Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Spirit in Red Clothes (1)
In a remote suburb, low-built houses were on the sides while the building in front of them was tall and strange. There were four or five people standing in front of the building's revolving door who were communicating with each other. They should be actors participating along with Xie Chi.
Xie Chi wasn't anxious about going over. He turned on his phone to check and found that all the functions of his phone were invalid except for the Horror Movie Actor app. A detailed introduction to the rules had been sent over. Xie Chi quickly browsed it and noted a few points.
First, all the horror movies under the app were live horror movies and watched by the 'audience from beginning to end. During the watching process, the 'audience' would choose whether to follow an actor and become the actor's fan depending on their preferences or the performance of the actor.
In a horror movie, the actor's number of fans could be converted to points according to a certain ratio. Points were not only used to fulfill their wishes but also determine the title of the actor.
Xie Chi opened the personal information panel and glanced at it. Currently, he had a bleak white title: [Unknown 18th Tier]
Underneath the title was a small line of evaluation: You are new here and haven't left any impression on the audience, nor do you have any representative works. The title can be upgraded with an increase in points.
The title was directly related to the unlocking of higher quality horror movies. This was similar to the entertainment industry where actors below a certain level weren't qualified to participate in higher-end movie and television works. In the app, the higher the quality of the horror movie, the greater the difficulty and accordingly, the richer the rewards after completion.
Second, the app's horror movies wouldn't give the script. It was required for the actors to explore themselves to trigger the plot.
Although they were called actors, their job wasn't acting but to survive in a real horror environment. At the same time, they would explore and advance the plot, trying to restore the full horror movie. They could even check the app and communicate with other actors at any time during the filming process. They behaved more like anchors playing horror games to entertain the audience.
The main reason for calling them actors was that the app system was much the same as the entertainment industry.
Finally, the app distributed points according to the overall performance ranking of the actors at the end of the horror movie shoot.
At this time, the app sent a message. Xie Chi opened it. There were several notes on the horror movie 'Spirit in Red Clothes.'
1. The maximum length of this movie is seven days and the exploration can be completed in advance.
2. This movie is your permanent residence visa and the quality is rough. After shooting, the actor ranked first in the overall rankings will be rewarded with 100 points and the points of the other actors are gradually reduced.
Xie Chi's lips curved. His boyfriend was really expensive, worth 1 points. First place in a rough quality horror movie was only 100 points.
Xie Chi was looking down at his mobile phone when someone bumped into him. He looked up and saw a young man who was thin and almost out of shape.
The man's skin was as white as paper and his face had no blood. His dark circles were very heavy and he was a bit like a vampire, but he wasn't as handsome as a vampire. His facial features were unremarkable. Only one of his two eyes was particularly brilliant like the vital finishing touch was added.
"Ah, I'm sorry. I'm blind and I can't see… people. I just ran into you!" The man quickly uttered and even bowed energetically to Xie Chi.
"..." Xie Chi hadn't expected this man to have such a style and his tone was as gentle as possible. "It's okay."
He felt that this person talked a bit strangely. There was a subtle pause between 'can't see' and 'people', as if he couldn't see people but he could see something else.
Xie Chi took the initiative to ask, "Are you also an actor?"
The man immediately nodded. "My name is Yan Jing, it is the Yan that means serious and the Jing that means mirror."
Yan Jing, wasn't this a homonym of… eyes? (Yanjing means eyes but it is pronounced the same but with different characters)
Xie Chi told him, "Xie Chi."
The cast list displayed their real names so lying was meaningless.
Yan Jing was about to pull Xie Chi enthusiastically when he suddenly coughed violently. Xie Chi watched him cough up blood and his eyes were lightly concentrated. The blind and sick either had a desire to be fulfilled or a skill to protect themselves. Otherwise, coming here with this type of physical quality was tantamount to a dead end.
Xie Chi had an idea in mind and wasn't the slightest bit interested in inquiring into the matter. He just habitually acted well and expressed concern, "Is this something serious? There should be the actors over there. I'll take you."
"it's nothing, I'm always like this. Sorry to scare you." Yan Jing paused for a moment, exclaiming from the bottom of his heart, "You're so nice."
"It was nothing."
The two of them talked as they walked to the revolving door.
Zhou Wen, who had been enjoying the praises of the newcomers, looked up and saw Xie Chi. He froze for a few seconds, his eyes gradually becoming dark and ambiguous. This young man was slender and tall, his skin a soft white and he wore a pair of glasses on the bridge of his high nose. His eyes were full of tenderness and gentleness.
He was nodded as he listened patiently to the chatter of the man beside him in a humble and appropriate manner. He looked good-tempered, well-educated, elegant and friendly without any uncomfortable sharpness.
Zhou Wen had seen many people like this. This person was either well-educated and ignorant of the world or they were good-looking on the surface while black-hearted. It was two extremes.
Zhou Wen's favourite challenge was the latter one who wasn't afraid. Moreover, when this young man spoke, the Adam's apple that moved slightly in the sunlight was very beautiful and sexy. He was well-dressed but it tickled people's hearts. His waist, abdomen and legs had amazingly perfect proportions.
Zhou Wen had specifically asked his agent and he was the only old actor in this movie. Therefore, this new guy in front of him was someone he could handle. What did the real world matter? No matter how good a person, even if he was a prince, it was necessary to bow down and pray for blessings when coming here. This was Zhou Wen's place.
Yan Jing seemed to feel something. He glanced in Zhou Wen's direction and subconsciously pulled Xie Chi's sleeve. "You need to be careful of him."
Xie Chi was slightly surprised. "You can't see…"
Yan Jing knew he had made a slip of the tongue and smiled. "It is my perception."
Xie Chi was silent.
Yan Jing couldn't cover things up any longer. He thought it would be exposed sooner or later and simply said, "I can feel that he has strong bad intentions toward you."
Xie Chi hadn't expected someone to have this ability but he had seen many strange things over the years so he accepted this quickly. He thought about it for a while before smiling, "So you just bumped into me on purpose?"
Since this person could distinguish the general direction with his mind, how could he bump into Xie Chi?
"Ah?" The topic shifted too fast and Yan Jing's head didn't work for a long time. After a while, he inwardly said, "Fuck." This person reacted too quickly.
Yan Jing was silent for a moment before he admitted awkwardly, "…Yes. It is because your mood hasn't fluctuated at all 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 smaller his voice became. He was apparently ashamed of his actions.
"…After all, I'm a scum at fighting, I'm slow to respond and I'm blind."
Yan Jing might have a special ability but it couldn't help him survive. Thus, he was eager to find a friendly team to rely on. Xie Chi's voice came from above his head. "Do you know why my mood didn't fluctuate?"
Yan Jing subconsciously replied, "Why… isn't it because you are strong so you're not afraid?"
"You guessed wrong." Xie Chi's eyes were playful and his voice was light. "In fact, my heart is as dead as ashes. I came here to beg for death."
Yan Jing, "!!!" He held onto the wrong thigh!
Yan Jing fell into deep thought. It wasn't until he heard a chuckle above his head that he realized he was fooled.
Xie Chi stopped joking around and spoke lightly, "If you want to follow me then do as you like. Don't play games with careful thought."
"I will tell you in advance that I'm also a scum at fighting. Don't hold any expectations. In any case, if we encounter a ghost then I will definitely run faster than you."
Yan Jing, "..."
Yan Jing felt a small sense of loss but then he thought of how Xie Chi reluctantly accepted him and was instantly full of joy.
Xie Chi glanced coldly at Zhou Wen, this tall and muscular man. Zhou Wen looked back, eyes full of undisguised desire and plunder. He was just about to come over when all of the actors' phones vibrated sharply.
Xie Chi opened the app.
[All actors are in place. The plot of the horror movie 'Spirit in Red Clothes' has officially opened and the 'audience' has entered to watch.]
Xie Chi was very curious about the identity of this 'audience'. Who would watch an actor's painful struggle and tragic death for fun? Could they watch for seven days and seven nights? Were they… even humans?
However, this wasn't something he should be thinking about right now. At this time, the 'audience' who just entered:
[I came here after hearing this movie has Zhou Wen. Hehe, a pornographic movie is scheduled in advance!]
[Brothers, I'm like you! Otherwise, I would've gone next door to watch the no solution ghost movie. The quality is high and the ghost that keeps killing and killing is so cool. It isn't like this one here. The routine is old and slow.]
[Look, I also paid special attention to Zhou Wen for fear I would miss out on his new gay movie. I don't know who he will destroy this time.]
[Isn't it obvious? That gentle little brother with glasses.]
[Zhou Wen is really bad. His title means he can go to a movie with a slightly higher quality. This is just a novice movie. My guess is that he is afraid of death.]
[Zhou Wen's strength is good. There might be nothing special to show but he can play and run. It is said that he was a fitness coach before filming.]
The phones stopped vibrating and the plot slowly began.
The pedestrians' voices suddenly increased to allow the actors to hear them.
"Is this haunted company hiring again?"
"You forgot? It is the seventh month of the lunar year. It is time for that thing again…"
"Why don't these people think? Money isn't worth their lives. I heard that everyone recruited last year died…"
"Didn't you see the recruitment notice in front of your home? It is just seven days and they will get one million yuan. Wouldn't you be moved?"
"It is only when my family is poor that I would come to make this type of money…"
The several new people heard 'haunted' and 'that thing' and their expressions were slightly frightened but they didn't lose their self-control.
Everyone who came here had a desire to achieve and the determination not to let go of it.
There was a well-dressed woman who came out of the revolving door. She wore a black suit with a skirt and black high heels, holding a blue folder in her hand. She should be a secretary-type NPC. She stared at the crowd and spoke in a prideful manner, "Come in with me to sign the contract."
Yan Jing whispered, "I think she is looking at us with the eyes of the dead. Who is she looking down on?"
Xie Chi felt helpless.
Zhou Wen moved first and the newcomers followed him in. Xie Chi and Yan Jing were last.
The secretary in front told them, "This afternoon, you will sign a contract and you will officially start tonight."
"We are working at night?" A thin black man was startled.
The secretary looked back at him scornfully. "Wasn't it very clear when recruiting?"
"Then I'll repeat it again. Please listen! You start work at 10 in the evening and get off work at 5 in the morning. During work, the doors of the company will be locked. You can go to sleep after you finish your work or do whatever you want, but you can't leave the company building."
The group felt a chill. What was the concept of locking the doors? It meant they had to stay all night in this completely closed off company building.
The app had a new message prompt.
[The plot progress has been updated. Employees must not leave the company building during work hours. Otherwise, it will be deemed a violation. 100 points will be deducted and you will be directly expelled from the movie.]
[Novice Tip: An actor with a negative score will die. A novice actor's initial score is 0 so please don't break the rules.]
Xie Chi placed the phone back in his pocket and spoke thoughtfully, " Do you think this arrangement is the company trying to let us… die?"
"Eh?" Yan Jing couldn't respond.
Xie Chi speculated in a deep voice, "There are fierce ghosts asleep in the dark cage. They wake up once a year at a fixed time and are furious. They have vowed to kill the people who contain them. The humans sought a moment of peace so in order to calm the ghosts' anger, the humans sent their weak, greedy and ignorant peers into the cage and… locked the cage."
"The fierce ghosts come out at night, quickly eating. The resentment is temporarily relieved and they fall asleep, waiting for the next year…"
Xie Chi expressed this terrible idea in a tone like he was reading a fairy tale.
"Fuck!" Yan Jing was scared and hurriedly lowered his voice. "You say that we are just scapegoats? No wonder why all the staff takes a holiday when the Ghost Festival arrives. They also offered us a price of one million yuan per person…"
Yan Jing continued, "After all, this is a movie with a definite ghost. The ghost is written in the title. 'Spirit in Red Clothes'. This means the ghost is wearing red clothes and according to the picture, red heels. The introduction also said that the temporary workers recruited in the past few years have died in the building so the ghost must be in the building. Now they are going to lock us in the building!"
Yan Jing glanced at the secretary in front. "Do you think the secretary NPC knows something? If we go and threaten us, will she tell us the truth? For example, how did the ghost come into being…"
"No," Xie Chi paused before continuing indifferently, "But you can try. I don't object. After all, failure is the mother of success."
Yan Jing, "..."
There was really a newcomer who went up to the secretary. They came back with a stunned face. It was obviously useless.
The newcomer said, "She kept repeating that she is new and doesn't know anything."
Yan Jing also felt stupid. If it was so easy to know the truth then why would the shooting time be seven days? The group of people were led to the door of 'General Manager Zhang's Office' on the first floor. Xie Chi was surprised. The company had 15 floors and the boss' office was actually on the first floor. The first floor was clearly the noisiest and most people came and went from here.
The secretary said, "Our boss is inside. You can go in."
The app had another prompt.
(The plot progress has been updated. Please complete the contract (can't resist). Be careful not to attack the female boss who is pregnant with a child. The punishment is the same.]
Yan Jing was blind and his message was read to him with the text to speech function. This sounded a bit funny. Yan Jing heard it and asked, "…So we can attack the secretary? Anyone we can attack won't have useful information, right?:
Xie Chi glanced lazily at him. "Bingo."
Yan Jing, "..."
Someone murmured, "Isn't it just signing a contract? Why add that we can't resist?"
Zhou Wen saw that the newcomer was speaking nonsense and ordered impatiently, "Go in and we'll know."
The secretary pushed open the door and saw the boss was holding a black earthen jar in her arms. The secretary's face instantly whitened and she spoke a few words to the boss. After getting permission, she flinched and walked out quickly.
The voice of the female boss came from the office, weak but sharp. "Don't dawdle and come in."
Xie Chi went in. The woman sitting on the office chair was in her early 30s with beautiful facial features. At first glance, she was better than some female stars, but her skin colour was a bit grey and waxy-yellow. Based on the size of her belly, she should be around four or five months pregnant.
Behind him, Yan Jing stared at the black jar being held by the female boss for a while. Then his face suddenly turned white. He pulled Xie Chi and said quietly, "There is resentment in there. It is something evil. Let's stay away from it."
Xie Chi was a bit surprised because he hadn't expected Yan Jing's ability to be used in this way.
The female boss spoke indifferently. "The secretary should've explained specific matters to you clearly so I won't speak nonsense. The company is empty these days and I'll come by in the afternoon to check."
Zhou Wen took the lead to answer.
The female boss waved at them. "Come and sign the contract."
Everyone waited for her to pull out the contract but the female boss just put the black jar on the table. The group didn't know the reason but an ominous premonition filled Yan Jing's heart. Sure enough, the female boss opened the black jar and said, "Place your hand in here. If you are bitten and start bleeding then the contract is signed."
Yan Jing whispered a 'fuck.' Once people heard that they would be bitten by an unknown thing and start bleeding, their faces turned white.
The newcomer secretly said, "No, it won't be a snake or something, right?"
"Is it something like a centipede? God, how painful will it be…"
Xie Chi thought that snakes and centipedes were trivial things. He was afraid it was… a ghost-like thing such as a Gu. After all, Yan Jing said it was evil. However, the app prompt said they couldn't resist so they could only be tough. (Gu wiki link)
The female boss whispered to the jar, "Little darling, it's time to eat."
The group became numb and horrified.
Zhou Wen made a quick decision and pointed to the skinny black man. "You go first."
"Fu—" The skinny black man wisely held back his angry words. He didn't dare to offend the only old actor in this horror movie since he expected Zhou Wen to take him out alive. In any case, everyone would be bitten and this proved the thing in the jar wouldn't kill them. After all, a horror movie wouldn't wipe them all out as soon as they entered.
It was just the timing of the bite. The black man comforted himself as he stepped toward the female boss and slowly extended his hand into the jar while Zhou Wen watched on coldly. Before the black man had time to see what was inside, he was bitten. A sharp stinging sensation came from his fingers and he instantly cried out.
Yan Jing was scared and hugged Xie Chi's arm. Zhou Wen's expression was also ugly. This thing definitely wouldn't kill them but it was painful. People were afraid of pain.
In the large office, everyone was nervous. Only Xie Chi looked down in an absent-minded manner.
"Boyfriend, I'm afraid of pain." Xie Chi inwardly spoke, a small smile gradually appearing.
A low, lazy voice responded. "Xiao Chi, you go offline. I am on top."
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