Chapter 522: Your Skill Is Very Good, but Now It’s Mine

“Most of them are predicting your failure,” Li Wei could hear the CLACK-CLACK of Jin Heon’s nails on her screen. “TMZ’s headline is ‘Super Bowl MVP Charges into Hollywood, Another Grave in the Crossover Cemetery for Sports Stars?'”

“Deadline’s headline is ‘Del Toro’s Late-Career Reputation at Risk’—”

She paused, her tone growing more indignant.

“The worst one is Page Six. They came right out and said you’ll probably be the one to completely bury Del Toro’s already fragile box office appeal.”

“Boss,” Jin Heon took a deep breath. “Should I get someone to kill these stories?”

There was no response from the other end of the line.

“Boss?” Jin Heon added.

“Huh?” Li Wei said. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

“Are… are you sure?” Jin Heon asked, hesitant.

Li Wei was lying in the bathtub, holding a silver mask that seemed to shimmer with a smooth, flowing light.

“Don’t you believe my acting will shock everyone?” he said, toying with the mask. “If my acting turns out to be great, won’t this just be free publicity for me and LW from all this media backlash?”

“Alright,” Jin Heon paused. “I’ll report back if anything comes up.”

After hanging up, Li Wei studied the mask in his hand, carefully reading its description:

[Item Description: In the latter stages of the Abyssal War, a nameless Minstrel forsook his duty of relaying battle reports from the rear and instead, under a disguise, infiltrated the demons’ military camp.]

[Using his masterful performance and copied abilities, he remained hidden among the demons for a full 30 years. The demons knew someone was leaking intelligence, but they could never find him, having no idea of his race, build, or appearance.]

[The demons called him “The Deceiver.”]

[Equipment Effects: The Deceiver’s Performance, The Deceiver’s Trick.]

[The Deceiver’s Performance: Effective on creatures of silver rank and below. Your words will carry an Extraordinary persuasive power, making listeners more easily moved, convinced, and guided by what you say. Your acting will break the shackles of the mundane; no matter what role you play, onlookers will believe from the bottom of their hearts that you *are* that person.]

[The Deceiver’s Trick: You can learn 1 skill from a Bronze-rank creature and equip it. You can hold a maximum of 3 skills. To equip a 4th, you must first actively discard one of the existing skills.]

‘I can even learn their skills?’ Li Wei was utterly shocked by the mask’s effects as he looked at the three slots on the [Deceiver’s Mask] in the item description.

This was basically Kakashi’s Sharingan.

‘Your skill is impressive. But now, it’s mine.’

…

「The next morning.」

The Los Angeles sun was as brilliant as ever, as if the city never had a cloudy day.

Li Wei changed into a simple black t-shirt and jeans, casually throwing on a light-colored suit jacket. He and Don Quixote got into the Cadillac Escalade and drove along Sunset Boulevard toward Burbank.

Jason Miller had arrived half an hour early and was waiting in the parking area outside Studio 9.

“The auditions are scheduled for 10 a.m.,” he said, personally opening the car door for Li Wei and handing him a short schedule. “Each person gets about 15 to 20 minutes. Mr. Li Wei, you’re fourth.”

“Who are the first three?” Don Quixote asked, taking the schedule.

“First is Glenn Powell, second is Regé-Jean Page, and third is Tom Blyth,” Jason paused. “Johnny Depp is scheduled last.”

“His agent requested it,” he shrugged. “Big stars have their own rules.”

He glanced at the vehicles parked at the studio entrance and said in a low voice to Li Wei and Don Quixote:

“Mr. Li Wei, Mr. Don Quixote,” he said, pointing to a car with a Netflix logo on it. “The Netflix PR department called in a lot of reporters. They plan to turn this casting into a publicity event to drum up another wave of interest for the movie.”

“They’re in that much of a hurry?” Li Wei commented casually. “Building hype before filming has even started?”

“Well, the entertainment industry has taken a hit from short-form video, and…” he looked around, then leaned in and whispered, “I think Netflix, the main investor, doesn’t have much faith in the project.”

“Oh?” Li Wei was taken aback. “Why is that?”

“Because…” Jason had a strange expression on his face. “It’s hard for me to say. You’ll know when you see the lead actress.”

Unlike during his previous visit, the area outside the studio was bustling today, and temporary partitions had been set up near the entrance.

When Li Wei walked into the studio, he found that the audition room was larger than he had imagined. More importantly, there were far more people than he expected.

Normally, an audition would take place in a small conference room with Del Toro, the casting director, one or two producers, and at most an assistant director to read lines opposite the actor. It would be no more than 10 people in total.

But that wasn’t the situation at all.

The main space in the room was divided into two areas.

To the left was the audition area, a roughly 4-by-6-meter open space illuminated by lights. The backdrop was a set piece of a weathered, gray stone wall, with a boom mic standing beside it.

And to the right was a whole row of—an audience?

Several rows of folding chairs were set up on the right. Seated in the center of the front row were Guillermo Del Toro, his casting director, and a producer. Behind them sat a large group of reporters.

Telephoto lenses, voice recorders, laptops… there were even two video cameras set up in the corner.

As Li Wei crossed the audition area, he happened to overhear Guillermo Del Toro quietly complaining to the producer beside him:

“So many people… this really affects the audition’s quality…”

A staff member led Li Wei into a dressing room off to the side.

The dressing room wasn’t large. It had three mirrors, with a swivel chair placed in front of the largest one in the middle. A circle of light bulbs surrounded it, casting an even, warm light.

A white makeup artist, about 30 years old, was already waiting inside.

“Hello,” she said happily as soon as she saw Li Wei, extending her hand. “My name is Eileen. I’m the makeup artist for today’s auditions.”

“Hello.” Li Wei sat down in the swivel chair.

Eileen stole a glance at Li Wei in the mirror, then quickly looked away and began organizing the tools on her makeup station.

“You know, Mr. Li Wei,” she said while testing foundation shades on the back of her hand with a puff, “my dad, my cat, and I are all big fans of yours.”

“It’s true,” she said. “He only likes to watch your games. I have no idea why.”

“Please thank him for me,” Li Wei smiled. “Tell him I’m honored.”

Eileen laughed too. “Mr. Li Wei,” she said, looking at Li Wei after testing a shade on her hand with a brush, “do you have any preferences for your makeup and styling? For instance, is there a certain look you’re trying to achieve?”

“There are different approaches to it?” Li Wei asked.

“Of course,” Eileen said, her hands never stopping. “The makeup and styling are handled completely differently depending on the occasion and the desired impression. For example, the foundation thickness, the direction of the brow bone shadow, and the depth of the lip color would be completely different for a lead in a commercial blockbuster versus a villain in an indie arthouse film.”

She counted on her fingers as she gave examples. “Like today’s role, a dragon-slaying Warrior in a fantasy film, right? Do you want to lean more rugged and heroic, or more youthful and clean-cut?”

“The actors who auditioned before you, because of their age, all leaned more toward the heroic look,” she said, tilting her head to look at Li Wei. “I’d actually suggest you go for a more youthful look. You’re young, and you already have such a great base to work with. You basically just need a little light makeup.”

“Okay,” Li Wei said, realizing for the first time how much nuance there was to makeup. “I’ll leave it to you.”

Eileen paused with the makeup brush in mid-air, looking Li Wei up and down a few times.

“Mr. Li Wei, you really do have a great base,” she said with a sigh of admiration. “Clean bone structure, flawless skin, and excellent facial proportions. With what you already have, I don’t think my makeup can make you look any better.”

As she spoke, she took a makeup sponge and started blending foundation onto Li Wei’s face.

“Isn’t Netflix loaded?” Li Wei asked.

“They might be loaded, but our film crew’s budget isn’t,” Eileen said as she applied the makeup. “Director Guillermo Del Toro spent most of the money on practical sets, props, and filming, and he still has to pinch every penny. So you can imagine what’s left for the rest…”

After finishing, she looked at the color on Li Wei’s face with some dissatisfaction, then took a makeup wipe and cleaned it off. She turned around and pulled a box of higher-end foundation out of her own bag.

“I’d better use my own,” she said, sitting back down. She sounded a little pained. “The stuff the production bought is really not good…”

“I’ll reimburse you,” Li Wei smiled, looking in the mirror. “Give me your number, and someone will contact you later.”

“Oh, no, no, no, that’s not necessary,” Eileen said, quickly waving her hands. “I was just saying.”

After the simple makeup and styling were done, Li Wei took out the [Deceiver’s Mask (silver)] from his inventory.

And put it on his face.

“Mr. Li Wei?” A staff member came and knocked on the dressing room doorframe. “Please come with me.”

Li Wei followed the staff member to the waiting area, where three other actors also competing for the lead role were sitting in a row.

“Li Wei!”

Glenn Powell, dressed in a suit of armor and wearing full makeup, stood up as soon as he saw Li Wei, his eyes lighting up. He moved to shake his hand and give him a hug.

“This is so cool,” he said. “I’m a fan of the Giants.”

“Hey, act like you’re the only one,” Page stood up with a grin and shook Li Wei’s hand. “I never thought I’d see the day I’d be competing with the legendary quarterback, Li Wei.”

Tom Blyth, being from the United Kingdom, wasn’t as enthusiastic as the other two and just gave a nod.

Li Wei sat down next to him.

“Glenn Powell?” The staff member walked over. “It’s your turn.”

As the staff member spoke, he handed Li Wei a script.

“There are five different scenes in here. When it’s your turn, you’ll draw one from the table up front,” he said, pointing to the audition area. “Good luck.”

Li Wei flipped through it. The script was about a protagonist from a village militia who, while on patrol, sees a dragon flying toward his village. By the time he gets back, he finds the village has been destroyed.

The rest wasn’t written; the script ended there.

“Aren’t you going to prepare a little more?” asked Page, who was up second. He watched Li Wei just glance at the script before closing it and starting to play on his phone. “Or are you just here as a publicity stunt for Netflix?”

“Me?” Li Wei smiled. “I’ve already finished reading the script.”

Arrogant.

The thought sprang simultaneously into the minds of Glenn Powell, Regé-Jean Page, and Tom Blyth.

They were ready to watch Li Wei make a fool of himself.

Physical prowess can be a natural gift, but something like acting takes a decade or more to hone!

There’s no such thing as a natural-born actor! Even if there were, you wouldn’t find one in a 20-year-old brat.