[Oh no, oh no, oh no. With everything I know about horror movie tropes, if that Bai Cha guy says there might be something wrong here, there definitely is! Li Qing is in danger!]
[No way, right? No one has died in this Dungeon Instance yet (I mean players). I just can't see Li Qing being the first sacrifice!]
[Okay, but... do you guys really think Li Qing is a player? All the players in this Dungeon Instance are actors...]
[Oh, you mean he's an NPC... That is possible. Look, Li Qing and Gong Yao don't even know each other. Maybe he's an NPC modeled after him...]
[That's not what I meant... Whatever. He's going to die anyway.]
As Li Qing approached the car, he spared a glance at the comments in Gong Yao's livestream.
The King of Hell bobbed up and down around him with an excited grin, clearly looking forward to what would happen next.
Just as he reached out to open the hood, an amused voice called from behind him:
"Mr. Li-"
Li Qing stopped and turned.
Gong Yao waved at him. "Come here, come here~"
Li Qing glanced at Director Li.
Naturally, Director Li dared not object. He waved him over, telling him to go.
Another production assistant ran toward the prop car in his place.
"Mr. Li~" Meng Tian stood beside Gong Yao and copied his form of address, flashing a sweet smile. "Your hair color is gorgeous. I'm shooting a music video next month, and I want to dye my hair white too. Could you recommend your stylist?"
Li Qing said, "...It's natural."
Gong Yao snapped his fingers and smiled at Meng Tian. "Told you. Even his roots are white. There's no sign of dye."
Meng Tian, who was half a head shorter than Li Qing, said, "...I can't even see his roots!"
She glanced at He Li, who was waiting alone off to the side. "He Li looks a little nervous. You two chat. I'll go talk to him."
Li Qing said, "So you called me over to ask about my hair?"
Li Qing found it hard to imagine two players discussing something so trivial inside a Dungeon Instance.
...But right now, they didn't remember that they were players in a Dungeon Instance where every move could decide whether they lived or died.
If they lived in the society he had come from, perhaps...
For once, Li Qing felt a little lost.
Seeing him drift off, Gong Yao raised a hand and waved it in front of his face. "Hello?"
Li Qing looked up to find a mixture of amusement and exasperation on Gong Yao's face.
The next moment, Gong Yao's pupils contracted to pinpoints, and he almost instantly threw an arm around Li Qing's shoulders-
Boom!!!
With a deafening blast, Gong Yao and Li Qing switched positions. A searing wave of air slammed into Gong Yao's back, sending them both flying.
The instant Li Qing's back hit the ground, a barely visible white pixel seeped out beneath him, cushioning the impact.
The back of his head rested on something soft...
Gong Yao's arm.
Abruptly sheltered beneath Gong Yao, Li Qing had even had his glasses flung off.
Gong Yao coughed as he pushed himself up. "Are... cough, cough... are you okay...?"
Li Qing stared at him blankly.
The instant their eyes met, Gong Yao froze for a moment before reaching out. "Your eyes..."
A scream snapped him out of his daze.
He immediately scrambled up and looked behind him-
Flames had engulfed the spot where the prop car had stood. Two or three crew members clutched their blast-injured arms and shouted for someone to help.
Bai Cha stood stunned to one side, his mouth half-open. He slowly closed it, his expression dark.
He Li, who should have been in the car, had gone completely rigid.
Gong Yao looked around, spotted a fire equipment cabinet, and immediately sprinted toward it.
The others snapped out of their daze. Some called for an ambulance, others called the fire department, and the rest helped Gong Yao get the extinguishers.
Above the flames, the King of Hell stuffed a fresh soul into his pocket and floated toward Li Qing, looking thoroughly satisfied.
"Was that your target for today?" Li Qing asked softly.
"No," said the King of Hell. "But one more soul is one more soul. I'm happy enough with that."
"Was I your original target?"
The King of Hell laughed. "I wish it were you. Then you could stay here and keep me company forever."
Li Qing took no offense. Instead, he nodded in understanding. "Then it was He Li."
This was another point where a player was supposed to die, but He Li had avoided it, and another NPC had taken his place.
If Yu Xiaohe's survival last time had been a coincidence, this time it had been because of Bai Cha's warning.
Wasn't this player a little too perceptive?
Li Qing considered it, then summoned his GM tool panel amid the chaos.
"What did you do?" the King of Hell suddenly asked curiously. "I feel like you brought something out, but I can't see it."
Li Qing didn't answer.
He submitted an urgent request asking the Technical Team to investigate the player Bai Cha's historical data.
-There wasn't actually any need to mark the request urgent, but Li Qing simply felt like giving Zhang Qin more work for no particular reason.
After all, this Dungeon Instance, which had developed problems because it used new technology, had been produced under his supervision.
A second person had died on the crew of "The King of Hell Is Here," leaving Director Li no choice but to end the shoot.
The ambulances and fire engines heading into the city attracted too much attention. News of the death could no longer be suppressed, and discussion of the incident flooded the internet.
But Director Li and the investors all insisted on continuing filming, and even played up the incident-
The reason was simple: for a gore flick, terrifying behind-the-scenes stories were the best publicity.
Regardless of how frightened the rest of the crew felt, Li Qing, ordinary production assistant, finally got half a day off. He immediately ditched the others and headed into the bustling city.
-Actually, the setting of this Dungeon Instance was pretty big. The city had every facility imaginable.
Li Qing read through the Dungeon Instance's online content, carefully selected the highest-rated restaurant, and ordered everything on the menu under the server's suspicious gaze.
Human food was probably the only perk of fieldwork.
Satisfied, Li Qing popped a piece of roast chicken into his mouth and chewed expressionlessly, six livestream screens hovering before his eyes.
Gong Yao was having a heated argument with his manager and the director.
Not just Li Qing-even the livestream viewers had never seen him lose his temper like this.
Everyone watched with relish, posting comments like, "Give us more of these full role-playing Dungeon Instances."
Administrator Li Qing watched with a deepening frown and posted his first comment in the livestream:
[They're a huge hassle. No more Dungeon Instances like this, please.]
A few players caught on and eagerly agreed:
[Exactly, exactly! You can't use any of your abilities. Dying like that would be so unfair!]
The viewers from the upper realm, who didn't have to struggle to survive in Dungeon Instances, began vehemently objecting, and the livestream chat soon became a cesspit.
Entirely unaware that he was the culprit behind the flame war, Li Qing emptied his third plate under the server's astonished gaze while watching what the others were doing.
A white head slowly emerged from the plate Li Qing was about to take food from.
Li Qing's chopsticks paused. Then he lowered his gaze and stared at the King of Hell, who stared back.
Li Qing said, "..."
The King of Hell said, "What are you doing here? Hurry back. I'm about to meet my quota again!"
Before you continue