Chapter 87: Shortest Path (2)
87 – Shortest Path (2)
Seeing that no one spoke, he turned to Butterfly Madam again. “Sister Die’s team is still top-notch.”
Butterfly Madam gave a cool nod and was the first to descend the stairs. The click of her high heels echoed in the passageway.
The prop master stood guard at the entrance. As Shenji Zhenren passed by, the prop master took a deliberate glance at the talismans floating around him and asked, “What kind of prop is this? High-tech? I’ve never seen anything like it before. Could you tell me about it?”
Shenji Zhenren replied, “No.”
The prop master: “…”
Clutching the doorframe, he looked pitiful, his face filled with a thirst for knowledge.
Lin Xun was someone who easily empathized with others. He understood the feeling of yearning for knowledge and couldn’t bear the thought of the prop master being shut out by Shenji Zhenren, left to spend the rest of his life lost in wild speculation about the principles behind those floating talismans.
He said, “It’s a new product from our company, virtual 3D technology.”
The prop master exclaimed in surprise, “Are you promoting it?”
Lin Xun replied without changing his expression, “Not for now. We’re here for testing.”
The prop master’s eyes lit up. “How are you testing it?”
Lin Xun said, “You’ll see in a moment.”
With that, he followed his master through the iron door and entered the underground space.
By then, almost everyone had come in. They heard the prop master chattering away in his uniquely fragmented tone as he gave them an introduction.
“This is the underground hall, the place for parties. The mannequins haven’t been put away yet, so don’t be scared later. The space is quite large, so be careful not to bump into anything or get lost.” As he spoke, the prop master finally found the light switch on the wall. “This light…”
A click sounded as the switch was turned on.
The dark space remained completely still.
“Hold on,” the prop master said. “The light’s not great; it needs time to load.”
About ten seconds later, from somewhere on the ceiling—perhaps the location of the light tube—a low hum sounded.
Then, a pale light flickered a few times before going out again.
In that brief flicker, Bihai Xianzi let out a sharp gasp.
Old Man Huo asked, “Is the light broken?”
“No,” the prop master replied. “Let it warm up a bit more.”
The group waited again. Another ten seconds passed, and the same hum sounded. Finally, a light tube on the concrete ceiling flickered weakly to life. The pale, dim light wavered slightly, making it easy to empathize with the poor tube struggling to stay lit. The brightness was truly pitiful, like a phone screen set to its lowest setting—so dim it strained the eyes, casting everything in a gloomy, misty haze.
Yet, the scene before them was enough to make one’s spirit… shudder.
In the spacious hall, the most eye-catching feature was a large banquet table in the center, about twenty meters long, flanked by around thirty white wrought-iron chairs. Some of the chairs were draped with white napkins, while others were splattered with bloodstains, exuding a palpable sense of malice under the dim light.
But this wasn’t even the worst of it. On the long table lay a mannequin covered with a white cloth. Judging by the head and exposed hands and feet, it looked incredibly lifelike, almost like a corpse that had just recently died. The white cloth covering its abdomen was stained with blood, and beside it lay a thirty-centimeter-long bloodstained dagger and a large silver pair of scissors. Surrounding the mannequin were over a dozen exquisite silver plates—some containing unidentifiable bloody substances, others still empty and waiting to be filled.
The prop master’s voice trembled again: “This… this is where the chef dissects people. He uses the scissors to cut open their bellies, the dagger to scoop out their organs, and distributes them to the guests. The organs are the lowest-grade food… the eyes and brain are reserved for the most honored guests. So this person isn’t dead yet—they have to watch as they’re hollowed out…”
Bihai Xianzi said, “You don’t need to explain in such detail.”
The prop master: “When I’m scared, I tend to talk too much.”
Bihai Xianzi: “Didn’t you make this yourself?”
The prop master: “I… I didn’t know it would turn out so realistic. The lighting was pretty good when I was working on it.”
Lin Xun thought that as a prop master, this young man deserved praise and a raise.
But as someone who had come here, it was a bit nauseating. The actors in this horror film must have nerves of steel. He glanced around and saw that the floor and corners were littered with dismembered limbs. Where there were no limbs, bloodstains were smeared across the surfaces. The walls were covered in bloody handprints and claw marks, while the ceiling bore chaotic, irregular black symbols. Things without order always evoked thoughts of chaos and malice. If a demon realm rift were to appear in a place like this, it would be fitting for a demon realm rift.
He took a step forward and felt something soft under his foot. Looking down, he saw a silicone eyeball.
Just then, Gushan Jun asked, “How are your actors holding up mentally?”
The prop master replied, “Not too well. Three have taken leave, and one is hospitalized. Everyone says they have nightmares every night. They keep blaming me for it, even though we performed the incense ritual before filming started…”
Gushan Jun said, “Why not use special effects for these things?”
The prop master: “Our director is a perfectionist. He says actors can immerse themselves better in this environment, and that creates the best effect—far more impactful than flashy special effects.”
Fair enough.
Then Xiaoyaozi said, “Let’s begin.”
Understanding the cue, Lin Xun ignored the prop master’s horrified expression and slowly unfurled the Star Array.
On the array, golden light and demonic Qi intertwined. Lin Xun adjusted the orientation of the scroll, observed for three seconds, and said, “The demonic Qi is strongest to the left front.”
Xiaoyaozi produced a white object from somewhere and handed it to him: “The room is too large. With this, we can all hear.”
Lin Xun initially thought it was some kind of sound-amplifying magical artifact, but upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a plain, ordinary megaphone. There were buttons on it, and he wondered if Xiaoyaozi had acquired it from a vegetable vendor selling melons at the foot of Qingcheng Mountain. Driven by curiosity, Lin Xun pressed one of the buttons, and a loud voice suddenly blared from the megaphone: “Apples, three yuan per jin, five yuan for two jin, ten yuan for three jin—”
Alright, not selling melons, but apples, and not great at math either. He expressionlessly closed it, carefully observed the symbol on the speaker button, then pressed another one, switching to amplification mode.
At that moment, the prop master’s expression shifted from confusion to one of looking at an idiot.
Just then, Old Man Huo silently walked up behind the prop master and slapped a yellow talisman onto his back. The prop master, who was both bewildered and unsure of who these people were, and also a bit scared, let out another pig-slaughter-like shriek. Turning around and realizing it was a living person, he seemed as if he had died, weakly saying, “You… you…”
Old Man Huo walked forward with his hands behind his back: “Keep up, don’t fall behind.”
The group split up according to the initial arrangement, with two people heading to each of the four corners of the house. Lin Xun stayed in the center to coordinate, standing beside the long table in the middle, with Chang Ji and Bihai Xianzi standing beside him to guard against any demons that might attack Lin Xun or disrupt the formation—after all, the Star Formation could detect demonic Qi, but to display demons, it first had to recognize them before marking others of the same kind. If a new type of demon appeared, the formation would struggle to display it immediately.
The prop master also trembled and hid behind Chang Ji, probably finding his senior brother more reassuring.
Apart from these people, the remaining seniors formed a wing-shaped formation and headed toward the front left, where the lighting was dimmest and there was a large silver-white rectangular object.
Lin Xun: “What is that?”
Prop Master: “A freezer.”
Lin Xun: “What’s inside?”
Prop Master: “Props, and ice water.”
Lin Xun stopped talking to him and focused on observing the Star Formation.
The entire underground area was shrouded in a faint layer of gray-black, and in the front right, the direction of the freezer, demonic Qi gathered and dispersed repeatedly, especially dense.
He raised the speaker and said, “Watch the freezer.”
His voice, amplified dozens of times, echoed through the underground area. He felt less like he was directing an operation and more like a city enforcement officer patrolling the streets.
“Lo,” Lin Xun pressed the speaker and said to his phone, “After today, I must have a proper voice system.”
The cultivation world group advanced toward the freezer.
The moment Old Man Huo’s foot landed, the familiar mechanical voice sounded in Lin Xun’s mind.
“Side quest activated.”
“Quest Name: West District Underground.”
“Quest Objective: Assist in locating and repairing the West District rift.”
“Quest Description: Those who come to the West District always find their mood turning gloomy.”
“Quest Reward: Chaos Treasure Box x1, Spiritual Power 10.”
“Quest Progress: 0.”
The moment he heard the system’s voice, Lin Xun quickly said, “It’s starting.”
They had come here to investigate the rift, and the demons would surely emerge to stop them. Once the two sides clashed, it would be a fight to the death.
Almost as soon as his words fell, a clanging sound suddenly came from inside the freezer!
With a sharp clang, Gushan Jun’s long sword thrust forward!
Xiaoyaozi’s compass spun rapidly, shooting out golden light.
“The demonic Qi in the freezer is still intensifying,” Lin Xun spoke rapidly. “Demonic Qi has appeared in the northwest corner, and there’s a bit in the southeast corner—Senior Brother, watch the ceiling.”
For a moment, everyone unleashed their magical instruments, creating a dazzling array of shimmering lights. Shenji Zhenren’s talismans whirled through the air, and his incantations were the loudest, though his words were unclear—or perhaps Lin Xun’s cultural literacy was insufficient. Over and over, he could only make out the phrase “Lingbao Tianzun.”
Chang Ji swung his golden Zen staff, colliding with an intensely thick demonic Qi in mid-air. Golden lotus flowers flickered into view, and the demonic creature seemed to be scorched by them, letting out a sharp screech before fleeing toward the southwest.
“Watch the southwest corner, something’s coming in ten seconds.” Trusting Chang Ji’s strength completely, Lin Xun didn’t spare a single glance for the demon. His eyes remained fixed on the star array. “The freezer’s about to blow. 3, 2, 1—”
A deafening explosion erupted as the freezer door shattered with an ear-piercing crack. Countless fragmented limbs shot out in all directions! Each piece seemed to possess a life of its own. A hand, thoroughly soaked in formaldehyde, clamped tightly around Gushan Jun’s neck before Old Man Huo tore it away with brute force and crushed it with a palm strike.
“Madam, behind you! Senior Shenji, watch your feet! Senior Yufeng, fall back!” As Lin Xun spoke, he heard the prop master beside him let out a wail of utter despair, far more piercing than his two previous cries today. “What the hell is this—”
Lin Xun replied, “Sound and light effects.”
“I don’t believe a word you say—” The prop master looked on the verge of tears, but then his penetrating voice dissolved into broken, incoherent fragments. “Hand… hand… hand…”
Lin Xun didn’t need him to explain. From the corner of his eye, he had already noticed the shattered arms, palms, and eyeballs slowly rising from the floor. Some darted chaotically around the room, while others began to gather, showing signs of reassembling into human forms—each fragment was saturated with dense demonic Qi.
He commanded, “Raise the barrier.”
A golden lotus barrier began to coalesce around him, Chang Ji, Bihai Xianzi, and the prop master.
The prop master took a deep breath, muttering to himself, “It’s just filming… Sister Die is here too… It’s virtual, 3D, can’t touch it…”
His hand trembled as he reached out, facial muscles twitching subtly, clearly struggling to maintain composure.
—Then he pinched a soft, squishy silicone eyeball.