I wake to discover that I am stranded more than a thousand meters above the ground, standing on the top of a stone pillar that rises through the clouds. I have no memory of how I reached it, no obvious route down, and no idea whether anyone else is nearby. The impossible location turns a simple question—how do I get home?—into a test of observation and survival. As I search the pillar for clues, I begin to suspect that arriving here was not an accident and that the sky around me is hiding an even larger mystery.
Chapter 31: A Glimmer of Light
That was to tie the rope around his own body, then leap off the stone pillar, letting those people pull the rope together to slowly haul him into the basket—that way, he could be saved as well. Li Teng felt that the latter method was more reliable—much more so than tying the rope to the bed leg. Of course, there was still some risk involved. He had to quickly secure himself to the rope before the wind changed direction; otherwise, if the wind shifted before he was fully secured—even if he was only halfway tied in—he would likely be yanked by the rope right up against the stone pillar and fall to his death. But what if he succeeded? If he succeeded, he’d be completely free of that damned stone pillar and wouldn’t have to take part in that “turn into a wax figure” act anymore. It was worth the gamble! Just as Li Teng was about to tie the rope around himself, the wind direction near the stone pillar shifted once more. A strong, strange gust swept by, violently pushing the hot air balloon toward the pillar. This time, the hot air balloon was approaching at breakneck speed. As Li Teng watched the basket hurtle straight toward the stone pillar, he was overcome with terror—there was simply nowhere to hide in the cramped space at the top of the pillar. This wasn’t a rescue—it was a collision! The hot-air balloon pilot also realized the danger and quickly increased the heat to rapidly raise the balloon’s altitude, hoping to prevent the basket from hitting the stone pillar. But whether due to the wind direction or a piloting error, the basket beneath the balloon suddenly swayed and tilted violently, ultimately crashing into the stone pillar anyway. Li Teng had quickly dived under the bed and was lying on the opposite side of the stone pillar’s top, narrowly avoiding the basket’s impact. However, the basket itself wasn’t so lucky. After colliding with the top of the stone pillar, the basket was knocked askew. The two people inside, who hadn’t held on tightly, were flung out of the basket and fell from a height of over a thousand meters, screaming in agony. After the two were flung out, the weight inside the hot air balloon became unbalanced. The pilot had already been increasing the heat to gain altitude; now, under the combined effect of suddenly increased buoyancy and wind force, the balloon rapidly soared away from the stone pillar. However, due to the impact, the hose connecting the gas cylinder in the gondola to the engine suddenly ruptured. High-pressure gas gushed out from the cylinder and ignited upon contact with the flames above the engine, causing an explosion that instantly turned the gondola into a sea of fire! The people inside the basket let out loud, agonized screams. Some, engulfed in flames, jumped out of the basket, while others continued to scream as the hot air balloon soared higher and higher. Li Teng, who had crawled out from under the bed, watched helplessly as the hot air balloon, billowing black smoke, soared higher into the sky, only for the balloon itself to burst and plummet back toward the ground along with the burning basket. “Why did this happen?” “They were just trying to save me!” “Damn it!” Li Teng was overcome with anguish. These people had come close to him intending to save him—he never imagined something like this would happen! Not only did they fail to save him, but they all lost their lives instead! He was the one who caused their deaths! Deep down, Li Teng had a vague feeling that their deaths were no accident. Just like the plane crash last time. It was as if some mysterious force were pulling the strings behind the scenes. This mysterious force clearly did not want Li Teng to be saved. It seemed that anyone who tried to approach the stone pillar met only one fate. And that was death. Although the kind-hearted people in the hot air balloon were unable to save Li Teng, they did give him something very precious. That was a bottle of mineral water. Just moments ago, when the gondola came crashing toward him, Li Teng was extremely nervous, but as he dodged it, he still clutched the bottle of mineral water tightly with one hand, preventing it from accidentally falling during the impact. This was a life-saving bottle of mineral water. If the helicopter still didn’t arrive today or tomorrow, and the weather remained hot, this bottle of mineral water would likely be his only hope of surviving until the next performance. The value of this bottle of mineral water goes far beyond the mere 600 mL of water it contains. Li Teng still had many days ahead of him without water atop Shizhu Peak. Even after he finished drinking it, the bottle could be used to collect rainwater or snowmelt, allowing him to last longer between performances—which would significantly increase his chances of survival in this brutal entertainment industry. In extreme cases, he could even use it to collect his own bodily fluids for reuse. Li Teng would be unwilling to do this unless absolutely necessary. It’s a real mental hurdle to overcome. Of course, if it ever came to that, he’d have no other choice. Still shaken, Li Teng cautiously sat down beside the broken bed. He unscrewed the cap of the precious bottle of mineral water. Then, he took a tiny sip and quickly screwed the cap back on. It felt so good to drink water. He really wanted to drink the whole bottle in one go. In the end, Li Teng managed to resist. He’d take one more sip before going to sleep, then save the rest for tomorrow. Tomorrow would be even harder. To prevent the mineral water bottle from accidentally falling, Li Teng stuffed it into his tattered blanket, then rolled the blanket up and wedged it between the bed rails—under these circumstances, ordinary movements wouldn’t be enough to knock it loose. Night. Li Teng was startled awake by a blindingly bright light. And a rumbling sound. He had no idea what time it was. He’d fallen asleep after dark, and having woken up in the middle of the night, he had no way of knowing what time it was. Still, it probably wasn’t too late—he felt like he hadn’t been asleep for very long. The blinding beam of light was coming from a black helicopter. Seeing the massive silhouette of the black helicopter against the night sky, Li Teng was overjoyed. Was it here to pick him up and take him to the film studio? He even began to wonder if he was dreaming. How did the shoot end up going on until late at night? Were they shooting a night scene? Once Li Teng was fully awake and certain he wasn’t dreaming, he hurriedly climbed the rope ladder lowered by the helicopter and was hauled up to the side of the cabin along with the ladder. Li Teng scrambled into the cabin, then rushed toward the box sitting inside. After opening it, he took out the bottle of drink and turned to throw it back onto the top of the stone pillar. Unfortunately, the cabin door slammed shut before he had a chance to do any of that. It seemed his plan to have an empty water bottle on top of the stone pillar was now impossible to carry out. The distance between the helicopter and the film studio seemed rather far. After eating the bread and cookies from the box and drinking the beverage, Li Teng lay down and soon fell into a deep sleep again. The helicopter landed in the same spot as last time. It was still on the helipad next to that beach. It seemed that once each actor arrived at the film studio, their landing spot was likely designated individually and remained fixed. Of course, this was just Li Teng’s guess; two instances weren’t enough to draw a precise conclusion. Unlike last time, the helicopter brought Li Teng here in the middle of the night. After getting off the helicopter, Li Teng ran straight toward the film studio. Once he reached the street, even though he was very hungry, Li Teng didn’t rush into a restaurant; instead, he ran over to a street-side kiosk. He logged into his account and waited to see if any newcomer missions or similar tasks would pop up. If there were any, he could earn 10 points! That’s almost as much as a performance. Unfortunately, there weren’t any. After waiting by the kiosk for quite a while, Li Teng finally headed to the restaurant. The clock on the restaurant wall read 10:30 p. m. With only half an hour left on the clock, it looked like Li Teng would have to make it to the film set before 11:00 p. m. Filming late at night. What kind of movie would it be? Li Teng had a bad feeling about this.
