Trembling At A High Altitude

No one else dared to come up.

There were no survivors in Xianyu Villa either.

So, this stretch of road was very quiet.

Unusually quiet.

But this quietness was soon shattered by some strange and bizarre noises.

...

"Practice brings true knowledge, and I've proven through practice that my words are no falsehood," Yuki Noto said to Li Teng.

"Nonsense! You're clearly out to slander my reputation," Li Teng was furious.

"Oh, please, it's one thing to play the innocent in front of others, but you don't need to pretend with me. I mean, which of our veteran viewers doesn't know you? Watching this segment, God knows how many of them want to complain! But then again, the number of those old viewers who still follow you is dwindling, alas..."

Yuki Noto sighed.

"Tell me the truth about the viewer big shots, or else..." Li Teng had never dealt with those viewer big shots before, and now that he finally had the chance to learn about them, he certainly wouldn't miss it.

"Or else what?" Yuki Noto asked with a smile.

"With my skills, killing you would only take a minute!"

"Really? I'd like to see who ends up killing whom," Yuki Noto was unafraid to fight, having an innate advantage—what did she have to fear?

"Are you impervious to both hard and soft approaches?" Li Teng looked at her furiously.

"No, I'm receptive to both," Yuki Noto shook her head.

Two hours later.

The outcome of the final battle...

Uncle Li... no, Uncle Li had been defeated.

"It's not that I don't want to tell you, I really do want to inform you of the whole behind-the-scenes truth, but Film and Television City won't let me say anything. If I try, they'll silence my voice or prevent me from speaking. See for yourself..."

After speaking, Yuki Noto closed her lips tightly.

"Speak up..." Li Teng urged.

"I can't speak; as soon as I try, I'll be forcefully silenced, look..." Yuki Noto closed her mouth again.

"How do I know you aren't just clamping your mouth shut on purpose?" Li Teng snorted.

"Cough... How can I prove it to you?" Yuki Noto was helpless.

While the two were arguing, a flurry of shouting and the sound of chaotic footsteps suddenly came from the direction of the foot of the mountain.

The two of them hurriedly ceased their argument.

It was the seven... no, the eight individuals who had stayed near the Mist Shell, now rushing up the mountain.

The fat man who had advocated staying by the Mist Shell, though overweight and supporter of staying put, was now running the fastest, ahead of everyone else.

"What happened?" Li Teng asked the fat man and the others as he ran.

"Someone... someone died out of nowhere; there's a supernatural force killing people here!"

The crowd answered Li Teng all at once.

They had just been staying by the Mist Shell, constantly touching it, trying to find out if the Mist Shell would open and let them out or something.

For more than two hours, there had been no change in the Mist Shell, and they were unable to leave.

The eight people could only talk to each other and offer mutual encouragement.

But just moments ago, one of them, while speaking, had the same terrifying ordeal as the person leading the team.

He grabbed his throat forcefully with his hand, and then his body flew off the cliff, screaming as he fell down.

The others were terrified, so they desperately ran up the mountain.

"I told you staying there was no good, didn't I? You wouldn't believe it, and now, you believe because someone died," Yuki Noto sighed.

"Why are you two still here? Didn't you go up the mountain?" someone curiously asked Yuki Noto.

"We are assessing the situation, discussing things," Yuki Noto responded hesitantly.

"What's there that takes so long to discuss?" everyone was also very curious.

"The meaning of life, the mysteries of the universe..." Yuki Noto replied.

"Oh... That's too profound, I don't understand."

The crowd erupted into a mad dash, fearful of death, not realizing they all ran ahead of Li Teng and Yuki Noto.

"Can you carry me? I can't run anymore, my legs hurt so much," Yuki Noto, who was lagging behind, proposed to Li Teng.

"My legs hurt too," Li Teng denied Yuki Noto's request.

"Why do your legs hurt?" Yuki Noto wondered.

"It's all your fault, and you have the nerve to ask me?" Li Teng rolled his eyes.

"This is too real," Yuki Noto exclaimed.

"What's real?"

"Your actor persona! Just as I thought, the kind who'll deny everything once that subject is brought up..."

"Was it my idea?"

After some argument, Li Teng ended up carrying Yuki Noto on his back, limping along with the rest of the crowd up the mountain.

The mountain wasn't actually very high, just a few hundred meters or so.

Xianyu Villa was situated at the peak of the mountain.

The Mountain Villa was a recreational lodge.

At first glance, the mountain summit was dotted with various villas, along with some swimming pools, golf courses, tennis courts, and other recreational facilities.

Surprisingly, there were only two staff members in the Mountain Villa!

Two beautiful female staff members, wearing uniforms that accentuated their figures, made the eyes of some middle-aged, greasy men amongst the nine glimmer with interest.

The two female staff members warmly welcomed them and expressed their gratitude for their visit. They led them to a nearby villa and helped them settle in.

It was as if these nine people were not on a mission but had come to the villa for a vacation.

Oddly enough, there were only these two staff members in the Mountain Villa, not a single other person, including tourists, was to be seen.

"There's definitely something fishy about those two women, they could be ghosts for all we know, aliens' handiwork. We need to be careful," Yuki Noto warned Li Teng.

"Do I need you to tell me that?" Li Teng said disdainfully.

"I am worried that you might be tempted by them and do something irrational," Yuki Noto explained.

"Come on! Am I that kind of person? Do you really know me? Do you think..." Li Teng was infuriated.

"Now's not the time to argue about this. I was just kindly reminding you, not that I believe you would definitely do it."

"By reminding, you're prejudiced against me. I must clarify this with you; otherwise, other viewers will be influenced by you and really think of me as that kind of person. This will seriously affect my popularity and subscriptions in the Film and Television City," Li Teng seriously warned Yuki Noto.

"Alright, my bad," Yuki Noto conceded.

Indeed, was Li Teng as bad as Yuki Noto had said? How could he be interested in two female staff members whose identities were unknown?

Naturally, he would feel uneasy about being wronged.

Moreover, knowing that other viewers and big shots were watching, he had to clear the air.

...

"Distinguished guests, you have traveled far and wide to get here; you must be tired and hungry, right? Please join us in the dining room for a meal," the staff said after everyone had settled in and came over to invite the crowd.

The rest looked to Li Teng.

Although everyone knew Li Teng was rather unfortunate, having drawn attention to himself, in such a situation, they had no ideas of their own, they only knew that Li Teng was a man of ideas. So, they decided to listen to Li Teng's thoughts first.

"Why are you looking at me? Want to know if this meal is safe to eat? Regardless if we can eat it or not, let's dig in first. Can't afford to die like a hungry ghost." Li Teng realized everyone's gaze was concentrated on him, knowing that they wanted him to make a decision.

So he made a decision quickly.

Uncle Li would never mistreat his stomach, no matter the occasion.

No one else raised any objections.

Because they were truly hungry, and not eating, remaining hungry, if something were to happen later, it wouldn't do if they couldn't even run.

The group followed two staff members towards the dining room.

The dining room was located deep within the Mountain Villa.

Under Yuki Noto's unnoticeable prompting, everyone deliberately dragged their feet on the way there, giving Li Teng enough time to observe the situation within the entire Mountain Villa.

Yuki Noto was indeed wronging Li Teng. As Li Teng passed by, he didn't throw a single glance at the two female staff members, whereas the fat man was eyeing them with a lecherous gaze the whole time, clearly harbouring some indecent thoughts.

Finally, the group entered the dining room, following the staff members.

The dining room was empty.

However, on one of the dining tables, there was an abundantly served meal.

No one dared to pick up their chopsticks easily.

It wasn't until they saw Li Teng unceremoniously devouring a large plate of beef with the speed of lightning that they each picked up their chopsticks and began to eat.

"What if it's poisoned?" someone worried while eating.

"Would aliens resort to poisoning us if they wanted to do us harm?" Yuki Noto, who had watched countless movies... countless horror movies, especially having studied each one of Li Teng's films thoroughly, believed her IQ in horror movies shouldn't be too far behind Li Teng's.

Thus, she looked down on such concerns.

The two female staff members were always standing by, and the dining room provided not just food but also various alcoholic beverages and drinks.

The fat man particularly liked beer and soft drinks. Given the circumstances that day, he didn't dare to drink too much beer, only one bottle, for fear of getting drunk, so he just kept drinking the soft drinks vigorously.

After drinking a lot, he wanted to go to the restroom.

Just when he was about to ask a few people to go to the restroom with him, the two female staff members standing behind him suddenly started whispering to each other.

"I'm going to use the restroom, you take care of things here, I'll be back soon," one of the female staff members said to the other, then turned and walked away.

The fat man took a look at the others and, seeing that they were all focused on eating and drinking, quietly left his seat and followed the female staff member discretely.

Watching the swaying figure of the female staff member in front of him, the fat man, who had had a bottle of beer, couldn't help feeling slightly tipsy inside.

The female staff member didn't seem to notice he was following her; she walked her own path without turning back.

The fat man also deliberately lowered his footsteps, making sure she didn't become aware of his presence.

One in front and one behind, they walked along the winding path of the Mountain Villa for quite a while, eventually arriving at a secluded restroom hidden amidst a pavilion surrounded by mountains and waters.

The female staff member went into the women's restroom.

Just as the fat man was about to enter the men's restroom, he suddenly changed his mind.

He had always been a sleazy person, having done some sleazy things in the past, like peeping, for instance.

But social morals restrained him, and with surveillance cameras everywhere now, while he might have the inclination, he dared not put it into action.

Under these circumstances...

Heh heh.

Who else could restrain him?

The fat man glanced back over his shoulder.

At such a distance from the dining room, it was improbable that anyone would come looking for him in this restroom.

Now, in the women's restroom, there was only one female staff member, so even if he did something, it wouldn't be possible to get caught, right?

The chubby man fished out his phone from his pocket.

Although the phone could no longer make calls, the camera function was unaffected.

Holding his breath, he opened the camera app and tiptoed into the room, then lay on the floor. As his camera pointed toward the stall, his eyes also peered into it.

Shortly after, the female staff member squatted down.

The chubby man quickly focused his gaze.

But...

Instead of what he most wanted to see, there was nothing of the sort.

There was only a blood-red eye staring intently at him.

"Ahhh!!!"

Taken completely by surprise, the chubby man let out a scream and stumbled backwards, falling to the floor.

"Who's outside? What are you doing?"

The voice of the female staff member came from the stall.

"No... sorry... I... I've had too much to drink... went to the wrong place..." the chubby man quickly explained.

He tried to get up and leave this terrifying place at once, but, to his horror, he couldn't rise, as if someone was forcefully pressing down on his body.

Meanwhile, a large amount of blood-colored liquid flowed from the stall, slowly reaching the floor near where the chubby man was lying.

This blood-colored liquid even formed a word on the floor.

'Die!'

"I'm sorry! I was wrong! I won't dare again! Please let me go, okay?" Upon seeing the word 'Die,' the chubby man's soul was scattered, filled with immense regret that he should not have allowed his lust to cloud his judgment and followed this staff member here alone.

In such a situation, to still have that sort of idea... the chubby man was now deeply impressed with himself.

But it was already too late for regrets.

'Thud!' The sound echoed as the stall door was flung open from the inside.

Seeing the horrifying scene that unfolded, the chubby man's eyes widened in terror, and he involuntarily gulped down his saliva with a muffled groan.

"Ahhhh!!!"

A series of piercing screams emanated from the restroom.

...

"Did you guys hear anything?"

A young woman with sharp hearing asked the others.

"No, what did you hear?" someone countered.

"I thought I heard someone screaming... Wait, where's the chubby guy? When did he leave?" The young woman only then noticed that the chubby man's seat was empty.

"Didn't notice, he seemed to be right there just now, maybe he drank too much? Went to the restroom?" A young man sitting next to the chubby man shook his head.

"How could he go off alone? Isn't that asking for death?" Yuki Noto complained.

In horror movies, the most terrifying thing is when minor characters insist on going to the bathroom alone and then die in various gruesome ways.

"Let's go out and look for him together."

Li Teng had eaten ravenously, having already finished his meal.

He had actually noticed the chubby man's lone action earlier but did not intervene.

Because he felt that if the chubby man were to die, the manner of his death might provide a useful clue.

Aren't these expendable characters meant for trial and error?