"Instantly, a memory entered his mind. In this world, Zuo Yu was a traveler who crashed into a tree while driving to Golden Lake. After waiting for half a day, he finally encountered four students who were also heading to Golden Lake for camping, along with a passerby who came to help.
Zuo Yu looked up and indeed saw a disabled mobility scooter not far away, crashed against a tree. The pitiful little vehicle was overturned, its four wheels up in the air, occasionally emitting black smoke.
He thought back to the strange instructions in those blood-red letters. According to the guidebook, the actors' objectives were generally aligned—to survive and escape from the film's boss.
However, his task seemed somewhat different, with the word '引' (lead) used quite subtly.
"What kind of place did the system dump us into?" Zhou Wu's voice interrupted Zuo Yu's thoughts.
Zhou Wu paced back and forth, rubbing his chin. He searched the RV and his belongings, finding no phone, no map—completely clueless about the location or time, utterly in the dark.
Other seasoned actors echoed, "Does this high-difficulty set really offer no hints at all?"
"Everyone..." Zuo Yu interjected somewhat abruptly, "if you want to know where we are, it's probably in the United States."
Zhou Wu paused for a moment, then sneered, "What does a newbie like you know?"
He didn't want to deal with someone who was clearly dead weight. Who knew why a difficult set like this had to include a cripple.
Ignoring Zuo Yu, he looked at his task with confusion. The red letters stated that he must reach Golden Lake before daybreak, with no other clues available—not even a direction to head in.
Zuo Yu remained unfazed. He surveyed the surroundings and spoke calmly, "The highway we're on is a twelve-lane, two-way road, which is very uncommon in my country. Also, have you all noticed the scent in the air?"
Zhou Wu was taken aback and nodded instinctively.
"This is the smell of bitter orange flowers. They bloom from April to June, and I arrived here in September." Zuo Yu tapped his index finger on the wheelchair's armrest, "So I choose to believe the voices in my head. You guys must be the so-called 'seasoned actors' of this 'set,' right?"
"By the way, I reckon we're somewhere in Florida, USA," Zuo Yu pointed again towards a speed limit sign not far from the highway, marked with the letters FSH. "That's the abbreviation for Florida Scenic Highway, and coincidentally, Florida is known for oranges, with bitter orange flowers as the state flower, widely planted all around as common landscaping."
The other seasoned actors fell silent, three of them looking towards Zhou Wu, whispering, "Seems like this kid knows this place well. Should we bring him along?"
Zhou Wu snapped out of his reverie and nodded. Gathering intelligence was a crucial part of the set, and this newcomer seemed adept at it. Plus, they needed someone familiar with the locale. If it turned dangerous, they could always abandon him with no loss to themselves.
"Our roles are students on vacation from out of town, aiming for Golden Lake," Zhou Wu volunteered the task as a gesture of goodwill, tapping the RV, "Get on."
Acknowledging their acceptance, Zuo Yu wheeled himself over to the RV, where someone helped him inside. The wheelchair was folded and secured at the back of the vehicle.
But the treatment for the other newcomers was not as kind.
"What nonsense are you talking about? I was in the office a moment ago, how could I wake up in the USA!" The middle-aged man pointed at Zuo Yu and others. "I get it, you're setting me up, probably drugged me too. You know I just secured a two million funding!"
The seasoned actors looked at him sympathetically.
The middle-aged man seemed convinced, darting into a nearby sedan, turning the key and flooring the accelerator, speeding forward as if escaping the highway, buzzing away.
The other newcomers, distrusting the ramblings of the seasoned actors, and with cars at hand capable of leaving the scene, followed suit with the middle-aged man's footsteps, driving towards the highway exit, intent on going home.
Only the girl who had murmured about a missing person remained behind, pleading, "Take me with you, something's not right here, please!"
But no one paid her any mind. Zhou Wu didn't even spare a glance at the frail girl, closing the car door, shutting off her last hope of survival.
The RV started, and Zuo Yu silently watched the girl grow smaller in the rearview mirror, taking a sip of mineral water handed to him by Zhou Wu.
"Don't look, even if you keep looking, we won't take her with us," Zhou Wu sat beside Zuo Yu, "The fate of the incapable is only death, including my own."
He looked inquisitively at the disabled newcomer, asking, "How did you analyze the location? Can you really discern it just by the smell of flowers?"
Zuo Yu shrugged. "I lived in the USA for a few years to treat my legs. Actually, just looking at the license plate tells me where you guys are."
Zhou Wu was amazed. "Then why did you go on about flowers and highway signs?"
"I wouldn't have bothered, and you wouldn't have taken me along," Zuo Yu smiled faintly, patting Zhou Wu's shoulder candidly. "Conning people is also a skill. Since we're here now, you won't kick me off the car, will you?"
Zhou Wu chuckled, amused by Zuo Yu's wit, yet harboring a newfound respect. "Well done, kid, you're sharp."
Reflecting on his task, Zuo Yu casually remarked, "Speaking of which, the air here is quite humid. We should be near our destination."
"You're not conning me again, are you?"
"Why would I?"
"Then let's follow the road and watch for highway signs," Zhou Wu instructed his driving teammate.
Just moments ago, he had only been joking. He couldn't imagine Zuo Yu, a disabled person, having the audacity to deceive seasoned actors. After all, in this perilous world, Zuo Yu was nothing but dead weight. Without his protection, he'd be the first to perish.
Zhou Wu's focus was solely on the task, unaware that he had become someone else's mission.
Shielding the large letters "Guide four students to the lakeside cabin" from his immediate view, Zuo Yu also hid the icons and rolling announcements, finally calming his cluttered vision.
Meanwhile, a massive screen broadcasted the actions of the five individuals.
"Look at this, so many new actors in the high-difficulty area, how unlucky can they be?"
"Damn, there's even a cripple, unbelievable, shouldn't someone like that be in a beginner's protection? How did they get assigned to the lethal difficulty?"
"He indeed looks suitable for acting, seems quite young, a pity."
"Hahaha, truly rare, wonder how he'll die? Paralyzed people can't swim, right? Since it's called 'Lakeside Tales,' I bet he'll drown."
"Ignorant, this kid definitely isn't as simple as he looks, too bad we can't see the tasks assigned to the actors."
"So what? Just a cripple, I bet he'll get abandoned by teammates and bitten to death by monsters!"
"Market's open, market's open!"
As the barrage of comments heated up, the viewership of "Lakeside Tales" continued to increase. Besides being a very rare film with a low occurrence rate, most viewers had never seen it before, and they were eager to catch a glimpse of the second rarity—a paraplegic in a high-difficulty film.
Meanwhile, Zuo Yu, oblivious to all this, leisurely enjoyed the scenery.
He gazed out at the moonlit window, where the gentle breeze, swaying branches and grass, and occasional bird chirps all proclaimed the reality of this world, not just a thin roll of film. This was a realm of supernatural forces inexplicable by humans, yet Zuo Yu felt no fear of the power of horror films.
He felt remarkably at peace.
Unprecedented peace.
As a perfectionist plagued by illness, he finally had the chance to become "whole."
Chapter 2: Lakeside Tales
The RV smoothly continued along the highway, and after about ten minutes, they spotted a sign pointing towards Golden Lake Reservoir.
The driver, a stern-faced woman, glanced at the direction and then turned the RV onto a dirt road. The surrounding trees appeared thicker and more lush than before, their menacing canopies interlocking to block out the moonlight.
She involuntarily trembled.
Driving into the mountains felt as though the forest had swallowed up the vehicle.
They drew closer to their destination, with the sound of water not far off. The slight sense of oppression and unease caused the woman to tighten her grip on the steering wheel, her palms turning white.
Zuo Yu glanced at her, tapped his temple with his index finger, and casually asked, "So, Golden Lake is your objective?"
"Your character's memories don't include any terrifying tales about Golden Lake?" Zhou Wu looked astonished at Zuo Yu.
"I only know I came here to travel," Zuo Yu propped up his chin, turning to look in the direction of the water sounds. "Doesn't it make sense for people unfamiliar with this place to come camping? Any normal person wouldn't risk their lives if they knew it was dangerous."
Several seasoned actors portraying reckless students felt a pang of guilt.
"Perhaps," the driver spoke up, her voice tinged with gloom, "Our roles are all townsfolk from nearby. There's been a long-standing rumor in the town about an evil spirit residing at Golden Lake."
"Evil spirit?" Zuo Yu's curiosity was piqued.
"They say, fifty years ago, there was a father and son living here. The father often practiced witchcraft in the mountains, causing great fear among the townsfolk, who secretly executed him. His son was a deformed freak, just a teenager with intellectual disabilities, who drowned in Golden Lake... Since then, the adults in town no longer let children play by the lake, because someone disappears there every year."
"Muying, don't scare the newcomer," Zhou Wu shook his head, adding, "Some say it's a water ghost, like those in Norse mythology. Others claim it's cannibals or wild men, or a curse from the Native Americans, but it's all hearsay."
"We four are all children of town officials. They say it's just a story to scare children. Golden Lake is connected to an underground river, with whirlpools and strong currents. It's very dangerous for children to swim there; those who disappear are presumed drowned. Hence, this story serves as a warning to the public."
Zuo Yu smirked, concealing his interest behind his words, "Since we're in a horror movie world, most of these rumors are probably true."
Muying sighed deeply, parking the vehicle amidst the shrubbery, voicing her worries, "You're right, which is why I really don't want to go. I have a foreboding feeling about this."
Before her sentence could finish, a series of system notifications appeared.
"Intern actor Mo Weiqi, deceased. Died in a car accident."
"Intern actor Wang Ming, deceased. Died in a car accident."
"Intern actor Zou Yue, deceased. Died in a car accident."
"Intern actor Li Kai, deceased. Died in a car accident."
"The above actors have returned to the source of fire, with a punishment period of three months."
The expressions of the group turned somber; they knew why these newbies had died—it was because they didn't follow the system's requirements, deemed as negative work...
They'll be burned alive for three months." Zhou Wu's tone was rather callous, having seen too much of this: "When they're released back to the set, they're probably already insane."
This is why actors must act according to the tasks. If there were a choice, no one would willingly go to this dangerous, broken-down lake. But reality proves that moving forward might mean death, while retreat is a punishment more terrifying than death itself.
Like a warning from the system, after a moment of silence, the RV continued along the path. Emerging from dense thickets, they were greeted by a large clearing.
In the distance stood a wooden cabin, fully illuminated by the RV's headlights. Unlike the imagined ranger station, it was quite spacious, resembling a genuine villa and exuding a lived-in atmosphere, albeit aged with cracking wood emitting a hint of decay. Fragile window frames and glass had been reinforced with heavy wooden boards, evidence of someone's handiwork.
Next to the cabin sprawled a lush riverbank. Looking out, all that could be seen was a dark, deep lake merging with the night, its shores invisible.
"Location updated: Golden Lake."
"Golden Lake: Located near the town of Springwell in Florida, amidst the frenzy of the gold rush, townspeople often find gold and silver jewelry on its shores, hence the name Golden Lake. But beneath the sunshine always lurks shadows. In the long history of Springwell, many have drowned in the lake or disappeared in this area. Interestingly, this does not deter foolish young people from embarking on death-seeking journeys."
Clutching onto a glimmer of hope, hoping that it was just a mystery-solving scene, the actors fell silent again as they received task updates.
"A death-seeking journey"—these four words were blatantly malicious.
"Pre-task completed: Arrive at Golden Lake before daybreak."
"Main task updated: Successfully survive the first night of camping."
"Character settings updated; attribute distribution in progress. Actors, please check in a timely manner~"
Zuo Yu disembarked with the others, settling into the dilapidated wheelchair and following behind the group.
He wasn't sure if this film was playing off the Crystal Lake trope from Friday the 13th, but subconsciously, he felt this place definitely harbored a maniacal killer.
The opening setting of "Lakeside Tales" was a complete replica of a last-century slasher flick.
Sweltering summer, foolish youngsters, hitchhikers... and a decidedly unpleasant camping spot.
Zuo Yu's professional habits were kicking in. As a horror enthusiast, he had watched a vast amount of horror films for material, coupled with his exceptional memory, his brain could be likened to a mobile resource library.
He was too familiar with this genre of film. If he were an audience member instead of an actor, he would surely sense the thick atmosphere of the 80s. It probably wouldn't be long before they encountered the era's special feature—buckets of blood.
Zhou Wu eyed the task with some trepidation. "We need a place to stay; otherwise, we might encounter danger in the wilderness. Let's temporarily set up camp in the cabin."
In this outdoor wilderness environment, without suitable shelter, death could come in ways unimaginable.
The others appeared hesitant, clearly unwilling to enter this dark wooden house, preferring to rough it out in the RV for the night.
Zuo Yu regained his system view and glanced at the current task: "Guide four students to the lakeside cabin." After a moment of thought, he decided on a strategy of retreat.
"I think we should reconsider carefully. What if the inside of the house is even scarier? Haven't you all seen 'The Cabin in the Woods'? Besides, this cabin is too dirty. Since we have the RV, why not just sit it out in there for the night?"
The others who were reluctant to enter immediately looked at Zuo Yu with approving eyes.
Zuo Yu picked up a large stone from the ground and hurled it forcefully at the cabin's window. There was a loud thud as the boarded-up window remained unmoved, quite sturdy.
Meanwhile, Zhou Wu couldn't help but imagine what would have happened if that stone had hit the RV's window...
The night wind sent a shiver down his spine. The swaying shadows around him, coupled with the mournful hooting of owls, left him feeling extremely uneasy, fearing that a monster might suddenly emerge.
"Enough talk. If you won't go, I will." Muying and Zhou Wu were of one mind, eager to go inside, but Zhou Wu stopped her.
She raised an eyebrow provocatively. "What's wrong, are you scared?"
Zhou Wu hesitated for a moment, his tone surprisingly indulgent. "No, it's just that there's bound to be a lot of dust inside, and maybe even mice."
He surveyed the group and looked at the youngest, Fang Hao, commanding, "