Chapter 3: Survive till Dawn!

A large screen was displaying Zuo Yu's face.

"Did you detect a bug?" an elderly voice emanated from behind the screen.

"Yes, I'm sorry, Chief Referee. An anomaly occurred with a new actor who just entered the set," the debugger bit their lip, hinting, "It's 'that' BOSS's territory. This new actor might..."

The elderly voice emitted a disdainful snort. "Just a bug caused by technical issues."

"But this movie has played six times, and the character 'Traveler' has never appeared before."

"That's enough! Don't speculate on upper-level decisions. Just a mere human."

The elder scolded, and the debugger meekly lowered their head, silently leaving the room. Only the actors on the screen remained animated.

— They were approaching the trigger point of the plot.

On screen, Zuo Yu and four others gathered in the living room of the wooden cabin.

"For now, it's relatively safe. Let's introduce ourselves," Zhou Wu took the initiative, "You all know my name already. In the real world, I'm a fitness coach. As for the updated character setting, take a look yourselves."

Zhou Wu touched his flame tattoo and brought up the character information, then clicked to share.

An invisible information board appeared above his head.

Zuo Yu glanced deeply at his tattoo.

[Actor Zhou Wu, playing the role of "School Bully Jack." (D)]

[Jack: A student at Spring Fountain High School, loves sports, captain of the football team. Encouraged by his girlfriend, he decided to go camping at Gold Lake with his friends to commemorate their anniversary.]

[Traits: Strong, fast runner, physically robust, but quick-tempered and prone to conflict, enjoys bullying others.]

Zuo Yu withdrew his gaze, barely holding back a laugh; this setup was just too classic.

Zhou Wu casually boasted, "By the way, I've survived three horror films, exchanged for enhanced physique and rapid healing. They're all basic, but I'm stronger than most people."

The others also shared their character information.

[Actor Mu Ying, playing the role of "Fiery Girl Nina." (E)]

[Nina: Captain of the school's cheerleading squad, possessing stunning looks. Her personality is arrogant; being the only child of the town mayor, she's naturally never learned humility and dismisses the terrifying rumors of Gold Lake.]

[Traits: Beautiful, highly agile, possesses some intuition, but lacks physical strength and is prone to illness.]

[Actor Li Mingfeng, playing the role of "Otaku Bonnie." (E)]

[Bonnie: Jack's cousin, opposite in nature, extremely timid and cowardly. Physically frail and somewhat neurotic. He didn't want to come camping at Gold Lake; Jack forced him, fueling resentment within Bonnie.]

[Traits: Extremely low visibility, easily overlooked type, with some survival knowledge gleaned from books.]

[Actor Fang Hao, playing the role of "Errand Boy Buck." (E)]

[Buck: The target of bullying by students, a gloomy and sensitive bookworm. Brought along by Jack as a source of amusement to impress his girlfriend. Poor Buck harbors a secret crush on Nina; this camping trip is a nightmare for him.]

[Traits: Strong endurance but low tolerance, frequently on the verge of collapse.]

As Fang Hao, who had just been forced into the house, sat uncomfortably, his face paled, seeming like an ant on a hot pan. "Except for strong endurance, I have no advantages at all. I don't possess any useful skills."

Zhou Wu looked at him, recalling Fang Hao's previous luck with useful skills; that's why the team recruited him. Only after the film did they realize that this student had only experienced one or two movies, unable to accumulate enough points to exchange for anything worthwhile and lacking in mental fortitude, regretting recruiting him.

He said bluntly, "You're not useful anyway."

Fang Hao choked, then sneakily glared at Zhou Wu.

Zuo Yu was somewhat surprised; it turned out these four seniors weren't as cohesive as they seemed, more like a loose coalition. And he unlocked the mystery from earlier.

Recalling the characters they were to play, Zuo Yu understood. His "teammates" might have been influenced by the character's traits from the moment the system released the update.

Zhou Wu's character was a school bully, Mu Ying a hot-tempered beauty, Li Mingfeng the bully's cousin, and Fang Hao the bullied. That explained it.

The atmosphere grew awkward and tense. Fang Hao rubbed his cheek, eyes darting around, assessing Zuo Yu. Could a cripple possibly be stronger than himself? Surely Zuo Yu was the lowest tier, a blank character without any traits!

"What about you? What's your character?" he asked.

"I don't have character information; I'm just a passerby," Zuo Yu shrugged self-deprecatingly.

He wasn't intentionally hiding anything; Zuo Yu simply didn't have that feature! His character quality was unknown, and the information was grayed out, unable to be accessed.

Seeing his guess hit home, Fang Hao breathed a sigh of relief, no longer the weakest link in the team. The pressure had eased a bit, and he finally felt balanced.

"It's okay; characters only affect your attributes and abilities, like choosing heroes in a game. But your situation... Even if your character has any skills, you wouldn't be able to use them. Not being a burden is already pretty good."

With that, Fang Hao couldn't help but sneer. Afraid that Zuo Yu wouldn't take it well, he quickly glanced up, seeing no change in Zuo Yu's expression, looking rather complacent, which dispelled any lingering unease.

Suddenly, Fang Hao exclaimed, pointing outside the living room window. The window was reinforced with wooden boards, only allowing a view through the cracks.

"There are people! The lakeside is crawling with them!" Fang Hao blurted out, "They're white! No, those aren't people! People can't contort like that!"

The others looked over but only saw dense grass and crooked tree shadows, their branches bathed in moonlight, faintly whitened.

Zhou Wu frowned and kicked him, saying, "Stop shouting nonsense! Even if there were ghosts, you'd still be screaming."

Fang Hao, feeling disbelieved, looked resentful.

Suddenly, Zuo Yu seemed to hear a rustling sound.

A strange feeling surged through him, and he instinctively looked out the window. Despite the emptiness outside, the large red letters in his field of vision changed.

[Task "Have the students wait in the cabin" completed. The BOSS of this film has respawned and could appear at any moment.]

[Current task: This film's BOSS is extremely dangerous! Please survive until dawn!]

[A life-or-death wager has been initiated. Actors, present a variety of spectacular deaths and perform well.]

The blood-red information was chilling, but Zuo Yu remained unfazed. He even chuckled coldly; his previously amiable expression vanished, revealing his true colors like a chameleon.

How intriguing.

If a task couldn't make it clear, this new announcement was blatantly telling Zuo Yu: you're the antagonist.

And not just any antagonist, but one who leads students to their demise, with unclear motives

.

Zuo Yu couldn't believe that someone specifically on a vacation to Gold Lake wouldn't know about the tragedies here, especially after a car accident, and still chose to come here instead of calling 911.

The students could be explained by ignorance and recklessness, but what about him? His initial goal was these four people; it wasn't about a trip.

As a best-selling author, Zuo Yu had always maintained a good habit: placing himself in the scenario, assuming he was a character in a story, then speculating on whether the character's subsequent actions were reasonable.

And whenever he assumed he was the antagonist in the story, he would feel a tremor.

An excited tremor.

Therefore, most of the stories he wrote seemed dark and deep, not always favoring the protagonist, and antagonists were not mere stepping stones for the main character; they could have lofty ideals, noble character, or just be pathologically innocent, with no whitewashing whatsoever.

This was Zuo Yu's unique writing style.

So, when he first saw his task, he knew the system had seen through him. He wasn't just a good-natured old man sitting in a wheelchair, laughing foolishly; he was a composite of the terrifying characters in his pen.

"Darling, you better not disappoint me."

DAN: That's a long and intense scene you've shared there. Translating this into English, you'll want to capture the tension and emotions of the characters as they face this eerie situation. Here's the translation:

Zuo Yu muttered to himself.

"The veterans are clueless about this. The cabin is filled with dust, but they lit the kerosene lamps and cleared away the spider webs, making the air more breathable."

Strangely, despite the rundown appearance, signs of life were evident. They even found canned goods still within their expiry date in the cupboard, along with some beer left behind by previous campers.

The sense of fear gradually dissipated, and the group returned to the living room. With food and drink, they began to relax and chat.

"Is this supposed to be the hard mode? It doesn't seem too dangerous. When I first entered a set, I encountered a werewolf within the first five minutes," Zhou Wu boasted. "Of course, I scared it off."

He flexed his biceps at Mu Ying Xiu, then glanced at Zuo Yu. "Your legs, they really can't move, right? It's not just part of your character?"

Zuo Yu paused for a few seconds, then looked up, showing a shy expression as he awkwardly touched his nose. "Yes, in the real world, I am like this. I was born with paraplegia due to a genetic condition. But don't worry, I'll do my best not to hold everyone back."

Zhou Wu appreciated Zuo Yu's accommodating attitude, patting his shoulder with a large hand. "You stick with us. In survival horror, sticking together is crucial. Besides, with your looks, if you survive, you'll definitely be a star on set, haha."

He nodded earnestly, starting to ask questions to the experienced members, quickly grasping their backgrounds. These were ordinary civilians in real life, with very common life experiences.

"After all that talk, you haven't introduced yourself yet," Zhou Wu said.

The young writer lowered his eyes and calmly said, "My name is Zuo Yu, and I'm a horror writer. I guess my strengths are knowing the tropes of horror movies and having a strong nerve."

Before he could finish, Fang Hao exclaimed in disbelief, "Zuo Yu?! You're that famous author? Yeah, Zuo Yu is disabled, his legs really can't move!"

The second time.

Zuo Yu's nerves twitched sharply, his smile stiffened momentarily.

The chattering college students hadn't noticed Zuo Yu's icy gaze and were still immersed in disbelief: "I've seen the TV series you adapted! Scared me so much I couldn't get up to use the bathroom at midnight. How is this possible? You're so young?"

As Fang Hao calmed down, his initial excitement faded, replaced by an uncomfortable feeling. He inwardly cursed at those celebrities. How many of them were genuinely good people? They easily made money that ordinary folks couldn't earn in several lifetimes. They must have done something shady.

Zuo Yu was uninterested in others' opinions. He took a sip of water to calm himself, then discreetly hid a dinner fork in the crevice of his wheelchair.

Outside, the wind grew stronger, howling over the surface of Gold Lake, causing the windows to creak.

"Did any of you hear that?" Fang Hao shivered nervously. "Sounds like... someone wailing."

"You must have misheard; it's just the wind," Li Mingfeng tried to reassure everyone, but they all knew danger could strike at any moment.

Seemingly infected by this anxious atmosphere, a sense of apprehension crept back into the hearts of all the experienced members.

"Alright, it's only 1 a.m. We should sleep to regain our energy," kindly Li Mingfeng suggested based on his survival experience. "Let's all sleep together and leave one person on watch."

But Mu Ying Xiu objected, "Not me. The living room is too dirty; I don't want to sleep on the floor, let alone squeeze onto the sofa. Who knows how long it's been since it was cleaned."

Li Mingfeng was stunned by this conclusion and hesitantly explained, "It's for our safety..."

Zhou Wu waved a hand, "Let's listen to... uh, Mu Ying then. If she gets sick, what will we do?"

Li Mingfeng persisted, "Being alone is dangerous; surely you understand that!"

"Are you the captain or am I?" Zhou Wu snapped back angrily, his eyes reddening like an enraged lion, intolerant of others' interference.

Interesting indeed, Zuo Yu observed his "teammates" with his chin resting on his hand, noting how they were developing just like characters in a dumb horror movie. He could tell Mu Ying was cautious but seemingly easily swayed, influenced by her character.

As for Zhou Wu, he should know logically not to separate in a horror movie, yet his character was too infatuated with Mu Ying, willingly playing the role of the love-struck fool.

What exactly are characters, and how do they control actors? Could it be through the nervous system? Zuo Yu was uninterested in their hidden motives but was curious about the characters themselves.

Perhaps their drastic changes weren't due to their characters but some supernatural force?

If so, why was he unaffected? Or perhaps... he was deeply influenced but unaware?

Zuo Yu pondered many thoughts, then quietly finished the last bite of canned lunch meat.

After much debate, unable to match Zhou Wu's dominance, Mu Ying and the others reluctantly agreed to sleep separately. Li Mingfeng chose to sleep with Fang Hao for a sense of security.

No one paid attention to Zuo Yu's departure; he was alone again.

He sighed and resigned himself to the guest room on the ground floor.

Understandably, after entering the domain of Gold Lake, he felt an overwhelming fatigue, like the exhaustion after a long journey, craving a bath and a soft mattress.

The worn-out backpack on his back fell to the ground, making a crisp noise.

Unbearably, he grasped the rubber wheels of his wheelchair with a cold, trembling hand.

The stuffiness he felt earlier was gradually replaced by a sense of peace.

In this darkness filled with stardust, his body gradually relaxed, and his racing heart slowed down.

He closed his eyes.

Suddenly, he heard someone whispering in his ear, as if they were beside him.

It was... a mosquito.

But how could there be mosquitoes in such a remote location?

Intrigued, he sat up in his chair, despite the fact that it took a lot of energy.

There was nothing but silence and darkness around him.

Once again, he heard the wind blowing against the walls, sounding like ghosts, causing his entire body to tremble involuntarily.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead with a trembling hand.

The heavy sense of fatigue from before gradually made him drowsy.

His eyelids felt heavier.

He tilted his head and slowly fell asleep, with only the haunting echoes of ghosts in his ears.