Chapter 1: The Washed-up Magician

The hour hand pointed steadily at seven.

A cold and blinding light lit up the bed, and it accurately shone on the faces of every sleeping person.

[All thriller trainees, please finish washing up within 30 minutes and assemble at the broadcasting studio on the third floor.]

An utterly emotionless voice suddenly resounded through the air, mechanically repeating the same instruction three times

A person sleeping on the lower bunk was abruptly startled awake. He frantically clambered up, almost falling off the bed.

Another person, who had just awoken from a light sleep, had a face full of fear and shock. He was completely dumbfounded. "Did... did you hear that voice?"

A few people exchanged looks, simultaneously detecting the undisguised shock in each other's eyes.

It wasn't strange that these people were showing such expressions.

Because in the past day and night, they had already turned this cramped dormitory upside down.

The dormitory was simple and crude, to begin with. There were no windows, and the four walls were painted deathly white. There were four bunk beds, and even the bedding smelled of old mold.

The bathroom only had a mirror stuck on the wall. The sink was filthy and yellowish, and a lone roll of toilet paper hanging on the wall. There wasn't even a squat toilet, and the cracks in the wall were covered with dark green moss. An old-fashioned and dim light bulb was suspended from the ceiling. The space was terribly small and only enough for one person to enter.

There was no broadcasting or mechanical equipment within the dormitory. Yet, the mechanical voice that had appeared earlier still blasted from everyone's ears.

In the silence, someone asked with a trembling voice, "…What the hell is going on here?"

Before that mechanical voice appeared, a full day and night had passed.

On this day, everything was peaceful and tranquil.

No one knew why they were here.

They had come from all over the world, from every corner of the land, and from all walks of life. Most of them were generic and nameless in a crowd, but many were top talents and professionals in various fields. There were ordinary people, like sanitation workers who swept the streets and homeless individuals who begged by the roadside. But there were also highly recognized actors and actresses seen only on the silver screen, as well as billionaires listed on the Forbes list.

But now, all these people were forced to gather in the dormitory for a variety show called 'Thriller Trainee'.

Perhaps just a second ago, they were on a showbiz set, preparing to catch their next flight, drafting a defense in a court trial, using medical equipment in an operating room, or speaking on a podium—

Without exception, in the next second, they all appeared here. Just like a sudden space shift in a movie or phantom teleportation in Harry Potter, they were instantly transported to this completely unfamiliar environment.

Unconsciously.

No one could reasonably explain such an uncanny phenomenon. The people who had been transported couldn't open the dormitory door, so they could only sit and wait.

"I want to sue this show for illegal imprisonment!"

A handsome young man slammed the bed fiercely.

He is the lead singer of a male group that has recently risen to fame in the entertainment industry. He has a lot of fans, and his entries and names are often posted on Weibo hot searches every year. Although the others in the dormitory do not chase stars, they still more or less have an impression of him.

Xia Chuan is now desperate.

As a popular idol, his schedule is always jam-packed, and he has to record all sorts of promotional activities from morning to night.

If he was absent for a day without cause, he might have been able to excuse himself by claiming he was ill. But now, he was stuck here with no way to leave. If this continued, the breach of contract penalty would be hefty, and the company was unlikely to cover it for him.

But now —

Brother Xia, don't worry. Didn't that voice just say we'd be gathering downstairs soon?" another person comforted him. "You're a popular star. If you suddenly disappear, not only do you have countless fans, but your company will also definitely call the police. So don't worry.

Xia Chuan was about to speak when he heard a rustling sound coming from the upper bunk.

Long trails of white hair hung down from the edge of the bed. It seemed that someone inadvertently looked down from the upper bunk, and quickly withdrew his gaze again.

Immediately afterward, an ankle as luminous as the frosty moon slid down from the upper bunk, stepping on the iron ladder, and leaping lightly to the ground.

The young man's skin was pale. Because he was too thin and slender the large clothes seemed to be empty in the wind. His long white hair draped behind him, and the tip of the hair hung down to his waist, glowing white like floating ice even under the warm lighting of the room. But maybe there is no need for such an illusion because even if he stood casually, he could easily become the center of attention in the crowd.

He didn't say anything after getting out of bed. He yawned and walked heedlessly to the unused bathroom and closed the curtain.

The other seven people looked at each other in disbelief.

None of them slept well last night after such a turn of events. On the other hand, while everyone was panicking yesterday, this white-haired young man sat quietly by the side, exercising his fingers as if it had nothing to do with him. At night, he slept peacefully, completely unconcerned by the situation around him.

Someone muttered in a low voice, "Pretty, pretentious brat."

That's right. He is really beautiful.

Perhaps the word 'beautiful' is usually associated with girls, but if you see that face, all doubts will disappear.

It was a beauty that transcended gender.

In the silence, Xia Chuan was the first to snort."What's so great about looking at such an effeminate-looking man?"

"Having vaguely acknowledged him as the leader, the others agreed with him."

"That's right. Big stars like Brother Xia who have masculine charm look better. If I hadn't looked closely, I would've thought that he was a girl!"

They didn't have the slightest intention to hide their voices. From behind a flimsy plastic curtain, the ridicule easily reached into Zong Jiu's ears.

Zong Jiu lifted his eyes disinterestedly. His long slender fingers moved quickly tying the extremely troublesome long hair behind his head with a black hair tie.

His fingers moved strangely. Not only were his joints stiff, but his fingertips also unconsciously trembled in the air in a peculiar way.

The person in the mirror had a beautiful face, with long, narrow eyes. However, the indolence he exuded when his eyelashes flicked up made his gaze even more breathtaking.

Compared to the sleep-deprived and tense people outside, his complexion is obviously much better.

At the beginning, the author used a lot of flowery rhetoric to describe this character's androgynous beauty, boasting that it was unparalleled by anything in the universe—lovelier than Helen of Troy. There were countless people in the world, but his beauty would mesmerize them all.

When Zong Jiu read the novel, he thought that this description was too greasy and exaggerated. However, it was only after he had transmigrated into this character that he realized how accurate the author's description was. This beauty was truly beyond any praise that words could bestow.

The face was clearly still the face that Zong Jiu was most familiar with. Yet, the attractiveness has risen several degrees turning breathtaking and soul-arresting.

That's right—he had transmigrated into a book. And not just any book, but an infinite-flow novel about a survival show with horror and supernatural elements.

Yesterday morning, Zong Jiu had just read the first instance of the novel 'Thriller Trainee'. He put it aside after reading about the gruesome death of a supporting character who, unfortunately, shared his exact name—both first and last.

But what he never could have expected was that, in the blink of an eye, he had not only transmigrated into the novel but also transmigrated into it with precision, replacing this cannon fodder who shared the same name as him.

Zong Jiu's situation was quite unique. It wasn't just his soul that transmigrated—his entire body did as well.

The body in front of the mirror was still Zong Jiu's body before he was transmigrated into the novel.

The changes were that his body had become younger, and his attractiveness had inexplicably increased by several degrees Even his hair and eye color changed to what was originally described in the novel, and the calluses on his hands from years of practicing magic when he was young had vanished.

As for why Zong Jiu was so sure this was his body, it was because...

His hands still showed no signs of recovery or improvement.

The white-haired young man bowed his head, splashed cold water on his face with some effort, and raised his hand to rub his temple.

Across the curtain, he could hear that the discussion about him outside had gradually subsided, shifting to the most pressing issue at hand.

These people were all on the same page, firmly believing that the Thriller Trainee program was a scam.

"Could it be some hidden variety show that needs to be carried out under the conditions where the artists are unaware of it?"

"This style doesn't feel quite right to me; it's more likely the work of a terrorist."

"After we got here, our mobile phones had no signal at all, and we couldn't find any signal blocker in the room. It's obvious they came prepared. We can't even call the police. It's been so long… are we going to die of exhaustion here?"

Listening to the voice outside, Zong Jiu shook his head helplessly.

In the twenty or so hours since their arrival, they had not felt any physiological need to eat or drink.

These people also didn't question how the main system's voice could accurately reach everyone's ears or how they had arrived here from thousands of miles away in an instant. If anyone checked the time, even without an internet connection, they would notice that the difference was less than a minute.

Perhaps they had noticed it, but they didn't dare to think about it.

People are always like this. They ignore the facts and evidence, choosing to remain hidden in their stubborn fantasies, searching for reasons to convince themselves.

Zong Jiu tore off a piece of tissue paper and wiped the water droplets from his face.

It wouldn't have mattered if he had transmigrated into a regular novel, but it just had to be a horror infinite-flow novel.

When Zong Jiu first read the novel, he initially assumed that the character, whom the author had spent countless ink cartridges describing, was the protagonist. However, it turned out the author had an eccentric fetish—lavishing him with an exaggerated beauty halo only for him to tragically die in the first instance.

'Thriller Trainee' was an infinite-flow novel written in a multiple-point-of-view style. Since there wasn't a fixed perspective, the author could shift the 'protagonist's viewpoint' to this person—only for him to die the next second.

What was even more terrifying was that he had only read half of the first instance—he had seen only the 'protagonist's' death and knew nothing about the nearly million words of plot that followed.

If it were anyone else, they probably wouldn't be able to accept the fact that they didn't know the rest of the story yet had to face death. It wouldn't be surprising if they went crazy on the spot.

But Zong Jiu wasn't afraid.

Not only was he unafraid, but he was even excited about the uncertainty of his future.

Since childhood, Zong Jiu has been a person with very weak emotions. His emotional spectrum was vastly different from that of normal people—so shallow that it was practically nonexistent. Feelings of empathy or sympathy that came easily to others were unimaginably difficult for him.

He began learning magic at the age of three and became one of the world's leading card magicians in his early twenties, only to announce his retirement from the grand stage at twenty-five and never appear in the public eye again.

All of this was due to a sudden car accident.

After the car accident, Zong Jiu survived, but his hands were crushed and broken.

For a leading card magician who relied entirely on the flexibility of his fingers to perform, this was undoubtedly shocking and devastating news.

Perhaps he could still perform mind magic, coin tricks, or other prop-based illusions to make a living, but his favorite had always been card tricks.

The world's top orthopedic doctors once held a seminar on his condition, but they all shook their heads and sighed.

Now, Zong Jiu had been transported into this bizarre world filled with both treachery and wonders.

What does that mean?

It means that he might be able to use this place to find a way to successfully heal his hands and pick up the cards again.

And this fascinating world will become the most amazing, thrilling, and incredible stage in history!

He was truly looking forward to it.

The corners of Zong Jiu's mouth curled up. He hummed an off-key tune and smoothly opened the curtain.

The washroom was right next to the entrance of the dormitory, so after coming out, he placed his hand directly on the rusty iron door.

Someone who was chatting and discussing happened to see this scene and exclaimed, "What do you think you're doing?! We tried all day yesterday. Someone locked the door from the outside—you won't be able to pull it open. Rather than wasting your effort, why not just wait obediently for someone to open..."

Before the man could finish his sentence, he stared, mouth agape, as the door slowly opened.

The door, which the seven of them had worked together yesterday—using every method of knocking, kicking, and banging—had not budged at all. Yet under the slender ivory hands of the white-haired young man, the door was gently pushed open with a creak.

Hearing the sound, Xia Chuan turned his head impatiently. His face lit up with joy as he exclaimed, "The door is open!"

But his joy lasted only a few seconds before his tone was filled with suspicion. "We tried for so long yesterday, but it still didn't open. Why did it open as soon as you pulled it?'"

The rest of the people in the dormitory immediately agreed. They sat together with Xia Chuan in the middle, clearly indicating the team's division.

Perhaps because Zong Jiu's behavior had been out of place from the beginning, several people regarded him with obvious suspicion.

However, Zong Jiu couldn't be bothered to elaborate. He simply said one sentence

"If you don't want to die, you'd better follow the voice's instructions."

Several people in the dormitory were taken aback, and no one responded for a while.

It's not that they didn't dare; they simply couldn't.

Somehow, at the sight of those pale pink eyes devoid of any emotion—a dreadful chill slithered down their spines as if death itself had brushed against them.

Just as Zong Jiu turned to leave, the cold, mechanical voice resounded again.

[Ten minutes before assembly time. If you do not arrive at the designated place on time, you will bear the consequences.]

Several people finally snapped back to their senses, shocked to realize that their backs were drenched in cold sweat.

"Pfft! What hocus pocus is this? Who do they think they're trying to fool?!"

One of them snorted. "I think this matter most likely has something to do with that pretty boy. He definitely knows something. Otherwise, with so many of us running in circles, he was the only one who didn't react at all."

"That's right! They're even making it sound like a matter of life and death. There are so many of us here—murder is illegal. Give me a break! They're just trying to scare us!"

Xia Chuan rolled his eyes even harder. "What a jinx. Forget it—the door's open. Let's go first."

The group of people walked out of the dormitory. They all tacitly agreed not to mention the cold remark that Zong Jiu had made earlier.

Outside was a long corridor lined with identical iron doors on both sides, stretching endlessly as far as the eye could see.

Like them, many people had already discovered the opening of the iron door.

The people who had been trapped for a day and a night swarmed out, pushing and shoving, curses and swears falling noisily from each of their mouths.

"Why are there so many people?"

"Where's this? Where's this? What's going on?"

"Who the hell is playing this prank?"

Countless people stared at each other.

After being locked up for so long, fear spread easily among the crowd. Everyone's face was filled with anxiety.

"Come quickly! There are stairs over here."

Xia Chuan caught a glimpse of the stairs in the middle of the corridor. With a relieved expression, he turned back and called out, "Let's hurry up and head out."

"Alright, Brother Xia!"

The stairwell was chilly and monotonous. There was a sign hanging on the bare well next to it. A group of people huddled in front of it to read:

Seventh floor: S-Rank Trainee Dormitory

Sixth floor: A-Rank Trainee Dormitory

Fifth floor: B-Rank Trainee Dormitory

Fourth floor: C-Rank Trainee Dormitory

Third floor: Broadcasting Studio

Second floor: Dining Hall

First floor: Main Hall

Basement 1: D-Rank Trainee Dormitory

Basement 2: E-Rank Trainee Dormitory

Basement 3: F-RankTrainee Dormitory

...

Current Floor: E-Rank Trainee Dormitory

Someone asked blankly, "What does this sign mean? Trainee dormitory?"

"Fuck! What the hell is going on here?!"

Upon seeing the sign, a burly man cursed, "We're actually underground and still have to walk up the stairs?"

In unison, everyone recalled the mechanical voice that had suddenly echoed in their ears.

Everything was utterly bewildering.

Xia Chuan sneered. He suddenly changed his mind, folded his arms, and sat down on the steps without hesitation. "Acting all mysterious. I don't believe there's no law in this world!"

After seeing that there were so many people outside, he began to feel at ease.

At first, Xia Chuan suspected that it was a sasaeng fan or a hostage kidnapping, but the sight of so many people now allowed him to sigh in relief.

This was completely a social event, and it was enough to explain his unprompted absence from the promotional activities.

"Alright, that's enough. Let's all sit down and wait patiently."

But, but Brother Xia, that broadcast..." the person following behind him asked anxiously.

"Broadcast? What broadcast? So what about it? They already let you out the door, and you're still afraid? If you really want to be stuck here, then go ahead and wait there," Xia Chuan impatiently cut in. "There are so many of us here—what can the person who brought us here do to us?"

Many people in the crowd recognized Xia Chuan. Perhaps influenced by his emotions, they all agreed, "That's right!"

After all, Xia Chuan was a popular artist in the country and a company's cash cow. The agent who always followed him around would definitely be the first to call the police.

"There are celebrities here! Don't worry, who knows, the police might arrive here soon."

"That's true… With so many people, why not just sit together and wait for help?"

"Everyone, don't panic. There are so many of us here; we'll be fine!"

For a moment, those who had intended to follow the mechanical voice's instructions to go upstairs stopped in their tracks, hesitation evident on their faces.

The stairwell became completely blocked as more and more people confidently joined in.

They spontaneously formed a human wall at the stairway entrance, advising everyone not to go up.

After stalling for a long time, the mechanical voice spoke once more.

This time, the voice did not repeat itself three times.

[Five minutes left before the assembly time]

A boy who had been following them in silence suddenly remembered the words: "If you don't want to die, you'd better follow the voice's instructions."

He gritted his teeth, whispered a word of apology to Xia Chuan, and suddenly took a lightning-quick step forward, breaking through the wall of people as he rushed toward the stairs.

Xia Chuan couldn't dodge in time and was knocked to the side.

He rubbed his shoulder and laughed coldly. "Someone actually believed that little pretty boy's bullshit."

"He's just a high school kid—how could he possibly fathom what Brother Xia is capable of?" a lackey fawned as he gave him a shoulder massage. "Brother Xia, sit down. Don't get upset over a minor—it's not worth it."

Zong Jiu, who had already reached the third floor, lowered his gaze and glanced lightly at the gap between the stairs.

He had already given them the appropriate warning, so he could consider this act of charity as having done his part. As for their choice, that was their own business.

Now... he has more urgent things to attend to.

The white-haired young man raised his head and moved his stiff, numb hands inside his sleeves. He walked unhurriedly into the studio, along with the people gathering from all sides, stepping onto the soft red carpet as he slowly entered the broadcast studio.

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