In that instant, Allen's reaction was swift and decisive. He immediately thrust a soul-binding talisman toward the presence behind him.
The icy sensation vanished at once.
Turning around, there was... nothing.
Still shaken, Allen hastily fled down the corridor!
That moment could scarcely be described as anything less than a brush with death! Had it not been for the soul-binding talisman in his possession, survival would have been impossible.
However, he was left bewildered—though he had returned the high heels to his pocket, the effects of the curse should have lingered for some time. While he wasn't certain how long they would persist, it was unlikely that the danger would immediately fade away.
Yet, in a twist of fate, his brush with death had earned him five hundred redemption tokens! Certainly fewer than when he saved Liu Ying, as it was far harder to save a character while protecting oneself. The original tokens had dwindled to 158—partly due to the use of the high heels and the talisman—and now, with the new five hundred, his total had risen to 658.
As he burst into the living room, he found Cheryl already there. He immediately spoke, "No... this is bad... Liu... Liu Haiping, he's dead!"
Even the protagonist, Hank, had met his demise, and Allen was utterly stunned by this outcome. It wasn't as though protagonists never died—hadn't Dan, the main character from The Horror Bus, perished as well? But Hank's experience was far superior to Charles', and he still possessed that severed finger! Yet, even so, he had died. If Hank had fallen, what of Wu Jun? If the protagonist had died, surely this supporting character would meet the same fate.
Of course, if Hank was truly gone, Allen, now elevated to the position of "second male lead," would essentially become the new protagonist. But for Allen, this was hardly a cause for celebration. Within the next half-hour, his only remaining resource was the final soul-binding talisman, which would provide only limited protection. With the protagonist's death, the script for the third act would need to be entirely rewritten—how would things unfold from here?
"You… what did you just say? I... I didn't hear you wrong, did I?"
Though Cheryl had already received the script's prompt about the protagonist's death, hearing Allen's words left her dazed. Hank... he was really dead!
And not just any Hank—Hank, who even Julian had held in high regard! For him to die in such a low-difficulty horror film was unfathomable.
Cheryl took a deep breath, clenched her fists, and marched forward. "What did you say? Liu Haiping is dead? Are you sure? Did you see his body?"
She still couldn't believe it. It made no sense!
Moreover, if Hank was truly gone, what would happen to the rest of the plot?
While Cheryl did possess a cursed object herself—a cursed painting—her redemption tokens were also perilously low. After all, she hadn't earned any redemption tokens up until now.
If Hank had died, then the only person she could rely on would naturally be Allen!
A few minutes later, everyone had gathered at the entrance to the basement.
The sight of Hank's brutally murdered body was terrifying beyond description. No one dared to venture into the basement in this state, and Wu Jun was most likely already dead.
"This... this... this is impossible!" Liu Ying's expression was one of sheer horror, almost causing her to collapse before Zhao Xiaoya quickly steadied her.
As a rookie actress, Liu Ying had always believed that even if the protagonist were to die, it should be in the final moments of the film. It made no sense at all for a main character to die midway through the third act!
Zhao Xiaoya too gazed at Hank's corpse with a look of utter disbelief. It seemed that, like Liu Ying, she was equally shocked by the death of the protagonist.
"How could Liu Haiping die?" Zhao Xiaoya immediately turned her gaze to Allen. "Zhang Hua, tell us everything that happened!"
"Yes... yes..." Liu Ying clutched Allen's collar, her mind almost broken by the shock. If even the protagonist had died, what hope did she, a mere supporting character, have of survival?
Her face drained of color, tears streaming down as she sobbed, "Tell me! Zhang Hua... what on earth is going on?"
Liu Ying desperately hoped that it wasn't real—that the protagonist had died, and in the middle of the plot, no less. It was utterly unthinkable! Shouldn't the protagonist have some kind of invincible aura? She had never properly considered the possibility that the protagonist might meet an untimely death before the story's conclusion.
Meanwhile, inside the basement...
Wu Jun's body lay sprawled before the door. His head drooped at an unnatural angle, with only a few fragments of bone tenuously holding it to his neck.
The severed finger had fallen to the ground before him.
And behind... beyond that door...
In the room beyond that door...
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
A series of sharp, resonant sounds echoed in the pitch-black space, as though...
The door was about to be broken down.
As Allen and Cheryl stood staring at Hank's body, their eyes moved toward his pockets. Cheryl, of course, was drawn to the severed finger, while Allen, due to the restriction on the cursed objects—the fact that they couldn't be used again for half an hour—was eager to take anything he could.
Should they take it?
"I'm losing my mind! What is going on?!" Liu Ying suddenly shrieked, clutching her head. "I don't care anymore! I don't care! We're all going to die here! That zombie—yes, that zombie must be using the secret passage in that room, coming up one by one to kill us! I... I need to prepare... What do zombies fear? A crucifix? A stake? Right, I'll make a crucifix! It doesn't matter how... I don't want to die, I don't want to die!"
Zhao Xiaoya hurriedly grabbed the now frantic Liu Ying and said, "Calm down! None of us want to die! But panicking won't solve anything! If it's really a zombie, even a crucifix won't help!"
Allen sighed. He decided to put Hank's body down for the moment.
"Lu Zennan, come help me."
Cheryl, too, ran her hands through her hair. The third act's script had been completely derailed by Hank's death. Although they wouldn't lose any redemption tokens for now due to his death, as time passed, who knew how the situation would evolve?
Cheryl felt a deep, gnawing fear. It was because of Hank that he had felt some measure of confidence, believing that with Hank around, he could make it through this low-difficulty horror film without dying. But now, he was afraid... If Hank was dead, what about him? Could he really survive?
He might die too!
No, he couldn't let that happen... He had to retrieve Hank's severed finger!
Without hesitation, he spoke: "By the way, could the A4 paper be on Liu Haiping?"
Then, without another word, he swiftly reached into Hank's pocket. However, all he found was a bell!
"What is this..."
In an instant, a prompt appeared in the script: it was a cursed object!
This discovery filled Cheryl with great joy as she immediately pocketed the bell. "Ah, this is the bell I lost! Liu Haiping must have found it."
Allen made no objection. Since he had taken the high heels last time, the bell was now hers. It was likely one of Hank's hidden trump cards.
They all returned to the living room. At this point, no one dared to venture back into the basement to check on Wu Jun's fate.
"Everyone," Allen began, fully aware that the weight of the protagonist's role now rested on his shoulders. "The situation has escalated beyond control. We must unite. From now on, no matter what happens... well, except for using the restroom, we must remain together. We cannot afford to be separated again! Everyone, brace yourselves—just a little longer, tomorrow, tomorrow we'll be able to leave!"
"Will we really be able to leave tomorrow?" Liu Ying sobbed uncontrollably, her body collapsing against Zhao Xiaoya.
Can they really leave?
Before the script for the fourth act arrived, Allen had no way of knowing the answer.
At present, he had over six hundred redemption tokens, and the high heels could be used four more times. Even though they couldn't be used again within half an hour of their first use, he still had one last talisman left.
He was convinced he would survive... he had to!
However, despite his resolve, the eerie nature of the situation made his heart quiver. Why had Hank died? He had not only the severed finger but also the bell. With these two powerful items, even if the severed finger had been used once, it shouldn't have...
Just then, Allen suddenly recalled something of great importance!
What about the severed finger?
Cheryl hadn't taken it! She must have thought she had.
So, where was it? Had it been lost?
This could not be ignored! Cursed objects couldn't remain out of sight for too long in the frame of the film! As time passed, the curse could awaken!
According to Hank, that severed finger had been severed from a deceased character in another horror film—a vengeful spirit had been born from it, imbued with the most potent curse. The difficulty of that horror film was far greater than that of this one, The Enclosed Room! If the curse were to awaken, perhaps that severed finger would allow the vengeful spirit to resurrect in this film!
No matter what... the severed finger had to be recovered!
Once the spirit was reborn in this film, no script would be able to bind or limit it. Unlike Donna, who possessed terrifying survival abilities, this spirit would not have the same chances of escape!
Allen glanced at the clock. The finger had been lost for at least ten minutes now. The loss of a cursed object was a serious issue, one that Hank and Nathan had warned him about. Typically, when the holder of a cursed object died, the curse lost its grip, weakening the object's power. But ten minutes was far too long! If this continued... the consequences were unimaginable!
There was no time to waste!
"Umm... I'm going to use the restroom."
With that, Allen left. He had specifically mentioned "except for using the restroom," so no one raised any objections.
He hurried to the basement door, where the bloodstains still lingered.
At that moment, his nerves were on edge. The curse of the severed finger could awaken at any moment! And he had no way of knowing how much time had passed after the finger was removed before Hank was killed, causing the loss of ownership and weakening the curse's power.
Steeling himself, he took a step forward and rushed into the basement!