As the game continued, Chu Heling and Lan Yuyan were the next two to die. One became Sadako, the long-haired ghost girl, and the other became an ugly woman.
In Wen Jiexi's opinion, Sister Heling's Sadako costume was…the scariest. Her face was pale, her hair disheveled, and there was even ketchup dripping from the corner of her eyes. She looked like she was crying tears of blood and she wore white clothing that was similar to Mu Du's when she came floating out.
Her hands moved like they were dancing and they moved earnestly. Unfortunately, the big sleeves of her costume made her subtle movements almost invisible and those movements accounted for 80% of her performance. As for the wig…..the wig covered her entire face so that one couldn't even see her facial expressions. No one could really tell what she was trying to say.
"Uh…I think the killer should be a woman…." This was the only clue that Li Lingqing could interpret from Chu Heling's performance.
"Woman, huh? Well, there are only three left? Just have the policemen report a random one and see what happens." Shi Junmao said and scratched his head.
Indeed, there were only three women left and they were Wen Jiexi, Su Chenyu, and Li Lingqing.
The policeman has three tries to report the killer. If one of the people the policeman reports does end up being the killer then they win.
However, the current question is whether or not this information provided by Chu Heling is correct.
As for Lan Yuyan's clue…he had come out wearing a heavenly fairy outfit and even had a long sash tied around his waist. However, when a person wearing a husky costume suddenly wears a fairy dress on top of it…it was rather….out of place. Yet, Lan Yuyan seemed to not mind at all as he danced happily just like Wen Ting had done. The sunny boy was completely indifferent about his image~ He moved so carelessly even in women's clothing!
However, the next time the voice on the broadcast sounded, things were a little different.
Broadcast: "The policeman has taken action! Police! Please come forward and arrest the suspect!"
As soon as these words came out, two men dressed in police uniforms ran up to grab Li Lingqing's arms.
"Eh? Am I the suspect?" Li Lingqing raised her eyebrows as she glanced at the police on her left and right.
"Yes! At least that is what our captain said!" Policeman A said in an imposing manner while he placed his hands on his waist.
Is a policeman supposed to be this lofty or is this because of their police captain?
"Please take out your ID!" Policeman B said.
Li Lingqing took out her card which had a drawing of a secretary on it.
Broadcast: "Congratulations to the policeman….you guessed it wrong~~ Seeing that the policeman has overused his brain and short-circuited, they cannot report again until the next night is over!"
What? There's actually such a rule? So does that mean you can't report three nights in a row? So then you can't report people indiscriminately. The police have it hard…. Wen Jiexi scratched her head and thought.
In fact, the production crew had accounted for this. They knew that if the police had the power to report one person every night then the game would go by very fast. That is why they choose to implement this rule.
"Come, put this on." Policeman B hung a cardboard sign around Li Lingqing's neck with the big words,
「I was wronged!」and a crying emoji face on it.
Pffft–the high and mighty President forced to wear such a sign….it was unexpectedly rather fitting!
"Now what…." Li Lingqing looked down at the sign that made her lose her image. She wasn't angry at all and instead raised the sign as she cooperated with them.
"Well, you're going to jail now! Do you have anything else to say?" Policeman A asked.
"What to say…." Li Lingqing tilted her head and flashed a playful smile.
"I'm innocent~~" And with this, the heavy and foreboding atmosphere the show was trying to create for this game was completely shattered.
How moe!!! Wen Jiexi rubbed her eyes as she was blinded by Li Lingqing's sudden display of cuteness when suddenly she felt someone grab her hand. She turned her head and saw it was Su Chenyu who was sitting next to her.
With the group of people gradually getting whittled down, Su Chenyu could now freely sit next to Wen Jiexi. At this moment, she was looking at Wen Jiexi with a trace of….unhappiness in her eyes.
Wen Jiexi: ???
Su Chenyu: Don't look.
Wen Jiexi: Ok….?
And so, Li Lingqing was taken away by the police after saying her last words.
"Ah, everyone is disappearing one by one. There are so few of us left now." Shi Junmao said while holding a hand against his cheek.
After Li Lingqing was arrested, there were only four people left. And they were Shi Junmao, Wen Jiexi, Su Chenyu, and Yan Haocheng. The game is almost over.
"There are only the four of us left, we must continue working hard!" Wen Jiexi dragged Su Chenyu up the stairs as they continued the search.
There were now countless holes in the walls from the first floor to the third floor and although the sawdust and plaster were cleaned up while they were locked in their rooms, the holes were still left on the walls.
By now, they had knocked on every wall and all they had found were keys and more creepy smiling dolls. What should they do now? Even Wen Jiexi was getting a little frustrated from the lack of results.
"We've already searched everything upstairs, let's search down here instead." Su Chenyu pointed at the first floor.
"But there's only the kitchen and the dining room down here. The rest are the player's bedrooms." Wen Jiexi patted the long table. Just where should they go search, it's not like they haven't already searched the kitchen already.
"Isn't there a saying that the most dangerous place is the safest place? Let's look for it down here." Su Chenyu patted Wen Jiexi's head.
"Alright." With this imperial order from the Film Princess, Wen Jiexi obediently accepted the decree and went into the kitchen. However, Su Chenyu did not follow Wen Jiexi but looked at Shi Junmao and Yan Haocheng who were still in their seats.
Yan Haocheng seemed to become disinterested in the game after Lan Yuyan 'died' and decided to read a few books he took from the study instead of searching for the treasure.
Meanwhile, Shi Junmao swung his legs, his eyes constantly glancing between the three of them. His eyes seemed a little shifty….he noticed Su Chenyu's gaze and smiled,
"Goddess Su…aren't you going to follow Jiexi? Don't tell me you want to stay here and talk to us instead?"
"Of course not.' Su Chenyu said lightly, then stood up and left the table.
"Brother Yan, are you just going to sit there?" Shi Junmao looked at Su Chenyu's retreating back and then turned to look at Yan Haocheng who ignored everyone's existence as usual.
"En." Yan Haocheng nodded after a long period of silence.
"Haah…." Shi Junmao held his cheeks and sighed. Why are these two people so taciturn and boring? And the only other person who was willing to talk to him was one of the boring people's attendants. Ai, there's no one to talk to…..
Shi Hunmao hugged his head in his hands and then stood up. He strolled along the hallways leisurely with no intent to search for the treasure. He just wanted to wander around while he waited for the game to finish. He didn't think he could find the treasure by himself and so decided to give up. Of course, he might get lucky. Who knows? Maybe the treasure was actually hidden in a very conspicuous spot.
In the kitchen, Wen Jiexi continued to demolish the room. There were too many utensils and tools in the kitchen and there was no way to remove some of the appliances off the walls. She decided to not destroy the immovable appliances on the walls and kept to the spots on the wall she could destroy. After all, even if the show was willing to pay for everything, they couldn't destroy the house so thoroughly.
Production crew: So it's fine to destroy stuff since we're paying the bill?!! And did you not destroy this building thoroughly enough? A good castle has now become such a pitiful place….don't you feel guilty at all?
"Sister Su, should we move the refrigerator?" Wen Jiexi asked, scratching her head.
The table was already piled high with hills of utensils, and the cabinets had been opened and rummaged clean.
Su Chenyu sighed for a moment at how fast the little fellow moved. The kitchen had become a mess in just a blink of an eye.
"Hmm…" Su Chenyu walked around the refrigerator.
The refrigerator was half-embedded in the wall and would not be easy to move. Furthermore, she doesn't believe that the crew would have so much time to dig a hole in such an annoying spot. If they did, it would've been better if they spent that time making better quality treasure chests instead.
Production crew: Well we're sorry if you're dissatisfied with our current chests!!!
"That's unnecessary. Not to mention, the probability of the treasure hiding in the kitchen is not too high to begin with." Su Chenyu said and shook her head.
"But if it isn't in the kitchen then there's only the table left. You can't hide a treasure chest under the table." Wen Jiexi said in puzzlement.
Under the table…
Su Chenyur raised an eyebrow at Wen Jiexi's words and turned around to walk back to the table.
"Hey, Sister Su, wait up!" Wen Jiexi yelled and hurried to catch up.
Su Chenyu stopped in front of the table and walked around it. Based on the thickness, the treasure chest couldn't possibly be hidden inside the table. What about under the table? She bent down to take a look but there was nothing down there fishing down there either.
"Ah…" Wen Jiexi let out a groan in pain. She had bent down when she saw Su Chenyu do the same but hit her head accidentally against a small wooden strip on the underside of the table when she tried to stand back up.
"Are you okay?" Su Chenyu looked at the back of Wen Jiexi's head with some worry.
"I'm fine, just bumped into the table, it's no big deal." Wen Jiexi said and waved a hand.
Su Chenyu heard Wen Jiexi's words but still patted Wen Jiexi's head. Then she bent down at looked at this small wooden strip stuck to the table…..why was there only this one extra wooden strip stuck to the table? It stands to reason that the underside of a table should be completely smooth, right?
Su Chenyu felt puzzled the more she looked at it. She began to thoroughly inspect this extra piece of wood that seemed almost ordinary but rather unusual if one looked closely. If Wen Jiexi hadn't bumped her head against this thing, they probably would have missed this small detail.
Su Chenyu slowly rubbed the piece of wood until she felt a thin string at the end of the piece of wood and stopped moving.
"Sister Su, is something wrong?" Wen Jiexi looked at Su Chenyu's expression with confusion.
"Nothing, just thinking that someone really is a lucky star." Su Chenyu sighed and then took out a scroll from under the table.
"Eh, where did that come from?" Wen Jiexi exclaimed, bending down, and saw that the small wooden strip was now missing a small piece. The small wooden strip, no… it was more accurate to say that it is a small wooden box, and was actually hollow on the inside! It seemed the scroll was hiding inside that small wooden box!
"It seems we have come to the same conclusion." Su Chenyu smiled dryly.
"It seems so…." Wen Jiexi laughed. When they heard the word treasure, everyone thought that the treasure must be hidden in some chest. No one had thought it would be hidden in such a place. Although, if she wanted to hide a treasure she would hide it in a safe instead of this conspicuous place. To put the 'treasure' in plain sight…it was practically screaming for someone to find it.
"Open it and see what it is!" Wen Jiexi curiously leaned over Su Chenyu's shoulder.
"En." Su Chenyu nodded and opened the scroll under Wen Jiexi's eager gaze. On the scrolls was just a thin piece of paper. However, don't underestimate this piece of paper for even Su Chenyu's expression shifted when she saw it.
This is a letter of introduction from a well-known domestic director, Peng Xianda. Don't look down on this piece of paper because it is 'just a letter of introduction' for it is much more than that.
Although Director Peng is now over 60 years old, he is one of the greatest directors in the filming world. Every film he made became a famous classic and Su Chenyu has worked with him before. In fact, he is one of the most accomplished people she knew and one of the biggest reasons she became so famous.
Furthermore, everyone knows the more outstanding someone is, the more eccentric they are. And Director Peng had the eccentric habit of not making his films public until the release day. That meant he didn't go through normal means to recruit actors for his films. Instead, he will give this letter of introduction to some of his friends or people who he wants to have a deep relationship with. Then he asks those people to help him find actors that they think are suitable. And Director Peng's friends are not to be trifled with. These friends of his would always send the best actors to him and none of them are those useless vases you might see in other productions.
Furthermore, even if you got a letter of introduction, it is not a guarantee you can get the role. However, it would at least let one enter Director Peng's eyes. And that was something many actors would fight over for.
Su Chenyu raised her eyebrows. Old Zhan could unexpectedly actually get his hands on such a thing. Could he be a secret friend of Director Peng's? That is one peculiar standard for a friend.
Old Zhan: Hey, why can't I be his friend?!! You're discriminating against me!
"Jiexi, take it, this is a good thing." Su Chenyu folded the paper and stuffed it into Wen Jiexi's arms.
"But… this…" Wen Jiexi wanted to refuse, but Su Chenyu interrupted her.
"This is more useful for you. For me, it is something I don't need." Su Chenyu was telling the truth. She had already established her friendship with Director Peng through working on several films with him and already possessed a position in Director Peng's heart. So there really is no need for her to take this letter of introduction.
Wen Jiexi hesitated, she would still feel bad if she accepted it….
"Just accept it. Instead, I hope you can accompany me to a certain place." Su Chenyu smiled.
"Where?" Wen Jiexi tilted her head.
"It's my birthday in about a week or so. If you don't mind, I'll like you to accompany me then." Su Chenyu leaned over and whispered in Wen Jiexi's ears.
"B-birth-" Wen Jiexi's eyes widened and she stammered but her words were stopped by a finger pressed to her lips.
"Shhh, don't let anybody know…."
"Ohh…ok…." Wen Jiexi nodded furiously.
Broadcast: "Congratulations on finding the treasure! As we near the end, may the policeman and killer please keep working hard. Just which side will win? Good or evil? Stay tuned till the end!!!"
"You guys found the treasure?" Shi Junmao rushed out and then curiously looked at the scroll in Wen Jiexi's hands.
"What is it!!"
"Just a small thing." Su Chenyu grabbed Wen Jiexi's shoulder and stopped her from telling Shi Junmao.
"Hey…." Shi Junmao looked at the two people sadly. How can they do this to him! It only makes his heart itch more in emancipation! To hide the treasure and his satisfaction of getting his curiosity sated….how immoral!
Unfortunately, it's a pity that the people in question couldn't care less and ignored him. Then the said people went into the kitchen to find some food before eating it all.
One more night passed and the person who died this time was Yan Haocheng.
Broadcast: "Aiya~ Aiya~ The policeman has died, the policeman has died~"
So Yan Haocheng was the policeman?! This policeman's style and presence were a little….shouldn't the show have chosen someone who would've been more enthusiastic about being the policeman?!
"Sister Su, I thought you were the policeman!" The dim-witted Little Sheep said.
"Really?" Said the Big Bad Wolf as she patted the Little Sheep's head.
Broadcast: "Since the policeman has died, we'll give everyone the privilege to report the killer! Everyone on the scene may only report once! Now may everyone please cast your votes."
"Jiexi, you must back me up!" Shi Junmao was the first to speak.
"So Little Mao-zi, you're the killer?!" Instead of agreeing, the Little Sheep pointed at Shi Junmao and looked at the teen idol like she was looking at a heinous sinner.
"Yes, that's right, this person must be the killer! Just look at his appearance! But I never thought he would be this kind of a person!" Dango shouted in outrage.
….Dango, this is just a game… How can a killing game be fun without killing people?
"Hmph, murder is still murder! Therefore, the killer must be a bad person!" Dango said confidently with its chest puffed up. Then Dango pointed an arm at Shi Junmao,
"There is only one truth! He must be the killer!"
There is only one truth…..Wen Jiexi blushed with embarrassment. Dango….the little ghost couldn't have been watching that very famous detective series, Detective X-nan and then got brainwashed by it, right?
However….if the only other choice was Sister Su, the perfect example of a living saint, then that could only mean…Dango is right! Little Mao-zi must be the killer!
Pfffff-–
Shi Junmao was about to vomit up blood. How did he become the killer? Sister Heling had said the killer is a female and Wen Jiexi still insisted it was him? Does he look like a woman?!!
"Yeah, yeah, he's the killer." Su Chenyu, the Big Bad Wolf, nodded in agreement and even patted the Little Sheep's head in satisfaction.
"That's right, even Sister Su says it's you!" With the support of both the Big Bad Wolf and Dango, the Little Sheep was even more confident about her answer.
"Police, hurry! The murderer is right here! Take him away and bring him to justice!" Dango screamed in disgust.
Shi Junmao was going to die of anger. How is this game fun?!
Production crew: Pfft-hahaha! What an interesting development! Poor Little Mao-zi, we sympathize with you! We will give you three seconds of silence to remember you~
Unsurprisingly, poor Little Mao-zi was successfully arrested in this two on one fight.
Wen Jiexi looked at Shi Junmao with a triumphant expression and then thought unhappily about how this guy had reported her Sister Su just now….hurry up and reveal yourself…let everyone see your true face…
Broadcast: "Congratulations to the survivors~ You~ Guessed~ Wrong~"
Wen Jiexi (Little Sheep): ?!!! But I'm the doctor?!!
Dango: This is not scientific! I've been deceived!!!
"I told you so!!! But you didn't believe me!" Shi Junmao threw his card on the table and looked at Wen Jiexi with an aggrieved expression. The drawing on the card was an airplane pilot.
Police A and B also appeared promptly, with a sign that said 「I was wronged!」. They hung it around his neck and then dragged him away.
"I was wronged!! AHHHH!!!!!"
A rather dramatic exit…
"…" Wen Jiexi (Little Sheep) looked at the miserable and wailing Shi Junmao with an expression full of disbelief, Suddenly, she felt a chill go down her neck and shivered when a hand patted her shoulder.
"Jiexi, what are you looking at?" The voice said in an unusually gentle tone.
Wen Jiexi trembled and slowly turned her head to look at the person behind her. With a smile in her eyes, and staring at Wen Jiexi with a strange look….it was the person she's been saving the entire time…Sister Su!!!
Ahhhhhhhh!! Help!!!!
"Hahahaha, so the killer won in the end…"
And not so surprisingly, Su Chenyu, the killer, won the final victory.
Everyone had returned to the long table and enjoyed a steak dinner that Old Zhan had gotten from who knows where. On the table were bread, salad, soup, and other dishes. Because this was filming a show, there was no wine. If they did provide wine and someone got drunk, wouldn't it get ugly?
Wen Jiexi melancholically ate her steak while glancing sadly at the person beside her who elegantly ate their own steak. Wuwuwuwu….whenever she thought about those strange gazes full of pity directed at her from the people around her…..she felt so heartbroken. She had obviously trusted the person beside her so much….
All she needed was a handkerchief to bite on and her act of a bitter wife who was wronged would've been complete.
Naturally, Su Chenyu had noticed the aggrieved look of the little sheep next to her. She reached out and patted Wen Jiexi's head while chuckling as she leaned in close to her ear,
"Are you angry? Be good, this big sister didn't mean it~"
The scorching hot breath caused Wen Jiexi to shrink back and made her ears blush. She lowered her head and quickly stuffed her mouth with food, hoping to distract herself with food instead.
Everyone else: Ah, there is dog food everywhere.
"Hey, hey, go get your own food! Beat it!" Mu Du frowned slightly and slapped Old Zhan's fork away from his steak with a look of dissatisfaction.
"Hey, hey….I thought to reward you guys for all your hard work and specifically asked for someone to cook steak for you! I didn't even charge you extra money! Hmph, what a good host I am." Old Zhan stuck his hands on his waist and then pointed at the kitchen where the aroma of meat was still wafting in the air as several figures in white chef uniforms rushed around.
"Old Zhan, you shouldn't eat too much. You don't exercise either. Beware of high blood pressure." Shi Junmao happily took a bite of his bread and steak while smiling evilly.
"Beat it! You little brat, this uncle has evolved into mankind's final form! I am the pinnacle of human evolution!" Old Zhan patted his stomach and said.
"And you call yourself an uncle. How can a man's most evolved form be a beer belly? How pitiful…" Wen Ting spat out without bothering being polite.
The heartbroken Old Zhan couldn't take it and said he didn't want to talk with them anymore.
"Speaking of, are the activities done for today?" Wen Jiexi raised her head and asked.
"En. It's already six. If we continue to let you guys play, you're going to get dark circles under your eyes. Then I might get cursed by your fans." Old Zhan raised his chin with an expression that said 「I'm doing this for your sake. Hurry up and thank me.」
Regarding Old Zhan's expression, everyone's reaction was:
"Oh~"
"Awesome."
"After wearing these clothes, my image has shattered a long time ago."
"Someone once said we would lose our image. He already spoke his true thoughts."
Old Zhan: Hmph, you bastards! I get nothing good in return for being so kind!
"What are you going to do tomorrow?" Lan Yuyan asked as he blew on his hot soup and then carefully sipped the liquid slowly.
"Tomorrow…why are you asking about tomorrow's affairs? There must at least be some semblance of mystery preserved!" "Old Zhan said with a smile, and everyone responded with indifference
"Speaking of…you guys really have opened my eyes today! Do you guys want to pay some money to help compensate this castle's owner?"
Everyone bowed their heads, some of the people who had already eaten got up and walked out of the room. Those who almost finished eating stuffed the remaining pieces into their mouths and quickly wiped their lips as they ran out of the room. This left only Old Zhan with his hands spread out at the table…
T/N:
"Sadako" as in the long-haired ghost girl from the movie Ring that comes out of the TV to scare people.