Deep in the Living

Chapter 675 The Coward

Jock tilted his head and stood next to the black photography studio. The obese figure waving at him was so enigmatic that he couldn't see through it at first glance.

To get a better feel for the experience, you'll be blocked by a dark curtain, as if you're in the audience seats on a stage, unable to see what's behind the curtain.

However, Jock wasn't worried at all.

He understood Roddy's mindset perfectly, knew exactly what Roddy wanted to do by inviting him over, and was also well aware that this was absolutely a fair one-on-one match.

This is his only chance to correct his mistake after standing in the wrong place. As long as he survives, he will have a chance to turn things around.

Jock crossed the police line and stood before the portly middle-aged man.

The mist swirling around the body refused to get close to the other, as if it were afraid of something, as if it would be swallowed up if it got too close.

Snapped!
A roll of paper hit Jock directly on the head.

"Why are you dawdling like this? According to Roddy's description, you should be a very efficient actor... Here is your simplified script."

The role you will be playing is yourself. There are no restrictions on lines or anything. The main thing you need to remember is when to go where, and how to express your emotions and feelings at crucial moments.

Come into the dressing room first, and we'll apply your makeup while you read the script.

By the way, let me introduce myself. I'm David, the general director of this film. The film's title hasn't been decided yet; I'll decide based on the final product.

Jock didn't refuse or question it. He forced a stiff smile and obediently followed behind the other person into the dark photography studio.

The seemingly ordinary-sized photography studio has a surprisingly spacious interior.

Led by Director David, they arrived at the dressing room, where Wu Wen was in charge of the makeup.

Various paint buckets were already placed around the dressing table.

On the clothes rack was Jock's favorite overalls set.

Director David also stood by, supervising the entire process to ensure that the makeup was flawless and that it matched the character's image in the script.

Jock was completely at ease, even fully immersing himself in the role, transforming into a highly paid actor and enjoying the makeup process.

Take off your clothes,

The body, covered in fat, is fully exposed, and the sagging belly can be used as a cover for privacy.

Creak! The metal bearings creaked under the pressure when I sat on the chair.

Two slender, fair arms reached out from behind him, holding paintbrushes and moving them back and forth on his body, beginning to paint with white paint.

Suddenly, Jock grabbed his arm and licked it with his tongue.

To my surprise, the sensation my tongue received was strange; it didn't feel like I was licking skin, but rather like I was licking a velvet fabric.

Turning my head to look,
Wu Wen was standing to the side, responsible for mixing paint colors, and didn't apply makeup to him at all.

Standing behind him was only David, and strangely, David's two hands were busy tearing open potato chip packaging.

The arm that did Joker's makeup was a demonic arm that grew out of David's eye socket, a kind of arm that didn't belong to this dimension.

David, his mouth full of potato chip crumbs, said softly, "You have this kind of fetish? It's a bit disgusting... If your performance is effective, I don't mind playing along."

These words seemed to guide Jock's thoughts.

He felt himself being dragged onto a pitch-black stage, with a full audience of all kinds of dark-skinned people wearing animal masks.

More than twenty fat Davids surged out from the backstage, rushing towards him naked, as if to put on an avant-garde drama.

Once the fog reset his mind, Jock breathed a sigh of relief; the makeup applied to him was finished.

Looking at myself in the makeup mirror,
Jock seemed to have returned to his youthful state, back to the way he looked when he was about to enter the corner, and even seemed to have lost a lot of fat.

The only flaw is the missing arm.

However, just as he was admiring the perfect makeup...

Suddenly, the mirror reflected a face of David, but this face was no longer kind; instead, it became eerie, with black curtains covering the eyes and a faint smile on the corner of the mouth.

"Hey! We agreed to read the script while getting your makeup done, but you haven't read a single word. We're running out of time, so we'll have to force-feed you this."

Jock suddenly realized the danger and tried to seal his senses and mind with fog, but it was too late.

The curtain between David's eyes suddenly opened.
A deep gaze formed between them.

Throughout the journey, David actively engaged in "contact" with Jock, including verbal exchanges, physical touch, and the previous intrusion into his consciousness.

A balloon-like brain structure was laid bare before David.

Countless hellish arms from the Grand Theatre touched the surface of Jock's brain, touching its deep memories and slowly extracting his "id script".

At this moment, the details of Jock's life appear in David's hands in the form of a script.

David was quite pleased with this experience and nodded repeatedly.
"Your experience is very interesting, you are a truly excellent monster... It's a pity you weren't born in hell, otherwise you would definitely have performed very well in the evil play."

Go for it! Go and give your true self a performance; you're the lead in this movie.

I'm really looking forward to your performance.

……

Chapter 1. The Timid

The rain poured down.

In a typical private hospital in Mars City, a baby boy was born. The expectant couple noticed upon seeing their newborn that his eyes were wide-set, his nose was low, and he had almost no neck. After a preliminary examination, the doctor delivered the bad news: the newborn had Down syndrome.

Seven years later.

Bratos Special Education School welcomed a new batch of students, and at the very bottom of the list was the name "Jock Dean".

With his fair skin, ugly appearance, obvious obesity, and intellectual disability, Jock quickly became the subject of "discussion" in the class.

Even in special education schools, there are still distinctions in status.

Jock didn't realize the problem; he just thought everyone was playing along with him.

The school often organizes students to watch TV, and Jock always watches very attentively when the clown shows are on. He likes the characters and their colorful and funny appearance.

Every time the clown laughs, he laughs along and imitates the actions.

His classmates took the opportunity to pull away his chair, causing him to fall over.

Jock wasn't angry at all; in fact, he laughed along with his classmates, as if he had made them laugh.

this day,

The school is undergoing renovations.

A bucket of white paint was left forgotten at the end of the corridor and was found by a classmate.

They tricked Jock into the bathroom, took off his clothes, and covered his entire body in white paint.

Jock wasn't angry at all; instead, he felt like he was becoming just like the clown on TV, and he danced around with joy.

The teacher quickly found the place, only to find Jock holding a paintbrush and painting his face.

He was severely punished, cried for the first time, and began to hide in corners, burying his head in his body.

As we age, and with the need to take medication regularly every day.

Although Jock has intellectual disabilities, his self-awareness is slowly developing. However, the bullying from his classmates and the teachers' dislike of him not only did not stop, but became even more extreme.

Getting beaten up was a common occurrence.

He also learned to read people's expressions; if he saw anything unusual in his classmates' eyes, he knew he was about to get beaten. He would even go to the bathroom and bury his head in his body.

Because once we get this beating, we won't get beaten up for the rest of the day.

In order to lessen the pain and to survive, Jock would eat a lot each time, trying to gain as much weight as possible.

On my tenth birthday.

Completely ostracized, Jock is left to single-handedly manage the school's most troublesome task: sanitation in the wooded area. During his busy work, he discovers a stray cat.

very strange,
This cat is different from the people at school. This cat will approach him on its own initiative, lick him, and even let him pet it. It will not hit him, scold him, or smear paint on him.

For the first time, Jock felt a strange emotion, as if he had gained a completely new understanding of the world.

Since then,

He would always stuff some food into his pockets while eating, and would sneak into that wooded area to feed the cat.

slowly,
Deep within his blurred mind, something called "emotion" was born.

Because of this cat, even while being beaten up, Jock would occasionally smile.

Half a year passed just like that.

When Jock returned to the woods to feed the cat, it had given birth to many kittens.

For some reason, Jock burst into tears upon seeing this scene, and then began to dance a comical dance he had learned by imitating clowns on television, the only thing he could call "knowledge".

Considering that there were more kittens to feed, Jock brought more food each day, and this detail was noticed.

A week later,

When Jock arrived in the woods, surprisingly no cats came looking for him.

He began to feel anxious, uneasy, and even fearful. He searched everywhere and even missed classes.

He was quickly caught by the teacher and taken back, where he received a severe scolding.

When he returned to the dormitory looking disheveled, his roommates were unusually quiet.

When he lifted the covers,
The severed heads of wild cats lay on the bed, and the stained blades were placed next to the pillow.

Suddenly, laughter from the students came from all around again.

He had heard this laughter since he was a child and was used to it... But today, for some reason, the laughter became unusually sharp and piercing, penetrating his body and soul.

suddenly,

Jock also heard some kind of sound.

It sounded like it was coming from inside the body of a dead cat.
It sounded like it was coming from the corner of the toilet.

It was like a voice coming from the depths of his mind.

"Would you like to... come in?"

Jock's mind, which had been shrouded in mist for so long, suddenly became incredibly clear.

(End of this chapter)