Chapter 54: Have You Become Beautiful Today?

Watching the man and woman on the big screen, still smiling radiantly despite their deformities, all the remaining refugees displayed intolerable, heavy expressions.

Compared to the previous three beauty trends, this fourth one openly displayed the world's malice towards them.

If [The Standard of Beauty] means losing one’s face, and eventually even forgetting who one is, then what about [Deformity Beauty]?

Looking at the man's two hands merged on one side, and then at the woman's hollow left eye and the eyeball on her forehead not even centered, they no longer even appeared to be "human".

"Damn it, does this world want to kill us?" Bear Brother couldn't help but curse.

Boss Chu pulled a face: "Which world isn't trying to kill us? And in other middle and low-level devouring worlds, we can still manage to find someone to take our place and survive, but look at the sovereign devouring worlds..."

"They just blatantly want to kill you."

The refugees fell silent, realizing that anything they said now would be futile.

However, they weren't completely without hope or means to resist, even though [Deformity Beauty] has laid bare their predicament, it wasn't necessarily just them who would be called ugly—

Thinking about the thirty-six beauty salons burned to ashes last night, this time those who are deemed ugly might not be limited to them—

At that moment, the citizens on the square had already started rushing towards the one hundred beauty salons at the edge of the square.

Compared to their speed in the previous days, today's citizens seemed to move faster, fearing they might fall behind and not have enough time to make themselves deformed.

As they turned around, Chen Shijin and the exiles from group one ran towards the large screen.

Chen Shijin's third eye in his left opened, instantly spotting the controller of the large screen, which was moving at an evidently faster pace.

He licked his thin lips and, with a leap, adjusted the Beauty Compass's timer in less than a minute.

The large screen was activated again, displaying the message: "Beauty Compass time has been changed, now set to two days."

Simultaneously, the announcement echoed throughout the Beauty Capital's square.

In that moment, Chen Shijin, standing atop the large screen, clearly saw the halted steps of the running citizens below and, moments later, their faces expressing extreme terror and disbelief.

It was as if the sky was falling.

Then, those citizens, now showing fear, unabashedly increased their speed towards the beauty salons, eventually pushing, squeezing, and trampling without any hesitation.

Those who knocked others down didn't pause, and the trampled citizens didn't care about their injuries but used all their strength to get up and rush forward again. Only upon joining the long queue at a beauty salon did they finally breathe a sigh of relief.

However, this relief was likely short-lived.

Jumping down from the large screen, Chen Shijin heard some complex and subtle words from the exiles:

"Looking at them, are they in love with beauty, or are they afraid of death?"

Lyu Jun rolled his eyes: "What's the difference?"

Not being beautiful enough means death; these citizens in the devouring worlds are hardly luckier than us.

"I used my ability to scout last night," a girl with thick glasses spoke up, "and there were nearly sixty thousand people gathered in the Beauty Plaza of the City of Beauty."

"These sixty thousand people share a hundred beauty salons, which means an average of six hundred customers per salon."

"From 8 AM to 6 PM, a total of ten hours, means each salon has to serve an average of sixty customers per hour."

The girl with thick glasses pushed her glasses, letting them catch a glint of light: "But according to my observations and statistics from the past few days, the maximum number of citizens each beauty salon can serve per hour is thirty. Some citizens didn't go into the specialized rooms but had beauticians operate on their faces right in the living room, which might save some time."

"But no matter what, it's impossible for each salon to serve sixty customers in an hour."

"So..." The girl with glasses smiled, "in one day, the hundred beauty salons can only serve thirty thousand people."

"Two days just equals the total population of the City of Beauty. Less than two days means not all citizens of the City of Beauty can become beautiful. That would trigger some unspeakable consequences."

"And now... those consequences are about to unfold."

At this moment, the excitement, anticipation, and satisfaction were evident in the eyes of the members of Group One.

Indeed! A hundred beauty salons perfectly met the needs of the sixty thousand citizens of the City of Beauty, but now, there are only sixty-four salons left.

This means over ten thousand citizens won't be able to complete their "grotesque beauty" transformation in time today.

Two days accounts for twenty-one thousand six hundred people.

Chen Shijin smiled slightly, seeing a hint of cold light in the eyes of the citizens who also realized the crisis.

He didn't want to cruelly watch them die; he just wanted them to experience the feeling of being universally condemned.

To make them realize in silence something they had already lost.

"Let's go see."

With that, Chen Shijin headed towards the beauty salons outside the square.

The exiled family members of Group One followed behind him, all bowing their heads, furiously typing and chatting in the group.

"I'm quick to speak, so I'll say it first! The group leader is so handsome! His silhouette is infinitely imposing!"

"My cousin is the coolest! He is a god! My god!"

"I agree the group leader is really handsome, but what I'm most curious about now is what will happen to these citizens if they don't meet the beauty standards? Will they be surrounded, pointed at, called ugly, and then mysteriously die ugly just like us?"

"Hard to say, given they are citizens of the City of Beauty, who have always existed in this world, I think they might not die, but it's uncertain. But why the rush? The answer will be revealed tonight."

"Even though not returning to the residential area at night means facing the full-on attack of bizarre monsters, easily leading to death, if we stick together, we can hold out for twenty minutes. In that short time, I want to see what happens to them!"

Then, the chat was flooded with messages of "[+1]."

After all, as the group leader said, whether those citizens who end up not beautiful enough live or die, it also affects whether they can initiate world missions later on.

Soon, Chen Shijin and the others arrived in front of the sixty-four surviving beauty salons.

Of course, their main focus was on the Royal Dream Beauty Salon, as it was the first place they visited and also where the strongest swallow-tailed beautician was.

By now, the front of the beauty salon was packed with people. Due to the overcrowding, some citizens uncontrollably tried to cut in line or come up with various reasons to move forward, forcing the beauticians to pull up S-shaped isolation lines in front of their salons, aiming to queue up the maximum number of people in the smallest space.

Feng Tianhuo laughed out loud at the sight of these lines: "It's just like those fools lining up to climb mountains during the Golden Week."

Zhou Mo, who had been one of those "fools," twitched at the corner of his mouth: "...Not exactly fools, at least climbing mountains offers beautiful scenery... And basically, everyone has lined up like this at some point, haven’t they?"

Feng Tianhuo waved his hand grandly: "Not me. Who goes mountain climbing during the Golden Week! Hahaha, I always go when it's less crowded!"

Zhou Mo, who could only get out during the Golden Week, wore a corporate slave’s forced smile.

And there were also other exiles around him, not saying anything but clearly also corporate slaves, wearing similar forced smiles.

Chen Shijin silently took a step forward, not wanting to engage with the increasingly self-indulgent Group One behind him.

This movement caught the attention of the swallow-tailed beautician standing in front of the Royal Dream Beauty Salon.

If before the swallow-tailed beautician could still smile and chat with Chen Shijin, now her gaze was laced with clear hostility.

"Oh, sir, you seem too intact for beauty. Would you like me to personally transform you into a grotesque masterpiece?"

The swallow-tailed beautician's eyes darkly scanned Chen Shijin from top to bottom: "I could gouge out both of your eyeballs and transplant them onto your forehead, neck, or even your mouth."

"I could shave off your nose completely, leaving a pitch-black cavity on your face, making you unmistakably grotesque and sufficiently beautiful."

"However, just one or two alterations wouldn't be enough. The more grotesque, the more beautiful! I could sever your hands and attach them to your legs! Or even amputate your limbs and switch their places!

My goodness! You can hardly imagine how stunningly beautiful that would make you!"

As she spoke, the beautician already pulled out a gleaming golden chainsaw from behind.

Holding the saw, her face grim, she approached Chen Shijin, looking more like a murderer than a beautician.

Chen Shijin remained unmoved, even offering the swallow-tailed beautician a polite smile: "Listen to you, but I had no plans to use my feet to handle chopsticks and spoons, nor to walk on my hands."

"I think it's better to stay human, honestly."

The beautician halted: "In that case, you're not beautiful enough, even quite ugly, hmm hmm hmm?!"

She didn't finish speaking before Chen Shijin stuffed her mouth with a cloth.

The movement was so fast it left only a blur to the naked eye.

Chen Shijin: "Speaking can be risky, opening your mouth should be done with caution. You should know the rules, beautician? It's not yet time, you really shouldn't be uttering that word."

The swallow-tailed beautician, her mouth gagged, eyes blazing with anger, had indeed wanted to take the initiative, to brand Chen Shijin with the "ugly" label, and then to have two people immediately watch this troublemaker, aiming to eliminate him from the competition no matter what.

But clearly, this cunning individual was too quick to react, leaving her no chance.

But it didn't matter.

As long as a few more people were sent to constantly follow this exile, seizing any opportunity to label him "ugly," then this troublemaker who disrupted the City of Beauty would be left with no way out but death!

Of course, not just him, but also those exiles following him, causing trouble. With so many citizens in the City of Beauty, surely a few could entangle them and send them straight to hell!

Chen Shijin watched the swallow-tailed beautician's eyes shift from anger to a calm and then sinister demeanor, and he tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Clearly, the beautician was brewing some malevolent plans. But...

Chen Shijin's smile grew brighter: "Beautician, looking at the current pace, it seems there aren't enough beauty salons to go around. What shall we do about this?"

The swallow-tailed beautician's face stiffened, and she turned to head back into the salon.

It was impossible to restore the thirty-six beauty salons that had been burned down in such a short time. What could be done but to watch and see?

From 8 AM to 5 PM, for a full nine hours, Chen Shijin and the exiles from Group One stood beside the Royal Dream Beauty Salon, watching.

Watching citizens with identical faces enter and exit, going in with all limbs intact and normal facial features, but coming out completely transformed—

Just as the swallow-tailed beautician had described, some citizens had their eyes moved to their foreheads, necks, faces, or mouths. Some citizens' originally prominent noses turned into big cavities, a stark contrast from before. Others had mouths that extended to their ears, with ears stuck to their faces...

Essentially, featuring a chaotic mix of facial features and limbs, all in grotesque disarray.

Watching these citizens, who had turned themselves into grotesques and yet still wore smiles of ignorance, stupidity, and cruelty, Chen Shijin suddenly felt it might be better for them to die than to live like this.

Beneath those joyous faces, happy for matching the Beauty Compass's standards, might lie despair and sorrow that no one could see or was allowed to show.

Chen Shijin's left eye slightly lit up, seeing the twisted, screaming souls beneath those smiling faces.

He silently closed his eyes.

5:50 PM.

The exiles who wanted to stay and see the outcome were all sent away by Chen Shijin. Their destination was the residential area where Chen Shijin, Lyu Jun, and Zhou Mo resided, along with sixty-six others.

Without Feng Tianhuo's life-saving abilities, without his capability to become invisible and teleport at will, it's best not to court death in a square filled with citizens.

The reason they chose the residential area where the three of them lived was that the more than eighty residents of their area were currently at the end of the queue at the Royal Dream Beauty Salon.

Even though the neighborhood aunty reacted quickly and ran towards them, she was maliciously pushed down during her run. By the time she got up with the help of other residents in the neighborhood, she was already at the back of the queue.

In fact, the position of the neighborhood aunty wasn't particularly at the back; she was about three people away from her turn.

But only ten minutes were left.

Considering that a beauty treatment for one customer takes at least twenty minutes, the neighborhood aunty couldn't possibly wait for her turn today.

At this moment, she was tremblingly collecting the number tag given to her by the Royal Dream Beauty Salon.

This way, she could enter ahead of time tomorrow according to the number on her tag.

Chen Shijin looked at the number plate and smiled, remaining silent for the time being.

Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong!

Six city bells rang, reminding all the citizens on the square that night had arrived.

The moment the bells sounded, Chen Shijin disappeared from his spot instantly, leaving the tailcoat beauticians grinding their teeth in frustration.

Whereas Feng Tianhuo did not disappear but under the covetous gaze of those around, turned his arms, legs, and both eyes entirely into fire.

He almost became a "fire" man, then he started to burn himself while cackling at the citizens: "Am I deformed enough for you? Beautiful enough?! Look, I have no arms, no legs! My eyes are spouting fire!

If this were a grand deformity show! What could be more bizarre and adorably strange than me, the faceless man of fire?"

The citizens who wanted to call Feng Tianhuo ugly: ……

Indeed, this appearance was quite abnormal.

Then, Chen Shijin saw refugees with wolf heads, tiger heads, bear heads, heads topped with tea leaves, and heads adorned with ginger, sneaking out, attempting to disguise their deformity.

They boldly stood by the roadside to watch the spectacle.

Chen Shijin: "..."

Group One:

[Lyu Jun (Tea Fragrance Lover, Cousin's Biggest Fan): Fellow members, we've made it! Our grotesqueness has been recognized! Ready to livestream for you all at any moment!]

[Xiong Zhuang (Bear Transform): Currently, only my head and hands can turn into a bear, but even this mutation has been praised... I'm at a loss for words. But I can livestream for our family!]

Chen Shijin, seeing several livestream messages in a row, really wanted to kick them all out of the group but restrained himself, as more important events were about to unfold before his eyes—

When the bells signaling the arrival of night rang, only over twenty thousand citizens of the City of Beauty who were in line for beauty treatments had completed their grotesque transformations, becoming beauties recognized under this distorted beauty standard.

However, more than thirty thousand people had not managed to complete their grotesque beauty treatments today. According to the standard that at least half must be transformed by the end of the first day to be considered beautiful, the citizens now aimlessly holding their number tags in the square could already be deemed ugly.

Chen Shijin silently observed, wondering what punishment these deemed ugly citizens would face.

Or rather, would these citizens face any punishment at all?

The reality was somewhat as Chen Shijin had anticipated, yet also different.

These citizens did not face any substantial punishment, after all, they hadn't reached a dead end yet.

But that didn't mean they were completely unpunished.

The neighborhood aunties, who had previously encircled and pointed at the exiles, now found themselves the ones surrounded and subjected to criticism.

Encircling them were citizens who had achieved grotesque beauty, proudly flaunting their abnormal bodies and bizarre faces, as they mercilessly berated the normal-looking citizens in the center.

"Oh, look at you! So normal, so ugly! What's so appealing about orderly limbs? When every human looks like this, doesn't it bore you?"

"Exactly, exactly, your noses, eyes, mouths, and ears all in the same place! It's so unattractive! All the same! You even look exactly alike! My God! Isn't that disgusting?"

"Every individual in this world is unique! So, our bodies and appearances must also be distinctive! Look at me! Look at this hand growing out of my head! I specifically asked the beautician to fuse it like this! Isn't it grotesquely beautiful?

This way, whenever you all raise your identical hands to wave, I can wave at you with the hand on my head!"

As the grotesque individual said this, the hand atop their head actually began to move as if waving.

Group One Family:

[Lyu Jun (Tea Fragrance Lover, Cousin's Biggest Fan): ...Family, I'm struggling here. Does anyone understand? There's someone with a hand growing out of their head, mocking people with hands growing out of their arms for being ugly!]

[Xiong Zhuang (Bear Transform): Look to the left, that person's face is full of eyes! Where did he get so many eyes! He must have at least eight eyes on his face! Is he a spider! Ah! My eyes are going blind! Going blind ah ah ah!]

Lyu Jun gasped and looked to the left, where the citizen with a face full of eyes was smiling, all eyes rolling: "Exactly, exactly, being the same is ugly! Being different is beautiful! The more different, the more beautiful!"

"Look at my eight eyes! I pleaded with eight good friends to transfer their eyes to my face! I'm sure a face covered with eyes like mine is uniquely beautiful! Though I also lent out my two ears.

Compared to beautiful eyes, I think ears are less useful, but if someone had a circle of ears on their head, that would be quite beautiful too!"

Lyu Jun, with freshly sprouted tea leaves on his head: ...

It's no longer feeling safe just having tea leaves growing on my head.

At least my face should be covered with tea leaves, right? That would make me truly unique, a Green Tea Man...?

Lyu Jun: .

Stop thinking! That's not even human anymore!

The neighborhood aunties were surrounded by the grotesquely mutated citizens, each taking turns to endlessly berate them.

The faces of those being criticized became increasingly fearful and insecure, more and more despondent, their once held-high heads now bowing low to the dust.

They even began to uncontrollably crouch down, as if this could somehow shield them from the relentless cursing and mockery.

However, their tormentors wouldn't stop.

In fact, the expressions on the faces of those hurling insults became increasingly fierce, grotesque, and exhilarated.

"A bunch of uglies! How dare you show your faces around? Go back to your neighborhoods and never come out again!"

"Why are you still here being so ugly? Ugly to death, ugly to death, ugly to death! Why don't you just die?!"

Eventually, all the jeering and insults condensed into a single phrase—

"Ugly to death, just die."

Amid the increasingly overlapping and louder voices, Chen Shijin saw a neighborhood aunty, her face pale, forcefully gouging out her own eyeballs with her hands.

Thus, the uniform accusations momentarily ceased.

The aunty, with tears of blood, slowly curved her lips upward: "Ah, have I become a bit prettier now?"

She was clearly smiling.

Yet her soul was screaming.