After the three bronze coins Ye Huohuo threw landed on the ground, they continued to spin. Two coins quickly stopped, lying flat with both sides showing heads.
However, the third coin kept spinning on the ground. A minute passed, and it still hadn't stopped.
The surrounding crowd craned their necks to watch it, marveling at the unusual sight.
Ye Huohuo's brow furrowed, her gaze fixed on the spinning coin. The other two coins indicated great misfortune, and the chance of survival depended on this one, yet it spun like a top without pause.
This situation was beyond even Ye Huohuo's experience. Finally, it spun into a crack between two floor tiles and stood upright, stuck.
"What… what's going on?" the bald director beside her asked, wiping sweat from his head, his voice laced with anxiety.
Ye Huohuo looked at the three coins on the ground with a solemn expression. She clenched her fist. She had divined to find a glimmer of hope, but now, with the stuck coin, she couldn't determine anything. Was it a certain death, or was there a sliver of a chance? She didn't know.
"Miss Ye, regardless of the outcome, shouldn't we go in to save them? I'll go!" As someone spoke, a large hand picked up the coin standing upright.
Ye Huohuo looked up at the owner of the hand – A Cheng.
He picked up the other two coins and returned them to Ye Huohuo.
A Cheng's unintentional remark hit the mark of her thoughts. Yes, regardless of good or bad fortune, she had to go in and save them. Although destiny played a role, what must be done, must be done, even if it seemed impossible.
She had always strived to do her best, unafraid of life or death. Why was she suddenly afraid to die today?
Li Mohan's words echoed in her ears – "You must come back alive."
If it was destined that only one of them, her or Li Moyan, could survive…
She shook her head, dismissing the thought.
"Indeed, we have to go in regardless. But I'd like to know what happened here before. I told Li Moyan yesterday to halt production and let me resolve the issue first before resuming filming. Why has filming resumed today? Couldn't they wait even a day?" Her tone had turned unfriendly.
The bald director looked like he had something to say but couldn't, his face turning red.
"It's all because of the female lead. She's a big star and said she had something to do tomorrow, so she insisted on filming today. Miss Yan repeatedly stressed this, but the director agreed. And before filming even started, this happened!" A woman dressed flamboyantly beside them said in a sarcastic tone.
"Miss Hua, you can't just say things like that. Our Xuanxuan isn't being difficult. She genuinely has an important engagement tomorrow, which is why we wanted to finish filming today to avoid delaying everyone's schedule. Who knew something like this would happen!" The female lead's agent retorted, stepping forward to explain.
"Alright, now is not the time to assign blame. I just want to understand what happened," Ye Huohuo stated, unwilling to listen to their grievances.
Mutual suppression and backstabbing were commonplace in the entertainment industry. Although she hadn't experienced it much herself, she had seen too much of it online to be unaware.
"What happened was this: this room is Xuanxuan's exclusive dressing room. She does her makeup here every day, and it's always been fine. Who knew that after she went in today, a scream was heard. Her makeup artist, not knowing what happened, also rushed in but let out a scream and then fell silent. At this point, President Yan arrived. He stopped others from entering, but he went in alone. Before going in, he said that if he didn't come out, no one else was to enter. He mentioned that a Master Ye would be coming to handle it, and until Master Ye arrived, no one should enter. After he went in, there was not a sound. No matter how much we called from outside, there was no response from inside, as if no one had ever entered. We didn't dare to go in again and could only look in from the door or the windows. But strangely, even though it was broad daylight, and even if the lights weren't on, we should have been able to see the inside of the room. But now, we can't see anything. It's pitch black, like a dark abyss."
As Ye Huohuo listened to his account, she had already peered in through the door and windows. Indeed, apart from a gloomy, dark energy, she could see nothing. It was as if the mouth of a monstrous beast had swallowed everything.
"How can this be? This room isn't that large. A flashlight beam should be able to penetrate this space, yet the light seems to be swallowed as soon as it enters? It remains pitch black?" A Cheng, who had produced a powerful wolf-eye flashlight from somewhere, opened the door and shone it inside.
The wolf-eye flashlight had a range of fifty meters, but it couldn't penetrate this space of less than ten meters. Moreover, the light revealed nothing. The furniture that was presumably in the room was either swallowed by the darkness or obscured by it.
"This is Yin Sha Qi (阴煞之气), which devours all light. It's useless!"
Ye Huohuo quickly closed the door, afraid the dark energy might spread and harm someone.
"Have you put anything into the room these past few days?" Ye Huohuo asked, her expression grave.
"Put things in? This room usually just contains the clothes Xuanxuan needs for filming, along with some of her personal belongings. Nothing else!" The agent had more say than the director at this point, as he was with Xuanxuan almost constantly.
"I mean, items that didn't originally belong to Xuanxuan in the room, such as a painting, a table, or a chair, something old, not new," Ye Huohuo clarified.
"Old?" The set dresser squeezed in, "I know, I…"
Ye Huohuo motioned for everyone else to be quiet and let him speak.
The set dresser was a large,胖 man. It was noon, and sweat beaded on his forehead. Wiping his brow, he said, "A few days ago, we needed an old-looking wardrobe for a scene. I bought one from a second-hand market. Since that scene was delayed, and Xuanxuan kept complaining about not having enough closet space in her dressing room, I put it in her dressing room for temporary use. Could it be that item? There are no other old things added to the room!"
Ye Huohuo couldn't be sure what it was. She was asking these questions only to have some information when she went inside, rather than being completely clueless.
"Miss Ye, I'll go in first. I can't see anything inside, and if there's any danger, my agility is better," A Cheng said, gripping the door handle, ready to open it.
Ye Huohuo reached out and pressed on A Cheng's arm. "Wait. I understand the situation inside better than you. If you encounter a problem you can't solve, I'll go first. You…" Ye Huohuo's eyes flickered slightly, "will be responsible for covering the rear!"
A Cheng hesitated. "President Li asked me to protect you. Then walk slowly and don't get too far ahead!"
Ye Huohuo blinked, a hint of sadness flashing across her eyes before she concealed it. "Alright!"
With Ye Huohuo's assurance, A Cheng released his hand. Ye Huohuo took a deep breath, opened the door, and walked in.
A Cheng followed closely behind. However, as he stepped inside, he was suddenly pushed out by a powerful force.
Although he rolled to dissipate the force, he was still flung back five or six meters before managing to steady himself.
At the very moment he was thrown back, the door slammed shut. When he rushed back and tried to open it, he found he couldn't pull it open at all.
"Does anyone have the key?" A Cheng asked the people around him.
Xuanxuan's agent, trembling, took out a key from his pocket. "I… I do!"
"If you have it, then give it to me! What are you afraid of!" A Cheng said, looking at the somewhat effeminate man with distaste and snatching the key.
But as he prepared to unlock the door, he froze.
It was a chain lock meant for locking the door from the outside, and the chain lock was now lying to the side, not attached to the door.
"Then, then the door can't be locked from the inside at all. Normally, it just pulls open!" the agent stammered, his mouth trembling.
The situation had become extremely bizarre. Not only could nothing be seen inside, but a door without a lock couldn't be opened. Everything pointed to one thing – a ghost!
It was the middle of the day, the time when sunlight was strongest, yet everyone present inexplicably shivered, a bone-chilling cold seeping from their hearts.
A Cheng's brows furrowed tightly. He pulled the door handle with all his might, exerting all his strength. The effort was so great that the door handle came off, but the door remained tightly shut, not even a crack appearing.