Chapter 48: Broken, Yet Reborn

Liu Ying and Zhao Xiaoya stared in horror at Wu Jun's corpse, which was identical to the one described in the script. Their faces drained of all color.

Wu Jun had died twice during the second and third acts, and had even truly passed away just before the NG, only to be miraculously saved due to Allen's blunder. Both times, his death had been in this grotesque form.

Liu Ying trembled violently, and after a long moment, she realized there was only one course of action left—seeking help from the three seasoned actors downstairs. This was the only option she had left!

She scrambled to her feet, gripping Zhao Xiaoya's hand tightly, leaning against the doorframe for support as she dashed out. Yet, her legs gave way beneath her, and she collapsed to the ground.

"Help me... someone, please help!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

The three actors downstairs immediately heard her cries.

"This…" Hank stood up in shock, his voice faltering. "It... it's Liu Ying!"

Cheryl and Allen also sprang to their feet and, without hesitation, rushed toward the stairs.

Liu Ying, gazing at the dark corridor ahead and then at the lifeless body inside the room, felt her legs buckle with dread. She screamed again, her voice hoarse with terror: "Help! Help me, please!"

Zhao Xiaoya's face was ashen, no trace of calmness left. She clutched Liu Ying tightly and stammered, "W-We won't be in danger... will we?"

But just then, the door to the adjacent room suddenly creaked open...

"Ah!" Liu Ying screamed in sheer terror, and she and Zhao Xiaoya both bolted into a frantic run!

Upon reaching the second floor, Hank immediately slipped his hand into his pocket, and, without hesitation, charged forward. It seemed that the trouble had come from the rookie actor! The plot had indeed taken a completely unexpected turn!

"Ah!" At that moment, Zhao Xiaoya appeared from around the corner of the corridor. Her face was pale with fear, but upon seeing Hank and the others, her color returned, if only slightly.

"Quick..." she urgently gestured behind her. "Liu Ying... You must go save her!"

Hank gritted his teeth and immediately pursued, with Cheryl and Allen following closely behind. As they moved, Zhao Xiaoya grabbed Cheryl's arm.

"Don't... don't leave me here alone! They... they should be enough to save her, right?"

It was clear now that Zhao Xiaoya had been utterly terrified—her previously composed demeanor had all been a façade. Cheryl, intent on earning her redemption, was determined to save Liu Ying first. She shoved Zhao Xiaoya aside without a second thought.

"You'll be fine!" she said sharply. "I'm going to save her!"

Hank and Allen dashed into another corridor, heading toward Liu Ying's room. The hallway was bathed in near-total darkness. Hank clenched his jaw, pulling out his severed finger. In the suffocating dark, if a ghost were to suddenly attack, he would have no time to retrieve his cursed object. Allen, however, made no such move. With Hank's severed finger already in play, his high heels would have to strike at the decisive moment—he could not afford to squander his final opportunity.

They reached the end of the dark corridor, and just as they did, a shadow swiftly emerged, lunging at Hank!

With a startled grunt, Hank shoved the shadow away, illuminating it with his phone. To his horror, the shadow was none other than Liu Ying!

Her eyes were nearly bulging out of their sockets, and her face was drenched in blood. The grotesque manner of her death was enough to freeze the blood of any who looked upon it.

Wu Jun and Liu Ying—within a mere ten minutes—met their untimely deaths, one after the other.

And now, only ten seconds remained. Hank secured the severed finger in his pocket, his gaze fixed on the horrific sight of Liu Ying's death. He slammed his fist into the wall, his frustration boiling over.

"What is it? What is lurking within this villa?"

"I'll go ahead and check," Allen said, his voice steady, as he switched on his phone's flashlight and moved forward. After all, their phones were the only source of light they could carry.

"I'm coming too!" Cheryl, unwilling to let Allen have sole claim on the chance for redemption, immediately followed suit.

It was impossible to feel unafraid in such a situation. Allen, after all, was a newcomer with nothing but a few horror movie roles under his belt. However, at this point, whether they moved forward or hesitated, it was all the same—a death sentence either way. They had reached a point where retreat was no longer an option. The only chance to secure their redemption was to face the peril head-on.

So, without another thought, he stepped forward, his phone casting light ahead, while his other hand clutched the high heels tightly. At this moment, he almost hoped that whatever it was—whether a zombie or a ghost—would appear immediately, so he could put the heels to use.

Finally, they reached the far end of the corridor. Allen pressed himself against the wall, holding the phone steadily, every sense focused on what lay ahead. Cheryl followed, doing the same, her movements cautious. For her, this film had yet to offer any opportunity for redemption, and despite knowing the danger, she had no choice but to follow.

When they reached the door to Liu Ying's room, they were met with the horrifying sight of Wu Jun's mangled corpse sprawled at the threshold.

"What...?" Allen's face went ashen, and Cheryl sucked in a sharp breath.

In the end, Wu Jun had not escaped death. At this point, it was clear—three lives had already been claimed. Ivan, Liu Ying, Wu Jun… all had fallen. The two rookie actors who had died before were nameless to them. It was a tragic fate. Allen, too, was a newcomer, and the sorrow for them weighed heavily on him. But there was no bringing them back. Now, all he could hope for was not to share their fate.

Cheryl swallowed nervously and, with a determined breath, stepped forward, crossing the threshold into the room.

Inside, the room was eerily empty. A half-drunk cup of coffee sat on the table, emitting a faint steam, but beyond that, everything appeared perfectly ordinary. No sign of a struggle, no trace of a soul.

In the end… they found nothing.

Ten minutes later, the only survivor, rookie actor Zhao Xiaoya, recounted the events in full.

"How could this happen...?" Hank's face had grown increasingly grim.

"What… what should I do? I don't want to die! Even Liu Ying… she's dead…" Zhao Xiaoya's voice trembled, on the verge of collapse. While her mental fortitude was stronger than most newcomers, she, too, had her limits.

Would something else happen tonight? No one dared to predict, especially as they approached the end of the third act and prepared to enter the fourth.

"When I was examining Wu Jun's body, I found this," Hank said, pulling out a key.

A key that could unlock the basement door.

"The design of this key is clearly ancient. It seems to be for the basement room's lock."

A heavy silence descended upon the room.

Three people were already dead. It seemed they were inexorably moving toward an inescapable doom. But should they open the basement door? Would it reveal another cursed object, or lead them into an even more terrifying and irreversible abyss?

"Does it open the basement door?" Cheryl immediately took the key and examined it closely, running her fingers over its surface. "Yes, this kind of long, rectangular key is rare these days. But… why would Wu Jun have such a key?"

"I don't know," Hank replied, taking the key from her. "He's gone now, and we'll never know where this key came from."

At this moment, everyone exchanged uneasy glances.

Though it was clear that the key might allow them to unlock the basement door, the question remained—what would happen afterward?

There was still an entire day ahead of them! Such a long span of time, and so many potential events could unfold. No matter how they considered it, none of them dared to gamble.

At this point, Allen remained unable to replenish his redemption tickets. Worse still, the deductions had only grown larger; he now faced a staggering deficit of 225 tickets.

At this rate, should he make another move, he would soon approach the perilous limit of a negative five hundred—an amount that would render him unable to use any of the cursed objects that required at least 150 tickets to activate!

Once he reached that threshold… Allen would become no different from the ordinary newcomer actor he once was during the "Horror Bus" incident.

At that point, when his turn to die came, his only options would be to flee or seek the protection of other actors. As his redemption ticket debt continued to spiral, the question arose—was there any way out?

What could he possibly do?

Allen had carefully inquired about possible ways to increase his redemption tickets. The only sure method, it seemed, was to actively seek danger and survive it—an approach that might allow him to earn more tickets. Alternatively, if he ventured into mysterious, terrifying locations outside of the script's requirements, where he could uncover more narrative clues, he might also be able to earn additional tickets.

As it stood, the only way to advance the plot appeared to be one: using that very key to open the basement door!

Soon, the night deepened.

But Allen did not sleep. No, he couldn't sleep.

Everyone was gathered in the living room.

"Let's go down," Allen suddenly exhaled deeply and said, "We're going to the basement."

At his words, every one of them recoiled in shock.

"What kind of joke is this, Zhang Hua?" Cheryl pointed at him incredulously. "Do you… do you mean…?"

"I have my reasons," Allen replied, his tone firm. "For now, you keep the key, Liu Haiping. Whether or not you join us downstairs is up to you. But I've already made my decision—I'm going down."

Once the fourth act began, all the lines would be delivered in real-time, and each actor would only know their own lines and actions. No one could predict when they might die or what would happen next.

Under such circumstances, Allen could not possibly continue shooting the fourth act with his redemption tickets in the negative.

He would rather take the gamble now!

It was the same decision Ivan had made in the beginning!

This was the choice he had reached after deep reflection.

Julian, White Edith, and Carol had all said that in a horror film, those who focused solely on avoiding risk were often the ones who died the quickest. Only by daring to face death and earning redemption tickets through that peril could one have a chance of survival!

Allen was, after all, still a newcomer actor. His initial thoughts had been to survive first, then fight back once he had more means to protect himself. But now he realized how naïve that was. In a true horror film, that was not a path to survival; on the contrary, it was a dead end!

Only through destruction could one rebuild, and only by embracing death could one be reborn!

That was the one and only true path to survival in the ghost cinema's horror film!

No other road led to life.

"I'm going to the basement," Allen declared, his gaze unwavering. "No matter what, I cannot retreat any longer!"

He then turned to Cheryl and Hank, his voice firm and resolute. "Do you dare come with me?"

"Do you dare?"