Trembling in the Skies

Chapter 35: All Sorts of Over-the-Top Performances

“You will take turns drawing lots to choose the roles you’ll play in this scene.” “Once the performance begins, all eight of you will go together to the bus stop on the street to wait for the bus.” “Tonight’s last bus.” “You’ll all board that bus together.” “After the bus picks you up, it will make a total of four stops.” “The eight of you will split into pairs and get off at these four stops.” “The four men will draw lots to determine which stop they’ll get off at; only they will know the result of their draw. Of course, if you’re not afraid of dying, you can reveal it.” “Then the four women will choose which stop to get off at in order of their seniority in the production.” “Remember, one of you eight is a ghost.” “The ghost cannot be killed.” “But it’s easy for the ghost to kill people.” “The ghost’s powers are sealed on the bus, so it cannot kill anyone.” “The seal is broken the moment they get off the bus.” “If even one person is killed by the ghost, this ‘ghost play’ is considered a success.” “If the ghost doesn’t kill a single person within an hour, this ‘ghost show’ is still considered a success, but the ghost will lose 1,000 points!” “What we’re filming is the terrifying scene of riding alongside a demon. We’ll use this footage to warn people just how terrifying it is to take the last bus, so they should try to get home as early as possible after work.” Next, the female director repeated the basic rules of the set—the ones everyone already knew—and then moved on to the lottery ceremony to determine each actor’s role in this scene. The feisty old woman who had just arrived was a crew-level actress—two ranks higher than Li Teng and the other extras—and she was entitled to three chances to draw lots to determine her role. If she wasn’t satisfied with the role she drew the first time, she could draw again. If she was still unsatisfied with the second draw, she could draw a third time. The pretty-faced young man and the woman in sunglasses who had arrived with the feisty old woman were both minor supporting actors—one rank higher than Li Teng and the other extras—and each had two chances to draw lots to determine their roles. Extras like Li Teng, on the other hand, have only one chance to draw for their roles—whatever they draw is what they get. The feisty old woman is the highest-ranking, so she naturally draws first. According to the director’s description, in this scene, one actor will encounter a ghost, die, and be turned into a wax figure. This meant the difficulty was on par with the first high-speed car chase scene—an one-in-eight chance of turning into a wax figure. The director also mentioned that one of the eight people is a ghost, and the ghost cannot be killed. So, without a doubt, drawing the ghost is the safest option. If you draw the ghost, you can kill others and turn them into wax figures, but you won’t be killed yourself. It’s practically 100% safe. The ghost gets out of the car with the others and possesses supernatural abilities that humans lack. If the actor who draws the ghost can’t kill even one person within an hour, it can only mean that actor is incredibly stupid—there’s no other possible explanation. The feisty old woman gets to pick her role first and has three chances to draw, so the odds are high that she’ll snag the Ghost role. The staff brought a table and placed it by the café door, with an antique-style lottery tube on top. Eight bamboo sticks were inserted inside, each inscribed with the role a person was to play. The feisty old woman was called up first. The staff member picked up the tube, shook it a few times, and then asked her to draw a stick. While she was drawing the stick, the others standing by the coffee table weren’t allowed to approach, so they couldn’t sneak a peek at which role she’d drawn. The feisty old woman pulled out a bamboo slip, which was still sheathed in a paper sleeve. She slowly peeled back the sleeve with her hand and, upon seeing the characters revealed on the slip, couldn’t help but furrow her brow. “Would you like to draw another one?” the staff member asked the feisty old woman. “Yes.” The feisty old woman put the bamboo slip she’d just drawn back into the tube. The staff member picked up the tube, shook it again, and handed it back to the feisty old woman. The burly old woman drew another bamboo slip. She pulled back the sleeve to reveal the characters on it and frowned once more. She put the bamboo slip back into the tube once more and drew a third one. The feisty old woman pulled out the third bamboo slip, again sliding the sleeve aside with her hand. This time, when she saw the characters revealed, a smile instantly spread across her face. “Judging by her expression, she must have drawn the ‘ghost’ stick, right?” the female office worker speculated. “Although there are eight bamboo sticks in the tube, there are actually only two types: one is the ‘ghost stick,’ of which there’s only one; the other is the ‘ordinary person’s stick,’ of which there are seven. For us, only drawing the ghost stick guarantees absolute safety. The fact that she’s smiling means she most likely drew the ghost stick,” the man with glasses analyzed. “No, you’re wrong. If she draws the Ghost card, the three of us women will be safe, and only the four of you men will be in danger,” said the woman in sunglasses. “Exactly! How did I not think of that? Hmm, it’d be better if she drew the ‘Ghost’ card.” The female office worker looked as if a light bulb had just gone off. “Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!” The man in glasses gave the woman in sunglasses a thumbs-up. “Why would we women be safe if she draws the ‘Ghost’ card?” the young girl was still a bit confused. “Think about it… we got off the bus paired up with the guys…” the office worker prompted the young girl. “Oh, right! I’m so dumb!” The young girl gave an awkward smile. “Don’t think she really drew the ‘ghost’—she’s been acting with the class’s veteran actors for ages. It’s a piece of cake for her to pull off a specific expression to fool us,” the woman in sunglasses added. “That makes sense,” the office worker nodded. “Veteran actors… We’ve got an extra right here whose acting skills are even better than theirs!” The guy with glasses suddenly thought of something and glared indignantly at Li Teng. Li Teng was sipping his coffee and didn’t seem to hear what the man in glasses had said. The feisty old woman returned to the coffee table with the bamboo skewers threaded, a smug look on her face. The pretty-faced guy hurriedly and obligingly picked up the coffee from the table and handed it to her. Next up was the woman in sunglasses. Although she was on the same level as the fair-faced young man, she had more points in her account than he did, so she had priority over him in the draw. The woman in sunglasses had two chances to draw a stick. After the first one, she swapped it for another. Upon seeing the contents of the second slip, the woman in sunglasses excitedly pumped her fist, let out a “Yay!” , and only then slipped the bamboo stick onto the end before returning to the coffee table. “That performance was way too over-the-top! It doesn’t fit her persona—it’s definitely fake,” Gao Fei muttered under his breath. “What did you draw? Why are you so happy?” the guy with glasses asked her after she walked back. “Of course I drew a ghost. You handsome guys had better start praying right now—don’t get off the bus with me later,” the woman in sunglasses replied to the man in glasses. The burly old woman snorted coldly upon hearing the woman in sunglasses’ words, her face a mask of disdain. After the woman in sunglasses, it was the fair-skinned guy’s turn to draw a stick. He didn’t take the first stick either; after drawing the second one, he was so thrilled he hopped up and down a few times on the spot. “Wow! The best possible sign! I drew the ‘ghost’ one! Now we’re safe!” The pretty-boy walked back to the table, beaming as he held the bamboo stick. “I’d believe it if you’d actually seen a ghost!” The burly old woman poked the pretty-boy on the forehead with her finger. The pretty-boy laughed awkwardly. “There’s only one ghost, and everyone drew it—each one’s acting is better than the last!” the guy with glasses remarked. The remaining five extras were all on the same level; Gao Fei had the highest point balance in his account, while the others were tied. Those tied rolled dice to determine the order based on the numbers, and the result came out quickly: the order was the female office worker, the teenage guy with glasses, and Li Teng. After Gao Fei drew his lot, he let out a few exaggerated bursts of laughter before walking back to the table. The female office worker went first to draw her slip, followed by the young girl, and then the guy with glasses. After looking at their sticks, the three of them mimicked the others’ “excitement” for a while, putting on all sorts of over-the-top acts, before returning to the table with their bamboo sticks. One slip remained—it didn’t need to be drawn; it was Li Teng’s. Li Teng glanced quickly at his slip and walked back to the coffee table with a rather grim expression. The first round of drawing lots was over. Of the eight people, everyone except Li Teng had put on a show of joy at having drawn a “ghost slip.” As for who actually drew the “ghost slip”—the one that guaranteed safety—only the ghosts knew.