Chapter 44

The sudden terrifying scene threw everyone into a frenzy.

Ji Han's face turned pale, and he was so scared by this sight that his soul seemed to leave his body. When he regained his senses, he immediately turned and ran.

However, whether it was because he was too flustered or couldn’t distinguish the direction, he became disoriented and ran deeper into the haunted house.

An He Guang had initially planned to return and find Ke Xingzhou. But just as he was about to take a step, he noticed Ji Han running. He was startled and immediately grabbed Ke Yuanbai and turned to chase after him. “Ahhh! Ji Han, stop! Don’t go deeper! What the hell is that? Ahhh! Another ghost! Ke Master, help!!!”

Ke Yuanbai: “.........”

Bro, if you want to chase after him, just go by yourself! Why are you dragging me along?!

Xie An, finally snapping out of his shock upon hearing the screams, stopped secretly observing when Ke Xingzhou might notice that he was being petty. He stared, wide-eyed, at the now empty passage in front of him. “…I forgot to tell them!”

He forgot to tell them that this haunted house was all real ghosts performing!

The thing was, he wasn’t really scared of ghosts himself. Plus, those kind ghosts, aside from not having bodies, were pretty much the same as normal old people. Their childish behavior was even a bit annoying, so he didn’t find them scary at all.

But he didn’t realize that An He Guang and Ke Yuanbai were so afraid of ghosts!

“No, wait, that’s not right!” He frantically ran to the intersection, looked around, then ran back, sweat starting to form on his forehead. “How can they see them?”

Isn’t it supposed to be hard for ordinary people to see ghosts?!

Ke Xingzhou: “……”

Ke Xingzhou, with a complicated mood, shifted his gaze to the cloth strips at the entrance.

To be honest, although he had already anticipated what the special program might involve before it started, he was still thinking about how the production team would make the contestants see the ghosts in the haunted house when he saw the cloth strips.

After all, human eyes are different from machines. Ordinary people have a "shield" over their eyes, protecting them from disturbances from the underworld. If normal people have enough vitality and avoid places with heavy negative energy, it’s very hard for them to see ghosts.

But if the opening-eye talismans and spells were displayed openly, and the contestants were asked to follow along with the rituals, even an idiot would realize that something was off.

Not to mention whether the contestants would cooperate, but the live-stream would probably be banned first.

He considered many possibilities but never thought the production team would be so bold, hiding the opening-eye talismans within the set, deliberately lowering the ceiling so that they had to walk through the cloth strips.

The opening-eye talisman didn’t only work when placed on the forehead; it was just that this spot was closest to the eyes and didn’t obstruct the view.

—After all, they couldn’t directly stick it on their eyelids.

So when they walked through the cloth strips, the opening-eye talisman had already taken effect.As for the chanting sounds that seemed to come from vengeful ghosts, they were the incantations that accompanied the opening-eye talismans.

I have to admit that the production team's experience was quite skilled. The length of the passageway was carefully designed, and the half-minute it took to pass through the corridor was just enough time to recite the opening-eye incantation twice.

Even with the looped playback, it ensured that the contestants would at least hear a full recitation and successfully open their eyes to see the ghosts.

"..." Ke Xingzhou really didn't know what to say.

Xie An was waiting at the intersection for him. Seeing that he hadn't arrived yet, he became anxious and kept looking ahead.

An He Guang and Ke Yuanbai were both afraid of ghosts, and with the haunted house's complex path and narrow corridors, they had no escape. Every now and then, they were startled by ghosts suddenly appearing, followed by terrifying ghostly wails.

In contrast to them, Ji Han, encountering ghosts for the first time, remained silent, focusing solely on running ahead.

All they could hear was An He Guang yelling in panic while also crying, "Ji Han! Can you stop running? I can barely see you anymore! You should've been a runner instead of coming into this entertainment industry... Damn it, a hanging ghost! Wait, why does this ghost even have athlete's foot?!"

Xie An was shocked. "It's that old lady! Isn't she part of the after-sales department?"

Why is she even coming to our location!?

Xie An grabbed Ke Xingzhou and rushed out.

After some twists and turns, they finally reunited with An He Guang and the others.

They weren't sure what exactly happened during that time, but Ji Han had disappeared. When Ke Xingzhou and the others found An He Guang and Ke Yuanbai, they were just getting back on their feet, looking disheveled and battered.

Xie An shone the light from his phone onto their faces and was immediately startled.

"What happened to your faces?"

Although "All-Purpose Idol" valued the contestants' abilities more, it was still an idol-style competition, and each contestant's face was one of their core strengths.

He hadn’t expected them to be so seriously injured.

An He Guang was gasping for air like an overworked ox, barely able to speak a complete sentence. He waved his hand, signaling that it was hard to explain.

Then he saw Ke Xingzhou.

Suddenly, he rushed over to Ke Xingzhou like he had found salvation, pointing toward the direction they had just come from, and complained, "Ke Master! It’s them! These ghosts are too reckless! If it weren’t for the protective talisman you gave me, they would’ve killed me just now!"

"—Especially that hanging ghost, its feet were so stinky! It’s like it’s been wrapped up for hundreds of years and never aired out! It smelled worse than a latrine stone! I suspect it tried to suffocate me with athlete’s foot!!"

Ke Xingzhou looked in the direction he was pointing.

It was strange, though—ever since Ke Xingzhou appeared, those scary ghosts had become unusually well-behaved. They didn’t approach anymore to continue scaring people, even looking docile as if they had been scolded by their parents.

When An He Guang said this, most of the ghosts' faces showed signs of unease, and their eyes, when looking at Ke Xingzhou, were full of guilt.

This was their first time working in the mortal realm. They didn’t need any disguise and could keep their true nature to scare people. They were a bit too excited and had to admit that they had indeed gone a little overboard earlier. An He Guang and Ke Yuanbai were tripped and injured, and they were partly to blame.

Even the old lady ghost, who always had an attitude, had her head lowered in shame, looking embarrassed.

However, when An He Guang said the last line, the old lady ghost suddenly raised her head, her resentment boiling up. "What’s wrong with feet that have been wrapped for hundreds of years?! It’s not like I wanted it this way! If you’re so disgusted with my stinky feet, why don’t you go back to my childhood and tell my mother not to wrap my feet?!"Her anger came quickly and suddenly, startling everyone.

An He Guang, having had a girlfriend before, didn't hesitate. He instinctively lowered his head to apologize, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I just got too angry for a moment and spoke without thinking. I didn’t know you cared so much about this, it’s my fault, I sincerely apologize to you, I promise, I promise it won’t happen again."

As he said the last sentence, An He Guang paused, feeling something was off, but couldn’t quite pinpoint what.

However, he quickly stopped noticing these small details.

Hearing his apology, the strong-willed old lady ghost blinked silently, then suddenly cried out loudly.

An He Guang was most afraid of people crying, his scalp tingled, but he didn’t know what he said wrong. He could only attribute it to his earlier harsh words towards the ghost, so he started apologizing and comforting frantically, even pulling Ke Yuanbai and Xie An into the fray without hesitation.

"..." The scene was so awkward that even Ke Xingzhou fell silent.

The live stream audience, however, was nearly dying of laughter.

[Hahahahaha I’m going to laugh myself to death! Who else, like me, was too scared to click on the ghost house special at first, but after clicking, saw them being chased by ghosts all over the place?]

[I get it, I get it! Honestly, when I first saw the setup at the door, I was too scared to watch, the banners and the sound were so eerie, and that head! Oh my god, is that a hologram? The production team must have spent a lot of money this time!]

[An He Guang’s team should probably change his character setting? Since entering the haunted house, this guy’s image is falling apart! He’s supposed to be the cool, refined young master, but he was just running away from ghosts like a monkey, now he’s comforting the old lady ghost from the Qing Dynasty! I’m going to die laughing in this show!]

[How did “All-Purpose Idol” manage to turn a haunted house into a ridiculous horror show? Hahahahahahaha!!]

...

The completely unexpected program results left the production team and the agents of many contestants in an unprecedented state of confusion.

They couldn’t help but look at the live streams of the other groups. Clearly, there was a terrifying atmosphere, and the bullet comments were filled with scared comments.

But why had the atmosphere with Ke Xingzhou’s group turned out this way?!

This kid, Ke Xingzhou, must be cursed!

After what seemed like an eternity, when the old lady ghost was getting bolder and wanted to touch the three young idols' abs, Ke Xingzhou finally couldn't stand it any longer and spoke up to stop her, "You should return to your post."

As soon as he spoke, the old lady ghost quickly pulled her hand back, awkwardly chuckling twice.

She thought the great master hadn’t noticed!

With a regretful glance at the three young men’s firm abdominal lines, the old lady ghost left with the other ghosts, still with a suspicious flush on her face.

Everyone: "..."

An He Guang was dazed, thinking to himself, this is something new, using girlfriend comforting skills on a ghost.

Ke Xingzhou glanced at him, "Do you want me to send you out first?"

"…No, it's fine." An He Guang wiped the sweat from his forehead, belatedly feeling embarrassed.

Honestly, at first, he was terrified. The experience of real ghosts versus fake ghosts was completely different, and for a moment, he truly thought he might not make it out alive.However, after the old lady ghost made such a scene, he really had no experience with comforting ghosts, so he could only use the techniques he had learned from comforting a girlfriend.

...Anyway, it felt awkward now, and the fear was no longer really maintainable.

Compared to the fear, he was now more relieved to have survived: "Master, you don’t know, it was really scary just now! And Ji Han ran so fast! Ke Yuanbai and I chased him the whole way, but still didn’t catch up... Thankfully, Ke Yuanbai came out with me, otherwise, if I were alone, I might have been scared to death just now!"

"..." Ke Yuanbai looked at An He Guang speechlessly.

Was he the one who volunteered to chase after him? It was clearly An He Guang who dragged him along!

But Ke Yuanbai was naturally reserved and didn’t speak much, and now he was exhausted, so he didn’t bother to correct him.

He just glanced at the fork in the road and voiced his concern, "It’s been a while, and Ji Han hasn’t come back. He’s alone; could something have happened?"

"Ha... ha..."

Ji Han panted heavily, not hearing any sound around him. His eyes were fixed on the tunnel ahead, and without pause, he staggered forward, running at full speed.

He had already ventured deep into the park, but unexpectedly, the haunted house still hadn’t ended.

All around were strange and terrifying ghostly shadows. Even if they only flashed in the corner of his eye, it was clear how horrifying they were.

But if a camera had captured his face at that moment, it would have shown that his focus was entirely on one direction, his gaze even clearer than when he first appeared. It was obvious he wasn’t running so fast because of fear.

Suddenly, he turned a corner, and his eyes quickly locked on a half-transparent figure that was about to disappear. Without hesitation, he shouted, "Wait! Mo Lili!!"

As soon as the name was mentioned, the live audience was stunned.

[What the hell, Mo Lili? Isn’t that the name of that underage girl? He got her killed! Why is he saying her name now?]

[I knew it, participating as a flying guest at this time surely doesn’t mean anything good. Is he trying to whitewash himself? This huge show actually gives him a platform, are they crazy?!]

[No, Ji Han is definitely a confirmed scumbag, but am I the only one wondering what the hell he’s up to? The whole country knows Mo Lili is dead, what is he trying to achieve by doing this?]

[I’m writing a blood letter to switch to a smaller screen, I don’t want to watch his tricks, but I want to go over there and curse him!]

[Blood letter +1!]

Because it was a last-minute special program, even the venue was set up within a single day. Although the props inside were made as realistically as possible, the production conditions were limited, and they couldn’t arrange individual live streams for every guest.

Before Ji Han ran out, the camera feed in the live stream had been focused on Ke Xingzhou and the others, but Ji Han’s microphone was still on, which was how his voice made it through.

Curious viewers who wanted to know what was happening with Ji Han began to flood into the live stream. The director team held a brief meeting and, as the viewers requested, added a camera to capture Ji Han.

Meanwhile, some netizens who had been watching on other social platforms heard about it and rushed into the live stream.

Among them was a girl named Mo Li, Ji Han’s anti-fan.

She had once been a loyal fan of Ji Han, but after the confirmed news about him luring an underage girl into pregnancy and abusing her to death, she, also being a girl and having a name similar to the victim’s, immediately switched from being a fan to an anti-fan and started to lash out.

When she heard Ji Han had a personal camera, she was the first to rush into the live stream, quickly typing a few words on her keyboard. But just as she pressed send, she froze when she saw another figure besides Ji Han on the screen.

She couldn’t help but rub her eyes, then closed them again.When she opened her eyes again, the figure was still on the screen, slowly turning around to face the camera.

—Mo Lili?!

When Mo Lili's parents cried online about their daughter’s experience, they posted pictures of her from her life, which led many kind-hearted netizens to share evidence proving that the path of Mo Lili's life they had laid out was indeed true.

Mo Li had also seen the photos and the undeniable evidence, which made her finally decide to unfollow and lash out.

However, the girl who had been confirmed dead from various sources was now appearing completely unharmed on the screen.

What on earth was going on?!

There were many viewers in the live stream who were as confused as Mo Li, leading to a delay of several seconds before a bullet comment slowly appeared: [Wait, is this haunted house really haunted? Did they summon Mo Lili’s ghost?]

Mo Li, still dazed, immediately snapped back to reality when she saw this comment. The anger she had previously suppressed flared up again.

Her fingers flew across the keyboard, deleting the message she had just typed, and then she quickly sent out another one: [You brainless people defending this—don’t you know the deceased should be respected? Mo Lili is dead, and you’re using her to whitewash the abuser. I’m ashamed I ever associated with you!]

It was like pressing a button. As soon as she sent that message, a wave of angry bullet comments followed, quickly filling the entire screen.

The screen was full of ridicule toward the first person with delusional thoughts, and some were cursing Ji Han for being shameless, even desecrating the dead.

[Ji Han, get out of the entertainment industry!]

[Apologize to Mo Lili! Get out of the entertainment industry, prison is where you belong!]

[Go to hell, murderer!]

Originally, they had regretted that there were no bullet comment machines set up inside the haunted house, so all their anger and curses couldn’t be seen by Ji Han. But just as the bullet comments exploded, Ji Han in the haunted house bent down slowly, as if ashamed by their insults.

The live stream’s bullet comments paused for a moment due to this strange scene, and Mo Li stopped her furious cursing, falling silent for a moment.

At that moment, Ji Han’s voice, filled with pain and pleading, came through the microphone: “Please... whether you’re a ghost or a person, please tell them the truth... I really... I really can’t take it anymore...”

Ji Han’s voice cracked, and the despair and agony in his tone made Mo Li, watching the screen, stop in her tracks.

She couldn’t help but remember Ji Han’s first drama after his debut, which was the turning point that moved her to become his fan—

It wasn’t exactly a complete work; he only played the male lead in a senior colleague’s MV.

The song was a melancholic ancient-style love ballad. Mo Li couldn’t remember the lyrics, but she did remember that the MV’s story was about two lovers forced to separate by an unavoidable fate. The entire world had no place for them, and in the end, the female lead suffered heavenly punishment for the male lead, seriously injured and dying in the male lead’s—Ji Han’s—arms.

Even though she had unfollowed and lashed out, Mo Li still vividly remembered how stunning Ji Han had looked in that red ancient costume.

What moved her even more was Ji Han, eyes red, asking the heavens why it couldn’t allow two lovers to be together. In the endless silence of fate, he bent his back under the weight of grief, crawling on the ground, willing to give up everything, humbly begging the heavens to give his lover one more chance.

She had never been interested in chasing stars or idols, but back then, for some reason, when she heard Ji Han’s one line, “Please,” she couldn’t help but fall for him.

The Ji Han now was so similar to the one back then, except that back then, he was pleading for his lover’s survival, and now...

Mo Li hesitated for a moment, and despite having already given up on him, she strangely began to entertain an absurd thought—what if he was truly wronged?

As soon as that thought arose, Mo Li recalled the information she had dug up in her frustration back then.Out of curiosity, she had learned hacking techniques for a while, and through various pieces of information revealed by Mo Lili’s parents, she found the social media account the girl used at the time, logged in, and looked through the roaming chat records.

The scumbag who tricked her out of her house indeed claimed to be Ji Han, and he had sent her several photos from his life before his debut.

With the evidence from the schedule, Ji Han was definitely the damn murderer.

In these days, even Ji Han’s team had disappeared without a trace, and it was rumored that they had been disbanded and reorganized, with other new artists taken along.

There was no possibility of any reversal in this matter.

Despite saying this, when she remembered the red-clad young man who had moved her back then, Mo Li still stopped her fingers from typing and stared quietly at the two figures on the screen.

Many former fans of Ji Han also stopped their attacks at this moment, looking at the big boy on the screen with complex expressions, watching him, who had always stood tall due to years of dance practice, slowly bending his back, kneeling before a girl much younger than him, curling up into a ball, almost crying uncontrollably.

It was at this moment that, guided by Ke Xingzhou, An He Guang and the others appeared on camera.

An He Guang was stunned when he saw the scene and subconsciously rushed forward to block Ji Han.

He warily looked at the young and harmless-looking female ghost in front of him, not daring to take his eyes off her, and could only tilt his head and ask Ji Han, “Are you okay? Did you get hurt somewhere? Damn, this ghost can actually hurt people! Wait here, I’ll have Master Ke take care of her!”

Ke Xingzhou: "..."

Ji Han ignored An He Guang’s words, simply pressing his forehead to the cold ground, repeatedly knocking his head: “Please, I just want the truth... I didn’t kill you, I really didn’t... Please, I beg you...”

Xie An and Ke Yuanbai had never seen such a scene, but the sound of Ji Han’s head repeatedly hitting the ground was terrifying—it was as though he was trying to bash himself to death.

Neither of them had time to think, and each of them stepped forward, one on the left and one on the right, to help him up.

They saw that Ji Han’s forehead had already swollen, a bruise in the center, faint bloodstains visible.

They were all shocked, but Ji Han himself didn’t seem to feel any pain at all, his eyes stubbornly locked on the figure in front of him, his gaze unfocused.

Xie An became anxious: “Bro! Come quickly! Is he being haunted or something?”

Ke Xingzhou followed Ji Han’s gaze to the female ghost across from him: “You’ve been lingering around him for a while. You should know who he is, right?”

As soon as these words were said, both the people in the haunted house and the audience on the other side of the screen were stunned.

An He Guang took a sharp breath: “Oh, so you’ve been planning this from the start! Master Ke, this is definitely a vengeful ghost, hurry and get rid of her! I’ll pay for it!”

Ke Xingzhou: "..."

Bullet comments: 【...】

Ke Xingzhou didn’t respond to him, instead, he stared intently at the female ghost and spoke again: “Or maybe you really like him and want to take him with you as a companion. I see that his life force is dwindling, he won’t last long.”

The audience in the live stream was even more confused.

From the moment Ke Xingzhou and his group appeared, the things they said had left them in a fog.

What vengeful ghost, what master?

They were speaking Chinese, but why couldn’t they understand a single word?

Ke Xingzhou’s statement was even stranger—both Ji Han and the girl were perfectly fine, so what did he mean by going down or not going down, living or dying?【Is this the script for the haunted house? No, didn’t "All Idol" initially say it was an unscripted, impromptu show? So now they’re swallowing their own setting?】

【Even if it’s a script, these people’s conviction is way too strong! By the way, the script actually includes the Mo Lili incident, could it be that Ji Han’s backers created this whitewashing script for him?】

【You should have some moral integrity! The wound on Ji Han’s forehead doesn’t look fake to me, and his current state reminds me of a friend of mine who committed suicide because of depression. Seeking justice is fine, but it needs to be through legal channels. Do you want to make someone commit suicide through online bullying and carry the weight of a life forever?】

The live chat quickly became chaotic, but the haunted house scene was unaffected.

The viewers saw the girl, after hearing Ke Xingzhou’s words, quickly glance at Ji Han, hesitate for a moment, then lower her head and rub the hem of her clothes. She then said something that surprised everyone:

She said: “I’m sorry.”

She bowed deeply to Ji Han, then straightened up, walked in front of the camera, and brushed a lock of hair from her temple behind her ear, revealing her entire face.

“I am Mo Lili. I am Mo Dachun and Jiang Liwen’s daughter, the same girl you’ve all been talking about these past few days, the one who was tricked away, gave birth, and was killed by domestic violence.” The female ghost raised her face, and two lines of blood tears slid down her eyes, “Before I ran away from home, I was already dead.”

The audience: “???”

Mo Lili’s words completely bewildered the live stream audience.

The gossip about the top idol deceiving a minor, making her give birth, and being involved in domestic violence had spread through the streets and alleys over the past month. Mo Lili’s movements before her death had also been verified by many people, and many bystanders could recite it by heart.

And now, a girl who looked exactly like Mo Lili was standing in front of the screen, telling them that Mo Lili had actually been dead before running away from home?

Who were the netizens who exposed all of this? Ghosts?

The entertainment industry viewers were more concerned about the bow Mo Lili gave Ji Han and her initial apology.

Would a victim apologize to the abuser?

Although they didn’t believe in things like ghosts manifesting, the audience was still stunned by the scene that exceeded their understanding, subconsciously listening as "Mo Lili" began to explain the cause of her death.

“My real name is not Mo Lili, but Mo Pandi.” Mo Lili paused, “Pandi, meaning ‘to hope for a brother.’”

“My birth was never wanted by this family. What they wanted was a son. But unfortunately, my mother, Jiang Liwen, had a difficult labor when she gave birth to me and had to have her uterus removed.” At this point, she tilted her head back, and two lines of blood tears slowly fell from her still youthful face, “So the task of giving birth to a brother fell to me.”

Mo Lili’s voice was very calm, as if she were recounting someone else’s life, but every word she spoke shattered the audience’s worldview.

The more innocent viewers initially thought she meant “giving birth to a brother” was about giving the Mo family a child, but soon that notion was shattered by Mo Lili’s words—her parents really wanted her to give birth to a brother.

A half-brother.

“A brother from the same father, but a different mother.” Mo Lili’s voice was still calm as she continued.

“I gave birth.” Mo Lili looked down at her stomach, her expression unreadable, “But not in our home. On the day I gave birth, I ran far away and left him at an orphanage.”

“I wanted him to die, but I was too scared, scared to go back and be beaten, and scared of being blamed for a death and forced to drop out of school.”

“I can’t drop out of school. I need to go back to school.” Mo Lili paused, her voice firm as she repeated, “I need to go back to school, then I’ll graduate.”

However, her over eight-month pregnant belly suddenly deflated, and such a thing could not be hidden no matter what.

She was caught and brought back home, where she suffered an unprecedented beating. Especially after learning that the child she gave birth to was indeed a son and the only heir of the Mo family, the enraged Mo Dachun lost control and pushed her off the windowsill!

When Mo Lili spoke about this, there was finally an obvious emotional fluctuation.Her eyes gradually turned bright red, and the blood tears streaming from her eyes spread, slowly forming blood-colored patterns on her pale, ashen skin.

The director team was stunned, unable to understand what was happening. How could the haunted house actors suddenly claim to be Mo Lili? But years of live-streaming experience made them quickly realize something was wrong, and they swiftly switched the live feed to a distant angle.

Behind Mo Lili.

The audience stared blankly at Mo Lili on the screen, only then noticing the pool of blood spreading from her feet, the sharp red stinging their eyes.

But the next moment, Mo Lili’s figure flickered. They couldn’t catch exactly what happened before her young, gray-white face appeared on the screen again.

Mo Lili’s eyes had completely turned blood-red, staring intently at the camera, as if she could see the people watching her from the other side of the screen.

The resentment surrounding her could no longer be contained and suddenly boiled over.

"I want to... go back to school... I want to go back to school! I want to go back to school!!!"

Her voice grew increasingly desperate, and the madness in her gaze sent a chill down their spines.

The viewers watching the live stream were frozen in shock, the cold aura of death seemed to reach them through the screen, making some keyboard warriors freeze in place, paralyzed by a primal fear.

The director team was even more stunned: "What... what the hell... what is going on?!"

"Damn! The haunted house director didn’t say anything about this kind of scene! Is this a real ghost or a fake one?! Don’t scare the guests to death!!"

"Quick, quick, where is the haunted house manager? Customer service! Find customer service!!"

Chaos erupted, and they immediately called the contact number left by the haunted house.

The elderly ghost, still holding a young girl’s heart, reminisced with a warm smile as the three handsome men surrounded her, comforting her, and answered the phone with a much softer tone: "Hello?"

After hearing the situation, the elderly ghost glanced at the phone on the table, casually replying, "Oh, this? Of course, it's because the resentment is too strong, turning into a vengeful ghost!"

The director team: "?????"

—

The phone call from the haunted house's customer service was abruptly ended, and the director team’s phones immediately began ringing again, with calls from investors and streaming platforms, and WeChat messages flooded their screens with question marks.

The director team exchanged looks, and then, in unison, they turned their gazes toward the screen, their eyes filled with deep despair—

It was over. Their directing careers.

And this newly launched show.

The live feed was completely overwhelmed, with the audience witnessing Mo Lili’s transformation into a dark version of herself, and countless question marks and shock comments filled the screen. On all social media platforms, the program’s page for "All Idol" now had "haunted" added to its title.

Seeing the situation had reached an uncontrollable point, the only thing the production team could do was notify the Wanli Group and then close their eyes, waiting for the inevitable.

The feeling of not seeing the screen was even more terrifying. They felt an eerie wind howling around them, unsure if it was their imagination, but the temperature seemed to have dropped to freezing.

However, after a brief wait, the howling wind suddenly stopped.

The death-like phone ringtones decreased significantly, and only the assistant director’s phone continued ringing.

They opened their eyes in confusion and immediately saw that the ghost’s face on the screen was blocked. A red talisman was affixed to the ghost’s forehead, followed by a low, rapid chant. They hadn’t even had time to listen closely to what was being said before the screen suddenly went dark.The director team was completely dumbfounded, no one thought to switch the feed, and the screen stayed black for about ten seconds.

After those ten seconds, a hand released the camera, and the female ghost appeared again, but now she was in a stiff, subdued state, with the yellow talisman still stuck to her forehead.

However, whether it was just their illusion or not, the cinnabar mark on the talisman seemed to have faded considerably.

The live comments were still filled with question marks, and the director team was even more confused, not understanding what had happened.

The assistant director's phone was still ringing. He woke up from his stupor and answered the phone, then blankly handed it to the chief director.

The chief director was basically in a daze, taking the phone without even checking who it was from, and immediately put it to his ear.

On the other end came the voice of a competitive director from the same graduating class, filled with jealousy and envy: “Well, well, you've been hiding it deep! A talent show, and you somehow turned it into a documentary-quality movie. And you even kept it from me, saying it was an emergency notice from higher-ups! I knew it—such complex and refined sets couldn’t have been built in a single day. Tsk tsk... You really aren’t being fair!”

The chief director glanced down at the screen, seeing the number displayed. He recognized it immediately—it was the number of the genius director from his batch, the one who once thought very highly of himself and wouldn’t even accept his business card.

As soon as he hung up, his own phone popped up with a friend request from the same director.

【I have a supernatural theme for my next project too. Your special effects team is pretty good, could you introduce them to me?】

The tone was unusually friendly.

The chief director was silent for a moment, then slowly sat up straight and replied: 【I’ll think about it.】

As he hit send, he raised his fist and swung it hard.

“Feels good!!!”

—

Inside the haunted house.

Jiang Han, who had just appeared to be on the verge of breaking down, was now completely stunned. He was being supported by An He Guang and Xie An, his expression confused and incredulous.

He had only acted out of emotional collapse when he did those crazy things, but when the female ghost transformed into a vengeful spirit, he snapped out of it.

After Mo Lili finished telling her past, she seemed to have transformed into a different ghost. The earlier calmness and gentleness completely disappeared, replaced by endless madness and resentment, locking her gaze onto everyone in the room equally.

At that moment, Jiang Han clearly felt the cold murderous intent enveloping him, and he almost believed he was going to die right there.

However, just then, he saw the young man who had been casually lazing around since their first meeting, someone so excessively handsome but with little presence, make a move.

He walked forward leisurely, and facing a terrifying vengeful spirit that could kill them all instantly, he casually tossed a talisman, parted his pale pink lips, murmured a few incantations, and subdued the enraged spirit.

Jiang Han’s eyes shifted slowly, turning to look the other way.

The blood-red markings on Mo Lili’s face had completely faded, and now she looked just as pure and beautiful as before. When she saw him looking over, she even gave him a slight apologetic smile.

Jiang Han: "…………"

His gaze flickered slightly, staring at the now-relaxed Ke Xingzhou nearby. A faint glimmer slowly began to flicker in his otherwise desolate eyes.

“You…”He was about to speak when he was interrupted by Xie An and An He Guang's voices: "Bro! That was so cool!"

"Master Ke, well done! I told you, this female ghost wasn't a good one, right? She’s clearly a vengeful spirit!" An He Guang grumbled, as if he wasn’t the one who had just screamed in fear at a group of harmless ghosts. "Master Ke, what do you think of my talent? Can I become your disciple?"

Even Ke Yuanbai was looking at him with admiration, his eyes shining, completely unaware of what Ke Xingzhou had just covered up on camera.

Ke Xingzhou: "…………"

He was about to blink his eyes out of frustration. None of these people had any clue what just happened, and now they were asking to become his disciples. They might as well stand at the door as stone lions!

But after everything that happened, with the professionalism of the director team, the live broadcast should’ve been cut off by now, right?

Ke Xingzhou silently shifted his gaze, hoping to take this opportunity to remove the ghost, but when he turned around, he accidentally locked eyes with the live broadcast camera set up in the corner.

He watched as the camera slowly adjusted to follow his movements. After a moment of silence, he slowly spoke, "They were just joking. It’s for the show, please don’t take it seriously."

After a brief pause, he added, "Believe in science, reject superstition."

Live comments: 【………………】

Do you think we're fools?!