The tall guard was flustered. He stumbled to the table where the actors were. He knocked his body into the table and tipped it over. The underside of the table was covered in curses, human hair, and skin. “Dead people! We have dead people!”
The tall guard held his head. His acting was better than the actors there.
“Don’t panic. Take it slow. What did you see inside the building?” Wu Li knelt beside the tall guard and asked gently.
“Karma! Karma is here! We’ll all die! No one can escape!” The tall guard suddenly became agitated as he grabbed Wu Li. The arms previously covered by the uniform sleeves were exposed. They were covered in wounds. Wu Li was frightened and staggered back.
“And you call yourself a horror movie actor?” Bai Cha held Wu Li. “You need more training.”
“This extra’s acting is better than most actors.” Xiao Chen grabbed the guard’s shoulders. “You said there’s a dead person. Where is the dead body? Who died? The short guard?” The tall guard was too scared to speak. He pointed deep into the building with his shaking fingers.
“It looks like he wants us to go explore. I guess the plot is moving forward.” Xiao Chen stood up and grabbed his backpack. He turned to look at the three ladies. “Let’s go. I’ll lead the way.”
“Okay.” Xia Yilan nudged Han Fei. “Han Fei, aren’t you going?”
“Are you still eating?” Li Feng had seen many actors, but she met someone like Han Fei for the first time. He kept eating and didn’t even follow the script. Han Fei nodded and looked deep into the building. When he came with Bai Xian, they only checked Building One. “I suggest we split into two groups. One will look after this living guard, and the other will go explore.” Han Fei wanted to protect the tall guard. If he was left alone, he might be targeted by ghosts.
“Have you forgotten that this is just a show?” Bai Cha laughed coldly and walked away.
“Han Fei, we should move together. We can share the airtime.” A-Lin persuaded. She knew about the conflicts between the cast. She became the mediator so that the shooting would be smooth.
“Alright.” Han Fei glanced at the tall guard. “Don’t go anywhere.”
The seven actors left the lobby. As they walked down the dim corridor, the temperature dropped. Xia Yilan, in the exposed clothing, was feeling very cold.
They stepped on the broken tiles. Unknown bugs crawled through the gaps. The walls were painted with strange symbols, and most of them were related to the human body. However, none of the paintings featured the complete human body. The lights were dim. They flickered perhaps due to the aged circuit.
“This hospital looks creepy.” Xiao Chen in the front slowed down. His smile was still sunny, but his body kept retreating. When Han Fei was here last time, he knew the back of Building One was the wards for VIP clients. There were six floors in total, and it had an elevator. The seven walked down the corridor. When they arrived at the ward entrance, they saw a lot of blood.
“This is the first crime scene, but the dead body is not here. The tall guard is scared witless, and the small guard is dead. That means we have a stranger at this building, and they are the killer!” Wu Li analyzed, and the others nodded.
“What about the other possibility?” Han Fei pointed at the blood. “We only heard the short guard scream, but we didn’t see his body. The tall guard also didn’t say who the victim was. So, both of them could be killers. Due to our sudden arrival, they put up this show for us to buy time to destroy the body.”
“You’re right.” Wu Li was startled. “My thoughts were too simple.”
“The simplest way to verify that is to follow the blood trail to find the body. We can analyze the killer’s personality and other information through the way they handle the body.” Han Fei entered the wards. He was very professional.
“Nice lines and acting.” Bai Cha said sarcastically. He only left unwillingly after the other actors followed Han Fei into the wards. They followed the trail. Han Fei pushed open the safety door. The trail split into two. One went upstairs and the other to the basement.
“The victim was dismembered?” Wu Li scratched his head. “Why is nothing following the script? Shouldn’t the guards introduce the plot, and then we’ll start exploring?”
“And there’s no clue at all. Is this because they want our most natural reaction?” Li Feng tried to predict the director’s thoughts. She hugged her arms, and their muscles bulged.
“How about we split up? One goes up and one down?” When the six actors were discussing, Han Fei knelt beside the pool of blood. He picked up a nearby stick and swirled the blood. “Interesting.” The others moved over when they heard him.
“Did you find anything?” Xia Yilan felt so cold, like a pair of eyes was looking at her.
“Part of the blood is manmade, and the rest is real. Do you think someone really died here?” Han Fei used the stick to pick up a shred of fabric from the pool of blood. “This fabric has the same color as the guard uniform. It’s probably pulled from their uniform.” Han Fei was too experienced in crime-solving.
“This proves that the two guards are suspects!” Xiao Chen said in a handsome tone, “We need to go back to the tall guard and detain him.” Xiao Chen moved outwards. There was a goosebump on the back of his neck. This tall and sunny man probably was a coward.
“The lights upstairs and downstairs are both dark. The guard told us not to go to any dark places. We should leave first.” The other stars couldn’t stand this pressure. With an excuse, they quickly followed Xiao Chen.
‘No wonder Tang Yin has to rely on hidden cameras. If he told us the truth, these people wouldn’t be themselves.’ Han Fei stood between the light and darkness. ‘Should I rein myself in? If I do too much, the audience might think I’m the actual culprit.’
Han Fei, who walked into the wards first, was now at the back of the group. When they returned to the main lobby, the tall guard was gone, and the exit was locked.
“We should have listened to Han Fei and left some people to look after him.” A-Lin sighed. They could have finished this episode earlier, but they had to make things more difficult for themselves.
“What should we do now?” Wu Li turned to Han Fei. Han Fei walked towards the wooden table flipped over by the tall guard.
“What are you looking at?” A-Lin knelt beside Han Fei. She resisted the discomfort and studied the curses.
“The curses can reflect the person’s resentment. The person who left behind these curses is a woman. She said her face had been stolen and she was betrayed by her best friends. She cursed those who betrayed her so that they would die in the most horrible manner.” Han Fei peeled off the hair and skin. It made A-Lin shiver. “The woman should be the eighth girl in the picture, and the seven of us betrayed her.”
“The setting is so cliché. Who would believe that?” Xiao Chen laughed. When he was with the group, he was fearless.
“The picture should be the curse’s medium. The person who has it the longest will be the first to be struck by the curse.” Han Fei said without even lifting his head.
“Really?” Xiao Chen took out the picture and asked the rest. “How about we take turns keeping it then?” The others ignored Xiao Chen. It made him feel embarrassed.
“There are eight people in the picture, but the script I got didn’t mention anything about the eighth person.” Han Fei looked at the others. “What about you?”
“I don’t know her name, but I know I had a crush on her in university, and I wanted to confess to her.” Xiao Chen tried to remember his script. “My love was not reciprocated. I didn’t even have the chance to talk to her.”
“I believe I have amnesia. I don’t remember her name. I remember she was my university friend. We lived together, and we loved each other.” Bai Cha shared his background from the script.
“She was in the musical theater club as I was. The script said she’s very pretty. She would grab everyone’s attention when she took the stage. In comparison, I’m very normal.” A-Lin added, “I also don’t know her name.”
“She was my neighbor. That’s all.” Wu Li shrugged.
“I was the president of the student’s committee, but I don’t have any impression of her.” Li Feng shook her head, and finally, everyone turned to Xia Yilan. The woman’s face was pale, and she said in a whisper, “The script says I’m her good friend. Because of her beauty, I… I used plastic surgery to look like her.”
“You are her closest friend, so you should know her name.” Li Feng pressed.
“I don’t. I really don’t. I forgot everything. Those things need to be forgotten.” Xia Yilan’s acting suddenly improved. She shook her head uncertainly. It was like some trauma was filling up her mind.
“The script is probably based on real-life events.” Li Feng looked at Xia Yilan and commented sharply.
“The exit is locked. We shouldn’t waste time and try our best to escape.” Han Fei stood up and asked Xia Yilan without warning, “You did your plastic surgery here, right?” Xia Yilan nodded and then quickly shook her head.
“We need to work together to escape. We should shed our prejudice and work together.” Han Fei inspired them and tried to think. Of the seven actors, he was the only one who didn’t remember the eighth person. This was very strange. ‘Does she want me to kill the rest?’
Han Fei was thinking when A-Lin shouted. They came to the stairs. She found a patrol diary. It was dropped by the tall guard when he left. It recorded the strange things he encountered when he was at the abandoned hospital.
