MS Chapter 25

Due to the appearance of the mirror image, the apartment building seemed to split into four, appearing in front, behind, and to the sides of the two.

Those standing at their room windows, with stiff and eerie gazes, looked down at them from above.

This made Director An and Li Qiang feel suddenly small, like two turtles tossed into a pot, surrounded on all sides by eager diners wielding knives.

They were so scared that their legs felt weak; they felt that even a second spent standing there was too long, yet they dared not move an inch.

The vengeful spirits above smiled wider, their expressions becoming increasingly strange and distorted.

Director An was the first to back down; he pushed Li Qiang forward: “This has nothing to do with me. Vengeance has its source, the one who killed is him, the one who sealed the resentment is his father, and the ones who let the resentment backflow to harm those behind are also them.”

“It’s not my business, don’t come looking for me.”

Upon hearing this, Li Qiang was both frightened and angry that this guy was only thinking of self-preservation at such a time.

“Bah! What kind of scheme do you think you’re pulling? You’re just planning to trick a few unfortunate souls into dying. If you’re so noble, why didn’t you persuade the people inside to move away? If they had moved, those behind wouldn’t have to die.”

“If we’re really counting, you’re responsible for half of those lives.”

After shouting, Director An seemed to have vented some of his fear and his mind cleared a bit.

He trembled as he cursed: “Shut up! What’s the use of infighting now?”

“Look, they’ve only been able to surround us here for so long, which shows their abilities are limited. Both of us have ancestral treasures; even if we can’t break this situation, at least our lives are safe.”

“Let’s just wait it out. When dawn comes, they’ll have to retreat. By then, we can leave this cursed place and never come back.”

Li Qiang calmed down and nodded: “Right, you’re right. When the time comes, I’ll have my dad perform the ritual again. I doubt these dead souls can stir up any trouble then.”

Thinking of this, those grim and resentful faces didn’t seem so terrifying anymore.

Especially when they heard their conversation, the ghosts standing at the windows seemed even more anxious, yet helpless.

The two grew increasingly proud, even becoming provocative: “Hahaha, if you have the ability, come and catch my grandpa!”

“What’s the use of stretching your claws from the window? I’m talking about you! Didn’t you get your wife and kids taken by that pretty boy? You’re so shameless even as a ghost, how can you still show your face?”

“Hey girl, are you trying to invite your brother in now? If I had known today would happen, why did you struggle when I first entered? If it was mutual consent, we wouldn’t be in this situation now.”

“Oh! Oh! Oh! Are you angry? If you have the guts, jump down and catch me! Oh right, you’re wearing a skirt; are you planning to give us a view of what’s underneath?”

As long as they broke through that layer of fear, the two seemed to grow bolder, watching the ghosts tremble in anger yet unable to do anything, and they felt increasingly elated.

“Come down! Come down! Grandpa is right here, I promise I won’t run. If you have the guts, come down!”

The ghosts, who had just been furious and anxious, suddenly had their expressions stiffen and twist into a strange smile: “You said it.”

As soon as the words fell, the ghosts above jumped down like dumplings from a window, landing directly in front of them.

The sudden shortening of physical distance made the courage that had inflated in the two of them deflate like a popped balloon.

They were like ducks with their necks stepped on, silent and terrified, their faces still wearing the ridiculous expressions of pride, yet their bodies shrank back like frightened chicks.

The surrounding ghosts grinned: “We’re down.”

“Ah!!!!!!! Ah——————” The two squeezed together in fear.

Seeing the surrounding ghosts gathering, at that moment, a figure of the pretty boy suddenly appeared at the entrance of the apartment building.

He looked as if he had been awakened by the commotion outside, still carrying a sleepy and impatient demeanor: “Director, what are you making such a fuss about in broad daylight? If you have no work, just go back to your room and rest well. Can’t you see the neighbors are all watching you?”

Director An glanced at the dark sky; it was hardly what he called broad daylight, but he understood that only he and Qiang were trapped in the illusion. To normal people, it was clearly still morning.

The pretty boy appeared in one direction, but his figure was absent from the other three directions of the apartment building, which was the flaw in the illusion.

But having come this far, Director An naturally couldn’t trust the pretty boy anymore.

Those ghosts had clearly schemed to lure Qiang here, indicating they were fully aware of what he had done. But why did they appear friendly in front of the pretty boy, as if they had no aggression—this was also why he had been deceived.

Thus, Director An deduced that the pretty boy was likely up to no good, or that those ghosts were more cunning than he had thought.

If he easily believed that the place where the pretty boy appeared was the real apartment building and recklessly fled in another direction, he would likely fall into their trap.

Director An smiled: “Kid, you think you can trick me? You’re still too young.”

Saying this, he disregarded Li Qiang and ran towards Lu Qingjia’s direction, proudly declaring: “Since everything around us is an illusion, the place you least want me to go is precisely the way out of this maze.”

Sure enough, as Director An stepped onto the apartment building where Lu Qingjia was, the figure of the other party vanished into an illusion.

The surrounding scenery seemed to shake, the familiar structure of the apartment’s interior corridor twisting as if revealing its true form before being disguised.

Director An’s face grew more triumphant, knowing he had guessed correctly.

At this moment, Li Qiang caught up, panting: “Cousin, if you’re going to run, take me with you!”

The two turned back to see the ghosts in the open space glaring at them unwillingly, gradually turning into shadows and disappearing.

Director An laughed heartily: “Looks like we’re still blessed by heaven. As long as we don’t fall for their tricks, they can do nothing to us. See, we’ve managed to escape!”

As he spoke, he saw the illusion that was about to dissipate slowly solidify again, still presenting the scene inside the apartment building before them.

Director An frowned: “What’s going on?”

Just as he finished speaking, a voice came from upstairs—

“Did you encounter something happy? Why are you laughing so joyfully?”

Director An’s scalp tingled, and he slowly looked up to see Lu Qingjia on the second floor, holding a coffee cup, his white shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows, leisurely sipping coffee, smiling as he looked at him.

“You, how—”

“How did I end up here?” Lu Qingjia smiled and walked down the stairs: “I’m a living person; the place where I am is the true direction of the apartment. Isn’t that obvious?”

As he spoke, he raised his cup towards Director An: “I admire how you can quickly discern friend from foe in a crisis, maintain a vigilant heart that doesn’t easily trust anyone, and swiftly implement your decisions with full confidence.”

“This is an important quality; most people lack such courage and decisiveness.” Lu Qingjia smiled: “Just like how you, Director An, realized that this cursed building could help you achieve fame and fortune, yet you didn’t care how many innocents you sacrificed.”

“However, these qualities have a prerequisite; they require a clear and agile mind to make the right choices and a long-term perspective to weigh the pros and cons. Unfortunately, you lack these as a foundation, making your essence entirely different.”

“Too foolish people should not be overly confident in their deductions; perhaps intuition might be more useful.”

Lu Qingjia had somehow arrived in front of the two, his warm smile resembling a devil’s invitation: “Look, isn’t this the result? You even fell for such a stupid act, making the folks in the building feel quite unaccomplished.”

“I originally thought I would need to contribute more acting skills.”

This simplified translation of his words was essentially that the pretty boy had already predicted his predictions, right?

At this moment, Director An’s mind went blank, filled only with despair at the realization that his life-and-death choice had been declared wrong.

Several heads emerged from different floors of the stairwell, all appearing as they did just before death.

Each one either had a dark, swollen face or was covered in blood, among them were the cases of the five female ghosts and the female supporting characters, which had been sensational at the time, indicating the scene was sufficiently tragic.

Strangely enough, even though Director An and Li Qiang were one the culprit behind the murder and the other a bystander to several families’ tragedies, they shouldn’t have felt uncomfortable seeing such a scene visually.

Yet the fear and pallor on their faces showed they were clearly not as bold as when they were committing evil.

The ghosts grinned, their voices echoing from all levels: “You’ve come in~~”

“Ah————” Director An screamed, trying to run outside the apartment, but at the entrance, he found the crew members who had originally gone out had returned.

They stood there in a line, blocking the way. When Director An and Li Qiang tried to rush out, they found that even two of the women had strength they couldn’t shake off.

One of the female players pushed Director An back—

“What’s wrong? Director! The movie is at its climax; if you, the lead actor, run out, how are we supposed to shoot?”

Only then did Director An notice that one of them was holding a camera, meticulously recording the current scene.

A chill ran down Director An’s spine as he stammered, “You, you all.”

“We all know.” The actors said: “We just want to correspond to the resentment of each ghost in every room, arranging corresponding roles to provoke them, thus allowing us to be hunted by the fierce ghosts, so you can use the real supernatural gimmick to pioneer an entire genre. Not to mention, just this gimmick alone would ensure your movie makes a fortune, even if it turns out to be a pile of crap.”

“However, you ugly kid think too highly of yourself, using so many lives as stepping stones. What makes you think you’re worthy?”

Director An was terrified, but at least the people in front of him were human, and being human left room for communication.

So he repeatedly begged for mercy: “I’m not worthy, I’m not worthy. Brothers, I was wrong; I really won’t dare again.”

“You see, nothing has happened, and you haven’t suffered any substantial losses, right? Now I’ll leave everything to you; the resources on set are ready, you can shoot it yourselves, and whatever movie you make will surely make money.”

“Just let me go like a fart.”

Lu Qingjia’s voice came from behind: “What a coincidence, we were thinking the same.”

“Of course, we’ve already started doing that; otherwise, why do you think I invested?”

Director An’s back chilled, looking at Lu Qingjia in disbelief: “You, you were already—?”

“Is this a very meticulous conspiracy? The things that happened here can be found online with just a search, and the rest can be filled in by asking the old folks around.”

“You specifically arranged for us to play the roles that the vengeful spirits hate the most, under the guise of behind-the-scenes footage, inciting us to act immorally. Let’s guess your entire script structure.”

“I guess the episodic film model you mentioned is real; your movie consists of five short stories, all occurring in an apartment building, depicting a lecherous man harassing women, a gambler neglecting his duties, a sexual deviant preparing to kill, a thief succumbing to drug addiction, and a con artist deceiving the elderly for their retirement funds, facing the wrath of fierce ghosts. It crudely showcases a core story of good and evil being rewarded?”

“Unfortunately, the irony is that this seemingly positive guiding story is built on the lives of over a dozen people, essentially serving a greasy, shameless, foolish, and lustful middle-aged man, making him a tool for wealth.”

Listening to Lu Qingjia’s words, Director An connected them to the pretty boy’s inexplicable behaviors since day one, and he felt darkness closing in on him.

So he had long guessed his intentions? He just hadn’t chosen to expose him, even playing along, investing more money to ensure the movie proceeded smoothly.

No wonder this guy had frequently tested him on the first day; no wonder he claimed to help the actors with their mindset, yet the result was that he kept running into misfortune.

No wonder his entire filming plan had been disrupted, and the scenes shot now were all a series of farces.

It turned out this guy had long known how to avoid the anger of the fierce ghosts, instead leading him step by step to reveal his plans.

No, wait, Qiang appearing here might also be part of his scheme.

After all, no matter how scary those ghosts were, they couldn’t directly command that woman to bring Qiang here; it had to be the pretty boy’s doing, as only he could afford such a price.

Director An’s teeth trembled: “So it was all you. What do you want?”

“I’ve never directly killed anyone; you can’t convict me no matter what.”

Lu Qingjia smiled: “Of course, so in my script, I just want Director An to be my leading man.”

“As for what happens during filming, I believe you’re prepared to sacrifice for art, after all, that’s what you’ve emphasized repeatedly.”

Director An trembled: “What do you want to shoot?”

Lu Qingjia replied: “A comedy. Didn’t you recruit us at the beginning to shoot a comedy about small people in the city? I’m just seeing it through to the end.”

“A man caught in a midlife crisis, afraid of his wife, resolutely pursuing his dream of filmmaking, facing a series of hilarious mishaps due to tight funding, unreliable actors, and a cloud of bad luck, getting beaten by a strong man for being a pervert, getting arrested by the police for being mistaken for a drug deal while buying privacy props, and returning to the filming site exhausted, only to find the actors getting along well with mysterious beautiful women.”

“The man then realizes that the filming location he rented is a well-known haunted apartment, and amidst the atmosphere where everyone is drunk but he is sober, he encounters a series of comedic misunderstandings, ultimately inadvertently uncovering the true culprit behind the murder case from years ago.”

“How about that? Although the script isn’t particularly refined, isn’t it a bit better than your rough draft?”

As soon as Lu Qingjia finished speaking, everyone around, whether human or ghost, immediately praised him.

Especially the gambler, who had lost his wife and children, clapped the hardest: “Talented! Our brother is so talented!”

“Hey! Kid, look at this; my brother isn’t even a professional. Just casually tweaking your crappy script a bit can turn it into a good script. With your meager skills, you still want to make a movie? No wonder you’ve been stuck doing odd jobs for so many years.”

Director An couldn’t hear his words; he only felt a buzzing in his ears, unable to believe that the movie he relied on to turn his life around was not only a garment for others but that he might lose his life over it.

He muttered: “No, it’s impossible. There’s not enough material; you can’t make it.”

“Enough!” Lu Qingjia said: “I just happen to have learned editing; the things in my hands are enough to piece together a movie.”

“So, Director An, you can wrap up the filming.”

This sounded like the death knell, and Director An instinctively turned to run.

There were ghosts upstairs, and the entrance was blocked by people, but Director An still felt there was one place he could find safety, which was his room on the first floor.

Because that was where his uncle had drawn the talismans, and with the things on him, he could escape a calamity no matter what.

The two fled down the corridor into the room, and surprisingly, those people and ghosts watched them leisurely without pursuing.

Director An felt suspicious, but the next second he understood why they were so calm.

Because at the moment he opened the door, he saw the scene from yesterday again.

On the wall by the head of the bed was a new human-shaped relief, depicting an old man with a terrifying and grim expression, reaching out as if trying to hold onto something to avoid being dragged into hell.

And today, this statue was even clearer, with every wrinkle on its face visible; it was unmistakably his uncle.

It was the last psychological defense line that he and Li Qiang relied on for comfort.

A ghostly, eerie voice echoed from behind: “Go in, the old man has been waiting for you.”

Director An and Li Qiang slowly turned back, and the last image they saw in their lives was the vengeful spirits’ expressions of sorrow, hatred, and satisfaction, whom they had directly or indirectly harmed.

Lu Qingjia exited the apartment building, leisurely finishing a cigarette, and when he returned inside, the wall mural had transformed from a single figure to a group.

The grotesque struggle before death, mixed with fear and a hint of absurdity, was enough to make one chuckle.

Then everyone took out all the footage they had shot over the past few days, and under Lu Qingjia’s direction, they began editing, adding voiceovers, special effects, and post-production work.

What can I say? It really felt like Lu Qingjia could do just about anything.

Originally crude and hastily made, even with low-quality footage due to sudden conditions, after his editing, it instead showcased a strong sense of immersion.

When the final product came out, indeed, those who had personally participated in it watched the restructured story and laughed until they doubled over.

“Wow, Director An is really amazing! Look at his expression before he got hit, and that absurdly funny look when he was confronting people. The best part was his cowardly demeanor at the police station.”

“Brother, you’re so talented! This movie, if released, would be above average in the comedy genre. Aside from some flaws in the shots, that’s unavoidable; after all, we can’t force that kid to act under a knife to his throat; he might not even perform well then.”

“However, you really managed to connect the different shots seamlessly.”

That’s how movies work; different editing approaches can lead to completely different stories. Lu Qingjia truly completed a thoroughly comedic film that was essentially a tragedy.

At this moment, the players heard the sound of task completion in their minds.

Lu Qingjia asked: “Where will this movie be screened? I’ve heard that you limited players from accumulating wealth through management skills in the instance, only to have that player turn the instance into a continuous source of points.”

“I don’t think you’ll be that generous with me, right?”

The horror game gritted its teeth: “The movie will be included in the game, with revenue sharing based on box office and producers.”

Lu Qingjia nodded; this was within his expectations. It was said that because that player operated too flamboyantly, the game had modified many bugs after her.

The game surely knew how much information he had extracted from Zhong Li, so it was impossible to give him such an easy opportunity. Therefore, Director An’s initial plan would not succeed.

Those ghosts could not appear in the cinema as they did during his filming; the scenes belonging to the ghosts would surely be blank.

But the game required players to complete the task of filming a movie, and the results specifically themed around that could not be casually discarded.

Thinking of the vast underworld structure in the selection field and that there might be more than one such scale of underworld, Lu Qingjia knew where the box office would come from.

He smiled: “Do you need me to invest more in promotional funds?”

“No need! We have a complete promotion and distribution system; you don’t need to worry about it.” The game replied sulkily.