Chapter 002: Red-robed Ghost (01)
In such a remote suburb, surrounded by low self-built houses, the building in front of us looks even taller and weirder.
There were four or five people standing in front of the revolving door of the building, chatting with each other. They should be the actors who acted with Xie Chi.
Xie Chi was not in a hurry to go over. He opened his phone and tried it. He found that except for the horror movie actor APP, all other functions of the phone were invalid.
The detailed rules introduction had been sent over. Xie Chi quickly read through it and wrote down a few key points.
First of all, all horror movies under the APP are live horror movies, and there are "audiences" watching from beginning to end.
During the viewing process, the "audience" will choose whether to follow an actor and become a fan of that actor based on the actor's performance and their own preferences.
After a horror movie, the number of fans an actor gains can be converted into points at a certain ratio.
Points can not only be used to fulfill wishes, but also determine the actor's title.
Xie Chi opened his personal information panel and took a look. His current title was a dull white one - [An unknown 18th-tier star].
Below the title is a line of small print evaluating: As a newcomer, you have not left any impression on the audience and do not have any representative works.
The title will be upgraded as the points increase.
Titles are directly related to unlocking higher quality horror movies.
This is similar to the entertainment industry. Unless an actor reaches a certain level of fame, he or she is not qualified to participate in higher-end film and television works.
In the APP, the higher the quality of the horror film, the greater the difficulty, and accordingly, the greater the reward after completion.
Secondly, horror films produced by APP basically do not come with scripts, and the actors have to explore and trigger the plot themselves.
Although they are called actors, their main job is not to act, but to survive in a real horror environment, while exploring and advancing the plot, striving to restore the full picture of the horror film.
They can even check the APP at any time during the filming process and communicate smoothly with other actors. Their behavior is more like that of UP hosts who play horror games to entertain the audience.
They are called actors mainly because the various systems of the APP are similar to those in the entertainment industry.
Finally, at the end of rank the actors based on their overall performance and distribute points rewards according to the ranking.
The APP sent a message at this time.
Xie Chi opened it.
A few notes on the horror film "Red Ghost" -
1. The longest duration of this film is 7 days. You can end it early if you complete the exploration in advance.
2. This film is a green card and its quality is shoddy. After the filming is completed, the actor with the highest overall ranking will be rewarded with 100 points, and the points for other actors will be reduced gradually.
Xie Chi curled his lips, a boyfriend is really expensive, 10,000 points.
It has to be number one in a list of 100 shoddy horror movies.
Xie Chi was looking down at his phone when he was bumped into by someone. When he looked up, he saw a short young man who was so thin that he was almost unrecognizable.
The man's skin was as pale as paper, his face was bloodless, and he had heavy dark circles under his eyes. He looked a bit like a vampire, but not as handsome as a vampire. His facial features were ordinary, but his eyes were particularly bright, like the finishing touch.
"Oh, sorry, I'm blind and can't see... I bumped into someone!" The man spoke quickly, and even bowed deeply and straight to Xie Chi with a bit of joviality.
"..." Xie Chi didn't expect this person to be like this, so he tried to speak gently, "It's okay."
He felt that the man's words were a little strange. There was a subtle pause between "can't see" and "people", as if to say that he couldn't see people but could see other things.
Xie Chi took the initiative to ask: "Are you an actor too?"
The man nodded immediately. “My name is Yan Jing, Yan means serious, and Jing means mirror.”
Yan Jing, isn’t the homonym for… eyes?
Xie Chi came back to his senses: "Xie Chi."
The cast all have their real names on the credits, there’s no point in lying.
Yan Jing was just about to enthusiastically pull Xie Chi aside to chat when he suddenly started coughing violently.
Xie Chi watched him cough up blood, his eyes narrowed slightly.
Being blind and weak, he either has a wish that must be fulfilled or has a special skill. Otherwise, coming here with such a physical condition would be a dead end.
Xie Chi knew what was going on, but he had no interest in exploring the situation. He just showed concern out of habit: "Is it serious? They should be the actors over there. I'll take you there."
"It's okay. It's always like this. I scared you." Yan Jing paused and sighed from the bottom of his heart: "You are such a nice person."
“It’s a piece of cake.”
The two of them walked towards the revolving door while talking.
Zhou Wen, who was enjoying the flattery of the newcomer, looked up and saw Xie Chi. He was stunned for a few seconds and his eyes gradually became dark and ambiguous.
The young man had a slender figure, with fair skin, a pair of glasses on his high nose bridge, delicate features, and a gentle and refined look.
He was nodding slightly, with a modest and appropriate attitude, patiently listening to the chatter of the scary-looking man next to him. He seemed to be good-tempered and well-educated, elegant and kind, without any unpleasant sarcasm.
Zhou Wen met many people.
The people in front of us are either pampered, well-educated, and ignorant of the ways of the world; or they appear to be talented on the surface but are extremely dark underneath.
Are two extremes.
Zhou Wen loves challenges the most, so he is not afraid of the latter.
Moreover, the young man's Adam's apple that moved slightly in the sunlight when he spoke was very beautiful and sexy. Although he was well-dressed, he was very arousing. His waist, abdomen, and legs were all in perfect and amazing proportions.
Zhou Wen specifically asked his agent that he was the only veteran actor in this film, so the person in front of him was a newcomer whom he could control at will.
No matter how powerful you are in the real world, it’s useless. Even if you are a prince, you have to bow down and beg for protection here.
This is his territory.
Yan Jing seemed to sense something, looked in the direction of Zhou Wen, and subconsciously pulled Xie Chi: "You have to be careful of him."
Xie Chi was slightly surprised: "You can't see..."
Yan Jing knew he had said something wrong, so he smiled and said, "It's an illusion."
Xie Chi did not comment.
Yan Jing couldn't continue making up stories, and thinking that he would be exposed sooner or later, he simply said, "I can feel that he has strong evil thoughts towards you."
Xie Chi didn't expect that there were other people with this ability, but he had seen a lot of strange people and strange things over the years, so he accepted it quickly.
He changed his mind and said with a half-smile: "So you bumped into me on purpose just now?"
I was clearly able to determine the general direction with my mind, so how could I have bumped into him?
"Ah?" The topic jumped too quickly and Yan Jing couldn't wrap his mind around it. He was stunned for a long while before he said to himself, "Shit!" This guy reacted so quickly.
He was silent for a moment, and had to admit awkwardly: "...Yes, because you have been completely calm since you came in, you must be very powerful, so I wanted to see if I could... hug your thigh."
The more Yan Jing spoke, the lower his voice became. It was obvious that he was ashamed of his behavior.
"…After all, I am a weakling in combat, thick-skinned, and blind."
Although Yan Jing has some special abilities, these cannot help him survive, so he is eager to find a teammate to survive with.
Xie Chi's voice suddenly came from above his head: "Do you know why I am not emotionally unstable?"
Yan Jing subconsciously asked: "Why... Isn't it because of your strong strength that you are not afraid?"
"You guessed wrong." Xie Chi's eyes were teasing, and his voice was indifferent, "In fact, I am heartbroken and came here to seek death."
Yan Jing: “!!!” He picked the wrong person!
Yan Jing fell into deep autism.
It took me a long while to realize that I had been fooled when I heard a chuckle above my head.
Xie Chi stopped joking and said calmly: "You can follow me if you want, just follow me as you like. Don't play tricks on me anymore."
"I'll let you know in advance that I'm also a weakling in combat, so don't hold out any hope. Anyway, if I encounter a ghost, I'll definitely run faster than you."
Yan Jing: “…”
Yan Jing felt a little disappointed, but when he thought about how Xie Chi had reluctantly accepted him, he instantly became overjoyed.
Xie Chi glanced at Zhou Wen, the tall, muscular man.
Zhou Wen just happened to look back, with undisguised desire and plunder in his eyes. He was about to come over when all the actors' cell phones suddenly vibrated violently.
Xie Chi opened the APP.
[All actors are in place, the plot of the horror film "Red Ghost" has officially begun, and the "audience" has entered to watch. ]
Xie Chi was curious about what this "audience" was. Who would enjoy the actors' painful struggles and tragic deaths? And who would watch them nonstop for seven days and seven nights?
Is that human being?
But this is not what he needs to consider now.
At this time, the "audience" who just entered to watch:
[I came here because I heard that Zhou Wen is in this movie, hehe, pornographic movie is reserved! ]
【Brothers, we are like-minded! Otherwise, I would have gone to the next door to watch the unexplainable ghost movie. It is of high quality, with ghosts killing people, so fucking cool. It is nothing like this one, with an old-fashioned routine and a slow pace. 】
[You see, I even paid special attention to Zhou Wen, just in case I missed his new gay film. I don’t know who I will hurt this time. ]
[It’s obvious who it is, the gentle little brother with glasses. ]
[Zhou Wen is really bad. He is worthy of a title and goes to a film of slightly higher quality, but he insists on staying in a newbie film. He must be afraid of death. What a coward.]
[Zhou Wen is also capable, although he doesn’t have any fancy moves to show off, but he can fight and run. It is said that he was a fitness coach before filming.]
…
As the vibration of the phone faded into silence, the plot slowly unfolded.
The voices of the passers-by suddenly became louder, just loud enough for the actors to hear:
"Is this haunted company hiring again?"
"Have you forgotten? It's almost the 15th day of July, that thing will cause trouble again..."
"How can these people be so desperate? They value money over lives. I heard that all the people we recruited last year died..."
"Didn't you see their previous job posting? One million per person for just seven days, wouldn't you be tempted?"
"Only those from poor families would come here to earn this kind of money..."
…
When the newcomers heard the words "haunted" or "that thing causing trouble", their expressions were slightly frightened, but they did not lose their composure too much.
Everyone who comes here has a desire to achieve and the determination to give it a try.
A smartly dressed woman walked out of the revolving door. She was wearing a black suit, a hip skirt, and black high heels. She was holding a blue folder. She should be an NPC like a secretary. She glanced at the people scattered outside and said arrogantly, "Come with me to sign the contract."
Yan Jing muttered quietly: "I feel like she is looking at us like dead people. Who is she looking down on?"
Xie Chi was helpless.
Zhou Wen moved first, and the newcomers followed him in, with Xie Chi and Yan Jing staying last.
The secretary said in front: "Let's sign the contract this afternoon and officially start work tonight."
"Working at night?!" the thin and dark male newcomer exclaimed in surprise.
The secretary looked back at him with disdain: "Didn't we make it very clear when we recruited you?"
"Then I'll say it again, please listen carefully! You start work at 10 pm and get off work at 5 am. During the working hours, the main door of the company will be locked. You can sleep after you finish your work. Anyway, you can do whatever you want, but you can't leave the company building."
Everyone felt a chill in their hearts.
The concept of locking the main door downstairs means that they have to stay in a completely sealed company building all night.
APP has new message prompt——
[The plot progress has been updated. Employees are not allowed to leave the company building during work hours. Otherwise, it will be considered a violation and 100 points will be deducted, and they will be directly expelled from the film. ]
[Newbie Tips: Actors with negative points will die during settlement, and the initial points for new actors are 0, so please do not violate the rules. ]
Xie Chi put his phone back into his pocket, thinking: "Do you feel that with this arrangement, the company wants us to...die?"
"Ah?" Yan Jing, who was following nearby, didn't react.
Xie Chi said in a deep voice: "There is a fierce ghost sleeping in the dark cage. It wakes up once a year at a fixed time, and becomes furious, vowing to kill the humans who imprisoned it. In order to calm its rage and seek a moment of peace, humans take advantage of its daytime sleep to stuff their weak, greedy and ignorant fellows into the cage, and then... lock the cage."
"The fierce ghosts come out at night, feast on the food, and their resentment disappears temporarily before they fall back into a deep sleep, waiting for the next year's offerings..."
Xie Chi described this horrifying scenario lightly, using the tone of a fairy tale.
"Shit!" Yan Jing shuddered with fear and lowered his voice. "If you put it that way, aren't we just scapegoats? No wonder they all take a holiday during the Ghost Festival! And they even offer us one million per person to recruit us..."
Yan Jing: "After all, this is a confirmed ghost movie. The ghost looks like it in the title, "Red Ghost". He wears red clothes, and according to the accompanying picture, he is probably wearing red high heels. The introduction also said that the temporary workers recruited in the past few years all died in the building, so the ghost must be in the building. But now they want to lock us in the building! Fuck!"
Yan Jing was furious. He glanced at the secretary leading the way and said, "Do you think this secretary NPC knows something? If we go up to threaten her, will she tell the truth? For example, how ghosts were born..."
"No." Xie Chi paused and said casually: "But you can try, I don't object. After all, failure is the mother of success."
Yan Jing: “…”
As they were talking, a newcomer actually went up to try to get the secretary to say something, then came back with an embarrassed look on his face, obviously to no avail.
The newcomer said, "She just kept repeating that she was new here and didn't know anything."
Yan Jing also felt that he was stupid. If it was so easy to find out the truth, why would he have given seven days for the filming ?
The group was led to stop at the door of "Mr. Zhang's Office" on the first floor.
Xie Chi was surprised that this company had at least fifteen floors, and the boss's office was on the first floor. The first floor was obviously the noisiest, with people coming and going, and it lacked a lot of style.
The secretary said, "Our boss is inside, please go in."
The APP sent another message reminder——
[The plot progress has been updated, please complete the contract (cannot resist). Note, do not attack the pregnant female boss, the punishment is the same as above. ]
Because Yan Jing is blind, his messages are read out directly through voice, which is a bit funny.
Yan Jing listened and said, "...So the secretary can attack, right? If someone can attack, they can't get any useful information, right?"
Xie Chi glanced at him lazily: "Bingo."
Yan Jing: “…”
Some newcomers grumbled: "It's just a contract, why add a clause that says you can't resist?"
Zhou Wen was annoyed by the newcomer's long-winded nonsense, so he turned around and said impatiently: "You'll know when you go in."
The secretary helped to open the door and saw the boss holding a black jar in his arms . His face turned pale instantly. He barely managed to say a few words to the boss. After getting permission, he walked away timidly and quickly.
The female boss's voice came from the office, weak but sharp: "Don't dawdle, come in."
Xie Chi walked in. The woman sitting on the office chair was in her early thirties, with pretty features. At first glance, she was prettier than some female stars, but her skin was a little gray and sallow. Judging from the size of her belly, she should be about four or five months pregnant.
Yan Jing stared at the black jar in the female boss's arms for a while, his face suddenly turned pale, and he pulled Xie Chi and whispered, "There is resentment in it, it's a very evil thing anyway, let's stay away from it."
Xie Chi was a little surprised that Yan Jing's ability could be used in this way.
The female boss said indifferently: "The secretary should have explained the specific matters to you clearly, so I won't waste my words. There is no one in the company these days. I will come to check every afternoon."
Zhou Wen took the lead and agreed.
The female boss waved at them: "Come over and sign the contract."
Everyone was waiting for her to take out the contract, but the female boss put the black jar she was holding on the table.
Everyone was confused, but Yan Jing had a bad feeling in his heart.
Sure enough, the female boss opened the black jar and said, "Put your hand in there, get bitten, and bleed, and that's considered signing the contract."
Yan Jing whispered "Oh shit!", and when everyone heard that they were going to be bitten by an unknown creature and would bleed, their faces instantly turned paler.
The newcomer thought to himself, "No, it's not a snake or something, is it?"
"Could it be a centipede or something? God, how painful it would be..."
Xie Chi felt that snakes and centipedes were no big deal, but he was afraid that it was... a ghost thing like a poisonous insect. After all, Yan Jing said it was very evil.
But the APP prompts said that they could not resist, so they had to force it.
The female boss suddenly whispered into the jar: "Little darling, it's time to eat."
Everyone's scalp suddenly went numb and they felt creepy.
Zhou Wen made a prompt decision and pointed at the dark and thin new man: "You go first."
"Why--" The dark-skinned man tactfully held back his angry words. He didn't dare to offend the only veteran actor in this horror film, and he still hoped that Zhou Wen would take him out alive.
Anyway, everyone will be bitten, which proves that this thing will not kill them. After all, a horror movie will not start with them all being wiped out.
It's just a matter of the time when they were bitten, the thin and dark man comforted himself as he took a difficult step towards the female boss. Then, under Zhou Wen's cold gaze, he slowly reached his hand into the jar.
Before the thin dark man could see what was in the jar, he was bitten. A sharp pain came from his fingers, and he howled instantly.
Yan Jing was so scared that he hugged Xie Chi's arm, and everyone's faces turned pale.
Zhou Wen's expression was also very ugly.
That thing definitely won't kill you, but it hurts, and everyone is afraid of pain.
In the huge office, everyone was nervous, except Xie Chi, who lowered his brows and looked absent-minded.
"Boyfriend, I'm afraid of pain." Xie Chi said in his heart, and a faint smile gradually appeared in his eyes.
It was a lazy and low voice: "Xiao Chi, you go offline, I'll take over."
