Final Destination

Recalling the scene just now, Zhang Ze realized that the texture of the monster's suit was definitely not something that could be achieved with ordinary materials; it was just like real human skin, with the stitching at the edges showing an eerie dark black color.

Lin Xiaomei looked full of regret.

"Well."

"It's my fault. I should have explained it to you clearly. These days, many dramas like to film monsters, ghosts, and death games—these kinds of themes."

"Don't be surprised if you see it."

"Oh, I understand." Zhang Ze nodded. In his previous life, the entertainment market didn't even allow the word "ghost" to appear, let alone shoot short dramas of this kind. It's understandable that he didn't realize it at first.

After this little incident...

Zhang Ze and Lin Xiaomei got on the elevator, which went all the way to the fifth floor. The fifth floor was a bit bigger and cooler. As soon as the elevator doors opened, they saw a field the size of a football field.

The site was divided into three sections: a small park, an alley, and offices.

The bottom is a rotating disc base, like a stage play, which can be rotated to change scenes when necessary.

Hehehe, hello everyone.

Welcome to Clown Babu's show!

"In this episode, I will show you how to sneak into an office building at 2 a. m., kill the night shift security guard, precisely dispose of the guard's body, and mislead the police's judgment."

"As everyone knows, night shift security guards are a strange breed. They usually like to sit in their guard booths smoking and playing on their phones. They only go into the building with a flashlight to clock in when they need to. If it's a building that's still being leased, many floors are not yet renovated, and even the surveillance is incomplete, making it the ideal place to take action."

"Oh~ See that? It's a poor night shift security guard. Don't worry, Babu, go get the magic tools we'll need later~"

In front of the camera.

A man dressed as a clown winked at the camera, making deliberately drawn-out sounds, trying his best to look funny.

"Card."

"What kind of acting is this?"

"A pile of shit."

"Get lost, don't waste my time. You'd be better off auditioning the next person."

The director, hands on his hips, chased the clown away.

The clown walked out of the arena looking dejected. Seeing Zhang Ze and the others, he burst into tears. "As expected," he cried, "You all already found a replacement for me. Nobody likes my performance!"

She ran away crying.

Zhang Ze:...

"Where did this madman come from?"

"That's an actor who recently auditioned; maybe he's not mentally strong enough," Lin Xiaomei said, scratching the Back-of-the-Head.

Are all directors this extraordinary?

"It's not about being overly ambitious; it's about setting high standards. Investors don't want their money to go down the drain, and the director is under a lot of pressure too." Lin Xiaomei took out her phone and sent a message to Yue Pan, "Please wait a moment."

During the waiting period.

A new clown actor walked in front of the camera, and the makeup artist gave him a bright red nose. After making sure everything was perfect, filming continued.

The lines are pretty much the same as before.

Welcome to Clown Babu's show!

Zhang Ze found it a bit strange; how could a program with murder as its theme be filmed normally?

Chen Ge's expression was even more interesting. "Clown Babu" was one of the side quests suggested by the Black Phone. Chen Ge had considered that he might encounter it in any scene, but he never expected that the movie hadn't been made yet.

A few minutes later.

The elevator descended from the upper floor to the fifth floor.

A man in a suit walked out, and Lin Xiaomei instinctively stood up straighter when she saw him. Zhang Ze then recognized the man's identity.

My name is Yue Pan.

It's a pleasure to meet you both.

Zhang Ze looked at Yue Pan, who had previously caused him trouble, claiming that Haunted House staff had assaulted tourists. Zhang Ze had drawn up surveillance footage to cover it up.

After making excuses, Yue Pan kept his word. The Mystery Case Tracking Studio later did a lot of publicity for Zhang Ze's Haunted House, which would not have been possible without Yue Pan's approval.

"This is not the place to talk."

"Come with me."

Yue Pan led the two to a reception room on the fifth floor. Lin Xiaomei specially brewed two cups of tea, one for Zhang Ze and one for Chen Ge. Chen Ge, out of caution, did not drink it, while Zhang Ze drank it all in one gulp and quietly watched Yue Pan's performance.

Yue Pan first closed the door, turned off the room's surveillance camera, and made sure no one else was there.

He only showed a hint of fatigue.

"To be honest, I don't know if you'll think I'm crazy if I tell you all this."

"Actually, Xiaomei only told you that we received some special videos, but she didn't tell you what these videos were. If you knew, you might really think I'm crazy."

"To be honest, I used to be a professional investor in horror movies. Um... Boss Zhang, you were involved in a case before, related to a Murderous Painting. The victim whose name was Zhou was the one who died because of that painting. Old Zhou is a friend of mine; we're in the same circle."

"I've watched countless horror movies—from Europe and America, Japan, Korea, Thailand, and of course, our own—but none of them are as terrifying as what I'm about to tell you."

Zhang Ze nodded, signaling Yue Pan to continue.

Yue Pan took a deep breath, "Have you guys seen ' Final Destination '?"

"Of course, it's a classic murder film. Deaths are caused by a lot of coincidences. It's quite graphic, and the various characters die in different ways. It's a classic gore movie," Zhang Ze said.

"Yes, Final Destination presents many different ways for the characters to die, but what if... in the movie version you see, every single way of dying is you?"

Um?

Zhang Ze was taken aback.

Yue Pan's statement was indeed unexpected.

Chen Ge said, "I understand. Someone used your facial features to create AI videos, producing a bunch of videos of you dying and sending them to you. You feel harassed, so you want our help, right?"

Yue Pan shook his head.

"No, it's not AI video. It started before AI technology was mature, and I'm quite certain that I checked those videos using the most advanced identification technology. The results show that they are not special effects composites at all, but real videos."

"Dozens, even hundreds of videos of my death, are all real footage. You'll see for yourselves when you watch them."

Yue Pan pulled out a stack of photos.

These photos are all of the moments of death that he captured.

Zhang Ze picked up one.

In the photo, Yue Pan's body is face down with a cracked flowerpot on top of his head. The cause of death is obviously a falling object. Judging from the location in the photo, it should be a village in Hanjiang City. The streets are deserted except for Yue Pan.

Let's look at the other photos.

At the Hanjiang City Cross-River Bridge, Yue Pan's corpse floated on the water in a gigantic shape, bloated beyond recognition, like a balloon filled with gas that would burst at the slightest touch.

In the stairwell of a dilapidated residential building, Yue Pan was found hanged from the neck with a nylon rope around his neck. His cervical vertebrae were broken, and his body was a gruesome sight.

After looking at just a few pictures, Zhang Ze felt a chill.

Yue Pan has been receiving these videos for several years and has witnessed his own death. It's a miracle that he hasn't developed mental health issues yet.

"Do you know who filmed these videos?" Chen Ge asked.

"A company I don't recognize, Hanjiang City Ghost Story Research Company," Yue Pan replied.