Ye Xiang's primary concern at the moment was to quickly move away from the area where the plot was unfolding. Of course, he didn't expect to go too far. He only had a total of two hundred Redemption Tickets, and if he left the plot area entirely, he would probably need more than that. If he couldn't afford the Redemption Tickets, there was only one outcome: death! So, his plan was to see the specific deduction criteria for the Redemption Tickets and then consider how to get away. Of course, he couldn't escape alone; he had to find a few people to leave with him. Walking alone was terrifying, as in many horror movies, characters who were separated ended up being killed.

He observed the expressions of the people on the bus to determine who were the new actors and who were the seasoned ones. Although he intended to distance himself from the bus, he, after all, was a new actor and wanted to see how the seasoned actors would handle the situation. They had more experience and more Redemption Tickets, so they should have better strategies. If possible, it would be best to join a group of seasoned actors.

Furthermore, in this kind of real horror movie, there was no need to consider a protagonist halo because the protagonist was not absolute. The actor playing the protagonist could also die prematurely due to changes in the plot. So, expecting to survive by sticking close to the protagonist was clearly unrealistic.

"Why did the bus break down?"

"We're still in the mountains!"

"I'm going to complain about this travel agency! What a crappy bus!"

The actors inside the bus started complaining all at once, with many of them speaking with Sichuan or Shaanxi accents. It seemed that this movie theater really randomly picked people from all over the country. Everyone must have picked up the poster and then found themselves thrown into the world of a real horror movie.

At this moment, the protagonist, Luo Haosheng, frowned and turned to Ye Xiang and Zhang Nianzhou, saying, "Xia Yun, Nianzhou, do you have a travel map?"

"Yes." Zhang Nianzhou seemed to have finally recovered his senses and started delivering his lines. However, his tone was still filled with fear, and his speech was slow, as if he were afraid of getting his lines wrong. "Yes, I have it."

In this simple sentence, he paused for a moment after almost every word. At this moment, his face turned red, covered in sweat, and his legs trembled uncontrollably while his pupils constantly contracted. Ye Xiang became even more certain that he was a new actor.

After receiving the map, the protagonist Luo Haosheng took a look and sighed, saying, "It's a long way down the mountain from here, and it's so late. This place is so remote that there's hardly any vehicle passing by."

By this time, the actor playing the driver had already gotten off the bus. Frankly speaking, Ye Xiang admired the actor playing the driver. He was going to die in the end, and the script didn't even specify how he would die, yet he remained calm, following the lines and communicating with the other actors, then got off the bus to check the condition of the vehicle. The actress playing the tour guide was also good, constantly comforting everyone and explaining the situation. It took a while for the noisy atmosphere to gradually subside.

Ye Xiang took a deep breath and started calculating. Based on his rough observations, he had completely given up on the idea of having Zhang Nianzhou as a companion. Just by looking at his appearance, he would probably be too scared to even face a ghost, let alone help himself. As for Du Yan and Jiang Youlin, Du Yan's face was pale, constantly looking out the window, clearly already thinking about how to escape.

"Xia Yun!" Zhang Nianzhou suddenly grabbed Ye Xiang's hand, and at this moment, he wasn't reciting lines anymore. "Let's... let's walk down the mountain! Okay? Let's go! And Haosheng, you come with us too!"

Luo Haosheng shook his head, barely saying a word. He probably didn't want to say anything beyond the script. Luo Xueyan did the same, waving her hand, indicating that she wouldn't go either.

Seeing Zhang Nianzhou's pitiful appearance, Ye Xiang felt a bit sympathetic. After all, they were all in the same predicament. Seeing him like this, Ye Xiang reluctantly said, "Okay... let's go down the mountain together."

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After saying those words, the Redemption Tickets in his mind immediately began to deduct. It was originally 200, but now it became 197. Because it was an important line, it deducted three Redemption Tickets directly. This made Ye Xiang regret a bit. Would it have deducted fewer if he had just nodded?

"I... I'll go down the mountain with you!" At this moment, Du Yan rushed over, grabbing Zhang Nianzhou and Ye Xiang's hands, tears welling up in his eyes. "Let's go, let's go! Hurry!"

From his appearance, it was clear that he couldn't wait to escape for his life. If he had companions to go with, he would probably have already run out of the bus.

As for Luo Haosheng, Kang Xueyan, and Jiang Youlin, they didn't say a word, seemingly completely indifferent to them. They sat upright, though their expressions were solemn, they showed no intention of leaving the bus. This left Ye Xiang feeling somewhat perplexed. Could it be that not leaving was the correct course of action? But then he thought that these people were seasoned actors with experience, so they might know some survival tips. They were all newcomers and couldn't just stay here waiting for death, right?

"Everyone!" Ye Xiang raised his voice and shouted, "Who wants to go down the mountain with us? Let's go together, so we'll have company on the way! How about it?"

Ye Xiang was quite anxious at this point, and his gaze turned to the driver, wondering what he thought.

"Alright, we'll go with you."

At this moment, a few more people stood up from the back seat. One of them, a Sichuan man, carried a large bag and said, "Let's go! Let's go down the mountain like this!"

Ye Xiang looked at the actors who walked out, a total of four. These four were all extras, so he didn't even know their character names. The four individuals were the Sichuan man, a couple who looked like they were married, and a young man wearing a duckbill hat.

Ye Xiang sympathized with them as well. Extras had almost no lines or scenes, and they might end up dying in large numbers. As for the remaining people, they looked at each other, seemingly wanting to say something but ultimately keeping it to themselves.

Ye Xiang didn't need to carry luggage; after all, Luo Haosheng and the others could take them to the hotel at the foot of the mountain. So, he, Zhang Nianzhou, Du Yan, and the four extras got off the bus.

According to the script, the driver would die at midnight, which was still a long way off. But it was better to leave a little earlier. No one wanted to stay in a haunted bus. After the seven of them got off the bus, they hastened their steps and hurriedly moved away.

In that instant of getting off the bus, the Redemption Tickets decreased once again. This time, the total was down to 177! It meant that getting off the bus and leaving cost them 20 Redemption Tickets! Ye Xiang knew that as he moved farther away, the Redemption Tickets would increase, just like the fare meter in a taxi. So, they couldn't go too far.

Since that was the case, it didn't matter which direction they went. The others seemed to have noticed the decrease in Redemption Tickets as well, so their initially brisk pace slowed down, not daring to walk too fast.

At this point, everyone remained silent. After all, the Redemption Tickets were precious, and no one knew if speaking extra lines would result in deductions. They had to be very careful with their words, and this wasn't just a metaphor; it was true. Ye Xiang observed the people around him— the Sichuan man remained calm, while the married couple, the husband tightly holding onto his wife, seemed to be trembling. The young man with the duckbill hat kept lowering the brim, but his pale face was still evident.

The mountain was quite desolate, with no signs of human habitation around, only withered branches and fallen trees. They walked in twists and turns, not knowing how long they had been walking. The bus was already far behind, and finally, Ye Xiang stopped.

They couldn't walk any farther. They had to conserve their resources because who knew what would happen next. It was clear that they had all been deducted a significant number of Redemption Tickets. Ye Xiang estimated that the total Redemption Tickets for the four extras probably didn't exceed 100, and such deductions were unsustainable. The ground was bare without even a stone, so the Sichuan man took out a few old newspapers from his bag and spread them out on the ground, allowing everyone to sit down.

After sitting on the newspapers, Ye Xiang looked down and examined the newsprint. It was from 2013, the same as the real world's time. Of course, according to the information in his mind, this horror movie world was definitely not the real world—this much was certain. He looked at the news on the newspaper, including current events that were in line with reality. It was a parallel world that closely resembled reality, but they were just actors and passersby in this world.

Sitting down, everyone looked at each other, not knowing what to say. Looking around, all they could see were vast mountains, probably located in some mountainous area of inland China. At midnight, the bus would become haunted. That would mark the end of the first act, and the subsequent plot remained unknown. However, Ye Xiang speculated that since someone had already died, everyone would probably flee the bus. But what would happen after that was uncertain.

Ye Xiang felt restless and unsure if leaving was the right choice. Although they had seven people, if ghosts truly appeared, would it be of any use? Frankly speaking, he was a complete atheist who didn't believe in ghosts at all. He was usually calm even when walking alone at night and could watch horror movies without flinching. But now he found himself thrown into a real horror movie, and he couldn't maintain his composure.

"So... should we just wait here?" The Sichuan man suddenly spoke up.