The lunch was delivered at the usual time, and not long after, the empty dishes were returned via the elevator. During this interlude of the script's blank period, everyone remained on high alert, every nerve taut, their attention unwavering.
At this moment, Allen, having obtained the cursed high heels, no longer felt the need to follow Hank's lead. Yet, he had learned from Ivan's grim fate.
The key... lay in tonight.
The moment the second act would reach its dramatic conclusion!
That would be the moment when the second victim would appear.
The script read as follows:
(The final scene of Act Two.)
Time: Midnight, exactly.
Location: Zhang Hua's room.
Zhang Hua is abruptly awakened by a shrill scream.
Zhang Hua (immediately leaping from his bed): That... that sounds like... Liu Ying's voice!
(Zhang Hua hastily dons his clothes and rushes toward the source of the sound, encountering Lu Zhenan, who emerges from a nearby room.)
Zhang Hua: Did you hear that?
Lu Zhenan: Of course I heard it! I'm not deaf! It sounds like Liu Ying?
Zhang Hua: I think so too!
(They both rush downstairs, only to find Liu Haiping already waiting at the bottom.)
Zhang Hua: What's going on? Did something happen to Miss Liu? Ah!
(Zhang Hua stares in shock at the sight of Liu Ying, her eyes bleeding, her body sprawled in an unnatural, doll-like position before a sofa, her face as pale as paper.)
End of Act Two
————————————————————————————————————
By all logic, Liu Ying should not have been in the living room at that hour. There was clearly something wrong. Why would Liu Ying go to the living room in the dead of night? It made no sense. After all, there was no need to pass through the living room to get to the bathroom from her room.
Thus, the living room might not have been the first crime scene. Could it be that she was murdered in her room and then moved to the living room afterward?
Earlier, Hank had brought Cheryl to find him.
"Zhang Hua, let's gather tonight. It's far too dangerous to sleep alone. Why don't the six of us stay together? That way…"
Ivan's death had shaken Hank deeply. He had clearly been holding the cursed high heels, yet he had not even had time to scream before he died. It seemed this horror film was far more difficult than they had originally anticipated. What's more, Hank had already used a severed finger, and with Allen running low on redemption points, Hank knew that Allen, as a supporting character, needed those points even more desperately than he did.
After much consideration, Hank concluded that if they all stayed together, their chances of survival would be far greater. And if things went well, it could lead to a dramatic shift in the script's trajectory.
Cheryl agreed as well. Initially, he had intended to avoid any confrontation, but upon further reflection, he realized that as the plot advanced, it was only a matter of time before his character met his end. The current redemption points he had were scarcely sufficient. In light of this, it seemed far more sensible to take the initiative and increase his chances of survival. While it was not without risk, it certainly seemed a better option than passively awaiting death.
Allen shared the same thought. Previously, he had only three single-use talismans, their effects limited. However, things had changed. With the cursed high heels in hand and a substantial amount of redemption points, he now had a fighting chance to gamble everything.
Thus, he agreed.
Now... all that was left was to wait.
As time passed, the night descended. According to the plan, two individuals would stand guard while the others slept. After all, without rest, how could they muster the energy to face the inevitable events that were bound to unfold? If anything occurred, the sentinels would immediately rouse the others.
The lottery had determined that Hank and Allen would take the watch.
Dinner was delivered to the basement as usual. According to the original script, Hank was the last person to see Liu Ying alive, and that was around 10:20 p.m. So, the group chose to gather in the living room during this particular window.
"Lu Zhenan," Cheryl and Wu Jun made their beds on the floor of the basement, while Liu Ying and Zhao Xiaoya settled on the sofa. Liu Ying, though not on watch, could never manage to fall asleep. Originally, she had no intention of coming to the living room, but with everyone else gathering there, how could she possibly remain alone in her room?
Time ticked on, second by second.
At this point, only Hank, Allen, and Liu Ying remained awake, while the others had fallen into a deep slumber, having barely rested the previous night.
Of course, they didn't need to ask. Their actions had consequences: as time passed, the redemption points were steadily being deducted. Allen's redemption points had dropped from 194 to 164. Yet, this was a worthy investment. Once they rescued Liu Ying, the points they earned would multiply exponentially.
Allen recalled Julian's advice, which was simple but effective—saving someone who was meant to die was the quickest way to gain redemption points. This was precisely the situation they were in. Of course, if one found themselves facing death but survived, that too would grant additional redemption points (though escaping a deathtrap without confronting the threat didn't count).
As the clock struck eleven...
The lights in the living room suddenly went out!
Liu Ying gasped in shock, almost screaming as she flung herself into Hank's arms. To her, a man like him, the protagonist, was her greatest source of comfort and safety.
But Hank remained unfazed. Power outages were a staple of horror films, and with his experience having starred in six such films, he was hardly the type to be rattled by something so trivial.
The others seemed to sleep soundly, trusting completely that Hank and Allen would handle whatever came their way.
"What's going on with the lights?" Hank turned to Allen, asking, "Zhang Hua, could you check? Is it just a blown fuse?"
"Never mind," Allen shook his head. "It's night. If something's wrong, we can deal with it tomorrow morning."
Obviously, anyone with any sense would stay together. Allen, though a part of a horror film, was not like the typical characters in such films who stupidly utter phrases like "Wait here, I'll be right back," only to immediately set themselves up for an early death.
Hank, however, shook his head. "No, this isn't just an ordinary power outage."
He crouched down and shook Cheryl, who was bundled in a blanket on the floor, "Lu Zhenan, Lu Zhenan, wake up!"
But there was no response. How could this guy be sleeping so deeply?
Hank turned him over and said, "Hey, you…"
But in the next moment, his face twisted with horror.
This wasn't Cheryl. Under the blanket, there was only a cushion!
In a panic, he rushed to the other side, yanking the blanket off. The person who should have been Wu Jun was also gone—replaced by a seat cushion!
Allen, too, turned to look at the sofa. Zhao Xiaoya, who had been lying there, was now nothing more than a porcelain figure!
Only Liu Ying remained lying on the sofa!
Allen and Hank immediately rushed to her side, their vigilant eyes scanning the surroundings.
Both of them slipped their hands into their pockets, gripping the high heels and severed finger tightly.
"What… What's going on? Where did they go?" Liu Ying was on the verge of tears, her voice trembling with fear.
The two men flanked her, their anxiety reaching its peak.
"Don't be afraid, Miss Liu!" Allen's other hand grasped her arm firmly. "I will protect you."
Time ticked on, second by second. Yet, to their surprise, the next moments were eerily calm. In the darkness, the three of them fell silent, barely breathing.
The vast living room, now shrouded in impenetrable blackness, seemed unnervingly ominous.
Thirty minutes passed in a blink, yet Hank and Allen's nerves remained taut, while Liu Ying seemed to relax a little. Perhaps it was the presence of the "protagonist" beside her, and the sense of security that came with it. Though she had been informed that the rules were not absolute—that the protagonist could indeed die early—being a reclusive type, she still clung to the belief that the protagonist was an invincible force, an undying cockroach. And so, with Hank beside her, she felt an overwhelming sense of safety.
"I have to ask…" Liu Ying's voice trembled, almost frantic. "Where did they all go?"
Hank, his expression wary, scanned the room again and replied, "I don't know… This feels too strange. A few living people just disappeared during a brief power outage, turning into pillows and cushions!"
"Yes," Allen added, his voice equally uneasy. "Even a magician couldn't pull off something like this. This house is just too eerie!"
Liu Ying gripped the edge of the sofa, her voice pleading, "Please, I don't want to die... I—I'm so young, I really don't want to die…"
"We'll do everything we can to protect you," Allen assured her, his grip on her hand tightening as though afraid she might vanish in the next instant, transforming into yet another inanimate object.
At that moment, he cursed the limitations of the cursed object. Without appearing on camera, it was utterly useless. Ten seconds of use was equivalent to a horror film's budget wasted.
Had the others already died? Allen didn't believe it. Even if they had, it was impossible for so many to perish all at once. The difficulty of The Horror Bus and this one shouldn't have been that different! Back then, no one had died in such quick succession.
Another twenty minutes passed. Time was inching closer to midnight.
Liu Ying, glancing at the time on her phone, grew increasingly terrified as the clock neared midnight. Only she knew how she would die. From her expression, it was evident—her death would likely occur at the stroke of midnight.
Hank, meanwhile, grew ever more aware of the importance of possessing spiritual sensitivity. If only Edith were here, they wouldn't be so helpless.
Just as Allen felt his senses beginning to slip into haze, a voice suddenly broke the tension.
"What's going on? What are you all doing?"
It was Cheryl's voice!
Allen looked up, and there, not far ahead, stood Cheryl's figure!
"You're all right?" Hank immediately rushed forward, eager to understand what had happened.
But just then, Allen felt a chilling realization surge through him. He shouted, "Wait! That's not Lu Zhenan!"
But it was too late. The shadow lunged and dragged Hank into the darkness with a swift motion! Hank didn't even have time to scream.
Allen, gripping Liu Ying's hand, quickly vaulted over the sofa, dashing into a nearby hallway. The high heels could only be used for ten seconds—anything beyond that would cause his redemption points to fall into the negative. He couldn't afford to use them just yet.
Racing deeper into the hallway, Allen shifted direction constantly, his eyes glued to the time.
He had made a decision: at the critical moment, when midnight struck, he would take out the high heels. He veered into another hallway and stormed up the stairs. With each step, his anxiety grew.
He knew—if he didn't manage to retrieve the high heels in time, his fate would be the same as Ivan's!