FIMA Ch31: Recording

Xie Jinzhao and the others rested for a while in the afternoon. A few of them went to touch up their makeup, and the official recording was about to begin.

Led by the staff, the three guest stars walked through the amusement park paths towards the recording location—the garden castle.

This was also the reason for the fans’ earlier screams.

Cheng Ou noticed that his boss seemed very interested in the area over there and said, “I heard that there are spots available for live audience members for this show. We can ask the person in charge to get us two spots, so we can watch on-site.”

Gu Siyuan nodded and said seriously, “Sure, let’s go observe the reactions of the variety show guests and the audience, so we can make adjustments and improvements to our technical effects.”

Cheng Ou gave a thumbs up and said, “The boss is really responsible, not only good at technology but also attentive to user experience.”

“Ahem…” Gu Siyuan coughed lightly and said in a low voice, “Go ahead!”

The castle was not very tall, with a total of four floors.

The fourth floor had only an attic, and the first floor was a huge living room. Now, the living room was divided into two sections, already filled with people.

On the left side, which took up about one-fifth of the living room, there was an oval long table with four regular guests of the show already seated, along with several filming machines.

The right side was bustling, with a huge screen and dozens of small screens next to it, showing real-time footage from various parts of the castle.

Below the machines were about ten rows of roughly over a hundred tables and chairs, most of which were already occupied by people. These were the live audience members, who would be the first to fully witness the entire recording process of the variety show.

The director would also edit the most interesting and exciting highlights based on the live audience’s real-time feedback, to be uploaded and broadcasted on TV and video websites two weeks later.

When Xie Jinzhao and the others walked into the castle.

They immediately saw the crowd inside the room, but they ignored everything on the right side and walked directly to the oval long table on the left.

From the moment they arrived at the castle’s main entrance, the recording had already begun.

Looking at the four regular guests who had arrived early and were sitting solemnly at the long table, Xi Shuang turned her head and whispered to Xie Jinzhao, “Oh my, this is so scary. Is this the legendary Last Supper?”

Xie Jinzhao glanced at her and said, “Aren’t you Judas? Why don’t you go and sit down?”

Xi Shuang: “…”

Is this the demeanor of a contemporary male idol?

But these two lines of dialogue made everyone present laugh.

Teacher Li said with a smile, “Since you’re here, come over and sit down. We’ll start drawing lots for grouping and explaining the rules soon!”

As soon as he finished speaking, as if on cue, a dangerous “sizzling” sound echoed in the room.

At the same time, a blue light flashed, and a black figure dressed like an Azkaban Dementor floated in the center of the oval long table.

The black figure opened its terrifying mouth: “Before taking your seats, the three players must first undergo a check by the referee team.”

Xie Jinzhao and the others were all taken aback.

Xi Shuang jumped up directly, hiding behind Xie Jinzhao: “A ghost, there’s a ghost…”

Xie Jinzhao, maintaining his high-cool Bking image, clenched his fingers until they turned white, and forced himself to remain calm: “Seeing how calm Teacher Li and the others are, you can tell it’s fake…”

Qi Ran, noticing the barely suppressed laughter on the faces of Teacher Li and the others, said, “The four teachers are just waiting to see us make fools of ourselves!”

“Really?” Xi Shuang slowly got up, but still half-covered her eyes before daring to look at the table.

Teacher Li, who had evidently already gone through this once, said with a smile: “Before the recording, the director told me that this shoot would be very different. The amusement park has introduced some high-tech gadgets, and the experience will be excellent. It seems that wasn’t an exaggeration. This is just a small appetizer; the real fun starts once the game begins.”

“…” The other six people.

Don’t say such terrifying things with an expectant look on your face.

This already eerie castle suddenly having such a figure appear was scary enough.

At this moment, three masked staff members appeared from a corner, each holding a device, and started scanning Xie Jinzhao and the other two meticulously.

Next, their watches, phones, jewelry, and various electronic and metal trinkets were confiscated.

Qi Ran joked, “Luckily, I wore sweatpants today for convenience, no belt. Otherwise, that would be embarrassing…”

Xi Shuang nodded in agreement, “Good thing I’m wearing seamless underwear. Otherwise, it would be really embarrassing.”

“Ahem…”

Although everyone knew Xi Shuang was known for her antics and loose talk, hearing such a statement from a 21-year-old girl on a variety show still made everyone present cough lightly a few times.

At this point, Xie Jinzhao suddenly raised his hand: “Hello, referee, may I ask, are we the only ones who need to be checked?”

“Everyone needs to be checked,” the black figure confirmed.

Xie Jinzhao smiled slightly: “But we weren’t present when the four teachers were checked. You’re all so familiar with each other; what if they kept something?”

The four regular guests were taken aback. Wow, the newcomers dare to challenge us right from the start.

#This is like the leader turning the table at a meal!#

#You, a newbie, trying to challenge the local experts!#

Many variety show fans in the audience, who originally had a poor impression of flow-idols like Xie Jinzhao, now laughed along.

Variety shows are all about this kind of effect. The four regular guests, after the initial shock, not only had no objections but even made a few mildly threatening jokes with him.

Upon checking, surprisingly, a few items were actually found on Wang Xue and Ji Haoying: a small hairpin and a digital watch.

Despite their playful complaints, these items were resolutely confiscated, which triggered another round of laughter from the audience.

The director was very pleased with this and also very satisfied with Xie Jinzhao. This is exactly the kind of effect a variety show needs.

Qi Ran glanced lightly at Xie Jinzhao, quite unexpectedly impressed with his performance…

After the recheck was completed, the terrifying figure at the round table once again made a “sizzling” sound: “There is a lot-drawing tube in front of me. Now, the seven players, please draw lots for grouping.”

According to the usual rules, it was generally Teacher Li who stepped forward first.

However, the black figure paused for a moment, then its dark, hollow eyes swept over Xie Jinzhao’s face and added: “To ensure fairness, the three latecomers, please draw lots first.”

Another round of laughter erupted from the audience; this black-clad referee was obviously holding a grudge.

Xi Shuang nervously grabbed Xie Jinzhao: “Is this referee a real person? He actually looked at you!”

Xie Jinzhao shook his head with a wry smile but did not refuse and stood up first to draw a lot.

The lot was made of hard cardboard, and after Xie Jinzhao drew it out, the end was colored green.

Next was Qi Ran, who drew a red-ended lot. It seemed the groups were divided by color.

Xi Shuang had been waiting early on. After Qi Ran finished, she immediately reached out and drew a green-ended lot. She glanced at Xie Jinzhao, feeling uneasy: “I wonder how many colors there are, and how many groups there will be. Probably only two groups, right?”

Xie Jinzhao comforted her: “Probably…”

While they were talking, Teacher Li also finished drawing his lot, which was red.

Xi Shuang breathed a sigh of relief: “There should be only red and green groups, then at least one more person will be in our group. That’s great.”

However, in the next moment, Wang Xue’s lot came out, and the end was colored yellow.

Xi Shuang and Xie Jinzhao covered their faces, almost wanting to faint.

Soon, the remaining two also finished drawing.

Ji Haoying’s lot was yellow, and Lu Yanyan’s was red.

The current grouping situation:

Red Group: Teacher Li, Qi Ran, Lu Yanyan.

Yellow Group: Wang Xue, Ji Haoying.

Green Group: Xie Jinzhao, Xi Shuang.

This meant that the two youngest newcomers, Xie Jinzhao and Xi Shuang, who were on a variety show for the first time, were put into one group, and it was only the two of them.

Everyone else looked over with sympathy or schadenfreude.

After all, this show involved eliminations.

With just the two of them, they might not last ten minutes and would be out immediately, making this episode a waste of time with no screen time.

Xi Shuang, showing no teamwork spirit, blamed Xie Jinzhao mercilessly: “It’s definitely because you were too arrogant just now and offended the referee.”

Xie Jinzhao sighed in despair: “Let me calm down for a moment.”

#Youth knows not the depths of society!#

Teacher Li, smiling with squinted eyes, came over and patted Xie Jinzhao’s shoulder: “Don’t be discouraged. Young people should show the same vigor you had when you questioned us. You might just last ten minutes, you know!”

Qi Ran, as the other half of Xie Jinzhao’s legendary friendship CP, stepped forward and said, “Friends are like birds of a feather; when disaster strikes, they fly apart.”

This line had a great variety show effect.

Everyone else, including the audience, laughed heartily.

At this moment, another regular, Wang Xue, raised her hand and protested, “Everyone knows that Teacher Li is the best at solving puzzles. Their group has three people, and our two groups are at a disadvantage. Doesn’t the show provide any extra clues?”

The black-clad referee was obviously prepared for this, and a voice like metal scraping sounded: “To be relatively fair, the two groups with fewer people will each receive a special card.”

“Great,” the four people in the yellow and green groups sighed with relief.

A staff member came forward with a tray, and Wang Xue and Xi Shuang stepped up as representatives to draw.

Seeing the contents of their cards, Xi Shuang’s expression improved; she got a card for an on-the-spot resurrection, usable only once.

Wang Xue smiled slightly, her expression neither happy nor sad.

She drew a card for outside assistance, which had appeared in previous seasons. This meant she could select one person from the over a hundred audience members to join as a teammate.

However, previous examples showed that these outsiders were mostly armchair players, excelling in online strategy but often becoming burdens during the actual game.

The audience’s atmosphere was very enthusiastic, with many eagerly raising their hands, expressing their desire to join.

The camera panned over the excited faces and projected them onto the big screen, but Wang Xue’s eyes kept darting around, unable to make a decision.

Suddenly, she caught sight of something out of the corner of her eye and exclaimed, “I’ve decided.”

Teacher Li and others joked, “Look at that expression. Clearly, she’s spotted someone interesting, right?”

Wang Xue smiled lightly, then pointed straight towards the door, which wasn’t in the camera’s view, and made her choice without hesitation: “I’ll choose this gentleman.”

Teacher Li, somewhat nearsighted, couldn’t see the person’s face clearly and vaguely remarked, “Haha, we’ll have to interview this gentleman later and ask Wang Xue why she chose him.”

“Can I say it now?” Wang Xue first covered her mouth and laughed, then with a straightforward blink of her pretty phoenix eyes, she answered, “Of course… because he’s handsome!”

Upon hearing this reason, everyone from the production crew to the guests, who had been zoning out, turned their attention to the chosen man.

Almost everyone was amazed.

Indeed, the man Wang Xue casually picked was extraordinarily handsome, even more so than the carefully made-up male stars present, exuding an inexplicable noble and cold charm.

Xie Jinzhao and Qi Ran blinked in surprise.

The assistant director, holding the camera, approached the chosen man and warmly smiled, “Sir, on behalf of the production team, I invite you to join our variety show. What do you think?”

“That might not be convenient.” Before Gu Siyuan could refuse, Cheng Ou stepped in to block the approaching camera, proactively shielding his boss from trouble.

The assistant director, quick-witted, immediately smoothed things over, “Rejected! This gentleman has coldly and unfeelingly turned us down. Has our show really lost its appeal? Sir, have you never watched ‘Who is the Adventur King’?”

“I haven’t.” Gu Siyuan shook his head.

The so-called hardcore fans naturally turned black; among the over a hundred audience members, most were die-hard fans, and they mercilessly jeered, “Haha, hit a wall, didn’t you? The guy doesn’t care about you. See if Lao Li dares to call himself the number one variety show in the country now.”

But then Gu Siyuan calmly spoke again, “Although I haven’t watched it, I can participate in the game.”

The assistant director finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Cheng Ou glanced at his boss in confusion, wondering why his attempts to flatter today were falling short.

No wonder they say serving a king is like serving a tiger…

At this point, the assistant director, clearly aiming to stir things up, raised his eyebrows and asked, “Sir, may I ask what made you change your mind?”

“Oh, I saw Xie Jinzhao. I’m his fan,” Gu Siyuan casually glanced at Xie Jinzhao at the round table and said coldly.

Assistant director: “…”

You really don’t show any joy or excitement upon seeing your idol…

Nevertheless, the assistant director dutifully cut the camera to Xie Jinzhao’s face and joked, “Our program is in the spotlight today thanks to Jinzhao.”

Xie Jinzhao quickly squeezed out a smile and politely said to the camera, “I’m very honored to have such a handsome male fan.”

Wang Xue also came over, smiling mischievously, “It’s a pity the help card fell to my group. Otherwise, Jinzhao could have teamed up with his fan.”

Xie Jinzhao: “Then I’ll have to ask Sister Xue to take good care of my fan.”

With the way Gu Siyuan spoke, which could irritate eight people in one go, Xie Jinzhao suspected that the yellow team might fall apart due to internal strife.

Gu Siyuan glanced at Cheng Ou and said softly, “You and the driver can go back.”

“Okay!” Cheng Ou nodded.

However, before leaving, he gave his boss a magical look. So you’re here to chase stars. How youthful!

Gu Siyuan, expressionless, walked to Wang Xue’s side, “Hello, I’m Gu Siyuan.”

As he got closer, Wang Xue felt the pressure of his presence and quickly laughed, “Hello, I’m Wang Xue. I hope we have a pleasant collaboration.”

Gu Siyuan nodded, “Definitely.”

Ji Haoying also forced a smile, “I’m Ji Haoying, and we’re in the same group.”

Gu Siyuan: “Mm.”

Xie Jinzhao glanced around, shuffled over to his side, and asked in a low voice, “What’s going on with you?”

Gu Siyuan, with a straight face, lied, “I’m here on business, just passing by.”

Cameras were everywhere, so Xie Jinzhao couldn’t say much. He quietly advised, “During the recording, you’d better say as little as possible. Otherwise, when the show airs, you’ll probably have more haters than I do.”

Gu Siyuan glanced at him coldly, “That’s true. After all, you probably won’t survive the game for more than five minutes, so the haters won’t even have a chance to criticize you.”

“…” Xie Jinzhao.

See? With a way of talking like that… it’s no wonder he attracts hate.

At this moment, Qi Ran also cheerfully joined in, openly saying, “Brother Siyuan, what brings you here?”

Wang Xue curiously asked, “You know each other?”

Qi Ran nodded, “We’re neighbors; we’ve known each other since we were kids.”

Xi Shuang was surprised, “You’ve known each other since childhood, so why did this handsome guy say he’s a fan of Xie Jinzhao?”

With this, the scene quieted down.

It’s easy to imagine that if this segment isn’t cut out, Xi Shuang will definitely be torn apart by Qi Ran’s fans when the show airs, and Xie Jinzhao probably won’t escape either.

However, the show’s director might like this since conflicts also generate buzz.

The referee’s voice rang out again, “Now, let me introduce the game background and rules.”

“Eighty years ago, the Bai family was famous in A City. The head of the Bai family had four concubines and three children: two sons and one daughter. One day, the most favored fourth concubine gave birth to a son, but the next morning, they found the newborn dead in the nursery on the third floor…”

“…Now, you players have traveled back to the Bai family mansion eighty years ago. Please find the culprit who killed the baby…”

“However, except for the main hall, all other areas may be dangerous. The mansion contains three marked weapons; being hit by one will result in death. Additionally, the third concubine has leprosy, and any contact with her will result in immediate death. Lastly, the mansion’s facilities are old, so be careful to avoid accidents…”

“The main hall is your only safe place and also marks the end of the game. Deceased players will be taken to the main hall by staff. Anyone who finds the real culprit with evidence can go to the main hall to end the game.”

“Now, the game begins. Players, please go upstairs.”

The three teams, under the referee’s hollow and terrifying gaze, ascended the stairs one by one.

After that, everyone tacitly split into three directions to start searching for clues in the mansion.

As an outsider, Gu Siyuan kept a low profile, following Wang Xue and Ji Haoying.

Xie Jinzhao chose to skip the second floor and went directly to the third floor.

Since the baby died on the third floor, the most clues would likely be found there.

Xi Shuang didn’t really want to go; she felt there might really be a baby’s ghost floating around, especially after seeing the black technology earlier. However, if she didn’t go now, she’d have to act alone later, which was even scarier.

Xi Shuang stuck close to Xie Jinzhao, looking around cautiously, “We’re the weakest group, so we must cooperate sincerely and help each other, never abandoning or giving up on anyone!”

“Of course,” Xie Jinzhao nodded coldly.

Seeing his calm demeanor, Xi Shuang felt slightly reassured, “Have you played this kind of escape adventure before?”

“No,” Xie Jinzhao shook his head but immediately added confidently, “However, I often watch adventure shows, especially ‘Who is the Adventur King.’ I’ve seen every episode.”

Xi Shuang felt even more relieved, “So you have some experience then…”

Just then, a loud knocking came from the room on their right, accompanied by a hoarse, broken laughter and a faint sigh from somewhere.

“Ah…” Xi Shuang’s legs went weak, nearly collapsing.

However, she didn’t fall.

Because the ‘experienced player’ beside her suddenly screamed madly and grabbed her shoulders, hiding behind her.

She wanted to fall, but there was no place.

“…” Xi Shuang.

At this moment, the banging on the door became more intense, even accompanied by the clattering of metal fittings on the door frame, as if the door would collapse the next moment, and whatever horror lay within would jump out in front of them.

There was no time for fear.

Xie Jinzhao, panting, said, “Run.”

Without waiting for Xi Shuang to react, he started to run.

Although Xi Shuang usually seemed scatterbrained, she reacted quickly in critical moments. She grabbed the hem of Xie Jinzhao’s clothes, “Take me with you.”

Xie Jinzhao hadn’t steadied himself yet, and his running momentum was suddenly stopped. He stumbled and knelt on one knee.

As his head lowered, his gaze aligned with the bottom crack of the door next to them, and he saw a black-and-white eye staring straight at him through the gap.

“Ah…”

Xie Jinzhao screamed louder than a pig being slaughtered.

Xi Shuang, thinking he had fallen, was about to ask what happened but then met that black-and-white eye directly.

“Ah!”

The next moment, she threw Xie Jinzhao aside and dashed to the hallway corner, transforming into a blur of speed.

Meanwhile, the yellow team on the second floor also encountered their surprise.

A chef wielding a bloody cleaver suddenly jumped out and started chasing Wang Xue and others frantically.

Wang Xue and Ji Haoying immediately ran for their lives.

Gu Siyuan, with one hand in his pocket, stood calmly in the middle of the corridor, watching the running fat chef.

As the chef neared, he extended his leg to trip him. The chef, already having more inertia due to his size, immediately lost his balance.

Gu Siyuan sidestepped to avoid the falling chef, then swiftly grabbed his arm with one hand and struck his wrist with the other, causing intense pain and forcing the chef to release his grip.

“Clang…” The cleaver fell to the floor.

Gu Siyuan, still holding the fat chef, picked up the cleaver and began examining it closely.

Then, his gaze changed sharply. The knife whistled through the air, and the cold blade tip pointed directly at the chef still lying on the ground. “Go back to where you came from. Don’t get in my way!”

Without saying a word, the chef scrambled to his feet and fled, rolling and crawling away.

“…” The rest of the yellow team.

Can you do that?

When did NPCs become so cowardly?