APP: Chapter 152

The movie was about to start and ghosts who had purchased tickets were seated. Some ghosts were still coming in with tickets and were shocked when they saw the crowded movie theater. Unless the cast was surprisingly strong and drove traffic by itself, the movie theater was generally not full because tickets were too expensive and there were few ghosts who could afford it.

Yet this time, the app even made an exception by selling half-price tickets. Even more shamefully, they saw ghosts selling disposable chairs in a corner of the movie theater. The actors were in place and the inside of the movie theater was noisy, even though it was a red movie.

“I heard the new movie emperor is in this movie!”

“Ah, this is what I came here for. 2,000 coins is too expensive.”

The vast majority of viewers rushed over for the gimmick of ‘new movie emperor’. The app had crazily emphasized this point when promoting the new movie Tarot Game. The movie theaters even had banners that read ‘The movie emperor has changed. Jiang Shuo’s first movie since becoming the movie emperor. The tarot series’ ‘Tarot Game’ welcomes you to watch this movie’.

“Jiang Shuo must have another identity. I don’t know which bigshot it is. Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to jump straight to being the movie emperor.”

“Jiang Shuo should die! I saved money to watch this movie just to see him die!”

“Can you wake up?” This ghost was scolded by the ghosts around him. “Shen Yi was calculated against by him. Take a look at all the old, weak, sick and disabled people. Who has the ability to drag Jiang Shuo down?”

This ghost was Shen Yi’s male fan. He blushed and his neck thickened when he heard these words. “Trash. One against six, does he have any shame? Does he deserve to be the movie emperor?”

The ghosts around him sneered. “Who would do 1V1? The process isn’t important. The main thing is that Jiang Shuo won.”

Their argument was soon overshadowed by other ghosts.

“So it is time to enter the era of Jiang Shuo? I have to get used to it.”

A ghost snorted. “It is said that decades ago, the demigod ruled the app for six and a half years. Tell me, do you think Jiang Shuo can last two years?”

“Who knows? Let’s watch first.”

“I don’t understand the grievances between bigshots. In any case, Jiang Shuo is handsome.”

“It turns out that being a fan of movies, not actors, is the fundamental way to prevent sadness.”

“It seems that Xie Chi is here too.”

“Xie Chi? The one who soared up to the second tier?” The ghost was shocked. “Is he so confident? Shouldn’t he stably film in orange movies? He actually dared to come to a red movie? He doesn’t have any red items, right?”

The difficulty of red movies might not be higher but the strength of the ghosts or monsters would definitely increase greatly with the improvement in movie quality. Therefore, if an actor’s strength wasn’t enough, the risk factor of higher quality movies would increase exponentially.

Red movies were known for their excellent production, changeable style and substantial content. They also tested the actor’s all-rounder ability. If an actor wanted to be a slacker, there was no need to go to red movies. Go to lower quality ones and it would be safer. It would also give more points then being at the bottom of the evaluation for a red movie.

If one wanted to get out of the heavy siege and win first place in the comprehensive evaluation, this required even higher personal strength. Therefore, most of those who came to red movies were either acquaintances working together or those with strong individual strength. It was really incredible for someone like Xie Chi to come to a red movie when he had an unstable foundation and not many connections in the app.

A sensitive ghost smelled an unusual aura and spoke in a mysterious manner, “I heard that Xie Chi used Shen Yi’s item before. So Xie Chi and Shen Yi are obviously in the same group. Then… Jiang Shuo, didn’t he come this time to prove he is worthy of the position and to kill Xie Chi? It is killing two birds with one stone.”

“Fu*k, no wonder why I only heard that Jiang Shuo was coming to this movie just as it was about to air! So he came to clean up Shen Yi’s group?”

“I am convinced by your imagination.” The ghost to the side was ashamed. “By the way, did Xie Chi come to this movie because he is sad and angry and wants to get revenge for Shen Yi? Otherwise, he could go directly to a low level movie to avoid the limelight. Who would run to meet the muzzle of the g*n at this time? Wouldn’t they be stupid?”

“It’s not stupid. I heard that Xie Chi doesn’t have that many points left until he can complete his wish. Then he must go to a high level movie. If he goes to a low level movie then he will stay longer. This is dangerous when someone wants to kill you.”

“Revenge?” A sleepy ghost suddenly became excited.

The companion beside him was disdainful. “Xie Chi might’ve killed a third-tier actor and front-tier as a newcomer but how can that be the same as a second-tier killing the movie emperor? Not to mention, he just became a second-tier. Don’t be naive. Does he have any red items? The movie emperor is well-matched and has great skills. Perhaps he even has a companion. What does Xie Chi have?”

“He is gutsy to do this.”

“I don’t care. I can’t do without Chi Chi!”

“Speaking of which, I still can’t believe that Dad Shen Yi died so hastily without warning…”

The movie theater was full of voices when the red light on top of the big screen flashed. Then the audience abruptly fell silent. The big screen slowly lit up and a line of words appeared.

[The horror movie ‘Tarot Game’ has officially begun.]

***

It was a black forest with rotting leaves. The soil was black, there were brown-purple lobsters hiding under the ugly, charred leaves, occasionally sticking out their cold claws.

The bare and black dead trees all around them were full of black crows. The trees here were so bare that they didn’t play a blocking role at all. This way, the black castle on the steep cliff at the end of the forest could be seen.

Dark eyes stared at the approximately one dozen people lying on the ground. These people were new intruders. Three bell chimes came from the castle and seemed to be saying ‘game start’. Then all the actors on the ground woke up.

The moment his consciousness returned, Xie Chi abruptly opened his eyes. The thing that caught his eye wasn’t the desolate moon on the poster but eight shining eight-sided stars.

Xie Chi confirmed again that there were only eight stars in the sky, seven small and one large star. The small ones surrounded the large one. They were around one-tenth of a full moon and the large star was around the same size as a full moon. They were densely distributed in the sky above the old castle, illuminating the gloomy and quiet castle. Meanwhile, the sky above Xie Chi’s head was dark gray without a trace of starlight.

Xie Chi quickly stood up and saw Jiang Shuo staring up at the stars.

Xie Chi calculated from Shen Yi’s last letter that Shen Yi should be 10 years older than himself. He was 22 and Shen Yi was probably in his early 30s. Jiang Shuo was Shen Yi’s older brother and was four or five years older than Shen Yi. So his real age should be around 37. Yet the face in front of him was very young. It was probably 25 at most.

Jiang Shuo had mastered the gene modification technology and could easily change his genes to achieve the effect of changing his face. He could even delay his own aging. So for a pet, their faces didn’t represent their true age. Even if there was no gene modification technology, Jiang Shuo could make a wish to conceal his true appearance with the app. The face might be fake but the temperament couldn’t deceive people.

Jiang Shuo’s skin was morbidly pale. He was tall and thin, but not weak. His appearance was handsome and his facial features were faintly treacherous looking due to the sharpness and clearness.

Next to him stood a soft-looking young man. He was a peak actor who attacked Shen Yi with Jiang Shuo in the video. Xie Chi clearly remembered that his name was Gu Yu and he was known for his cunning and changeable character.

Xie Chi glanced around and confirmed that there were only two people in front of him. Three people had clearly surrounded Shen Yi so Li Hao didn’t come.

Xie Chi knew from Yan Jing that Li Hao was a good brother Shen Yi had met half-way through his journey. They met early and they experienced life or death crises many times. They really went through life or death and it wasn’t acting.

Xie Chi guessed that Li Hao probably didn’t know at first that Shen Yi was the enemy they were looking so hard for, nor did Shen Yi initially know that Li Hao was the pet he hated. They got acquainted without knowing each other’s identities and finally got to this stage. It could be called fate.

Li Hao didn’t come. Was it because Jiang Shuo sent him to do other tasks or did Li Hao not want to participate anymore for personal reasons? Of course, this was good news for him. It was one less opponent.

Jiang Shuo felt Xie Chi’s gaze and glanced over. His eyes were deep and gloomy and he slowly made a cold smile. He had been giving orders for a long time and was used to looking down on people in a condescending manner. His eyes were like poisonous thorns, making Xie Chi very uncomfortable.

Xie Chi just looked back without any fluctuations. He didn’t feel the slightest fear despite the huge difference in strength. Jiang Shuo’s eyes showed a hint of surprise.

Gu Yu moved close to Jiang Shuo. He glanced at Xie Chi and asked respectfully in a low voice, “Should we act now?”

“Find out the plot and then talk about it.”

There was an unspoken rule among top actors. No matter the feuds between actors, wait until the plot was clear before taking action. There were two reasons for this. The first was to prevent the death from having a negative impact on him if he was linked to this person’s role.

Yi Hesong’s situation in the movie Hospital was rare but not uncommon. Xie Chi’s character was the father of Yi Hesong’s character. If Yi Hesong had acted against Xie Chi when the plot was unclear, it was very likely that he would also lose his life.

In addition, there was the Werewolf Killing movie series. Two people were in a couple and if one was killed, the other would be forced to die of love according to the rules of the game.

Jiang Shuo hadn’t encountered this situation but he had encountered a second type of situation in his newcomer days. A certain actor’s character played a vital role in the plot. His unexpected death directly caused the plot to fail to advance smoothly and the way to live was blocked.

In the movie, an actor who played the key role was killed by another actor due to personal grievances. As a result, he found a way out but discovered the way to live was closely related to the actor who was killed. In the end, he could only hold on until the end of the movie.

This was just one scenario and there might be other types. Look at the red movie ‘Death Curse Master’. The death curse master could attach to the bodies of the dead. The greater the number of actors who died, the greater the power of the death curse master and the more bodies he could possess. Due to a grudge, the death curse master was provided with a body and this was tantamount to increasing the difficulty of the movie.

The actors who entered Death Curse Master were almost wiped out because they were constantly fighting with each other, resulting in countless deaths and injuries. This provided the death curse master with a steady stream of bodies.

If it was a low quality movie then Jiang Shuo wouldn’t need to care. He could just act arbitrarily. However, red movies were known for their anti-routines so he had to pay attention.

The app prohibited actors from killing other actors not just for the sake of the actors’ safety. It was also for the normal progress of the movie so that the actors didn’t suffer the consequences.

An actor dying due to the plot indicated that the plot would proceed unimpeded. However, if it was external interference and the actor didn’t die from the plot then everything else was hard to say.

Since the rule existed, it was bound to have its reasons. If the situation was still unknown, it was undoubtedly the safest course to follow the rules. Once the plot was clear and he had his own complete ideas, he could completely discard the rules and do whatever he wanted.

“Yes.” Gu Yu said with a flattering smile. “Your life is more noble than his.”

***

Xie Chi retracted his gaze.

He knew exactly what Jiang Shuo was thinking. The reason Jiang Shuo didn’t dare do anything was the biggest reason he dared to come. To put it bluntly, he could grab time while exploring the plot. As long as he could find a plot clue that didn’t allow Jiang Shuo to kill him or he used the mystery of the movie to get help, he could turn defeat into victory.

Thanks to Shen Yi, Jiang Shuo didn’t have many people who could enter a red movie in a short time. Therefore, Xie Chi wouldn’t be surrounded and suppressed by a large number of pets who weren’t afraid of death. This was Shen Yi’s dilemma, not his. He wouldn’t repeat the same mistakes.

All he had to do was face Jiang Shuo, the movie emperor who cherished his life and was suspicious in nature, as well as the peak actor Gu Yu.

Shen Yi created the situation so that Xie Chi was no longer without a chance. Of course, the premise was that he could find the key plot.

“Xie Chi!” The awakened Ren Ze walked over and saw Xie Chi being watched by Jiang Shuo. He was on alert for fear that Jiang Shuo would take action against Xie Chi.

Xie Chi appeased him. “It’s fine. He won’t attack me for the time being but this safety period obviously won’t be for long.”

Ren Ze didn’t understand the reason but he didn’t ask too much. He didn’t want to delay Xie Chi’s time.

“Where’s your sword?” Ren Ze whispered.

“I put it away.”

Shen Yi’s Blood Demon Sword was too eye-catching. Jiang Shuo’s high IQ meant that as long as he saw the sword, he would figure out the ins and outs instantly. This was extremely detrimental to Xie Chi.

Ren Ze nodded. The others in the black forest were slightly slow but they were all standing by this time. Ye Xiaoxiao didn’t say it but she ended up coming. She smiled in an embarrassed manner at Xie Chi and Ren Ze and ran over.

Xie Chi nodded slightly at her and counted the number of people. Including himself, there were a total of 11 actors. He couldn’t rule out the possibility that there were other pets among these people.

The actors were ready and the phones of the 11 people rang simultaneously.

[A few notes about Tarot Game:

1. The duration of the movie is seven nights.

2. This movie is a red movie with a rare quality. Once the filming is over, the actor who ranks first in the comprehensive evaluation will be rewarded with 2,000 points. The rewards for the other actors will gradually decrease.

3. The character setting of the movie isn’t important but the actors’ behaviors must conform to the basic logic of ‘a person who participates in the tarot game for money’.]

Xie Chi finished reading it and frowned slightly.

In this explanation, the second and third ones were normal. It was just that the first statement was obviously different from before.

It used to be ‘the longest duration of the movie is X days’. Now it had become ‘the duration of the movie is seven nights’. This was an exact number. In previous movies, the term ‘longest duration’ meant that the exploration of the plot could end early. Now in this movie, it seemed they had to stay for seven nights.

Most strangely, why seven nights? What about the day?

Xie Chi was thinking about it when his phone rang again.

[The progress of the plot has been updated. Please enter the castle within five minutes.]

Xie Chi put away his phone and observed the surrounding actors.

Apart from the cannon fodder, those who could come to red movies were second-tier actors or above. Xie Chi observed that there was one couple. Judging by their actions, they seemed to be lovers. They should have good strength based on their facial expressions. He estimated that they were at least first-tier.

They chose to greet Jiang Shuo first, probably because they wanted to get to know the new movie emperor. However, Jiang Shuo’s unsmiling manner made them very flustered.

As for the remaining four, three of them looked panicked. They were probably cannon fodder pushed into a red movie for not working hard to shoot movies. The last one was a glamorous and indifferent mature woman who took out a lighter to light a cigarette. She didn’t plan to go to Jiang Shuo to please him.

“Let’s go if there are no problems.” Jiang Shuo spoke while raising his eyes slightly to look at the weird stars in the sky. He showed a hint of playfulness like he knew something.

Everyone had no objections and followed. The sound of their walking startled the crows in the trees. The crows flapped their wings and flew high.

“Xie Chi.” Ren Ze approached. “Why is the movie duration seven nights? Does this castle have no daytime?”

Xie Chi Was about to answer when a female cannon fodder stepped on something. Her feet made a crunching sound and she let out a shocked scream.

Jiang Shuo stopped in a slightly impatient manner. A courageous male cannon fodder kicked off the rotten leaves and his eyes widened when he saw the struggling lobster hidden under the leaves.

Everyone stopped and Xie Chi also glanced over. It was a purple-brown lobster that was half the size of a lobster eaten as food. It had four pairs of spider-like feet. The front two feet were moving rapidly and the insect-like mouthparts moved back and forth.

It wasn’t as big as a normal lobster but it was indeed a lobster. There was no water source nearby to keep it alive. The soil under their feet might be damp but obviously this wasn’t enough to raise a lobster.

Jiang Shuo thought about it and things became clearer. He stepped on the lobster with one foot. The shell of the lobster was so hard that despite twisting his foot in, it didn’t die. It twisted around like a centipede.

The female cannon fodder spoke timidly, “Don’t tell me there will be giant animals in this movie…”

No one paid attention to her and continued to move forward. The scene just now seemed to be a passing episode. Xie Chi looked up again at the stars in the sky. Ren Ze followed Xie Chi closely and lowered his voice. “What did you just want to say?”

Xie Chi glanced at Ye Xiaoxiao and spoke when he saw her nodding at him. “The stars.”

“What stars?” Ren Ze wondered. Then he realized something and raised his head to look at the stars in the sky. “You mean, the tarot ‘Star’ card?”

Xie Chi nodded.

Ren Ze was enlightened. There were 22 major arcana cards. These cards were used to explain the spiritual reason for the question asked. It started with the ‘Fool’ card and ended with the ‘World’ card. Among them, there happened to be the ‘Star’ card.

On the ‘Star’ card, seven small stars surrounded a large star. These stars weren’t five-pointed stars but eight-pointed stars. This coincided with the strange scene in the sky. So it was the ‘Star’ card in the major arcana that was at work.

Ren Ze’s heart jumped. He realized something deeper and his breathing became slightly short. “Do you mean that all the things on the cards will appear in this instance?”

The ‘Star’ card had already appeared and it was difficult to guarantee that there would be no other cards.

Xie Chi spoke indifferently. “It has already appeared.”

“Huh?”

“That lobster.”

Ren Ze reacted immediately. “You mean, the ‘Moon’ card?”

Ye Xiaoxiao was familiar with the details of each tarot card. “That lobster is obviously the lobster on the ‘Moon’ card of the 22 major arcana cards. There is obviously more than one lobster here.”

She stopped talking and the three of them kept quiet. Ren Ze quickly heard the sound of claws touching each other and the rustle of things rubbing against the leaves. Ren Ze started to recall the previous information.

Among the 22 major arcana cards, three cards represented celestial phenomena. They were namely the ‘Sun,’ the ‘Star’ and the ‘Moon’.

The ‘Moon’ card showed a full moon in a dark night sky like the one seen in the poster. It also had a lobster crawling out of the rough and turbulent river and stepping on a narrow path that led to the unknown. At the front of the path, there was a wolf and a dog blocking it.

The meaning of the ‘Moon’ card wasn’t important. The important thing was that there was a lobster on the card and lobsters appeared in the black forest where they shouldn’t be located.

Ren Ze mused, “The card contents are reproduced?”

Xie Chi nodded.

Ren Ze thought about the terrifying cards in the 22 major arcana such as the ‘Death’ and the ‘Devil’ cards and he felt slightly numb.

“I probably know why it is nights,” Xie Chi told them.

Ye Xiaoxiao and Ren Ze were taken aback and both looked at him.

Xie Chi explained, “The lobsters are from the ‘Moon’ card. They are hiding now because the night sky is dominated by ‘stars’. There was a full moon on the poster so I am sure there must be a time when the ‘moon’ dominates the sky. The lobster we saw just now can prove this. There is clearly a ‘Moon’ card in this movie and it will play a role, but it isn’t time yet.”

“The so-called seven nights means—” Xie Chi paused. “There is no sun.”

Ren Ze was startled.

Yes, they saw the lobster that represented the ‘Moon’ card and there was a full moon on the poster. Yet now it was obviously the ‘Star’ card in the sky. The description said seven nights, not days. In other words…

This movie didn’t alternate between day and night but… it alternated between the stars and the moon. The current time was represented by the stars.

Xie Chi mused. “The rules of the game should be to remove some tarot cards such as the ‘Sun’ card.”

Ye Xiaoxiao also agreed. Obviously, this movie used more tarot elements than Tarot Death. Xie Chi stared at the black castle in front of him. “Which cards have been added to the game? We will know once we go in.”

Just then, there was a cry and something flew from behind them. The huge movement instantly alarmed everyone. Xie Chi immediately turned around but saw nothing. Only a dark tree in the distance seemed to sway.

A red feather slowly floated down in the air.

---

Proofreader: Purichan