Sudden and Unprepared

There's a saying that when humans experience extreme terror, they can't scream. The ability to scream means the pressure can be released, allowing for some distraction and relief from the fear.

This is why in many horror movies, there are scenes where the protagonist hides, suppressing their screams. In such situations, the inability to release pressure intensifies the psychological terror.

Qin Tiantian was experiencing just that.

When she saw Lu Ban in the mirror, baring a creepy smile at her, she froze. She couldn't even tremble; all she felt was a wave of goosebumps crawling from her lower back up her spine. It felt like a lump in her throat, making it impossible to make any sound.

Qin Tiantian had seen Lu Ban in person. Although they weren't close, she knew for sure that Lu Ban wouldn't normally wear such a smile.

Or rather, no living person would smile like that.

The viewers in the livestream chat were also startled. The barrage of comments, which had previously occupied two-thirds of the screen, suddenly froze as if the system had malfunctioned.

Crash—

Rumble—

It wasn't until Lu Ban in the video shattered the glass with a crowbar that Qin Tiantian and the viewers snapped back to reality.

People used to say they were "scared stiff." Qin Tiantian felt she might have experienced that just now. When subjected to extreme stimulation, the human brain can sometimes freeze or get stuck replaying instinctive behaviors.

If Lu Ban hadn't broken the mirror and shifted Qin Tiantian's focus, she might have taken much longer to recover.

"There seemed to be something in the mirror earlier, but it's gone now. Let's keep moving forward."

Lu Ban's voice rang out, giving Qin Tiantian a strange sense of security.

[LOL, the UP must have been laughing himself just now, trying to be mysterious!]

[Damn, why is someone laughing so creepily?]

[I remember, this UP is the same one who counted heartbeats last time, figures they like this kind of creepy stuff.]

[This way of scaring people, a normal person wouldn't do this!]

[Hahaha, almost scared me to death, I'm definitely going to go scold this UP.]

[Is Chuan Bao okay? Why is he silent?]

Seeing Lu Ban walk towards a deeper, darker corridor, Qin Tiantian glanced at the comments to ease her fear.

"I, I'm still here. Wh-what is it, it's not scary at all. I-is anyone really finding this video scary?"

She said it bravely, unaware that her voice was already trembling.

As Qin Tiantian finished speaking, Lu Ban had already reached the control room at the end of the corridor.

With a brief introduction, Lu Ban, without further ado, entered the control room and saw the dilapidated stage.

The camera zoomed in slightly, capturing the piano on the stage.

Just then, a piano melody sounded, striking a chord in Qin Tiantian's heart.

She trembled suddenly, her scalp tingling, like the relief of finally releasing a full bladder after waiting anxiously by the toilet for ten minutes during a movie like Once Upon a Time in America.

Qin Tiantian realized her hands were shaking uncontrollably.

She grabbed the shark plushie pillow she had nearby. Holding her pillow, Qin Tiantian, feeling a bit more secure, began to ponder.

There was no one near the piano, and Lu Ban had only just arrived. Where was the sound coming from?

"Maybe a small animal?"

Qin Tiantian forced herself to explain, even though the camera clearly showed no small animals on the piano.

She couldn't possibly admit that something else was there, could she?

The viewers who were startled by the piano music didn't even have time to comment and scold Lu Ban before the screen jolted, accompanied by a cracking sound.

"Holy crap. Almost fell."

Lu Ban's perspective showed the ground, where he had just stepped through a hole.

Compared to what he had just seen, the dangers encountered in this routine exploration seemed mundane.

Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, the flashlight beam swung around, pointing behind Lu Ban.

A mannequin with strange eyes suddenly appeared dead center in the frame.

"!!!"

This time, Qin Tiantian managed to scream, but only for a moment. As she desperately tried to lean away from the screen, she tumbled off her gaming chair.

Thump—

A dull thud came from the mat. Fortunately, Qin Tiantian's bed was next to her chair, so she didn't hit anything.

In the video, Lu Ban even took a moment to examine the mannequin before leaving the monitoring room.

Qin Tiantian didn't bother sitting back down. She sat on her bed, hugging her pillow, watching the video from a distance, as if that would make it less terrifying.

In the subsequent footage, Lu Ban edited out the part where he returned from the corridor to the lobby.

"It's completely dark outside now."

Lu Ban's flashlight illuminated a hole in the ceiling and then swept across other parts of the theater lobby.

Qin Tiantian peeked at Lu Ban's actions through her fingers and then saw, in the control room on the other side of the stage, those mannequins with strange eyes standing by the window, watching the person watching the video.

"Waaah!"

She didn't dare to look and hurriedly buried her face in her knees.

Beside her ears, Lu Ban was still narrating, saying the control room opposite was empty, but Qin Tiantian didn't care at all.

But after more than ten seconds, she heard strange noises from the video, which made her look up again.

Qin Tiantian saw that Lu Ban was actually eating self-heating rice in the eerie, gloomy, and terrifying Jiangcheng Grand Theater.

"???"

Wasn't this supposed to be a tense, exciting, and dangerous exploration video?

How did it turn into a wilderness mukbang?

And it looked quite delicious.

Late at night, after being scared several times, watching Lu Ban put the tomato beef brisket, full of sauce, into his mouth with rice, devouring it with gusto, Qin Tiantian subconsciously swallowed.

[This UP is seeking revenge on society!]

[If I've done anything wrong, let the police punish me, don't make me watch this kind of mukbang video late at night]

[Got it, so this is a sponsored video, so sudden, so sudden]

[No, what about the things in the mirror? Those mannequin dolls earlier were also problematic, why did they start eating?]

[Don't say it, it looks delicious, I'm already searching for takeout]

[Disperse, disperse, the next nine minutes are all mukbang content, this is a food video!]

"It does look delicious."

Qin Tiantian had recovered by this time and leaned closer, still hugging a giant shark plushie.

The eating segment lasted about a minute and a half. Lu Ban tidied up his things and picked up his flashlight to scan the surroundings.

The elliptical beam of light fell on the abandoned second floor, then onto the stage, and then onto the control room opposite the stage.

In the control room, which was originally empty of mannequin dolls, several figures with strange eyes were standing.

"!!!"

Qin Tiantian covered her head and squatted down.

She couldn't help but be curious and glanced at the computer screen.

"There's definitely something strange here."

Lu Ban's camera lingered on the mannequin dolls for a moment before turning elsewhere.

In a fleeting moment, Qin Tiantian clearly saw a woman in a red dress standing at the entrance to the safety exit on one side of the stage!

"Damn it, I'm scared!"

Qin Tiantian couldn't help but curse.

*

Thank you all for your collections, monthly passes, recommendation tickets, rewards, and support!

Please vote plus!!