Although Allen had acquired the cursed high heels, the total number of his redemption tokens was so insufficient that the shoes could only be used for less than a second. Any use beyond that would plunge his tokens into the negative. Even the three soul-binding talismans were rendered useless. It was as if he were clutching a gold ingot while starving to death! For Allen, the next crucial step was to earn more redemption tokens, or else what could one second possibly accomplish?
Before him, the large door remained firmly sealed, and Hank had even approached to inspect the lock.
"It seems like no one has come out," Cheryl remarked as he followed Hank and took a closer look. "Why don't we try speaking with the person inside? At this point, we no longer need to follow the master's orders, do we? People have already died!"
Without waiting for Hank's approval, Cheryl shouted at the door, "Hey! Is anyone in there? Can you hear me?"
But after a long silence, there was no response.
"This door and the walls likely have excellent soundproofing," Hank said, shaking his head in doubt. "Perhaps the person inside can't hear us."
"Then… what's behind this door?" Cheryl glared at it, his expression filled with frustration. "Let's get some tools and force the door open! If we open it, we'll finally know what's behind it!"
"Yes!" Liu Ying chimed in, clearly in agreement. "People have died. There's definitely a murderer hiding in this villa! We can't just sit here! The person inside must know something. Let's get them out and find out!"
"Wait…" Hank's face twisted with hesitation.
"Exactly!" Cheryl raised his voice, determined. "Let's all find some tools and try to open this damn door! People are dying, we can't just wait for death anymore!"
Hank quickly grabbed his arm, urgently trying to stop him. "Don't do this! We still don't know what's really going on! Opening the door might just make everything worse!"
"Don't come at me with that!" Cheryl shoved him away, his face flushed with anger. "You saw what happened! Wu Jun is dead! How can we just ignore that?"
"Wait!" Allen intervened, his voice calm but firm. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Of course!" Cheryl was unmoved. "I've thought it through. There's a huge conspiracy behind all this! If we don't open the door, we'll never get to the bottom of it. I don't care, I'm opening it!"
"Calm down!" Allen quickly blocked him. "The note clearly said, we absolutely cannot open this door! Who knows what's behind it…"
"But we haven't opened the door, and people are still dying!" Cheryl's eyes narrowed with determination. "Are you suggesting I should spend these three days with a murderer roaming free? No! I've thought it through, there might be a secret passage behind that door, one that leads outside. Maybe the murderer's been using it to come and go!"
At this moment, according to the original script, there was a line for Hang Qingshu: "I agree with Zhang Hua. We can't just open the door recklessly without knowing what dangers lie beyond. No one can predict what might happen."
However, this was when Lu Zennan and Hang Qingshu had begun arguing, only for Hank to step in and mediate. But with Hang Qingshu's actor, Ivan, now dead, many lines could no longer be spoken, leading to significant changes in the plot. Although these alterations wouldn't directly affect the actors' redemption tokens, should the ripple effects spread further, the consequences were uncertain.
Meanwhile, Wu Jun stood off to the side, as silent as a ghost. According to the script, he was already dead and thus had no lines. Until the third act, when the restructured script would provide him with new scenes based on the changes from the second act, his redemption tokens would continuously be deducted. All he could do now was wear a bitter expression, silently suffering as he felt his redemption tokens being drained away.
After a prolonged argument, Hank, following the original script's guidance, stepped forward to stop Cheryl. "You need to think this through. This isn't just about you! As you said, people have already died. That means there is something far more complex at play here! Can you guarantee that opening this door won't lead to even more terrifying consequences? Can you?"
"That..." Cheryl faltered.
"That what?" Hank retorted sharply. "There are still six of us here, this isn't your problem alone! Your secret passage theory is full of holes. If there really were such a passage, it could've killed us all while we slept last night. Why wait until now? In any case, let's turn this villa upside down and see if anyone has sneaked in!"
"Then..." Liu Ying glanced around, asking hesitantly, "What about... lunch? Didn't we say it would be delivered on time?"
"Forget about lunch!" Cheryl snapped angrily. "People are dead, who cares about lunch!"
"No... lunch still needs to be prepared," Hank countered, shaking his head. "If there really is someone inside, we can't just ignore them. Besides... I have a feeling that if we go against the master's orders, something far worse could happen."
At that moment, Allen once again turned his gaze towards the door.
It remained as firmly locked as before, with no sound coming from inside. However, the breakfast had been completely consumed, meaning the space could not possibly be empty.
Allen's mind was filled with confusion.
Many horror films followed this trope—doors that couldn't be opened, forbidden boxes, and so on—where the protagonists inevitably break the rules, often to their doom. But this particular film felt strange. The door had never been opened, and yet, both the character of Wu Jun in the original script and Hang Qingshu in reality had truly met their deaths.
What secret lay behind this?
If Wu Jun (Hang Qingshu) had still died despite the door being sealed, then why the strict prohibition against opening it? Could it be, as Cheryl's character, Lu Zennan, had said in the script, that opening the door might, in fact, be the only path to survival?
But at this moment, Allen couldn't afford to take that risk. If opening the door truly led to an irreversible disaster, it would mean the end for him. Now, even though he possessed cursed objects, he was almost incapable of using them. He needed to find a way to earn more redemption tokens, or he would be doomed.
So far, aside from the last time when he tore off a soul-binding talisman in the "Horror Bus" incident, he had not managed to increase his redemption tokens.
For now, he had no choice but to continue searching the villa.
In truth, the villa had already been searched once. However, given its vast size, it was certain that something had been overlooked. Allen decided to be more thorough; perhaps there were unexpected discoveries waiting beyond the script's confines.
He naturally followed closely behind Hank. Unlike him, Hank had more than enough redemption tokens to fully utilize the cursed objects.
"Liuhai Ping," Allen asked, keeping pace with Hank, "This building gives off such an eerie feeling."
"The design of this place is strange," Hank observed, examining the ceiling and walls. "Though I'm no architect, it's obvious this isn't a modern architectural style. No... I even feel that when it was built, comfort was never really a concern. There are no windows, no regard for lighting or ventilation. It almost feels like a prison."
Just then, Hank suddenly furrowed his brow and halted in his tracks. Allen nearly collided with him.
"Shh—"
Hank made the gesture, and it sent a shock through Allen's chest!
Because... this action wasn't in the script!
With no windows and the corridor plunged into darkness without any lights, the atmosphere was unnervingly gloomy. The villa was vast, and they had become somewhat separated from the others.
The faded stripes on the old wooden floor began to lose their color. The corridor ahead seemed unnaturally still, shrouded in a deep, eerie silence.
"Creeeak—"
Suddenly, the door to one of the rooms before them swung open! Yet, the door obstructed their line of sight. It had been tightly shut, and there was no possibility that the wind had caused it to open.
Hank, without a moment's hesitation, swiftly pulled the severed finger from his pocket!
Once the finger was withdrawn, blood began to drip from its nail, staining the air with a dark crimson trail.
He stepped back, and Allen followed suit, retreating with him.
Seconds slipped away, each one dragging them closer to an inevitable fate. As they neared the ten-second mark, the door that had creaked open finally swung shut!
Only then did Hank release a breath of relief, quickly slipping the severed finger back into his pocket.
"Thank God, thank God," Hank muttered, his voice steadying. "When my father was younger, he was a tomb raider. One time, he encountered a zongzi, but fortunately, he had prepared a black donkey's hoof. This severed finger is the one left by that zongzi, and it holds a strong power to ward off evil."
The terms "tomb raider," "zongzi," and "black donkey's hoof" would be familiar to anyone who had read Tianxia Bachang's Ghost Blows Out the Light or Nan Pai San Shu's Grave Robbers' Chronicles. Every time a cursed object appeared in these tales, the script would always provide an explanation for its origins in the narrative. Naturally, these elements might not always align with logic, but such consistency was not strictly required.
This part, however, did not exist in the original script! It was clear that this deviation was linked to Ivan's changes to the storyline.
Hank's gaze remained fixed on the door ahead. Grabbing Allen's hand, he urged, "Come, let's go take a look!"
Allen immediately understood. This room was anything but simple. Had Hank not acted swiftly to retrieve the severed finger, the consequences would have been unthinkable. The finger, a relic from a horror film far more complex than The Haunted Room, had been placed back into Hank's pocket, yet the protective aura it had emitted would linger for some time. Hank clearly intended to inspect this room thoroughly.
Every horror film follows a well-worn formula: when a ghost attacks the same person and fails, that person cannot be killed again within a short period. This creates a window of safety.
Standing before the door, Hank took a deep breath and extended his hand, reaching for the doorknob. Allen, in turn, slipped his hand into his pocket, gripping the high heels tightly. Though using them now would cause his redemption tokens to turn negative, survival was the priority. If necessary, he would find a way to increase his tokens afterward to compensate for the deficit.
Hank turned the handle.
In that moment, both he and Allen held their breath.
Behind the door...
Empty.
Relieved, the two of them began to inspect the room before them carefully.