The Haunted Cinema

If Jiang Yi were not a seasoned actor, then he must indeed be the woman's lover.

Allen, Clark, and Dustin, along with others, scoured the area in search of the woman, whom Jiang Yi had referred to as Han Ruoyue. There was no way to contact her by phone, so they had no choice but to search for her in person.

When Jiang Yi realized they couldn't find her, he began shouting hoarsely into the wilderness, "Ruoyue! Ruoyue! Where are you?"

Allen was immediately startled! This was a truly haunted, desolate mountain range—what if his shouting attracted something sinister?

However, from his position, he couldn't find a valid reason to oppose Jiang Yi's actions.

"Damn it, this woman!" Clark, having realized that speaking lines no longer resulted in Redemption Ticket deductions, muttered in frustration, "I've had the worst luck...to be stuck in this mess…"

Allen gripped his hand tightly and gestured for him to stay quiet. At this moment, Clark was the character he was playing, and he had to remember his role—not to think of himself as someone who had been forcibly transported into a horror movie.

"Mr. Jiang!" Allen approached and grabbed Jiang Yi's arm, "Please, stop…"

Just then, he noticed that the number of Redemption Tickets in his mind had started to decrease again. From 177, it dropped to 167. This sent a chill down his spine, but there was no turning back now—no one knew what consequences would follow.

"But Ruoyue… she…" Jiang Yi said urgently, "I don't know where she went..."

"Hey, look!" The burly man, Zhang Dekun from Sichuan, suddenly pointed at something. "That's…"

At his words, both Allen and Jiang Yi immediately turned to look. Between two rocks, wedged in the gap, lay a single shoe. Jiang Yi rushed forward, grabbed it, and exclaimed, "This... this is Ruoyue's shoe!"

This discovery confirmed that the woman had indeed encountered danger.

Allen felt his scalp tingle and a cold shiver ran down his spine.

He was usually a bold person, unfazed even by the scariest of horror films. But this wasn't a movie—it was a real horror film! The very thought of iconic scenes from classic horrors—Sadako crawling out of the TV, Kayako lurking in a haunted mansion—made Allen freeze in place, unable to take another step.

He was just an ordinary office worker with no experience in the supernatural, and had never believed in ghosts. But now, seeing that shoe, his mind flooded with chilling visions. Yet, to his credit, he managed to remain composed, not running away in panic. His psychological fortitude was certainly being tested. The others, too, were visibly shaken, except for Liu An, the young man in a cap, whose expression remained unreadable.

Not only that, but his Redemption Tickets were continuing to dwindle. If they dropped to negative numbers, even if he managed to survive the movie, it would be a death sentence for him!

"Look!"

Zhang Dekun crouched down, peering closely at the ground behind the shoe. Allen and the others gathered around, and they noticed that the soil behind the rock had been disturbed, with a noticeable indentation that led into a patch of forest beyond. Allen's mind immediately conjured up an image—an eerie spirit dragging Han Ruoyue's body into the woods.

As he continued to inspect, he noticed clear five-fingered marks in the earth, as though someone—or something—had clawed at the ground as it was dragged.

"Something's wrong!" Zhang Dekun exclaimed, "We need to find her! Mr. Xia, you should head back to the bus and tell the others, get a few more people to help! There could be wild animals in these mountains, or worse, criminals dragging her into the forest!"

Allen began to suspect that Zhang Dekun might be a veteran actor as well. After all, even seasoned actors could sometimes play minor roles.

"Then… what about you?"

"I'll stay with Mr. Jiang and search with him!" Zhang Dekun said decisively. "You head back and gather people!"

Jiang Yi quickly grasped Zhang Dekun's hand, his face filled with gratitude. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Without further hesitation, the two men rushed into the depths of the forest.

Allen paused, then realized: they must both be seasoned actors. Having accumulated many Redemption Tickets from their past roles, they could afford to venture deeper. But Allen couldn't follow. The dark, foreboding forest before him, filled with images of countless ghostly figures as seen on horror movie posters, was enough to make him hesitate.

There was no choice but to turn back. At least, according to the script in his mind, the bus was safe. But that also meant wasting a significant number of Redemption Tickets.

"We... we should go back," Clark said, cutting Allen off before he could speak. "I... don't want to stay here anymore!"

Dustin and Liu An remained silent, but after a while, Dustin sighed and said, "Let's go."

Allen turned and began heading back toward the bus, with Liu An silently following behind them. Allen quickened his pace, instinctively fearing that something might jump out of the forest behind them.

As his pace increased, he broke into a full sprint. What frustrated him, though, was that despite returning to the bus, his Redemption Tickets continued to decrease. By the time the bus came into view, his tickets had dropped to 148.

Outside the bus, a group of people stood, presumably wondering whether to follow their lead and escape.

"Hey, look! Someone's back!"

As Allen and the others approached, the group called out. One man, holding a cigarette and with a thick Shandong accent, asked, "So, you guys couldn't find your way down the mountain?"

"Well... just give us a moment…"

Allen climbed back onto the bus, where the driver was still tinkering with the vehicle's equipment. His dedication was admirable; despite knowing the bus was beyond repair, he continued to work on it diligently.

"Tour guide!" Allen rushed over to her. "Here's the situation…"

He explained everything that had happened. The tour guide's face turned pale, and she hurriedly asked, "Han Ruoyue is missing? This is serious! Have you tried calling her?"

"The phone has no signal," Allen replied, shaking his head. "It's probably due to the mountains... Jiang Yi and Zhang Dekun went to search for her. They told us to come back and gather more people."

However, the other passengers showed little reaction, as if they couldn't care less. It was understandable—everyone knew there were ghosts outside; who would be willing to venture into such a dangerous place to rescue someone?

Allen thought to himself that he had completed his task for now. He didn't dare venture out again, so he and Clark returned to their seats. Dan and Carlin, the lead actors, exchanged glances before the male lead spoke, "What's going on? Weren't you guys supposed to be heading down the mountain?"

It is worth noting that if an actor deviates from the script and delivers ad-libbed lines or engages in unscripted behavior due to the actions of another actor, there is generally no deduction of Redemption Tickets. Of course, this is not an absolute rule—if someone deliberately exploits this to avoid following the script and save their Redemption Tickets, it would create a major flaw in the system. Therefore, there is a limit: saying a few improvised lines or acting in a way that does not significantly affect the plot is typically harmless, but if the storyline is altered too drastically, the consequences are entirely different.

"This desolate mountain range is probably home to wild animals; I don't dare to wander around outside any longer," Allen muttered, shaking his head. "Let's stay here for now and wait for the driver to finish fixing the vehicle."

He felt a deep sense of frustration. If only his phone had signal, he could have gone online. Earlier, as he examined the travel map outside, he had noticed its extreme simplicity—it gave no indication of which province or county in China they were in. This mountain, it seemed, was entirely fictional, a place that didn't exist in the real world. This was a remote region, barely touched by human presence, and now it was nightfall—an ideal setting for a horror film.

Had he been able to access the internet and pinpoint their exact location, he might have been able to search for any ghost stories or legends associated with the area, perhaps uncovering a strategy to counter whatever was happening. But now, with no knowledge of why or how these spirits manifested, there was no way to plan. If these ghosts were seeking revenge, how could he know if his character had committed some atrocity worthy of their wrath?

Hours passed without anyone volunteering to search for the missing woman. Since their phones had no signal, it was impossible to call for help or contact anyone down the mountain. Allen sighed. Once an ordinary office worker, he was now fighting for survival in a real-life horror movie, with no idea how to escape.

At that moment, the male and female leads, Dan and Carlin, resumed their scripted dialogue.

"Once we get back, I'm definitely filing a complaint with the travel agency," Dan said, lighting a cigarette. "At this rate, we might not even make it off this mountain tonight."

"Yeah," Carlin agreed. "The mountain paths around here are really difficult to navigate, and we have no idea how long it would take to walk down. Plus, there might really be wild animals lurking around."

As the smoke from Dan's cigarette wafted over, Allen turned his head and opened the window. Smoking was not part of the script, so it seemed the actor playing Dan had simply taken it upon himself to light up. In such a tense, eerie setting, it was entirely understandable. The way he lit the cigarette clearly indicated he was a seasoned smoker. Allen, who abhorred smoking for its obvious health risks, silently endured the "second-hand smoke" out of empathy for the actor's nerves.

At the same time, an idea began to form in his mind.

In the first scene, the driver had died in the vehicle, which meant that the ghost had entered the bus and begun its killing spree. Should he take precautions before the ghost's arrival? But Allen had no religious beliefs—no Buddhist beads, no crucifix, and there were no materials available to make an exorcist's sword or use black dog blood. Or perhaps, should he attempt to escape again before midnight?

However, thinking of the various ghostly figures on the posters, he realized that there wasn't just one spirit—it was more than likely a whole host of them. Even if he managed to flee, what was the guarantee he wouldn't encounter other ghosts? Based on horror movie tropes, ghosts typically appear once, killing two or three people at most. Moreover, ghosts rarely make an appearance in plain view of the entire group, even in the dead of night. Right now, there were nearly forty people on the bus, many of them middle-aged or elderly, not likely to pose much of a threat. Still, with so many people gathered together, the ghost should refrain from showing itself. After all, when had a ghost ever appeared to kill in front of a crowd? It was always the character who, by some unfortunate twist of fate, strayed from the group and wandered into an isolated area, only to encounter the spirit.

With this in mind... had his earlier departure from the bus been a foolish decision?

After much deliberation, Allen concluded that it was better to stay on the bus. Collective effort was often the key to solving problems. If things went awry... it might sound cruel, but if the ghost appeared and blended in with the crowd, no one could be certain who would be the first victim. As others suffered, he might be able to slip away. Though this thought was certainly unkind, it was, at present, the most viable strategy for survival. Ghosts were eternal and indestructible. Allen was just an ordinary office worker, not a Taoist priest from Mount Mao—what chance did he have in a direct confrontation with a ghost?

The next thing he needed to consider was... what to do when the ghost entered the bus and killed the driver... how should he react?