Chu Huai chose “Yes.”
Suddenly, everything started spinning around him. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself still on the sofa. Luo Ziyang was the first to jump down, his body unsteady and almost falling, but Jin Tianyi quickly grabbed him by the back of his collar.
Jin Tianyi turned around to pull Chu Huai, who hesitated to extend his hand, his gaze fixated on his face.
Luo Ziyang turned around, his hands shaking with excitement, and couldn’t say a word for a while.
Jin Tianyi blinked at Chu Huai and whispered: “I’m back.”
Emotions couldn’t be too obvious, so he could only give a simple hug, which made Jin Tianyi look like he was begging for a beating in Chu Huai’s eyes.
The sense of security rushed over Chu Huai, as if the life and death experience just now was a world away. He pulled his mouth into a smile.
They rehearsed what they did before, and when they reached the spot where the ghost broke through the wall, the three of them avoided it and passed through safely.
Luo Ziyang was anxious. Even if they passed this death checkpoint, what about the next one?
The number of opportunities was a consumable, but ghosts were everywhere. They might be able to avoid the first, but not the fifteenth.
Chu Huai walked behind, lost in thought.
After they finished touring the platform, Luo Ziyang asked: “What should we do now?”
They might not be able to go back to the villa and would have to spend the remaining ten hours or so below.
If they waited until the time was up and left the movie, the resulting film would have an open ending. He had seen several movies like that.
He remembered one where Tenant A was tied to a cross, and in the mural of Genesis on the wall, God suddenly revealed a terrifying face with sharp teeth, about to devour Tenant A. The spacious room was suddenly closed off by a heavy door, and as soon as the door was completely shut, the movie ended.
Has resident A died? Definitely not. If an actor dies, there will definitely be a scene in the movie, so they didn’t see A’s death, which means A is definitely still alive.
Sometimes the director will joke and add a line at the end of the film saying “Stay tuned for the sequel of xxxx.” Of course, there won’t be a sequel, it’s just to make the movie not end abruptly.
Jin Tianyi fell silent for a moment, implying: “We can save each other, after all, there are only three of us left.”
Chu Huai, who had lowered his eyes, suddenly looked up. He was just thinking about this.
“Well, of course,” Luo Ziyang was quick-witted and blurted out, sensing Jin Tianyi’s deeper meaning.
Chu Huai suddenly laughed.
He had a third way out that was neither right nor wrong. No need to rely on luck or frame teammates.
They can… use the N shots to save each other.
That is the true meaning of “saving each other.”
If Jin Tianyi saves him from dying, he can jump back in time and avoid critical moments. And if he saves Jin Tianyi from dying, Jin Tianyi can N-jump and avoid the next critical moment. It’s foolproof.
The only difficulty is how to quickly earn the director’s favor and mechanically grind points.
What Chu Huai is pondering is that if the N shots are a viable way out, it may exist in all movies, but few residents who come out of the movies actually know about it.
Do they not know, or is it too late when they do?
If N shots are a viable way out, then the more people who are alive, the better. This means more N shots can be made.
That being said, when there is only one person left, this way out is closed.
At the beginning, when there were more people, they often hadn’t earned enough director’s favor.
In the middle, people were anxious and communication was difficult. Under the deliberate guidance of the main storyline, they were wary of each other and were led to self-destruct. In the end, this unconventional way out went unnoticed.
It’s kind of funny.
If it’s viable, then this way out is completely opposite to selling out teammates. It’s a path full of hope, redemption, sacrifice, and rebuilding.
Torn apart again and again, returning to the beginning again and again.
Chu Huaiyue is becoming increasingly confused about the nature of the world. Why is it so contradictory, like a capricious child, sometimes giving life generously, and other times trampling on it without a care?
Jin Tianyi suddenly said: “It’s too oppressive. Let’s talk about the horror movies we’ve seen before.”
Chu Huai was taken aback, unsure of his intentions, but still went along with it and joked: “You’re scared half to death, and yet you still want to talk about horror movies?”
Jin Tianyi sighed: “Whenever I watch those movies, I always get angry at the director for insulting my intelligence. A useless little boss struggles and jumps for half an hour without dying.”
Luo Ziyang joined in: “Of course, if the boss dies, how can the show go on? Isn’t that called a twist in the plot?”
Jin Tianyi continued: “It’s like the movie we watched before, Saw. A helpless nurse boss fought to the death with a black police officer several times, maybe three or four times, and the black police officer swung a wooden crate at the nurse boss every time, but couldn’t hit him. The nurse boss even counterattacked several times and almost killed the police officer. At that time, I was thinking, how can you be a homicide detective with such poor wooden crate skills? Just knock him out and kill him, right?”
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.
Jte Lejl gfjiis kjcafv ab xcbk ktja tf kjr agslcu ab rjs jcv qgfafcvfv ab vlrjugff: “P atlcx Wljbse lr gluta. Qtfatfg ab oluta bg cba, lo sbe wlrr, lo sbe tla yea vbc’a xlii, lo sbe vbc’a vlf yea mbecafgjaajmx, atf qiba lr oeii bo aklrar jcv aegcr jcv fzmlalcu, atf ‘vegjalbc’ lr fcbeut, jcv atf jevlfcmf lr tjqqs. Qts cba vb la?”
Jin Tianyi said a very key sentence: “Yes, for the sake of ‘exciting plot’, some logical consistency is sacrificed to ‘create twists and turns’, not only are the ‘directors’ willing, but the ‘audience’ is also very happy.”
He enunciated clearly, trying to convey his meaning clearly.
Chu Huai fully understood, and Jin Tianyi provided a feasible way to brush up on the director’s goodwill.
First of all, what the director pursues is not simply “the death of the actor”, which can be seen from his ability to dig deep into the character design.
In general, what the audience expects is what the director pursues. There are some directors with special tastes who may hide their personal preferences in the movie, but this is not within their consideration.
What the audience wants to see in a horror movie is easy to understand when they put themselves in the audience’s shoes.
First is the love aspect. Otherwise, the director wouldn’t arrange for Xiaoyu and Zhang Yan to have an affair in the bathroom, and he and Jin Tianyi wouldn’t almost accidentally set the wooden crate on fire in Xiaoyu’s room. This scene, in the context of the entire film, even seems a bit redundant.
If the director only wanted the actor to find out that there was something wrong with the room, there was no need to arrange for them to be locked in the room by the ghost. It would have seemed too contrived.
In the movie, every time the ghost appears, it harms people, but this time, the ghost is playing a prank, which creates a conflicting tone.
A very kind ghost, out of boredom, blocked the door to give them some space, and then didn’t do anything and left, which is quite strange logically.
And from what we can see, his character is not a slut, so he won’t die.
Secondly, the characters are lively and vibrant, and a slightly more insightful audience will hope for characters to have clear character arcs. So, the character with a fleshed-out backstory earned the director’s favor.
The so-called character arc is exemplified by a ruthless killer who, because a little girl looks like his deceased daughter, risks everything to save her.
As long as it’s reasonable and the transitions are smooth, character development will be successful.
For example, Jin Tianyi’s character starts off as greedy and deceitful, but gradually sheds his materialistic tendencies and pursues his true self, so his character is evolving in a positive direction. Therefore, he certainly also earned the director’s favor.
Thirdly, the plot has drastic ups and downs, which requires actors to work hard to create twists and turns.
There are many other scattered points that can earn the director’s favor, such as humor, like the ghost hand in the toilet giving hang gesture, or Shen Huai’s crossdressing pole dance.
For example, by refining actions and expressions, authentic emotions can be conveyed.
Jin Tianyi’s words opened Chu Huai’s mind. Is earning the director’s favor not easy? Not really.
Returning to the essence, they are “acting” after all!
Perhaps the world wants to kill them, but the director doesn’t, he just wants to make a better movie and attract more attention. The addition of the ghost stand-in is not to kill them but to deliberately create conflicts and twists in the plot.
Chu Huai couldn’t help but laugh. They had been circling around, fixated on the truth of the movie, and putting in so much effort to find a way out, but they couldn’t see the way out that was right in front of them.
It’s easy to overlook what is gained after putting in so much effort, and often the priorities are reversed.
Earning the director’s favor is also quite simple, as he and Jin Tianyi can play lovers, and reasonably create intimate actions.
Create plot twists and turns, like the black-clothed police character in “Saw,” sacrificing some logic to create suspense and excitement.
Explore character traits.
Speak with humor and convey emotions effectively.
Chu Huai and Jin Tianyi looked at each other and suddenly felt a little relieved.
Is it difficult to endure for ten hours?
If there is love and friends, it’s not difficult. Because they will spare no effort to save each other.
Although there are only three of them, they can trust each other absolutely, which is better than anything else.
If there are too many people, and their hearts are unpredictable, even if you use your N shots of chances to save them, someone may betray their promise and refuse to save others for their own benefit. At that time, others cannot blame the person who goes back on their word because everyone is waiting for others to save them.
It’s disgusting to save others but die because of their ingratitude.
Luo Ziyang was soaked in sweat and started to have a fever. His face was abnormally hot, and the situation was not good. Chu Huai was a little worried, but he pretended to be okay with a forced smile.
Three hours passed, Chu Huai died twice, and Jin Tianyi died once again. Luo Ziyang was lucky enough not to become the target of the ghosts.
Chu Huai was thinking about how to gain the last bit of good feelings and exchange for another N shot when he saw a pale and swollen face appearing behind Luo Ziyang. His heart jumped to his throat, and he rushed to save him.
The N shots they had for each other could not be made public. Jin Tianyi had used up one when he saved Luo Ziyang before, and Chu Huai had just earned one but used it up again. Luo Ziyang should still have one, but if the ghosts killed him, his N shots could not be used to save himself.
The most important thing to do now was for Chu Huai to die for him, and then Luo Ziyang could save him.
Luo Ziyang was dizzy and slow to react. When Chu Huai rushed over, he suddenly became clear-headed and quickly rolled to one side.
Chu Huai stopped the car and looked at Luo Ziyang’s movement of checking his wristwatch, his expression stunned.
Luo Ziyang smiled at Chu Huai and Jin Tianyi who had just arrived, with a hint of shyness in his smile.
… Xiao Ye?
Chu Huai was stunned for a moment and then smiled. He was previously worried about whether Luo Ziyang’s body could hold up, but now he no longer had that concern.
So Xiao Ye had never left, just like a ghost parasite living with him and Luo Ziyang?
No wonder.
Before, Luo Ziyang accused him of leaving without saying goodbye, and Chu Huai was wondering why Xiao Ye’s feelings for Luo Ziyang didn’t seem fake. When he knew that Luo Ziyang was going to shoot a risky New Year’s film, he would not have abandoned him.
It was probably because the amusement park dungeon was over, and Xiao Ye couldn’t continue to stay in the apartment in the form of a ghost, so he came up with this plan.
No wonder Luo Ziyang had not been attacked by ghosts before. It was probably because of Xiao Ye’s ghostly protection.
Jin Tianyi behind them looked a bit solemn.
“The abilities of the ghosts in the movie are balanced by the world. Once a higher-level ghost like Xiao Ye appears and disrupts the balance, some other taboos will also be broken… Hopefully, I’m overthinking it.”
Jin Tianyi approached Chu Huai and thought of the seventh-level evil spirit in his body, causing him hidden worry.
The thing should already be inside Chu Huai’s body, not acting yet, first because he suppressed it, and secondly, he probably didn’t take Chu Huai seriously and thought he could definitely win against him.
But as the number of instances Chu Huai passed increased, he became anxious, which is why he started violating the rules and attacking Chu Huai.
In theory, that ghost thing should have been punished by the world for its actions in the previous instance and wouldn’t come out in this world anymore, but…
In any case, the rules of the N shots were higher than the rules of the killer ghost. Even if that thing came out, it couldn’t cause any substantial harm to them. It would only accelerate the consumption speed of N shot uses.
With Xiao Ye’s joining, the cooperation between the three became smoother.
In the next moment, Chu Huai woke up from the N shot. This time, Xiao Ye saved Jin Tianyi, and Jin Tianyi used the N shot.
Chu Huai fell behind and was about to go after the other two when a strange scene happened in his sight.
There was a person standing next to Xiao Ye, and their back was extremely similar to his.
That person seemed to sense Chu Huai’s gaze, suddenly turned their head, and Chu Huai met their eyes, which were blood-red and full of raging malice. His heart stopped.
That ghost. Chu Huai gritted his teeth.
This was the first time he had actively confronted them, and he found that the ghost was… exactly the same as him.
The only difference was probably a small black mole on the corner of his right lip, which he didn’t have.
But everything around them was pitch black, and Xiao Ye couldn’t see the mole, so he didn’t know that the person was a fake.
He deliberately let himself see it.
The void around them twisted, and Chu Huai desperately chased after them, but he couldn’t catch up no matter how much he tried. Whenever he got close, he closed his eyes, and they were far away again.
Chu Huai took a deep breath and told himself that the two of them would be okay.
He still had N shot uses, and even if Xiao Ye and Jin Tianyi didn’t recognize that he had killed them, he could revive them.
This time, the ghost’s target was… Xiao Ye.
Or rather, Luo Ziyang.
Chu Huai calmed down and had an idea.
“He and Jin Tianyi have a bond of life and death. Jin Tianyi can sense his danger. As long as he is slightly injured, Jin Tianyi will feel uneasy.”
Chu Huai drew a knife in his hand and made a cut on his palm.
Jin Tianyi in the distance immediately stopped in his tracks, his sharp gaze scanning over “Chu Huai.”
Jin Tianyi asked: “Are you injured?”
“No,” murmured “Chu Huai,” not looking at him directly.
Jin Tianyi sneered, suddenly reaching out to grab his pale neck. He lifted Chu Huai’s head and saw the mole on his face, as well as a sardonic smile.
Jin Tianyi shouted: “Xiao Ye, be careful!”
Now that the evil spirit had joined, this plot would no longer be valid in the movie, and he didn’t have to worry about titles anymore.
“Chu Huai’s” hand twisted in a strange way, and his fingertips touched Xiao Ye’s eyebrow, drawing a drop of blood.
Suddenly, Luo Ziyang collapsed.
Xiao Ye was forced out of Luo Ziyang’s body.
“Chu Huai” laughed: “Are you willing to attack me with this face in front of you? Don’t worry, my appearance is only to maintain the balance of the copy. He was the one who violated the rules first, not me. You gave me a chance to come out, and now I can only cause you trouble. What a pity.”
Luo Ziyang woke up and saw Xiao Ye beside him, his eyes widened. Before he could react: “Chu Huai” killed him.
Seeing this: “Chu Huai” immediately used an N shot and successfully returned to the previous scene.
He looked at Xiao Ye, who had not disappeared, and thought to himself. So that ghostly thing had temporarily separated from him? Becoming a member of the ghost camp?
N-shot…
Chu Huai’s eyes brightened. Perhaps this was a good opportunity to permanently get rid of him.
If he left, he would never come back.
A faint smile appeared on Chu Huai’s lips.
“Sorry, the situation is quite special, and I’ve been hiding it,” said Chu Huai.
Xiao Ye smiled bitterly: “It’s not your fault, it’s my problem. I was already worried about this, so I hesitated to come out, afraid of causing trouble for you. After all, the balance mechanism is too important in the instance, once it’s disrupted, there will be many variables. When I saw you go to save him, I couldn’t help but decide to come out…”
“Now the situation is a bit tricky,” said Xiao Ye.
Chu Huai shook his head: “It’s not entirely a bad thing. The film is now in a semi-stopped state, and we can no longer gain director’s favorability. But we only have one hour left until we leave the instance.”
Jin Tianyi said: “And we don’t have to act anymore, we can communicate smoothly. We just have an extra ghost chasing us, but what difference does it make?”
Chu Huai also thought the same way. Moreover, he had an uncertain method to permanently get rid of this ghost.
They all revealed their remaining attempts. Jin Tianyi still had two, Chu Huai had one, and Xiao Ye earned his, still having one left.
Jin Tianyi patted Xiao Ye’s shoulder: “Surviving for four attempts in one hour is not difficult, even more than enough, and we have you as a helper now.”
Luo Ziyang understood and sneered: “So does that mean I can settle the score with you now, Xiao Ye?”
He was about to pinch Xiao Ye, but Xiao Ye playfully embraced him without avoiding or dodging, and rubbed her neck against his, in a coquettish manner.
Luo Ziyang’s face turned red: “Don’t think that I’ll forgive you just because you do this!”
“Luo Ge, I didn’t leave, so you can’t blame me that day. We did it with mutual consent,” said Xiao Ye.
Luo Ziyang said: “Shut up!”
Jin Tianyi got to the point and asked Xiao Ye candidly: “Are you the ghost on the following day?”
Xiao Ye’s body visibly stiffened.
Luo Ziyang was stunned: “Ghosts have a distinction between innate and acquired? Aren’t they all just humans who died and became ghosts…?”
Jin Tianyi shook his head and said something surprising: “It’s not like that. Innate ghosts directly transform from humans into ghosts, just like those ghosts chasing us in the villa. Acquired ghosts, on the other hand, were originally residents who died inside the instance, and because they reached a certain level, they became fierce ghosts used by the world.”
Chu Huai’s heart sank. Residents turned into fierce ghosts?
Could this be the world’s purpose? To cultivate powerful fierce ghosts? Resentment turns into ghosts, the more cunning and wicked a person is in life, the more powerful they become as fierce ghosts after death.
Ye Yuan was silent for a moment and then said with difficulty: “I am one.”
Jin Tianyi suddenly realized and looked at Luo Ziyang: “So, little Luo…”
Ye Yuan winked at him, and Jin Tianyi immediately fell silent. This involved Ye’s privacy, and he didn’t want to talk too much about it.
Luo Ziyang was completely confused: “So what are you guys talking about?”
The atmosphere became somewhat oppressive.
Chu Huai pulled Jin Tianyi aside, frowned, and asked in a low voice: “Did Little Luo have amnesia? Was he in a relationship with Little Ye before?”
Jin Tianyi shook his head calmly and said: “With amnesia, there is still the possibility of remembering. Little Luo, on the other hand, has no chance of recovering his memories except through death.”
“What’s the use of recovering memories after death? This is a paradox…” Chu Huai stuttered halfway through and was suddenly awakened by Jin Tianyi’s calm and profound gaze. He remembered that Jin Tianyi had previously said that some residents who died would turn into… fierce ghosts.
Finally, Jin Tianyi revealed the truth: “When a resident dies in the horror world, all connections to their existence in the real world are instantly severed. There will be no trace of their existence in the real world, and a living person will simply evaporate into thin air.”
Omg the “yeah” sign the toilet ghost made is a “hang” sign that surfers make with their thumb and pinky out and shaking their hand like “yeaaahhh maaann, hang loose”
The mystery is solved
Thank you.
Oh so sad(((
Thank you for your translation 💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝
this chapter is crazyyy — all the nightmare world and instance realizations and N points and mc’s parasite appearing and Xiao Luo’s bebe actually hiding inside him and damnn a glimpse of what could have happened with Ye Yuan and Ml OwO
So confusing. Thank you
Ye yuan died in instance, so he was erased from world & little luo’s memories 😔