49: Chapter 49 The Storm of Comic Con, the Cover of the Anime World

"Move aside! Please, move aside! The Shinigami in front, stop blocking the way!"

Jianghai City International Convention and Exhibition Center, Hall B.

This was the venue for the largest Anime, Comic, and Games (ACG) exhibition in Jianghai City.

Waves of sound rolled through the air, which was thick with the scents of cheap perfume, hairspray, and hormones.

Qin Feng pushed aside an "Ichigo Kurosaki" carrying a giant zanbatō and casually helped a "Hatsune Miku" who was about to fall over straighten her wig.

He wore that silver fox mask, was draped in a black cloak, and had the unsharpened katana he had swiped from a street stall hanging at his waist.

He was like a single drop of water merging into the ocean.

This place was practically a sanctuary tailor-made for him.

Looking around, the place was filled with people carrying katanas, spears, and giant axes.

There were even people swaggering about with model RPG rocket launchers on their backs.

Here, no one would call the police just because you were carrying weapons; they would only rush up and ask, "Brother, your prop looks so realistic! Which shop did you buy it from? Can I have the link?"

"Brother Feng... I think I'm going to suffocate."

Pei Ji's tearful voice came through the earpiece.

Qin Feng turned his head.

He saw a 1.8-meter-tall, 180-jin red Mario struggling to wriggle through the crowd.

Pei Ji was wearing those extremely tight overalls, his belly round and protruding, with the iconic mustache stuck to his face.

Every step he took, the flesh on his belly jiggled three times.

Several loli cosplayers passing by looked at him with glowing eyes.

"Wow! Such an authentic Uncle Mario! He's really using his belly to pull off the look!"

"Photo op! Can we take a photo with you?"

A few girls raised their phones and rushed up, snapping photos wildly.

Pei Ji was so scared he wanted to cover his face, but he realized his arms were too short to reach, so he could only awkwardly flash a peace sign.

"Stop making a fool of yourself and keep up."

Qin Feng lowered his voice, the corners of his mouth twitching upward involuntarily.

This fatty was born for this kind of work.

Just then.

A commotion erupted from the entrance.

The crowd parted to both sides as if Moses were parting the sea, and countless male gazes were fixed firmly on that direction, as if drawn by magnets.

"Holy crap! This figure is absolutely insane!"

"Is this Mai Shiranui herself? These legs, this waist... I can't take it, someone call me an ambulance!"

Qin Feng followed the gazes of the crowd.

Su Tang.

She had changed into a red and white ninja outfit.

Her already aggressive figure, accentuated by this extremely revealing costume, was practically a weapon of mass destruction.

Her long, straight legs were exposed to the air, and she was fanning herself with a folding fan.

Although she still wore that cold and glamorous expression, this aloof "big sister" vibe only drove the otaku at the scene even crazier.

Su Tang walked over to Qin Feng and naturally linked her arm with his.

"Brother, this outfit is drafty; it's a bit cold."

She whispered in Qin Feng's ear, her eyes filled with mischief.

"Suck it up."

Qin Feng retorted impatiently and casually pulled his cloak over her to cover her up.

"All units, attention! Seal off all exits!"

Just then, the exhibition center's PA system was suddenly cut off.

Zhao Shanhe's frantic roar came over the broadcast, followed immediately by a piercing crackle of static.

The main doors were violently pushed open.

Xie Qingshang rushed in, leading dozens of fully armed SWAT Team members.

They held their guns, faces serious, having come in aggressively to make an arrest.

But the next second.

All the SWAT Team members froze.

Looking at the scene of chaotic revelry before them, their brains instantly crashed.

To the left was a group of Jedi fighting with lightsabers.

To the right were several Terminators carrying Gatling guns.

Hanging overhead were several Spider-Men striking poses.

How the hell were they supposed to make an arrest here?

If they opened fire, even if it was an accidental discharge, they would most likely hit innocent bystanders.

Moreover, most of the people here were wearing masks or heavy makeup; facial recognition systems were no better than scrap metal here.

"Damn it..."

Xie Qingshang stood at the entrance, his face as dark as the bottom of a pot.

He tightly gripped the dark chocolate wrapper that had already been crumpled out of shape, his teeth grinding together.

"Everyone! Take off your masks! Submit to inspection!"

The SWAT Captain shouted into a megaphone.

But the voice was instantly drowned out by the deafening BGM of the venue.

No one paid him any mind.

A few clueless cosplayers even crowded over, pointing at the SWAT members' gear.

"Oh, the texture of this police uniform is great! Is it real leather? How much did you rent it for?"

"This gun is made of metal, right? It feels pretty heavy; I want to get one to play with too."

A young SWAT officer was surrounded by people dressed as zombies and was so scared he almost pulled the trigger.

"Don't move! This is a real gun! I'm a real police officer!"

"Hahaha! Brother, you're really getting into character, aren't you? A 'real police officer'? I'm a real zombie too, do you want to taste my brains?"

The scene was in complete chaos.

Xie Qingshang felt his temples throbbing.

This was the trickiest situation he had ever encountered in his career.

It wasn't because the enemy had too much firepower, but because the enemy was just... too damn good at playing around!

"Spread out and search! Watch their shoes!"

Xie Qingshang took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

"Even if Qin Feng changed his clothes, he might not have had time to change his shoes! And his eyes—they won't be like these idiotic, happy otaku!"

...

At the center of the stage.

The finale of the anime convention was currently underway—the Cosplay Runway Competition.

The spotlights shone on the runway, and the music was deafening.

"Next contestant! Although they didn't sign up, the cheers from the audience just now were incredibly loud! Let's welcome this mysterious duo—the Fox-Masked Samurai and Mai Shiranui!"

The host shouted at the top of their lungs.

The audience erupted into deafening cheers, like a landslide or a tsunami.

"Go!"

Qin Feng didn't hide; instead, he grabbed Su Tang's hand and strode onto the stage.

This was a gamble.

A gamble on the so-called "darkness under the lamp."

The more you stand in the spotlight, the less likely anyone will believe that this is the SSS-class thug wanted by the entire city.

Qin Feng walked onto the runway.

Every step was extremely steady.

He didn't need to strike any exaggerated poses, nor did he need to do any chunibyo movements.

He just stood there.

His hand rested on the hilt of his sword, his head tilted slightly, and his eyes behind the mask scanned the audience coldly through the two eyeholes.

In that instant.

A true aura of slaughter, one crawled out from a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, swept across the entire convention center.

The audience, who had been screaming just a moment ago, suddenly went silent.

This kind of aura.

It was too real.

So real that people felt as if a blade were being held against their necks.

"This... this is too cool..."

"This level of authenticity is insane! He's just like a major villain boss walking straight out of a manga!"

Even Xie Qingshang in the distance was attracted by the commotion, subconsciously looking up at the big screen.

On the screen.

Qin Feng's silver fox mask was magnified.

But because the lights were too bright, and the mask was reflective, Xie Qingshang couldn't see the eyes behind it at all.

He just felt the figure looked a bit familiar.

But only familiar.

After all, there were plenty of people with good figures and strong auras at this anime convention.

"Congratulations! Congratulations to this mysterious contestant for winning the first prize in this competition!"

The host excitedly rushed onto the stage and shoved a golden trophy into Qin Feng's hand.

"Handsome, I'd like to ask a question on behalf of the audience."

The host held the microphone to Qin Feng's lips, eyes full of admiration.

"Your aura is truly unique! That domineering air of treating human life as mere grass, that arrogance of controlling everything—how did you practice it? Did you take professional acting classes?"

The whole venue held its breath.

Everyone pricked up their ears.

Even the searching SWAT team members stopped in their tracks.

Qin Feng took the microphone.

He looked at the police officers below who were running around like headless flies because they couldn't find him.

Especially Xie Qingshang, who was still frantically chewing chocolate in the crowd.

Under the mask, the corners of Qin Feng's mouth curled into a playful arc.

"Practice?"

Qin Feng chuckled.

The voice, processed by a voice changer, carried a metallic huskiness.

"This sort of thing doesn't need practice."

He raised the trophy in his hand and made a distant gesture toward Xie Qingshang.

"It's innate."

Boom!!!

The audience instantly exploded.

The screams almost blew the roof off.

"So cool! A natural-born villain!"

"I want to have his babies!"

The comments in the live stream were scrolling frantically.

"It's gotta be you, Brother Feng! Winning an award right in front of the police, and then mocking them on top of it!"

"Xie Qingshang: I feel like you're implying something about me, but I have no evidence."

"This is the real Joker! This is what having style is!"

Taking advantage of the extreme chaos below.

Just as countless fans rushed onto the stage wanting to take photos.

Qin Feng casually tossed the trophy to Su Tang, grabbed her, and turned to leave.

"The wind is picking up, let's bail."

The two of them were like ghosts, instantly vanishing into the shadows of the backstage.

Only poor Mario, Pei Ji, was still in the crowd, being squeezed in the belly by people treating him like a mascot.

"Hey, hey, hey! Stop squeezing! I'm gonna puke!"

Pei Ji wailed.