The Haunted Cinema

Though he had narrowly escaped death, his redemption tickets had significantly dwindled, leaving him with only 57 tickets remaining!

Allen was supposed to die after this point. But he had survived. The longer he stayed alive, the further his redemption tickets would diminish, until the film's conclusion. In the end, even if he survived through the film, he would still meet his demise.

Thus… without increasing his redemption tickets, his death was inevitable!

To increase his redemption tickets, he would need to take bold, decisive actions—such as saving an actor who was supposed to die, or uncovering the terrifying truth behind the haunted bus. Only then could his tickets be replenished.

The truth… If he could uncover the truth, he might live.

But what was the truth?

At this moment, the information at his disposal was painfully insufficient, leaving him grasping at straws. The "filth" the old beggar spoke of made no sense. The other actors knew nothing, and his search through the travel pamphlet yielded no mention of any supernatural lore. Then again, it was hardly surprising; who would travel to a place described as haunted? Only a few curious souls might seek such a destination.

So… where did the problem lie?

After much contemplation, Allen made his decision—he would return to the bus!

The root of everything seemed to lie with the bus. Initially, he had feared staying on the bus, especially as it was growing emptier. But now, Allen knew that returning to the bus was his only chance to increase his redemption tickets. He would go back and search again, to see if the so-called "filth" truly existed. As for Cathy, she had already done all she could, and he couldn't ask more of her. He had kept the path to the bus in his mind, and as he had been running, he had been estimating the directions. Now, retracing his steps should not be too difficult.

"I…" Allen sighed. "Cathy, I think I should go back to the bus."

"Why?" Cathy asked, though her expression revealed no surprise.

"I… I feel like running around on this mountain is too dangerous. That person, Liu An, just disappeared, and Han Ruoyue before him… the whole situation feels cursed, I can't shake the feeling that something is terribly wrong."

"Alright," Cathy said, no longer pressing the matter. "Let's go together."

"Really?" Allen's gratitude deepened. "You'll come with me?"

"Yes. Actually, I feel the same way."

But getting back to the bus was far from an easy task.

Meanwhile…

Inside the bus, Dustin paced restlessly.

He had survived.

But the despair was evident in his expression, for his redemption tickets had also been drastically reduced.

Dustin had been walking back and forth inside the bus for quite some time, yet he had found no trace of the "filth."

Logically speaking, Dustin should not have known about the filth, for the old beggar had only revealed this secret to the protagonist, Dan. However, since the old beggar had mentioned the negative energy on the bus, Dustin's search could be justified as looking for anything suspicious or ominous. Allen had done something similar earlier.

The light outside dimmed, and suddenly, the bus lights malfunctioned inexplicably!

Dustin stumbled, nearly falling. The elderly passengers around him showed no reaction, continuing to sit silently.

Dustin stepped off the bus to continue his search.

Filth… filth…

He muttered to himself, scanning the bus from all sides, but still found nothing.

When he returned to the bus, disheartened, the sight that met him sent chills down his spine!

This…

This…

Before him, all eleven elderly passengers had vanished without a trace!

This was not part of the original script!

No… wait, the second act had not mentioned the bus at all, so no one knew what had happened there. Those left behind were just as vulnerable as anyone else!

Were these people just extras? Did they simply die without a moment's notice?

He fell to the ground in horror. He had only stepped outside for a brief moment, and when he returned, the bus was completely empty. A foul liquid began to drip from his pants, its stench unbearable.

Dustin's real name was Eugene—a name as ordinary as could be.

Eugene was, in fact, an unremarkable recluse. He had graduated from university not long ago, spending most of his time at home, immersed in games like Warcraft and StarCraft. Occasionally, he would indulge in horror games and movies. One day, his computer malfunctioned, so he went to an internet café to play games. As the night wore on and the café was about to close, Eugene was the last customer remaining. He noticed a poster on the floor, picked it up, and saw it was identical to the one Allen had found. To his shock, he saw his own name added to the cast list!

The next moment, he found himself submerged in a blood-filled glass tank. His skeleton was removed, leaving only his skin, which floated in the blood. He watched in disbelief as his bones moved on their own, pouring more blood into the tank!

During the immersion, Eugene's mind was flooded with all the knowledge of the Ghost Cinema. The rules were simple: he had to comply with the film's requirements to survive. If he refused to follow the script, he would forever remain a skin floating in the blood, and death itself would become a distant dream.

Eugene was terrified beyond measure. At this point, how could he possibly deny the curse of the Ghost Cinema? His curiosity had brought him to the café, where he had found the cursed poster, and now he was trapped in this horrific fate. If he had even entertained a thought of escape, or resisted the rules, he would remain forever in the blood-soaked tank.

Only by fully believing in the rules and swearing to follow them could Eugene step into the world of the horror film, becoming the character "Dustin." Before this, he had spent a full fifteen minutes immersed in the blood-filled tank!

His pay was even lower than Allen's, possibly because he had died earlier—only 130 redemption tickets. Now, his redemption tickets had plummeted to fewer than 30! Once they ran out, falling into the negative, death awaited him, and it would be no better than being a mere human skin in a bloodbath!

And now…

"No… no… please, no!"

Terrified to the point of incontinence, Dustin—no, Eugene—trembled uncontrollably, his body shaking like a leaf in the wind as he stumbled toward the bus door. His redemption tickets had plummeted further, but staying in this place, who knew what other horrors awaited him?

He jumped out of the bus, but twisted his foot upon landing, falling to the ground in a disheveled heap. Hastily, he scrambled to his feet, ready to continue his flight when…

His left foot felt as though it were gripped tightly by a hand!

Before Eugene could even turn to look, his body was yanked forcefully into the underbelly of the bus!

"Aaaahhhh—!"

His scream echoed through the night, but soon, everything fell into an eerie silence.

The bus stood there, empty and still, its silent presence a stark contrast to the chaos that had just unfolded.

A long time passed…

Then, Allen and Cathy appeared once more before the bus.

Fortunately, Allen had marked the path along the way, and he had kept a mental map of the directions, allowing them to return to the bus without much trouble. During their frantic flight earlier, he had unconsciously kept running toward the bus, so they hadn't strayed too far off course.

From a distance, Allen noticed something odd—the bus lights were off.

"Wait, Dean," Cathy observed sharply, halting Allen with a hand on his arm. "Something's wrong."

A sense of unease crept over Allen.

"Is anyone here?" Cathy called out loudly, her voice echoing into the night. "Is anyone here?"

Though they were still some distance away, Cathy had already noticed—there seemed to be no one on the bus!

Allen, too, saw it clearly now.

This was a world of horror, and Allen had always been prone to overthinking, but the sight of the bus nearly empty of people sent a deep chill down his spine.

He gripped Cathy's hand tightly, and they began to step back.

However, halfway through retreating, Allen suddenly stopped.

His redemption tickets had been reduced further. After returning to the bus, his tickets had dropped to under forty! If this continued and he didn't find a way to replenish his tickets, even if he survived the film, he would still die when the movie ended!

At this point, he realized… it was time to take a risk.

Allen understood—blaming fate was futile. If he wanted to live, he had to take a gamble, to grasp at the slim hope of survival! Otherwise, he would just be waiting for death.

With that, he released Cathy's hand and started walking toward the bus. At this point, he couldn't allow her to be further involved. She likely had more redemption tickets than he did, and there was no need for her to take this risk. With almost no other avenues left to gain information, his only hope lay in the so-called "filth." If he could eliminate that, perhaps he could turn things around.

This was his only chance of survival.

Cathy watched him walk away, her gaze flickering with uncertainty…

Was he worth this sacrifice?

Allen moved steadily toward the bus, each step weighed with hesitation. This bus—should he leave or stay? He had wavered many times, but now, cornered as he was, he decided to press on. His thinking had already shifted. No longer was he the ordinary office worker, stuck in a mundane routine of nine-to-five existence—having drinks with colleagues, groveling to bosses, living a life unremarkable to anyone. That life was gone.

Now, he was part of a nightmare, playing a role in a horror film where the smallest mistake could cost him his life. No more naïve illusions. He had no choice but to risk everything, for without doing so, survival was impossible! He had been backed into a corner, with no way out.

He reached the front of the bus.

Inside… the bus was, indeed, empty.

His teeth clenched, fists tightening, he stepped forward, lifting his foot to enter the bus. However, he immediately stepped into a puddle of liquid. It was the urine that Eugene had left behind in his panic.

Allen froze. He remembered there being no wetness here before. What was going on?

Inside the bus, it was completely devoid of people. From where he stood, there was nothing but emptiness.

The secret must lie within this bus.

This was where the old beggar had spoken of the ominous "negative energy!" Was it possible that the bus had become a medium, a bridge to the underworld, an entry point for spirits? Allen recalled various taboos surrounding ghosts—things like not peeling apples in front of a mirror at midnight, or not opening an umbrella in an elevator. Could the "filth" be some kind of violation of a taboo, allowing spirits to enter the bus from the realm of the dead?

Allen knew little about such superstitions. He usually spent his time reading economic and political news online, never venturing into those strange, obscure forums. His entertainment consisted mostly of war and science fiction films, rarely venturing into the realm of horror. One of the main reasons for this was that most horror films were poorly made, with plot holes and convoluted themes that often left the audience with little to grasp.

But now, he regretted his ignorance. Had he watched more horror films, perhaps he would understand more about these matters.

Of course, regrets were useless now. The only course of action left was to search for the so-called "filth."