Ning Shu understood the routine perfectly.
While Qiao Ling’er was still singing passionately on stage, Ning Shu crouched down and slipped away. Now that she knew Qiao Ling’er’s new identity, it was her turn to hide in the shadows.
Qiao Ling’er was no longer Qiao Ling’er. She was now known as Li Kelan.
To avoid suspicion and prevent people from making connections, she had even changed her surname.
It was a total transformation.
Ning Shu wondered if Qiao Ling’er’s parents knew their daughter looked completely different now.
She had discarded her name and her face.
Was there anything left of the original Qiao Ling’er?
After leaving the television station, Ning Shu went to the supermarket to buy some fresh vegetables, intending to cook a meal at home.
After eating nothing but greasy boxed lunches on set, her stomach was starting to feel uncomfortable.
While Ning Shu simmered her soup, she opened her laptop.
Qiao Ling’er claimed to be a talented original songwriter, but she hadn’t actually written any of those songs. They were provided by the system.
Qiao Ling’er lacked the ability to compose music just as much as she lacked the ability to write scripts.
By branding herself as a talented creator, Qiao Ling’er was forced to keep demanding more material from the system.
Ning Shu carefully recalled the songs Qiao Ling’er had used in the original storyline, whether she had sung them herself or written them for others.
Ning Shu wrote them all down.