[Name: Gong Yao] [ID: P-R0000111] [Status: Roleplaying] [Bound system: P001] [Character introduction: A national idol, a three-time Best Actor winner-the dazzling Lord Gong Yao!]
Li Qing stood among the crowd, coldly studying Gong Yao's character introduction, deeply puzzled:
Who on earth wrote such a biased character introduction?
Was this Dungeon Instance a little too intelligent? Had it even evolved a function like this?
The moment Gong Yao arrived, everyone from the director to the actors enthusiastically crowded around him, instantly relegating Li Qing to the back.
Several people could barely conceal their eagerness to please. It seemed this award-winning actor really did hold considerable status.
The young man who had arrived with Gong Yao also received a warm welcome.
Li Qing checked his player information:
[Name: Tao Lele] [ID: P-SB010250] [Status: Roleplaying] [Bound system: B11111] [Character introduction: The young scion of the investor, Vast Acres Realty, about to begin chasing his showbiz dreams with this film.]
Li Qing: "..." For some reason, Tao Lele seemed to belong to a slightly different genre from everyone else.
All seven players had now gathered here, but Li Qing was thinking about something else entirely.
When he had retrieved the player IDs from the Dungeon Instance information, he had seen that the player count was "7/6."
In other words, there should have been one extra player.
Li Qing instinctively suspected that the extra anomaly was another of Gong Yao's tricks, but immediately rejected the idea.
Letting experience and prejudice affect one's judgment was a bad human habit.
At least according to the data, there was nothing wrong with any of the seven players at present.
By now, the seven actors had finished exchanging pleasantries.
The female lead, An Ya, remained affectionately close to Gong Yao, while Meng Tian stood off to one side without competing for attention, smiling as she chatted with the director, Tao Lele, and He Li.
Yu Xiaohe seemed rather at a loss, so Gong Yao turned slightly toward her, bringing her into his conversation with An Ya.
His eyes, however, kept drifting toward the crowd, as though searching for something.
Bai Cha, the second male lead, had put on a warm, polite smile when Gong Yao first arrived. Now he stood withdrawn to one side again, lost in thought, his gaze unconsciously following Gong Yao.
Having formed an initial assessment of these people, Li Qing retreated all the way to the back of the crowd and sat against the villa's rear wall. His glass-marble eyes faded until they were almost transparent-
In his vision, a high-definition, panoramic view of the filming kickoff appeared in full, with countless scrolling comments racing across it.
Yes, he had opened Gong Yao's livestream.
Although players inside a Dungeon Instance could not view other people's livestreams, administrators naturally had that privilege.
For the first time, Li Qing discovered just how convenient a livestream could be. He could avoid meeting Gong Yao while still monitoring... observing the players' actions.
At that moment, the livestream's scrolling comments were also busily discussing the odd behavior of Gong Yao and the others.
[Gong Yao practically looks like a completely different person. He's like a male peacock showing off his tail.]
[Different how? He's still just as handsome!]
[Are the players in this Dungeon Instance really such good actors? Or does it have some special setting that's made them all lose their memories?]
[Judging by Tao Lele, they've probably all lost their memories... I refuse to believe this guy has a shred of acting talent.]
[I can't imagine how dangerous this Dungeon Instance will be without their memories as players. So this is a B-rank Dungeon Instance.]
[Did any of you notice? That person who flashed past just now looked like Li Qing!]
[His vibe wasn't quite right, but white hair is pretty rare!]
[Maybe he's just some local scene kid.]
[Oh, please. Our Gong stared straight at him the instant he saw him. How could he just be some random scene kid!]
[Maybe because your Gong's character in this Dungeon Instance is a playboy...]
Li "Scene Kid" Qing: ...?
He had never heard the term, but it probably wasn't anything flattering.
Amid the chatter, the filming kickoff ceremony began.
Perhaps because they were making a horror movie, the crew had arranged for a Taoist priest to perform a ritual in addition to the usual kickoff ceremony.
An old man with a white beard, dressed in yellow Taoist robes, brought out a bowl of clear water and muttered incantations. The director and the others pressed their palms together devoutly and waited in silence.
Just then, a young man's strong, ringing voice abruptly sounded: "What the hell is all this!?"
It was Tao Lele.
Director Li hurriedly said, "Young Master Tao, you can't cause trouble at a time like this!"
Tao Lele instantly exploded. "I'm causing trouble!? What century are we living in? You're still practicing this feudal superstition! Is this how you waste my dad's money???"
He strode forward and knocked over the Taoist priest's bowl. "You charge tens of thousands for one ritual, right? How much are you getting in kickbacks?"
Everyone hurried over to calm him down. An Ya looked at Tao Lele with distaste, while Gong Yao's lips curled, as though he were enjoying the show.
The scrolling comments were also stunned by Tao Lele's antics:
[See that? This is the classic opening to a horror movie where someone asks to get killed!]
[I always call this guy the landlord's idiot son, but I never imagined losing his original memories would turn him into an actual moron!]
[Gong Yao! Stop enjoying the show! Hurry up and save your little sidekick!!!]
Saving him was out of the question.
The kickoff ceremony ended in utter chaos, and everyone rushed straight into filming the movie's first scene.
The plot of "The King of Hell Is Here" could be summed up as seven reckless young people exploring the Castle and losing one of their friends.
The others fled in terror, only for death to come for them one after another five years later.
The plot was exceedingly simple. The film's real selling point was its assortment of bizarre, bloody deaths, using splattering gore to grab the audience's attention.
An hour later, everything was ready, and filming began:
A seven-seater SUV pulled up outside the Castle.
The doors opened. The first person out was Tao Lele, a young man in a plain T-shirt with a slightly baby-faced look.
Looking at the Castle before him, he couldn't help letting out a "Wow."
Bai Cha jumped out in a casual suit, looking stylish, and gave a flippant whistle. "Big. Nice."
"Tch..." came an impatient voice.
Meng Tian wore clothes that accentuated her curves, and her heavily made-up face betrayed irritation. "What kind of godforsaken place is this!"
A somewhat short man tumbled out in a scramble, braced himself against the car door, and began vomiting.
Meng Tian screamed. "Ah-He Li, you're disgusting! Stay away from me!"
In the SUV's front passenger seat.
A pretty girl with long, straight black hair looked tenderly at the driver. "Yao, what's wrong?"
The young man silently studied the Castle and shook his head, an air of melancholy hanging about him. The girl couldn't help taking his hand. "It's not often we all get to go out together. Try to cheer up?"
Gong Yao forced a warm smile and briefly clasped her hand.
The male and female leads got out of the car.
The opening scene was soon finished.
Li Qing hid off to the side, watching with keen interest along with the livestream audience.
Perhaps the Dungeon Instance had automatically implanted memories of being actors in them, because each person displayed a side utterly different from their original personality.
Bai Cha in particular looked lifeless off-camera, yet played a playboy even more flamboyantly than Gong Yao.
The moment the director called cut, Bai Cha wilted again, while Meng Tian repeatedly apologized to He Li.
Gong Yao, however, rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
An Ya, who played his girlfriend in the movie, asked, "Yao, what's wrong?"
Gong Yao said slowly, "No, I genuinely think this place might be haunted."
The set fell silent.
Everyone looked over in alarm.
Gong Yao said, "During the kickoff ceremony, I distinctly saw a little kid all in white. Quite pretty, but not quite like a real person. A little ghostly. At first I thought he was one of our actors, but then he vanished in the blink of an eye..."
He raised his eyes and surveyed everyone, his expression grave. "Could this place really be haunted?"
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