Chapter 001 APP is online
Twelve years ago, Qingyan City.
Late in the summer night, the sound of heavy rain drowned out the curses coming from the abandoned factory.
"Damn it! His parents actually said they didn't care whether their son lived or died, and they wouldn't give him a dime, and then they hung up on me!"
The kidnapper was so angry that he wanted to smash the phone.
"What?" His companion was shocked and stood up. "We don't ask for much. His son's life is not worth five million? Their family is so rich..."
"Who the hell knows!" The kidnapper spat, looking at his companions, "Are you sure the person you kidnapped is his son Xie Chi?"
"It's him! Absolutely!"
"In that case." The kidnapper looked at the iron cage hidden in the darkness and sneered, "Your parents want money but not you, so don't blame us for being rude!"
A blinding flash of lightning instantly illuminated the dark factory, revealing the coldly glowing knife in the kidnapper's hand and little Xie Chi in the iron cage.
Little Xie Chi was wearing a white school uniform. He had a clean face and a gentle temperament at a young age. However, his face, half hidden in the darkness, was extremely gloomy, and violence was quietly spreading in his pupils.
After the lightning passed, the factory became completely dark again. However, his companions noticed Xie Chi's expression in the flash of lightning and felt a little uneasy for some reason.
Seeing Xie Chi remained silent, the kidnapper sneered, "Kids from rich families are different. They are quite courageous and have a bad temper, right? I'll kill you later..."
As he spoke, he untied the chains on the iron cage, which were thicker than his fingers.
His companion hesitantly pulled him back and said, "Boss, I, I think there's something wrong with this kid. How about we let him fend for himself? Anyway, if he doesn't die after being locked up here for a few days, he'll probably be crippled..."
The kidnapper kicked him away and said, "What a loser! He's afraid of a child, what can he afford to do——"
A pair of beautiful and slender hands suddenly placed on the kidnapper's wrist.
In the next burst of lightning and thunder, the kidnapper saw Xie Chi giving him a cold and malicious smile.
…
A few days later, someone called the police to report a suspicious odor coming from an abandoned factory in the suburbs. They looked in from the window and could vaguely see black hair on the ground.
When the police arrived, it was summer and the body had already rotted away, becoming a feast for flies and mosquitoes. The scene was simply horrific.
After a comparison, the police discovered that the two were actually the major criminals they had been arresting, but they died here for some unknown reason.
There was an open iron cage next to the body, and there were signs of a minor struggle at the scene.
Considering that the two had kidnapped others many times, always in the same way, the truth seemed self-evident.
The two men probably failed to kidnap the hostage and were killed by the hostage.
The strange thing is that there was no information about the hostage’s identity left at the scene, no fingerprints, no DNA, nothing.
The kidnapper's cell phone also appeared to have been taken away by the hostage.
Nothing was found and the case was eventually dropped.
This incident became a laughing stock at the time, and the two became "the most shameful kidnappers in history."
…
Twelve years later, in the art exhibition building in the center of Qingyan City.
The female UP host stood in front of the creepy horror painting and said to the audience in the live broadcast room: "I am now in the Xie Chi's exhibition that you have been thinking about. The UP host is timid, but I have sacrificed too much for you to come and see the horror painting! Isn't it time to give you a wave of small gifts?"
The barrage was swiping quickly——
[Are you here to see the horror painting?! You are here to see the face, superficial. ]
【We are all superficial women. 】
[Don't bring me along, I'm here to see the paintings! I couldn't sleep the whole night after seeing the painting "Sewed Skin Ghost" Otz, I'm here to be tortured again. ]
[I, I'm new here, I want to ask if people who draw horror pictures are mentally abnormal? ]
[You are talking nonsense! My husband is super gentle and polite! He has a very good temper and loves to laugh! ]
[Sisters, tell me frankly, how many of you became fans of our pool because of that video? ]
When the UP host saw the last post, envy appeared in his eyes. It was really easy for Xie Chi to become famous.
Previously, a video of Xie Chi painting circulated on the Internet.
The young man with delicate features, gentleness and refinement was painting a terrifying and hideous picture. The lifelike ghost on the paper showed its sharp fangs at him, as if it was going to bite off the beautiful and slender hand in the next second.
It's like the contrast between beauty and the beast, which gives people a great visual impact and is unforgettable.
With countless curious explorers, horror painter Xie Chi became famous overnight.
…
At the same time, in the private lounge of the exhibition building, Xie Chi walked towards the sofa by the floor-to-ceiling window with a cup of water.
The old man sitting on the sofa is called Jiang Hua. He was a world-renowned psychologist before retirement. He just returned to China these two days. Because of Xie Chi's split personality, he has maintained communication with Xie Chi for twelve years.
Xie Chi handed the water to Jiang Hua, sat on the sofa opposite, and smiled sincerely: "I heard that you have trouble sleeping, so I didn't put tea leaves in it, but added some lilies to help you sleep."
Jiang Hua looked at the lilies stretching in the water and couldn't help but roll his eyes at him: "You don't have to centrally air condition me, too."
After all, Jiang Hua had seen Xie Chi's secondary personality and knew what kind of devil was hidden under his gentle face. Even the socially-savvy main personality in front of him was not what it seemed at all, he was simply a psychopath.
Xie Chi glanced at him lazily and said with a smile: "After all, there is still value in using him."
Jiang Hua choked.
Xie Chi clasped his hands together and said, "I won't waste my words. I have found a way to separate Xing Lan and me."
Xie Xinglan, Xie Chi's secondary personality.
Jiang Hua looked up in shock, thinking he had misunderstood: "What you mean by 'separate' is..."
"It's just as you think." Xie Chi sneered, his words clear, "Let Xie Xinglan obtain the body and separate from me."
Jiang Hua's face was full of disbelief: "How is it possible?"
It is easy for a personality to disappear, but to separate... is simply a fantasy. Jiang Hua has never heard of this in his thirty or forty years of working in the industry.
Xie Chi took out a thick stack of information from under the coffee table and handed it to Jiang Hua.
Jiang Hua took it in confusion.
The top sheet of information reads:
Zhou, male, in the advanced stage of lung cancer, returned home for recuperation.
He suddenly disappeared from home in June this year, and his family was anxiously searching for him.
Five days later, Zhou suddenly returned home and his family gathered around the table to celebrate. However, Zhou was hit on the head by a crystal chandelier that accidentally fell from the top of the table.
Later investigation revealed that all the screws used to fix the crystal chandelier had fallen off in an instant.
On the second one:
Huang, female, full-time housewife. She was unable to bear children due to too many abortions in her early years, and the relationship between her husband and her, and between her mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was not harmonious.
He disappeared after going out to buy groceries in mid-May this year. He reappeared at the gate of the community four days later, but was bitten to death by a dog in the security room that suddenly went mad.
The weird thing is... the dog stopped being crazy after it bit someone to death.
The third one, the fourth one...
Jiang Hua was horrified as he read on. They were all accidental deaths that were so bizarre and yet so flawless.
Jiang Hua couldn't help but glance at Xie Chi, so what has Xie Chi been investigating in recent years?
Xie Chi took a sip of water and said, "99% of these are 'accidents' like this."
He spoke softly and casually. Jiang Hua felt the weight of the information, but also felt as if invisible hair was wrapped around his neck, tightening little by little, depriving him of oxygen.
Jiang Hua's lips felt dry, and he subconsciously asked, "You just said 99%, what about the remaining 1%..."
Xie Chi glanced at him and smiled meaningfully, "He is an inexplicable winner in life."
Jiang Hua was surprised: "Inexplicable?"
Xie Chi leaned over, flipped through the page numbers on the lower right corner of the document, pulled out a few sheets of paper, and handed them to Jiang Hua.
The first piece of paper reads:
Gao, female, had a failed plastic surgery. Due to the limitations of medical technology, there has been no hope of repairing her face for nearly ten years.
Gao disappeared in April this year and returned half a month later. Not only had the horrific scars on her face completely healed, but she also looked so beautiful and radiant that no one around her could recognize her.
Jiang Hua flipped through the pages quickly in disbelief.
There are many examples like this. At the beginning, you can't get what you want, and then you disappear for a while, but when you come back, your dream strangely comes true.
A poor man became rich overnight, a person born blind regained his sight, and even a person who was already in a coffin revived his corpse...
"How could this happen..." Jiang Hua kept muttering.
Xie Chi asked with a smile: "Have you found anything... in common among these people?"
The last three words lingered on Xie Chi's lips for a while, becoming more intriguing.
Jiang Hua pondered for a moment, then suddenly realized, "Everyone has wishes that cannot be fulfilled, such as the one with advanced lung cancer who wants to live, the full-time wife who wants to get pregnant..."
"They all disappeared for a while, and after coming back they either died in an 'accident' or lived a glorious life..."
Xie Chi nodded, and through the French window, he quietly watched the white-collar workers entering and leaving the building opposite. They had exquisite makeup and hair, bright and beautiful clothes, and friendly smiles.
All is not good.
Xie Chi stared at it for a while, snorted, and said nonchalantly: "No matter how perfect a person is, they all have desires, things they want but cannot get for the time being or even forever."
"Some people choose to suppress their desires and become contented saints, while others just let it go, with hope being born and shattered in their relentless pursuit, over and over again."
"So there is a mysterious force in this world that specifically selects those who are unwilling to give up and makes deals with them."
"The patient with advanced lung cancer and the stay-at-home wife both belong to this category. One wants to live and push the limits of medicine, while the other wants to have children and make up for past mistakes."
"The content of the transaction is unknown. Nothing was found. During the transaction, the person will disappear for a while. The result of the transaction is as you can see—"
Xie Chi said calmly: "The loser ends his life with death, and the winner gets what he wants."
Jiang Hua was shocked. What Xie Chi said overturned his three views. After a long time, he found his voice again: "So, so the way you said to separate you and Xie Xinglan..."
The answer was obvious, but Jiang Hua couldn't say it for a moment.
Xie Chi looked at him deeply, then smiled and said the answer in his mind: "'It' will definitely find me."
Jiang Hua was instantly possessed.
Yes, Xie Chi also had a wish that could not be fulfilled, and he was unwilling to give up.
Otherwise, why investigate these things?
Xie Chi took out a glasses cloth from his shirt pocket, took off his glasses and wiped them, then smiled and sighed helplessly: "I really have been waiting for a long time."
Jiang Hua thought to himself that he was crazy. Xie Chi was looking forward to the arrival of things that others avoided day and night.
Xie Chi said: "Having said so much, if I suddenly disappear one day, I would like to ask you to help me take care of some trivial matters."
Jiang Hua agreed with mixed feelings, and after a long while, he barely digested what Xie Chi said.
He looked at the calm and composed Xie Chi, and inexplicably had a strong premonition that Xie Chi would disappear soon.
It can be said that you get what you want.
Thinking of this, Jiang Hua actually felt a little relieved, and simply asked a question he had been wanting to ask for the past two years but didn't have the courage to ask: "Um, what is your relationship with Xie Xinglan...?"
He always felt that there was something fishy going on between the two of them, and this thought would deepen every time he met Xie Xinglan.
Xie Xinglan was obviously cool and icy, but when it came to talking about Xie Chi, he... became a different person, exuding an aura that the elderly Jiang Hua could hardly discern.
Xie Chi paused, as if he was considering the right words. After a long while, he raised his head and smiled a little strangely: "...roommate relationship."
Jiang Hua was stunned for a moment, then he laughed at her: "You're right, it's a 'roommate relationship'."
Living in the same body is just another kind of roommate relationship.
…
Before going to bed that night, when Xie Chi was processing messages on his phone as usual, he discovered that the phone was downloading software .
The name of the software is "Horror Movie Actor".
Junk software?
Xie Chi frowned and clicked pause to delete the video, but there was no response.
The software has been installed and is starting up automatically. The next second, the phone screen suddenly turns scarlet, and a line of black text in the center jumps and flutters, like the devil's temptation.
[Xie Chi, do you have a wish you want to fulfill? Please select one or more of them below.]
When Xie Chi saw the word "wish", his hands trembled violently.
Could it be... "it"?
Several options popped up on the screen, the first one being——
【Let Xie Xinglan obtain the body.】
Xie Chi's pupils shrank slightly.
Due to some considerations, Xie Chi never exposed Xie Xinglan's existence to the public. However, this APP not only knew Xie Xinglan, but also knew his wishes.
So, did you really find him?
Xie Chi curled the corners of his mouth slightly.
He immediately looked down.
Option 2 -
【As PET1.0, I killed the owner who bought me. 】
Xie Chi stared at option 2 for a long time, as if some unpleasant memories were evoked, and his expression gradually became cold.
PET1.0, such an old name. How long has it been since anyone called him that?
It seems that APP is omnipotent as it can even bring out such distant and dark desires.
Another line of black words -
[Your desire is pure, so there are only these two options. ]
Xie Chi didn't hesitate much and just checked option one.
[Weighing the wish value, please wait. 】
[The wish "Let Xie Xinglan obtain a body" is priced at 10,000 points. Do you confirm? ]
Xie Chi had no idea about 10,000 points, so he just clicked [Confirm. ].
[Actor Xie Chi has completed his wish and has successfully registered. Please wait while our death designer designs a way for you to die due to a failed transaction.]
Designer of Death?
So all those "accidental deaths" in the real world were designed by him?
Xie Chi raised his eyebrows with interest.
While waiting, he lit a cigarette and leaned against the wall, smoking idly.
A few minutes later, a picture appeared on Xie Chi's mobile phone screen.
Below the painting, Xie Chi was lying in a pool of blood, with blood constantly oozing out from the back of his head.
Above the painting is a truck whizzing past, which must be the truck that caused the accident. Its green painted body is splattered with blood, and the contrasting colors of red and green are extremely depressing.
The painting is in perspective, and there is a dark shadow lying on the truck driver's back. According to the meaning of the painting, it should be a ghost.
You can notice that there is an empty wine bottle lying on the passenger seat.
The information of this painting can be summarized as follows: a ghost controlled a drunk truck driver to hit and kill Xie Chi.
So the result of Xie Chi's failed transaction was his death in a car accident.
For Xie Chi, who is a colleague of his, this painting, apart from the fact that it contains all the information, is really unbearable to look at and has no aesthetic appeal at all. It is simply a blasphemy to such a great thing as death.
Moreover, the designed ways of death were extremely mediocre. The car accident was still so-so, but the previous disaster designs of being crushed to death by a chandelier and being bitten to death by a mad dog made Xie Chi feel uncomfortable just thinking about it.
Xie Chi crossed out the painting expressionlessly.
Out of sight, out of mind.
The black words finally began to continue——
[Actors can survive in real horror movies, explore the plot and please the "audience" to earn points and fulfill their wishes. Detailed rules will be sent to your APP background in a while, please check it. If you have any questions, please consult your agent. ]
Survive and explore the plot in a horror movie? And have an agent?
...It's quite interesting.
Xie Chi smiled, not ignoring the quotation marks around the word "audience" in this sentence.
[Random assignment of brokers completed, brokers automatically added as friends. ]
[Please note that from now on, do not try to damage your phone artificially, the consequence is the same as death. The drawing that the designer just sent you. ]
[Now please click on the screen to draw a horror movie for beginners. If you don't click within 30 seconds, it will be drawn automatically. ]
Three black card packs that looked exactly the same appeared on the screen.
Xie Chi clicked on one casually and opened his card pack. It was a green card with the words "Red-Clothed Ghost" written on it.
The background of the picture is completely black, with a red skirt hanging in the air in the center, and a pair of neatly placed red high-heeled shoes right under the red skirt.
[Congratulations on winning the "shoddy" quality mystery ghost film "The Red Ghost". ]
Decoding a horror movie? Xie Chi was stunned.
Because of his profession, Xie Chi watches horror movies to accumulate materials and has a relatively good understanding of the classification of horror movies.
The corresponding direction for the mystery-solving direction is naturally the unsolvable direction. "The Grudge" is a typical unsolvable horror film. Ghosts do not care about cause and effect. They kill anyone based on their mood. There is no pattern to speak of, and everything people do is in vain.
In mystery-telling horror movies, generally speaking, ghosts are born for a reason.
For example, a female student was bullied at school and committed suicide by jumping off a building, and her resentment turned into a ghost.
In the mystery-telling ghost movies, the targets killed by ghosts are usually special.
It is like the saying goes, "every wrong has its perpetrator, every debt has its owner, whoever hurt it in life, it will take revenge on after death." Of course, it will also affect others, but it is fundamentally different from the unsolvable horror movie.
Another point is that in mystery-solving horror movies, as long as you find the source of the ghost, you can find a way to resolve the resentment and survive.
Unsolvable horror movies are usually a complete failure because the curse has no solution and will exist forever. Even if the source of the ghost is found, it will be of no use and the damned will still die.
Therefore, "The Red Ghost" is a ghost film that decrypts the mystery. This is good news, proving that this film has a way out.
Moreover, the quality is still "roughly made", the difficulty should not be too high, and it is suitable for beginners.
Xie Chi glanced at the other two opened card packs, both of which were green. One was a crudely made haunted house horror movie, and the other was a crudely made death loop movie.
These are the more popular film genres in the current film market.
The app loaded for a while, and then the introduction of the horror film "Red Ghost" popped up:
[There is a large company in the suburbs of City B. Every year when the Ghost Festival (mid-July) is approaching, the boss will give all employees a seven-day holiday, and then hire a few temporary workers at sky-high salaries to maintain the basic operation of the company. However, without exception, those temporary workers eventually died miserably. It's the Ghost Festival again, and a new batch of temporary workers have joined the company...]
[You will play the role of a new temporary worker and explore the company's hidden secrets. ]
【Transmitting, please wait. 】
The scenery in front of Xie Chi began to distort and fade.
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself standing in front of a luxurious company building.
