"There are many things in this world that can't be concluded based on sight alone, it's better not to jump to conclusions, otherwise when the truth comes out and things get reversed, your face is going to hurt," Glasses Man continued.
"You're just a contrarian," Gao Fei couldn't win and resorted to personal attacks.
"I think you're brainless!" Glasses Man became annoyed by what Gao Fei had said.
"Keep arguing then, people like you die the fastest on set," Gao Fei also became irritated with Glasses Man.
"Even if I die fast, I'll still live longer than those brainless ones who only know how to echo others," Glasses Man kept arguing.
"Forget it, arguing with a contrarian like you is pointless," Gao Fei admitted defeat.
"I heard from Big Brother Guo that as long as we don't die, we'll end up in the same crew again. So, let's just wait and see! We'll see whether the people with the ability to analyze independently die first or the brainless ones," Glasses Man continued.
Although the argument was triggered by Li Teng, Li Teng himself had no interest in participating in such debates. Instead, he sipped his coffee while frowning and pondering his own matters.
To Li Teng, the words he had just spoken were unprovable, and it didn't matter whether others believed them or not.
What he cared about was his own life and death.
Although he had survived this shoot by luck, it was still unknown whether he would turn into a wax figure.
As it stood, his account was at negative 18 points.
If he couldn't turn this number positive before leaving, his fate wouldn't be much better than that of Guo Zhipeng.
...
After the ceremony that encased Guo Zhipeng in wax was over, it was time to distribute points.
The director, protected by bodyguards, announced the points that each person had earned.
Many terminal machines were placed randomly along the streets, where people could log in to check their points using methods like fingerprint and facial recognition.
Gao Fei, Li Teng, and the other surviving Extras all received a base of 10 points.
Sunglasses Woman was at the Bit-part Level among the Extras, a tier above everyone else. Her base points were doubled compared to the others, and she received a base of 20 points.
After receiving the 10-point reward, the worth in Li Teng's account changed to negative 8.
The man who had been drinking coffee all along still seemed very anxious.
While on top of that stone pillar, he had felt so desperate at times that he even considered jumping down to end it all.
But now that he had hope for survival, he didn't want to give up.
For a regular person like him, a good death was definitely not as good as clinging to life.
At least when alive, he could enjoy free coffee.
Now he could only hope for luck in the upcoming lottery segment.
...
After the point distribution, it was time for the question-and-answer segment.
High-tier Actors would answer the questions of lower-tier Actors.
The first question from each low-tier Actor was free... not exactly free as the system would pay points to the high-tier responder.
But for a second question from a low-tier Actor, an additional charge was required.
With Guo Zhipeng having turned into a wax figure, only Sunglasses Woman could answer the questions from the crowd.
"Beauty, how can we get promoted to the Bit-part Level?" Glasses Man hurriedly asked Sunglasses Woman.
The salary for a Bit-part Actor was double that of an Extra which made those at the bottom very envious.
Li Teng also perked up his ears attentively.
"Deduct 100 points from your account, participate in a promotion performance, and survive it to get promoted from an Extra to Bit-part Level," Sunglasses Woman answered Glasses Man.
"The answer is valid, reward of 1 point granted," the director spoke up.
"So, I need to deduct 100 points? The price is... What's the promotion performance like? Is it difficult?" Glasses Man hurriedly asked a second question.
"The second question will cost you 2 points. Are you sure you want to continue with the question?" the director next to him reminded Glasses Man.
"Forget it," Glasses Man quickly waved his hand.
Points were too precious to waste on an ordinary question.
"Is it my turn now, according to seating order?" the office lady was referring to the order of seating.
Nobody else seemed eager to compete; after all, everyone had the chance to ask one free question.
"Go ahead," Sunglasses Woman nodded to the office lady. This was the moment she was most satisfied. If Guo Zhipeng had survived, she would have had to alternate with him in answering questions. Now, all the points from answering questions were hers alone.
"Will we get food and water after we return to the top of the stone pillar? How do we get food and water?" the office lady carefully asked what she was most concerned about.
"Simple, consume points to reduce the height of the pillar. Once the pillar is lowered to a certain height, there will be a supply of free drinking water and food," Sunglasses Woman answered her.
Li Teng couldn't help but perk up—his main worry was the lack of water and food at the top of the stone pillar.
Was Sunglasses Woman suggesting that even atop the pillar, they could get free water and food in the future?
"Could you be more specific?" the office lady was not quite clear on Sunglasses Woman's answer.
The others also wanted a more detailed response.
"You have to pay for a detailed answer," Sunglasses Woman shook her head.
"This question is part of the newbie guide, please provide a more detailed supplemental answer. If answered correctly, this question can be rewarded with up to 5 additional bonus points," the director suddenly interjected.
"Okay... For 5 points, I'll provide a super detailed version of the answer, of course, it is what I heard from those who are more experienced," Sunglasses Woman's enthusiasm for answering rose notably upon hearing the director's words.
Sunglasses Woman took a mobile phone out from her belongings, browsed through it for a bit, then began her explanation.
Of course, it was all read from prepared responses.
Seeing the mobile phone in Sunglasses Woman's hand, everyone expressed surprise.
"Where did you get that mobile phone from?" A young girl couldn't help but ask Sunglasses Woman.
"Don't interrupt! It's not your turn to ask," Sunglasses Woman replied somewhat displeased.
"Alright," the young girl didn't make another peep.
"You should all know by now, points can only be used within Film and Television City. For the stone pillar, the most important use of points is to lower its height, decreasing it by one meter for each point. This allows those of us trapped thousands of meters high to gradually descend to safe ground."
"The time between shoots is short at three days, or as long as five days, even a week. We have to spend this time on top of the stone pillar."
"It will be a hard time to endure."