**After Getting Off the Bus**

Once they got off the bus, the group was gathered in an open area. Qin Nan set aside his playful thoughts with Jian Fan and began to assess the situation around him.

He hadn’t paid much attention on the bus, but now that they were outside, the dynamics of the twelve people became clearer. Including himself, there were twelve individuals: nine men and three women. Xia Zeqin and the woman beside him appeared to be a couple, closely connected. Surrounding them were four other men, indicating that these six were familiar with each other. The remaining four seemed to be independent entities, maintaining a certain distance from one another, yet not too far from Xia Zeqin’s group.

With that in mind...

Qin Nan glanced at the distance between himself and Xia Zeqin.

He was standing next to Jian Fan, the farthest from Xia Zeqin, making it seem as if they were isolated from the rest.

What kind of grudge could cause this? Qin Nan rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

“You guys finally made it! Hurry up, there’s a lot to do!” A middle-aged man with a potbelly jogged over from a distance, waving at them.

Xia Zeqin was the first to approach him.

As he moved, the others followed suit.

“Bro, what’s going on?” Qin Nan asked.

“You can think of him as the NPC who gives out tasks,” Jian Fan explained succinctly.

As they walked towards the man, Qin Nan took in his surroundings. They seemed to be in a film studio, and it was quite large. Oddly, though, there were no other people in sight except for the middle-aged man.

They were led to a film crew.

Outside the crew was a sign that Qin Nan’s keen eyesight caught:

*Death Crew Filming Base.*

Furrowing his brows, Qin Nan felt a mix of surprise and inevitability.

“I’m the stage manager here. You can call me Old Wang. If you need anything, just come to me,” the man said, glancing at his watch. “Time is tight, so let’s get moving!”

They were brought to a table where various name tags were laid out, indicating different roles: actor, cinematographer, crew member, etc.

Xia Zeqin stepped up first, casually grabbing a name tag. His identity information quickly appeared:

*Cinematographer, Xia Zeqin.*

Following him, the others began to choose their tags. Qin Nan noticed that Jian Fan selected “actor.” After Jian Fan finished, someone led him away to the makeup room. Qin Nan didn’t have time to ask questions before Jian Fan turned and left.

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Being the last to choose, only a tag labeled “crew member” remained on the table.

Unsure of what was happening, Qin Nan took the tag and obediently started moving props, working up a sweat.

As nothing unusual occurred for a while, Qin Nan gradually relaxed. He thought back to Xia Zeqin’s earlier behavior on the bus and chuckled to himself—was he just trying to scare him?

What a distasteful prank, he thought.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he scanned the set. Everyone was busy—both the original crew members and those who had come down from the bus like him.

Then he noticed a familiar face: a chubby guy who had been standing near Xia Zeqin earlier. The man had a comical appearance, and Qin Nan couldn’t help but watch him as he, too, had chosen the crew member role.

The chubby guy was holding a heavy vase, but surprisingly agile as he moved. Just as Qin Nan began to smile, everything changed in an instant.

The chubby guy seemed to trip over something, and as he fell, his head suddenly detached from his body, blood spraying everywhere.

From a distance, Qin Nan hadn’t noticed before, but now, stained with blood, he saw a taut wire where the chubby guy had fallen.

Drip, drop.

Blood dripped from the wire onto the ground. The sound echoed in Qin Nan's chest, resonating like surround sound in his ears.

In a daze, he noticed something round rolling towards his feet.

He instinctively looked down.

It was the chubby guy’s head, face down, staring right at him. Their eyes met.

Qin Nan stumbled back several steps, creating distance from the severed head, unable to suppress a curse.

This was just a prank, a mere illusion, he reassured himself. Yet, the words of Xia Zeqin and Jian Fan echoed in his mind. Witnessing the chubby guy’s death forced him to confront a terrifying truth: he had entered a very dangerous place.

“This world seems very difficult,” Jian Fan had appeared at his side without him noticing.

Qin Nan turned to him, gritting his teeth. “What the hell is this place?”

“Realm of Death,” Jian Fan replied, his tone unchanged, as if the chubby guy’s death hadn’t affected him at all.

“I don’t care what it’s called; I just want to know how to get out of here.” Qin Nan was losing his earlier calm.

Jian Fan looked at him, his tone still matter-of-fact. “Clear the levels, accumulate points. There’s no other way.”

Qin Nan held back a torrent of curses. Jian Fan was his only source of information about the situation, and he couldn’t afford to make an enemy of him. With that thought, he fought to suppress his anger and asked, “How do we clear the levels?”

“I don’t know. Each world is different. We have to figure everything out ourselves. This is a game of survival against death, and we must leave before we die. We don’t even know if our deaths will come in the next second.” Jian Fan’s last words carried a hint of self-mockery.

A heavy stone pressed down on Qin Nan’s chest, making it hard to breathe.

“What are you all standing around for? Get the scene cleaned up and prepare for the next shoot!” Old Wang shouted, having appeared out of nowhere.

Qin Nan was momentarily stunned, while Jian Fan stepped forward to help.

Xia Zeqin and the others seemed completely unfazed, moving the chubby guy’s body aside without a change in expression. The blood was quickly cleaned up, making it seem as if it had all been a dream.

But the chubby guy was indeed gone.

For the rest of the afternoon, Qin Nan felt dazed. The chubby guy’s death had a profound impact on him. Sometimes, he would stop, even when there was nothing in front of him, needing to reach out and feel the air for a long time, ensuring there were no taut wires before daring to move forward.

Fortunately, no further incidents occurred.

By ten o’clock that night, Qin Nan and the others were permitted to leave. They were taken to a hotel near the set, where they received their room keys at the front desk.

Those who knew each other paired up into rooms. As a newcomer without a companion, Qin Nan found that Jian Fan had already taken his key and left. Gritting his teeth, he took his key and returned to his room alone.

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