Yan Jing signed him up. That night, Xie Chi received a message from Ren Ze.
Ren Ze: I heard from my agent that you are going to that orange movie?
Xie Chi was taken aback before replying casually: Yes.
Ren Ze: Don't get me wrong. It isn't that I'm paying attention to you. It is that everyone is staring at you and talking about you. I...I didn't intend to hear it.
Xie Chi: ...En.
Ren Ze: I hired my agent with points. He is a senior agent and knows a lot of information. I asked and there are two types of orange movie conditions. One is to gain 3,000 points and the other is more special. It isn't 3,000 points but to have your previous movie upgraded to an orange movie. This condition is relatively rare. So 3,000 points should be the minimum line for the movie you are going to. Your points might not reach the average. You really won't think about it again? If you run into a bigshot...
Xie Chi didn't care: Their items are restricted after entering. What is there for me to be afraid of?
There was an item restriction system in the app.
In the beginning, actors had no items or they were scarce. As the number of movies filmed increased, they would have more items. It was naturally impossible for the app to allow actors to bring in all available items at once. This was unfair to rising stars with fewer points. Audiences also didn't want to see all types of items. After all, the story of the movie was the key point. Therefore, the app set up an items restriction system.
In a horror movie, actors could bring in three items at most.
The existence of the item restriction system eliminated the phenomenon of actors relying on a large number of items to pass the level while ignoring their own abilities. It also stopped the actors who accumulated a large number of items in low-level movies and then going to bully others in more advanced movies.
After all, the purpose of the app was to make stars produce good movies, not rotten ones. Therefore, even if the opponent had more points, they could only have three items at most. If the number of items carried was limited then the quality of the items was crucial. However, the quality gap between items wasn't as big as expected. To put it plainly, items were tools. The use of them depended on actors.
Ren Ze: That's right. Then I'll give you another wake-up call. Actors with over 5,000 points might have a talent.
Xie Chi: Yes.
Ren Ze: ...You aren't even going to ask me what a talent is?
Xie Chi: Won't you say it even if I don't ask?
Ren Ze paused for a long time before he replied: You are cruel.
Then he started to tell Xie Chi about talents. In the end, Ren Ze said: Let's see whose talent is better.
Xie Chi replied with no excitement: Oh.
Ren Ze: ...
Ren Ze was silent for a moment: Do you want to reconsider me?
Xie Chi was taken aback. Then he remembered what Ren Ze had done for him and his heart warmed slightly. Ren Ze was indeed a reliable partner and wouldn't leave him or betray him in times of crisis. He smiled and readily replied: Okay.
Ren Ze: We know each other and can go together. Isn't it great? You protect me and I'll heal you.
Xie Chi: Okay.
After chatting with Ren Ze, Xie Chi had just locked his phone when another message came in.
Xia Yao: I heard you are going to that orange movie?
Xie Chi politely replied: Is there something wrong?
Xia Yao: This movie is a ghost movie and I can go there too. I have some desire but the app recommends actors with strong personal comprehensive skills. So can you... take care of me? After all, we had a pleasant cooperation before.
Xie Chi knew she was secretly implying about how she helped him before and she hoped he could help her in this lower quality orange movie. Xie Chi thought that he really did owe her a favor and didn't care much. He casually replied: It is a limited capacity. Self-protection is the premise and everything else is just by the way.
Xia Yao: I know, I definitely won't make things difficult for you.
Xie Chi had just turned off the screen when Xia Yao sent him another message: You are a lot better than You Jing [shy.jpg].
Xie Chi thought something was strange. After a few perfunctory sentences, he was ready to close it when another message arrived. This time, it was a friend request. Xie Chi's eyes widened and he paused.
[Shen Yi is requesting to add you as a friend. Do you agree?]
Xie Chi's expression was subtle. It wasn't just the same name? This rose gold portrait was undoubtedly Shen Yi. Xie Chi was stunned. He and this master weren't in the same world. He was a new star while the other person was a movie emperor. Yet this master added him as a friend.
Speaking of which, Shen Yi's attitude was very strange. He gave Xie Chi a full score in Horror Skewers and after that, he gave a knife which helped Xie Chi a lot. Xie Chi sometimes even suspected that Shen Yi knew him or had some unknown relationship with him, but this was a bit absurd.
Xie Chi returned to his senses and agreed to the request.
Shen Yi got straight to the point: Can you do me a favor?
Xie Chi was surprised. How could he help Shen Yi now? However, it didn't matter if Shen Yi had previously intended to take care of him or not. In the end, he did help. Therefore, Xie Chi simply replied: I'll see if I can do it.
Shen Yi: I won't trouble you. In your next movie, my... friend will also go. If you have the spare power then can you help me take care of him?
Xie Chi was startled: Do you think I can help?
Shen Yi replied quickly: Of course.
Xie Chi was a bit surprised. Shen Yi was so optimistic about him?
Also, Shen Yi was friends with someone who might need Xie Chi to take care of him? Xie Chi wasn't interested in getting to know others but he heard that Shen Yi was an absolute egoist and didn't deal with the weak. Xie Chi looked at the chat record and felt that Shen Yi had an unusual relationship with this person.
Xie Chi: Yes, I promise.
Shen Yi didn't ask too much and it was easy to do. If it didn't cause a loss to himself then Xie Chi didn't mind paying back personal feelings.
Shen Yi: His name is Su Qing. He is the one with the longest and most beautiful hair.
Xie Chi once again thought it was weird: ...Okay.
Shen Yi didn't reply. Just as Xie Chi was about to turn off the screen, Shen Yi sent another message: Don't tell him I looked for you.
The strange feeling became stronger. Xie Chi couldn't explore it for the moment so he didn't bother. After Shen Yi's request finished, he was finally able to put down his phone.
Four days later at midnight, Xie Chi received a notification to enter the next horror movie.
[In three minutes, you will enter the movie 'Living Hell'.]
"Hell?" Lu Wen saw it on the side and frowned. "It should be the hell of the dead. This living hell..."
"I don't know."
The app took a few seconds to load and then the movie poster appeared. Xie Chi paused, his eyes showing surprise.
The center of the poster contained a lotus pond. The water in the lotus pond was as clear as crystal with the lotus leaves stretched out and the golden stamen looming. It was beautiful like the Peach Paradise. The contradiction was that under the emerald-green pool was... a dark hell.
Compared with the brilliance of the lotus pond, the hell only had an indescribable outline. It was depressing and boring, dangerous and unpredictable. Xie Chi could see the shadow of ghosts as well as a cold knife, hot fire, blood pool and cold iceberg.
Spider silk hung from a lotus leaf down into hell. It was long and thin as it connected the lotus pond and hell. It was like an extremely fragile ladder placed on a steep cliff in order to save the dying people under the cliff.
"What is this revealing...?" Lu Wen frowned. He couldn't tell at all. This was the most unknown poster he had ever seen.
Xie Chi looked at it for half a minute and made a guess. "Maybe it is a more symbolic movie. The poster tells me that there is no human world above hell, just a lotus pond. The spider silk connects the lotus pond and hell."
"It is wonderful." Lu Wen rubbed his fingers together. "The last one was clearly a haunted house movie. What type of movie is this? It is hard to tell."
Xie Chi shrugged. "That's why the app says it is a bit different."
The introduction to Living Hell appeared at this time.
[Do you believe there is a hell in this world? I tell you, hell is real. It is just that it isn't the dead who enter it but the living sinners. Once a person commits sins in their life, their conscience is disturbed and their soul becomes turbulent. Once the three immortal souls and seven mortal forms in Daoism become unstable, the black and white impermanence (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heibai_Wuchang) will find them and take their souls to hell to be punished. Those who have lost their souls will become walking corpses in the real world. If they atone in hell then their souls will return to the world after the punishment period. It is possible to even be allowed into paradise by the gods because of a good performance. Of course, for most people, the thing waiting in hell is eternal death...]
Lu Wen felt faintly uneasy. "Xie Chi, this movie has no laws and the setting is strange..."
Lu Wen was afraid of change. If he could, he wanted to live a steady, stable and flat life. This movie was too nonsensical for him. Irregular things made him uneasy and confused.
Xie Chi wasn't affected and continued to wait.
[You will play a sinner trying to escape back to life.]
[Being transferred, please wait.]
Every time he opened his eyes in the past, he had already entered the movie. However, this time was different. Xie Chi found himself in a deep darkness.
Xie Chi frowned. It should be something unexpected.
He wasn't afraid and waited quietly. After half a minute, the phone rang. Xie Chi lowered his head and scanned the words on the screen. His pupils suddenly shrank before enlarging a bit.
[The actor's soul will enter the hell rather than the actor himself. Your situation is quite special. You have a dual personality. The two personalities are completely independent and the three views are complete. The sub personality has extraordinary ability and meets the requirements of an actor. The movie will therefore consider you as two actors. Your personalities are split into two bodies and you will join the filming together.]
[Your final score is the average of the main personality's score and the sub personality's score.]
[It is inconvenient for you so you will receive an extra 300 points after the shooting is completed.]
The ghosts who were sitting in the theater.
"What's going on? There is suddenly a black screen!"
"What's happening?"
"No way. Perhaps something happened temporarily. Just wait..."
"I heard this movie has a lot of actors?"
"God Ji! God Ji has come to this movie!"
"Fuck, it isn't fake?!"
"There is also the beauty Su Qing~"
"God Chi is invincible! God Chi is invincible! God Chi is the best!"
"Who is God Chi? I often watch orange movies and I haven't heard of him?"
"A New and Sharp Budding Talent who killed a third-tier! A shocking reversal!"
"Ohhhhh, I remember this. I'm so curious. I heard he is pretty handsome."
"It's on! It is time to start!"
"Fuck, there is a super handsome guy! The one by the pool! He is so tall, so A!"
"Does anyone know him?! Is there any information?!"
"I am searching for this handsome man..."
"Looking at the phone, his name is Xie Xinglan!"
"Follow him!"
"...Sister, the filming hasn't even started yet."
Proofreader: Purichan