The notification sound seemed to stutter for a second, making a ‘sizzling’ sound before disappearing. Zhou Qi’an stood still, his eyes slightly clouded.
To a certain extent, entering a instance was a sunk cost, but being able to leave halfway through wasn’t the game’s benevolence; it was more like a deduction. A four-and-a-half-star instance experience wouldn’t be small, but only getting thirty percent of it was like having run the instance for nothing.
What’s more, he hadn’t come alone. His mother, Shen Zhiyi, and the college student were all called by him to this instance. He couldn’t just leave them behind.
Zhou Qi’an scoffed, “There’s no choice at all.”
He walked to a less crowded area and opened his phone.
[Missing Two] Group:
[Zhou Qi’an]: Has anyone found the filming location? [Money.jpg]
He didn’t privately message Shen Zhiyi and the others about their recent discovery. Since it was clearly stated that actors needed to abide by a non-disclosure agreement, rashly revealing information would likely violate the rules. Even in the late stages of the campus instance, the game had tried to trick him with this.
Soon, someone replied. It was Wen.
[Wen]: Baiqing Open-Air Theater.
Players wouldn’t conceal information about filming locations. When facing an unknown scene, it was easier to try things out with more people.
A quarter of an hour later, Zhou Qi’an easily found his destination.
There were cordon lines outside the theater. Wen was standing under a huge billboard, and Bertram was also there. His expression wasn’t particularly good when he saw Zhou Qi’an. It would be strange if he was in a good mood after all the people he brought were lost to the other party.
Zhou Qi’an walked over as if nothing had happened: “Are you sure it’s here?”
The ancient city was full of filming locations.
Wen nodded and led him to the huge billboard. Because many venues required queuing, the screen was scrolling, clearly showing when and which film crew would use it.
When it scrolled to the third page, Zhou Qi’an’s eyes narrowed.
The Bell’s Ringing crew, filming time: 06:40 am – 06:50 am.
Filming project: The Bell’s Ringing Fifth Act: “One, Two, Three, Red Light, Green Light”
Wasn’t this what they played last night?
Before Zhou Qi’an could speak, more people arrived. Since the message was sent in the group, everyone arrived consecutively within the next ten minutes.
The college student, who had gone through something unknown with Shen Zhiyi, looked skeptical: “Fortunately, the filming location isn’t at the Grand Theater…”
Zhou Qi’an raised an eyebrow. Apparently, Shen Zhiyi had been tormenting NPCs there again.
Mother Zhou was the last to arrive. The bloodstains on her body were gone, and her hair was carefully oiled.
Upon seeing the billboard, everyone had the same question: why again?
Wen thought for a moment and said, “Could last night have been a rehearsal?”
At this, everyone suddenly felt enlightened.
“It’s highly possible. Last night was actually a preview, or rather, a fitting, which would be more appropriate.”
It was normal for them to have a fitting before work since they had just obtained their qualifications.
Zhou Qi’an looked at Wen, who had first posted the message in the group: “You came early. Do you know why there are cordon lines?”
Wen: “They’re currently shooting a restricted film, so people aren’t allowed near.”
“…”
Now it was Zhou Qi’an’s turn to be skeptical: “Shooting an R-rated film in an open-air theater?”
No one could answer that question.
Zhou Qi’an just asked casually. Including him, everyone was indifferent to this question and more concerned about why the “Red Light, Green Light” shoot later would only be ten minutes long.
Zhou Qi’an suddenly had a bad premonition. Could it be another marathon?
A presence approached him; it was Shen Zhiyi, who slipped something into his pocket.
[Novice Protection Period] returned to its owner.
Not long after, the filming inside seemed to have ended. The original actors in the theater came out, and when they saw them, they all showed strange smiles: “They’re setting up a great scene for you inside.”
A theater staff member then saw the players queuing and said, “Please wait.”
Another ten minutes passed, and the set manager came out and called: “Come in, your scene has been set up too.”
At 6:40, all players stood promptly in the theater. This was an open-air theater capable of holding a thousand people, with a very large, oval-shaped central area.
The so-called scene setup referred to what was under their feet. The entire ground was a giant clock face, but besides the white dove and the church, there was a highway in the distant view outside the church. Something seemed to be moving on the highway, but it was too blurry to make out. Everyone strained their eyes but still couldn’t see what it was, though the scale seemed to be quite large, with the blurry area taking up a significant portion.
Shen Zhiyi’s pocket watch inexplicably made a “dong” sound, giving an even more ominous feeling.
The notification sound was late but arrived:
[Congratulations on successfully passing last night’s preview]
At the same time, the previously empty audience seats suddenly filled with camera operators.
“Action!” someone shouted loudly.
[Act 5: One, Two, Three, Red Light, Green Light, officially begins]
[Please return to the bus station by 8:00 AM today.]
[No transportation allowed during this shoot.]
[The first player to arrive at the bus station will automatically trigger Act 6.]
Accompanied by a rapid “da-da” sound, the hands of the clock face under their feet began to spin wildly. The set managers stood motionless in the audience seats, coldly looking down at the players below.
The cameramen moved from the fifth row to the first row, then quickly advanced to the center of the stage. As the camera moved, the players felt disoriented, not knowing if it was the ground moving due to the spinning hands or the moving camera. In short, they couldn’t stand still and could only roll around haphazardly on the clock face like steel balls.
Amidst the frantic spinning, the world suddenly went dark, and a strong sense of weightlessness came over them.
Click.
The spring of the clock hand was tightened again, the hands stopped spinning, and the world returned to normal. Thick clouds obscured the light, making it a gloomy day far worse than night. The surrounding scenery had completely changed. Zhou Qi’an fumbled around, touched a guardrail, and after repeated confirmation, his expression slightly changed.
“Highway?”
Everything in the theater disappeared, replaced by this familiar highway.
Damn, was the ancient city full of teleportation gates? From the church to the ancient city, from the ancient city theater to the highway in an instant.
“Mom, Shen Zhiyi…”
He tried calling out softly twice, but to no avail. No wonder the open-air theater was only used for ten minutes; most of it was outdoor scenery.
Now Zhou Qi’an faced an even more awkward situation: he couldn’t tell front from back. The destination was the bus station, and he was afraid that he might accidentally walk back to the ancient city.
As he was thinking, something floated past him. At first, Zhou Qi’an thought it was a falling leaf and didn’t pay attention, but when the second one brushed against his clothes, he instinctively grabbed it.
It was paper, with a small square hole in the middle. Paper money?
The dark clouds slightly dispersed, revealing a sliver of light in the sky.
Without giving him any time to think, footsteps approached from the road behind him. Zhou Qi’an didn’t feel any excitement about meeting other players, because these footsteps were too many and too dense, far exceeding the number of players.
Taking a deep breath, he turned his neck. Sure enough, they weren’t players.
From a distance, a funeral procession was approaching. This was an incredibly luxurious funeral procession, very long, with pallbearers, musicians, people scattering paper money… At the very front, some people were covering their faces and sobbing, each performing their duties.
And the people in the funeral procession were those travelers who changed clothes at the bus station last night. This time, the fabric on the travelers was whiter, and their eyes were all closed, with a hollow black circle drawn on each eyelid. The powder on their faces made the travelers’ faces more than a shade whiter, looking like paper figures at first glance.
When Zhou Qi’an’s grandmother passed away, his hometown had hired paper craftspeople. The tradition was not to paint eyes on the paper figures, but to use small holes instead, which was somewhat similar to the current scene.
Now there was no need to determine the direction. He couldn’t possibly walk into this half-dead-looking funeral procession. Zhou Qi’an immediately ran in the other direction.
[Dong]
Not a bell, but a gong! Since last night was a rehearsal, the game rules should be the same.
Taking advantage of the first gong strike, Zhou Qi’an accelerated his sprint forward. Due to a bad premonition, he looked back midway. At first glance, he gasped.
The sunrise was ill-timed. Through the cold light, Zhou Qi’an’s excellent vision allowed him to even see the excessively powdered and erect hairs on the travelers’ faces.
Now was the real “Red Light, Green Light” game. Some were chasing, some were running, and there were also time-stop commands. The only fortunate thing was that, consistent with last night’s “Red Light, Green Light” game, except for the initial gong strike, the NPCs were completely stationary afterward.
Currently, they were standing still, motionless, and the distance between them quickly widened from thirty meters to a hundred meters.
The gong sound carried an echo. Two minutes later, the travelers on both sides, expressionless, simultaneously raised their arms and slammed them down with force—
[Dong]
The crisp sound could travel far. Zhou Qi’an, who was still running alone on the highway, heard it clearly.
He looked back again, uneasily. The distant funeral procession was just a silhouette.
[Dong]
The travelers struck the gongs in unison.
After the last gong strike, the game issued a familiar prompt: [Red Light, Green Light, don’t move.]
Zhou Qi’an quickly stopped. The prompt this time was continuous. Zhou Qi’an, who was in a running state, couldn’t turn back in time. He immediately froze on the highway, unable to see what was behind him.
There were not many trees on either side of the highway, and the wind was strong. Just waiting like this, exposing his most vulnerable back, Zhou Qi’an almost shivered reflexively. He forced himself to suppress some instinctive reactions of his body, even breathing very lightly.
Zhou Qi’an silently counted the time in his heart, one second, two seconds… He had only counted for a short while when a rustling sound amplified from far to near. How could it be so fast?
[Dong]
This gong strike was deafening. Zhou Qi’an’s head hurt for a moment. Taking advantage of the free movement time, he turned back to trace the source of the sound—
A pale face almost pressed against his.
Over a hundred ghostly white paper-like travelers stood motionless, the black dots on their eyelids clearer, their lips all slightly upturned. The travelers on both sides, hanging yellow copper gongs, were expressionless. Zhou Qi’an, being close, noticed that the eyes of the gong-strikers were not fully closed, always squinting through a slit.
Caught off guard, his eyes met a peculiar gleam from a slit, and even Zhou Qi’an, who prided himself on having a strong heart, felt a jolt. The funeral procession had already reached him. The distance between them was very close. At this rate, he would surely be caught in the next gong cycle.
There was no time to think about how they caught up. Zhou Qi’an’s brain worked rapidly, and several ideas appeared in his mind.
First, throw money. This idea was quickly dismissed. The travelers’ primary duty was to act, and the probability of them breaking character to pick up money was small.
Second, take advantage of the travelers’ time stop to kill them all or break their legs. Theoretically, it might succeed; a few minutes would be enough for a bloody feast. However, the secretly squinting gong-strikers made him feel that this method carried significant risk.
Or perhaps…
Zhou Qi’an also squinted slightly, like the travelers, with a hint of uncertainty on his face. The hesitation in his expression appeared only for a moment. Soon, he made up his mind. Zhou Qi’an stopped running and voluntarily walked into the funeral procession.
A chilling wind blew, and the cold penetrated his bones.
“I miss the hot water dispenser at the bus station so much.”
To prevent the copper gong from suddenly striking midway, Zhou Qi’an complained under his breath, but his speed was very fast. He went directly to the most crucial part of the funeral ceremony—the coffin—and checked it, making sure it wasn’t nailed shut.
He lifted the coffin lid and was surprised by the spaciousness inside. As expected of a luxurious funeral procession, the coffin was larger, with a thick, deeply colored wood and fine grain, indicating excellent quality at first glance.
“It’s mine,” Zhou Qi’an immediately jumped in. When he observed it earlier, the shadows of the half-open coffin obscured some of his vision. The actual space was larger than what he had seen; Zhou Qi’an could lie flat without affecting his ability to stretch his arms and legs. However, the temperature inside was close to freezing point, and he almost froze the moment he entered.
After lying down, Zhou Qi’an carefully moved the coffin lid until most of it was closed, then he breathed a sigh of relief.
[Don’t move.]
The “Red Light, Green Light” time was up.
The funeral procession did not immediately move. In the extremely quiet atmosphere, a few masked faces suddenly squeezed through a tiny gap specifically left in the coffin. They were all staring at the person inside the coffin.
Zhou Qi’an couldn’t blink, so he just stared wide-eyed at these pale faces. After looking at each other for a few seconds, the light suddenly disappeared, and the coffin, which had previously had a slit, was heavily closed.
The coffin lid was securely shut. Clang clang clang, clang clang clang. It sounded like nails being hammered. The travelers were sealing the coffin.
“I guessed right,” Zhou Qi’an actually felt a sense of relief. Not dying immediately meant that, according to the rules, he wasn’t considered caught.
This instance had been blurring its focus, for example, using making money to obscure the acting task. Now, “Red Light, Green Light” was the same. Even though it had a game shell, its essence was still primarily about acting. Since the travelers were all playing funeral attendees, to avoid being caught, he also had to participate in this role-playing. He only had two roles to choose from: a funeral attendee or a deceased person. The former clearly did not meet the acting standards.
Zhou Qi’an sneered. The King of Drama not only made him work overtime but also made him “die” twice.
The coffin was steady. In the agonizing wait, Zhou Qi’an finally heard the gong. Oxygen was limited in the coffin, so he had to seize the time. Zhou Qi’an first tried using the [Small Hammer] to hit the bottom of the coffin. After a few strikes, there was no sign of cracking.
“…” It would be a waste not to let Ying Yu take this quality back for research.
Time was life. When oxygen ran out, he would be finished. So, Zhou Qi’an quickly started playing on his phone. He wondered if it was because he was on the highway, but there was a signal, and it wasn’t weak.
[Missing Two] Group:
[Zhou Qi’an]: Where is everyone?
The first to reply was Shen Zhiyi: Wilderness.
Then Dong Li also replied: Wilderness.
[Xia Zhi]: In a tree.
Zhou Qi’an raised an eyebrow. It seemed everyone was teleported to different places.
[Wen]: Same wilderness. Just played a four-person shoulder-tapping game with a lone ghost.
[Wen]: Everyone’s in different places, which might be related to rolling to different positions on the clock face during the ground movement. Since there’s an outer guardrail, some should have been teleported to the highway.
All his analysis was to lead to the next sentence.
[Wen]: @Zhou Qi’an, with your performance last night, you should be directly on the highway. Regular plots shouldn’t unfold in the wilderness. Zhou Qi’an was also the best actor in last night’s fitting.
[Zhou Qi’an]: That’s right. To be precise, I’m in a sedan chair, being carried by eight bearers on the way to the ancient city. There’s still an empty seat beside me. Who wants to join?
[…]
[Mother Zhou]: Found a marriage partner?!
In the coffin, Zhou Qi’an’s mouth twitched. Sure enough, his mother was only interested in marriage matters. He avoided the topic and asked where the college student was. Separated like this, the student’s limited strength would make survival difficult.
The college student replied: As soon as I opened my eyes, I was near the guardrail. I don’t dare to move much.
Zhou Qi’an sighed. It seemed, for now, that his situation was the most difficult. Was he the protagonist of this play because his rehearsal was too outstanding?
[Shen Zhiyi]: Describe the sedan chair in detail.
[Zhou Qi’an]: Rectangular.
Next, he briefly explained the funeral procession. As expected, the group went silent.
[Zhou Qi’an]: Everyone shouldn’t be too far away. Hurry and find me. When the gong stops, everyone in the funeral procession will stop. Whoever comes, figure out a way to open the coffin lid…
[Dong Li]: To save you?
[Zhou Qi’an]: Don’t talk nonsense.
[Dong Li]: …
At the same time, in the wilderness.
Wen climbed over the guardrail and finally returned to the highway. Coincidentally, he met Dong Li. Both of them were holding their phones, and with a little flickering light, they immediately saw each other.
Dong Li squinted, smiled superficially, but was inwardly vigilant: “Are you going to look for someone?”
Wen looked as usual, smiled, and didn’t answer. Undoubtedly, Zhou Qi’an was trapped in the coffin and desperately needed to be rescued. They weren’t hot-blooded youths, nor were they even good people. Of course, they would first consider the benefits, and Zhou Qi’an happened to be the one with the most information.
Buzz.
The phone vibrated again. Two more messages appeared in the group.
[Zhou Qi’an]: Whoever comes can lie down with me. This board of mine is spacious. Every time the coffin is opened, fresh air gets in. One after another, and so on, like a relay race. With good luck, we can be carried quite far.
[Zhou Qi’an]: Hurry up. If you’re late, the coffin won’t fit any more people. Those who can’t get in, figure it out yourselves.
The urgent need for fresh air was one thing; the other was that with hundreds of funeral attendees and only one actor, who knew what would happen? At least he needed to bring a few people to distract the NPCs. The funeral procession’s speed was incredibly fast; they could cover a hundred meters in a short time.
Who needs transportation when you can lie in a coffin? He had already planned it. Since the prompt said the first person to return to the bus station would trigger the sixth act, he would be the last one out. Anyway, according to the previous agreement, Xia Zhi and Wen had to share their participation clues unconditionally.
Zhou Qi’an planned to get a good rest for the duration of one act, eat and drink to his fill, and then greet the final act in his best mental state. Nice!
Author’s Note:
Zhou Qi’an: Too bad there are no mushrooms, otherwise we could eat them and all lie down.
Shen Zhiyi instantly understood: Lying down = killing them all.
Zhou Qi’an: …
