Not far away, Gano was setting up wooden trellises so that the plants would have something to climb in the future. He tied everything with great care and perfectly arranged the rows.

He noticed that one tuft of Fluffgrass already sprouted tendrils. A tiny, delicate green strand barely curling itself around the wooden frame.

Because Yujinno always came here to sunbathe, Gano had gradually begun observing the plants' daily changes alongside him. Plant life was so fragile that even a gust of wind could knock it over. But once roots took hold, sooner or later, they would become the new masters of this planet.

Life was truly miraculous.

Being with Yujinno always brought him strange experiences like this.

This feeling… was probably what people called living.

After finishing his work, Gano walked toward Xi Yujin.

To improve the efficiency of the sunlight exposure, Xi Yujin had even removed his space helmet, and his pink hair shimmered with gradients of silver light. He seemed troubled, probably trying to control the brightness of the illumination.

Gano carefully reviewed the characteristics of Blue Planet people in his mind so he could recognize one immediately if he met another in the future.

Blue Planet people liked close friends.

They liked split personalities.

They enjoyed farming and watching drama unfold.

Their literary standards were extremely high.

They possibly lived on stars.

Their bodies contained minerals.

They could change their hair color.

And now they could glow too.

Blue Planet people…

Could they actually be literal stars?

Just as Gano was observing him closely, Xi Yujin suddenly turned around.

"Gano, don't stare at me silently like that."

Only then did Gano realize how awkward he looked, and his brain instantly short-circuited.

Xi Yujin still didn't let him off.

Crossing over the patches of greenery, he walked closer.

"You need to be more proactive."

Gano felt as though he'd swallowed a lump of cotton.

"P-proactive?"

"You should actively express that you like me," Xi Yujin instructed seriously. "We're a couple."

As Xi Yujin drew closer and closer, Gano didn't dare meet his eyes.

Xi Yujin continued patiently, "You shouldn't secretly stare at people from behind. You should say it directly to their face…"

Then his next sentence was abruptly cut off by Gano's actions, accompanied by the buzzing vibration of insect wings.

N-not that kind of proactive! He just wanted to hear some sweet words!

Today as well, Xi Yujin continued worrying about the difficulties of interspecies romance.

"Hm? Blue Planet's Wenhuo already released a new work? And this time it's a film?"

After finishing three standard meals, Soma received the notification on its wrist device.

Now that it was full and satisfied, it really was the perfect time to watch a movie.

"Did Wenhuo make another romance film? If so, I'm definitely watching it. Pure sweet romance like that is rare these days."

Then it noticed the genre tag for Personality Stealth for the very first time: Crime / Police Drama.

Soma only knew superficial things about Blue Planet, mostly stories about how incredible the diplomat Yujin was and how rich Blue Planet's literary styles were.

It rolled the words police-crime film around in its mind several times and assumed it was probably about law and public order.

Curious to see how brilliantly Blue Planet would handle such a subject, it clicked play.

 

[

Yan Guangrong rummaged frantically through his home and discovered even more evidence proving that he worked as a subordinate in Dark City.

He also found several new forms of the drug Dreamscape.

His hands shook violently.

The other personality had gotten involved in something this massive.

If he ever returned to White City, he'd truly be executed.

So he first submitted a leave request to White City, hoping to hide things for a while.

White City never responded.

Then suddenly, he received a mysterious text message ordering him to inspect cargo at the docks that afternoon.

He tried calling out for Yan Zhaohui, but Yan Zhaohui remained completely silent.

With no other choice, he forced himself to go to the docks.

Watching the enormous quantities of Dreamscape and seeing lower-ranking gang members bow and scrape before him, his scalp went numb.

He realized he had already sunk deep into the mud.

But there was still one chance to redeem himself.

He could deliver Dark City's intelligence to White City and atone for his crimes through merit.

Afterward, he could return to being his respected senior police officer self, and all the ugly deeds committed by the other personality would disappear forever.

Dark City operated with ruthless brutality. It showed no mercy toward traitors, and everyone risked their lives for money.

Yan Guangrong acted cautiously, planning every move carefully.

To save an exposed White City undercover agent, he even shot the spy several times in nonfatal places, then shot himself as well. Only then did the spy gain a chance of survival, while Yan Guangrong earned the gang boss's trust.

Yan Guangrong secured transport authority for the next shipment of Dreamscape.

He planned to hand the shipment over to White City.

]

 

"Finally, there's hope!" Soma muttered excitedly around the spoon in its mouth.

The technology in Personality Stealth wasn't especially advanced; it even felt oddly grounded.

People chased each other on foot, at most riding motorcycles. The firearms themselves were primitive too, with strict regulations preventing people from openly carrying weapons.

Yet somehow, the close-quarters chase scenes created intense tension.

The sharp divide between night and daylight, the collision between neon cyberpunk streets and garden-like urban zones, all of it created a jarring patchwork aesthetic that seemed to symbolize the protagonist's fractured identities, keeping viewers constantly on edge.

Soma has already adapted to the film's fast pacing.

With its literary comprehension, it could sense the foreshadowing buried throughout the story. It understood the atmosphere had already been perfectly established, and the current scenes merely gave viewers room to breathe.

The true climax, the ultimate chase sequence, was still waiting ahead.

Only then would the story truly conclude.

Silently, Soma prayed that Yan Guangrong would succeed and merge his two identities into one.

Then, in the film:

[

Yan Guangrong's secret was exposed.

Dark City's pursuit began.

"As expected, he got discovered," Soma thought nervously as it continued watching. "You have to escape successfully!"

Yan Guangrong still had the private contact number of a White City police officer stored in his phone.

But no matter how many times he called, nobody answered.

Left with no options, he finally dialed a public emergency line.

The moment the call connected, his location was traced.

White City said reinforcements were on the way.

Meanwhile, Dark City chased him relentlessly, even planting explosives.

Former gang underlings high on Dreamscape hacked wildly at civilians with butcher knives.

Yan Guangrong stepped in to stop them, exposing himself in the process, and was forced to flee desperately toward the White City police forces.

But the moment he came face-to-face with White City officers, one of them shot him in the arm.

"Yan Zhaohui! Heaven's net is vast, nothing escapes justice!"

Veins bulged at the officer's temples as he aimed his gun at Yan Guangrong's legs.

"Don't think you can clean your name by turning into a state witness. You don't deserve that kind of life!"

Yan Guangrong dodged the shot.

Several officers rushed to stop the shooter.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Yan Guangrong clutched his wounded arm and fled into a skyscraper, his face filled with terror.

Why…

Why did the White City officers call him Yan Zhaohui?

For the third time, Yan Guangrong used the encrypted contact in his phone to call White City.

Still no answer.

In the distance, police sirens wailed.

White City forces were coming.

But somehow, Yan Guangrong felt they weren't coming to save him.

"Accept reality, Yan Guangrong. Let go of those fantasies about justice."

Yan Zhaohui suddenly appeared again and revealed the horrifying truth.

"You were never a senior officer of White City… You're just a worthless life, an undercover nobody cared about. You're my secondary personality!"

Yan Guangrong's head exploded with pain.

In an instant, his memories rewound.

He was born here.

He once dreamed of becoming a righteous police officer, but because he lacked legal identity registration, that dream was impossible.

Then one day, a senior police officer approached him and persuaded him to become an undercover agent instead, to achieve justice through another identity.

"The White City number in my phone…" Yan Guangrong murmured blankly before suddenly growing emotional. "That was actually the senior officer's number? Then why won't he answer?! I risked my life for him. I nearly died!"

"Because he already died in a White City bombing long ago," Yan Zhaohui replied coldly.

"He's dead. Nobody… nobody will ever acknowledge your undercover identity anymore. Everything you did was meaningless."

Yan Guangrong felt as if struck by lightning.

Yan Zhaohui had sacrificed countless things for his undercover mission…

He used Dreamscape.

He killed people.

He even licked the gang boss's shoes.

Lost between the black and white worlds, he gradually lost himself.

And then the only officer who could prove his righteousness died as well.

He became a rootless driftwood, and amid unbearable suffering, a second personality split off from his mind.

Footsteps echoed across the rooftop.

The sharply dressed Dark City boss walked up, accompanied by a White City police officer.

"Ah Hui, you've worked hard."

The boss looked apologetic as he handed Yan Guangrong a cigarette.

"I confirmed things with Jia Dong. You're not an undercover agent. Looks like someone else inside the gang tricked us."

"Go home and recover properly. Nobody's touching your position."

The boss removed his suit jacket and draped it over Yan Guangrong's bleeding arm.

Then he introduced the White City officer beside him.

"This is Jia Dong, our good brother. We'll have opportunities to cooperate in the future. Do me a favor and take care of each other."

Jia Dong smiled innocently.

Yan Guangrong was speechless.

He watched as Yan Zhaohui smiled too, deep wrinkles creasing his face as he casually slung an arm around Jia Dong's shoulders and chatted familiarly.

Yan Zhaohui enthusiastically introduced the new Dreamscape shipment, excitedly describing how profitable the deal would become once completed.

Yan Guangrong slowly raised his gun.

Yan Zhaohui seemed to realize something and quickly stepped in front of the White City officer.

"Don't do anything stupid!"

"I'm not…"

Yan Guangrong remembered the past:

Eating boxed meals inside dark, sunless apartment buildings.

The sound of stir-frying from the neighboring room drifting close by.

Cigarette butts scattered all over the floor.

He remembered the now-deceased senior officer once living next door to him, telling him:

"You're still young. I'll overlook the car theft this time. But from now on, turn over a new leaf and become a good person."

He remembered attending that officer's memorial service, standing far away in black clothing, crying like a stray dog.

"Sorry. I'm an undercover agent."

He shifted the gun away and shot the explosives in the distance instead.

In an instant, the earth shook violently.

Five years later.

A police officer was giving a lecture to students in a classroom.

"Long ago, there was a third-in-command from Dark City named Yan Mouhui*. Only after reaching middle age did he finally realize the error of his ways. He secretly passed information to White City, helped a White City undercover agent escape, and left behind critical clues for the final anti-drug operation. (T/N: mou (某, "a certain / so-and-so") is a placeholder standing in for the omitted given name.)

But he had walked the wrong road for far too long. Due to excessive drug use, he developed hallucinations and could no longer turn back.

In the end, he died in an explosion."

"So cherish life, and stay away from drugs."

]

 

Soma watched the film end, feeling as though a stone were lodged in its chest.

"In the end… no one from White City ever even knew Yan Guangrong existed…"

It felt deeply melancholic over the disappearance of that righteous personality.

Because it had become so emotionally invested in the protagonist, part of it even wished there were an alternate timeline where Yan Guangrong killed the Dark City boss, rose to power himself, and never returned to White City at all, as long as he survived.

Soma remained emotionally unsettled for a long time and eventually wrote a review:

[

"Personality Stealth explores the identity crisis of undercover agents, how they maintain their sense of justice, how they avoid being consumed by darkness, and how far an undercover operative can go before crossing the line.

The film delicately portrays the extremes of human transformation right before the viewer's eyes.

Its retro yet distinctive chase-and-explosion sequences, its fully realized urban worldbuilding, and its strikingly high-contrast visual style all make this work a rare masterpiece…"

]

 

After posting the long review, Soma browsed through other viewers' comments and was drawn to one in particular.

"Did Yan Guangrong really work undercover?

Everyone's probably wondering why I'm asking this. But after rewatching the movie several times, I realized we never actually see direct conversations between the White City officer and Yan Guangrong about his mission.

At the time, the White City officer only said, 'I believe you're a good person,' before handing him a piece of paper. But why couldn't that paper simply have been a ticket for stealing a car?

Personality Stealth may actually be using cinematic language to deliberately mislead us.

Also, the undercover officer named Jia Dong mentions that there are no records of contact between White City and Yan Zhaohui. Aside from the possibility that the deceased officer deleted the backups, what if those records genuinely never existed?

Maybe everything happened because Yan Zhaohui became addicted to drugs, developed a second personality, and felt overwhelming regret over his past actions.

The film repeatedly features undercover agents, Dark City and White City, planting spies within each other, and layers upon layers of deception. But nobody could have predicted Yan Zhaohui's final actions, because Yan Guangrong himself was the undercover agent who infiltrated Yan Zhaohui's soul…"

"Wait, it could actually be interpreted that way?!"

Many readers, Soma included, were stunned.

"That makes way too much sense… So many details in the film suddenly line up. Wenhuo, was this really your intention?"

"I think the movie still leaves a lot of mysteries unresolved. For example, the senior officer's death feels suspicious somehow. I'm going back for a second viewing."

"Same here. Blue Planet's derivative works are all so good!"

As if responding to that viewer, the discussion among other readers gradually shifted in the same direction.

"Yeah. At first, I thought police-crime films were just a variation of detective stories, but the themes are completely different. There are close-range fights with melee weapons, huge explosions lighting up the sky… I never realized close-combat action scenes could feel this satisfying! And the sense of oppression is incredible."

"I'm a native resident of the Starship Belt. At first, I believed peace was the necessary soil for artistic creation. But this Blue Planet derivative work showed us an aesthetic of violence that we've never encountered before. I admit it, my opinion of Blue Planet has changed."

"This is my first time hearing about Blue Planet. Are the other artists there this talented too? If so, I'm definitely going to start reading literature from this species."

"Replying to the above: yes and no."

"The other Blue Planet novelists are highly skilled and cover many genres, but this Wenhuo is exceptionally talented. His range is absurdly wide."

"Let me count what he's done… psychological short stories, historical biographies, philosophical themes, sweet romance stories, and now a police-crime film. One person wrote all of that?"

"Don't forget that he can also imitate webnovel styles. Back when he mimicked Xunming, it genuinely felt like an entirely different author. And during the Fisherman Cup, he critiqued a huge number of works. It's possible that he actually understands all these genres. Just thinking about that possibility makes my tentacles tremble."

"You're still missing something: he can also produce advanced text-based derivative works. That's not something ordinary novelists can do."

"I searched for the name 'Wenhuo,' but there aren't that many works under it. Where did everyone learn all this?"

"Blue Planet's Wenhuo… is Blue Planet's Yujin."

Wenhuo was actually Yujin?!

Soma suddenly snapped awake.

A friend it had met earlier just happened to be named Wenhuo.

And Wenhuo's lover was named Gano…

Wasn't Blue Planet Yujin's lover also named Gano?

It had become friends with Blue Planet Yujin!

And it had even told him to his face that Seed Odyssey wasn't fun!

Help!!!

Personality Stealth became a massive success, skyrocketing to rank #53.

Meanwhile, Seed Odyssey rose to #143.

Xi Yujin felt rather pleased, but he also noticed something strange.

Why was everyone calling Wenhuo by the name Yujin?

Did he fail somewhere in constructing his alternate identity?

Trying to investigate through outside Black Box networks caused terrible latency, so Xi Yujin decided to personally step in on his own forum and clear things up.

Yujin: "I am not Wenhuo."

The readers instantly burst into laughter.

"Mr. Yujin keeps insisting he isn't Wenhuo. Don't slander the poor man without evidence."

"Exactly. What does Yujin's retirement announcement have to do with Wenhuo? Obviously, Yujin isn't Wenhuo."

"The harder someone denies it, the more they care."

Xi Yujin thought to himself that his alternate identities had always been perfectly separated.

How did he encounter such a catastrophic failure this time?

Probably because there wasn't enough evidence.

He'd have to bring out some of his other identities as supporting proof.

Xunming's persona was the least serious. If he suddenly came forward to seriously deny things, everyone would surely believe it.

So beneath Yujin's reply, Xunming quickly appeared.

Xunming: "Wenhuo really isn't Yujin."

The readers became even more entertained.

"Poor Xunming… If you've been kidnapped, blink twice. What kind of methods did Yujin use to force you into saying this?"

"Xunming, do you regret challenging Yujin back then? Maybe things wouldn't have gotten this bad."

"Maybe Xunming's image is too unreliable. I need someone more trustworthy…"

Xi Yujin brought out Jung's identity next.

The readers wailed dramatically.

"Ms. Jung loves her work too much, please don't treat everything like work!"

"Does Yujin dock your salary if you refuse?"

"Major exposé in Blue Planet literary circles! The highly respected Yujin secretly does this kind of thing behind the scenes!"

Xi Yujin was full of question marks.

So he sent out Yongye's identity for another attempt.

Yongye was somewhere between reliable and unreliable. Surely that would be convincing?

"At this point, I fully believe in Mr. Yujin's status. In my mind, Yongye has evolved from an interstellar scammer into the kind of high school boy who gets dragged out of class by the teacher and forced to stand in the hallway as punishment."

"And Xunming from the neighboring classroom is standing there too, right?"

The readers were having a wonderful time.

Meanwhile, Xi Yujin fell silent.

Something was definitely wrong here!

He had to prove his ability to maintain alternate identities!

For the next genre, he needed to pick something especially distinctive!

Beside him, Gano watched the entire spectacle unfold.

He knew that Yujinno's multiple-personality obsession was acting up again, so he quietly added another note to his little notebook about Blue Planet people's hobbies.

The two boarded a spacecraft and returned to SYE-1832, flying close to the surrounding planets.

At present, the two planets nearest the star have already completed works associated with them. The remaining planets were all too cold, covered in frost as far as the eye could see.

Xi Yujin had some inspiration, but nothing unique enough yet.

In the end, he circled around the fourth planet, which was a gas giant.

That meant it lacked a rocky surface suitable for landing and was composed mostly of gases. Of course, that didn't mean it truly lacked a solid core. Anyone traveling through the gas giant would first encounter thick layers of hydrogen and other gases. As one descended deeper, the pressure would increase, eventually leading to liquid hydrogen oceans. Going deeper still, the pressure would become so immense that metallic hydrogen would form.

Gas giants were usually enormous.

The spacecraft Xi Yujin and Gano were riding could withstand tremendous pressure, so Xi Yujin decided to descend into the gas giant to scout future filming locations in advance.

The storms inside were extremely violent.

They could only rely on the route displayed by the detection instruments.

Suddenly, the scanners detected a massive object ahead.

Xi Yujin immediately redirected all scanning equipment toward it.

The imaging became clearer and clearer.

It was actually an asteroid!

Its surface looked dirty red, perhaps rich in iron.

Maybe an outside celestial body had once been torn apart by the gas giant. Or perhaps this asteroid had originally been part of the planet itself.

But somehow, though seemingly impossibly, it still existed here.

The irregular sphere measured only about six thousand kilometers across. Its own gravity distorted the surrounding storm currents, creating a violent anticyclonic system around it.

It continuously tore itself apart, ejecting fragments into space, while simultaneously dragging portions of the gas giant's core upward, causing the atmospheric density nearby to spike dramatically.

From the outside, it looked as though two tornadoes pierced through either end of the asteroid.

The swirling dirty-red debris resembled a rose blooming within a desert.

"How incredible…"

Xi Yujin's eyes widened slightly as the sight struck him speechless.

Lowering his gaze, he murmured softly, already knowing what he wanted to create next.

"In the beginning, all was chaos…"

"And then Pangu separated the clear and the turbid qi, and thus heaven and earth were born…"