The Haunted Cinema

Cathy... no, she should be called Martin. At this moment, she could clearly feel the talisman in her pocket growing unbearably hot.

This... was a sign that the ghost was drawing near!

Martin pressed forward, step by step. She could not afford to flee; if she ran, then her presence here would have been meaningless. For now, she needed time. All she could do was place her trust in Dean's portrayer.

Soon, ahead of her...

Allen finally tore off the sixth talisman, and the tally of death redemption tickets increased to 231!

There were only ten minutes remaining!

In that moment, Allen began to feel a flicker of hope. Ten minutes—tearing off the last talisman shouldn't be too difficult. As long as he acted swiftly, survival was within reach! Even if he couldn't tear it off in time, once the film ended, he would return to the Thirteenth Cinema of Hell. Within the Ghost Cinema, he would be absolutely safe—the ghosts could only remain within the confines of the screen, never able to escape!

Yet...

Cathy—would she survive?

The thought of her fate made Allen's heart ache like a knife to his chest. If Cathy truly perished, it would weigh heavily on his conscience, a burden he could never shake.

Ten minutes...

Only ten minutes...

Just the last ten minutes...

However, that final talisman was proving far more difficult to tear off than Allen had anticipated. No matter how he tried, it wouldn't budge!

Time passed in a flash—five or six minutes had already slipped away. Allen was drenched in sweat, yet the script still offered no clues or instructions on how to tear off the talisman.

Fear began to tighten around his chest.

Just then, a new line of dialogue appeared.

"Ah, you're here, Dan! All the passengers are ghosts! Look here! Tear off this talisman, and we'll be saved!"

Allen's heart jolted in shock!

Dan... he was already dead. This, however, was an unexpected twist, one not accounted for in the script. The narrative would not change simply because of his death. Only when each scene of the film ended would the script be restructured based on the altered events. Since Act Three had not yet concluded, the original script would not shift because of Dan's untimely death. It was clear—the one who would ultimately tear off the talisman was still meant to be him!

But Allen would not give up. He glanced at his phone—there were less than five minutes remaining!

Once time ran out... he would leave this terrifying movie world and enter the Ghost Cinema! There, he would be granted absolute safety!

However, at that very moment, the screen of his phone suddenly went completely black!

Allen's reflexes were lightning fast. He immediately turned around to see what had happened!

However, there was no one there.

He was forced to turn back and continue tearing at the talisman.

Yet, the next moment...

A new line of dialogue appeared:

"Cathy, what... what did you just see? Are those blood-soaked ghosts coming towards us from just a few meters ahead? We have to run, quickly!"

Allen immediately felt his heart freeze. His hands began to tremble violently! He knew, based on the storyline, that Cathy was someone who could see ghosts!

At the same time, the four talismans he had torn earlier, now tucked into his pocket, began to heat up once again!

He spun around in haste, but behind him, there was nothing—only emptiness.

Yet, the new line of dialogue and script instructions still echoed in his mind:

"Dan, stop tearing the talismans, hurry—run, quickly!"

The script instructed Allen's next move: grab Cathy's hand and swiftly flee into the thicket!

Allen clenched his teeth. He fought with all his strength to tear off the last bloodstained talisman, to rid himself of this final impurity!

Five minutes...

In these final moments of his role as the "substitute protagonist," time should have been more than enough. Even if the script told him to run, it seemed unlikely that he could escape at all!

This talisman—he simply couldn't tear it off!

In his mind, the bloody corpses of the driver and Miss Mu flashed once again.

They... were ghosts...

From the very beginning... they had meant to drag us all down to the underworld...

Escape?

Although he couldn't see his phone, he guessed... there couldn't be much time left.

But the last bloodstained talisman... it refused to come off!

After that, the script stopped issuing new instructions, but it was clear enough to understand. Dean and Cathy, the supporting characters, must have met their end in the final moments!

Only the protagonist, Dan, remained, tearing off the talisman alone!

Would he be able to tear it off in time?

The malevolent spirits were closing in. Just ten meters away, and at this pace, they would reach him in no time.

Escape...

He had to escape!

If he didn't run now, he was certain to die!

Even if Dan died, perhaps he could inherit the protagonist's luck, but in the end, he was still just a side character!

And even if he were the protagonist, would he be able to tear off the talisman?

Could he?

Could he?

He finally gave up, standing up and preparing to flee.

There were still at least two or three minutes left! If he could escape for just two or three minutes, he would be able to enter the cinema once the film ended!

However, just as he took a step to run, a hand from behind seized his neck, choking him with a firm grip!

He swiftly drew a talisman from his pocket and pressed it onto the hand behind him!

Immediately, the hand recoiled violently!

Allen wasted no time, bolting into the thicket before him! With the life-saving talisman still in his pocket, his chances of survival were secured!

He continued to sprint deeper into the woods, silently praying that everything would come to an end soon!

Due to his use of a soul-binding talisman, and the fact that more than a second had passed, combined with the self-ignition and disappearance of the death talisman within ten seconds, a total of 200 redemption coupons were deducted. As a result, his redemption coupons were reduced to 31 once again. Had he torn off even one less talisman earlier, his redemption coupons would have been negative by now!

It was impossible for him not to feel the sting of loss. Yet, the most important thing now was survival! Moreover, he could no longer use a second soul-binding talisman, for doing so would result in another deduction of 200 redemption coupons!

At last...

A directive appeared in his mind.

The film was now entering its final countdown!

The countdown of ten seconds had begun!

In ten seconds, Allen would enter the Thirteenth Cinema of Hell!

At that moment, his heart was consumed with desperate prayer, hoping the ghosts would not catch up to him!

Though he still had three soul-binding talismans on him, he dared not use a single one! Even if he managed to expel the ghosts with the talismans, once he returned to the cinema to settle his redemption coupons, they would be negative, and he would die regardless!

He didn't want to die... he didn't want to die!

He was only 25 years old! His life had just begun!

He didn't want to die here!

The countdown continued...

"Six..."

"Five..."

Just then, Allen suddenly stumbled and fell to the ground! As he rose, he found, to his shock, that he was back in the bus!

"Four..."

The windows and doors were all sealed tightly. When he turned around, he was horrified to see the driver sitting in the seat, having turned to face him!

"Three..."

Allen realized he could not escape. Then, suddenly, bloodstained hands reached out from beside him, pulling his body back! At the same time, the bus started moving once again!

One of the bloodstained hands gripped his throat...

"Two..."

Suddenly, a pale hand reached out from beside him, holding a soul-binding talisman, pressing it against the bloodstained hand!

"One..."

Suddenly, everything went pitch black before his eyes!

Allen felt as though he had been cast into this abyssal darkness, and his consciousness began to blur.

He didn't know how long it took, but gradually, he began to regain his clarity.

"W-where... is this?"

This... was unmistakably a cinema's screening room!

It was a vast hall, and before him, the massive screen froze on an image of the bloodstained hand gripping his throat. The word "END" appeared in bold letters across the screen.

Then, the screen swiftly turned black.

Moments later, scrolling credits began to rise:

Cast List

Character Name — Actor

Dan — Charles

Carlin — Delia

Cathy — Martin

Dean — Allen

Clark — Eamonn

Dustin — Eugene

Once the credits had finished rolling, the screen before him dissolved into an impenetrable blackness. The once-dark cinema now flickered to life with dim, lackluster lights, barely distinguishing it from the previous gloom.

"So, this is... the Ghost Cinema?"

Is this truly it?

At that moment, a loud voice called out from behind, "We can go in now! Hurry up and take a look!"

Startled, Allen quickly turned around. A group of people had burst into the screening room through the emergency exit.

"Quick, let's see if Charles and Delia made it!"

"Wait... these must be the new arrivals... Is that woman over there Delia?"

The newcomers were mostly young men and women. Allen shifted in his seat, surveying the vast room. Of all the people in the theater, only three remained seated, himself included.

He looked toward a row of seats and saw a woman with curly hair. She turned toward him, and it was unmistakably Cathy. But Allen, having just checked the credits, knew her name should be Martin.

"Ah hahahahaha... I survived! I can't believe I survived!"

At that moment, a loud voice echoed through the room. Clark... no, it was Eamonn, seated in seat 13 of the 10th row. He stood up, laughing heartily, while eyeing the newcomers entering the theater.

Among the group, the one at the forefront was a young man dressed in a white shirt, handsome but with an air of despair. His eyes scanned the room, but upon realizing he could not find Charles or Delia, he sank to his knees in anguish, with the others behind him letting out deep sighs.

"Forget it, Cheryl. Try to accept it," said a short young girl with glasses, as she helped Cheryl to his feet. "We're all heartbroken too. Charles made it through three horror films, and Delia played in six, but... they died in this one..."

"They..." Cheryl's voice cracked as tears welled in his eyes. "I thought at least Delia would survive. I never imagined..."

Allen approached them solemnly and asked, "Excuse me... is this truly the Thirteenth Cinema of Hell? Did all of you, like me, end up here after finding a movie poster and being pulled into this nightmare to play various roles?"

The group, numbering six in total, looked at each other. Apart from Cheryl and the short girl, there was a tall man, a disheveled youth who looked no older than seventeen or eighteen, a woman with short hair who exuded an intellectual aura, and a cold-eyed woman in a tight leather suit.

The short-haired, bookish woman stepped forward and extended her hand. "Welcome, new actor. You must have realized by now just how terrifying this world is when you're cast in a horror film, right?"

Allen shook her hand, nodding. "I no longer doubt the reality of the Ghost Cinema. But... is it true that we cannot leave this cinema? Is it an entirely isolated space?"

Nathan nodded solemnly. "If you still don't believe it, you're welcome to try. There's no way out. The cinema is a sealed world. The actors have living quarters here, and you can choose your own. This is Theater 7. There are seven theaters in total, all about the same size. Right now, Theater 4 is showing another horror film, which should be ending soon. Would you like to come with us to watch? We're not sure how many will survive that one."

Just then, Martin and Eamonn joined them. Nathan nodded to them, saying, "I'm Nathan. You should already be familiar with the rules of the cinema, but there are still details that need to be explained. Why don't you introduce yourselves?"

At this, Cheryl stood up and said, "Nathan, you handle the introductions and explanations for the new actors."

"I'm worried about Julian and the others. The horror film Dark Tomb is nearly over. Moreover, next week I have another film to star in. I'm not in the mood to talk to the new actors right now."

Martin stepped aside, allowing Cheryl to pass. Once Cheryl had walked by, she spoke, "Hello, everyone. My name is Martin. I'm a... beautician. I'm new here, and I hope you'll take care of me. I'll do my best to assist everyone."

Not being particularly skilled at socializing, Martin had endured many hardships in the past. After learning her lessons, she made a conscious effort to reach out and communicate with others, striving to build relationships. For someone with her originally aloof and introverted nature, taking this step was far from easy.

"Mm, my name's Eamonn. I run a seafood business in Shenzhen," Eamonn said casually, glancing at the others.

"From Shenzhen?"

Allen, a native of Shanghai, had never been to Shenzhen. It seemed these actors must all come from various parts of China. Most of the actors in the Ghost Cinema appeared to be Chinese, with foreigners predominantly from Japan and Korea.

"Well then..." Nathan continued, "Follow me to Theater 4. Hopefully, some of you will manage to survive and return from the world of horror films, just like you did."