Chapter 524: The Unique Hidden Quest Chain Begins

The assistant director reading lines with him also felt as if he’d been instantly pulled into the scene, and his voice changed involuntarily.

In the waiting area, Glenn Powell wore the same expression as Guillermo Del Toro. He stood dumbfounded behind a partition, his mouth agape.

Regé-Jean Page had raised his coffee to his lips but had long since forgotten to take a sip.

As for Tom Blyth, he just felt a wave of despair.

He’d always heard that it was tough to make it in Hollywood, but he never thought it would be *this* tough! Holy shit!

How could a sports star crossing over into movies have acting skills this insane?

For a moment, Tom Blyth felt as if his spirit was completely crushed.

The three exchanged a look.

‘It’s over.’

After the fifteen-minute scene concluded, the reporters, as if waking from a trance, belatedly raised their cameras and started snapping photos.

Their preconceived notions had been shattered. In their place, a much bolder and more buzzworthy headline was already forming—

*Is This What You Call Talent? After Conquering the Sports World, Is Li Wei Here to Dominate Hollywood?*

This reversal, this juicy angle—it was worth more than ten times what a simple hit piece would have been.

Guillermo Del Toro exchanged a look with the casting director, and they both nodded in unison.

Don Quixote had been standing in the corner, watching the entire time.

His original thinking had been simple: ‘The kid works so hard. If he wants to live out his fantasy of being a big Hollywood star for a bit, then let him. I’ll support him unconditionally.’

Before coming today, he had even prepared some words of comfort.

“It’s okay if you don’t get the part. Everyone has their own unique talents, and you’re already the greatest of all time in your own field—”

‘But it looks like he won’t be needing to hear that.’

“Li Wei,” Del Toro said, looking over after a brief word with the casting director. “Thank you very much for your time.”

He paused, choosing his words carefully. “We still have to see the last candidate, but… I’ll likely be giving your agent a call in the next few days.”

Li Wei nodded. “Thank you, Director Del Toro.”

After removing his makeup, Li Wei returned to the waiting area.

Johnny Depp still hadn’t had his turn.

When Glenn Powell and the others saw Li Wei return, they all let out a collective sigh.

“Li Wei,” Glenn Powell said, “where did you learn to act? How did you get into character so fast?”

“Don’t tell me you hired an Oscar winner to coach you,” Page said.

“Maybe besides playing ball,” Li Wei said with a little gesture, “I also have a little bit of a knack for acting that’s not worth mentioning.”

“You must have put in an incredible amount of hard work,” Tom Blyth said, shaking his head. “You don’t have to be so modest, Li Wei. Nobody succeeds by chance.”

“Exactly,” the other two nodded.

Seeing they’d never believe him otherwise, Li Wei rubbed his nose and said with a laugh, “Okay, you got me. I do have a dream of acting, so I hired a coach for over a month of intensive training. Add to that the fact that I had a particularly good day, and that’s how you get this result.”

The three of them let out a collective sigh of relief.

“Now *that* makes more sense.”

“Still, to get this good after just a one-month crash course is astonishing. You’re definitely Oscar material.”

Li Wei just smiled and sat down on a folding chair, returning the [Trickster’s Mask] to his inventory.

Suddenly, a series of notifications began to pop up before his eyes.

[Identity Anomaly Detected]

[Your current profession is: Knight · Silver Body (Dragon Blood Knight)]

[You are currently operating under the identity of a young soldier from a border village.]

[Existing Hidden Quest Detected: Dragon Blood Knight Advancement]

[You have encountered a Golden Giant Dragon.]

[…]

[…]

[…]

[You have stepped into a fragment of past history.]

[At this point in history, the last great dragon rampages across the continent. The Kingdom’s armies are in full retreat, and countless villages have been turned to scorched earth. You are personally experiencing a sliver of this history.]

A brand-new quest window appeared before Li Wei.

[Hidden Quest: Dragon Blood Knight Advancement has vanished.]

[You have triggered the Unique Hidden Quest Series: Path of the Hero’s Advancement.]

[A thousand years turn like the pages of a book. You have stepped through a rift in time, becoming both a witness and a participant in a forgotten history.]

[The heroes fell long ago in the War of the Abyss, and their secrets vanished with them.]

[Only time itself remembers all.]

[Within the long river of time lie scattered the footprints of the Heroic Knights of old. Follow in their footsteps and piece together the path to becoming a Hero.]

[Quest Series · Chapter 1: The Dragon’s Heart]

[Objective: Obtain a Dragon’s Heart]

[Quest Reward: Dragon Blood Knight Advancement, 1 Quest attribute point.]

[Quest Series · Chapter 2: ??? (Unlocks upon completion of Chapter 1)]

[Quest Series · Chapter 3: ??? (Unlocks upon completion of Chapter 2)]

[Quest Series · Chapter 4: ??? (Unlocks upon completion of Chapter 3 and successful advancement to Golden Knight)]

‘Heroic Knight.’

Li Wei was stunned.

He was only a little more than halfway along the path of a Silver Knight and was still several attribute points shy of the Gold rank. Yet now, the system had just handed him a direct path to the Heroic rank, a tier even higher than Gold.

Although he didn’t know how strong the stats for a Heroic Knight were, judging by the system’s attribute progression, it was definitely more than a simple linear increase.

Then, a few more panels popped up in succession:

[You have completed the quest: The Dragon’s Heart (1)]

[You have experienced the scene of a dragon attacking a village as a first-hand participant.]

[Reward: +0.2 Free attribute points]

[The Dragon’s Heart (2): Travel to the royal palace of a thousand years past and receive the King’s blessing.]

‘This time the system actually laid out the quest series and descriptions directly.’

The corners of Li Wei’s mouth turned up. Just as he was about to say something, he heard a commotion from the hallway not far away.

Several bodyguards in black suits rounded the corner, followed by two people who looked like assistants, one of whom was carrying a Starbucks cup.

Then, a man emerged from the entourage of bodyguards.

He looked to be in his early fifties, his hair voluminous and messy, with a few gray strands mixed into the long, casually draped locks.

He seemed to have a natural smoky-eye look. His wrists were stacked with five or six assorted leather cords and bracelets, and his fingers were covered in rings.

Johnny Depp.

He scanned the faces in the waiting area, his gaze pausing for a moment on Li Wei.

“A pleasure to meet you, Li Wei,” he said, walking over and extending a hand. “I’m Johnny Depp.”

“Captain Jack Sparrow,” Li Wei said, shaking his hand. “I grew up watching you in *Pirates of the Caribbean*.”

“I hope I didn’t scar your childhood too much,” Johnny Depp said with a slight smile, gesturing toward the makeup room. “I’m going to get ready. We can talk later, alright?”

Depp turned and walked into the audition area.

By the time he had his makeup on and took the stage, the system suddenly displayed a notification:

[You have encountered: Wandering Pirate Captain (Bronze)]

[He once possessed the fastest ship on the seven seas. Unfortunately, his ship has sunk, his crew has scattered, and his Gold Coins have been divvied up among his creditors.]

[Trickster’s Gambit has been triggered…]

[Learnable skills detected…]

[Learnable Skills: Muddy the Waters, Trim the Sails, Desperate Escape, Bluff]

Li Wei: ?

‘Aren’t there any slightly more normal skills I can learn?’