| WRIAWW | You Were Bullying Him Just Now, Right? | 79
If the female supporting actor's death could be defined as suicide, then the director's death could by no means be dismissed as accidental.
Especially since the manner of their deaths was so similar, both bodies are wrapped in horrifying red strings, deeply embedded in their flesh. Every detail matched the deaths of those killed by the vengeful spirit in 'The Matchmaker'.
The lead actors, who had just been arguing in the dressing room next door, heard the commotion and rushed out. Seeing the director's corpse, their legs softened and they knelt down on the ground, trembling with fear.
Only when the fictional deaths from the movie became reality did people finally realize something was terribly wrong.
"W-wasn't the supporting actress's death a suicide? What happened to the director?!"
"Could this be some kind of publicity stunt? Did they plan this together to scare us?"
"Who knows? Who locked the door of the theater? We're trapped in here now!"
"Don't panic, the are police here. We'll get to the bottom of this soon."
"Two people died. Book the headlines of tomorrow's news in advance. Hurry up and send the news first."
"This is the story of the year!"
The banquet hall erupted into chaos.
Fear rippled through the crowd, but it was soon overtaken by a far more frenzied atmosphere. The media people who had been preparing interview questions now had gleaming eyes and flaring nostrils, like hyenas catching the scent of rotten meat. Some began typing frantically on their phones, while others set up cameras, determined to be the first to break the news.
By now, the complexity nature of the incident had far surpassed any mere publicity stunt.
The producer hid in a corner, calling the higher-ups at Taikang Yongle Entertainment.
The response he got was to seal off the scene immediately. No matter how many people died, they had to ensure the media interviews continued and making sure the scandal blew up as big as possible.
In Guiyi City, human life was cheap. What mattered was the economic windfall this incident could bring, how long it could dominate entertainment headlines, how many curious viewers it could attract, and how much it could boost the company's stock price.
"These NPCs are downright insane," muttered a survivor who'd overheard the producer ordering staff to lock the doors. Not that sealing the scene mattered much to outsiders like them here on a mission.
Once a weird domain activated, no survivor could leave until it dissolved. Even if they are not locked in, they will not be able to leave
The real issues were the red strings' origin and it's death rules.
The cause was obvious, everyone who'd seen the movie or worked on set had red strings after the domain manifested, indicating indiscriminate targeting. But deciphering the taboos required meticulous analysis.
Joshua closed his eyes to sensed. "It's a curse that can't be forcibly removed while the domain persists. However..." His brow furrowed. "It's continuously draining everyone's stamina. Have any you noticed?"
As soon as his voice fell, Several high-level strength-focused survivors immediately confirmed this. They originally had high strength points, and they were energetic and full of blood normally, so they could detect even the slightest fatigue.
"At least it's stamina and not a curse that forcibly absorbs life force," someone remarked, recalling a previous S-level mission. If the weird domain was not solved within a certain period of time, the survivors will continue to age and finally enter death. It was a race against time, it still haunted them to this day.
Joshua nodded in agreement. "Still, stamina is also important, depleted stamina could prove fatal in combat situations." His gaze swept across the visibly weary group.
Having chosen the pursuit approach, it is naturally necessary to cater to his preferences. The universally high favorability ratings above others' heads made Zong Le's glaring "0" very dazzling.
As for how to cater to his preferences... Joshua actually had a plan in mind. Zong Le is kind-hearted, enthusiastic, and has a high sense of morality.
He is as pure as a piece of paper. Such a person will definitely like a peaceful, friendly, and harmonious environment. After two missions, it has been proven that his analysis is not wrong.
If Zong Le had not heard the words in the prayer room, Joshua would have been confident that he could easily catch him. After all, he has always done a good job in maintaining his persona. Just look at the numbers above the heads of the survivors present.
Alas, things did not go as planned.
Fortunately, redemption was possible.
Meanwhile, the producer hastily arranged a press conference per company protocol. With the director and supporting actress' shocking deaths, the atmosphere of the media interview session was boiling to the peak, the microphones were frantically moved forward, and reporters rushed to ask questions.
"Was the supporting actress An Ping murdered? Does the crew have any clues about her death?"
"Did the crew foresee that the director and actress would die in this way?"
"Is 'Matchmaker' a cursed movie as advertised?"
"Is all this a coincidence, or is there something else going on?"
The male lead suddenly snatched a microphone. "Enough! This is just an elaborate marketing stunt orchestrated by An Ping, our first 'victim.' Nobody actually died."
As he spoke, he began looking around: "Hey, there's no need to hide anymore, you can come out now! This stunt should just end already. I must admit, you really scared everyone badly. But next time you plan such publicity stunts, could you give us a heads-up first?"
Some people with ulterior motives and guilty consciences, when gripped by extreme fear, will desperately search for any way to cover up the truth. Clearly, the male lead was one of them.
Amid his loud shouts, the media exchanged confused glances, but no An Ping emerged from the crowd. Even the female lead beside him was looking at him with disbelief in her eyes.
Gradually, the male lead began to panic.
His voice started trembling: "Hey, An Ping! Come out! Stop messing around! How could a corpse possibly disappear right under everyone's noses? You're not really dead, are you?"
A survivor standing nearby whispered: "The color of the red string on the male lead's wrist has changed."
Shouting to no avail, the male protagonist, who looked fierce but was actually timid, picked up the fruit knife on the dining table.
"Fine, fine, you won't come out? Watch me expose your tricks! Let's see if you can keep hiding then!"
Under the female lead's horrified gaze, he directly cut the red string on his hand.
After doing this, he proudly raised his hand to show everyone: "See? I told you this was just an Easter egg for our movie promotion. There's no need to panic, uh—"
The next second, he collapsed face first onto the ground.
Red strings emerged from his heart, slowly covering his entire body. Under the focus of countless cameras, they wriggled like living creatures, mercilessly strangling him.
This time, the entire process was exposed under the spotlight for all to see. The female lead let out a piercing scream and ran from the interview site without looking back.
The survivors who had been wondering about the changing shades of the red strings suddenly understood.
"Oh... I get it now. It turns out that dark color is a sign of impending death."
"I've looked around and it seems we are okay for now. The darkest strings are on those NPCs from the crew. It's not our turn yet."
"Alright, now that we understand this rule, we can start investigating. Both the director and male lead died when their strings turned black. It's reasonable to assume the female lead will be next. She just ran off, let's follow her and make sure she's not alone."
But as the more agile survivors started moving, they suddenly felt their movements becoming sluggish, their faces paling in shock: "What's happening? Do these red strings have such strong side effects?"
"Maybe it's just me, but I think the string on my wrist has gotten darker."
"It seems our earlier speculation was correct, but the curse is more severe and acts faster than we thought."
"What should we do? Based on the mission timeline, we need to survive for at least six more hours. Will we be sucked dry by then?"
"If nothing else works, we'll have to try ending this quickly. This weird seems extremely cowardly, it's killed three people already and hasn't revealed its true form. It probably isn't the combat type."
Just as the survivors were at their wits' end, a gentle voice spoke up.
"There's no need to panic, everyone. I have a solution."
......
After leaving the dressing room, Zong Le went straight to movie theater No.2.
As expected, just as Su Yuchen had said, Bluebeard had been waiting inside for quite some time.
When the loosely locked door was pushed open, both people inside were startled.
The scene before them was rather unsightly, Bluebeard sat in his seat, one hand roughly gripping Su Yuchen's hair, while the latter knelt on the ground with half his face swollen, clearly having been slapped not long ago.
Moreover, Zong Le even caught a glimpse of Bluebeard's belt being undone, as if something that would never be allowed on Jinjiang Literature was about to happen in the next second.
Realizing that an act of humiliation was taking place inside, Zong Le's expression instantly turned cold.
However, Bluebeard seemed utterly surprised by his arrival: "Huh?"
Just moments ago, he had ordered Su Yuchen to drug the talented newcomer, but after ten minutes, the boy had dawdled back, claiming the tool had been used but the talented newcomer ran too fast, he couldn’t bring him over.
Bluebeard had slapped him and roared, "Useless! You can't even handle such a simple task!"
But who would’ve thought that just as he was about to teach him a lesson, the talented newcomer would push the door open and walk in?
After the initial shock came overwhelming delight.
Who wouldn’t be thrilled by prey delivering itself to their doorstep?
So Bluebeard immediately released his grip on Su Yuchen’s hair and slowly rose from his seat.
"You came here on your own? How interesting. I always knew you were the type who craves—ugh."
Before he could finish, Bluebeard felt a heavy impact against his chest, accompanied by the crisp sound of ribs snapping. His massive, beast-like body was sent flying backward, smashing through nine rows of seats before finally crashing into the tenth, leaving a human-shaped pit.
Su Yuchen stood frozen, watching everything unfold in stunned silence.
But that wasn’t enough. Zong Le’s figure vanished from his original spot, moving so fast that his eye's couldn’t track him.
The next second, he appeared right in front of Bluebeard.
The black-haired young man looked down from above, and his usually gentle eyes were like an abyss, reflecting Bluebeard's terrified face.
"You were just bullying him just now, right?"
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