FLME Ch48

“I am very sorry to hear of your misfortune. May we never meet again.”

Maintaining his upbringing and etiquette, the young Hero bowed slightly to the Demon Lord. The moment he turned around, his face became abruptly expressionless.

The Dwarf’s journal that appeared immediately after strung the scattered stories together.

The timeline of those seven days formed a clear, straight line, presenting itself before the audience.

Day One: The Hero’s squad arrived at the castle.
Day Two: The Grand Archmage was injured.
Day Three: They found the Princess in the basement. On the way to rescue her, they were attacked by ghost birds. The Grand Archmage annihilated all the ghost birds and died from blood loss.
Day Four: The forging of the Cruciform Holy Sword failed.
Day Five: The Dwarf was injured; the Elf died.
Day Six: To buy time, the Hero attempted to challenge the curse magic; unwilling to sit and wait for death, the Princess made a second attempt to kill the Demon Lord.
Day Seven: No one returned.

Knowing full well that getting injured meant certain death, the Princess cut herself with the Grand Archmage’s wand. The blood of purity appeared in the world once more, taking away the Demon Lord’s soul.

After this, the castle became a harmless prison. It wasn’t until the Bard broke in, and the Dwarf realized the Demon Lord’s residual resentment might persist forever along with the curse magic, that he summoned the Evil Dragon.

The arrival of the Evil Dragon rendered the curse magic completely ineffective.

The stories of everyone had settled into dust. Only the Hero was left, lost amidst the mountains, his fate unknown.

“I have conquered the sky, and now, I will challenge the mountains.”

This sentence appeared twice. The first time was in the Dwarf’s journal. The background was the smelting room, and the one reading the journal was Yu Wen. The roaring firelight illuminated his eyes, the fighting spirit hidden within his words reflecting brilliantly against the flames.

During dubbing, Yu Wen had recorded this line over a dozen times.

The director’s requirements for dubbing weren’t as high as those for film and television dramas; most of the time, they were allowed to improvise freely. But Yu Wen felt this single sentence best showcased the Hero’s character—it was of the utmost importance. He ground away in a corner for over half an hour before finally producing this satisfactory version.

Gentle, resolute, and carrying a smile that felt as if no hardship could ever grind it away.

The moment this line from the Dwarf’s journal played, the bullet comments exploded.

[Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, this tone of voice, so romantic, firm, and brave… so fucking sunny.]

[This corpse is a bit unaccustomed to it.]

[So blinding, oh, it’s the sun, goddamn it.]

[It’s all swear words. When emotions run deep, ‘holy crap’ really does conquer the world.]

[Heart is so soft… the Hero must still be alive, right? He is the center of the incident, he is hope.]

[It’s okay, my defenses aren’t broken. It’s just a newly discovered variety show, I’m not that emotionally invested… (sunglasses cool smile) It’s just that a friend of mine is feeling a bit uncomfortable. I suggest the director let them live, otherwise my friend is going to go crazy…]

Hero, your eyes are as bright as jewels.You can always effortlessly impart courage to others.Holding a notched sword, you set out to challenge the endless curse magic.

In just a few short sentences, the Hero’s personal charisma was fully displayed. Paired with this voiceover, it was an absolute killing blow.

“Impossible!” Xi Su was always exceptionally good at shattering sorrowful atmospheres.

Clutching a throw pillow, he couldn’t figure it out no matter how hard he thought. He stood up, paced two laps, sat down again, grabbed the blue hair on his head, ruffled it, smoothed it out, and just as his hair was about to turn into a weed patch, he put on an “I understand everything” expression.

“Actually, this isn’t the same timeline at all, right? This is a parallel universe! If they all died, then what are you guys?! Hahaha, you can’t all be souls, right? And you all gathered here definitely for a reason. I think you guys aren’t actually dead at all! The final mission is to kill the Demon Lord, and once you kill the Demon Lord, you can escape!”

Hearing the Dwarf’s journal say the Grand Archmage died, the Elf died, the Princess died… Xi Su’s heart seized, almost fleeing on the spot.

He couldn’t help it; he hadn’t fully digested the fact that Chu Zhiyao was going to die, and couldn’t withstand a second wave of damage.

But on second thought, he felt something wasn’t quite right.

If these people were really all dead, then what were these guests wandering around the castle now? Either they weren’t dead, or they died and then came back to life.

The more Xi Su thought about it, the more it made sense. He felt the plot could still struggle a bit, and maybe there would be a light at the end of the tunnel later on.

He would just persist for a little while. If he saw a knife, he would run, so the knife wouldn’t hurt him.

Perfect.

Xi Su looked at Yu Wen with expectant eyes, as if waiting for his confirmation. But the moment Yu Wen opened his mouth, he became vigilant again. “Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t spoil it for me! It definitely is what I deduced. Otherwise, what the heck are you guys?”

Yu Wen tilted his chin slightly toward the TV screen, signaling silently.

Look, what the heck we are will be revealed immediately.

Whispers of the Undead.

On the TV, the guests were at a loss facing a small box. Tong Li softly read the prompt on it: “The reason the undead refuse to disperse. What does this mean?”

The background music came to an abrupt halt. The camera swept meaningfully across the faces of the guests.

The guests were still confused, but the audience, possessing an omniscient perspective, had more comprehensive information. Seeing this, they had already vaguely guessed it.

[Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap! I kind of get it… All the guests are undead! (Except for Yu Wen). They gathered here because the Hero hasn’t reached his ending yet! The Hero is lost in the magic, his fate unknown, so everyone is waiting for him!]

[“You are the center of the incident” means this!]

[I’m really going to go crazy… What kind of cheap little girl am I…]

[The writing of Battle Royale has leveled up again… The script for the Hero’s squad is absolutely god-tier.]

[A story that is warm, resolute, and full of regrets. I love it so much, I really love it so much.]

[Who taught you guys to move the camera like this?! Sweeping across their faces, then cutting to the Hero turning his head in the darkness… This damn sense of destiny! This damn sense of displacement!]

[I have a bold idea… Why was the Hero separated from everyone else for the entire episode…]

[Now that the person above mentions it…]

[Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, the broadcast never stated what timeline it is currently. If right now is some year after the incident occurred… the Hero is lost in the mountains, fighting a lone battle, while all the undead in the castle remain to wait for his awakening…]

[It’s deliberate! The Hero is all alone! Only when he wakes up and walks out of the magic will he reunite with his companions!]

Grand Archmage: “Wait, wait a little longer. Wait for him to walk out of the mountains.”

Elf: “I still have one companion, he seems to be alive… He is lost in the mountains. I want to wait for him to wake up.”

Princess: “I do not know if he is dead or alive. But since the Evil Dragon is entrenched here, he must still be alive… I firmly believe this, even if it is baseless.”

Dwarf: “I will watch over this place with it forever. Waiting for someone to return…”

The subsequent four segments of the undead’s whispers completely confirmed the audience’s guesses.

Perhaps by coincidence, the four guests each drew a piece of paper with an undead’s whisper from the box. To analyze the clues, they each read it aloud, and those whispers perfectly corresponded to their own identities.

Driven by the atmosphere, the guests’ expressions invariably turned heavy. The intermittent, dream-like voices echoed in the basement. Destiny closed its loop at this moment, and the shadows of the characters appeared on them.

They were the undead.

Even if their memories were chaotic, even if they didn’t understand why, they still lingered here for a long time.

The reason the undead refused to disperse… was because they were waiting for a companion.

Music with a drumbeat started playing, like the high-energy deduction sequence right before the truth is revealed in a detective show. Sentence after sentence of sleep-talk mixed into a cacophonous noise, growing louder and louder. Finally, with a rapid transition, the camera froze on Yu Wen’s face.

His expression was filled with shock, surprise, sorrow, bewilderment… Countless complex emotions intertwined. The camera zoomed in, and his dark, bright pupils reflected the massive, icy shell of the dragon.

This was the expression he showed when he opened the secret room where the Evil Dragon resided.

The editing team of Battle Royale really knew what they were doing.

The switching between these two scenes made it seem as if the Hero was awakening, his memories reviving amidst the segments of the undead’s whispers.

The Hero in the mountains… was searching for a way out.

Battle Royale trended on social media every episode, but this was the first time an episode had appeared at the number one spot on the trending list before it was even available online, tagged with a “Hot” label.

#BattleRoyaleHeroSquad#

Strictly speaking, the fact that the TV broadcast wasn’t over yet meant the ending was still uncertain, and the overall quality of the episode wasn’t guaranteed. The production crew wouldn’t buy a trending search at this time, nor would netizens recommend it at this point.

But this episode was truly god-tier. It was only halfway through, but netizens who couldn’t hold it in were already howling on Weibo, transforming into free promoters, wishing they could drown the entire internet with recommendations.

[Everyone! Go watch it!]

[This episode of Battle Royale gave me scalp numbness…]

[?? Is it over already? There should be an hour or so left.]

[It’s not over, but whatever, I’m recommending it first.]

[Are you guys crazy, who recommends something when it’s only halfway through.]

[This dowager is setting a precedent today! So what if it’s only halfway! The quality of the first half is top-tier! I’m leaving my words here today: even if the second half is a trainwreck, the first half remains god-tier!]

[Gave me goosebumps all over, it’s so moving and shocking.]

[It’s truly incredible, so incredible. When I die, please burn this episode onto a disc for me.]

[This episode is genuinely amazing, it’s your loss if you don’t watch it…]

[Season three is a complete audio-visual feast. The costumes and props are amazing, the BGM is amazing, the dubbing is amazing, and the holograms are amazing too.]

[Holograms?! What! They have this kind of technology now?!]

[Yes! The Evil Dragon’s memories are all holograms.]

[Evil Dragon? What kind of script is this episode, there’s even a dragon.]

[Go watch it and you’ll know! Go watch it! Even though the ending isn’t out yet, my intuition tells me it’s only going to get crazier, it won’t flop!]

[By the way, the storyline between the Hero and the Evil Dragon hasn’t come out yet… I feel like it’s going to be a very touching storyline too.]

Because it trended early, fueled by the passionate recommendations of countless netizens, the viewership for the second half exploded exponentially. The bullet comments overlapped layer upon layer, making it dizzying to watch.

Yu Wen’s livestream was also flooded with a massive crowd of onlookers.

[Hi, Melon King.]

[Hi, wifey (holding a rose in mouth)]

[Compared to a cold TV set, of course I’d choose the pretty boy’s livestream.]

[Can the streamer summarize the plot of the first half? I’m late.]

The bullet comments in the livestream were also becoming difficult to read. Yu Wen asked Xie Heyu to turn up the TV volume so the microphone could pick it up. He leaned close to the camera, squinting to make out what everyone was saying.

“The plot of the first half? It’s hard to say… You like Xiao Yu? Thank you, thank you, Xiao Yu likes you too… Streamer take your clothes off? The streamer will not take his clothes off, this is a proper livestream… Blue Hair?”

A few bullet comments mentioned Xi Su. Yu Wen turned around in confusion and saw that Xi Su was no longer on the sofa. He was hugging a pillow, pacing back and forth, back and forth behind the sofa.

“Ah!” he suddenly let out a ghostly shriek, startling Yu Wen.

“Dead, all dead, hahaha what an amazing plot…” Xi Su grabbed his hair. “A trashy variety show dares to play with me?! Fire! Fire! I’m going to bomb you all to death—”

Right now, Xi Su was full of regret, immense regret.

Before the “Whispers of the Undead,” he clearly realized there might be knives, but because he still held a sliver of expectation for the plot, he gritted his teeth and kept watching. At the time, he thought he absolutely must stay on high alert and run the moment he saw a hint of a knife.

But later on, he accidentally got too engrossed and slowly let his guard down.

By the time he snapped out of it, boom! “Whispers of the Undead”! Before he could even react, the TV had explicitly labeled these characters as undead.

Hahaha! Hahaha!

Psychopaths!

Xi Su wandered around behind the sofa twice and suddenly disappeared from the camera’s view. When he reappeared in front of the netizens, he was holding an upside-down broom.

Holding the broom, he stood behind Yu Wen like a warrior about to ride into battle.

“Teacher Yu,” he bent down slightly, staring at Yu Wen with a twisted and threatening expression. “Tell me where the director and screenwriter of Battle Royale live. I have some matters I need to discuss with them face-to-face.”

Yu Wen: “…”

The livestream went absolutely crazy with laughter.

[Hahahaha another one went insane.]

[Table for one for Xi Su on the rooftop.]

[He’s really emotionally invested in watching TV. A few days ago I saw him arguing with other Immortal Sect CP fans on Weibo hahahahaha.]

[What is he holding a broom for? A weapon?]

Happiness is always built upon the suffering of others. The viewers, who were originally saddened by the plot of Battle Royale, became joyous one after another upon seeing Xi Su’s reaction.

This caused the popularity of Yu Wen’s livestream to skyrocket. The platform swiftly put him on the front-page recommendation. In no time, #YuWenLivestream# became the second most trending topic, hanging right below the Battle Royale topic.

Yu Wen wasn’t aware of this yet; he was currently trying to calm Xi Su down.

“Teacher Xi, it’s just a variety show. There might be a twist later, why don’t you keep watching? Besides, telling you the address is useless. Trespassing on private property is illegal…”

“Trespassing is illegal, but is intentional assault not illegal?!”

Yu Wen: “…What?”

Xi Su pointed at himself. “They used the plot to brutally harm my heart.”

Yu Wen: “…”

[Pfft haha fuck, so tacky and unhinged, I love it.]

[He’s acting as my representative.]

[We’re just netizens, you’ve crossed the line.]

[Come on, Teacher Xi, let’s watch together. You are my electronic pickled mustard greens today.]

“Teacher Xi,” Yu Wen patted his shoulder with pity and sympathy. “I’m sorry to hear this tragic news. I hope the pain in your heart heals quickly… But the variety show isn’t over yet, it’s still uncertain how things will develop later.”

He really had good intentions. If Xi Su could watch until the end, he would find that the entire season would be dedicated to resurrecting the Hero’s squad. He might feel it was acceptable, as there was at least hope.

But Yu Wen forgot that before reaching that ending, there was a massive wave of flashback knives waiting for the audience.

“This is the wind.”

“This bag of wind is my combat trophy.”

“The Princess’s good friend Xiao Hua…”

“The strange stone at the Grand Archmage’s door…”

“My friend, not being able to see you one last time is truly a regret of this life.”

“This time, I must embark on the journey alone.”

The Hero’s collection and the Evil Dragon’s memories were broadcast synchronously. Yu Wen pressed his forehead against the Evil Dragon’s, his health bar dropping continuously. Holographic projections flowed endlessly, with occasional close-ups of Yu Wen’s expression interspersed with the Hero’s collection.

The memories of the best friend duo contained large amounts of each other. Editing their clues together was like perfectly fitting two pieces of a puzzle, far more tear-jerking than a single perspective.

[Aaaaaah he said ‘My friend’ aaaaaah is this really a variety show, my eyes are peeing.]

[Hero wuwuwuwu aaaaah wuwu]

Finally, Yu Wen said, “I will win.”

Yu Wen wasn’t a narcissistic person, but this segment was excessively brilliant. He had a premonition that it would definitely trend tonight.

This episode, with its various disparate storylines, could potentially spawn countless trending topics, dominating the charts directly.

The delicate and substantial plot would be repeatedly excavated and savored by netizens for a long time to come.

He felt fortunate. Fortunately, he started getting invested in the plot during the latter part of the recording, avoiding becoming the criticized flaw in this god-tier variety show episode.

It feels like… I did pretty well.

Yu Wen propped his chin up and watched TV. Just as he felt a little smug, Xi Su behind the sofa suddenly got excited and let out a loud shout: “Tai!”

Three pairs of eyes in the villa shot over in unison. Yu Wen was completely baffled and turned his head in confusion.

Under the watchful eyes of the three pairs of eyes and the livestream camera, Xi Su swung the broom, charged up to the TV in a few quick strides, and pointed at Jian Heng, who was attempting to attack Yu Wen on the screen.

“Tai!” He attempted to use the broom to stab the Bard to death from across the room. “Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!”

Yu Wen: “…”

Xie Heyu: “…”

Chu Han: “…”