Chapter 55: Did You Become Prettier Today?

The face, streaming with tears of blood yet with an upturned smile, brought the mocking and malicious laughter of the citizens surrounding the neighborhood aunty to an abrupt halt. Their faces frozen, seemingly unable to switch from scorn and derision to praise and acceptance instantly.

However, from this pause, the aunty seemed to grasp something, as if she had resisted something. She opened her mouth wider, laughing louder and louder, and began frantically asking the crowd around her:

"Am I pretty now?"

"Am I grotesque enough now?"

"No one can call me ugly now, right?"

"Ha ha, ha ha! I've become beautiful! I've become beautiful!! Isn't being incomplete a form of grotesqueness too? I am now a beauty of the City of Beauty!"

The aunty ran around the square, face covered in blood. Even when she fell, she kept laughing, satisfied even though she could no longer see.

Gradually, her madness and satisfaction seemed to influence those around her, those citizens who had not yet had the chance to visit the beauty salons to undergo transformations.

Thus, Chen Shijin and the others witnessed even more citizens, mutilating themselves in various ways.

Watching those citizens laugh joyously at their own self-inflicted ugliness as if they had survived a great ordeal and now deemed themselves beautiful, Chen Shijin pursed his lips, feeling the macaw on his shoulder shaking its head as if amused, then pointedly placed his finger against his chest.

Conveying his considerably displeased mood.

The previously amused spectator: ...

The colorful macaw ruffled its neck feathers and rotated its head trying to gauge the human transmitting this negative vibe, looking for any hint of remorse in his dark eyes.

Turns out, this human had absolutely no remorse.

"...Is this the happiness you wanted me to experience?" The voice of the colorful macaw turned somber.

Chen Shijin remained calm: "Leisure, remember, experiencing only one kind of emotion, whether in human life or monster life, is utterly boring, lonely, and isolating."

"You should taste all emotions. Only then will you truly be Leisure."

Leisure: "..."

You think I'm going to fall for that?

In just a short span, seven to eight thousand citizens, just like the neighborhood aunty, began to mutilate themselves to become 'beautiful'.

But the remaining twenty thousand or so citizens who hadn't 'beautified' themselves quietly averted their eyes, responding in silence to the madness and scorn.

They were still holding out hope for tomorrow.

There's still one day left, isn't there? No need to drive themselves into a corner just yet.

Chen Shijin watched those silent citizens and slowly curled up the corners of his lips.

Yes, it wasn't a desperate situation yet.

However, the steps towards desperation never ceased.

After witnessing the absurd, frenzied scene on the square, Chen Shijin and others like Lyu Jun, who had come to watch the spectacle relying on their special abilities, quickly returned to their own residential area.

The area was eerily quiet, and at the entrance, there were no longer the neighborhood aunties and their fellow residents who would usually verify if the exiles were beautiful enough.

After all, they once stood on the pedestal of beauty, judging others, but now they were too preoccupied with their own issues and had lost the right to judge.

Thus, even though most of Group One's exiles hadn't changed themselves, they found leverage and sneaked into the residential area at the right moment.

That night, their stay was somewhat anxious; over sixty people crammed into five houses, fearing that citizens of the residential area might come knocking for inspections.

But it was just for that night—

The next day, the citizens of the City of Beauty who hadn't undergone cosmetic surgery squeezed into the beauty salons like madmen. Those without number tags envied those with them, and those with number tags envied others with numbers earlier than theirs.

Some citizens without number tags even resorted to stealing, sneaking around, or robbing, almost causing chaos until the beauticians forcefully subdued them and made them queue properly.

Even so, by six o'clock on the second day, there were still seventeen thousand citizens of the City of Beauty who hadn't achieved the "grotesque beauty" standard.

For the first time, the citizens of the City of Beauty, who saw beauty as life itself, failed to meet the beauty standard.

Thus, Chen Shijin and the others witnessed the "public execution" of seventeen thousand people being collectively surrounded and verbally abused by over fifty thousand in the square's center.

Chen Shijin, with keen eyes, saw the neighborhood aunty, despite being blind, with both arms broken, still managing to use her chin to point at and curse the seventeen thousand citizens encircled in the middle.

Her arrogant and triumphant demeanor was a stark contrast to her desperation the day before.

Chen Shijin tugged at the corner of his mouth.

However, unlike the exiles, who would be cursed at and called ugly with various death consequences, these seventeen thousand citizens of the City of Beauty, despite such accusations, did not die.

But due to their ugliness, they naturally became the lower class citizens of the City of Beauty.

They were not allowed to reside in residential areas; restaurants, hotels, and supermarkets barred their entry. Citizens who had achieved grotesque beauty could command, berate, and beat them at will, with any demands requiring their compliance.

At this time, these seventeen thousand remained silent, heads bowed, accepting their inevitable, deserved fate.

Yet, in their eyes lingered a glimmer of hope—

Just wait a bit longer! Tomorrow is the day! The new beauty standard will be announced tomorrow! With the new standard, they vowed to transform themselves into beauty at the earliest opportunity!

Then, they awaited the new beauty standard of [Whiteness as Beauty].

The moment they heard of this standard, their eyes blazing, they rushed into the beauty salons first!

After emerging from the salons, ghostly pale, these previously criticized and rights-deprived citizens regained their pride.

In contrast were those citizens who hadn't managed to whiten themselves in time.

With still only sixty-four beauty salons available, inevitably, twenty-one thousand six hundred people would fail to meet the beauty standard over two days.

The major difference between [Whiteness as Beauty] and Grotesque Beauty was that citizens couldn’t turn themselves snow-white within two days through their own actions.

Therefore, nearly forty thousand citizens were unable to whiten themselves by the end of the first day after the standard was announced.

Chen Shijin witnessed again these forty thousand citizens being degraded, scolded, and despised.

The neighborhood aunty, because her blinded eyes prevented her from entering the beauty salon on the first day to whiten herself, became a target of criticism once more.

Among those criticizing her were a few residents from her own community who she had furiously accused with her sharp chin just the day before.

The aunty fell into madness again, but this time, even severing her own legs couldn’t make her any whiter or more beautiful.

By the time the beauty salons reopened the next day, even the beauticians were struggling to control those citizens desperate for whitening treatments.

"Brother Jin! By six o'clock tonight, only thirty-five thousand citizens will meet the [Whiteness as Beauty] standard." The statistician girl's mouth twisted into a manic grin: "At least twenty-five thousand will fall short!"

This marks the beginning of gradual chaos and breakdown.

Chen Shijin smiled: "No worries, we can wait a bit longer. Besides, we'll make our move after the next beauty standard is announced."

Everyone's eyes gleamed as they excitedly continued the conversation in the group chat.

On the sixteenth day, the City of Beauty's giant screen announced the fifth beauty standard.

Unsurprisingly, it was the complete opposite of whiteness, beauty defined by black or colored skin.

That day, the Beauty Plaza, which used to be crowded every time a new beauty standard was announced, was eerily empty. The citizens could no longer care about the collective sense of ceremony, their faces tense, fearful, and even ferocious as they crowded around the beauty salons.

No matter what! They must be the first! The first to rush into the beauty salons! The first to become the most beautiful person!

The citizens' emotions clearly became agitated and uncontrollable, but at this time, everyone's thought was to be beautified first! To be the first to become the most beautiful person! To absolutely not let oneself become a lower-class citizen subjected to humiliation and scolding.

And this idea became even more urgent and shaky on the evening of the seventeenth day, after thirty-eight of the sixty-four beauty salons were completely destroyed—

"Aaaaah! Who is it? Who destroyed the beauty salons again?!"

"Dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit! How can we become beautiful without the beauty salons? How can we become beautiful?!!"

"No, no, no, I have to live next to a beauty salon! I absolutely cannot let myself become ugly again!"

"Oh my god, oh my god! Only twenty-six beauty salons are left! How can this be enough? How can this be enough? How are we supposed to—" survive?!

With only twenty-six beauty salons, in one day, only seven thousand eight hundred citizens can undergo beauty treatments.

And yet, the total population of the City of Beauty is fifty-seven thousand eight hundred and one.

Thus, during the two days of the sixth beauty standard [Height as Beauty], only fifteen thousand six hundred citizens of the City of Beauty met the beauty standard.

Leaving forty-two thousand two hundred and one citizens who did not meet the beauty standard.

At this time, those fifteen thousand six hundred who did meet the standard were still arrogant, but they found it difficult to successfully circle and vehemently criticize the forty-two thousand two hundred and one—

When these tall beautified citizens, who had several segments of bone added to their legs, attempted to encircle what they deemed a group of ugly dwarves, they were shocked to find that no matter how they surrounded or stood, there would always be a gap in this beautiful circle.

And when they looked at those they had encircled, collectively silent in the middle, retaining the previous standard's black and colored, or even white skin, a sense of panic, for the first time, emerged within them.

Ah.

It seems something, is quite different.

"Why, why are you looking at us like that?! You bunch of ugly dwarves! Stop with those gloomy stares!"

"Exactly! You all are the ugly lower-class citizens! We are the superior beings of the City of Beauty who have met the beauty standard!! You deserve to be our servants! Deserve this treatment!"

"What's wrong with scolding you? You should be scolded, beaten, and despised! Ugly people don't deserve to live! Understand? They don't deserve to live!!"

"Damn it! I said stop looking at me like that! Stop looking at me! You dare to glare at me?! You dare to glare at me—"

A silent, three-meter-tall citizen, in a fit of anger, lifted his leg and kicked towards a diminutive, ugly citizen he could look down upon.

However, what shocked the citizens of the City of Beauty, yet caused Chen Shijin to slowly curve his lips, happened—

The citizen, who was scorned and kicked for not achieving the beauty trend, sidestepped at the last moment before the kick landed.

Consequently, the tall, beautiful citizen who missed his kick unexpectedly lost his balance. His long legs, over two meters in height, wobbled unstably several times before he inevitably fell down.

Thud.

The sound of this beautiful tall person falling was like a silent heavy hammer, striking directly at the hearts of all the citizens.

At this moment, something truly changed.

The silent, ugly citizens slowly raised their heads to look at the beautiful citizens, who wore expressions of shock and a hint of panic. The standoff between the majority and the minority made this night the quietest one since Chen Shijin and his group entered this world.

On this night, the ugly citizens remained ugly, while the beautiful ones voluntarily shut their mouths, no longer openly insulting others.

It was already the nineteenth day since arriving in this devouring world.

Something was on the verge of collapse.

On the twenty-first day of [Beauty in Shortness], the third week's end, only twenty-six beauty salons were left, and twenty of those were destroyed that night.

However, it was no longer the refugees who took action.

Heart of Eternity Group No.1:

[Damn damn damn damn! Boss is awesome! The citizens actually destroyed so many beauty salons themselves!]

[What are they trying to do? And why didn't you let us just destroy all the beauty salons, boss? Why leave six?]

[If all beauty salons were destroyed, then nobody could meet the standard of beauty, making everyone the same. Wouldn’t that mean nobody completes the task, or conversely, everyone does?!]

[Yun Xia (Mist): What are you thinking! Such an obvious loophole wouldn’t be overlooked by the creators of the devouring world! If no one can become beautiful, that means no one qualifies! That means everyone dies!]

[A Fei (Mission Critical): But at least the survival task can be passed, right? If everyone's ugly, they’d be too embarrassed to call others ugly, right?]

[Lü Jun (Tea Fragrance, Loves Cousin the Most): That’s hilarious. Listen to what you're saying, what kind of foolish talk is that? I may be ugly, but it doesn’t stop me from calling others ugly.

Of course, I’m definitely not ugly. But anyone I don’t like, I find ugly. If I can’t survive, I’ll make sure nobody else does either. If we die, we die together; no one gets to be beautiful without me!]

[A Fei (Mission Critical): …Okay, I get it now. I was naive. Painful facepalm.jpg]

[Jiang Hong (The Spiciest Ginger): But I still can’t think of a way to complete the survival task? Now that those citizens are preoccupied with themselves and won’t bother with us as long as we hide well, but given their current mental state, wouldn’t they just go crazy calling us ugly on sight?]

[Chen Shijin (Group Owner, His Word is Law): Don’t worry. Watch my ability.]

[Chen Shijin (Group Owner, What He Says Goes): In the last week, I will initiate a world mission for all of us. Smile.jpg]

Then Chen Shijin fell silent, and the entire Group No.1 took turns posting exclamation marks and clapping fireworks in a row.

But in other small groups created by the refugees, there was a frenzy of communication.

[We Are All Fuzzy Buds Group:]

[Great Brown Bear: Oh my God! Oh my God! How is Jin so Dio? That thing he just said was so cool; someday I want to be able to say something like that too! But can someone tell me what a world mission is? I'm suddenly a bit unsure.]

[Snowfield Wolf: Brother Bear, the world mission is to make all the citizens think you are beautiful, which will attract the city lord. The city lord is likely the core monster!]

[My Tea Is Only for Cousin: After all, only being exceptionally beautiful can attract the city lord over, this is probably what they mean by spreading beauty.]

[Great Brown Bear: ...So I remembered correctly, but how can all of us possibly initiate a world mission? How can all the citizens think we’re beautiful?]

[Little Yellow Chirp: …That’s where the group owner's power comes in.]

[Big Durian: That’s where the group owner's power comes in.]

[Super Spicy Pepper: That’s where the group owner's power comes in.]

[Great Brown Bear: .]

Maybe I'll just go chat in another group.

Regardless, on this night, all refugees began to look forward to the last week.

Day 22.

Once again, the big screen in the square, no longer surrounded by citizens' constant attention, revealed a new beauty trend—

The men and women on the screen had youthful appearances like toddlers and bodies smaller and frailer than those of adults.

But they were not children, they just had bodies and faces like children.

The men and women on the screen, holding hands, joyfully spun around, emitting bell-like laughter.

This marks the start of today's [Beauty in Youthfulness and Smallness].

"Wow! Is it really about becoming younger? This is actually pretty good," Lü Jun couldn't help but admire.

Only to be mocked by Feng Tianhuo on the spot: "I sure don’t want to become a dwarf who never grows up! Whatever age you are, you should look the part. A child's face and a small body on a hundred-year-old, what kind of absurd trashy aesthetic is that!"

"But nowadays, many people consider pale, young, and thin as beautiful," scoffed Yun Xia, the regal beauty, "even calling themselves 'little pregnant women', adults using baby bowls.

If you’re pregnant, then you’re pregnant. A small bowl is a small bowl. A healthy adult should pursue beauty, confidence, strength, not a deformed regression of oneself."

Chu Tiankuo chuckled: "They probably fit the current beauty trend of the City of Beauty better."

"However, isn't the main point now... that the citizens are no longer rushing to the beauty salons for makeovers?"

Chu Tiankuo's words caused the refugees hiding in the shadows to quickly stop their discussion and look towards the six remaining beauty salons at the edge of the square.

There were still lines in front of the six beauty salons, but more prevalent were the silent citizens standing around, who had gone from the previous frantic scrambling to now being somewhat numb, somewhat despairing, and with a simmering, suppressed madness.

With only two days' time, a total of only 3,600 people could meet the beauty standard.

Compared to the 57,000 people, that’s not even a fraction.

Even with the maximum of seven days, only 12,600 people could meet the standard, still only one-fifth of the total population.

So, the majority of citizens still can't meet this trend's standard. Since they can't complete it, what's the point in competing?

However, some lucky citizens who have already met the beauty standard are still in line. Those fools who don’t want to line up, just don’t! They can enjoy their beauty alone! This is the City of Beauty, after all!

Only the beautiful can have everything here!

The ugly should listen to the beautiful; the ugly are considered lesser than the beautiful!

Once they come out, they can make those ugly ones do all the work for them!

Otherwise, what's the point of those ugly things existing?

On the first day, only 1,800 people transformed into the appearance of youthful smallness, these "little people" who met the beauty standard emerged from the beauty salons beaming with joy and walking tall.

"Hey! You, the ugly thing over there, come here! Carry me on your shoulders! Then, I want to sit on you and eat the finest seafood feast!"

This beautiful little person stood with chin up and waist pinched, waiting for the ugly thing to nod and bow, unconditionally obeying.

He wasn't even bothering to insult these ugly things anymore, asking them to do some work wasn’t too much, was it?

However, neither the ugly person he pointed at nor any other ugly people around him responded to his command!

So, the little person immediately stomped his foot: "Damn ugly thing! I'm talking to you in the yellow top! Aren’t you coming over to be my slave?! Do you not want to live?!

Don’t you know this is the City of Beauty?!"

"This is, the City of—Beauty—ah!"

When the little person shouted the words "City of Beauty," those silently oppressed citizens suddenly shivered.

The mark ingrained in their souls for a century or even longer instantly overcame everything else.

The silent crowd began to panic, quickly rushing towards the little person, their faces also collectively showing ingratiating, groveling smiles.

This is the City of Beauty.

Here, beauty is everything!

Ugly people shouldn't exist here.

Without beauty, what else do they have?

The fastest running citizen had already made the most standard ingratiating smile, bowing respectfully with hands stretched out, just as those hands were about to touch the little person's body, brimming with smugness.

A voice rose around them.

"This is the City of Beauty, then what exactly constitutes beauty?"

The proud little person scornfully frowned: "Of course, whatever the beauty trend says is beautiful is beautiful!!"

"But the beauty trend isn't a living being, by what right does it determine beauty and ugliness?"

"I think, the beauty that everyone agrees upon is the true beauty."

"Like now, I believe a body that matches one’s age and a normal appearance is beautiful."

[Just like the beauty of our more than fifty thousand citizens.]

Those stretched-out hands suddenly paused.