APP: Chapter 173

[Why is there movement in the fourth groove?]

[He has no heart??]

[I can’t understand the plot anymore.]

[It feels like things aren’t that simple. There might be a turnaround. Wait a minute.]

The moment Xie Xinglan left the secret road, he heard Zheng Luan’s scream. At the same time, the app rang.

[This message is visible only to you. The reincarnation party has killed the third to last sacrifice. Once the last sacrifice is dead, the game will jump directly to the last night. Please hurry.]

Xie Xinglan’s expression sank. Zheng Luan was dead. Only Gu Yu and one of the lovers was left alive in the instance and he had to search for the crows in a huge castle.

Previously, Jiang Shuo had killed two or three crows and their bodies had fallen to the outskirts of the castle. Xie Xinglan was just going to pick up the dead crows. He walked to the corner of the corridor and saw Gu Yu walking toward him not far away. He was startled. Then the hand on his phone relaxed and he laughed silently.

Time was tight but there was a way to artificially extend the game time. He just had to prevent Jiang Shuo from finding the final Hanged Man.

***

Gu Yu was looking for Zheng Luan’s girlfriend who had escaped in the chaos. After passing by the corner, he heard strange, subtle movements. Before he could react, he was struck on the most vulnerable part of the back of the head and knocked out.

Xie Xinglan came out from behind and crouched down to check. He confirmed that Gu Yu was unconscious and dragged him to the secret passage, throwing him down mercilessly. In the distance, there was the cry of Zheng Luan’s girlfriend as she was caught by Jiang Shuo. In the blink of an eye, it was down to the Hanged Man, the last one. Based on the direction of the sound, Jiang Shuo was quite a distance away from him.

Xie Xinglan covered the entrance of the secret passage with the wooden plank and ran outside the castle. The bodies of the three crows were lying on the ground. Xie Xinglan picked them up and cut their flesh with the gravel pieces on the ground. A huge human heart appeared.

Xie Xinglan picked it up and found a name engraved on the back—Jiang Shuo. This was actually Jiang Shuo’s heart. The hearts in the chests of the other two crows belonged to Liang Zhen and Ye Xiaoxiao respectively. He found Ye Xiaoxiao’s heart.

The things obtained in the movie couldn’t be put into the backpack. Xie Xinglan could only place Ye Xiaoxiao’s heart into his pocket. Then he glanced at Liang Zhen’s heart and frowned. He had a small impression of Liang Zhen. She had kindly helped Xie Chi at the beginning of the movie.

Xie Xinglan thought of this and decided to take Liang Zhen’s heart with him. He hid the crow corpses, grabbed Jiang Shuo and Liang Zhen’s hearts and headed inside. The most important Xie Chi’s heart hadn’t been found yet. It was only by finding Xie Chi’s heart that he could open the stone door. Without Xie Chi’s heart, it would be useless even if he found Ye Xiaoxiao’s heart.

There was an emptiness in his left chest that was accompanied by severe pain, but Xie Xinglan remained indifferent. If pain and death were no longer linked then an injury was just an injury. It didn’t cause any negative emotions.

He started an extensive search of the rooms. Time passed minute by minute. Xie Xinglan only found the hearts of Gu Yu and Zheng Luan. There were no traces of his heart or Ren Ze’s heart. Xie Xinglan’s heart sank a bit. Luck was obviously not on his side.

He was coming out of a room when he heard approaching footsteps. Not far away, Jiang Shuo was holding the Blood Demon Sword and looking around. He was obviously searching for the last sacrifice Gu Yu but his gaze gradually fell on the lacquered red floor. There were a few drops of blood on the delicate red and white stripes. Xie Xinglan looked down at the two bloody hearts in his hands and his bleeding chest and his expression sank.

Jiang Shuo calmly stood up. “Xie Chi, I know you are here. Gu Yu was hidden by you, right?”

He sneered. “You can only delay things.”

There was condescending scrutiny and criticism in his voice. It seemed that the opponent’s methods were so poor he could only laugh. Xie Xinglan ignored him and was about to take the corpses of the crows outside the window when Xie Chi suddenly said, “Brother, wait!”

“What is it?”

Xie Chi instructed, “Leave a few crow feathers on the ground.”

Xie Xinglan didn’t have time to think about the reason and did what Xiao Chi said. He scattered a handful of crow feathers around the pool of blood left by killing the crow. Then he held his breath and concealed himself.

Jiang Shuo followed the blood and found the room Xie Xinglan was in previously. He found the obvious pool of blood on the ground and thought it belonged to Xie Chi. He was about to leave for Gu Yu. He walked to the door and suddenly stopped.

His expression changed slightly. He walked back to the pool of blood and sniffed. Then his eyes tightened. It wasn’t the smell of human blood. In the gap between the carpet, there were a few short and fluffy crow feathers. It was crow’s feathers and crow’s blood.

Something strange surged in Jiang Shuo’s heart. Why did Xie Chi slaughter the crows at this time? He clearly stopped Jiang Shuo before. Jiang Shuo thought of something. He jumped down from the window of the second floor and found the bodies of the crows he shot were missing. Crows?

Jiang Shuo clenched his fists. He had to find Gu Yu immediately and kill him to end the movie. If he was too late then things might change. Xie Chi should’ve made a new discovery and this discovery was most likely related to the crows.

He had to try and stop Xie Chi.

***

Xie Chi murmured, “Brother, we will quietly follow Jiang Shuo.”

It was such a tense moment but Xie Xinglan laughed when he heard these words. He had figured out why Xie Chi did this.

Jiang Shuo was a naturally suspicious bad guy and didn’t believe at all in others. He only believed in his own judgement and especially believed in the anomalies he discovered with his own eyes. For example, the crow’s feathers and blood.

They couldn’t find the crows now so they might as well borrow Jiang Shuo’s hand to find them. If he was Jiang Shuo, after seeing the few crow feathers and discovering the three missing crow corpses, he would definitely go to catch the crows first.

Jiang Shuo had the Void Crossbow and catching crows was easy for him. What was difficult for them was just a few arrows for Jiang Shuo. In the previous short battle, he found out that Jiang Shuo’s black arrows had a short-range tracking function. After meeting the target within a certain range, it would spontaneously chase the target. Xie Xinglan had previously been shot in the shoulder with this function.

This method might be risky but it was extremely effective. It could also delay time and let Jiang Shuo kill Gu Yu later. This was because his attention shifted to catching the crows. All they had to do was follow Jiang Shuo, grab the crows after they were shot and rush to the secret room. Those who sought wealth and honor would experience danger.

The movie was coming to an end and it was worth fighting. The effectiveness of the living dead’s immortality and invisibility could maximize the success rate of this movie.

***

[What is the situation? Why did Xie Chi follow Jiang Shuo instead?]

[Fu*k, I feel that something is wrong. Xie Chi is too evil and I’m a bit flustered. I feel that the movie emperor is going to be defeated.]

[The crow’s heart has the actor’s name on it. It is very scary when thinking carefully. Fu*k… surely Xie Chi won’t win, right?]

[Hiss, how funny. It will be over once the movie emperor goes to the secret room and kills Gu Yu.]

***

Jiang Shuo set the target as the crows and fired arrows while walking. If Xie Chi was looking for the crows then never let him find them. So what if Gu Yu was hidden? It wasted Jiang Shuo’s time but it was Xie Chi who would really suffer.

There was a sound as the arrow hit and a crow screamed. Jiang Shuo rushed in the direction of the sound, only to find a pool of dark red crow blood and scattered feathers left on the ground. The crow’s body was gone.

Jiang Shuo was taken aback before reacting. His face instantly became gloomy and blue veins bulged on his arms. Xie Chi! He was taken advantage of by Xie Chi!! There was another scream from a crow in the distance. Jiang Shuo was about to chase to stop Xie Chi when he raised his head and saw the familiar room in front of him.

He remembered very well that this room belonged to the old woman. At the beginning of the movie, the servant led them here to meet the old woman. There was a flash of inspiration in Jiang Shuo’s mind. Up to now, it had no particular significance to the plot. However, a red movie was always well-made and each plot point could be found in the future…

Jiang Shuo calmed down completely. He had roughly searched the entire castle and there was no trace of someone as big as Gu Yu. This indicated that Xie Chi might’ve hidden him in an unexpected place. Was there a secret room in the castle? If so, where was the entrance?

Jiang Shuo suddenly thought of the old woman on the huge bed. The weird bed was surrounded by a sharp black fence. If there was a secret room inside the black fence then this plot point had significance.

Jiang Shuo immediately gave up on Xie Chi and the crow and entered the old woman’s room. Killing Gu Yu was the key to ending this movie.

***

The last two crows shot by Jiang Shuo happened to be the Magician and the Pope.

Xie Chi found his heart and Ren Ze’s heart smoothly. Then he saw Jiang Shuo going to the old woman’s room and his heart sank. He immediately took all the hearts and went in the opposite direction.

The old woman’s room and the wizard’s room were the two exits of the secret path. Xie Xinglan had thrown Gu Yu through the closet of the wizard’s room. Thus, Gu Yu was on the other side of the road. Since JIang Shuo entered the old woman’s room, he must be aware of the secret path. He had to open the stone door before Jiang Shuo reached the other end to find Gu Yu.

Xie Xinglan resisted the pain in his body and rushed to the room where the wizard was located at the fastest speed. He was about to enter the secret room from the closet but strange footsteps came from the secret room.

Xie Xinglan recognized the wizard’s footsteps and frowned. “What should I do?”

The wizard was in the secret room and might ruin their plan.

Xie Chi was thoughtful before suddenly smiling. “The visitor is a guest. He is waiting for me.”

Guest? Xie Xinglan was startled. He didn’t quite understand the twists and turns. Xie Chi told him, “It is because the wizard obviously hates Jiang Shuo more than me.”

The wizard was next to the unconscious Gu Yu. Once he heard the movement behind him, he turned around and reached out to block Xie Xinglan’s path.

“Cooperate?” He suggested in a straightforward manner.

Xie Chi smiled. “I promise that I will kill Jiang Shuo.”

The wizard obviously hadn’t expected Xie Chi to be so clear about his intentions and smiled evilly. “Deal.”

The enemy of the enemy was a friend. At the end of the movie, they moved toward cooperation.

Jiang Shuo had already killed more sacrifices than the wizard and the wizard couldn’t beat Jiang Shuo. This was a foregone conclusion. The one to reincarnate was bound to be Jiang Shuo. At that time, the wizard would die. This was all caused by Jiang Shuo. The wizard might still die helping Xie Chi but at least Xie Chi could destroy Jiang Shuo.

The wizard guarding Gu Yu, the last sacrifice, exposed his thoughts.

The wizard’s personality had surfaced little by little since the beginning of the movie. He was treacherous, cunning, sinister and narrow-minded. He was bound to not let Jiang Shuo gain all the advantages and successfully reincarnate as a tarot wizard with the same magic power.

Even if he died, he would drag down Jiang Shuo who had harmed him. Thus, he naturally walked to the opposite side of Jiang Shuo—Xie Chi’s side. Very loyal.

***

[Wtf is this trend?!! The wizard is helping Xie Chi??]

[The human heart is terrible!]

[Ahhhh is my Xie Chi going to rise?!!]

[Jiang Shuo must die ahhhhh so excited! I might not understand the plot but it doesn’t prevent me from screaming!!]

[Haha, so what if he helps Xie Chi? Both of them can’t beat Jiang Shuo together. So funny.]

[Xie Chi can’t even find the way to live, okay?]

[Does anyone understand the purpose of the heart? Also, the stone door?]

***

The wizard was stronger than him. Xie Chi felt reassured handing Gu Yu’s protection to the wizard. He was about to rush in when Gu Yu woke up. He saw Xie Chi, found he was restrained and shouted in a panicked and angry manner, “Xie Chi, you let me go! Just wait for the movie emperor to kill you!”

“Master!” He suddenly looked behind Xie Chi with surprise. “Help me!”

Xie Chi raised his head and saw Jiang Shuo rushing over from the other side of the dark corridor.

Jiang Shuo raised his hand and shot at Gu Yu. The wizard knocked down the arrow.

Gu Yu was breathless and his face was full of disbelief. His master he was loyal to… shot at him?

The wizard sneered in his ear, “He is here to kill you.”

Gu Yu’s blood was cold. He suddenly recalled the dead Yu Yao, Li Hao who ran away angrily and the countless pets working for Jiang Shuo who died tragically in the end. This familiar yet unfamiliar face made him tremble with fear.

What type of person was he loyal to? Whose dream was he risking his life for? What… was he? What the hell… were they?

If one arrow didn’t succeed then fire ten thousand arrows. Jiang Shuo only had Gu Yu in his eyes. It would all end as long as Gu Yu was killed.

“Hold on!” Xie Chi yelled at the wizard.

The wizard nodded, knocked Gu Yu unconscious and left him behind as the wizard rushed over to desperately face Jiang Shuo. The wizard only attacked and didn’t defend. He was completely trying to die with the other person. Jiang Shuo was completely dragged down by him for a while and there was no time to kill Gu Yu, let alone chase Xie Chi.

Jiang Shuo glanced in the direction where Xie Chi was leaving and inexplicably panicked. He concentrated on facing the wizard and opened all his items to the extreme. He had to defeat the wizard as soon as possible and kill Gu Yu!

***

Xie Xinglan was numb with pain as he sprinted with all his strength. In the small secret room, the sound of his breathing and heartbeat were clearly audible. Time was passing. Every minute was like a year.

“Brother, I am here.” He heard Xie Chi say softly. He stuck to his lifelong beliefs and was always with him.

The exhausted physical strength miraculously recovered little by little. The heart that was beating violently relied on willpower and finally arrived at the stone door. The white flower bloomed on the dirty and foul-smelling stone door, waiting to welcome him home after all the hardships.

Xie Xinglan stopped and stuffed his heart into his chest. In the emptiness, he heard his heartbeat became clearer and louder. It was no longer an illusion. It was as if he was living again.

The stone door opened bit by bit. The pile of bloody corpses was in front of it and behind it was a group of mysterious coffins. In front was blood-red and behind was pitch black. The blood-colored door exuded a dazzling and holy white light. Then more and more white roses bloomed on the door and at Xie Chi’s feet, separating him from the stench and dirtiness.

Surrounded by white roses, the sticky blood on his body was absorbed and disappeared little by little. His clothes became white again, his black hair was soft and clean and his handsome face was clearly visible.

Xie Chi’s phone was shaking crazily and the time on the app was changing rapidly. In the blink of an eye… it reached the end of the seventh night. The announcement was broadcasted particularly loudly in the secret room.

[Notice. The game session is over and the judgement will officially start. Players, immediately enter the trial area! After the trial, it will be decided if you have won or lost the game!!]

Behind him, the blood-stained Jiang Shuo slowly appeared. He had successfully killed the wizard and Gu Yu. He saw Xie Chi and showed a cold snake-like smile as he declared in a condescending manner, “I have won.”

No one could stop the realization of his great ideal. Shen Yi couldn’t do it and Xie Chi was unworthy. Xie Chi tilted his head and smiled at him. “Movie emperor, goodbye.”

Just before he entered the trial area, he crushed the hearts of Jiang Shuo and Gu Yu.

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Proofreader: Purichan