Xia Bai remarked, “Haven’t you all felt more emotionally volatile since the movie started?”
Guo Yang and Gu Quankun paused, seemingly in agreement.
The ponytailed girl, for reasons unknown, had abandoned her attempts to seek help from outside. Leaning against the corridor wall, panting, she gave a definitive answer, “Yes, I feel like I’m a ticking bomb. I’ve seen my share of horror movies, plenty of them R-rated, and even witnessed crime scenes firsthand. By rights, I shouldn’t have fallen apart earlier.”
Xia Bai suggested, “The film might be carrying a form of mental contamination.”
Aside from the middle-aged man still sprawled on the floor, the realization dawned on the three others after a brief moment of astonishment, followed by a breakout of cold sweat.
From the start, they had been impressed by the film’s realism, its atmosphere, and its immersive quality.
Now, it seemed it wasn’t just immersive; the movie possessed a kind of sorcery that ensnared the mind.
The malevolence of the game was horrifying. They were informed from the beginning that to clear the game, they must unravel the plot of the movie, which essentially meant they were instructed to watch the movie intently, not missing a second. But with the film’s mental contamination, the more seriously and invested they watched, the more susceptible they became to issues.
It was an inescapable trap.
What would happen if they continued to watch with such focus?
But if they didn’t watch, they couldn’t complete the task.
Guo Yang was still puzzled, “Even with the mental contamination, and us showing symptoms of it, how come they die in the movie, while we’re still alive and well?”
Xia Bai explained, “The film’s mental contamination interacts with the darkest desires of a person’s heart, targeting the most vulnerable spots within.”
“The storylines related to us simply haven’t appeared yet. This trashy movie is actually composed of our life experiences. At the very least, there are certain parts that are targeted at us.”
If Xia Bai’s guess was correct, little Xuemu had covered his eyes and ears with her hair when the movie segment that was meant for him had played. He recalled a line from then. “You won’t even spare their corpses?”
Utilizing fixations to cast curses upon others was little Xuemu’s specialty, and fixations often originated from one’s darkest desires. It was possible that she also had some insight into this. Perhaps sensing the malevolent contamination targeting his desires, she emerged at that moment to shield him.
Heping Medical College resorted to amplifying and twisting people’s fixations to drive them to suicide.
Hexie Cinema employed contamination to intensify those dark desires, immersing the audience in the film to the extent that they could be drawn in and ultimately be killed.
Xia Bai had thought the game would employ technology far beyond human capabilities, perhaps even using it to torment humans. However, the two games he entered focused on the subtlest depths of the human psyche, showing a curious or even fond interest in these aspects.
It seemed to enjoy peeling away the layers wrapped around those dark desires, using them as bait to lead people to their deaths.
With Xia Bai’s words, those in the auditorium fell into deep thought.
They began to reflect on the storylines surrounding the deaths of the three individuals, seeing through the trashy plot to glimpse into a person’s inner world.
The ponytailed girl couldn’t help but glance at the middle-aged man still lying on the floor, who must have heard Xia Bai’s analysis. At this moment, his trembling and curled up posture weren’t just due to pain—or, at the very least, not just the physical kind.
The sorrow and despair of the middle-aged man with a limp were vividly conveyed through his incessant trembling and tears.
“It’s so ironic,” Guo Yang said. “The trashy movie we looked down upon is actually the story of our lives. And it’s damn real.”
“Is this the truth of the film? The so-called logic of the movie?” he asked.
Gu Quankun replied, “If that’s the case, we need to finish watching the movie, which means seeing through the plots related to each of us. But now, it’s impossible for us to finish it.”
Their eyes turned to the screen, which should have been replaying Ling Changye’s death. Truth be told, they all wanted to see when Ling Changye had died and what unshakable dark desires he had, but now they couldn’t see anything.
After his death, like those before him, his blood had stained the screen red, obscuring their view completely. Even the sound from the movie had become more muffled.
“What do we do now?” Guo Yang asked.
Perhaps because the movie screen was stained with blood, the contaminating effect had been greatly diminished, and the ponytailed girl appeared much calmer. She came over from the corridor with a suggestion, “Can we wring out the blood if we twist the screen?”
She always had some interesting ideas.
Gu Quankun laughed, “Why don’t you give it a try?”
The ponytailed girl shrank back, falling silent.
“So what do we do? We definitely can’t complete the task if we don’t finish the movie. Have we hit a dead end?” Thinking that one of his idols had died in the game filled Guo Yang with sorrow and despair. Were they really heading towards a dead end?
Gu Quankun suggested, “Let’s check the other auditoriums.”
They immediately grasped his idea. When the game had started, there were people in two other auditoriums. If they had been drawn into the game as well, their screens should also be showing “Island Escape”. The plot details might differ to target them specifically, but the overall story framework might remain the same, allowing them to see the rest of the movie.
“Just in case, we should leave someone here to record.” Although the movie’s visuals were blurred, they could at least hear what was being said. In case the other auditoriums were no better, they still had this one to analyze.
“This auditorium might still contain ghostly hands, and so might the others. We need to split our power evenly,” Guo Yang said. Then, puzzled, he asked, “Why are there ghostly hands at all? What’s their purpose?”
Gu Quankun appeared somewhat impatient. “Isn’t it just to make it harder for us to watch the movie? Haven’t you figured it out yet? First, people are killed in the movie; second, the blood of those killed stains the screen; third, the ghostly hands that appear in the auditorium. Layer upon layer of obstacles. There are already three ways to prevent us from finishing the movie. So, completing the movie is crucial.”
“Sometimes you need to think a bit, use reverse logic. The more the game prevents us from doing something or getting close to something, the more crucial it likely is. Perhaps that’s our way to clear the game. Everything now indicates that finishing the movie is the most important. As long as we finish the movie, we can clear the game.”
“Alright, alright, no need to lecture me. You’re not my dad, nor are you the player I admire, let alone my idol,” Guo Yang retorted impatiently. “Let’s split up.”
“…”
Ignoring the middle-aged No. 2 for the moment, Gu Quankun and the ponytailed girl stayed in Auditorium 5 to record, while Xia Bai and Guo Yang headed to the other auditoriums, followed by a child.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Ktf vbbg gfwjlcfv ibmxfv, yea la kjr bo ilaaif mbcmfgc—j ofk wbgf xlmxr kbeiv vb atf aglmx.
Ktf mlcfwj kjr reooerfv klat atf jgbwj bo yeaafgfv qbqmbgc wlzfv klat atf ajcu bo yibbv—j rajgx mbcagjra ab atf ereji fcalmlcu rmfca bo rcjmxr atja oliifv wbnlf atfjafgr, ieglcu bea bcf’r tecufg. Lbkfnfg, ja atlr wbwfca, atf rkffacfrr kjr bnfgqbkfgfv ys atf rafcmt bo yibbv.
The corridor was dimly lit, making it hard to see, but the smell of blood alone led them to surmise that others from different auditoriums had been swept into the game as well.
The two instinctively drew closer, and the child, timidly clinging to Xia Bai, attempted to grab his pants but hesitated and withdrew his hand.
Xia Bai, observing the two people drawing near to him, reached out to grasp the stiff child and moved closer to Guo Yang, whispering as if sharing a secret, “I think what he said is wrong. The appearance of ghostly hands isn’t just to make watching the movie harder.”
Guo Yang found this comment satisfying. Gu Quankun, with his lofty demeanor, had mocked him repeatedly, acting as if his words were absolute truth. Hearing someone challenge that brought Guo Yang a sense of relief. He finally understood why disparaging someone together could bring people closer.
Guo Yang looked at Xia Bai, “Do you really think so? Then, why do you think the ghostly hands appeared?”
After Xia Bai shared a theory, Guo Yang nodded in agreement, trusting Xia Bai over Gu Quankun.
Seeing this, Xia Bai leaned in and asked, “Guo Yang, what do you think of me?”
“What?”
In the dim corridor light, Guo Yang could see Xia Bai’s fair skin and almond-shaped, tea-colored eyes, bright and distinct. Unlike lively black eyes, tea-colored ones might seem distant and dazed, yet were undeniably beautiful and ethereal, especially with his eye shape. In the dark surroundings of the game, they provided a pure, soothing presence akin to a sought-after safe haven.
Now, those eyes were focused intently on him.
Guo Yang’s heart skipped a beat. What did he mean by that?
Was his earlier attempt at taking charge more than just a joke? Had someone recognized his potential to shine?
As Guo Yang gazed at Xia Bai, his proximity causing him to feel a little light-headed, he took a step back, feeling his face flush.
“Y-You’re great, but I don’t even know your name yet. Do you…”
Xia Bai interjected quickly, “My name is Xia Bai. Do you think I’m trustworthy?”
Guo Yang nodded, puzzled by Xia Bai’s urgency.
Xia Bai continued, “Um… this is my first time too. I’m not joking. Please consider this seriously.”
Guo Yang’s heart raced. Why make such statements? This was his first time experiencing something like this too.
Guo Yang’s heart pounded. Why say such things? He too was experiencing this for the first time.
Xia Bai asked very seriously, “Can I have your dead body?”
Guo Yang: “…?”
“What?” Guo Yang was completely baffled, thinking the mental contamination was still affecting him. He seemed to have heard some terrifying things.
It would’ve been a lot more understandable if Xia Bai had said “body” instead of “dead body”.
Xia Bai repeated, “After you die, can I have your dead body?”
Guo Yang: “???”
This guy was a fucking psychopath!
So much for a soothing haven!
After a lengthy pause, Xia Bai gently pulled at Guo Yang’s sleeve. Guo Yang replied coldly, “Absolutely not!”
Xia Bai hummed in acknowledgment.
The two proceeded in silence.
Blood splatter covered the walls. Corpses appeared every few steps. Their footsteps were muffled by the blood-soaked carpet beneath their feet. The movie “Island Escape” echoed with loud noises, its screams penetrating the hallway. Yet, the long corridor remained eerily quiet, devoid of any sounds of life.
They stopped in front of Auditorium 3.
Anyone who had survived a game would always pay attention to their surroundings, knowing that a game could commence at any location. They both knew that besides Auditorium 5, Auditoriums 3 and 7 were also showing movies.
Guo Yang banged on the door loudly, the sound likely reaching even those in Auditorium 5.
Xia Bai was taken aback.
There was no need to react with such anger to that question, was there?
After two minutes of silence, Guo Yang, clutching his black blade, forcefully kicked open the door, creating a loud noise. A strong scent of blood overwhelmed them as they entered.
Inside, a corpse lay with one hand outstretched towards the entrance, suggesting a futile attempt to crawl away before death, its back pierced by a sizable wound.
It was likely caused by a ghostly hand like the one they’d seen in their auditorium.
Blood flowed steadily from the screen, surpassing the rate in the auditorium. The screen itself was drenched in blood, and even the movie’s sound, absorbed or dampened by the blood, became barely audible, distorted by a buzzing noise.
Not a single person in the auditorium was alive.
When the game started in the cinema, Auditorium 3 was playing a campus romance film. While not as many people might choose a romance movie for a late-night show compared to a horror film, the absence of any survivors still weighed heavily.
Guo Yang tried to comfort himself, “Nowadays, few veteran players would watch romance movies, right? Ordinary people have a hard time resisting the ghostly hands.”
“Yeah,” Xia Bai nodded, then pointed to the person dead at the door, “If he died in the game, does it mean even if we clear it, he can’t go home?”
Guo Yang’s mood softened somewhat, “Yes, many who die in the game remain within it, especially those in ordinary, small maps. The vast majority stay in the game, disappearing along with it.”
Xia Bai quickly added, “If you give me your corpse, even if you die, I can take you back home. Have you perhaps heard of corpse herders?”
Guo Yang: “…………”
Xia Bai, undeterred, asked again, “I promise I’ll bring you out. Can I have your corpse?”
Guo Yang: “No!”
Xia Bai was even more bewildered.
This skill was proving too difficult to use.
He then turned to the child he was holding by the hand, “Can I have your corpse?”
The child looked up at him intently, mouth opening to speak but was immediately silenced by Guo Yang covering his mouth, “Don’t agree to him, Erwa!”
“Recall the Golden Horned Lord and Silver Horned Lord from ‘Journey to the West’? Remember the saying, ‘If I call, will you dare to respond?’ If you make that promise, you might become a corpse. You’re young and you may not know yet, but such sinister soul techniques exist.”
Xia Bai’s eyes lost their sparkle.
This skill was too challenging to utilize.
Guo Yang, guarding against Xia Bai, carried Erwa off to Auditorium 7.
Just like earlier at Auditorium 3, Guo Yang banged on the door forcefully, “Is anyone there?”
This time, they finally received a response. Just as Guo Yang was about to kick the door open, a faint reply came through, “Y-Yes…”
As the door was kicked open, they saw a person who had been crouching in the back row stand up, almost bursting into tears of joy at the sight of them, “Thank goodness, there are still players out here.”
Besides him, there was a female employee of the cinema, dressed in the standard black uniform.
The condition of the screen in Auditorium 7 was no better than theirs. With this in mind, it was safer to just return to their own auditorium.
While they shared information about the situation in their respective auditoriums on the way back to Auditorium 5, Guo Yang briefed the three who stayed behind, “Bad news, the screens in the other auditoriums are also obscured, and one of them even has muffled sound. Good news, there are two more survivors, and they’ve made a new discovery.”
“What discovery?” the ponytailed girl asked while continuing to record.
The man who came back with them had been through a game once before and claimed to have some, but limited, experience.
The woman, an employee of the cinema, was caught in the game while in Auditorium 7. She must have endured a harrowing hundred minutes, for her hair was matted with dried blood, her head was hung low, and she barely spoke.
The man shared, “Not counting this employee, there were seven of us in our auditorium. Two died by ghostly hands, four in the movie itself. Now we can neither see nor hear the movie clearly.”
To understand the movie’s story, one must at least be able to watch it. How could they proceed if it was unclear? Anxiously, they circled the screen, cautiously exploring.
The man revealed, “We found that shaking the screen also causes the blood within it to move.”
The ponytailed girl exclaimed, “So twisting it might actually wring the blood out?!”
Whether or not it was possible remained uncertain, but there seemed to be a chance to remove the blood, given that blood could drip from the screen when people died in the movie. This might also be a hint provided by the game.
Initially, they hadn’t attempted to twist or squeeze the screen. Guo Yang carefully placed his hand on the screen, gently sliding downward without any force, but no blood dripped out.
“I can’t feel the blood moving,” he said.
Increasing the pressure and squeezing down evenly also resulted in no blood dripping.
This method was futile.
The man from Auditorium 7 trembled as he pulled a cigarette from his pocket, not to smoke, but to incessantly rub it, “What do we do then?”
They hadn’t seen the movie screen for at least ten minutes, and he wasn’t the only one feeling anxious.
Guo Yang pulled out his black blade, “Why not go all in and just cut a slit in the screen?”
The ponytailed girl hesitated, “Isn’t that too risky? What if we damage it and the movie stops playing?”
Guo Yang countered, “There’s still Auditorium 7.”
Gu Quankun decided, “Let’s cut it.”
The main material of the screen, polyethylene film, could easily be sliced through—though it was only easy in a physical sense. Mentally, they were all extremely tense, staring at the screen unblinkingly.
A small slit slowly opened under the tip of the blade, and before they could see clearly inside the slit, it was stained red with blood, as if a wound had been cut open on a person, with fresh blood gushing out.
“Look, it’s working!” the ponytailed girl exclaimed excitedly. “The blood is draining from the screen!”
As the blood started flowing out smoothly, quickly pooling on the floor, Guo Yang breathed a sigh of relief.
He withdrew his knife, wiping off the blood.
That’s when things took a sudden turn. The small slit on the screen abruptly widened, and a ghastly, terrifying ghostly hand reached out from the screen towards Guo Yang. The others’ horrified expressions entered Guo Yang’s gaze just as he felt an almost paralyzing cold chill from behind.
When faced with danger, it’s instinctive to take a step back. As everyone else screamed or grimaced and retreated, only Xia Bai seized the moment to try and gain favor by lunging at Guo Yang.
In that instant, time seemed to slow a hundredfold.
Guo Yang’s gaze fixed on Xia Bai as he fearlessly tackled him, his pupils trembling slightly. After pushing him aside, the closest person to the spectral hand became Xia Bai, and then another individual pushed Xia Bai aside to grasp the ghastly appendage.
It was audience member No. 2, the middle-aged Ma Tongfeng.
He had been lying close to the screen, unnoticed due to his injuries, and no one expected him to suddenly surge forward in a burst of energy at that moment.
The spectral hand hesitated for a moment, poised to drag Ma Tongfeng into the movie.
Xia Bai rolled over to grab Ma Tongfeng’s legs, and Guo Yang followed by firmly grasping Xia Bai’s legs, shouting to the others, “Quick, help us!”
The ponytailed girl panicked and lunged at him, trying to hold his legs down, while Gu Quankun leapt onto a step, grabbing the girl’s legs and pulling back.
As two individuals from cinema hall number 7 approached, Ma Tongfeng’s body was already half-pulled into the screen, with blood from the screen flowing over him and onto the others.
Gu Quankun yelled, “It’s too strong! We can’t hold on! Let go! Three! Two! One!”
At the critical moment, everyone instinctively let go following Gu Quankun’s countdown.
Only Xia Bai didn’t release his grip, still holding onto Ma Tongfeng’s legs. As the others let go, he was suddenly pulled forward, his head entering the screen, revealing ankles with bulging veins.
A child was tightly clinging onto him there.
Xia Bai, along with the child, was pulled into the screen.
“Fuck! Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!” Guo Yang cursed loudly as he stomped his foot, grasping the child’s foot in the last second, and was also pulled into the screen.
The once tiny tear in the screen, no larger than a finger’s width, was now a gaping tear, oozing blood and fragments of corpses.
The number of people in the cinema halved, leaving only the sound of heavy breathing.
“Wh-What do we do now?” The ponytailed girl, still in shock, stared at the screen and asked, trembling.
“There’s nothing to do. Just make sure we’re not dragged into the movie. Have you forgotten what happened to those who were?” Gu Quankun sneered coldly, his eyes alight with a hint of excitement.
They all died in the movie, and he would receive a significant reward for the game.
The ponytailed girl shivered, quickly looking towards the screen, which was now partially torn but had less blood, praying not to see their corpses inside.
The ghostly campus belle’s hand emerged from the lake, gripping a person tightly as she attempted to drag them out.
A slight frown marred her face. Exerting more effort, she yanked, pulling out a chain of people.
Guo Yang coughed up water, “Xia Bai, what are you doing?! Why didn’t you let go?! If he wanted to die, let him!”
Xia Bai, drenched and sneezing softly, replied, “Did you forget what I told you in the corridor?”
Guo Yang paused. Xia Bai had mentioned in the corridor that the spectral hand appearing in cinema hall number 5 belonged to the ghostly campus belle, and their hall was connected to the movie world.
Was Xia Bai intending to enter on purpose?
Indeed, he was.
He didn’t risk his life just to save man No. 2; he had suspected that to clear this game, they might have to enter the movie.
If it was just about watching the movie in the cinema to understand the storyline, the game would have phrased it as “the logic of the movie”, and not “the logic of the story within the movie”. This distinction was crucial to his theory.
At first, he thought it was a bit far-fetched, but after people died in the movie and the ponytailed girl mentioned dimensional barriers and the outer and inner worlds, he began to seriously consider this path. Seeing the spectral hand only solidified his guess.
At this point, seeing no other way out, Xia Bai chose what seemed like a “dead end” by allowing himself to be pulled into the movie.
There wasn’t enough time to explain to Guo Yang as the ghostly campus belle’s other damaged hand was already slashing towards them. They had already experienced the terrifying strength of this hand, and danger was imminent.
With both hands around the legs of the middle-aged man, Xia Bai found it difficult to reach for the talisman to subdue the ghost.
The spectral hand’s nails grew endlessly, poised to pierce through Ma Tongfeng’s head.
Seeing the looming nails, Guo Yang yelled, “Don’t be scared, Erwa! Make your move! You’re the top combatant among us, what’s there to fear?”
Xia Bai, who had just touched his talisman: “…?”
The author has something to say:
Xia Bai: This skill is just too hard to use o(╥﹏╥)o
Xia Bai: Stop pushing me, or I’ll have to unleash my ultimate move.
Ling Changye: Oh?
Xia Bai collecting corpses is hilarious 😂😂😂😂😭 he’s so adorable. You should wait until someone is in the brink of death and then ask them to be willing to be your corpse so that they wont hesitate to say yes.
Thanks for the chapter 🍑❤❤
Thank you for the chapter! ❤
Why in the world is Erwa one of the top ten players when he’s just a child? 😭 Is bro Einstein Jr?
Not Xia Bai awkwardly acting like he wants to convert people to his religion! 😂 Thanks for the chapter!
😂😂poor guy, just wants to bring home his corpses. It’s so hard to add to the collection without making them yourself, I guess
Erwa being the strongest scardy cat is somewhat amusing. Imagine they were there to idk build his resistance to horror but were pulled into q game…
xD I still remember that quote “An idiot is first on the ranking list and a coward was the first to clear the game” still living rent free in my head… 🙃
Where is the quote from?
Oh it’s not a quote I just forgot what the thing was called so I said it was a quote, but Xia Bai days that after finishing this arc 😃
lol jokes on them later on when Xia Bai acquires his crazy overpowered prop he’ll be able to collect corpses from experienced players who most likely have some kind of soul, physical or prop skill and level up like a god!!!
poor guo yang thought he was gonna get some 😭 😭 😭 like if i was him and i thought some pretty boy was making a move and then he asked for my DEAD BODY i would never recover
Let him have your body Guo Yang, you won’t be using it anymore anyway! Reduce reuse recycle!