The Devil’s Cage

Kieran looked up and sized up the middle-aged man carefully.

Somehow the smile on the man’s face disappeared, leaving behind a strange, mysterious expression; his eyes were shining in greed as well.

It seemed like the director would not tell Kieran what the second stage would be without getting something in return.

“No.” Kieran shook his head.

Cheating to win a battle might seem easy, but you would lose the war.

Kieran believed it firmly.

Just like when you are playing a fun game, you changed the settings of your character just for some temporary fun, but in the end, you would feel different because you lost the chance to experience the game to its fullest.

More importantly, Kieran will not believe in free pie falling from the sky.

The hint from Lyn Amie, the makeup artist who just left, was too obvious.

The director didn’t expect a definite rejection, he couldn’t help but be astonished.

Though he returned to normal right away, his face showed that kind smile again.

“I’m just joking. How can a mere second director like me know the confidential contents in the upcoming stages.”

“It’s nice to meet you, 2567. May the odds be in your favor.”

The second director then quickly left the dressing room as if nothing happened.

However, Kieran looked at the man’s back, his eyes squinted. Despite the second director covering up his words just now, Kieran still caught some hints in between the lines.

When the man referred to himself as the ‘second director,’ he unconsciously emphasized the intonation and pronunciation, and on the word ‘confidential,’ his kind smile had an extra sense of mockery.

Kieran believed his dressing room was not the last place the director visited, and he also thought he would not be the last to reject the director.

The temptation to rocket into fame overnight was too vast, to the point that a lot of people would give in on their persistence. Many people may view this ‘give in’ as something reasonable, something that didn’t go against their own endurance.

Or maybe…

The other people’s persistence was to rocket into fame overnight from the start.

Who knows?

Kieran sat and leaned back on his chair again, he started to perfect his plan, and at the same time, he needed chances like this, but he would choose his own way to approach it.

Dok Dok Dok.

Knocks sounded on the door.

It was Lyn Amie at the door with a tray in his hand. On top of the tray were two paper teacups, and a paper plate with many pastries and snacks.

Kieran glanced over the tray.

“Come in,” he said.

“This is the afternoon tea set the TV station prepared.”

“Coffee, cookies, and mango mousse.”

“Do you need creamer and sugar?” Lyn Amie went up front to Kieran.

“I’ll help myself.”

Kieran received the tray. He added a nice amount of creamer and sugar in the coffee before taking the cookies. The cookies’ warmth was proof that they were fresh out of the oven.

The sweetness spread on the tip of Kieran’s tongue, it eased up his ice-cold expression

Then, he went for the mango mousse.

Unlike the freshly baked cookies, which were warm, the mango mousse was obviously just taken out from the refrigerator, it was still cold enough when served.

Kieran was sure the inside was frozen solid, he should have placed it around for a while before he could get the best mouthfeel from the mousse, but Kieran took a piece and ate it nevertheless.

The icy cold sweetness followed tightly behind the warm, sweetness from the cookies.

The sweetness from different temperature was obviously distinctive, but when both combined, it formed a rather subtle sense of comfort and delight together with satisfaction.

Kieran squinted his eyes, he took a sip off the coffee and further squinted his eyes into a single line.

Unlike the fresh aroma of tea, the richness of the coffee had substantial bitterness, hence offsetting the creamer and sugar, making them the best compliments to a cup of coffee.

The substance became rich and flavourful, it was effortless to drink.

While under Lyn Amie’s awestruck gaze, the remaining snacks and coffee on the tray vanished at an exponential speed.

“Thank you.” Kieran thanked the makeup artist after he gobbled down the last piece of cookie.

“You didn’t have lunch?” he asked.

“I did,” Kieran answered.

“Then?” Lym Amie pointed at the tray with a confused gaze.

“I just have a healthy appetite,” Kieran replied seriously.

“Then, do you want more?”

Lyn Amie looked at the empty tray and recalled how Kieran ate the snacks. His saliva couldn’t help but overflow in his mouth, hunger rushed to his mind and made him eager to have something to eat right away. Of course, he didn’t forget about Kieran.

“Sure,” Kieran nodded without a second thought.

After Lyn Amie served the fourth tray of snacks to Kieran, Kieran’s name was called again.

It was the assistant director named Li that he saw before.

The assistant director was looking at Kieran with heightened caution and was moving his slightly chubby body.

The TV station was a place where news spread rapidly. The things that happened to the host, the cameraman and the lighting personnel spread like wildfire within the station in just a few short hours.

‘It’s like being targeted by a fearsome beast!’

‘My body is shaking, and I can’t control them!’

‘I almost cried out loud!’

Such descriptions were everywhere, despite those who uttered those things never indeed saw Kieran before.

Plus, the segment of the show was named ‘Shaman’ anyway, any rumors would add up on Kieran naturally.

The mysterious was always that attracting, not just because it represented the unknown, more importantly, the unknown brought fear.

Just like the Assistant Director, Li. As he looked at Kieran, he felt like he was seen through from top to bottom, including the good and the bad.

“Y-You, come with me.”

The assistant director stuttered and quickly walked down the stairs.

If it was possible, the assistant director didn’t want to approach Kieran at all, just like the host, Mikes, who refused to host the segment where Kieran might appear.

Unfortunately, the assistant director has no power like Mike, all he could do was comply and end contact with Kieran as quick as possible.

Kieran followed the assistant director, and both of them quickly reached the studio downstairs.

Unlike before, where Kieran was stuck with the host, cameraman and lighting personnel, the studio site had hundreds of people in the audience.

When Kieran walked into the studio, the audience applauded.

It seemed like the audience watched Kieran’s past performance, but it didn’t exclude the possibility that the audience was just doing their ‘job.’

To fill the studio with people and make it less empty for the filming of the show, some temporary actors were required. These people would have to sit for hours continuously just to get a meal’s pay, they might seem cheap, but many were still up for the job because of the curiosity towards show business, especially youngsters.

At that moment, many of the audience were youngsters. Kieran glanced over the audience, and these youngsters looked at Kieran as well.

Compared to the other participants, Kieran was too ordinary.

He didn’t have a crystal ball, no magic staff, no feather decorations, not even some colorful, mysterious tattoo.

He was ordinary, plain, and dull.

Other than his cold and expressionless face that would raise attention, Kieran was a complete passerby. His image didn’t fit the rumored ‘shamans.’

The thoughts of the audience also represented the other participants.

The other four participants who dressed in all sorts of weird outfits stood at the other corner of the stage, they were showing disdain or looking provocatively at Kieran until the voice of the host, Mikes entered the studio—

“Welcome, ladies and gentlemen!”

“I am Mikes, your beloved host!”

“Because of some technical difficulties, I have to be away from the stage for a while! So let me pass the stage to our participants!”

The stage trembled softly after the host finished.

Three perfectly sealed one squared meter boxes, came up from the lower compartment of the stage.

“See these three boxes?”

“We have arranged a special item inside one of these boxes. Candidates, all you have to do is stand in front of the box that you think holds the item we have arranged.”

“Now, shall we begin?”

The moment the voice of the host subsided from the stage, the 4 weirdly dressed participants went straight to the box on the most right.

Kieran? He chose the middle one.