The man who screamed was named Chen Fan. He was looking for his dorm but accidentally ended up on the wrong floor. When he saw the chaotic scene inside the dance studio, he was so scared he fell straight to the floor.

His family wasn't well-off and had no special skills, but he was lucky to be good-looking. Thanks to his face, he had received quite a few benefits. Though he'd been through some minor hardships, he'd never experienced anything truly traumatic—unlike his brothers, who had to fight for survival in some polluted zone.

This elective course really came at the perfect time—just like getting a pillow when you're feeling sleepy. If he could become a star, he wouldn't have to worry about starving ever again.

He even felt that Su Su wasn't as good-looking as him! With that mindset, he confidently showed up at this strange company in the middle of the night.

And sure enough, this place was like heaven for him. He even got an S-class badge—wasn't that a sign from the heavens? Everything in this place, wasn't it all for him to enjoy?

But when he arrived at the dance studio, he never expected to see something so terrifying.

Countless skinless monsters were tearing and biting each other like they were fighting over something. The scene was bloody, violent, and visually overwhelming.

What the hell are those things?!

He sat on the ground, trembling all over as he supported himself with both hands.

Then he heard footsteps behind him. When he turned his head, he saw a young man wearing black-framed glasses and another boy with a collar around his neck.

With his sharp eyes, he immediately saw what kind of face was hiding behind those black-rimmed glasses!

How could someone look this good?!

Without realizing it, his attention was completely drawn to the man with glasses. He stared, clearly mesmerized.

"What's going on?" the young man with glasses asked. Even his voice was infuriatingly pleasant. "Are you okay?"

His eyes were like the deepest lake, his black hair like the richest silk—every single feature hit Chen Fan's aesthetic sweet spot.

Heat flushed across Chen Fan's face: "I, I…"

His eyes darted around and happened to land on the B-class badge in the other's hand. He was instantly speechless. Were these people blind? This guy was already this attractive and gentle, and they gave him a B-class badge?!

The black-haired youth looked concerned. "What did you see?"

That question snapped Chen Fan back to reality. He looked pale. "There were so many ghosts in the dance studio…"

The door to the dance studio was opaque, so Ruan Xing had to open it to see inside. Just as he reached for the door, Lulu appeared out of nowhere: "What are you all doing here?"

Ruan Xing’s hand was still on the doorknob. "He said there were ghosts, so we came to take a look."

Lulu chuckled: "What era are we in? And you are still believing such nonsense? Why are you all on this floor? This floor is for trainees undergoing reconditioning."

He pointed at the dance room: "You can't disturb other people's practice."

Seeing that none of them moved, Lulu sighed: "Fine, take a look if you want."

He knocked on the door and opened it. The room was completely empty.

"Looks like they left to eat." He shrugged.

Chen Fan looked even worse: "But I clearly saw a bunch of monsters in there just now…"

Lulu's smile faded: "Just because you got an S-class badge doesn't mean you can say whatever you want. Our company has strict rules against slandering others."

Chen Fan fell silent and instinctively looked at Ruan Xing.

Ruan Xing said, "We're too tired since we pulled an all-nighter. Even with supplements, we're still out of it. We'd like to go back and rest first."

Lulu's smile returned as he looked at Chen Fan: "Have a good sleep. When you wake up, everything here will feel normal."

Since an outsider was present, the boy with the black neck collar—Li Yuan—didn't say anything else. The group found the dorms and brought Chen Fan back. But when he saw the room only had one bed, he refused to stay alone no matter what and insisted on finding someone to stay with him. He especially wanted Ruan Xing to keep him company.

Ruan Xing didn't mind and simply gave the bed to Chen Fan, then went to the S-room himself.

Fu Gui commented lazily:

[A sincere heart thrown to a blind man.]

Ruan Xing replied:

[I don't get what you're saying.]

At this moment—on the top floor of the Beautiful Building.

From the decor, it was clear the owner had a taste for luxury.

On a velvet black sofa, a handsome man lounged comfortably, his feet resting on the lap of a beautiful woman. Holding a wine glass, he looked relaxed as his gaze fixed on the large screen nearby.

The screen was playing some footage—if Ruan Xing were there, he'd recognize it immediately. It was today's surveillance recording inside the classroom.

The man squinted slightly, staring at the scene of Chen Fan holding the S-badge.

He licked his lips: "This one's not bad."

The woman serving as his footrest nodded: "Yeah, he is."

The man added, "I wonder if he'll make it past the competition. If he does, I get to enjoy him. If not, I'll just enjoy his skin."

The woman's facial skin began to melt slowly as if she was showing agreement.

The man clicked his tongue: "Should've taken some meds."

The woman didn't move. Her skin collapsed entirely, revealing a pink bullfrog-like core underneath.

Annoyed, the man kicked her aside. Her pink, fleshy interior began to wriggle again. Like some kind of crawling creature, she dragged herself into a corner and trembled there.

"The core was carefully selected and still couldn't perfectly sync with the skin. If that kid hadn't killed so many employees, I wouldn't have needed to test this half-finished product…"

He muttered to himself and opened another bottle from the wine cabinet.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

The handsome man grumbled, "Come in."

A slightly chubby figure entered and removed his hat and mask—it was Luo Shi. When he saw the peeled-skin creature in the corner, he froze: "What's this for?"

"Let's talk business," the man said, pouring another drink and sitting back down, ignoring the woman on the floor.

"What happened today? How did you mess up?" Luo Shi immediately asked.

The handsome man suddenly smashed his glass: "How the hell would I know? Some cat-nosed freak said I smelled bad and almost exposed me in front of everyone!"

Luo Shi was stunned: "No way! You couldn't beat him?"

"It's not about beating him or not! I couldn't let this skin go to waste, right? You know better than I do what happens when a contract breaks. If he shouted to kill me in public, all I could do was run!"

The man cursed under his breath. "Good thing I ran fast. I put the original goods in the skin as a decoy. Otherwise, I'd be the one in trouble now."

Luo Shi murmured, "How could he have changed so much? Are you sure it's really him?"

The handsome man said, "I sent the ticket, picked the camera, and even the photo is exactly the same. What, you think he's a pollutant like me and swapped skins?"

"You're always doubting me. Am I really that bad?! If you're so capable, why don't you do it yourself!" The handsome man snapped in frustration. "I'm done with this job. There's a difference between people. This guy is hard to deal with. If I get dragged into this, I'm finished. I have too much at stake..."

Luo Shi slapped him across the face. "If it were easy for me to handle, I wouldn't have come to you. Listen carefully; you're already being watched. If you don't kill him, you're in danger too. And this guy has a close relationship with Fu Zhi. If the Tower finds out about any of this, you know what the consequences will be."

When he heard those two words, the handsome man's body trembled violently. "U-understood."

Luo Shi left, leaving the handsome man gasping for breath as he collapsed on the sofa. On the screen, the image of a plain-looking young man with black-rimmed glasses was completely ignored by him.

Living alone was such a delight—having a private bathroom and a big bed all to himself. After taking a shower, Ruan Xing went straight to sleep. When he woke up, refreshed and well-rested, the announcement system was already calling for an assembly.

Li Yuan was surprised to see how energized Ruan Xing looked. "You slept well?"

Ruan Xing nodded. The room was spacious and quiet, perfect for a good sleep. Only after proper rest could one have the energy to fight!

Chen Fan joined them too, with heavy dark circles under his eyes, clearly lacking sleep.

The group chatted casually. Throughout the conversation, Li Yuan subtly hinted at the idea of leaving early. Chen Fan, however, didn't seem to catch on, but Ruan Xing found it odd.

Even if his brother was missing and he was investigating, he could have pretended to be just another trainee. And who put that collar around his neck?

The restriction of certain words implied there was another force involved.

The trainees whispered among themselves. Soon, Lulu walked in, followed by a stunningly beautiful person.

It was hard to say if the person was male or female—mature and composed, with a cool, ethereal presence. They were both exceptionally beautiful and handsome at the same time. Gender simply didn't seem to apply. They possessed a kind of dynamic beauty as if everyone could see their ideal type reflected in them.

Next to them, Lulu—who was actually quite pretty—looked plain and ordinary.

Ruan Xing observed everyone's reactions quietly. They all stared unblinkingly at the newcomer as if they had seen a peerless beauty. Even Chen Fan was completely stunned.

Lulu smiled slightly. "This is our instructor for this training and selection. They're the company's next up-and-coming star and the one who will decide which of you moves on to the next stage."

The collared Li Yuan looked terrified. When he met Ruan Xing's gaze, they saw the same seriousness in each other's eyes.

To Ruan Xing, the person behind Lulu was not a divine beauty at all. "It" was covered in a sticky, reddish-brown liquid. Bumps on its chest and back were actually human faces with eyes closed in slumber. It looked like a grotesque, skinless, multi-faced monster.

And that same foul stench from earlier was even more potent on this person.

Only the two of them could see this abnormality. Everyone else looked ready to fall in love with the creature.

What was the difference?

The only thing Ruan Xing and Li Yuan had done differently was not drinking that strange supplement.

Fu Gui: [That drink earlier must have had hallucinogenic components. Everyone who drank it is now under its influence.]

Whether it had other functions remained unknown.

When the instructor spoke, their voice was bizarre—like a mashup of many voices layered together, echoey and discordant.

But to Chen Fan, it was the voice of an angel. Perfect face, perfect voice—this was his second time falling in love today.

Ruan Xing looked at him and thought: [What Chen Fan saw in the dance room earlier was probably real.]

Fu Gui: [What makes you think that?]

Ruan Xing: [At noon, the drug might not have fully taken effect, which is why he saw the truth. Now that it's fully digested, they only see what they're meant to see.]

The instructor announced they would begin the first round of selection immediately, and the first test was based on appearance.

"I know you're all wondering—faces are something you're born with. Why judge something innate?"

The instructor sighed. "We're not looking for absolute beauty but faces with high potential for transformation. A star's image is never static. You need to have a face that can be convincingly molded—with help."

Chen Fan was the first to step up. "Instructor, do you think I can pass?"

The instructor smiled. "I love natural beauties the most."

That meant he passed. Chen Fan blushed slightly and looked carefully at Ruan Xing—the person he once briefly liked—hoping he could pass too.

Ruan Xing opened the small box beside everyone's table. Inside was a complete set of makeup products. The packaging looked familiar.

A memory popped into his head—rows of young people without facial skin inside the dressing room, frantically slathering foundation on their exposed faces.

Were those the ones eliminated in the first round?

Ruan Xing took out the top layer of makeup only to find another layer underneath: a complete set of surgical tools—a scalpel, scissors, clamps, tweezers, gauze, and even a bone saw. They lay cold and gleaming at the bottom.

He looked at the instructor. "Aren't the tools a bit off?"

The instructor smiled. "Any method that helps you become beautiful is acceptable."

Ruan Xing pointed at Lulu. "Can I become beautiful painlessly like him?"

Instructor: "Lulu went through all of this too."

"Oh."

Who would cut their own face? That's insane.

Yet, to Ruan Xing's surprise, except for a few like Chen Fan, who were confident in their looks, many had already picked up scalpels and were measuring their faces.

Their eyes were full of desperation and desire. When the instructor started speaking, that rotten stench seemed to return—perhaps in combination with the lingering effects of the earlier drug. The result was a dangerously heavy atmosphere.

The instructor walked up to Ruan Xing and handed him a saw, smiling. "Come on. This is your chance to become whoever you want to be."

The young man raised his head. "I don't need that kind of opportunity."

With that, Ruan Xing took off his glasses.