125: Chapter 124 Super Planet of the Apes

The world went dark in an instant, her vision obscured by a coarse wool mesh, allowing her to see only the blurred lights, shadows, and outlines of the outside world. Her nose caught a faint scent of a brand-new synthetic fiber product, and... a subtle, lingering aura of shame. The mask pressed tightly against her face; the white lines forming the "wicked grin" expression were positioned right over her eyes and mouth. From the outside, she looked like a standard, wide-grinning little black shadow figure.

She froze on the spot, motionless, like a freshly unearthed black statue filled with resentment.

"Pfft—!"

An abrupt, completely unrestrained burst of laughter came from Kim Chaewon's direction.

Immediately after, Hitomi gasped, then slammed her hand over her mouth, but the sound of her shoulders shaking violently was unmistakable.

Jo Yuri (wearing the mask) slowly and extremely stiffly turned toward them. Although her expression was hidden, that static "wicked grin" mask, combined with her currently rigid posture, created an indescribable and massive comedic contrast.

"No... I'm sorry... Yuri..." Kim Chaewon clutched her stomach, trying to explain, but before she could finish, she erupted into an even louder fit of laughter. "Hahahahaha! I'm sorry! Really... but you look like this... Hahaha! It's... it's too perfect! That sneaky vibe came out all at once!!"

Hitomi also completely lost it, letting go of her mouth as tears of laughter began to well up. She pointed at Jo Yuri and said brokenly, "Yuri... you... standing there... not moving... with that mask... you look like... like an evil robot that suddenly crashed... Hahahaha!"

The two of them were laughing so hard they were practically a heap on the floor; Kim Chaewon was even exaggeratedly slapping the ground, while Hitomi was doubled over, gasping for breath. The pressure and anxiety of the past few days seemed to collapse in the moment they saw their best friend in that ridiculous mask, washed away by the impact of this hilarious scene and transformed into uncontrollable laughter.

Jo Yuri (wearing the mask): "..."

She silently "watched" her two teammates, who had completely abandoned their image in their laughter. No one knew her true expression under the mask, but through those white lines of the wicked grin, one could almost feel a cold aura named "shame and indignation" spreading.

Strangely, however, as she listened to her teammates' merciless laughter, the initial feeling of extreme shame passed, and a tightly wound string in Jo Yuri's heart seemed to... snap.

Might as well throw caution to the wind.

It was already like this anyway.

Idol baggage? Dignity? In the face of a hundred thousand views, dinner, and Producer Jiang Zhi Yu's devilish script, they were all but clouds.

She slowly raised her hand, which was clad in a black wool glove (matching the prop box), touched the wicked grin mask on her head, and then, using a deliberately lowered, breathy voice as she tried to inhabit the "thief" character, she spoke in a muffled tone:

"...Hey... stop laughing..."

"If you keep laughing... I'll steal... all the Snickers..."

She even tried to mimic the mask's expression by slightly tilting her head (though it couldn't be seen from the outside).

"Hahahahaha!!!" Kim Chaewon and Hitomi laughed even harder, almost rolling around in each other's arms.

"Yuri!! You... you're actually adding scenes for yourself!!" Kim Chaewon shouted through her laughter.

"That's the feeling! So sneaky! Yuri! Keep it up!" Hitomi wiped away her tears of laughter, not forgetting to offer encouragement (?).

Jo Yuri (wearing the mask) stood there, listening to her teammates' laughter and feeling the last remnants of her shame gradually erode away in the noise. Well, although the process was tragic, the atmosphere... really seemed to have livened up?

She took another deep breath (it was a bit stuffy inside the mask) and then, with an even more "all-in" tone, said to the two who were still laughing:

"...Stop laughing! Get ready, quick!"

"Aren't you going to chase me? Isn't there a dance battle? Aren't there water guns going biu biu biu?"

She turned toward the door, the wicked grin mask looking exceptionally comical as it rotated.

"Operation start!"

"I'm going to 'steal' the Snickers now!"

With that, she set off, moving toward the few "decoy" Snickers bars the production crew had prepared on the table with a tiptoeing—yet clumsy due to the poor visibility of the mask—stride that even she found hilarious.

Kim Chaewon and Hitomi finally managed to stop laughing. They glanced at each other, seeing a burning fighting spirit in each other's eyes—a mix of "let's just do it" and "we have to film this well."

"Good! Action!" Kim Chaewon quickly picked up the Fart cushion and gave Hitomi a look.

Hitomi nodded, picked up a juice bottle, and hid behind the door.

The cameras (a multi-angle setup involving the production crew's VJ and their own phones) were aimed at the black figure in the wicked grin mask who was "sneakily" reaching for the Snickers.

The moment Jo Yuri completely "sacrificed" her image by putting on the mask, Group B's viral TikTok challenge officially entered an absurd yet energetic filming phase! Producer Jiang Zhi Yu's "devilish script" was being turned into reality, bit by bit, through the shame and laughter of the three girls.

Jo Yuri—no, at this moment, she should be called the "Wicked Grin Shadow Figure"—was moving through the narrow space of the apartment in the most "sneaky" posture she could imagine. With her vision restricted by the wool mask, she had to carefully feel out her steps, her hands (clad in matching black gloves) slightly extended forward like a black spider lost in a cream maze.

Her goal was clear: those Snickers bars on the coffee table shining with a "sinful light."

"Shh... shh..." She even made onomatopoeic sounds from her throat that she thought were quiet but were actually quite clear in the silent room, trying to create a "master thief" atmosphere. The fixed wicked grin on the mask formed a brilliant contrast with her currently clumsy and cautious movements; the VJ behind the monitor was already shaking from holding back laughter.

Just as the "Shadow Figure's" fingertips were about to touch the gold packaging—

"Bang!"

The room door was suddenly pushed open!

"There is always only one truth!"

A clear shout, full of righteousness (and a 100% imitation of the classic detective conan line in Japanese), rang out!

At the door, Kim Chaewon had somehow conjured a pair of black-rimmed glasses and quickly perched them on her nose. Her right index finger pointed coolly into the room, while her left hand... tightly gripped that yellow Fart cushion. Her posture was a bit mismatched, but her eyes (behind the lenses) tried hard to project the sharp gaze of a detective.

She had even draped a dark jacket taken from a VJ over her shoulders, barely cosplaying the feel of a detective's suit.

The "Shadow Figure" Jo Yuri was startled by this sudden entrance and dialogue, nearly dropping the Snickers she had just grabbed. She froze in place, the wicked grin on her mask appearing as if it had solidified.

"Nani??! (What??!)" A muffled Japanese exclamation, full of shock and a sense of "what kind of script is this now," came from under the mask. Jo Yuri subconsciously used Japanese, perfectly fitting the absurd atmosphere of the "Conan plot."

"Hmph! You sneaky little thief!" Kim Chaewon pushed up her non-existent reflective lenses (the glasses didn't have that feature), trying her best to maintain her master detective aura. "Your crime has been seen through by me—the Great Detective Kim Conan! What you stole isn't just Snickers, but everyone's precious energy!"

The cringe level of the lines reached a new high; Kim Chaewon almost broke character while saying them, but seeing the "Shadow Figure" opposite her looking completely bewildered, a mysterious desire to act (and cause trouble) began to burn fiercely.

Just then, a gentle yet equally dramatic call came from the side:

"Conan-kun!"

Honda Hitomi had appeared at Kim Chaewon's side at some point. She had hastily tied her long hair into a high ponytail, and even specially fashioned a few signature "horns" at her forehead (barely held in place with hairpins). Although she was still in casual clothes, she made an effort to stand tall with her hands clasped in front of her, her face showing concern and a hint of... suppressed laughter?

"Conan-kun, be careful!" Hitomi entered character with startling speed. She gave the "Shadow Figure" a worried look and then said to Kim Chaewon, "This culprit looks... very suspicious!" She perfectly played the role of the "Mouri Ran" older sister who worried about the "elementary student detective," despite this "Conan" being a year older than her.

The production assistant's phone vibrated at that moment. He looked down to see a message from Producer Jiang Zhi Yu, containing only a few words:

[The atmosphere is great! Let "Ran" show off some "Karate"!]

The assistant immediately gestured to Hitomi, pointing at a prop prepared in the corner—a stunt foam board painted with a wood-grain color that had a clear pre-cut mark in the middle.

Hitomi understood instantly.

The "Shadow Figure" Jo Yuri seemed to recover from her initial shock. Feeling she couldn't just wait for death, she tightly gripped the "stolen goods" Snickers and let out a "ga-ga" cackle (trying to increase her villainous aura): "Hmph! So what if I'm caught! The energy is mine now!"

She made a move to run.

"Freeze!" Kim Chaewon (Conan mode) said sternly.

Almost simultaneously, Hitomi (Ran mode) stepped forward, blocking the "Shadow Figure." The gentle concern on her face vanished, replaced by a "sharp" gaze. She lightly brushed back her non-existent "school skirt" (a symbolic gesture), her ponytail seeming to sway as if by an invisible wind (psychological effect).

"I won't let you hurt Conan-kun, nor will I let you take everyone's energy!" Hitomi's voice carried the determination of a "Karate Club Captain." She turned sideways, striking a decent Karate starting stance, her eyes locked onto the "Shadow Figure."

The "Shadow Figure" Jo Yuri: "???" (True expression under the mask: Was this in the script? Producer Jiang, what did you add now??)

In the next second, Hitomi's eyes narrowed. She gave a light shout and, with a rehearsed movement that looked powerful but was actually completely pulled back, she aimed a "knife-hand strike" at the stunt foam board next to the "Shadow Figure"!

"Ha!"

"Crack!" A crisp sound (though clearly the sound of foam plastic snapping) rang out.

The fake wooden board "snapped" into two pieces on cue, flying off to either side (guided by thin wires to ensure safety and an exaggerated visual effect).

Silence.

The "Shadow Figure" Jo Yuri froze on the spot, motionless, as if intimidated by this "world-shaking" strike. Even though she knew it was fake, Hitomi's sudden aura and crisp, clean movements, combined with the sound effects and the visual of the breaking board, still carried quite an impact.

Kim Chaewon (adjusting her glasses): "Well done, Ran... Sister!" She almost slipped and said "Ran-neechan," but quickly corrected herself.

Hitomi dropped her stance and panted slightly (acting), her face returning to a gentle smile, though a hint of mischievous success flashed in her eyes as she looked at the "Shadow Figure": "Now, can you return the Snickers?"

The "Shadow Figure" Jo Yuri: "..."

She looked down at the lonely Snickers in her hand, then looked up (though it couldn't be seen) at the "Karate expert Mouri Ran" and the "glasses-reflecting Great detective conan," then felt the despair-inducing wicked grin mask on her head...

A massive wave of powerlessness, mixed with shame, absurdity, and a "what is even happening" feeling, accompanied by a strange comedic passion, crashed through her final line of defense.

"Waaaaah! I'll fight you!" She let out a completely non-threatening squawk, grabbed the Snickers tightly, turned, and clumsily charged toward the apartment door (the preset escape route)! The black woolly figure, accompanied by "thump thump thump" heavy footsteps (voiced by herself), was filled with a tragic sense of hilarity.

"Chase her!" Kim Chaewon immediately shouted, grabbing the Fart cushion to give chase.

"Conan-kun, wait for me!" Hitomi also followed immediately, not forgetting to stay in character.

An absurd street chase featuring "Great detective conan and Karate Girl Mouri Ran" pursuing the "Wicked Grin Snickers Thief" officially began with a roar of laughter in a certain Seoul apartment building and the nearby park! The "2D world crossover" script remotely controlled by Producer Jiang Zhi Yu was showing significant results, with shame levels and laughs flying high!

The "Wicked Grin Shadow Figure" Jo Yuri burst out of the door and charged down the stairs with a "thump thump thump." The poor visibility of the mask caused her to almost miss a step several times, her black woolly figure stumbling through the stairwell, pathetic and hilarious.

"Stop! Thief!" "Great Detective Kim Conan" Kim Chaewon pursued relentlessly, waving the yellow Fart cushion like a "weapon" and squeezing it occasionally to produce a "pfft pfft" hilarious sound effect, adding quite a bit of "flavor" to the chase. "Mouri Ran" Honda Hitomi followed closely behind, her ponytail flying, trying her best to maintain the coolness of a Karate expert (even though she was likely screaming internally).

The three of them, one in front and two behind, rushed out of the apartment building toward the planned filming location—a small nearby park. The sun was just right, and in the park, elderly people taking walks and children playing all cast curious and amused glances at this peculiar chase group.