Chapter 133

Chapter 133

Jian Jing, Jiang BaiYan, Cao Yu, Zheng Keyan, Han Bo and Coco were shocked when the set suddenly turned into a hellish nightmare right before they were about to wrap up for the day.

As the floor sharply tilted, Jian Jing, who was already off-balance, was immediately swept into a corner, bruising her sore back against the wall.

"Ms. Jing!" Jiang BaiYan rushed over to shield her from the incoming plastic balls. "Are you okay? Can you still walk?" He helped her up while asking.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry!" Cao Yu waved at them from the stairwell. "Over here!"

"I'm fine," Jian Jing endured the pain and reached behind Jiang BaiYan's back to retrieve the gun their team had been assigned. She loaded it and flicked off the safety.

Jiang BaiYan supported her as they sprinted wildly.

But the sloped floor and scattered plastic balls disrupted the laser cage, allowing several monsters to break free and chase after them.

"Forget it, just go!" Cao Yu called for everyone. "Downstairs, into the tunnel."

The short distance from the first floor lobby to the basement proved extremely difficult for the group.

The plastic balls rolling everywhere impeded their movement while the monsters pursued them relentlessly. Helen crawled on the wall like a giant octopus, chasing them down mercilessly.

It was incredibly thrilling.

The standoff continued until the end of the hallway where a decorative painting concealed a secret passage.

The tunnel was high enough to stand and walk through, but very narrow, barely wide enough for one person.

"Ladies first," Cao Yu directed.

Zheng Keyan and Coco readily agreed, but when it was Jian Jing's turn, she took a breath, leaned against the wall and signaled for them to go ahead while she turned and fired at the oncoming monsters with her gun.

Han Bo understood her plan and also chose to stay back to cover their retreat.

Cao Yu and Jiang BaiYan had no weapons and didn't want to slow the others down, so they slipped away to the side.

Under a hail of bullets, the monsters' advance was greatly slowed.

But they were only slowed, not killed. The number that actually died was low.

"Almost out of ammo," Jian Jing said softly. "We'll retreat one by one and cover each other. You first."

Han Bo nodded and immediately crawled into the passage.

Jian Jing moved backward while firing, emptying a magazine before saying, "Your turn, cover me." She crouched low, leaving Han Bo ample space to counterattack.

Han Bo understood her tactic. As he retreated, he fired continuously until his ammo was spent, then they switched - Jian Jing fired while Han Bo reloaded. They took turns blocking the monsters in the narrow tunnel.

Shouts of alarm came from behind.

"Hurry out!" Cao Yu called to them.

Han Bo and Jian Jing exited the tunnel one after the other, and two men in black suits moved up with machine guns, wildly spraying the passage.

Rat-tat-tat, rat-tat-tat.

The world went quiet.

Jian Jing looked at the new NPCs in bewilderment and asked guardedly, "Who are you?"

"X Club," the leader with sunglasses answered in stiff Mandarin. "Please give me the chip."

"This?" Zheng Keyan took out the object they had found in the puzzle box.

The leader looked at it and nodded, handing her an envelope in return. He then gestured for his heavily armed men to retreat with him.

Zheng Keyan: "Uh, that's it?"

Coco: "It's over?"

Cao Yu: "I guess so..."

Han Bo: "What does the note say?"

Zheng Keyan opened the envelope which contained a short letter:

Thank you for your help. X Club will remember your heroic deeds. Perhaps we will meet again, when there are more arduous tasks...

--

Comments after broadcast:

Comment 1: What's going on?

Comment 2: Where did the backup come from?

Comment 3: No explanation? Did they get cut for not speaking Chinese?

Comment 4: X Club appeared before, so this must be a sequel!

Comment 5: Checked their website, this haunted house has a series - Murder Hospital was the first, next one's called Fatal Factory.

Comment 6: Oh, going to that strange factory next?

...

--

He voted for Coco: "As a newcomer, she did well."

Comment 1: WTF, I thought little bro would vote for Ms. Jian!

Comment 2: All talk but pays attention to her the whole time, tsk tsk.

Comment 3: This CP is so sweet!

Comment 4: Not worth it for Ms. Jian!

Comment 5: Xiao Bai's tone is too flat, feels like something's going on, not like him.

The last interview was with Jian Jing.

The PD asked the usual questions about her experience.

Jian Jing said: "Very fun, great immersive experience, the combat was very realistic."

The PD also asked: "Any regrets?"

She thought for a bit before replying: "The story has a sequel. The factory's secrets haven't been revealed yet, is it a base for studying aliens?"

"That's the next project in the X Haunted House series," the PD smiled. "Still in early planning, we don't know much yet."

They chatted about more details, and of course didn't forget to vote for the MVP.

Jian Jing murmured, "Han Bo and Coco are both excellent, but I'm more inclined towards Coco. Even though this was a difficult first episode for her, she still performed remarkably. She's very opinionated and brave, and I really admire girls like that."

Live Comment 1: The attraction between ladies

Live Comment 2: Well said!

Live Comment 3: Wait, so no one voted for Jian Jing?

Live Comment 4: Is this a conspiracy?? I can understand looking out for the newbie, but isn't this too much?

Live Comment 5: Confused face, didn't Jian Jing decrypt the most and contribute the most today?

Live Comment 6: Yeah, it's fine if Jian Jing didn't vote for herself, but how did no one else vote for her?

Live Comment 7: Definitely a conspiracy, disappointing

Live Comment 8: Look at the bonus scene! Jian Jing got the big bonus egg from the haunted house!!

Live Comment 9: Ohhh~~ The bonus is awesome! Jian Jing is awesome!! It's much more valuable than the Best of the Episode.

Live Comment 10: Jian Jing is amazing!!

......

--

After the interview ended, Jiang BaiYan specifically sought out Jian Jing and leaked the inside story: "Coco's company wants to promote her, they gave me a heads up beforehand. My vote will definitely go to her. I can guess who everyone else will vote for too."

He counted off on his fingers: "Han Bo's votes alternate - last time he voted for Cao Yu, so this time it'll be either me or Zheng Keyan. But he admires Zheng Keyan too much, so voting for her would spark dating rumors and her fans would come after him. Cao Yu definitely won't vote for you. I did alright, so he might vote for Han Bo and Coco. Zheng Keyan will probably vote for Cao Yu to make him feel better since you did so well.

Let me think, Coco won't vote for me since that would reek of staged hype if we voted for each other. Voting for Cao Yu and Zheng Keyan would be a waste, so maybe Han Bo to stir up buzz.

Jian Jing listened in astonishment and sincerely marveled, "There are so many tricks."

"Teacher Jian, did you vote for me?" he asked.

Jian Jing: "No."

"Why not?" He pouted sadly, "Wasn't I brave at the end?"

"No reason."

"I see." Jiang BaiYan sulked briefly before consoling her, "Actually, having fewer votes is a good thing. If everyone had voted for you, the audience would nitpick everything, feeling you weren't good enough here and there. Since you didn't get Best of the Episode, the audience will feel sorry for you instead, especially since the teacher's performance was plain to see. They'll look forward to your next recording even more. This is hunger marketing, you could also call it tormenting your fans. I bet 5 cents the show deliberately rigged it."

Jian Jing glanced at him and deliberately asked, "Do you think I care about stuff like that?"

"Not caring about results doesn't mean not caring about fairness," he retorted.

She was momentarily lost for words.

He had a point. Who got Best of the Episode wasn't important since all the guests had standout moments, but disregarding whether she contributed the most or not, having not a single person vote for her would make anyone feel a bit miffed.

"Fine," Jian Jing reluctantly conceded, "I am a little unhappy. I can accept them not voting for me since we're not close, but why didn't you vote for me?"

Jiang BaiYan pleaded with clasped hands, "I'm sorry, I was wrong. In my heart, Teacher Jian is the most amazing."

"Easy to say that now." She said coldly, "I don't believe you."

Jiang BaiYan: Dejected.jpg

"Jian." The PD walked over smiling, pretending not to notice their private conversation. "The stats are out. You killed the most monsters, so the haunted house has a commemorative gift for you."

She hinted suggestively, "Only you got one."

Jiang BaiYan whispered in her ear, "Don't fall for it. You probably didn't get a single vote. They're afraid of backlash from the viewers and came up with this last minute ploy. Don't believe them, they're sinister."

"Still better than all talk." Jian Jing elbowed his head away. "What is it?"

The PD said, "It's a secret. You'll find out tomorrow."