The Novelist Forced to Become Famous

Chapter 125

The greatest source of human fear comes from the unknown.

The more you feel like there is something under the bed but don't dare look, the more afraid you become.

--

After the broadcast.

Comment 1: Damn, this episode is so freaking scary

Comment 2: The other group was simply puzzle solving, why is this group so terrifying?

Comment 3: Two girls plus the most timid one, what was the program team thinking?

Comment 4: High—Possibility—of—Jumpscare

...

--

Jian Jing was also a little scared by this haunted house. But this bit of fear lingered in her heart, nourishing endless curiosity and excitement, urging her to tiptoe and gently lift the bed sheet.

"Ugh." Coco almost threw up when she shined the flashlight.

Luckily, it was not a ghost. Unfortunately, it was a pile of rotten meat covered in maggots. The stench rushed up and churned their stomachs.

Jian Jing quickly put it down, holding her chest while slowly exhaling: "Almost died there."

She decisively said: "Let's get out of here quickly."

"The door won't open," Coco said after checking the bathroom. "There's a window here. Should I try climbing out?"

Jiang BaiYan was startled and quickly pulled her back: "Too dangerous."

Jian Jing squatted by the door, studied the keyhole, then took off her hair clip, straightened it, and poked it in.

Coco squeezed over, curious: "Teacher Jian, you know how to pick locks?"

"Just curious and tried it a few times." Because she had been trapped in escape rooms several times, Jian Jing became very interested in lock picking and would occasionally fiddle with it.

Luckily, the haunted house had expensive setups, so they wouldn't invest too much in the door locks, which were just regular locks. After poking with the hair clip for a while, she actually got it open.

"Teacher Jingjing is so awesome." Jiang BaiYan immediately flattered her.

Jian Jing winked at him: "Let's go rescue the others now."

Jiang BaiYan was clever enough not to overthink his words and naturally set up the pit: "It's so scary here, they must be terrified. We need to find them quickly."

--

After the broadcast.

Comment 1: One highlight of the haunted house show is that all the cameras display the filming time, which prevents malicious editing to some extent. At least they can’t cut out certain words and splice in different answers.

This also allows the audience to estimate the guests' activity time.

Comment 2: This group got out so fast, only 15 minutes!

Comment 3: Picking the lock is cheating! The other group is decoding clues fair and square!

Comment 4: Those saying the other group was just solving puzzles clearly haven't seen Ghost Hotel!

Comment 5: According to the formula, Cao Yu's group should be going to rescue the others, but it turned out the other way around.

Comment 6: Jian Jing never disappoints!

...

--

After interacting with the entertainment industry more, Jian Jing also had a sense of the program team's plans.

They probably wouldn't maliciously edit or misrepresent, to avoid ruining the show, but small tricks were fair game.

Cao Yu clearly wanted to suppress her, perhaps by getting the higher-ups involved, to gain an advantage within the limited space.

The two groups were divided into decryption and horror themes. Who would stand out more went without saying. Jian Jing did not care about others' pettiness. Since Cao Yu wanted a PK, she would not hold back either.

Games were more fun with competition after all.

Jian Jing shined her flashlight down the wide corridor. This was the ward area, with individual rooms separated or blocked off by locked doors or wooden planks, desolate and eerie.

"We're in the ward area. They should be in the office to find different clues," Jian Jing made up a logical story to direct their search efforts.

Sure enough, they soon found a locked office door at the end of the hallway without checking the rooms.

When they communicated with the other group, Zheng Keyan was a little surprised: "You guys are out? We have the ward keys here. We thought we'd have to open the doors for you."

Coco blurted out: "Teacher Jian picked the lock."

It was quiet for a moment inside before Han Bo said: "We still need a while."

Being rescued without needing the keys and actually being rescued by someone were two different things. While Zheng Keyan and Han Bo did not have ulterior motives, they did not want to fall behind either.

Jian Jing said: "Let's go look around."

She did not offer to help and instead shone her light deeper inside.

The floor plan was:

Ward Area .. Office . Bathroom . Iron Gate .. Staircase .. Dark Corridor

She looked up and down, examining the iron gate. With no smart locks back then, thick iron chains as thick as arms wrapped around it, padlocked shut.

Jian Jing knew what was up. Horror house shows becoming popular abroad relied not on the guests, but the production team's prudence and meticulousness.

Since even the bugs were real here, they must have paid attention to details.

Why seal off the iron gate, use chains this thick, there must be an implication.

Just as she was pondering this, the office door opened.

Zheng Keyan hurried over with a keyring: "Let me see if I have the key for this door."

She tried for a bit but could not open it.

This was normal too. The office keys were for opening the ward doors, originally meant to rescue Jian Jing's group. Aside from that, they should also find this big key.

In other words, there must be something inside the locked wards.

Coco chimed in to describe: "There were lighters and a notebook in our ward. The other wards must also have stuff."

"Makes sense," Cao Yu did not reveal any urgency at losing a round. He asked Zheng Keyan for the keys, "Let's check them one by one. Girls stand back."

When he said the last sentence, his gaze seemed to inadvertently fall on Jian Jing.

Jian Jing met his gaze and smiled lightly, taking two steps back as expected — she had to, Cao Yu was older with a more solid foundation, the audience had accepted him taking the lead already. If she competed with him, it likely wouldn't end well.

Seeing her yield, Cao Yu relaxed slightly and became fully vigilant about the ward situation.

Coco seized the chance to describe: "Ours was so scary. The drawer had bugs, and there was rotten meat under the bed."

Zheng Keyan frowned slightly and quietly took a step back.

Nothing happened.

Cao Yu also found a bag in the cabinet with water and a bible. He lifted the bed curtain too but there was nothing.

Next was another room, similar contents except the coat in the closet had a gun, and five bullets were found in its pockets.

"Got weapons now." Cao Yu hesitated slightly before giving the gun to Han Bo, explaining to Jiang BaiYan: "He has better aim."

Jiang BaiYan smiled obediently: "I wouldn't dare shoot even if you let me."

Coco made fun of him: "Some man you are, such a scaredy cat."

"Some have guts, some don't. I say you're delicate and unfit for guns just because you're a girl. Are you annoyed?" Jiang BaiYan continued the bantering from the plane.

--

After the broadcast.

Comment 1: Little bro is right, say no to stereotypes!

Comment 2: A guy hiding behind girls just doesn't look good.

Comment 3: Jiang BaiYan is so feminine.

Comment 4: Being ordinary yet confident is being a man?

Comment 5: While you guys bicker, I ship this quarreling couple! So cute!

...

--

After getting new props, everyone's attention was on the next ward. No one was stupid. Giving a gun clearly implied something was up.

Cao Yu went first to open the door with Han Bo leaning against the wall, gun aimed at the door gap. Jian Jing, Coco, Zheng Keyan and Jiang BaiYan all stood behind.

Creak— the ward door was pushed open.

Cao Yu raised his wrist, the flashlight beam shot into the room. In the circular glow, they could see it was a double ward.

A corpse in a white coat was slumped by the bed, blood staining the floor.

"Looks like something in his pocket," Coco said. "The iron gate must have been the hospital's doing. The key should be on the doctor."

Cao Yu cautiously went inside.

Han Bo followed with the gun.

Bold Coco even went in.

Zheng Keyan hesitated for a moment before asking Jian Jing: "Is there something above?"

"Bugs," Jian Jing replied.

Almost at the same time, Cao Yu and Han Bo jolted and swiftly turned back.

Too late.

Just then, something suddenly dropped down from the ceiling above the doorway, falling right in front of Coco.

"Hiss-ha!" It was a monster, its body piled high with rotten flesh, interspersed here and there with yellow pus-filled boils, and stinky pus oozing all over its body. Its head was covered in octopus-like tentacles, with soft tendrils and sharp teeth intertwined in a horrifying tangle.

Coco, daring as she was, had not expected this turn of events and let out a shriek: "Ah!"

No sooner had she screamed than the monster seemed alerted and charged furiously towards Cao Yu.

Cao Yu was just an actor after all, and had no chance to dodge in such a hurry. All he could do was wave the flashlight in his hand to block it. Luckily, Han Bo, who normally kept a low profile, could be depended on at critical moments. He immediately fired a shot at the monster.

But shooting accurately isn't so easy, which is why marksmanship is a competitive sport.

Han Bo's hand wasn't steady enough and his balance was off. He thought he had aimed at the monster but the bullet went way off target, hitting Coco directly in the shoulder instead.

The rubber bullets used in the haunted house weren't lethal, but getting hit still hurt.

Coco cried "Ow!" and leaned back, on the verge of falling over.

Jiang Baiyan did something then that was out of character - he reached out to grab her arm and pulled her outside. Once Zheng Keyan had steadied her, he immediately let go.

By this time, Cao Yu had already been knocked down by the monster.

He lay still without moving a muscle, which was actually the instinctive human response.

Although everyone knew the monster was just a simulated NPC, the haunted house environment was real, and the atmosphere created was so immersive that the fear felt by those inside was naturally very different from that of viewers watching through a camera.

Ordinary people experiencing such a shock would freeze up instinctively, limbs going stiff.

Only Jian Jing had noticed the ceiling earlier and survived several attacks already, so she had some immunity.

She collected herself and suggested: "Throw away the flashlight."

Cao Yu was also decisive. Hearing this, he immediately discarded the flashlight. The circle of light swayed as the flashlight flew into the corner.

The monster immediately scrambled off him to chase after the flashlight.

Only then did Han Bo help him up and they exited through the door.

Jiang Baiyan reacted swiftly to slam the door shut.

All was silent.

The guests looked at each other, all a little shocked: They knew the show got intense, but not this intense!

"Was that a zombie?" Zheng Keyan asked.

"More like an alien," said Coco.

"What about the key?" asked Han Bo.

Cao Yu had regained his composure by now. After a moment's thought, seemingly dissatisfied with his performance earlier, he suggested: "The monster is phototropic. We can use that to lure it out, then look for the key."

He looked around and asked, "What do you think?"

Jiang Baiyan covertly glanced at Jian Jing and asked, "Lure it where?"

"How about the office?" Cao Yu already had a plan in mind.

The others didn't respond right away.

But Jian Jing met Cao Yu's subtle scrutiny with a slight smile: "There's a tag hanging from that monster's neck. I think we'd best 'kill' it first."

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