Lakeside Ghost Story 16

In the dense forest, where not a ray of light could penetrate, several figures busied themselves without pause.

"What are you doing?" Once Zhou Wu learned that these exorcists were actors too, it was as if he had found a powerful patron. He made sure they never forgot he was there.

Two of the Soul Hunters were already growing tired of him. No one wanted to be pestered with questions while they were working.

One of them was just about to snap at him when the elderly man leading them raised a hand to stop him.

"You're the leader of the students, aren't you?" Ma Yuan'an explained with a genial smile. "This is equipment supplied by our roles. Most of it comes from the Church."

The other three team members went stiff all over the moment they saw Old Ma smile. That smiling tiger was at it again...

"The Church?!" Zhou Wu was overjoyed. "Then maybe we can fight that evil spirit!"

"Why don't you tell me what happened to you, young man? That will give us a better chance when we face the Boss."

Zhou Wu nodded at once and began recounting his harrowing escape over the past few days.

"That crocodile guy seems really slow. We could always outrun him. As long as we didn't go into buildings with too many obstacles, we could get away." Zhou Wu selectively ignored the part where the Boss had caught up to them even while they were driving. He figured the System had probably teleported the Boss over.

After all, they had escaped the boundaries of Golden Lake. The System surely wouldn't allow that.

Zhou Wu kept reasoning with his dull wits. "Also, he's very strong, but I think it's just brute force. He doesn't have any tactics at all. He doesn't look very smart."

Ma Yuan'an diligently recorded Boss traits that were completely at odds with the truth, then asked, "Anything else? Did you ever hurt the Boss?"

"Yes! I shot him a whole bunch of times, but he didn't react at all."

"That confirms it. From your description, he's probably a vengeful spirit. So much time has passed that most of his intelligence and reason have dissipated, leaving only the instinct to kill. Of course you couldn't kill him with a gun. How could physical means harm a vengeful spirit?"

Ma Yuan'an thought Zhou Wu's account differed somewhat from the information the team had gathered earlier, but Zhou Wu had experienced it firsthand. His intelligence had to be more reliable than theirs.

He gave the exquisite vial in his hand a shake. "See this? It's holy water at the highest concentration available from the Church. Just a drop will corrode an ordinary ghost or monster into nothing."

Zhou Wu's eyes practically shone. There was hope. This movie could still be saved!

Before he could celebrate for long, a gun pressed against his chest. Ma Yuan'an smiled sweetly, ill intent creasing every wrinkle on his old face. "Which is why the rear is perfectly safe. You can go be bait without worry."

"What?!"

Zhou Wu wanted to cry. He looked at Mu Ying beside him, who was too vacant and foolish to say a word for him, then at the guild actors who eyed him like ravenous beasts. Why was his life so miserable?!

"Captain, the tripwire holy-water mines around the lake are in place."

"The holy-water guns are loaded."

"The Bible and silver crosses are ready. We can move out at any time!"

Ma Yuan'an patted his team members on the shoulders approvingly. "Good work."

Seeing how thoroughly prepared they were, much of his earlier tension and unease ebbed away. As a guild actor who specialized in hunting Bosses, Ma Yuan'an felt his bloodlust returning.

"Captain, leave the head to me. I want to put that crocodile head in my inventory and hang it over my bed."

"Hahaha! Then I'll gladly take his axe."

"You sickos!" The shortest member, who also had the most lecherous face, rubbed his hands together. "I'll take his good father. A famous man who can't fight back, too. That face, heh!"

The lecherous man licked his lips, imagining how he would torment a frail, disabled beauty too weak even to run.

The others were long used to his remarks. The bastard had no scruples. Not only did he like messing with NPCs, sometimes he did not spare actors either. All they could say was that kid named Zhuo Yu was in for some bad luck.

Ma Yuan'an glanced sidelong at Zhou Wu. "Go on. Head to the cabin by the lake and lure out the Boss."

Zhou Wu was on the verge of tears. He knew he had merely escaped the wolf's den to enter the tiger's lair, but he could only leave the bushes with slow, heavy steps.

The hunt of the Soul Hunt Guild had begun.

Inside the cabin on the shore of Golden Lake, Zhuo Yu suddenly heard a knock at the door. Asha quickly put on the crocodile mask.

"Are they already on the mountain?"

The Boss nodded.

He had an innate awareness of the area around Golden Lake. If he wanted, he could tell which branch every bird had landed on. He could also sense several people in the distant woods setting something up with ill intent.

But he paid them no mind. They were only a few flies, not worth his attention.

The knocking came again. Zhuo Yu stopped Asha and wheeled himself over to open the door.

The visitor was unexpected: Liu Jingyun.

Liu Jingyun was dirty and disheveled. The instant she saw Zhuo Yu, her eyes nearly filled with tears. "Thank goodness. I knew you weren't dead. The System never announced it, so I kept trying to find you."

Miss Liu was beside herself with excitement. Her hope of clearing the movie was still alive!

After Zhuo Yu was abducted, she had despaired. She did not think she could clear such a dangerous film relying only on herself and her far-from-exceptional brain. But the thought that there might still be a chance made Liu Jingyun struggle to recall Zhuo Yu's actions. She started the RV in fits and starts, then followed the direction the Boss had gone with atrociously crooked, bumpy driving, all the way back to Golden Lake.

Dead either way, she had to save the whole movie's hope! Maybe that would leave her a sliver of a chance at survival!

Even Zhuo Yu could not help commenting, "Your will to survive is way too strong..."

Liu Jingyun was about to crack a joke when she spotted what seemed to be a familiar, towering figure behind Zhuo Yu.

The Boss!!

She staggered back several steps in fright, but quickly calmed down. Zhuo Yu was not dead, and the Boss had not attacked her. Did that mean the Boss was not a monster that killed everyone it saw?

"Come in. It's fine." Zhuo Yu beckoned to her.

Liu Jingyun was still somewhat suspicious, but she stepped inside cautiously. Sure enough, the Boss ignored her.

She finally let out a sigh of relief.

"What's going on?" She quietly tugged at Zhuo Yu's sleeve, only for the Boss to look over at once. Liu Jingyun immediately let go in fright.

Zhuo Yu propped his chin on one hand. Explaining this felt like far too much trouble. "It's a long story. It's enough for now that you know the Boss won't kill you."

Liu Jingyun nodded. She carefully made her way to the kitchen, intending to find some of the food left over from last time. After driving for so long and then venturing through Springwater Town, she was starving.

Just as she approached the cupboard, a faint groan suddenly came from inside. Liu Jingyun immediately went on guard. She grabbed a shard of glass from the floor, then yanked open the cupboard door.

But inside was not some monster. It was a dying human, his entire throat bruised purple-blue.

If she remembered correctly, he was one of Zhou Wu's group of four.

"A-Are you okay?" Liu Jingyun could not make sense of the situation at all.

Fang Hao had held on until now by sheer force of will, relying on his role's traits, but he had only one breath left. His vision was completely blurred. When he saw the hazy floral dress before him, he was even more terrified than he had been upon seeing the Boss.

"Shu Ya! Shu Ya! Have you come to take me away? No, I haven't lived long enough yet!"

Fang Hao flailed helplessly at the air. Veins bulged across his deathly pale face. With his throat bones shattered, his voice came out hoarse and broken, and he vomited blackened blood as he spoke. Even so, he could not stop pouring out his terrified words.

"I repent, I really do! I had a crush on you back then, and I was so jealous when I saw you dating someone. I shouldn't have spread rumors about you on the school forum, but you didn't have to jump off a building! Your death wasn't my fault! Please, don't take me away!"

Liu Jingyun was badly frightened by him. "What are you talking about? Are you really okay?"

She reached out to Fang Hao, apparently intending to help him up, but Fang Hao grew even more terrified. He choked on a breath, and his eyes suddenly rolled back.

[Actor Fang Hao has died. Cause of death: fright.]

"Uh... who scared whom here? What is going on?" Liu Jingyun was utterly at a loss. Somehow, she had frightened someone to death. "This really has nothing to do with me."

Zhuo Yu, who had witnessed everything from the doorway, parted his lips slightly, surprise showing in his expression.

Liu Jingyun had really brought him quite a few surprises.

Ever since the side quest updated, he had been thinking about the connection between actors and their roles. Recalling Fang Hao's character profile, was he not exactly the type of gloomy shut-in with an unrequited crush on the campus goddess?

Could it be that the Studios selected actors according to how well they matched their roles?

Of course, it could also be a coincidence. Zhou Wu was more rational than Jack, and Mu Ying was not as hot-tempered as Nina. But could those merely be outward changes the actors had developed after being tempered by the Studios? Perhaps they had once been just like Jack and Nina.

These were only flashes of speculation. Zhuo Yu intended to test them.

"Liu Jingyun, what is your character profile?"

Liu Jingyun came back to herself and answered reflexively, "An ordinary high school girl in town. No special talents, just very good stamina."

"And in real life?" Zhuo Yu immediately pressed.

Liu Jingyun was visibly taken aback. She scratched her head. "Come to think of it, I really am a college student with pretty good stamina. I was admitted for athletics."

"Ha... interesting." Zhuo Yu's lips curved upward, his eyes full of excitement and eagerness. "I know how to deal with those exorcists."

He looked toward the Boss in the main room and said cheerfully, "Whatever you do, don't interrupt my game in a moment."

Liu Jingyun had no idea what devilish scheme Zhuo Yu was plotting, but he did not even spare a glance for his dead teammate. The look in his eyes as though he had spotted prey was entirely unlike the way he had been in Springwater Town.

A chill suddenly ran down her spine.

Rather than hope for clearing the movie, had she boarded a pirate ship...?

Just then, Zhou Wu's knocking sounded as well. He had no idea that what he was knocking on was the death knell of four exorcists.