Chapter 191: Untied
Qin Ke finally noticed that he was holding the crew member's wig in his hand, a chestnut-colored long curly one.
Qin Ke quickly returned the wig and, to ease the awkwardness, politely added, "Your makeup is really intricate, are you cosplaying a zombie?"
The crew member took back the wig, shook his head, raised a freed hand, and put a finger to his lips in a "shush" gesture.
Yin Chengjue immediately understood something and said, "They get docked pay if they speak here, Qin Ke, remember to cover his loss."
Qin Ke immediately said, "No problem! Speak freely and boldly!"
Crew member: "...Thank you for understanding. I'm really fine."
Qin Ke: "Your wig is crooked, let me adjust it. Is your nose really okay? Do you need to go to the hospital?"
Crew member: "I'm fine."
Qin Ke: "If your nose is bleeding, you should tilt your head back. Look, it's bleeding again with your head down." As he spoke, Qin Ke pinched the guy's chin with one hand and supported the back of his head with the other, making the guy tilt his head back.
The people gathered around: "..." Wait, why does this scene look weird? Qin Ke, do you realize you're still holding this guy in your arms?
The air fell into an eerie silence for a moment before Qin Ke belatedly realized his actions were strange and jerked his hand away from the guy's chin as if shocked.
The guy remained calm, expressionless from start to finish. It was unclear whether his makeup was too thick and changing expressions would ruin it, or if he was naturally like that.
After confirming the guy was truly fine, the group breathed a sigh of relief and continued forward.
"But, why was he there in the first place?" Qin Ke belatedly realized something was off.
Yin Chengjue felt like taking Qin Ke's eyes out to see what was wrong with them. Since Qin Ke had already seen the guy's makeup, why did he still wonder why he was there?
To scare you, of course!
Moreover, Qin Linlin had already revealed the theme of this episode in the WeChat group: Mutation Crisis!
"No idea. Maybe he thought you were handsome and wanted your autograph," Yin Chengjue said offhandedly.
"Ah, is that so? He really has good taste. It seems my undeniable handsomeness can no longer be concealed!"
Wei Shu: "...Xiao Qin, I suggest you retrace your steps and look for something."
Qin Ke: "Huh? Look for what? I didn't drop anything."
Wei Shu: "Look for your brain. Even though it's not worth much, it's still the most important thing on your body. I suggest you find it and put it back on."
Qin Ke: "...Take this!"
The group joked and roughhoused as they moved forward, dispersing the instinctive fear brought by the darkness.
Liu Qingling looked back at them and couldn't help saying, "We're filming a variety show. Aren't you guys considering the entertainment value at all? Look at this corridor—so dark, so narrow, so oppressive, with a strange smell in the air, and we just saw a scary-looking crew member. Can't we at least act a little scared?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Qingling met several pairs of eyes staring right at him.
Liu Qingling: "...What do you mean by looking at me like that?"
Yin Chengjue: "Nothing. Just thinking such a challenging task is most suitable for Teacher Liu."
Wei Shu giggled: "Yeah, yeah. I have no acting talent. It's hard for me to act scared. Why don't you demonstrate first, Teacher Liu?"
Xiao Xiao flicked his bangs. Though he didn't speak, his action clearly stated: I'm cool! I don't get scared!
Liu Qingling looked around at these young masters, then shifted his gaze to Yin Chengjue's face.
Yin Chengjue looked down at him, expressionless.
Liu Qingling: "..." Right. Got it.
Liu Qingling took a deep breath, trying hard to get into character, all while explaining to the young masters: "Acting scared is actually simple. When you see something suddenly appear in front of you, grab the person next to you, open your mouth, use your loudest voice, and scream right into the mic clipped to your collar. The louder, the better!"
Then, Liu Qingling looked seriously at Qin Ke: "Like what Xiao Qin did earlier, pushing the NPC over, that's the wrong example. Understand?"
Five heads nodded in unison.
"Okay, here I go!" Liu Qingling said, taking the mic clipped to his collar off.
Qin Linlin, watching this from behind the camera: "..."
Qin Linlin acted decisively: "Quick, take off your headphones!!"
Liu Qingling: "Ah!—So scary! I'm so scared! Help!—"
Even with the headphones off in time, the crew could still hear the sound coming through, showing how earnestly Liu Qingling performed his demonstration.
However, after Liu Qingling finished his demonstration, he only received a round of applause from the young masters.
Liu Qingling: "Alright, I've demonstrated. Your turn now!"
But once the applause died down, Qin Ke looked at the ceiling, Wei Shu looked at the floor, Xiao Xiao and Yin Chengjue stared at the flashlight beam as if mesmerized. Lei Miao, finding nowhere to shift his gaze, simply closed his eyes.
Liu Qingling: "..." I really believed your nonsense.
While Yin Chengjue's group was still exploring the pitch-black corridor, Rong Yu's situation was clearly much more eventful.
The trio's blindfolds weren't removed by themselves but by someone else, as all three were tied to chairs with their backs to each other.
The person who removed their blindfolds wore a white lab coat, had a pale face, bloodshot eyes filled with madness, and a hoarse voice: "You've really come, hahaha! I've waited ten years, ten years! Finally, someone has come! This time, you must take it out! You absolutely must take it out!"
After saying this, the person took a syringe from his pocket, pretending to inject it into the necks of the three.
Yang Ji cooperated very well with loud cries of pain. Rong Yu put on a pained expression. Hua Yun asked calmly, "Who are you?"
The person in the lab coat said, "I am Dr. Fu. I've waited for you for a long time, a very long time." As he spoke, he threw the syringe on the ground, laughing somewhat maniacally, repeating: "This time, you must take it out!"
Hua Yun: "Take what out? What happens if we don't take it out?"
Dr. Fu's exaggerated movements paused. Suddenly, he put a finger to his lips: "What to take out, you know in your hearts. This is the secret you must protect. If you don't take it out on time, then you will..."
Dr. Fu made a slashing motion across his throat.
However, after saying this, Dr. Fu's eyes suddenly widened. His hands clutched his own throat, making strange gurgling sounds.
Yang Ji said nervously, "Dr. Fu? Dr. Fu, what's wrong?"
Dr. Fu said painfully, "It's starting. I'm about to mutate soon. I'll soon become like my children!"
He started laughing again: "My lovely children, you've waited ten years. You must have been so lonely, right? Daddy is coming now. Daddy is coming to find you!"
With that, Dr. Fu struggled to the door, used his body to block the electronic keypad on the door, quickly input several numbers, then pushed the door open and ran out!
The door was directly facing Rong Yu. After Dr. Fu pushed it open and left, it quickly swung back automatically but was blocked by something just before closing completely, making a "clang" sound.
Yang Ji, with his back to the door, said, "What happened? What was that sound? Did that Dr. Fu leave?"
Hua Yun's direction was also away from the door. Hearing the "clang," he said very calmly, "A nine-digit password. I just heard the electronic keypad sound ten times, meaning he pressed ten keys. The last one was probably the confirmation key. So what we need to do now is untie the ropes and then find the nine-digit password."
Rong Yu: "No need for that trouble. I just kicked my shoe out, and it's now stuck at the door. The door isn't closed."
Hua Yun: "...Well done."
Yang Ji was shocked: "You can do that?!"
Rong Yu shrugged: "As long as that NPC doesn't come back to shut the door properly."
Yang Ji: "Then let's hurry and untie the ropes! Otherwise, if he comes back to shut the door, we'll still have to find the door's password!"
Rong Yu thought the same way. He forcefully leaned back against the chair, which loosened the rope binding him just enough. Then, with one hand pushing the rope down and the other giving a sharp pull, he freed himself.
This was, after all, a variety show. The ropes were not tied tightly, and the method was quite simple—they were just made to sit on chairs while a rope was wrapped around them a few times. Thanks to Rong Yu's maneuvering, he quickly freed one hand. Once that hand was loose, the rope slackened even more, allowing his other hand to slip out easily.
Hua Yun, though a step slower than Rong Yu, also used brute force to push the rope loose, then his bound hands managed to reach the knot, his fingers quickly untying it.
The two freed themselves from the ropes one after the other, turned to look at each other, then looked at Yang Ji, who was still struggling in his chair.
Yang Ji continued offering suggestions: "...I think we should work together now. I can help untie one of you—bring your chairs a little closer, let's see if I can reach your knots..."
He smiled confidently. "Don't you two worry! Brother Yang will take care of you!"
Rong Yu said, "Um, Teacher Yang, why don't I help untie you instead?"
Yang Ji insisted, "No, no, leave it to me. I've actually studied this before. No matter what kind of knot they've used, I can get it undone for you!"
Rong Yu cleared his throat lightly. "But, Teacher Yang... both of us are already untied."
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