Trembling in the Skies

Chapter 39: The Dilapidated Bus

The young girl was a little scared and quickly moved closer to the office worker. The office worker wrapped her arm around the girl’s waist and, looking just as frightened, glanced around. Although there were quite a few people traveling with them, one of them was actually a ghost! “Hahahahaha…” Seeing everyone’s reaction, Guo’s mother couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Being a ghost is so much fun! Kill whoever you want, torment whoever you want—settle scores and vent your grievances. The higher an actor’s rank, the more privileges they have, and the easier it is to earn points. Crushing these rookie extras is a piece of cake. After passing through a small grove of trees, the scenery on both sides of the street grew increasingly desolate. Finally, I reached the bus stop. It was a dilapidated bus stop, the kind you’d find in the middle of nowhere that hadn’t been maintained in ages. The metal benches under the shelter were covered in rust, some of which looked just like old bloodstains. After arriving at the stop, the office worker and the young girl hugged each other and looked around nervously. The man in glasses and Gao Fei also looked a bit pale. Li Teng lowered the barstool, braced himself with both hands, and sat down on it, looking quite composed. The pretty-boy, panting heavily, lowered Mrs. Guo’s barstool as well, then, still catching his breath, gestured for her to sit down. Guo’s mother shot Li Teng a cold glance, then turned around and, supported by the fair-faced young man, strided over with a confident air, using her feet and hands to steady herself as she prepared to sit on the barstool he had lowered. Another chill breeze swept through the room. “Ah!!!” Li Teng seemed to have seen something terrifying; he suddenly let out a blood-curdling scream—so loud and piercing that it echoed loudly in the utterly silent bus stop, startling everyone completely off guard. Startled by Li Teng’s reaction—though they didn’t know why—the teenage girl and the office worker both let out screams as well. The fair-faced young man, who was supporting Mrs. Guo, shuddered with fear, and his grip on her loosened involuntarily. Mrs. Guo, who was stepping on the crossbar beneath the barstool to sit down, was equally startled by Li Teng’s scream. Her grip slipped involuntarily, her foot lost its footing, and with the fair-skinned young man also releasing his grip at the same moment, she instantly tumbled off the barstool. Her mouth struck the seat of the barstool directly, snapping two of her front teeth instantly. The pain was so intense that Mrs. Guo clutched her mouth and let out a loud, agonized scream. Li Teng watched the scene and burst out laughing. Then he reached into his pocket, pulled out a few cashews he hadn’t finished earlier, and began munching on them. “Ouch! Mrs. Guo was helped to her feet by the fair-faced young man, screaming in pain and cursing as she did so. Once Gao Fei, the woman in sunglasses, and the others realized what had happened, their expressions became quite animated. The deliberately somber atmosphere of the scene vanished in an instant. Since the scene wasn’t finished yet—and the actor wasn’t dead or seriously injured—the director wouldn’t interrupt filming to treat the injury early. Guo’s mother had a broken front tooth, so she had no choice but to grit her teeth and endure the pain for now. “I protest! Someone violated the rules and deliberately attacked another person!” the fair-skinned young man shouted at the drone circling overhead. A moment later, the fair-faced young man obediently fell silent. Clearly, the protest was in vain. During the performance, attacking other actors or crew members assigned by the production team for reasons unrelated to the plot is strictly prohibited. If such an incident occurs, the director will immediately intervene; actors who fail to comply will be penalized 1,000 points and eliminated from the show on the spot. Li Teng did not intentionally attack Guo’s mother just now; he merely let out a scream to match the scene’s atmosphere and enhance the film’s horror, so there was no intent to harm anyone. The others were also startled, but they were all fine—at most, they just shuddered a little. Guo’s mother, who happened to be climbing a step stool at the time, was so startled that she chipped a tooth—she’ll just have to accept her bad luck. During filming, the pretty-boy actor suddenly lodged a protest with the director—essentially challenging the director’s authority—and was likely to receive a warning. If he dared to protest again after being warned, he’d be kicked off the set immediately. “Trying to pull a fast one on me, are you? You’ve pissed me off—just wait and see how I’m going to tear you to pieces!” Guo’s mother cursed and threatened Li Teng, gritting her teeth against the pain. “I’m so scared,” Li Teng said with a smile, continuing to munch on cashews. “You’re just putting on an act! You’ll be crying and begging me on your knees in a minute!” Guo’s mother seethed with rage. She was even more puzzled now. Had Li Teng moved a bar stool from the coffee table over here just so she’d fall and break her front teeth? Could he have predicted that she’d bring a bar stool over too? That couldn’t be possible, could it? No matter how calculating a person might be, they couldn’t possibly plan something this far in advance, could they? “Why didn’t the director stop him from moving the stool, shouting randomly, and eating cashews—all that improvisation?” The guy with glasses seemed a bit put out and whispered a few questions to the pretty-faced guy. “If the ad-libbing doesn’t affect the key plot and the acting is spot-on in setting the mood for the film, it’s not a violation, and the director won’t step in to stop it,” the fair-faced guy replied irritably to the guy with glasses. His earlier protest had merely been an attempt to cover up his own responsibility—he’d been so startled that he’d let go, causing Guo’s mother to get hurt—in front of her. The guy with glasses mulled it over for a while. He wanted to improvise like Li Teng—without breaking the rules—to play a prank on Li Teng and Gao Fei, but no matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn’t figure out how to go about it. That scheming Li Teng is way too smart! He pulls off those tricks with such ease that you can’t even point out when he’s taken advantage of you. A guy like that is truly insidious! Absolutely despicable! Oh well, why bother thinking about it so much? No matter how scheming he is, no matter how skilled he is at tricking people, he’s bound to die tonight—he’s just struggling in his final moments now. The guy with glasses figured that Li Teng was just using his last moments to pull a few petty tricks on Mrs. Guo and save face in front of the crew. As for the bigger picture—the human being killed by the ghost, and Li Teng being killed by Mrs. Guo—there’s absolutely no doubt about it. With that thought, the guy with glasses couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief wash over him—everything suddenly made perfect sense. Even being falsely accused by Li Teng of eating three plates of snacks didn’t seem like a big deal anymore. How wonderful it is to be alive! Who would want to turn into a wax figure and stand there motionless? And so far, no one knows whether actors retain consciousness after turning into wax figures. If an actor were to retain a conscious mind while in a wax figure state, what an agonizing ordeal that would be. Unable to live, yet unable to die! After a brief interlude, the bus slowly pulled up from the corner in the distance. It was a dilapidated bus that even made a creaking sound as its metal panels rubbed against each other while it drove. “Whoosh…” “Clang!” With a clatter, the bus came to a stop in front of the crowd. The interior was dimly lit; the driver was a figure clad in a black hooded jumpsuit, head bowed so that his face was completely obscured. The driver was a member of the film studio’s staff; actors were not permitted to speak to the driver or engage in any other form of interaction unless required by the script. The director announced the boarding order over the headset, and everyone boarded one by one in the order he specified. Li Teng even carried his barstool onto the bus and placed it in an empty spot by the door. The director still didn’t stop him. When Guo’s mother saw Li Teng bring his barstool onto the bus without being stopped, she gritted her teeth and had the pretty-boy help her carry her barstool onto the bus as well, placing it right next to Li Teng’s. You’ve got your demon-subduing stool—well, I’ve got my demon-banishing stool! Who’s afraid of whom? No matter what, she couldn’t let him outdo her in sheer presence. Everyone was baffled by the fact that both Li Teng and Guo’s mother had each brought a barstool onto the bus. When masters face off, it’s called a “duel of magic”—were they planning to have a “stool duel”? “Why did you put the stool in the car? Does it have some special meaning?” After settling into her seat, the young girl finally couldn’t hold back any longer and whispered the question to Li Teng. Everyone else pricked up their ears, eager to hear Li Teng’s answer—it was a question none of them felt comfortable asking outright. Guo’s mother also pricked up her ears; although she didn’t believe Li Teng would answer the question seriously, it couldn’t hurt to listen.