The male supporting character was actually myself.

Under the influence of the medication, Sun Dieqi was still a little dizzy, somewhat like she was drunk and her brain and body were out of control, but the game designer's gritted teeth and threats finally managed to calm her down.

"So this is the effect of drinking the medicine in the water." Jiang Chen carefully observed the other party's condition, made a few notes in his notebook, and then spread his wings and flew into the first scene to help the female lead find her way.

Behind the show's main entrance was a dimly lit street. Red paper lanterns emitted a hazy glow and swayed gently in the cool breeze. The swirling wind blew across the empty street. What should have been a lively scene was now filled with tables, chairs, benches, and small stalls, but there wasn't a single person in sight.

The ancient buildings, the slightly creaking wooden doors swaying in the wind, the white paper pasted on the pillars, the withered leaves and red paper scraps fluttering in the wind, all combined with the swaying red lanterns, create an indescribable eerie and terrifying atmosphere.

“I’ve been to escape room shows before. Usually, these shows only give you a theme and no hints, so you have to split up to find clues to unlock new scenes.” With no one causing trouble, Wang He took control of the pace again and became the team leader. He looked back at Qin Xiaoyao, who was obviously a newcomer, and specifically instructed her: “Be careful when looking for clues. Try not to touch anything you’re not familiar with. These kinds of shows… can really be haunted.”

ghost?

After listening to Mr. Devil's instructions, Qin Xiaoyao first thanked him and then humbly asked, "Do the ghosts in the show kill people?"

"Once the conditions for a fatal blow are triggered, you will be chased by the ghost. If you are strong enough, you can even use items to fight back against the ghost, but as a beginner, you should try not to be reckless and be careful to avoid being killed by the ghost."

Liu Yihong knew this show would be dangerous. Professional actors would definitely stick together, and as "criminals," not sticking together would easily lead to their deaths.

Regardless of whether the other party was the legendary troublemaker or not, at least the first impression was good, so he decided to follow the old rules and build a good relationship with Wang He and Qin Xiaoyao.

After all, actors are controlled by the production crew.

The "harmful persona" might be a label imposed on her by the production team. They've encountered actors like this before—initially domineering and unreasonable, then later whitewashed through scripted storylines. Frankly, it's all for the sake of the show's effect and making money. As for Qin Xiaoyao's true character, Liu Yihong only trusts his own judgment.

"Watch your step. These stone paths often have traps or hidden passages. If you accidentally fall and get injured, it will be very troublesome," Liu Yihong said with a warm smile, offering a kind reminder.

Qin Xiaoyao followed Mr. Devil's instructions and responded politely to everyone who showed her kindness; if others ignored her, she would not even glance at them and followed the two handsome men into the show.

"Waaaaah~"

The door behind me slowly closed, and a low whistling sound, carried by the cold wind, was unclear in its direction, making one feel uneasy.

"Snap!" Qin Xiaoyao quickly took out the flashlight from the side of her backpack. The bright light illuminated a dim corner. A foot wearing an embroidered shoe suddenly pulled back. She took two steps forward, but could only see a gray wall under the beam of light.

Everything happened so fast that Wang He and the others hadn't even taken out their lighting tools before their first encounter with the "ghost" was over.

Even so, the oppressive and gloomy environment still gave the actors, who were mentally prepared, a sudden shock.

Fortunately, the foot disappeared after it was discovered, indicating that the "ghost" at the beginning did not have any offensive capabilities.

"Ah!!!" Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and the audience was discussing how exciting the show's design was after being hit with a shock right from the start, Sun Dieqi suddenly covered her ears and let out a shrill scream, "Ghost! Ghost!"

The sudden scream startled Wang He.

With the help of the Devil's magic, Qin Xiaoyao overcame her fear, stepped forward, and scanned the surroundings with a flashlight. Finding nothing amiss, she asked in a low voice, "Did you see a ghost? Where?"

"There, over there, there's a foot!" Sun Dieqi pointed incoherently at the spot where the red embroidered shoe had appeared. "There! There's a ghost! I'm scared, I don't want to act anymore, I want to go home... Waaah..."

She disregarded her image and the fact that she was wearing high heels and a miniskirt, and sat down on the ground to break down and cry.

Everyone: ...

"Official uncensored bonus, record your screen now!"

"This investment was definitely worth it, hehe, I can even see everything clearly!"

"This annoying woman is such a killjoy, always jumping around like that. Is she a classic case of someone who got the role by paying their own way in? Who chose this actress? She should come out and apologize with her life!"

"This kind of actor is the worst thing for a supernatural horror show. Relying on jump scares to create atmosphere is really outdated and old-fashioned. Anyway, longtime fans are very disappointed."

"Give me my money back! I came here for an immersive reality show experience, not to watch some vulgar, explicit pornographic film!"

"Damn it, I regret spending money! Reality shows are getting worse and worse by relying on women in short skirts and showing off their bodies to attract traffic."

"All the bad reviews go to Sun Dieqi! Damn it, even the trashy criminals performed far better than her..."

…………

Just two minutes into the event, before the main topic had even been properly addressed, online disputes erupted.

Soon, Sun Dieqi's support rate, which was originally second only to Wang He and Liu Yihong, plummeted in the voting data. On the contrary, Qin Xiaoyao's ruthless and taciturn image won back a lot of support. Although the data was still at the bottom, it was much better than the previous near zero.

A huge countdown timer hung overhead. The group ignored Sun Dieqi, who was on the verge of collapse, and dispersed to search for clues.

"I've found something here!" Jiang Chen led Qin Xiaoyao to find the textual clues first.

It was a tattered scroll with a red background and gold patterns. After opening it, one could barely make out the traditional Chinese characters written with a brush.

She used her flashlight to illuminate the document and read aloud to Mr. Devil, word by word: "Two families unite in marriage, a contract is made in one hall, a good match... Peach blossoms are in full bloom, a suitable home and family... This should be a damaged marriage certificate, many words are illegible, but the groom's name is written as: Qian Jinsheng, and the bride's signature space is empty."

Wang He frowned slightly upon hearing this. "'The Vanished Bride'? So she doesn't even have a name?"

"Xiao Yao is amazing! She even recognizes ancient characters." Liu Yihong praised her generously, giving her a thumbs up and laughing, "There are several characters on this that I don't recognize either."

In the central control room, Qiao Yi's face was grim. He commanded, "Activate emergency plan one: Ghost Mode. Separate the criminals so they don't have a chance to band together!"

Chapter Seven has no tricks, it's all about brute force.

Staff activated the emergency plan by pushing the lever on the control panel, and two figures appeared out of thin air in the virtual sandbox street scene that flickered a few times.

At the same time, a strong wind blew across the deserted street, making the red lanterns sway and the mournful cries in the wind grow louder!

"Help!" Under the influence of the drug, Sun Dieqi, who was easily agitated by the slightest disturbance, let out another shrill scream.

In her artificially amplified sense of fear, everything in sight seemed distorted, as if a demon might leap out from a corner and tear her to pieces at any moment!

Startled by the sudden scream, Fang Fei instinctively moved closer to her senior, Zeng Hao.

The other party obviously didn't want to be held back by that crazy, clueless woman, Sun Dieqi, so they teamed up with Fang Fei to search for clues, lest they be outdone by Wang He and the others in terms of performance.

Jiang Chen had already figured out where all the clues in the show were hidden, and led Qin Xiaoyao through a destructive search, managing to find most of them.

“I’ve found a clue here too.” Wang He glanced coldly at the trembling Sun Dieqi and chose to ignore her.

If the countdown reaches zero and the next scene is still not unlocked, given the show's track record, they'll definitely add some punishments that viewers will love. Professional actors don't need to worry, but as a criminal, you might get dragged down and lose your life.

The team has Sun Dieqi, who is easily startled and a drag on the team, and Qin Xiaoyao, whose character is unknown. The one-third unknown makes him determined that he must go all out!

"I have some too!"

Liu Yihong followed closely behind, carrying a locked red lacquered box out of a jewelry store. "The eldest son of the Chen family is getting married tomorrow. This is jewelry made for the bride, but for some reason, he hasn't come to pick it up yet, and the box is locked. We couldn't find the key in the jewelry store..."

"Smash it open." Jiang Chen reminded him from the rooftop, "Be cold in your tone, don't be so soft and you'll be easily ignored."

Following Mr. Devil's prompting, Qin Xiaoyao forcibly changed her usual gentle tone, trying to make herself look more sassy, ​​and shouted, "Smash it!"

Liu Yihong: ? ? ?

"Is this... okay?" He turned to look at Wang He, a little confused. Wang He had participated in similar supernatural horror shows and was more experienced than him.

Wang He was also taken aback. Usually, when they were on the show, they would solve the puzzles and find clues step by step. Finding keys and tools was a routine operation, but the production team had not explicitly forbidden breaking locks...

In the two seconds that the two looked at each other and hesitated, Qin Xiaoyao had already walked to the entrance of a firewood shop. Following Mr. Devil's instructions, she pulled out an axe hidden in a pile of firewood, took two steps forward, and smashed the small iron lock with a "crack".

"Damn! Simple, straightforward, fast, and ruthless. I love this girl's efficiency!"

"It's much more pleasing to the eye than if it's straightforward and doesn't drag on."

"That's how a horror show should be! Why look for a key? It's not like an escape room with all sorts of rules and restrictions. Just smash it open and get straight to the point!"

"Compared to this, Qin Xiaoyao seems pretty good. At least I'm looking forward to her future performances. I'll vote for her and give her more screen time!"

"What a cool young lady! She looks petite but is more decisive than most men. She'd rather take action than talk back. That's a great personality..."

…………

The audience comments quickly shifted from a chorus of criticism to more varied opinions, and Qin Xiaoyao's approval rating rose slightly.

"As expected of the host I chose, her actions were swift and fierce!" The fluffy dumpling, with a dried fish in her mouth, mumbled, "It was too difficult to clear her name at first, but now I'm taking advantage of the situation and giving her some positive reviews, deliberately staying on the homepage to stir up trouble."

Jiang Chen nodded in agreement, saying, "Most viewers watch the show purely for entertainment; they don't think about much else. Even the trial of criminals is treated as a carnival, with the Federal Headquarters leading them by the nose. As long as someone praises her, coupled with Qin Xiaoyao's outstanding performance, her approval rating will skyrocket."

He squinted at the not-so-large venue and said softly, "The purpose of the whole show is to let Qin Xiaoyao show the evil in human nature, and to pave the way for the trial and destruction of Luoyue City."

Therefore, the production team will absolutely not kill her; in fact, they will try their best to protect her.

We'll do the opposite, letting Qin Xiaoyao act as a protector for her teammates. This will not only garner her goodwill but also thwart the production team's scheme.

"Mmm, mmm, mmm, after this show is over we'll release all the evidence, like the script and the drugging, hehehe..." Little White tucked his fluffy big ears and happily hopped on his tiptoes. "You could call this an eye for an eye, right? I can't wait for everyone to storm the Federation headquarters!"

"The reality show was proposed and created by the head of state. After the inside story is exposed, I believe those political enemies will not let go of such a good opportunity to attack."

"I can't wait to think about it!"

Under the command of Mr. Devil, Qin Xiaoyao, wielding an axe, cleaved open all the wooden boxes, doors, and even cellar entrances that couldn't be opened, quickly gathering many clues to learn the overall story background—Qian Jinsheng, the eldest son of the wealthy Qian family in Peach Blossom Town, was to marry his eighth wife the next day.

Because the first seven brides all died suddenly the day after their marriage, although everyone in the town coveted the Qian family's wealth and the status of the eldest daughter-in-law, no one dared to send their daughters to die.

Grandma Wang, the matchmaker from Peach Blossom Town, coveted the thirty taels of gold promised by Master Qian as a thank-you gift. She went to another place and found a family that was dirt poor but had a beautiful daughter. She bought the girl's life for twenty taels of silver.

The poor bride was sold by her gambling father and had no idea what dangers she would face if she married into the Qian family. She obediently followed Grandma Wang to Peach Blossom Town and stayed at Grandma Wang's house outside the town, waiting to get married the next day.

“Based on my past experience, this valuable hairpin in the jewelry store will be a very important prop.” After summarizing, Wang He selected the useful clues and handed the hairpin to Liu Yihong. “You found it, keep it, it’ll definitely come in handy later… Who?!”

Before he could finish speaking, he caught a glimpse of a figure flashing past the dimly lit doorway of the woodshed out of the corner of his eye, but with all the actors gathered together, they couldn't possibly be his own people!

Wang He swiftly shone his flashlight over and saw a dark, ghostly figure rushing straight towards him!

"Watch out!" Qin Xiaoyao shouted, grabbed her axe, and leaped into the air, charging directly at the ghostly figure!

Everything happened in an instant. Viewers who had paid to watch Wang He's perspective immediately exclaimed, "Holy crap! Something's wrong! Holy crap, this girl is too damn brave! She's going head-to-head with him?!"

"Oh my god, that was almost a face-to-face kill! It scared me to death!"

"Wang He is amazing! He remained calm even in such a terrifying and dangerous situation."

"I want to switch to Qin Xiaoyao's perspective, it's so damn exciting, I'm directly going head-to-head with a vengeful ghost!"

With a single axe strike, the vengeful ghost, the easiest to defeat in the early stages, instantly disintegrated into a cloud of black mist and vanished without a trace.

"This thing can't be killed?" Qin Xiaoyao was actually quite scared.

This was the first time she had ever seen a "ghost".

But Mr. Devil said not to be afraid and to chop it like a pumpkin. In order not to repeat the tragic mistakes of her previous life, she mustered up her courage and obeyed his command to chop it with an axe, even though her hands were trembling slightly.

Wang He immediately realized that the vengeful ghost had lunged at him, and he might have been injured if Qin Xiaoyao hadn't stepped in to save him.

After all, we know nothing about the ghosts in the "Gone Bride" show, so who knows if they are dangerous?

When he participated in a paranormal show, he personally witnessed a vengeful ghost tear an actor to pieces!

"Thank you," Wang He said sincerely. "I was so focused on sorting out the storyline that I let my guard down."

Who knows what would happen if you were attacked by a vengeful ghost?

Logically, the ghosts that appear in the early stages of the show shouldn't be very powerful, since we haven't gotten any items yet, but ordinary axes certainly can't kill them.