Allen had made up his mind.
"This..." Cheryl glanced at Hank, then at Allen, and silently steeled herself.
Once they entered the fourth act, they would lose the advantage of foreseeing the plot's progression. The final act would be a horror film—the most perilous part of the story! Given this, she knew she must gather more redemption tickets before that moment arrived.
"Alright!" Cheryl's eyes softened toward Allen, her respect for him growing. No matter the outcome, the courage he displayed was rare, especially for a newcomer actor.
Hank, however, was different. Although his earlier use of the severed finger had been a waste of redemption tickets, it hadn't yet reached the point where he had to risk his own life. Having already died once, he remained deeply wary of the basement.
"Let's go."
Once the decision was made, there was no more to be said. Allen rose from his seat.
Whether there was danger in the basement remained uncertain. However, based on the earlier script where Wu Jun had perished there, it was clear the basement was a place of danger. The mysterious entity locked away in the basement room also needed further investigation.
Without hesitation, Allen proceeded down another hallway, heading toward the basement entrance. Cheryl immediately followed, unwilling to be left behind. After all, she was a seasoned actress.
"Are you... afraid?" Cheryl suddenly asked.
"Afraid..." Allen took a deep breath. "But I want to survive more than anything! Whether it's a zombie or a vengeful spirit, we can't just sit here and wait to die! Are you confident enough to follow me?"
"Of course. I'll be sure not to slow you down."
Cheryl couldn't help but admire Allen even more. After all, he had witnessed Hank's terrifying corpse firsthand, and still, he dared to venture into the basement...
This suddenly reminded her of Julian, whom she deeply admired.
Julian had been like this from the very beginning—realizing that in a true horror film, only by risking everything could one reap the rewards. It was for this reason that he had become one of the few in the Thirteenth Hell Cinema with unparalleled survival skills.
But Cheryl quickly pushed the thought aside. Who was Julian, after all? The man who had survived the "Ghost Ritual" series. In large part, Delia's survival had been thanks to Julian's help. As for Allen, although he seemed willing to risk it all, his future would depend on his luck. If his fortune didn't hold, he could end up like Charles—dead after his first time playing the lead role in the fourth horror film.
As Cheryl pondered these thoughts, they reached the basement entrance.
This was it...
Though Allen had made his decision, his legs trembled as they neared the entrance. After all, he had nearly died inside that very basement—had it not been for the NG (not good) shot, how could he have escaped? And now, he was returning to face it once again...
The sight of the basement door and the glass panel above it brought back haunting memories of Hank's corpse from the NG scene.
Taking a deep breath, Allen took the first step, descending into the darkness below. Cheryl immediately followed.
Yet, as soon as Allen's foot touched the first basement step, a wave of icy coldness swept over his body. A sharp, overwhelming sense of danger gripped him, as if the very depths of hell lay just beneath.
The cold gradually solidified into something tangible, and by the time Allen had descended about five or six steps, his teeth began to chatter uncontrollably.
This...
This sensation was entirely different from the previous engulfing chill he had felt, the one that had swept through him like a suffocating, malevolent force.
Allen had already made up his mind—he was staking his life on this gamble, hoping to seize a sliver of hope. Yet, at this moment, he had an overwhelming premonition.
If...
If he continued downward...
He would die.
There would be no hope of survival. Even with that high heel, he would die! No... even with Cheryl by his side, he would still perish!
This acute sense of impending doom was a familiar trope of horror films. It was akin to the way "Cathy" in The Horror Bus had gained the ability to see the spirits—just as it wasn't strange for "Zhang Hua," now in the role of the second male lead, to possess such an intuition about danger.
Should he descend?
Of course, this sense of danger couldn't be guaranteed to be accurate. After all, fate is shaped by one's actions, and nothing is ever truly predetermined. No one can know the outcome before they act.
The question remained...
Should he go down or turn back?
"What's wrong?" Cheryl noticed Allen had stopped and asked, puzzled. "Are you... afraid?"
Allen hesitated, caught in a moment of doubt.
To descend or not to descend?
Yet, in the end, Allen gritted his teeth and continued downward. While the feeling of danger might have some merit, he believed that nothing was truly set in stone. Life is a series of choices, and he had no way of knowing how things would turn out. Returning now might temporarily avoid danger, but once the final act began and the plot became unpredictable, he would only have one last high heel to rely on. His position would become utterly untenable. He couldn't see a way to turn the situation around in such a scenario.
Thus, despite the perilous nature of this path, he knew he could not back out. Even if it led to his death, he preferred to face it head-on, actively fighting for survival, rather than passively waiting for fate to strike him down in the end. What if he returned? What if there was no danger before the final act? What would he do then?
Even though he had risen from an extra to the second male lead, Zhang Hua's character was certain to die in the fourth act. This much was indisputable. He wouldn't know when it would happen, leaving him in a completely passive situation.
Allen hated the thought of his life being dictated by fate. He would rather risk his life than let destiny make the call. He intended to carve out his own path to survival.
With the mindset of a warrior willing to sacrifice everything, he pressed deeper into the basement.
This journey might very well be one from which he would never return.
As he descended, flashes of his past—his twenty-five years of life—began to flicker in his mind. The humble background of a salaried worker's family, his kind and upright parents. Allen's life had been unremarkable, without a single ripple of excitement. He had aced the entrance exams and entered the economics school of his dreams. Shortly after graduation, thanks to his parents' connections, he landed his current job in finance and accounting.
Many people, upon entering the workforce, find themselves disillusioned by the harsh reality that contrasts sharply with their dreams, but Allen was naturally optimistic. He was a man of great foresight, always weighing things carefully. He did not settle for simplistic, binary judgments of the world. He was also skilled in social interactions—charming yet genuine, without pretension. He had made many friends in the workplace. He had always thought his life, ordinary and humble, would continue on this peaceful course forever...
As Allen reached the final step, he cast aside any lingering thoughts.
Though it is often said that in undertaking any endeavor, one should first consider the possibility of failure before contemplating success, the current moment demanded a measure of confidence in oneself. After all, he had only a fleeting ten seconds to retrieve the high heel and secure his escape. Should he fail, he would become nothing more than an ordinary mortal, powerless against even the weakest of spirits from a low-tier horror film. In such a case, he would have no choice but to close his eyes and await his demise.
Taking a deep breath, Allen dispelled the distractions in his mind and stepped forward.
The layout of the basement was not particularly intricate, and the corridor was narrow. Aside from the most deeply sealed room at the far end, there were a few smaller chambers, most of which contained only food and tools of little value. None of these rooms held any clues related to the Ouyang family.
As for Cheryl, she should have positioned herself ahead of Allen, but for some inexplicable reason, he noticed her trembling slightly. In the end, it was Allen who led the way.
At this point, Allen slowed his pace, his senses sharply attuned to every creak and whisper in the air. This was undeniably the most perilous moment he had faced since being selected by the Ghost Cinema and thrust into the terror film as an actor. Even when he had nearly been killed in that warehouse, the sense of danger now was far more palpable!
Turning the corner of the hallway, he continued toward the direction of the basement room.
A cold, oppressive chill began to seep into his bones. Unlike before, he did not feel his body weakening. His mind remained unusually clear, which, in a strange way, brought him a faint sense of relief.
However, that chill... it gave him an unmistakable feeling.
The sensation...
It emanated from... that room! The room that had been sealed off all this time, the most mysterious room in this entire horror film!