strictlysupreme Chapter 45 Twin Village
Chapter 45 Twin Village
"A confrontational scenario?"
Bao Ping fiddled with the empty teacup in his hand, his brows furrowed. "I'm a seasoned veteran, and I've only encountered this once in my life. It was a C-rank dungeon, and the two teams almost fought tooth and nail over a quest item."
"However, this is a very low probability event. On set, we are mostly encouraged to cause trouble for ghosts, rather than to cause trouble for each other."
"That's your version." Lin Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes without any politeness, and picked up the last piece of braised pork with her chopsticks.
"Master Bao, you've been frying fish in the newbie village for so long that you've forgotten there are sharks in the sea outside. Lu Dan's progress bar is jumping like an electrocardiogram; the system is clearly targeting him."
She turned to look at Lu Dan.
"Especially for the next script, I reckon your next round is the official promotion assessment. According to the system, the first round after you become a full-fledged screenwriter can only be matched with full-fledged screenwriters, so we probably won't be able to be matched together then."
"Lone Wolf, huh?" Lu Dan smirked, picked up his teacup, and took a sip. "That's good, saves me from getting distracted."
Lin Xiaoxiao didn't reply, but gave him a deep look.
"I hope you can get out alive, and so do I, and so does Master Bao."
This sentence made this expensive private meal taste like a last meal before execution.
......
Even after the event ended, the afternoon sun was still glaring.
Lu Dan walked home alone. Even though it was a bustling downtown area with heavy traffic and constant noise, he felt as if the sounds were coming through a thick layer of glass.
As he passed an intersection, he instinctively stopped and glanced back. Behind him, pedestrians hurried by; some were on their phones, others were watching videos—everything seemed normal.
It's perfectly normal, as normal as a carefully choreographed extras play.
"Is this the aftereffect? Everyone looks like a ghost to me." Lu Dan shook his head self-deprecatingly, suppressing the inexplicable fear in his heart, and hailed a taxi and got in.
Back in the apartment, I closed the door, and finally, the world was quiet.
Lu Dan threw himself onto the sofa, took out his phone, and dialed a number.
"Hey, what a rare guest!"
A boisterous voice came through the phone: "Designer Lu, what brings you to call me? Did you strike it rich again? Planning a party?"
Chen Zhongyi, true to his name, lives life as he pleases. He is one of Lu Dan's few close friends, an oddball who runs a flower shop next to the funeral home, and is very well-informed.
"No fortune yet, but a funeral is coming soon." Lu Dan lit a cigarette, letting the nicotine soothe his restless nerves. "Old Chen, do me a favor. Anshi has been rather unsettled lately. You have the most friends from all walks of life. Keep an eye out for any strange ghost stories or anyone suddenly disappearing."
"A supernatural rumor?" Chen Zhongyi was taken aback for a moment, then laughed and scolded, "Are you obsessed with designing scripts? Fine, fine, what can I do? You're my son, after all. Just the other day, an old lady who came to buy chrysanthemums mentioned that there's an old neighborhood in the west of the city where they always hear opera singing at night. I'll go and ask around for you."
"Thanks, I'll treat you to a drink sometime."
Before Lu Dan could even put his phone down after hanging up the call, the screen lit up again.
Looking at the words "Mother" displayed above, Lu Dan's hand trembled. This made his scalp tingle even more than when he saw the skinless security guard.
"Hello, Mom." Lu Dan's voice became very obedient.
"Son, have you eaten? Are you settling in well over there? The weather forecast says it's going to get colder in Anshi, remember to wear more clothes."
His mother's nagging was like a warm current, instantly washing away the chill emanating from him. Lu Dan patiently responded, until the topic took a sharp turn—
"By the way, did you see the picture of Aunt Wang's daughter that I showed you last time? She's a civil servant, has a stable job, and is quite pretty. You're not getting any younger; kids your age next door are already running errands..."
The ghosts and monsters in horror movies are deadly, and the pressure to get married in the real world is deadly.
Lu Dan used all his dodging skills, employing the three tricks of "busy," "I'll see," and "I'll definitely do it next time" in turn, before finally managing to coax the Empress Dowager into hanging up the phone.
After hanging up the phone, Lu Dan let out a long sigh of relief, feeling even more exhausted than when he was fighting the skinless security guards in the dungeon.
He pulled the Joker card out of his pocket, and the Joker's image had changed again.
In the center of the scene, a comical, twisted clown sits on a throne woven from hundreds of pale arms at the entrance of a dilapidated school.
A huge mouth was lying on the armrest of the throne.
The clown was wearing a dark blue security guard uniform and carrying another tattered version of the same uniform in his hand.
Behind the clown, the silhouettes of two men and a woman are vaguely visible; they are three teenagers who have just been freed.
"It's not a waste at all; even in death, it's used as a backdrop."
Lu Dan flicked his finger, flipping the card over, and lines of blood-red text slowly appeared on the back:
This is a grand promotion ceremony!
[Title: Twin Villages; Genre: Chinese Folk Customs]
[Synopsis: In an ancient village, a twin curse exists, causing all the inhabitants to be identical twins. Strangely, however, the older brothers and sisters always walk in the sunlight, while the younger brothers and sisters can only open their eyes in the darkness.]
[Character Bound to: Adan]
[Identity Hint: Are you the older brother or the younger brother?]
[Remuneration: 200 base points plus performance-based bonus.]
[Small print: The day doesn't understand the darkness of the night, be extra careful...]
Chinese folk customs.
As Lu Dan looked at these words, classic elements such as paper figures, coffins, and red embroidered shoes came to mind.
Compared to the straightforward blood and gore of Western films, this kind of sinister atmosphere that seeps into the bones is the most torturous.
Moreover, this identity setting is full of malice, as day and night mean completely different rules of survival.
Without much thought, Lu Dan opened the app's store interface. With the 600 points that had just arrived in his account, he felt more confident in his spending than ever before.
His gaze swept over the dazzling array of goods. This time, his goal was clear: both survival and lethality were indispensable.
First, buy two of the candies that saved Bao Ping's life—[Regenerated Candy] [Price: 80 points].
Then there's the drug with severe side effects, but which can give you a life-saving boost in crucial moments—[Potential Adrenaline] [Price: 50 points] Buy it.
130 points vanished instantly.
Lu Dan's gaze continued downwards, settling on a black metal box.
Since we might encounter a conflict scenario, we need to prepare something that can deal with both ghosts and people.
[Exorcising Revolver]
[Description: A revolver with exorcism inscriptions inside the barrel. Although it only has seven chambers, it can both ward off evil spirits and blow the heads off malicious humans.]
[Ammo 7/7 (Special Psionic Bullets)]
[Note: Out of bullets? Don't worry, it supports "bio-recharge." As long as you're willing to sacrifice your flesh and lifespan, it will roar for you forever. Of course, it can also kill.]
Price: 350 points
It's expensive, but it's really good.
Lu Dan gritted his teeth and pressed the buy button. A jet-black revolver appeared out of thin air in his hand, the grip patterned like scales, and it felt icy to the touch.
There are only 120 points left in the account. Lu Dan has no intention of saving any points; if he dies in the script, they'll just become useless numbers.
His gaze fell on a yellow talisman.
[Ghost-raising talisman]
[Description: A talisman covered in incantations to gather yin energy. For ordinary people, it's a death warrant, but for some weakened spirits, it's a good tonic.]
[Note: This is not something the average person would buy. Do you want to support a father?]
Price: 120 points
Lu Dan bought it without hesitation, and a piece of yellow paper exuding a strong yin energy appeared in his hand.
He rolled up his trouser leg, revealing his left ankle, where there was a ring of bluish-purple bruises. He then stuck a talisman on his ankle.
"hiss--"
The moment the talisman touched the skin, it turned into a wisp of black smoke and entered the left ankle. The shadow writhed violently, and a feeling of satisfaction was transmitted to Lu Dan through the nerves.
Although his "roommate" hasn't fully recovered, his breathing is more solid than before.
"Eat your fill and get to work. Write a report; we'll need you when it counts."
Lu Dan patted his trouser leg, looked at his zero-points balance, and lay back down on the sofa.
As darkness fell outside the window, the neon lights of Anshi illuminated the night sky, painting it in a kaleidoscope of colors.