Trembling At A High Altitude

"You will each draw lots in turn to select the role you will play in this scene,"

"After the performance begins, the eight of you will go together to the bus stop at the street corner to wait."

"For the Last Bus tonight."

"You will all board that bus."

"After picking you up, the bus will make a total of four stops."

"The eight people will disembark in pairs at these four stops."

"The four men will draw lots to decide at which stop they will disembark, and the results of the draw will be known only to themselves. Of course, those who aren't afraid of death may announce it."

"Then, the four women will choose in turn at which stop to disembark based on their seniority in the cast."

"Remember, among the eight of you, one is a ghost."

"A ghost cannot be killed."

"And for a ghost, killing is effortless."

"A ghost will have its powers sealed while on the bus and won't be able to kill."

"Once off the bus, the seal will be lifted."

"If one person is killed by the ghost, this ghost play will be deemed a success."

"If the ghost fails to kill anyone within an hour, the play will also be a success, but the Ghost General will incur a penalty of 1000 points!"

"The horror scenes we're going to film are about traveling with a ghost. With this footage, we aim to warn people about the terrifying ordeal of taking the Last Bus, so everyone should try to head home early in the evening."

"..."

Next, the female director repeated the basic rules of the set—those that everyone knew—then they proceeded to the lot-drawing ceremony to determine each actor's role in this scene.

The fierce old lady who came this time was a Bit-part Level actor, two levels higher than Li Teng and other Extras. She had three chances to draw lots to decide her role. If she was dissatisfied with the role from her first draw, she could draw a second time.

If she was still not satisfied after the second time, she could draw a third time.

The Pretty Boy and Sunglasses Woman who came with the fierce old lady were both at Bit-part Level as well, one level higher than Li Teng and the other Extras, and they each had two chances to draw lots for their roles.

Li Teng and the other Extras only had one chance to draw lots to determine their roles—whatever they drew would be final.

As the highest-ranked, the fierce old lady naturally drew first.

According to the director's description, in this scene, one actor will encounter a ghost, die, and become a wax figure.

Meaning, there was a one-in-eight chance of transformation into a wax figure, as perilous as the first car racing scene.

The director also said that among the eight people, one was a ghost, and a ghost could not be killed.

Therefore, without a doubt, drawing the ghost was the safest.

If you drew the ghost, you could kill others and turn them into wax figures without being killed yourself.

You could almost call it absolutely safe.

Once off the bus, the ghost, along with the passengers, would regain superpowers a human couldn't possess. If the actor who drew the ghost couldn't kill anyone within an hour, it could only mean they were incredibly inept—there could be no other reason.

The fierce old lady had the priority to draw and three chances to do so, making her odds of taking the ghost role quite high.

The crew brought a table over and placed it by the door of the coffee shop, and on it was an ancient-styled Lot-drawing Tube.

Inside were eight bamboo lots with the roles for each person written on them.

The fierce old lady was the first to be called over, and after a crew member shook the Lot-drawing Tube for a bit, they allowed her to draw one out.

While the fierce old lady was drawing, no one around the coffee table could approach, nor could they peek at which role she drew.

The fierce old lady drew a bamboo lot, which also had a cover sleeve on it. She slowly slid open the sleeve and, seeing the characters that were revealed on the lot, inadvertently furrowed her brow.

"Would you like to draw again?" the crew member asked the fierce old lady.

"Yes," the fierce old lady answered as she placed the lot she'd just drawn back into the Lot-drawing Tube.

After shaking the Lot-drawing Tube again, the crew member passed it back to the fierce old lady.

She drew another bamboo lot and, upon sliding off the cover sleeve and seeing the characters that appeared, her brow furrowed once more.

She put the bamboo slip back into the tube and proceeded to draw for the third time.

The fierce old lady drew the third bamboo slip, and just like before, she removed the sleeve to reveal the characters underneath. This time, a smile spread across her face.

"That expression, she must have drawn the Ghost Sign, right?" the female office worker speculated.

"Although there are eight bamboo slips in the Lot-drawing Tube, there are actually only two types. One is the Ghost Sign, of which there's only one. The other is the regular sign for the common people, of which there are seven. We'll only be absolutely safe if we draw the Ghost Sign. She's smiling; it's very likely she drew the Ghost Sign," Glasses Man analyzed.

"No, you're wrong. If she drew the Ghost, then we three women are safe, and only you four men are in danger," Sunglasses Woman spoke up.

"Right! How could I not think of that layer? Um, it's better if she drew the Ghost," the female office worker said, as if she just realized something.

"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!" Glasses Man gave Sunglasses Woman a thumbs up.

"Why does us drawing the Ghost mean all of us women are safe?" the girl was still a bit confused.

"Think about it... we're getting off in pairs with those guys..." the female office worker gave the girl a hint.

"Oh, yeah, I'm so silly!" the girl laughed awkwardly.

"Don't assume she really drew the Ghost. She's on the same level as an experienced actor in Extras Level; for her to feign a specific expression to fool us would be a piece of cake," Sunglasses Woman added.

"Makes sense," the female office worker nodded in agreement.

"Experienced actor... Among us here is an Extra, whose acting skills are even more impressive than an experienced actor's!" Glasses Man suddenly thought of something and glared at Li Teng resentfully.

Li Teng was drinking coffee and seemed not to have heard what Glasses Man said.

The fierce old lady returned to the coffee table with her sleeved bamboo slip, wearing a triumphant expression.

Pretty Boy hurriedly served the coffee on the table earnestly in front of her.

It was Sunglasses Woman's turn to draw next. Although she was on the same level as Pretty Boy, her account had more points, so she had higher priority in drawing lots than Pretty Boy.

Sunglasses Woman had two opportunities to draw.

After the first draw, she changed her slip.

Upon seeing the contents of the second slip, Sunglasses Woman excitedly waved her fist and cheered "Yay!" before slipping the bamboo back on and returning to the coffee table.

"That's way too exaggerated! It doesn't match her persona at all; it must be fake," Gao Fei muttered under his breath.

"What did you draw? You seem so happy?" Glasses Man asked Sunglasses Woman as she came back.

"Of course, I drew the Ghost. You handsome guys had best start praying now, hoping you don't get off the bus with me," Sunglasses Woman responded to Glasses Man.

Hearing Sunglasses Woman's words, the fierce old lady snorted coldly, wearing a look of disdain.

After Sunglasses Woman, it was Pretty Boy's turn to draw.

He didn't keep the first slip but after drawing the second one, he was so happy that he jumped in place several times.

"Wow! Top-notch! I drew the Ghost! Now I'm safe!" Pretty Boy held the bamboo slip and walked back to the table, beaming with delight.

"Believing you got the Ghost would be the real shock!" the fierce old lady jabbed her finger against Pretty Boy's forehead.

Pretty Boy laughed awkwardly.

"Only one Ghost, yet everyone's drawn it, each more capable of acting than the last!" Glasses Man exclaimed.

The remaining five people were all of the same Extras Level, with Gao Fei having the most points remaining in his account. The rest were tied.

Those who were tied threw dice to determine the order, and the result came out quickly. The order was the female office worker, the girl, Glasses Man, and Li Teng.

Gao Fei drew his slip and exaggeratedly laughed aloud before returning to the table.

The female office worker went to draw first, followed by the girl, and then Glasses Man.

After seeing their slips, all three of them 'excitedly' put on various exaggerated performances before taking their bamboo slips back to the table.

The last slip was left over, so there was no need to draw. It was Li Teng's.

Li Teng glanced at his slip and walked back to the coffee table with an unsightly look on his face.

The first round of drawing lots concluded.

Among the eight people, except for Li Teng, everyone performed their joy at having drawn the Ghost Sign.

Who really drew the Ghost Sign, manifesting safety, only the Ghost would know.