At this moment, Allen and Wu Jun entered the room as well.
"What... were you talking about just now?" Wu Jun hurriedly asked. "I thought I heard something... about zombies?"
Allen also wore a puzzled expression. "What's going on? I heard you mention zombies as well. Did I... mishear something?"
Cheryl, in the role of Lu Zennan, was clearly the impatient type. He spoke urgently, "Have you ever heard of the Ouyang family from Hong Kong? They're some sort of mystics, claiming to create spiritually-charged ceramics and even... raise zombies!"
"What?"
"What's going on? Raising zombies? Are you telling ghost stories?"
Hank sighed deeply, realizing he had no choice but to explain everything about the Ouyang family in detail.
"I've always been fascinated by unsolved mysteries and supernatural phenomena. I've read extensively about things like UFOs, the Easter Island statues, vampire and werewolf legends. Hong Kong, in particular, is known for having a number of haunted locations, one of the most famous being the zombie legend of the Ouyang family."
"We've never heard of any of this." Wu Jun scratched his head. "What Ouyang family?"
"It's not surprising that you don't know. These kinds of supernatural tales aren't widely published in mainland China. Because of my special interest, I researched them online. While the Ouyang family wasn't my main focus, I did come across some mentions of them. The first records of the Ouyang family date back to the late Qing Dynasty, during the reign of Emperor Guangxu. At that time, foreign powers had invaded China, and the land was filled with death and suffering. It is said that because of this, many restless spirits, unable to find peace, transformed into zombies and began to wreak havoc on the living. The Ouyang family is said to have started capturing and raising these zombies at that time. Naturally, most of these tales are unsubstantiated, with very little factual basis. I considered them more like folk stories."
"Are you serious? What would they want with raising zombies?"
"One theory is that zombies, being outside the cycle of life and death, contain immense untapped power. The Ouyang family supposedly sought to harness this power by using the zombies' blood to increase their own spiritual abilities and powers. The 'blood porcelain' they made is rumored to be crafted with zombie blood. During the 1980s and 90s, Hong Kong underwent rapid development, and its film industry, especially zombie films, flourished. Many of these films were based on the Ouyang family's legends, which stirred up much local interest. The paranormal TV shows at the time also tried to contact the Ouyang family to get a glimpse of their 'blood porcelain.' I came across one such magazine that had an exclusive interview with them, and that's how I recognized this porcelain as belonging to the Ouyang family."
After Hank finished speaking, everyone looked visibly perplexed.
"Although it sounds unbelievable..." Allen muttered, "it could explain why that room can hold something so dangerous, and why they need to bring food to it. Could it be that there really is a zombie locked away in that underground room? It's a possibility that can't be dismissed. But if we force that room open and release the zombie, the consequences would be catastrophic!"
Allen noticed that his dialogue had noticeably increased. It seemed that, because of his impressive performance, he was being elevated from a side character to the second lead! Moreover, the original second lead, Hang Qingshu, had already died! However, for Allen, this might not be a good thing, as it meant that the dangers he would face were set to rise accordingly.
"Are you serious?!" Wu Jun immediately slammed his fist against the door, roaring, "You're pulling zombies into this now? You actually believe this absurdity?"
"I believe it," Allen replied in a calm, steady tone. "Everything that happened last night defies logical explanation."
"Stop spouting nonsense! Are you suggesting that Hang Qingshu was killed by a zombie?"
Hang Qingshu... no, it should be Ivan. Only he knew how he died. Or rather, Wu Jun should know, since he was supposed to be the one to die yesterday!
The atmosphere became suddenly tense.
"I'm starting to have some doubts myself," Hank said, his gaze betraying signs of uncertainty. "Perhaps... the legends of the Ouyang family are not entirely baseless. I have heard of some members of the family traveling to coastal cities in mainland China, searching for corpses that can be turned into zombies. Let's entertain a hypothesis..."
"Let's say that the owner of this house is a member of the Ouyang family, and he successfully transformed a dead body into a zombie, then locked it away here. This zombie would, of course, have many unpredictable factors. Therefore, they would need us to come to this secluded villa to conduct experiments. In other words... if the zombie breaks through that door and escapes, it would be us who perish, not them. They would suffer no loss. After all, zombies feed on human blood..."
"Are you kidding me?!" Wu Jun shouted in disbelief. "Hang Qingshu was drained of blood by a zombie? Was there any evidence he was bitten?"
"It's difficult to draw any conclusions about the zombie-related events," Hank murmured. "But last night, you all were inexplicably moved from the living room to your rooms, and what appeared before us wasn't ordinary humans. No... I seem to be losing my train of thought. If that were the case, why not just kill all of us? And there's no sign the door was forcibly broken open..."
At that moment, Allen suddenly walked up to Hank and raised a single finger. "Then, let's conduct an experiment."
"An experiment?"
"At lunchtime... we'll send raw meat down to see if they'll eat it! If it's a zombie... it wouldn't be interested in cooked meat, would it?"
Had this been before, such a line would never have been spoken by Zhang Hua, the mere side character. But now, Allen's status had elevated him to second lead, so it was no surprise for him to propose such a strategy.
"Brilliant!" Cheryl was the first to applaud. "Zombies drain human blood, they'd never settle for cooked meat! What a fantastic idea!"
"Are you seriously still talking about zombies?" Wu Jun's displeasure was growing. "Just because of these ceramics, you're concluding that the Ouyang family lives here?"
Hank tapped his fingers on the table, then suddenly said, "Do you all remember that A4 sheet of paper? The writing on it... was in traditional Chinese characters!"
Traditional characters!
This caused everyone to freeze in shock.
"Ah, yes..."
"Mainlanders don't typically use traditional characters..."
"Now it's mostly people in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan who use traditional characters."
Hank crossed his arms and continued, "Of course, some people now embrace classical Chinese culture and prefer traditional characters. But if this is indeed the Ouyang family from Hong Kong, using traditional characters makes perfect sense. Also, the fact that this villa was constructed without windows—could it be because zombies fear sunlight?"
This made the hypothesis of a zombie locked away in the basement seem all the more convincing.
"Alright!" Hank said, his tone resolute. "Let's follow Zhang Hua's suggestion... let's test it! For lunch, we'll send down only raw meat!"
Meanwhile, Liu Ying and Zhao Xiaoya were on the other side of the villa.
"The letter hasn't been answered yet. Looks like we won't be able to communicate with them after all," Liu Ying sighed. "Did we phrase everything correctly? Could they have misunderstood our intentions?"
"I don't think so," Zhao Xiaoya shook her head. "I was the one who placed the letter in the elevator. I checked, and the wording and tone of the letter were fine. There shouldn't be any issues."
"Liu Ying, Zhao Xiaoya!" At this moment, Hank and the others emerged from the hallway, saying, "We've discovered some new clues. Everyone, gather in the living room."
After a brief moment, once they had all gathered in the living room, Hank repeated the same words he had just spoken to Liu Ying and Zhao Xiaoya.
"Zombies?"
"Are you serious?"
Both women exhibited looks of astonishment, while Allen inwardly admired their performances. Their acting had reached a level of refinement that was becoming almost second nature. The new recruits certainly had promise.
"Given the current situation, it's becoming increasingly difficult to explain things rationally. We have no choice but to proceed as we are."
At this point, Zhao Xiaoya spoke up, "If we confirm it's a zombie, what should we do next?"
"If it's confirmed," Hank replied, "then we absolutely cannot open the basement door."
Zhao Xiaoya countered, "If we don't open the door, does that guarantee our safety? We still have to stay here until tomorrow night. That's an awfully long time—what are we supposed to do?"
Liu Ying, too, wore an expression of deep concern. "Yes, what do we do? How are we supposed to survive these next two days?"
Tomorrow was likely to be the fourth and final act of the unfolding drama. By then, what were they supposed to do to survive? While it appeared that Allen had ample time to redeem himself, this was by no means a guarantee of his survival! Moreover, he couldn't forget that using cursed items carried the constant risk of the curse resuming its power at any moment!
For now, though, the best course of action was to go with the flow. Allen could only rely on his knowledge of the script to find a slim chance of survival.
There was no need to prepare lunch this time. The freezer in the fridge contained plenty of raw meat.
Hank tore off the plastic wrap from the chunks of meat and placed them in the microwave to defrost. After all, if the zombie only drank warm blood, it might not be interested in eating it.
Once defrosted, he took the raw meat out and placed it on three plates, then moved them into the elevator. He pressed the button to send them down.
At this moment, a heavy silence fell over everyone.
For modern humans accustomed to cooked meat, it was hard to imagine anyone willingly consuming raw flesh.
As they waited, each person sat quietly. Allen closed his eyes, massaging his temples. In his mind, however, he already knew what had to be considered next—he had long understood the script.
Before long, the elevator chimed with a "ding" as it arrived.
When the doors opened, everyone hurried to the kitchen to look inside.
There, they saw...
All the meat had been consumed—every last bit of it! Not even a scrap remained!
"This..." Hank's face went pale as he stared, wide-eyed.
Time ticked by in suffocating silence, and no one spoke.
The tension grew unbearable, and inevitably, it reached its breaking point.
"Bang!"
Cheryl slammed his fist down hard, nearly knocking the ashtray off the coffee table. He pulled the cigarette from his mouth and growled, "A zombie! Is it really a zombie?"
"Weren't you the one who suggested the zombie theory in the first place?" Hank shot back.
"But... I never thought it would be real!" Cheryl protested. "Wait, something's off. Just this alone can't prove it's a zombie! Maybe what's locked up downstairs is just a mentally ill person? If that's the case, eating raw meat wouldn't be that strange… Still, if it is a zombie, and it was the one that killed Hang Qingshu..."
Hank, hands on his knees and chin resting in his palms, spoke a line so chilling that it sent a wave of terror through the room.