Chapter 359

Chapter 359

The cruise ship had a total of 10 floors, with the livestreaming location being on floors 7 to 10.

The 7th floor was the guest room area, the 8th and 9th floors had various settings like conference halls, ballrooms, and gyms, while the 10th floor had a swimming pool, a helipad, and a super large terrace.

The guest rooms were both where the guests would stay during the livestream as well as pre-arranged settings.

During the livestream, the camera crew would not follow the guests into their own rooms, as those were completely private areas. However, if a guest entered another guest's room, the viewers could see the other room from that guest's perspective.

As such, viewers did not have an omniscient viewpoint, and could only choose to follow a particular guest, having a limited perspective.

If they chose the wrong person to follow, they might end up watching nothing for a long time.

The camera followed Jian Jing to Room 4, and once she entered, the shooting ended.

Jian Jing closed the door and first observed the overall environment.

Compared to the formal guest rooms downstairs, the setting guest rooms were equally luxurious, but had some intriguing details: a Buddha statue, lush greenery, an old radio, a brass lamp, and some woven objects.

There was no television or WiFi, only a landline telephone.

It had a strong retro vibe.

Jian Jing walked to the window and saw a paper bag on the desk.

Opening the bag, she found the background setting and character information.

The story took place in November 1982, and the well-known Asian tycoon Dan was about to celebrate his 70th birthday.

He had been married once before, with his late wife leaving him two sons and a daughter. Sadly, his wife passed away from an illness ten years ago, and not long after, the tycoon took a young and beautiful second wife.

Additionally, he had a deceased sister who left behind an adorable nephew, and her husband with whom Dan was close and often visited. His former wife's brother and family also maintained contact with him, frequently visiting his home.

Dan also had several long-time friends, whom he invited to attend his birthday celebration.

Jian Jing's character was the fiancée of Dan's younger son, a former dancer and a socialite who moved among the wealthy elite. She had worked her way up to become the younger son's fiancée through much scheming. However, Dan did not approve of this marriage, threatening that if his son married her, he would receive none of his inheritance.

But the younger son remained headstrong and brought his fiancée to his father's birthday party nonetheless.

Jian Jing: *confused black person emoji*

What luck, to draw such a character.

She opened the closet with a blank expression to find it filled with revealing and provocative outfits, the kind of trashy attire that would get a side character killed off in the first three episodes of a thriller.

But since she had already drawn this role, she couldn't back out.

Jian Jing pinched her nose and tried on the clothes, finding that most fit her well, except for the evening gown. But it didn't matter, as filming would start tomorrow, so she could have the props team alter it tonight.

The next step was to familiarize herself with the room.

She rummaged around, finding some files.

After reading through them for a while, she had a good grasp of the situation and hid them again.

In the meantime, a staff member knocked on the door and handed her a list detailing the new identities of all the guests.

She thanked them and took out a pen and paper to review the story setting.

Dan - NPC.

If she guessed correctly, this was probably the character played by Daniel, and there was an 80-90% chance he would be the victim.

She went through the others, matching them to their roles.

Wife: Kumiko Terauchi [Japanese] (Persona: High society wife)

Sister-in-law: Ran-er Kim [Korean] (Persona: Student)

Eldest son: Connor Lee [Singaporean] (Persona: One of the financial group leaders)

Eldest son's wife: Valeriya [Russian] (Persona: High society wife)

Second daughter: Zhang Xue'er [Chinese] (Persona: High society heiress, painter)

Second daughter's husband: Liu Sau-chi [Korean] (Persona: Art gallery owner)

Younger son: Min-cheol Park [Korean] (Persona: Spoiled rich kid)

Younger son's fiancée: Jian Jing [Chinese] (Persona: Dancer, socialite)

Sister's husband: Wu Lie [Chinese] (Persona: Lawyer)

Nephew: Jiang BaiYan [Chinese] (Persona: Financial group executive)

The three people unlocked their own locks, and the director took out the only key to open the safe, retrieving the box with the security seal still intact.

The camera followed the crew members all the way to the door of the guest who drew number 1.

Valeriya, who drew number 1, untied the security seal as instructed and drew a capsule toy.

Next came numbers 2, 3, 4... and soon, number 15 had also drawn their capsule.

The screen flickered with a "zzzzt" sound, and a countdown appeared.

The story was about to begin.

The next day's afternoon was free time.

Guests could freely explore the sets on floors 7-10, familiarize themselves with their scripts, and rehearse with their co-stars as needed.

Jiang BaiYan was lucky, having no trouble communicating with Wu Lie, and the father and son pair quickly finished their few scenes together.

Jian Jing, on the other hand, was in agony. Her fiancé was Korean, and while they could barely communicate in English, he was a man nearly forty years old.

Apparently, there was quite a gap between being in one's thirties and late thirties.

Min-cheol Park, thirty-seven, was a handsome and accomplished man with a successful career. Apart from working a bit too much overtime and being a bit too strict with deadlines, he was almost flawless.

Yet, no matter how well he dressed in a suit, there was always an inescapable sense of generation gap.

She wanted to call him "Agassi" (young man), not "Oppa" (older brother/boyfriend).

"Miss Jian, nice to meet you," was the first thing he said to Jian Jing. "I never expected to have such a beautiful fiancée."

Jian Jing: "..."

Min-cheol Park shamelessly examined her, though thankfully not with too much aggression. However, his skeptical and suspicious gaze was also unpleasant. "Perhaps the game has already begun."

"So?" Jian Jing replied reluctantly.

"Who could be the killer?" he asked.

Jian Jing dryly replied, "It's meaningless to discuss the killer before a case has even occurred."

"No, no, I think this is when the killer is most likely to reveal themselves." Min-cheol Park showed a reporter's keen observational skills as he scanned the crowd. "Those who disappear are far more suspicious than those willing to socialize."

"Because they're plotting?" Jian Jing thought about it and became interested in the conversation. "Do you think the person who drew the killer role has a script?"

Min-cheol Park smiled wryly. "Are you trying to probe me? If I had to guess, even if there is a script, only the killer would have it. What do you think?"

Jian Jing was noncommittal. "Perhaps."

"Why are you curious about this?" Min-cheol Park asked her in return.

"Just asking."

Mr. Park smiled, clearly not believing her, but he didn't probe further. After chatting briefly, he left.

Jian Jing walked into the dining hall and poured herself a glass of champagne.

There, her group of friends were also bonding, though their settings as longtime acquaintances clashed with the Japanese English and Thai English, leaving both looking a bit contorted.

"Hey, can I get through?" The Russian girl Valeriya asked.

Jian Jing stepped aside.

Valeriya grabbed a bottle of vodka, swiftly opened it, and took a swig straight from the bottle.

Jian Jing: "Tsk."

"Want some?" Valeriya offered amiably.

Jian Jing shook her head, unable to resist asking, "Can dancers drink alcohol?"

"No problem, I don't have any performances coming up." Valeriya answered breezily. Then she spotted the other Russian, Andrei, and waved. "Want some?"

Andrei shook his head and asked, "Have you guys seen Wataru?"

The two girls shook their heads in unison.

The tall and burly man said irritably, "I can't find him anywhere."

"Were you looking for Mr. Wataru?" Kumiko Terauchi, playing the wife, joined the conversation with an apologetic smile. "He seems to be feeling unwell and has been resting in his room."

"Unwell?" Valeriya brushed back her bangs, half probing and half joking. "He didn't draw the killer role, did he?"

Jian Jing recalled her impression of Wataru Kojima and quipped, "It's also possible he's just being a recluse."