C48 — Nightmare Ward
by UntamedSZhuo Yu and his two teammates had built a reception room behind the Blade Mountain, on the surface above their Hive underground base. Generally, only those who had passed rigorous training and climbed over the Blade Mountain could meet the members of Knight Flame.
The three of them sipped their tea leisurely while Luo Musheng kept tallying the accounts.
Five thousand… ten thousand…
The entrance fees collected by the Guild were being accumulated in the guild system’s public flame point vault. As the guild leader, Zhuo Yu had full control over distributing these points, it could be used to strengthen his teammates or upgrade buildings.
Currently, two hundred people had applied for a visit. At fifty points per person, this small wave of tourists alone had already contributed ten thousand fire points to the vault—an impressive sum for any guild.
“Flying Scythe has already set up amusement facilities on their side, and they’ve even bundled their services together.” Liu Jingyun shook her head in amusement. “They built an amusement park, plus a full-service package for relaxation, hot springs, and massages. They’re advertising it as a way to unwind after training at Knight Flame—talk about knowing how to do business.”
Zhuo Yu chuckled. “They’re getting the hang of it.”
“The actors outside have already started trying out the training.” Liu Jingyun pulled up a trending post.
[Brothers, it actually works!]
[Knight Flame now has two major training areas. One is the Sea of Fire, a professional military-style training ground. I tried crawling forward for ten minutes and almost collapsed. That fire burns through stamina way too fast. ]
[I cleared the first stage!]
[Seriously, I’m drenched in sweat. This is a thousand times harder than working out in a gym. If you’re up for the challenge, I highly recommend it. ]
[Detailed report incoming!]
[First stage: crawl under barbed wire, then a three-minute timed obstacle course, followed by a 20-pound weighted three-kilometer run. If you pass, you move on to the throwing and shooting range where they simulate firearms found in commercial markets.]
[There’s even a bionic medic teaching battlefield first aid and bandaging techniques. I couldn’t see much further because I’m still stuck on stage one. ]
[As a military enthusiast, I can confirm; this training is the real deal.]
[If you train here, your physical abilities will improve significantly. I strongly recommend all guild main attackers to undergo this training; it’ll make a huge difference. ]
[Is no one going to talk about Blade Mountain?]
[I heard you can only climb it after clearing all the challenges in the Sea of Fire, and just looking at it is terrifying.]
The post had gained considerable traction. No one had expected that a guild would open a public training ground, let alone afford to build one. Zhuo Yu had unintentionally solved a major problem for the actors.
For mystery films, lack of physical fitness wasn’t a huge issue. But when it came to action-packed survival films, a physically weak modern-day person was practically dead on arrival.
Even if it was just for survival, people would be desperate to come here and train.
“We should add a spectator area later,” Liu Jingyun suggested. “The audience says coming here is absolute torture.” She scrolled through more comments. “But some of them are insanely rich. How did they manage that?”
Luo Musheng responded, “The system mentioned it before. In the past, spectators earned flame points just by checking in. A hundred points per day. Do the math; it’s been three years. Even if they never won a single bet, every spectator has an average of 100,000 points just sitting around. And since they don’t need to exchange points for skills, they’re filthy rich.”
Liu Jingyun glanced at the system’s voting screen, noticing that the guild had accumulated over two million votes. Since the preliminary selection matches had begun, the spectators’ flame points were now spent on betting votes instead of daily check-ins.
“But… if they bet wrong, wouldn’t they have no income left?”
“Is the System Now Limiting Flame Point Acquisition?”
Liu Jingyun voiced her thoughts aloud.
“No, it’s not exactly limiting; it’s more like reclaiming,” Luo Musheng analyzed. “The forum’s activity has plateaued for three weeks, which means the system has stopped bringing in new spectators. It feels like it has already caught its target audience in one big net and is now slowly reeling it in.”
“Plus, I suspect that no new actors are being recruited anymore. Zhuo Yu was the last newcomer to gain traction on the forum.”
“Before Zhuo Yu arrived, new rising stars would appear every month. But now? Nothing. The film site might have already gathered enough people, which is why this event was launched. We’ll see what happens in three days, but I have a bad feeling about it.”
Luo Musheng finished calculating the earnings and sighed. “Our guild is still at a disadvantage.”
Zhuo Yu respected Luo Musheng’s analytical skills and remained silent, listening intently.
“For example, we just ran into the Tianshang Guild; they were just too weak to pose a real threat. But if we had faced gods’ Pantheon, Epitaph, Lustful Abyss, or Key of Sin, we would’ve been utterly crushed.”
“Our biggest disadvantage is our numbers. A team of three can’t form a fully balanced squad. Even with the system’s balancing mechanisms, we simply can’t compete with seasoned actors in a direct fight.”
Luo Musheng sent a list of rankings. “These are the guild rankings over the past three years. We’re only in the middle tier. Sure, we’re famous, but fame doesn’t equal strength. We just happened to ride the wave of popularity. Plus, our films have the highest completion rates, which makes them popular with the audience.”
Liu Jingyun raised an eyebrow. “Wait, you’re saying not all guilds clear films the way we do?”
Luo Musheng nodded. “Take gods’ Pantheon, for example. Their minimum entry requirement is S-rank combat ability. They have a tool to measure an actor’s power level, and their entire roster consists of attackers. Their method of clearing films is straightforward—kill everything in the way. No threats, no problem. Just brute-force their way through.”
“A total power fantasy film…” Liu Jingyun muttered.
“Exactly. Then there’s Key of Sin; they’re basically a team of hardcore analysts. Their strategy? Meticulously search for and exploit every side quest, wringing each film dry for every possible flame point. They earn flame points at an insane rate. They even invited me to join them once, but I declined.”
Luo Musheng adjusted his glasses. “So, a guild with only three actors, like Knight Flame, is at an extreme disadvantage.”
Zhuo Yu, however, smiled. “But you still have more confidence in Knight Flame than in Key of Sin, don’t you?”
Luo Musheng gave a thumbs-up. “Exactly.”
“So, where do you think we should go from here?” Zhuo Yu asked humbly.
“If you ask me, this is just the beginning. The difficulty of the selection tournament is already this high, so the films we face later will be eve more terrifying. Plus, we’ll be up against even stronger guilds.” Luo Musheng’s voice grew serious. “I don’t know if you noticed, but 70% of the big screen feeds were cut off in this selection round alone. We won’t be lucky enough to keep running into weak opponents.”
Liu Jingyun felt a chill down her spine. “What happens to those defeated teams?”
“We’ll have to wait three days for the system’s verdict,” Luo Musheng replied grimly. He wasn’t saying everything on his mind; he had already suppressed countless dark thoughts. Instead, he focused on continuing his analysis for Zhuo Yu.
“Team battles are our strength. Even with just three of us, our coordination is nearly flawless; we managed to take down the leader and main attacker of Tianxiang. If we can form an unstoppable team, we can take down our stronger opponents one by one.” Luo Musheng pointed at the flame tattoo on Zhuo Yu’s wrist. “Didn’t you redeem that card deck? I think it’s absolutely perfect for this.”
Zhuo Yu immediately understood and shared the skills of his card deck.
[Beast Heart Deck (D): Inside this aged booklet are a few cards. We have no choice but to admit, its previous owner was a true devil.]
[This skill can be upgraded with special items. Currently, it is at stage one. Your deck contains three cards, each with a 24-hour cooldown.]
[Sow Discord: Select two people and use words to drive a wedge between them, making them lose trust in each other.]
[Distort Truth: Conceal key details of an event and replace them with different information.]
[Win Trust: Make someone lower their guard and feel comfortable opening up to you.]
“I bet ‘Win Trust’ is the one you’ll use the most. If we adjust our strategy a little…” Luo Musheng hinted.
“This is way too underhanded.” Liu Jingyun immediately understood his meaning.
“What choice do we have? We’re at a disadvantage. Our only option is to act our way to victory.” Luo Musheng shrugged. “Sow discord, cause internal strife within enemy teams, mislead them—there are plenty of ways to break their unity. The moment their team falls apart, they won’t even be a team anymore, and that’s where our advantage comes in.”
“That’s actually a solid strategy.” Zhuo Yu nodded. “You really are my top strategist.”
Luo Musheng grinned. “Hey, I’m just trying to make a living in Knight Flame.”
As they chatted, Zhuo Yu suddenly frowned. “Someone’s coming.”
Luo Musheng and Liu Jingyun exchanged glances. Had someone already made it past Blade Mountain? That fast? No way.
A silver figure landed in the reception hall.
Liu Jingyun was the first to step out and check. The newcomer was dressed in a long silver robe, made of a strange yet seamlessly fitted material with no visible stitches and no signs of tailoring, accentuating his tall and striking silhouette.
The man wore a mask, obscuring his expression and his intentions.
“So it’s you.”
Zhuo Yu’s voice sounded from behind, his tone casual as he leaned back in his wheelchair, propping his chin on his hand. “Showing up so openly, huh?”
The silver-robed man, ‘Number One’ approached with deliberate steps. His voice was ever-changing, but this time, it was cold, steady, and authoritative, almost mechanical.
“Actor Zhuo Yu, you ranked third in personal points for this selection round. It is now time for your meeting with the Judge.”
Huh?
Wait.
Zhuo Yu’s brain stalled for a moment before he recalled what the system had mentioned, actors in the top three would get an audience with the Judge.
“Isn’t this supposed to be more formal?” Luo Musheng muttered in disbelief.
“Uh, please come in?” Zhuo Yu barely held back a laugh. He had wanted Number One to come find him, but he hadn’t expected it to actually happen, let alone with such a convenient excuse. Usually, wouldn’t all three of them be summoned together in three days?
Besides, judging by Number One’s mysterious aura, he didn’t seem like the kind of person responsible for handling contestant meetings.
He really was “lowering himself” for this.
And just like that, the reception room now had an extra guest. Zhuo Yu remained relaxed, but his two teammates were already breaking into a nervous sweat.
Who could have expected a high-ranking figure to suddenly show up? Luo Musheng, who had been hoping to meet the Judge someday, now found that the Judge had come to him for tea instead.
The key question was—he was wearing a mask, so how was he even drinking the tea?!
“This opportunity is only for the third-place contestant, but now the two of us are seeing this as well… isn’t that inappropriate?” Liu Jingyun asked cautiously.
Number One glanced at the two unrelated individuals and said indifferently, “Then feel free to leave.”
Luo Musheng, despite his overwhelming curiosity about the man before him, knew he couldn’t break the unspoken rules of the set. Resigned, he let Liu Jingyun pull him away, leaving the reception room.
Now, it was just the two of them.
“Is this your real appearance?” Zhuo Yu asked once his teammates had left, reaching out to touch Number One’s mask.
Number One didn’t resist his bold move.
“…No.”
Zhuo Yu gave him a look of disdain. “And you still want to get closer to me like this?”
“…” Number One seemed momentarily at a loss. “If you saw my real face, you’d be terrified.”
“I doubt that.” Zhuo Yu’s excitement only grew. “What, are you some kind of monster? Got tentacles and a massive, gaping maw?”
“…”
“Alright, alright, stop going silent. I won’t tease you anymore.”
Just as he finished speaking, Zhuo Yu suddenly tried to rip the mask off. But he miscalculated—it wouldn’t budge. It wasn’t just a mask; it was as if it was part of Number One’s face, seamless and unremovable.
A strange realization struck Zhuo Yu—Number One seemed even more nervous than Liu Jingyun and Luo Musheng had been earlier.
He wasn’t even calling him “darling” anymore.
“Alright, so I’m really ranked third in personal points?”
Number One didn’t respond.
“I knew it.” Zhuo Yu wasn’t surprised. “My individual skills aren’t that strong yet. I can’t even surpass Zhuo Ran, so how could I possibly be third?”
“But I still came.”
Number One took Zhuo Yu’s hand. His leather gloves were cold to the touch, and Zhuo Yu suddenly realized something.
“Hmm, the first step in dating is probably holding hands, right?”
“I think so.”
Number One sounded almost embarrassed.
“Hahahaha! What is this? We’re acting like innocent grade-schoolers in a pure romance.” Zhuo Yu tapped the mask with his finger. “Listen, you wearing this thing makes me feel super unsafe. Since it’s something you created, can’t you just transform into a completely human form?”
The tall man, dressed meticulously from head to toe, seemed a little troubled. “Actually… this is a restraint suit.”
“Huh?”
“A tool to suppress my power. But if it’s just showing my face, that shouldn’t be a problem.”
With a wave of his hand, the mask vanished.
A cascade of silver hair fell like a waterfall, flowing over his shoulders. And beneath that shimmering curtain—were a pair of eyes like an endless starry sky.
Zhuo Yu couldn’t help but let out a breath of admiration.
The man before him was so breathtakingly perfect he seemed almost inhuman. Even compared to Long Ran’s exquisite features, his natural beauty was simply unparalleled.
Zhuo Yu quickly averted his gaze. Even though he wasn’t someone particularly obsessed with looks, he had to admit—his heartbeat had quickened.
“This is my simulated human form.” Number One’s silver pupils, beast-like and sharp, locked onto Zhuo Yu. “If I were truly human, I would probably look like this. You can consider it my actual appearance.”
“Looks like you’re satisfied.”
Zhuo Yu didn’t confirm nor deny. Instead, he casually twirled a strand of the silver hair between his fingers and asked lazily, “Alright, onto the second matter; what’s your name?”
“I don’t have a name.”
“I know. That’s why we need to think of one.”
Number One lowered his eyes slightly, silver lashes casting faint shadows. After a moment, he murmured, “A long time ago… someone gave me a name. But that was so long ago, even they have forgotten it now.”
Number One looked at Zhuo Yu. “He once said that I followed him step by step ever since childhood, so I might as well take the surname ‘Yi’ and be called ‘Suizhi’ (TN: Suizhi – Following). And since I was born from pure emptiness, in the same year when chaos plagued the world, my courtesy name became ‘Suixing’.”
“That… sounds like it was a long time ago. Zhuo Yu rubbed his temples, trying to ease the strange dull ache in his head. “You even have a courtesy name? Just how long have you been alive?”
“I can’t remember.”
“Until he remembers, just keep calling me Number One.” The silver-haired man smiled. “I’ve waited this long, a little longer won’t hurt.”
Zhuo Yu chuckled. He understood Number One’s meaning. “Got it.”
“Actually, I came to inform you of something important.” Number One’s expression grew serious. “After the preliminary tournament ends, Knight Flame will face even more difficult guilds. This region is under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Chief Judge, and he and I have always had our differences. In the next match, he might manipulate things behind the scenes.”
Zhuo Yu, however, was unfazed. Instead, he simply took Number One’s hand and smiled. “You still trust me, don’t you?”
A faint tremor flickered in Number One’s gaze, and his body stiffened for a moment. He was clearly nervous.
“Enough of these boring matters. I’m going to keep my promise now.”
“Let’s go on a date.”
—
[Guild Chat]
[Zhuo Yu] : Xiao Liu, Lao Luo, you guys can come back now.
[Luo Musheng] : What’s going on? Was it really the Chief Judge? What did you two even talk about?
[Liu Jingyun] : The pressure was immense…
[Zhuo Yu]: Ah, nothing much. Just that your captain is going on a date with the Chief Judge. No need to wait for me for dinner.
???
Liu Jingyun and Luo Musheng, who had just returned to the reception room, were dumbfounded.
Zhuo Yu actually left with the Chief Judge.
“Wait, am I seeing things? Did our captain just… go on a date… with the Chief Judge?!” Liu Jingyun was utterly shocked, her mouth agape. “Could it be that Flying Scythe Guild’s true purpose was actually this?!”
Luo Musheng sighed in sympathy for Dong Yao. “Forget it. If you stick around Zhuo Yu, you’ll get used to all sorts of absurd things happening.”
Liu Jingyun couldn’t help but sigh again.
What kind of Zhuo Daji was this?! Even the Chief Judge fell for him?! Was this even allowed?!
Left behind, the two “abandoned children” could only sit down for a feast at the base before heading off to train in the fire sea. It was almost the end of the day when their “wonderful” captain finally returned, teleporting back to the reception room.
“Ahhh, Flying Scythe was actually pretty fun. Their roller coasters rival those at Fuji-Q Highland.” Zhuo Yu casually wiped his damp hair. “Oh, and we even went to the hot springs. I can’t believe someone would actually bathe while still wearing clothes. Must be the Chief Judge’s weird little quirk.”
Liu Jingyun gave him a deeply resentful look. “Captain, when did you start dating?! What about Asha, Long Ran, Jiang Xingyu; did you just abandon all of them?!”
Zhuo Yu rested his chin in his palm and said, with great wisdom, “Only children make choices. Adults take everything.”
Luo Musheng, observing Zhuo Yu at this moment, felt like his captain had changed.
He seemed… livelier.
From his cautious, calculated steps in the beginning, to now bantering freely with Liu Jingyun, Zhuo Yu appeared to have found something—something that let him truly relax. No longer was he constantly on edge. Instead, for the first time, he carried the carefree energy of a young person.
Luo Musheng thought that was a good thing.
Still, how did he and the Chief Judge even meet? Could there be a backstory that he wasn’t aware of?
Looking at Zhuo Yu’s smile, Luo Musheng decided; forget it.
Thinking too much always led to exhaustion. If one could have a safe haven or someone to rely on, even in the filming set, it would be a rare blessing.
As long as he was happy.
Still, it was a little bittersweet.
Sigh, when would he finally find someone too?
Luckily, that judge didn’t come back, so Liu Jingyun and Luo Musheng were spared from being force-fed romance. The rest of their time was spent undergoing the Sea of Fire special training with visiting actors, sweating profusely every day and pushing their physical limits to the max.
As a disabled person, Zhuo Yu didn’t participate in his teammates’ training. Instead, he deposited all his saved Flame Points into the guild’s treasury. Since he had accepted Luo Musheng’s words, these Flame Points should now be used according to the team’s needs.
Zhuo Yu originally wanted to check if there was anything worth redeeming, but he had a new plan in mind.
Because Number One had shared some inside information with him.
In just this qualifying round, more than half of the guilds had been eliminated during the guild battles. In contrast, the lone wolf actors who hadn’t joined any guilds had a higher survival rate. This meant that in the next movie, there was a high chance of being matched with lone wolf teammates—just like back in Lakefront Horror, where Zhou Wu’s four-person team was paired with many individual actors.
Zhuo Yu had a strong feeling that he would find promising talent.
Three days passed quickly. As expected, neither Knight Flame Guild nor Zhuo Yu himself made it into the top three guilds or actors. After all, a three-person guild simply wasn’t competitive enough.
However, Zhuo Yu became familiar with the strongest forces at the moment.
The top three guilds were gods’ Pantheon in first place, Heaven’s Calculation in second, and Key of Sin in third. As for the top three actors, Deities had secured two spots, while Heaven’s Calculation had one.
In the ranking list Luo Musheng provided, Flying Scythe was ranked twelfth, which gave Zhuo Yu a clearer understanding of the powerhouses at the top.
Expanding their team had now become a pressing matter.
Apart from that, Knight Flame’s official ranking had been released—it was beyond the top twenty. The guilds that lost their matches had no ranking at all and were automatically placed into a system-arranged elimination round. If they lost again, they would be sent directly to the AllFlame Source.
The qualifying round felt like a rough and crude sieve, shaking out all the unqualified players. But once the preliminary competition began, things would become much more serious.
At the end of the week, the system released a new announcement:
[Filming Set Notice: The qualifying round has ended. The preliminary round is about to begin.]
[Guild Points: Earn Flame Points by completing main quests, side quests, achieving different endings, and increasing plot completeness. The total points earned by members will form the guild’s final score. A maximum of five members can participate—both official and backup actors can be selected, while the rest of the guild members will remain on standby.]
【Ranking Leaderboard: The official competition will feature individual and guild rankings. Achievement rewards will be distributed accordingly—please consult the system for details.】
【Reward System: The top three guilds and actors will receive three free spin-wheel rewards, one month of real-world time, and 50,000 points for base construction. Actors, please note—if your team fails in the film, all five members will be sent back to the Allflame Source, and your guild will have to send backup actors into the next film.】
The three members of Knight Flame Guild were fully prepared. As three giant doors descended from the sky within their base, they stepped through without waiting for the countdown to end.
[Welcome, Actor “Zhuo Yu,” to the filming set. The movie Nightmare Ward* has been successfully loaded~]
[This film is rated: “Murderous Intent.” A guild has been detected—automatically drawing another guild team.]
[Selection complete.]
[Please survive until the end of the film. Wishing all actors the best of luck.]
[The preliminary round has officially begun.]
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