Chapter 183: Filial Piety
Based on the sparse lines in the script, the key scenes to be filmed tonight would take place at the female lead’s father’s memorial service. The main set was undoubtedly inside the funeral home. If the other players weren’t actors, they were most likely part of the film crew.
Li Zhi walked toward the funeral home’s main hall, passing through a dilapidated iron door. The white tiles gleamed with a cold, sterile light. The dim corridor was illuminated by green emergency exit signs, casting eerie green halos on the white tiles lining the floor and walls.
The gloomy hall was much colder than outside, and not a single person was inside. The crew members she had seen earlier, bustling in and out with props, seemed to have vanished the moment they entered.
Li Zhi glanced at the directional sign by the staircase and headed toward the memorial hall.
As she passed the restroom in the middle of the hallway, the sound of a toilet flushing suddenly echoed from the women’s bathroom. Then came the creak of a door opening—click, click, click—someone stepped out, turned on the faucet, and the sound of running water filled the air.
A player? Or an NPC?
Li Zhi waited by the entrance, curious to see who would emerge.
After about ten seconds, the water stopped, but the sound of high heels clicking against the tiles never resumed. The emergency exit sign above continued to flicker with an eerie green glow. Narrowing her eyes, Li Zhi tightened her grip on the curved blade at her side and stepped inside.
The fluorescent lights overhead were blindingly bright, illuminating every stain and speck of grime between the bathroom tiles. The women’s restroom wasn’t large—just three stalls.
All three yellowed wooden doors were shut. Opposite them was a row of sinks against the wall, where the middle faucet dripped slowly.
Unlike typical restrooms, this one had no mirrors.
Above the sinks, the walls were splattered with stains.
Li Zhi suddenly remembered—funeral homes didn’t have mirrors.
Back when her father’s funeral was held here, she had noticed this. At the time, her younger sister, Li Shuang, had asked a staff member about it, and they explained that mirrors were omitted to spare grieving families the added pain of seeing their own exhausted, sorrowful reflections.
But the real reason? That was up for debate.
The restroom had only a small vent. Whoever had been inside couldn’t have escaped through it.
Li Zhi pushed open the first stall door, then the second, then the third—all empty.
No one.
A frigid gust of wind suddenly swept in from the entrance. Li Zhi spun around, raising her blade, but the wind rushed outward, and the clicking of high heels resumed outside.
Click—
Click—
The sound grew faster, moving down the hallway before vanishing around the corner at the staircase.
As Li Zhi stepped out of the restroom, she spotted a crew member she had seen earlier walking toward her from the other end. Noticing her standing by the restroom, the man nervously waved her over.
“What are you doing over there?” he asked, lowering his voice once she approached. “The memorial hall down that way is hosting a real funeral today. The one we rented is this way! Don’t go to the wrong one!”
Li Zhi smiled and nodded.
Following the crew member’s directions, she finally found the set. Pushing open the doors, she saw that the memorial service setup for filming was nearly complete. Most of the crew had gathered here, making the place feel far less desolate than outside.
Li Zhi recognized several familiar faces among the players, including Yan Yingrui, the leader of Peacock’s squad this time. A badge hung from his chest as he was ordered around by an NPC—no wonder he hadn’t been able to leave.
In this instance, every player had an assigned role. Past experience suggested that straying from character behavior could trigger death conditions, so these players had no choice but to stay and work.
But Li Feng wasn’t here.
The others noticed her too, their expressions varying. Li Zhi immediately sensed a hostile gaze and turned to see a young man holding a camera.
He seemed caught off guard by her sharp awareness, unable to look away in time. Their eyes met across the room.
Li Zhi smiled at him. He forced a smirk in return before coldly turning away.
No doubt about it—this player was from Tianwen.
To them, she was nothing more than a walking bounty. Whoever killed her would earn the right to compete for Tianwen’s leadership.
She was quite the tempting prize.
With over a dozen people on set, Li Zhi couldn’t immediately distinguish players from NPCs. Fortunately, the production assistant soon began directing everyone.
“Alright, that’s enough here. We’ve got another setup outside. A few of you stay behind to wrap up, the rest come with me.”
Yan Yingrui was the first to move. Since entering the instance, he hadn’t found his boss and feared Lu Ao might’ve already been targeted by Tianwen. Eager to leave the memorial hall, he hurried out.
The others followed. Li Zhi casually struck up a conversation with the production assistant.
“How many more setups do we have left? The director’s asking.”
The assistant led the group outside while answering, “Almost done. Just one more. We’ll have it ready before dark.”
As they stepped out of the funeral home, Yan Yingrui immediately spotted Lu Ao and Lu Caiwei sitting under a canopy and finally relaxed. The assistant led them toward the main gate, but Li Zhi noticed a new addition to the area—a luxury van.
This shoddy, underfunded crew definitely couldn’t afford something like that.
It had to belong to the female lead.
Li Zhi approached the van. The curtains were drawn, blocking the view inside, but as she stood outside, she heard a young woman’s voice—sharp and angry—snapping into the phone.
“Stay out of my business! What I do is none of your concern!”
The argument continued, and from the fragments Li Zhi could catch, the woman seemed to be fighting with her parents.
Just as she was eavesdropping, the van door suddenly swung open. A young woman with striking features and a fur-lined coat stepped out, phone in hand. Spotting Li Zhi, she froze, her already furious expression darkening further.
“I’m done talking!” she barked into the phone before hanging up.
Then she glared at Li Zhi. “What are you doing here? Spying on me?”
Li Zhi kept her expression earnest. “Just passing by.”
The woman studied her before scoffing. “You’d better be.”
With that, she turned on her heel and stormed off, but after a few steps, she snapped over her shoulder, “Jiang Can! What’s taking you so long in there?”
Jiang Can?
Wasn’t that the other Peacock member Yan Yingrui had mentioned before entering the instance?
A young woman with a high ponytail soon stepped out of the van, carrying a large bag stuffed with the female lead’s belongings. Despite being bossed around, her demeanor was calm, her movements efficient.
Noticing Li Zhi, she raised a brow and smiled in greeting.
Li Zhi returned the smile.
So Jiang Can’s role this time was the female lead’s assistant. Given how difficult the lead seemed, Jiang Can had her work cut out for her.
The female lead—Ning Xue—marched Jiang Can over to the canopy where the director was still briefing Lu Ao and Lu Caiwei. The moment he saw her, his face lit up.
“Xue’er, you’re here!”
Ning Xue plopped into a chair, pouting like a spoiled heiress. “Director, how much longer are we staying here? This place is creepy. I even saw a hearse earlier—scared me half to death!”
The director adopted a solemn tone. “Xue’er, remember what I told you before we started filming? When making horror films, we must respect the supernatural—but never fear it! With conviction in our hearts, no ghost or demon can touch us!”
Ning Xue rolled her eyes. “Easy for you to say. It’s still scary.”
The director softened his tone. “We’ll leave as soon as we wrap tonight!”
Ning Xue examined her nails, complaining, “I told you we could’ve just built a set. If money was the issue, you should’ve said so! Why did we have to come here? And now we have to wait until nightfall? It’ll be even scarier then!”
Lu Caiwei and Lu Ao exchanged a glance.
So she was a privileged actress who’d invested in the film—no wonder she acted so entitled.
When it came to artistic integrity, however, the director refused to indulge her. “If we’d gone that route, our film would be no different from the mediocre trash flooding the market! Xue’er, don’t you want to create a masterpiece? A horror film that sets the standard?”
Ning Xue lifted her chin. “Of course I do!”
The director pressed on. “Then trust me! We’re making something real—something that terrifies the soul! We’re aiming for awards! For immortality in cinematic history!”
Ning Xue squared her shoulders. “Fine! I’m in!”
Lu Caiwei, Lu Ao, and Jiang Can: “…”
The audience was in stitches:
[Regarding the director’s speech, our young master Lu has six words to say: “……”]
[Young Master Lu’s inner thoughts: With this ragtag crew, you think you’re making a masterpiece?]
[Lu has never seen a more delusional, low-budget production in his life.]
[That’s Jiang Can from Peacock! So Lu hired Peacock as bodyguards this time?]
[But Tianwen’s Xie Zhen is here too—maybe he hired Tianwen instead?]
[Peacock and Tianwen in the same instance again. Like they say, enemies always cross paths. Time for another showdown.]
…
Only insiders knew the full extent of the conflict between Tianwen and Peacock. To outsiders, the two organizations were merely rivals—unfriendly, but not outright lethal.
Just then, someone shouted through a megaphone: “Lunch is here!”
The director clapped his hands and stood. “Alright, let’s eat. Afterward, we’ll gather the cast for a briefing, then start filming.”
At mealtime, the entire crew congregated in one place. Li Zhi finally spotted Li Feng. He and another brawny player walked over from another direction, their tall, muscular frames drawing attention.
As all the players assembled, the system’s belated announcement finally echoed in their ears:
—All players have entered the set. Current storyline unlocked: You are cast and crew members of a film production, tasked with shooting a horror movie. Stay in character and fulfill your roles.
—Mission: Complete the filming and achieve a perfect ending for the movie.
Apart from the six players who’d been in the van earlier, the rest only now learned they were making a horror film. Li Zhi quickly identified the players based on their reactions to the system’s prompt.
Including herself, there were sixteen in total.
Another high-difficulty instance with a large player count—and now they had to watch their backs against Tianwen’s schemes.
Trouble upon trouble.