C24 — Strange Tales By The Lakeside
by UntamedSWith the system’s cold countdown still hanging in the field of vision, Asha took Zhuo Yu’s hand in the firelight and drew a ‘1’ on his palm with his fingertips.
Zhuo Yu narrowed his eyes and looked at the boss with interest: ‘What does this mean?’
Asha half squatted down to be at eye level with Zhuo Yu and gently touched the other party’s head: “This is the puzzle I left for you.”
The young writer’s feelings for ‘Asha’ were limited to love at first sight, taking him as his perfect image, a muse. But for the man in front of him, he felt a deeper curiosity and desire to explore.
“Actors keep to themselves more of the time and are only occasionally influenced by their roles. But you’re the other way around; most of the time you let Asha manipulate your body, so you shouldn’t be an actor; are there any other positions on this set?”
“It’s almost time.” The boss didn’t answer; he looked to the sky and murmured, “Like a more challenging one? ……”
“From your words, it seems we’ll meet again.” Zhuo Yu hit the nail on the head.
Asha’s magnificent silver eyes focused on Zhuo Yu once again, and he made a vow with potency.
“As long as you remember me, we will always meet after separation.”
“Okay, that’s what you said.” Zhuo Yu felt like he had encountered the most challenging puzzle of his life. He knew that this man knew him, as if hiding a secret that had been hidden for a long time.
“Well. It’s an agreement.”
[Countdown: 0:30……0:15……]
“Wait, I haven’t asked you what your name is.” Zhuo Yu inquired out loud.
“I have no name.” He placed the mask and axe in Zhuo Yu’s hand. “Keep it; it will come in handy.”
Asha’s body burned up in black flames. He gave Zhuo Yu one last smile before turning into ashes in the sky of fire.
[The countdown has ended, transmitting now.]
Zhuo Yu only felt that all the light in the world was extinguished; even the sound had no medium to propagate; the whole world was so silent that it was terrifying. The subsequent change in gravity made him feel as if he were levitating, and this illusion only existed for three short seconds.
When he opened his eyes again, there was a high-grade gray décor everywhere, with open floor-to-ceiling windows, rows of bookshelves, and green plants.
Zhuo Yu was back in his living room.
“……”
Zhuo Yu clenched his palm; he was surprised to find that his arm was intact, and the large and small abrasions on his body had all disappeared; even his clothes had changed back to the way they were before he entered the film set.
He immediately looked at his wrist.
The flame totem was still there, so it wasn’t a fantasy, much less a dream.
“Asha ……”
[Settlement of this transaction is in progress.]
[Pass the highest difficulty 10v1 film. Reward 5000 Flame Points.]
[Reach the S-rank ending: the true ending. Reward 5000 Flame Points.]
[Reach the B-rank side quest. Reward 1,000 Flame Points, random props spinning once.]
[Gambling board dividends: 500 Flame Points awarded.]
[Overall Evaluation: S. Actor’s points have been raised and all system functions have been opened.]
[Added Value: Obtained props.] [Added Value: Obtained props.] [Added Value: Obtained props.]
[Crocodile Head Monster’s Mask (A): This is an American crocodile’s head, symbolizing ferocity and cruelty, able to hide one’s true self under a mask and give crocodile-like strength.]
[Crocodile-Head Monster’s Giant Axe (A): A massive lumbering axe, hard for an ordinary human to hold. However, if it meets the right owner, it will unleash unimaginable destructive power.
[Seven Days of Talk (S): A book of religious stories. Those who fulfill the wish of the Golden Lake will receive its blessing. (One-time item, bound)]
[The proceeds have been settled, and the next film will be opened in a week, so actors, please prepare.]
He knew that since newcomers and veterans existed on this set, they definitely wouldn’t be generous enough to let actors who had only experienced one film leave.
“System.” Zhuo Yu chanted silently.
The system icon in his field of view indeed lit up again; he tapped on his backpack, and there was a prop in each of the three compartments, which he had saved into the space during the countdown.
Taking the mask out, the crocodile’s large, menacing head was the one Asha had handed him. But now it had been transformed into a prop, and just by holding it in his hand, Zhuo Yu felt that his strength had been increased.
The giant axe went without saying, Zhuo Yu wouldn’t challenge himself to pick it up, and there was also the Seven Day Talk, a book that seemed to be a buff that would only come in handy at the right time.
In addition to the props, Zhuo Yu’s view of the system had changed a lot; his upper right corner had more flame points, and a lot of gray icons had lit up, such as the Starflame Forum, shops, trade unions, friends, and so on.
Soon, Zhuo Yu harvested his first private message.
[Liu Jingyun: Captain, I found you in the recent matches; friend request sent over].
With a tick, a red dot appeared on the friend icon, and Zhuo Yu tapped agree.
Liu Jingyun: I’m back at the dormitory!
[Zhuo Yu: I’m at home too.]
Zhuo Yu raised his head and looked around the surroundings, but the empty living room wasn’t homely; instead, it was filled with the slightest bit of weirdness, but he couldn’t find anything unusual.
After a few moments, Zhuo Yu understood.
Silence.
His villa was on the outskirts of the city, and even though he bought it just for the silence, there would always be the sound of the wind blowing through the leaves and the sound of birds chirping, and the pond in his yard, where he kept a lot of fish and kept the filter on at all times, would be a little loud as well.
But now in the living room, even the ticking of the clock no longer existed.
[Liu Jingyun: Something’s wrong; this isn’t my dormitory.]
It seemed that this girl had also reacted.
“System, what’s going on?” Zhuo Yu directly asked the system.
[Actor’s Apartment]: the actor’s residence after entering the set; the initial form is the place the actor is most familiar with, usually a home, dormitory, hotel, or any other place where they can live. The actor can conceptualize the scene in his head and alter the flat configuration on his own.
Zhuo Yu laughed; this film set could really play with people’s hearts. When newcomers returned to the real world after a hard time escaping from death, the first thing they’d definitely do was cry in pain. Then they would realize that this place wasn’t reality at all; they still hadn’t escaped the film set, and the cruel system would inform them to prepare for their next row with death.
He picked up his mobile phone from the table and dialed the edited number, and as expected, there was no signal.
Everything here was fake.
But Zhuo Yu wasn’t interested in altering the flat for the moment; he had more pressing matters to attend to.
He opened the Starflame forum.
This forum was similar to the forums in the real world, divided into many boards as well as the actor’s area. With a dazzling array of functions, it was very complete and also able to search for film replays and live film broadcasts.
At the moment, the film Zhuo Yu starred in, ‘Strange Tales of the Lakeside’, was hanging high at the top of the popular list in the playback area.
He didn’t click in to watch it but searched for the information he wanted; he had always been a person who made good use of searching and felt that there should be quite a few actors and viewers sharing their experiences in the forums, and after about ten minutes, Zhuo Yu figured out the standard source of the Flame Points.
Firstly, there was the difficulty division.
The film was divided into four categories, namely ‘Warm-up’, ‘Sweat’, ‘Bleed’, and ‘Kill’, corresponding to Easy, Normal, Difficult, and Maximum difficulty. The number of participants was random, and it was a matter of probability that anything could happen.
As long as you passed the level, you would be rewarded with the most basic flame points, which were 200, 500, 1000, and 5000 points.
Apart from that, what affected the flame points was the ending, and there were many kinds of endings; just like those strategy games, there were NE, HE, BE, TE, and so on, and passing the game in a confused manner, or only having one breath left, was also considered a kind of ending; it was just that the rating wouldn’t be high.
[TN: NE — No Ending, HE— happy ending, BE — Bad Ending, TE — True Ending]
The true ending, which was played by Zhuo Yu, was considered to be the one with the highest reward.
Secondly, there were side quests, which were quests that you could pick up after discovering them on your own in the film. Generally speaking, as long as these tasks could be completed, one could receive more generous rewards and a spinning wheel opportunity.
After all, props were expensive, spending flame points would be distressing, and props weren’t that easy to get in the film; that spinning wheel opportunity was the reward with the highest reward ratio. Maybe you could get a powerful prop; that was something one couldn’t buy no matter how much they spent.
Lastly, there was the betting board dividend, which was actually the big part of the income from the flame points of the popular stars. The audience could receive randomly released betting boards from the system while watching the film, and the actor who was bet on would be rewarded with dividends if he could win.
The audience wasn’t that big when the film first started, and the betting boards had long since ended, so there were only 500 points to be had. If it was a star, they could get several thousand a game.
Zhuo Yu copied the information and sent it to Liu Jingyun.
[Liu Jingyun: Thank you, captain! If you hadn’t told me, it might have taken me ages to find out.]
[Zhuo Yu: It’s fine, just sharing information.]
[Liu Jingyun: Hehehe… [So captain, when are you going to build a union?]
[Zhuo Yu: Once the union is established, or ‘Battle Team’ as it is commonly known to the audience, you can apply to move out of your flat and build your own base, which I heard is a huge amount of money.]
Liu Jingyun: Huh? Wouldn’t it be unfair to the creator if only the union president’s flame points are deducted?
[Zhuo Yu]: No, relatively speaking, becoming president also comes with a lot of perks; let’s leave those aside for now. In a week’s time we’ll be sent to the set again to star in the next film, so we need to hurry up and create a union so we’ll be able to team up and still be teammates for the next scene.
Zhuo Yu thought deeply for a moment and looked up the information in the forum again.
It turned out that this actor’s flat was equivalent to the lowest commoner’s silo, as opposed to the audience’s flat, which was even more humble than the actor’s residence. He closed his eyes and meditated, and the familiar scenery outside the window disappeared, revealing its original appearance.
Under the pale blue sky, the towering concrete buildings were one next to the other, like termite nests that were airtight, and all the new actors would be teleported here after finishing their films, and if they didn’t have enough fire points to change their residence, they would have to spend their entire lives in such cramped spaces.
Zhuo Yu’s first impression of this place was despair. It was capable of creating boundless despair in the actors at the bottom.
“System, I want to establish a union.”
[Application sent, application passed.]
[Prepayment of 5000 Flame Points; please confirm before payment.]
Zhuo Yu was a little surprised, as people on the forum had been talking about the huge sum of money, and many people hadn’t saved enough in three years from the time they entered the film set until now. So it was only 5000 points? He had more than that from one film.
Come to think of it, most of the people who were circled into the film set were ordinary people; it would be good to save up 200 points to stay alive in a horror film, and in order to enhance their abilities, those 200 points wouldn’t be left over; they would also be used to buy all sorts of self-defense props and skills.
Zhuo Yu stalled; he didn’t pay the 5000 points for the time being, but first drew the roulette wheel.
He clicked on the red dot of the rewards in his field of vision, and a large, colorful □□□ appeared in front of his eyes. The prize card pool had everything. There were tens of millions of prize cards in the prize pool, and even Zhuo Yu didn’t want to click on it to look deeper because it was simply a bottomless pit.
He casually pressed the word ‘lottery’ in the middle of the turntable, intending to make quick work of it.
The colorful □□ suddenly rotated, and then with time it became slower and slower, until the pointer completely stopped at an area, and text appeared in that blank area.
[Lucky Draw Result: Props.]
[Staff of Asclepius (C): a serpent staff from Greek mythology, a staff of healing blessings, and an icon of modern medicine; even ambulances bear its figure But more than fame, not many dedicated medical practitioners use this staff because it has a fatal flaw: its healing power is directly proportional to the holder’s spiritual power, and when the holder of the serpent’s staff loses consciousness, all of the patient’s healed wounds will return.
This thing was very strong, and if it was in the hands of a god, it was an unquestionable artifact. However, for ordinary people, it could only be of C-rank use, as it was impossible for a human to possess spiritual power comparable to that of a god.
But Zhuo Yu didn’t mind; he hooked up the corner of his mouth and slowly said, “That’s a coincidence; it just so happens that I don’t really want to save anyone either.”
He held his right hand in a false grip, and a vertical staff appeared out of thin air. The top of the staff had a pair of small wings that fluttered around, and the body of the staff was entwined with a giant snake. In folklore, the type of snake was called the Long Brocade Snake, and this was indeed the case with the snake staff that Zhuo Yu had in his hand.
Long brocade olive-green snake, non-poisonous, was non-toxic, and had strong coiling ability. At this moment, it was coiling around the wand in circles, using its small tail to hook the prominent hem of its clothes.
Zhuo Yu couldn’t help but laugh. This wand was buy one, get one free. Even if he didn’t use it for treatment, it wasn’t bad to scare people with this long brocade snake.
The bonus wheel was drawn, and then it was time for the main event.
Zhuo Yu looked at his legs; whether he could solve his heart problem, all depended on the film set.
He clicked on the mall, and a dazzling array of products filled the shelves. There were several categories here, including props, skills, mounts, and pets, and all the needs of actors were available, but the prices were also staggering.
Zhuo Yu’s space grid was tight; he skipped the props column and clicked on the skills that didn’t need to take up space.
[Primary Werewolf Bloodline (D): can transform into a werewolf from European stories at night, with greatly increased strength and speed. 1000 points].
[Deep Diver (D): As a child of the sea, you can breathe underwater and possess sharp teeth and claws. 1200 points.]
[Archery Expertise Talent (D): with an archery talent comparable to that of an Olympic athlete, you are Artemis’ favorite. 700 points.]
[Assassin’s Apprentice (D): Coming from the Brotherhood, you have become an assassin after years of training. 800 points]
It was like entering the Grand View Garden; Zhuo Yu was dazzled and bombarded by all these commodities; probably all newcomers clicking in would be mesmerized by the temptation in front of them before looking up at their flame point balance.
Oh, they couldn’t afford anything.
However, Zhuo Yu wasn’t poor at all.
The huge amount of over 10,000 in his hand right now was something that ordinary actors wouldn’t even dare to think about.
“These bloodline skills are actually very cheap for high-level players; if they can be casually exchanged, wouldn’t the stars on the set each be ridiculously strong? Would that horror film still be able to go on?” Zhuo Yu muttered to himself, full of doubts about these skills. And he knew there were cases of returning to the real world, so could these skills be brought to reality as well?
“System, can I apply to return to the real world?” Zhuo Yu asked.
[Earth: Returning to the earth requires the surrender of 2000 Flame Points, during which the system will place restrictions on you, forbidding the disclosure of all on-set information, and you will teleport back to the set after 24 hours].
Zhuo Yu frowned; he didn’t have anything to deal with in the real world, so he wasn’t going to waste the 2,000 points.
He continued to check the skills and found that many of them said beginner; the system thoughtfully reminded him that almost all props and skills could be leveled up, and this was just the beginning.
For example, if he redeemed the vampire physique one day, he could use flame points or special props to strengthen this skill to ‘Dracula’ or ‘Cain the Ancestor’.
The skills were so strong, it was hard to believe that… would the horror films also become more difficult?
Zhuo Yu thought about it carefully; even if there was an actor who got the vampire or werewolf prop, it was really not certain that they could escape the clutches of Asha; it felt like Asha could chop a werewolf to death with an axe, and that seven-day curse, even vampires would be burned clean by a fire.
It was no wonder that Zhou Wu and the others were so devastated after entering the film set, because for ordinary people with no good skills, the high difficulty was a total death sentence.
Not everyone could rely on their brains and ruthlessness to pass the level like Zhuo Yu.
But no matter what, Zhuo Yu should have some means of self-preservation; after all, his lower limbs were paralyzed, and he couldn’t even run if he wanted to.
His fingers trembled, and he finally typed those words in the search bar.
Soon, a huge amount of goods were refreshed, and what could appear now were all genes and skills that could cure paralysis.
Zhuo Yu pressed down his excitement and checked one item at a time.
[Spiritual Body Pure Body (S): Your body is flawless; all diseases will no longer bother you; even the worst persistent diseases, the oldest spells, the world’s most unsolvable poisonous gases, and even nuclear radiation will be automatically purified by your body. 17,800 points].
Zhuo Yu finally decided on this skill after a thousand choices.
It looked as if it didn’t have much offensive power, but it was a top-tier body; not only could Zhuo Yu’s genetic disease be purified, he was also immune to all debuffs; he even suspected that this spiritual body could be immune to the Golden Lake Curse.
Unfortunately, Zhuo Yu didn’t have that many points on hand, and he still had to establish a trade union.
“Let’s set a goal first.” Zhuo Yu added the Spiritual Body Pure Body to his list of concerns, and he knew why the actors couldn’t save up their points because if they wanted to survive the next film, they could only keep strengthening themselves.
Now was the most crucial development period for a newcomer, and Zhuo Yu planned to spend his flame points elsewhere.
[You have selected the ‘Beast Heart Hand Sign’; the estimated cost is 1500 points; do you wish to purchase it?]
Zhuo Yu clicked ‘Yes’.
[Beast’s Heart Handbook (D): This aged booklet contains several cards, and we have to admit that its owner is a real devil.]
[This skill can be upgraded with special props and is currently in the first stage. There are three cards in your deck, and the cooldown for each use is 24 hours.]
[Split the Difference: Designate two people and use words to sow discord and centrifuge them.]
[Upside Down: Cover up the key points of an event and replace them with other information.]
[Gaining Trust: Make people drop their guard against you and want to befriend you.]
This was the skill Zhuo Yu had chosen.
At first glance, it didn’t have any attack power, and it was also more than twice as expensive as those Monster Bloodlines, which was very uneconomical. But Zhuo Yu believed that only the skill that suited him was the best.
This Beast Heart hand sign intrigued him a lot, and it would definitely bring a lot of fun.
Secondly, he also needed a little bit of displacement.
[You have selected ‘Dragon’s Wings’ and ‘Space Converter x5’; the estimated cost is 2,500 points; do you wish to purchase them?]
“Yes.”
[Dragon’s Wings: A dragon’s wings grow on your back, which can take you flying while possessing a certain amount of defense and attack capabilities.]
[Space Converter: a small mechanical orb that, after being set up in a designated location by you, can instantly move back to the location where the converter is located, no matter how far away you are.] It is a disposable prop.
Zhuo Yu’s budget was pretty much spent, and this kind of behavior might look like an overnight millionaire who didn’t know how to save in the eyes of an ordinary actor. But Zhuo Yu didn’t care; he held the orb in his hand and threw it around, feeling like he finally had a sense of security.
This sense of security wasn’t brought about by the boss’s protection, nor by his role, but by his own strength, giving him the backbone to face strong enemies.
[Liu Jingyun: Captain, I’m dizzy from watching right now; I don’t know what skills I should change. I have about 6,000 points right now; 5,000 is the pass reward, and 1,000 is assisting the true ending.]
[Zhuo Yu: Is there a direction you want to go?]
[Liu Jingyun: My physical strength is an advantage, so I intend to amplify this advantage, but I don’t know what to do.]
[Zhuo Yu: You’re asking me what you should get; aren’t you afraid I’ll screw you over?]
[Liu Jingyun]: Is there any need to think about that? [What do I have that’s worth pitting?]
Zhuo Yu laughed as he carefully rummaged through the merchandise page, intending to properly pick one for Liu Jingyun.
In terms of the team’s vision, Zhuo Yu thought that he wasn’t considered a mastermind, because compared to the kind of really smart people who could analyze everything clearly, he was still far from being able to see.
He intended to be a well-rounded hand; wherever the team had a flaw, he would fill it in, which would make the team more flexible.
As for Liu Jingyun’s small size and superior range, it instantly reminded him of the assassins in Assassin’s Creed. Although they didn’t have the same terrifying power as Asha, as long as they locked on to their target, they could track them to the ends of the earth until they harvested the other party’s life, and this never-ending assassination wouldn’t be over until it was over.
Not only could such a type act as a speedster, but they could also take care of tracking, scouting terrain, and a host of other needs—in short, it was a very good ability. It might not be brilliant in 1v1, but it could definitely be used to strengthen a team.
Liu Jingyun couldn’t be more suitable.
But Zhuo Yu had to ask the other party what she thought; he didn’t want to kidnap her with his own opinions.
[Zhuo Yu: Let me ask first: do you want to shine in a team or pass the level with your personal strength?]
[Liu Jingyun: I wasn’t a great talent in the first place, and I only survived the first film because of you… I believe in the power of the team more than I do individually, and I don’t think I’d be so useless if I could offer help to everyone.]
[Zhuo Yu: What? Are you still volunteering to be a toolman?]
[Liu Jingyun Yun]: That’s clearly called strategy, right? It’s strategy!]
Hearing her say that, Zhuo Yu forwarded the selected Assassin’s Bloodline to the private chat interface for her to purchase.
After working on the skills, the next step was the union.
“Confirmed payment of 5000 points; please name the union.” He thought for a moment and replied, ‘Let’s name it Knight Flame.’
Since he came because of the fire and would go with it, he might as well be the fire that burned the brightest; they would eventually burn everything, be it the film, the set, or perhaps a higher existence yet unknown.
He wanted to reduce it to ashes.
The list of battle teams in the forum was updated in real time every day, but today, some sharp-eyed viewers noticed that a union called ‘Knight Flame’ appeared at the end of the list with two of its members.
The president of the union was Zhuo Yu.
Trade unions were ranked by the total points of their members, and it was indeed very rare to find a trade union with only two members, and both of them were newcomers. Knight Flame’s fan base was growing at a terrifying rate, bringing in a considerable amount of traffic.
[Wow, number one on the fan growth list; what’s their origin? There’s only two people.]
[May I ask why this new union’s fans are rising so fast?]
[Carrying a vegetable basket to sell vegetables, pointing the way to the seventh episode of Strange Tales by the Lakeside; trust me, you’ll follow them too.]
[I’m a fan passing by; how can I say it? He really has a kind of evil beauty; the performance of the film is also very much to my liking].
[Oh, what’s the hype? I took a look at the cast list; isn’t he just good-looking? Who doesn’t understand your little minds?]
[You’re sick upstairs. He’s got real power.]
[Wow, you’ve brought out the defense. You female fans are just like that.]
[If you have a problem with it, go and see his film.]
[On what grounds, I don’t want to waste my time on a white boy; I’d rather watch a few more Flying Scythe Warriors.]
More people didn’t actually know Zhuo Yu and hadn’t seen the film than those who had seen Strange Tales of the Lake, and when they heard that a disabled newcomer had passed the high level, they thought that it was absolute shit luck.
Why weren’t they the ones who hit the big time because they weren’t handsome enough? They worked their butts off to pass the film, and they were still no better than a paraplegic with only a good face?
The actors thought so, and the general audience was even more unconvinced.
They all had their own support teams and favorite actors, and as a fan base, a visible rising star was definitely a potential threat. When the time came, everyone would definitely go to suppress Zhuo Yu; how else would their own actors make a living?
The forum was filled with heated arguments, and after all, Zhuo Yu’s fans were in the minority. The voices of opposition were suppressed to the point where they couldn’t lift their heads, and they were labeled as shallow individuals who only knew how to look at people’s faces and not their abilities. Fans were unable to refute this.
Because Zhuo Yu had no skills or demonstrated strength in the movie, he just used his mind to pass the level. They asked passersby to watch ‘Strange Tales by the Lakeside’, but they didn’t want to waste time and blindly believed in the side with the louder voice.
Zhuo Yu only focused on searching for useful information, not realizing that there was a w-ar about him that had been burning hotter and hotter, just like the name of his union.
With a week of free time left, Zhuo Yu first tried to see if he could leave the flat.
Unfortunately, he came at a bad time.
The set was now closed, and the system was being upgraded in preparation for a large-scale event. In order to prevent the audience and actors from falling into the void of bugs and for the sake of everyone’s lives, the system prohibited all outings.
Before this, the film set seemed to be a fairly vast world.
Zhuo Yu thought this made sense; maybe the film set was holding back a big trick, which meant that the powerful actors would have a hard time, and the unscrupulous film set would surely come up with a whole bunch of high-level tricks.
Death and fear were what horror films were always about.
Zhuo Yu couldn’t get out of the flat, but he could transfer to the union base he had applied for, which was a space of about a hectare, and he met up with Liu Jingyun at the base.
In the midst of Liu Jingyun’s excited and affectionate ramblings, the week was spent going through the forums to familiarize himself with the set as well as testing new skills. Zhuo Yu also re-reviewed The Strange Tales by the Lakeside twice during this period, except that he wasn’t there to watch the actors’ performances but rather the comments.
Zhuo Yu was analyzing the audience’s thoughts.
When the last day came, the system began a countdown to transmission.
[Entering the next film, estimated time remaining: 24 hours.]
“It’s only been a week, and the number of fans is already 170,000…“ Zhuo Yu silently looked at the fan icon in the upper left corner of the system’s field of view and accepted this well. After all, he was also considered famous in reality and had many fans.
The film studio was really treating them survivalists as actors; was there any benefit in doing so? What did those viewers bring to the set? Zhuo Yu believed that since this space accommodated millions of people, there must be a considerable amount of consumption. If the actors and the audience couldn’t bring benefits to the film studio, it would be really strange.
So, would the audience also return to the Allflame? What exactly was the Allflame?
The forums were full of opinions, and there was no accurate information.
However, he himself was only a newcomer who had experienced a film and wasn’t yet capable of uncovering more truth.
Compared to Zhuo Yu’s calmness, Liu Jingyun wasn’t the same, she was just an ordinary college student who hadn’t seen this kind of battle yet.
“I also have 80,000 followers; I heard that fans who have followed us can receive notification of the start of the broadcast.” Liu Jingyun’s excitement didn’t last for a while; she quickly wilted: ‘“Oh, I’m going into the next film soon; I’m so nervous.”
Zhuo Yu comforted, “If you feel nervous, then the other actors don’t have to live.”
Zhuo Yu didn’t exaggerate at all; Liu Jingyun’s exchange of assassin bloodline could be upgraded with flame points; she piled up all the six thousand flame points into it and evolved all the way from ‘Assassin Apprentice’ to ‘Assassin Expert’, and in the past two days, Zhuo Yu has been designing the training plan for her and has also exchanged some fighting instruction for her to learn.
If only they could turn the base into a training ground. Zhuo Yu thought to himself.
The union base they redeemed was just a one-hectare silver space, and any subsequent equipment and buildings they wanted to add were going to cost points, and the two of them were penniless, and only Zhuo Yu had more than two thousand points left.
But these flame points were also used by Zhuo Yu in other places.
Although skills and props were expensive, things that existed in reality and living supplies were very cheap; a cup of Buddha Jumping Wall was just one flame point. The two didn’t intend to treat themselves poorly when it came to food, and after spending only ten flame points a week, they ate their way through the mountains of food on the set.
In addition to food and drink, there were also some tools that could be found everywhere that were also very cost-effective.
Zhuo Yu exchanged first aid bandages, all kinds of antibiotics, portable tents, flashlights, multi-functional military knives, and other props to facilitate survival, but also bought a large-capacity hiking bag. He also bought a large capacity hiking bag and placed the supplies in the compartment space, occupying only one compartment.
And the grid space could also be purchased; two hundred points could unlock one more column; Zhuo Yu immediately opened five.
The duo who had spent all their points didn’t have the strength to decorate the base at all; compared to the opulent palaces or perhaps earthly wonders of the other unions, the Knight Flame Union base was simply a rough house. Zhuo Yu and Liu Jingyun were sleeping on the ground in tents.
“You’re right, I should have had more confidence in myself.” Liu Jingyun took out the suit gifted by her bloodline from the lattice space and clicked the icon to change; in an instant, the floral dress on her body turned into a set of power suits with a hood, and the organ sleeve sword was hidden under her right wrist.
Zhuo Yu could clearly feel that Liu Jingyun’s presence had suddenly weakened; this was a characteristic brought to her by her equipment and bloodline.
He distributed a packed hiking bag to Liu Jingyun and then clenched his fists.
His palm was burning, and the word ‘1’ written by Asha was reacting.
Since Zhuo Yu entered this infinite film set, his inner curiosity had been persisting for a long time. He knew that there must be something strange about himself; he had carefully read through the information in the forums these days, but there was no other actor who played himself like he did, and he was also on the same side as the film’s boss.
He remembered what Asha had once said to him.
“You are special.”
Zhuo Yu didn’t understand what was special about himself; perhaps only meeting Asha again would unravel the confusion.
More than Liu Jingyun’s nervousness, he was looking forward to it.
[Actors are about to enter the set; please wait in the union hall.]
[Remaining time: ten minutes.]
Zhuo Yu stared at the system’s reading of the seconds, and when the last second disappeared, two silver-white doors descended from the sky.
[Please ask the actor to enter the portal; the time limit is five minutes; if you fail to enter after the time limit, you will directly return to the source of the flame.]
“This is an open threat!” Liu Jingyun hissed, then looked at her captain and said, “We’ll enter together.”
Zhuo Yu nodded.
The two of them prepared themselves mentally and entered the door together.
It was dark, damp, and cold.
It was as if Zhuo Yu had arrived in a thick fog, and he couldn’t see anything in all directions and could only hear the sound of dripping water and unhuman-like gasps in the distance.
This was a dream.
Zhuo Yu had never perceived a dream so clearly before, and even his subconscious kept telling himself that it was a precognitive dream.
“Come to me… come to see me… don’t you miss me… ” A man’s voice rang out; his voice was gorgeous and regal, with a sly trailing flutter that seemed mysterious and sentimental.
Zhuo Yu groped against the wet rock wall; he seemed to be in a cave. He followed the sound and swung his wheelchair forward, and suddenly there was a plop as the wheels pressed against something soft to the touch.
He looked down; under his feet was a pale and huge translucent mesh object, on top of which there was a dense scale-like pattern.
Zhuo Yu suddenly got goosebumps.
This was snake moult.
He wasn’t afraid of snakes, but the thickness of this snake moult… In the thick fog, he couldn’t even see its borders.
“You will come to see me.”
The man’s voice seemed to come from all directions; Zhuo Yu had nowhere to escape and was wrapped up in these seductive words and couldn’t help but move forward along the snake moult.
The mist became fainter and fainter until Zhuo Yu could see the scene in front of him.
That was a towering mountain standing on the coast, with pale rock walls that created a strong contrast with the blue sea and sky. Its steepness was even more awe inspiring, and Zhuo Yu had never seen such a strange sight before. He was stunned for a moment.
Only when he came back to his senses did he realize that he seemed to be holding something in his hand.
A snake scale.
This scale was pitch black, jade-like in texture, and had a deep scar on it.
“1.”
Zhuo Yu read it out.
“Asha ……”
Blinking again, everything was gone. He was standing on top of an altar. Next to him was the huge coffin; the thick cover had been lifted. As long as he probed inwards, he could see the inside of the coffin.
Driven by curiosity, Zhuo Yu looked towards it.
Only to see that the body in the coffin was wearing a protective suit, with a nylon brush and a pointed shovel beside it, at a glance, it was the modern attire of an archaeological team, which appeared to be out of place with the ancient altar.
Moving his eyes upwards, Zhuo Yu’s gaze rested on the corpse’s face.
That was his own face.
TN:
Newwww archhhh
See ya tomorrow
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