"For the sake of you helping me smash the washbasin, Mingran, let me remind you, my death is due to the Earl's curse, and you can't help me."
His face turned bluish-purple, and speaking became increasingly difficult. With his last breath, Jack struggled to say:
"Cheng Yungui and you will eventually end up like me...like me..."
*Crack.* Lu Mingran heard a clear sound of a neck being snapped. Jack's head tilted to the side, drooping at an odd angle onto his shoulder.
Then the fire in the brazier suddenly leaped onto him, and less than a minute later, Jack was engulfed in flames. Later, where he had been, only the invitation and the character "福" (fortune) remained on the ground.
Too fast. A living person goes from death to disappearance too quickly.
After a long while, Lu Mingran realized he had been holding his breath for a long time, and his lips were dry. He slowly stood up and stared at the place where Jack had been.
Lu Mingran walked over and picked up the "Fu" character. At the same time, he saw the woman's hand pick up the invitation card, and there were a few more words at the end of the red invitation card.
Groom: Hong Sheng. Bride: Kong Lanxin. Date: 1918 (Republic of China Year 7).
The human and the ghost each picked up what they wanted. Lu Mingran lowered her head and caught a glimpse of the blood-stained calves beneath the deep purple cheongsam out of the corner of her eye.
The woman walked past Lu Mingran, dragging her two legs of different lengths as she slowly made her way towards the auditorium.
Lu Mingran straightened up. At that moment, the fog inside the door dissipated, and Lu Mingran saw a person with a solemn expression walking towards her.
"Comrade Fuqiang!"
Once she saw who it was, Lu Mingran's mood improved considerably, and she ran over to give Cheng Yungui a hug.
Cheng Yungui was still somewhat dazed from what had just happened, but when Lu Mingran hugged him and called him "Comrade Fuqiang," the tension in his mind finally eased. He raised his hand and hugged Lu Mingran's back in return, patting her gently.
"Only you would call me that."
Because of this name, Cheng Yungui chose to believe the second note.
The moment Cheng Yungui stuffed the silver coins into the female ghost's right hand, a scene flashed before his eyes: an actor on a stage was singing, and tears welled up in the eyes of a woman in a dark purple cheongsam below the stage.
As tears streamed down her face, she imitated how people tipped the actors, taking out a small piece of silver and tossing it onto the stage—
Just then, the person on the stage turned around, a smile playing on their lips, exuding unparalleled elegance.
Cheng Yungui stood there blankly for a long time. He didn't know when the woman left, and only the crackling sound of the burning wooden table and chairs echoed in his ears.
When Cheng Yun came to his senses, he tried pushing the door open, and it opened with a click.
At this moment, Cheng Yungui patted Lu Mingran's back again, finally calming her down, and also noticed something was wrong:
Where is Jack?
————————
Fortunately, death is a common occurrence in this world. You can get away with a lie, and you can find reasons to lie about any extra false clues.
Lu Mingran and Cheng Yungui also walked towards the auditorium.
The broadcast was still playing the audio from that afternoon's commendation ceremony, but this time it wasn't just the principal's words playing; there were also whispers of students chatting amongst themselves, and you could vaguely hear someone inviting their friends to their house.
After they entered, the two women took a few steps and stopped. At the front, the woman in the cheongsam looked up at Tian Fangfang, who was sitting in a chair, and extended her hand to her.
The light streaming in through the window now fell between the two of them.
Tian Fangfang's dazed eyes slowly turned downwards, and then she stretched out her only remaining right hand. The moment this right hand was exposed to the sunlight, the lividity miraculously faded, and it became a delicate hand belonging to a young girl.
She placed her hand in the woman's palm and used it to jump down. Once she was steady, the woman supported her, and the two of them, one swaying and the other hopping along on one leg, headed towards a door that suddenly appeared on the left.
Their figures disappeared by the door.
Lu Mingran stared at their retreating figures for a long time. At the moment they disappeared, a fire broke out in the hall again, and the engulfed area was transformed into the wedding venue. They heard the last words on the loudspeaker.
This time, it was a news report on television: "A juvenile delinquent recently died mysteriously in prison..."
When his cellmate found him in the morning, he was sitting upright on the bed, holding his head in his hands. For some reason, there was a lingering scent of a woman on his bed.
"Smack—"
Now, the sound of firecrackers, belonging to the human world, has begun.
Lu Mingran and Cheng Yungui sat at the table, formally attending the wedding as guests. Both were absent-minded, mechanically clapping along. Only when the ceremony was nearly over and the bride changed into her toasting dress to offer the drinks did Lu Mingran regain her senses.
"The bride!"
When the bride moved to their table, Lu Mingran suddenly stood up and called out to her.
Cheng Yungui finally came to his senses. He saw Lu Mingran take out the "Fu" character and hand it to the bride.
"Jack asked me to give this to you. I wish you happiness."
This was the first time anyone had given her such a gift since the start of the wedding. The bride smiled sweetly, pursed her lips, and turned to show the "Fu" character to the groom beside her.
"Hongsheng, stick it on our bedroom door."
————————
"The wedding event has ended, redirecting..."
"Redirect successful!"
...
Lu Mingran was the first to wake up. He turned his head and looked around, and sure enough, he saw that the bed where Jack had been lying was now empty.
Dying in practice dungeons is common, but this time everyone was a bit down for a while, and things only got better the next morning.
That night, Lu Mingran lay in bed listening to the system analyze the task progress.
Currently, the Earl is unaware that Cheng Yungui has something, but in the upcoming instance, he may underestimate Cheng Yungui and sacrifice him because of this. In addition, what the Earl does in the next instance will directly lead the protagonist into a fantasy route.
Discovering that Western demons have come true, or that a certain vampire's curse has been turned into a Western fantasy is one thing, but what's even more outrageous is that the count mysteriously guides him to discover that the world they live in is actually just a lucid dream.
This is a lucid dream of a cultivator. Their goal is to level up in this world and fight against the gods. Then they will jump out of this world to start cultivating immortality and fight against various sects outside. Later, the male protagonist will be dressed in white and will be engaged in Foundation Establishment and alchemy.
Well, it's a hodgepodge of elements from Western fantasy, Eastern fantasy, and all sorts of other things. Lu Mingran started to get a headache after hearing that.
After a while of feeling overwhelmed, Lu Mingran gradually fell asleep; he was too tired.
Fortunately, the ghosts he had seen during the wedding did not appear in his dream, but he did see Cheng Yungui.
Cheng Yungui's throat was pierced by a cross. Standing before him was a blond man with a cold expression, looking down at Cheng Yungui.
Lu Mingran was startled awake, and upon waking, she began to replay in her mind Jack's dying words.
Cheng Yungui clearly hadn't slept well last night either. When Lu Mingran came downstairs, she saw Cheng Yungui sitting alone at a table in the corner, with a few stray hairs sticking out of his unkempt hair.
At that moment, he was eating a steamed bun in a very unladylike manner.
"Why is it just you and me?" Lu Mingran took a bag of milk, bit into it, and sat down next to him.
Cheng Yungui pointed to the wall clock: "Because it's only four in the morning now."
The villa's lobby was always brightly lit, making it difficult for them to distinguish between day and night.
It seems that people who can't sleep at night have gathered together. Lu Mingran took two sips of milk, and Cheng Yungui took two bites of steamed bun.
Cheng Yungui suddenly spoke: "I dreamt about you last night."
Cheng Yungui didn't say what he dreamed about, but Lu Mingran guessed it must have been a terrifying scene.
Then they just sat there in a daze until a "green dinosaur" appeared before them.
To be precise, it should be a person wearing dinosaur-shaped pajamas... right?
The "green dinosaur" didn't even notice them in the corner. Twisting its big green dinosaur tail, it waddled straight toward the fireplace, humming a song as it reached into the ashes and dug out a newspaper.
The man patted the newspaper in his hand, blew off the dust, and turned around.
...
Lu Mingran dropped her milk carton, and Cheng Yungui dropped his steamed bun.
Senior student Xiao Tao stood there, his dinosaur tail, which had been happily wiggling, now motionless.
——————————
This morning, many people in the Happiness Home were looking at Xiao Tao with concern.
I felt that Senior Tao was unusually quiet today.
When he was almost finished with breakfast, Xiao Tao coughed a few times and said his first words of the day:
"Yun Gui, the script for your next mission will be out soon, remember to check the newspaper."
As soon as he opened his mouth, Lu Mingran and Cheng Yungui's expressions suddenly changed, and they couldn't even hold what they were eating.
Later, Lu Mingran helped Cheng Yungui hold his steamed bun, and Cheng Yungui helped Lu Mingran hold his bag. Their cooperation stunned everyone.
"...What did you experience in the last practice instance?"
Lu Mingran changed the subject: "Let's look at the newspaper."
————————
"Never Ending the Curtain." That's the title of the next script.
A magazine is currently on the verge of bankruptcy, and the editor-in-chief regretfully tells everyone that if the sales of "One Night of Terror" continue to plummet, then we can say goodbye.
"Is there any way to save our magazine?" someone shouted. "This is our life's work; I've watched it grow!"
The person speaking is a veteran who has been with "One Night of Terror" through its most difficult times. To him, the magazine is like his child.
"I know, I know, but we really aren't popular with our readers anymore..."
The editor-in-chief murmured, feeling both self-reproach and helplessness.
Everyone was very frustrated, but they had to accept the reality and do their best to produce the last two issues of the magazine. At the same time, the editors valued these last working days, and everyone treated the submitted manuscripts with extra care, wanting to give "One Night of Horrors" the most magnificent farewell.
However, a terrible shadow was closing in on them, closing in on these unsuspecting editors.
After that, every time they finalized a manuscript, the story in the manuscript would soon happen to them.
Do not try to evade the task by not reviewing or confirming the manuscript. Everyone involved in the task must stay here for ten days. Those who do not have a confirmed manuscript will not be allowed to eat or drink and will starve to death.
This is undoubtedly very difficult. In the past, everyone worked together to deal with a ghost story, but this time everyone has their own ghost story to deal with. If you want to help your teammates, you must first take care of your own things.
No wonder the system made an exception and allowed Cheng Yungui to bring a teammate. Without a teammate, he would have been doomed in this dungeon...
Inside the villa, when only the three of them were left in the hall, Xiao Tao, the senior student, pressed his temples and said:
"Someone has done this kind of task before."
Lu Mingran noticed that Xiao Tao seemed a little dazed when he said this. He remembered that Xiao Tao's old friend seemed to have been left in that kind of instance.