I work as a security guard at a cemetery, and I overhear the dead chatting about getting rich quick.

As the singing ended, the audience members without facial features simultaneously raised their heads.

A beam of pale light shone in the center of the stage.

A wooden chair was placed in the light.

Lin Ye's name was also written on the back of the chair.

The person in the red theatrical costume raised their hand, their dark eyes remaining motionless.

"please."

Lin Ye stood still, without answering.

When you don't know the rules, don't respond, don't make contact, and don't act according to the other party's wishes.

This was the first lesson Cheng Fang taught him.

Cheng Fang stepped forward half a step and blocked his way.

"Don't say a word."

The actress in red tilted her head slightly.

The next second, the gong sounded on its own backstage.

when!

The faceless audience below the stage applauded in unison.

Snapped.

Snapped.

Snapped.

The applause grew louder and louder.

Several dark red threads emerged from the cracks in the wooden planks, crawling along the ground towards the woods.

Tang Zhi raised her hand.

The transparent threads fell instantly, stopping the red lines in mid-air.

The two thin threads tightened, and her wrist suddenly sank downwards.

"He's quite strong."

Qin Zhao's fingertips ignited with embers.

The flames skimmed across the ground, burning through the first few red lines.

The broken wire fell to the ground, but instead of turning to ash, it twisted and shrank back behind the curtain.

The makeup on the red-clad actor's face slowly cracked.

"Guests don't go on stage."

"How is the opera performed?"

The paper figures on both sides turned around one by one and walked onto the stage, dragging their costumes.

Cheng Fang quickly gave the order:

"Qin Zhao deals with paper figures."

"Xu Mian is searching for the source of the anomaly."

"Tang Zhi protects the forest."

"Lin Ye only listens to the rules."

Qin Zhao controlled the embers, burning only the red threads that manipulated the paper figures, preventing the fire from touching the wooden stage.

The red threads broke one after another, and the paper figure lost its support and fell to the ground.

Xu Mian's shadow followed the edge of the stage into the backstage area.

As soon as she reached inside, her body swayed.

Tang Zhi helped her up.

"What did you see?"

"There is a bronze gong on the left side of the backstage area."

Xu Mian closed her eyes, her breathing somewhat erratic.

"There's a gong mallet next to it, and a door behind the gong."

"The shadow can't get in."

The sound of gongs and drums suddenly quickened.

The actress in red took a step.

The faceless audience members below the stage also leaned forward, as if waiting for him to speak.

Lin Ye closed his eyes.

All I could hear were singing, cheers, and cries.

Instead of listening to the lyrics in front of him, he sank into the older voices.

Someone backstage urgently reminded me:

"The opening gong has already sounded. After the performers finish singing and the curtain falls, we'll have to strike the farewell gong!"

Another person cursed:

"Everyone's run away, what's the point of seeing off guests?"

"The farewell gong should be struck three times!"

"The play isn't over until the gong sounds!"

What followed was chaos.

Someone is coughing.

Someone shouted that the fire had started.

Footsteps rushed out in a frantic rush.

Only the last three gongs failed to sound.

Lin Ye suddenly opened his eyes.

"The show isn't over yet."

Cheng Fang punched the paper figure that was lunging at him.

Explain yourself.

"The play was in progress when a fire broke out."

Lin Ye quickly replied, "The opening gong sounded, but the curtain didn't fall, and the farewell gong wasn't sounded either."

"We've been waiting here for that scene to finish."

The red-clad actress flicked her water sleeves.

The long sleeves led straight into the woods.

Cheng Fang reached out and grabbed it, but his feet were dragged and slid half a meter away.

The water sleeves suddenly wrapped around his arm.

A dark red curtain then fell from above the stage, separating Cheng Fang to the other side.

"Team Leader Cheng!"

Tang Zhi flicked out the silk threads.

The thin thread passed through the curtain, only to circle back to where it came from.

This piece of cloth simply doesn't have another side.

The communicator was filled with static.

But soon after, a heavy thud was heard from behind the curtain.

Cheng Fang was still fighting with the actress in red.

Qin Zhao raised his hand.

"boil?"

"It cannot be burned."

Lin Ye immediately stopped him.

"The curtain is part of the curtain falling. If it's burned, the show may never end."

Qin Zhao stopped the fire.

Tang Zhi stared at the red line on the ground that was getting closer and closer.

"What's next?"

Lin Ye recognized the old voice again.

Opening gong.

The last line of lyrics.

Ended.

Three gongs were sounded to send off the guests.

The order gradually becomes clear.

"Wait until the last line of the play is sung."

"Then the curtain falls, and the guests are seen off with three gong strikes."

Xu Mian asked, "What's the last sentence?"

"I still can't tell."

The actor in red was already approaching through the curtain.

His shadow was stretched long and thin by the light, and his flowing sleeves kept slapping against the fabric.

Cheng Fang's voice came from the other side:

"Do as you hear!"

Then came another muffled thud.

He was clearly stalling for time for a few people.

The red-clad opera singer's singing voice became increasingly shrill.

The red line emerged from under the curtain once again.

While intercepting Lin Ye, Tang Zhi wrapped another strand of silk around Lin Ye's waist.

"I'll hold your hand."

"Don't actually put yourself on stage."

Xu Mian closed her eyes again.

The shadow clung to the edge of the stage, weaving through the crowded shadows, and revealed the route backstage.

"Left-side entrance."

"Go straight for six steps, then turn right."

"The gong is against the wall."

There are three paper figures in the middle.

Qin Zhao said, "I'll clear the road."

Lin Ye looked at the group.

"I'll remind you when you sing the last line."

"Tang Zhi is in charge of bringing the curtain down."

"I'll go and bang the gong."

Qin Zhao glanced at him.

"Don't die backstage."

"As much as possible."

Qin Zhao's embers met the rushing paper figure.

The moment the flames lit up, Lin Ye rushed backstage, hugging the edge of the stage.

The first paper figure leaped out from behind the wooden box.

The embers brushed past its shoulder, burning the red thread off.

The paper figure fell to the ground.

As soon as the second foot was lifted, Xu Mian's shadow wrapped around its ankle, buying Lin Ye two seconds.

He sidestepped around it.

The third paper figure hid behind the prop shelf and swung down with a wooden sword.

Tang Zhi suddenly pulled the silk thread.

Lin Ye was pulled backward, and the wooden knife grazed his nose as it fell.

He drew his field pistol.

boom!

The low-penetration bullet struck the paper figure in the chest.

The paper figure merely swayed slightly before continuing to raise its knife.

Lin Ye immediately changed his target.

The second shot severed the red thread behind its arm.

The paper figure's arms drooped down.

Lin Ye rushed past it and finally saw the bronze gong.

The gong was larger than those used by ordinary opera troupes, its surface was blackened, and the edges were engraved with blurry opera characters.

The gong mallet landed right next to it.

Lin Ye did not reach for it with his bare hands.

He put on protective gloves and wrapped the handle of the gong mallet with a spirit-sealing band before gripping it tightly.

The moment the gong mallet touched the ground, the old sound suddenly became clear.

Thick smoke.

Firelight.

The crowd fled from backstage.

An old man stood guard in front of the gong, repeatedly muttering:

"The play wasn't over yet."

"The guest is still here."

"We can't let it go."

Someone grabbed him and shouted:

"Human life is at stake, let's go!"

The old man did not move.

Until the flames engulfed the entire theater.

Lin Ye's arm went numb, and he almost dropped the gong mallet.

What's trapping people here isn't just the unfinished play.

There was also an obsession that refused to end, even unto death.

On stage, the red-clad actress's singing grew louder and louder.

Tang Zhi's voice came through the communicator intermittently:

"Lin Ye, hurry up."

"I can't hold it in any longer."

Lin Ye grasped the gong mallet tightly.

"Wait for the last sentence."

The lyrics were stretched out amidst the gongs, drums, and applause.

He closed his eyes, searching for an ending in the overlapping sounds.

On the other side of the curtain, Cheng Fang was still restraining the actor in red.

Qin Zhao burned one red thread after another.

Xu Mian's shadow stood guard at the backstage entrance, preventing the paper figures from getting close.

Suddenly, all the accompaniment stopped at the same time.

The faceless audience members below the stage also fell silent.

The actress in red drew out her voice in a thin, drawn-out manner:

"The journey ahead is long and arduous..."

The old voices and singing styles overlapped at this moment.

"May you all..."

Lin Ye held his breath.

The actress in red sang the last four words:

"Go home."

"The curtain falls!"

Tang Zhi suddenly gathered the threads together.

Thin threads were simultaneously wrapped around both sides of the curtain, and then pulled downwards with force.

The dark red curtain crashed down.

The screams of the actress in red were muffled behind the cloth.

Lin Ye swung the gong mallet.

when!

At the first gong sound, the lights inside the opera house flickered violently.

when!

As the second sound faded, the faceless audience members below the stage began to fade.

when!

The third sound seemed to travel through decades, returning to the raging fire that never ended.

An aged voice finally rang out softly:

"The play is over."

"Go home, everyone."

The people in the audience all stood up at the same time.

They turned around and slowly left through the unseen exit.

Rows of seats went empty.

The lights went out one by one.

Lin Ye felt a sudden tightening around his waist.

Tang Zhi's tether pulled him backward.

The surrounding scenery rapidly collapsed.

The next second, Lin Ye was thrown back into the backstage area of ​​the exhibition hall in reality.

The faceless audience disappeared.

The actress in red has also disappeared.

Cheng Fang stood not far away, his right arm was ripped open, and there were several bloody cuts on the back of his hand.

Seeing that Lin Ye was still holding the gong mallet, he immediately spoke:

"Place it in the isolation tray."

Lin Ye did as instructed.

Tang Zhi and Xu Mian quickly unfolded the folded storage sleeve.

Qin Zhao guarded the exit.

Cheng Fang put on protective gloves, secured the gong and gong mallet with a sealing tape, and then put them together into a sealing sleeve.

The first layer of the spirit-sealing belt tightened.

The second layer.

The third layer.

The moment the latch closed, the exhibition hall fell completely silent.

There were no gongs or drums.

There was no singing style.

The oppressive feeling in the air dissipated.

Xu Mian looked down at the locator.

"The signal has been restored."

Zhao Ning's voice immediately came through the communicator:

"Group Two, report the situation!"

Cheng Fang pressed the communication button.

"The source of the anomaly has been temporarily sealed off."

"Everyone survived."

"Tang Zhi and Xu Mian are overworked."

"I sustained a minor injury to my right arm, while the others had no obvious external injuries."

"Request to take over the site."

"Received. First field team, proceed immediately."

The door was quickly pushed open from the outside.

Sunlight streamed into the hall, and Lin Ye squinted unconsciously.

He glanced at the bracelet.

Only two minutes and fifty-eight seconds passed between the signal interruption and its restoration.

But they stayed in that theater for at least ten minutes.

Zhao Ning led his team to inspect the sealed enclosure and the fluctuations at the scene, his expression gradually becoming serious.

"The peak energy level exceeds the Class C standard."

"There have been instances of spatial confinement and proactive attacks; the level has been temporarily raised to B-low."

Tang Zhi leaned against the wall, panting.

"The first assessment is low-risk; will it automatically upgrade your level after that?"

Zhao Ning glanced at her.

"At least you managed to seal it off while you were still alive."

The car was quiet on the way back.

Tang Zhi tightened the wristband again.

Xu Mian's face was pale, and she leaned back in her chair to rest.

Qin Zhao's fingertips were slightly red from being burned by the embers.

Cheng Fang's right arm has been simply bandaged.

Lin Ye looked out the window, the words still echoing in his ears:

Go home, everyone.

That bronze gong may have trapped more than just those who later wandered into the exhibition hall.

There are also opera troupes and audience members who couldn't leave the stage decades ago.

In the evening, after completing the inspection, Group Two entered the debriefing room.

Cheng Fang projected the on-site recording onto the screen.

"Let's start with the problem."

Tang Zhi sighed.

"A familiar opening."

"Tang Zhi, the use of the 'Pulling Silk' technique has caused a relapse of your old injury."

"Xu Mian sent Shadow Scouts into unknown areas twice, and the second time she did not set a retreat limit."

"Qin Zhao, the embers have been too close to the wooden exhibits multiple times, and the fire control margin is insufficient."

"Linye."

Lin Ye sat up straight.

"When facing a paper figure, the first shot hit the torso without first assessing the drive structure, wasting an ammunition."

"The temporary order is not short enough either."

"clear."

Cheng paused for a moment, then said:

"After the space was sealed off, the backup evacuation plan was activated too slowly."

Tang Zhi looked up at him.

Cheng Fang's expression remained unchanged.

"Reviewing the game isn't just about finding fault with the team members."

He turned off the recording.

"Mission accomplished. The source of the anomaly has been successfully contained. All personnel have been evacuated. No secondary contamination has occurred."

Cheng Fang entered the results after the second group team assessment.

by.

Tang Zhi let out a long breath.

Xu Mian also relaxed.

Qin Zhao leaned back in his chair, his tense shoulders relaxing slightly.

Cheng Fang looked at the four people.

"Starting today, the second field reserve team is qualified to participate in low-risk field missions."

Lin Ye stared at the "Pass" button on the screen.

When he first entered the Qingshan Underground Tomb, he was just an ordinary security guard who was dragged into the police station.

I survived thanks to luck and the help of others.

But this time is different.

He understood the rules.

His teammates trusted his judgment.

He really did work with them and brought everyone out.

Tang Zhi turned her head and extended her fist.

"How was your first real-world experience?"

Lin Ye bumped into her.

"Easier than meeting the parents."

Qin Zhao said calmly, "The Lu family has no faceless spectators."

"But they will ask about your career plans."

Xu Mian whispered, "It does sound really difficult."

Tang Zhi couldn't help but laugh.

Cheng Fang tapped on the table.

The group immediately fell silent.

He placed a new file on the table.

"Take a day off."

Tang Zhi's eyes lit up.

This time she didn't dare ask if it was a holiday.

Cheng Fang continued:

"The official mission begins the day after tomorrow."

Lin Ye looked at the unopened file.

The breath I had just taken in slowly came out again.