Once he removed the gaming helmet, Han Fei careened to the ground. His heart was pounding. His sight was blurry perhaps because his brain was still under too great of a stimulus. His breathing was uneven as well. Pain originated from all parts of his body. He could not summon any strength. Lying on the cold hard ground, Han Fei had to wait a long time before his eyes focused again. ‘What have I put myself through just to save an NPC?”
The pain in the cryptic world was as real as they came. Han Fei honestly had no idea he managed to hang on until the boy escaped from the scene. ‘Perhaps the best solution is to run to my own safety but ultimately humans are different from animals.’ Han Fei did not regret his decision. If he was placed in the same situation, he’d do it again. The cold hard floor eased Han Fei back into reality. He started to ponder a more serious problem. ‘What should I do when I log in next?’
Cattle Alley was a hidden map, it was rife with dangers. There were traps everywhere and at least one pig-faced murderous monster. In the game, Han Fei’s calf was injured, his shoulder was bitten until his bone was showing, and one of his arms was seriously broken. He would have trouble walking, much less running for his life. With such odds, how was he supposed to survive at Cattle Alley?
‘The pig-faced monster is dominated by hunger and there is no humanity left. Theoretically it wouldn’t stay at that one spot to wait for me to return, it would be too hungry. So when I get online next, there is a very great chance that it has gone somewhere else looking for food. If that’s the case, then I have a chance at survival. First, I need to find a place to recuperate. There are still books and items about emergency rescue in my inventory, they should be of use.’ When Huang Yin first arrived in the cryptic world, he had left Meng Si with many presents as repayment for her bowl of porridge. At the time, Han Fei took all the books and items related to medicine from Meng Si. He knew that one day they would come in handy, he just did not expect it would be in this kind of manner. ‘Thankfully, I’ve already read through some of them while I was at Happiness Neighbourhood.’
Every hard work would be repaid eventually. This encounter strengthened Han Fei’s resolve to pick up more skills like diving, rock-climbing, pharmacy and so on. ‘Other people play games because they are too tired from studying but I am busy studying because of the game I’m playing.’
He glanced at the wall of evidence. Before he encountered Perfect Life, Han Fei was an extra, and acting was everything to him. But now it was different, other than a big improvement to his acting skill, Han Fei had begun to dabble in management, criminology, sleuthing, martial arts and anti-surveillance. He used to think that he was a poor student. But now he slowly realized that it was because his potential hadn’t been unlocked back then. ‘Perhaps Brother Huang is stuck in the same quandary as I was. I might be able to help him become a better version of himself in the future.’
When he got some power back in him, Han Fei crawled up from the ground. He opened the fridge to find some food to eat. Then he crawled into bed. The warm bed appeared to possess a magical power that could heal his heart.
Han Fei was woken up at 8 am by his alarm. This would be the first day Thriller Novelist officially started its shoot. After a quick shower, Han Fei left his rental. When he reached the ground floor, the police were already waiting. He didn’t want to trouble them anymore but the officer told Han Fei that the Butterfly might strike during the movie shoot so they had to be there to protect him. Unable to persuade them otherwise, Han Fei decided to cooperate with the police. Riding an unmarked car, Han Fei arrived at Fu Gui Meat Packing Plant.
For the first day of work, everyone was prepared and inspired. The feeling of anticipation infected everyone, from the actors to the workers. When Han Fei arrived, Bai Xian and Lee Ran were already in the set. They had a very busy schedule. After this shoot, they had other responsibilities to attend to.
“It’s hard to set a time where everyone can gather together, so I hope everyone can bring out their best performance and do not leave behind any regret.” Director Zhang already arrived at the plant with the rest of the crew at 6 am. He personally inspected the set and props. It was clear that this senior director treated this project seriously. However, even with all the planning, incidents started to happen after the shot began.
First, there were many NG scenes because Xiao Tong who played the student was unable to get into character; then Candy who played the Dreamer was bitten by an unknown bug in Spider’s room and she wept uncontrollably from the pain. That was not all. Even the set which had been inspected multiple times worked against them. Cracks appeared inexplicably on the reflector boards, the fully-charged camera died after a few minutes of shooting. There were many strange incidents such as these. This shoot about a supernatural movie appeared to gain supernatural colors itself.
After noon, they were set to shoot a scene where Spider dropped from reality into his mental world. This fall was represented as death in Spider’s book. In the midst of a mental breakdown, he tripped and fell from the 4th floor. His body knocked against the branches of the trees as he fell. Before he hit the ground, he believed he saw another version of himself on the 4th floor.
Ego, superego and id, reality and imagination were delineated in Spider’s mind. This suggested that his brain activity was different from a normal person. Such an abstract scene was a test for any actor and director. Director Zhang’s plan was to shoot everything in real life. He would find a stunt actor to be Han Fei’s double and jump down from the 4th floor into a safety net. Zhang Director did not like to rely on technology to create virtual scenes, he was one of the few directors in the business to still rely on non-virtual technology. The stunt actor that Director Zhang found was very famous in the circle, he was someone Director Zhang specifically sourced from outside the district.
Everything was ready. But during the shoot, the experienced stunt actor faced an unexpected problem. He did not jump towards the set safety zone and as a result, his body was scratched by the tree branches. Director Zhang had considered this beforehand. He had the spare stunt double take the original stunt actor’s place but the man committed the same mistake as well.
For stunt actors, a small mistake could be fatal. Therefore, they had to rehearse their actions more than several thousand times in their minds but even with so much caution and planning, the two stunt actors committed the same mistake. When Director Zhang went to check on the two actors, the two stunt actors reported something horrifying. They both said that when they jumped out from Spider’s room, they felt like something suddenly reached out to grab their ankles.
If only one of the actors said that, it wouldn't be so worrying but now two of them said the same thing. The two of them did not know each other but they gave the same excuse.
“Can it really be that cursed?” Someone spread the incidents among the crew, initially no one trusted it but after it reached everyone’s ears, the morale was clearly shaken. Someone suggested for Director Zhang to use virtual reality but Director Zhang refused to believe in the presence of ghosts. He personally led Han Fei to Spider’s room to inspect it.
